Wednesday 26 October 2011

Moving & Stress

We have a date for signing the acte de vente.

At last, we are no longer in limbo, we know when things are happening.

I have found though that I am waking at silly o'clock in the morning and mulling over all that needs to be done. My mind goes into overdrive.

Will the furniture go through the doors? Will it even negotiate the stairs? Will the house be warm? Will the house be quiet? Will it be noisy? Will the pets settle? Do I get some Feliway for the cats? Do they do a version for dogs? If not why not? What colour should the walls be? Will my man be happy there? Will I be happy there? and so it goes on, and on.

I try to put it all out of my mind, shelve it, file it, and all those thoughts creep into my conscience again. How long before we have telephone connection? Will the central heating work? How long before I get an oven and hob? How long to walk to the Spar? What do they sell? Then I doze and wake again, eventually dropping off around 7am and sleep through till around 9.30 am - and then wake from weird and wonderful dreams!!

STRESS!

Apparently moving house is one of the most stressful experiences one can have.

Yes, I agree.

Death, I believe, comes at the top of the list for stress and divorce is quite high up in the list (I have never been divorced).

I have not experienced a lot of death (sounds strange I know). I never knew my grandparents, they passed away before my parents married. I realised that I was missing something in my childhood as all of my contemparies had either a gran and granddad or both and I didn't. When my father-in-law passed away I felt a deep pain - he was a lovely guy and I adored him. When mum-in-law went we were here so the pain, in a way, was not so intense. She had lost her 'spark' many years before when dementia arrived. But, when my dear Dad died I was absolutely devastated, it hurt. Even now, 5 years on, I still find it hard to believe he is not here. That was stressful and even typing this brings back the sadness and pain.

I diverge, I was talking about the stress of moving....

At least, thrashing it out on here relieves some of the tension.

It seems that not only will we have the problem of moving house but I will also need surgery on my left elbow.

Some years ago I tripped on a kerb and, as one does, put my hands out to stop falling on my face and damaging the pleasant 'visage'. The ulna and radius in my left arm 'slipped' either side of the humerus and then replaced themselves. A lovely dislocation (and oh so painful)! I went to the doctor then hospital and they confirmed what had happened. My arm and hand swelled to twice its normal size - my fingers were like sausages (thank heavens I had the foresight to remove my wedding ring).. I was monitored and also had physiotherapy to help the recovery and got on with living.

Since then I have had intermittent problems with the elbow and just ignored it, put up with the inconvenience, and carried on working and living as one does.

Until now.

My little and ring finger go dead and are painful most of the time.

So off to see my GP who refers me to a neurologist. He checks and confirms that there is a nerve trapped in the elbow joint. He sends his findings to my GP. I go for a visit and she writes a prescription for me to see an orthopaedic surgeon. He needs an x-ray which I had today.

I seems that my elbow is 'deforme' and riddled with arthrose.... No wonder I have so much pain.

Rendezvous beginning November - will be interesting to see what the Ortho guy has to say!

Better get the packing done before then!!!!

Also, I remember one of my doctors in the UK telling me that I thrive on stress, I think he was right!!

Monday 17 October 2011

Little boxes, seduction & change of role

Surrounded by boxes, some empty, some full and some half full.

Pictures, plates and photos are off the walls. Boy does it look bare now, just as well we didn't put wallpaper up - there would have been lots of original colour patches!

Curtains are down, washed and ready to pack.

Cupboards are emptying.

Bed linen and towels are in vacuum bags, now that's a laugh, I extract the air in the morning and by nightfall they have expanded... Will get it right eventually.

Found things I forgot I had, bonus! Although there is every likelihood that they will be stowed away again for another few years. c'est pas grave!

Hopefully, we will be out of here in one month - then unpacking.... Oh joy!!

Our dear boy, Jensen, has been seduced by the bitch next door. The brazen hussy has been shoving her rear end under his nose for the last few days and he eventually got the message... Thank heavens we had him castrated! The thought of the gene combination does not bear thinking about.. At least we will be removing him from this canine hothouse of passion.

When we first arrived here in La Belle France we had two dogs. A male and a female, both very calm gentle creatures we 'rescued' from Battersea Dogs Home. Max was an Alsatian/Collie cross, a lovely chap. Guess what? One of the bitches next door seduced him!! Now this particular bitch was a tiny terrier type, (she is now in canine heaven) poor Max could not resist her charms. What is it with these Chiennes Francaise and les Chiens Anglais? Are les Anglais irresistable?

As some of you already know I belong to a group that brings ladies of all nationalities together for social occasions, notably lunches, once a month. It started out as a small group of around 20 and has now reached well over 200. It is also spilling into the adjoining departments.

The originators of this group, due to unfortunate circumstances, are now no longer in France.

As it has grown so it has changed, and not necessarily for the better. It seems that it needs to be re-developed. There are lots of ladies advertising their services, asking advice on various things (medical, educational etc.) so the group is now totally different. No longer just a 'place' for meeting new people over lunch.

Change of role?

There was a thread within this group regarding the need for a dentist.

Now things were said in the 'public domain' about this dentist and his wife.

These were opinions that should have been said privately not on an open forum.

Another member and I both said that the things that were said should not have been aired publicly.

For that we were both labelled as 'PC' and 'liberal tree huggers'...

Enough said!