This was supposed to be a relatively quiet week with a few
items filed in in the diary What a shame it didn’t stay like that! Monday, at
least, lived up to expectations and we managed to stay home and get the house
tidied after the weekend. Tuesday, we knew had an afternoon appointment for me,
but not much else but we soon managed to find more to do. The car needed some
work done on it after failing its roadworthy certificate, and we needed to make
an appointment for that. And the supplementary glazing which we ordered nearly
four weeks ago has not yet arrived so we needed to go and light a fire under someone
at the depot. Somehow these things always take so much longer to do that one
thinks.
On Wednesday, the car didn’t move from its spot in the lee
of the church. Hallelujah! And nor did we rise until about 11.30 am. On
Thursday was the appointment for the car and as it was rather early I opted out
of going. Can’t think why!! Perhaps because I knew that Friday was going to be
one of those appallingly early starts as I had to report to the hospital again
before 8 am. Since we have discovered that arriving very early always pays off
in the end, we try to get there first and rock up at 7.30. This means that when
the queue forms I am at the head of it and am first in and first out for the
procedure. Quite often we have ‘done’ the hospital, finished the grocery
shopping and are back home again by ten or ten-thirty. Which leaves us a long
empty day to fill with pottering around. Currently my ‘pottering’ consists of
various forms of handwork – my little family of dolls is growing slowly; I am
also knitting a gift for a friend; and then, of course is the tapestry cushion.
At the moment, all have reached an impasse. I have run out of toy stuffing for
the dolls and the only shop that appears to stock it has also run out but is
expecting new stock next week. The wol that I started using for the gift turned
out to be quite unsuitable and so I had to find something else in a suitable
colour and start again. And the wool which came from the UK to fill the
background of my tapestry picture was way to pale and will have to be returned,
but in the meantime I have ordered more because no-one locally has anything
like the colour I am looking for. When I ask if they can order some for me they
look dubious and tell me that no-one does tapestry anymore. Well! I have news
for them because I do, and it would be really handy if they stocked the stuff.
So what we did on Friday after the hospital was try to track
down some of my requirements. It took nearly the rest of the morning, but when
we finally got home again, we still wanted to do a Foreign Exchange transfer to
send some of our miserable SA Funds over here so that we can continue to eat.
For some reason, FNB make their Foreign exchange page so difficult that it
always takes ages but this time we were sure we had got everything right and it
still wouldn’t go through. Finally we phoned the Help Line and a very nice lady
went through the whole procedure with us again, but she, too, could find no
mistakes. Baffled, she told us to leave
it with her and she would investigate. So far, no news.
During the week, there had been numerous emails back and
forth about a car that Andre would like to have waiting for him when he gets
here at the end of December. Buying an expensive item like that without seeing
it is no joke and buying it on behalf of a third party comes a close second.
However, ever the dutiful parents, we all piled into our car and traipsed off
to Toulouse to view said car. It was a glorious day with not a single cloud in
the bright blue sky, but about fifty kilometres down the road the day clouded
over and the next thing we knew, we were into thick mist. The closer we got to
Toulouse the thicker it became, although there, the overhead electronic signs
told us to beware of pollution. Well, whatever…..we were stuck in it all the
way. We had been looking forward to having wonderful views of the Pyrenees all
gleaming with the sun shining on the snow, but sadly it was not to be. Courtney
showed her disgust by curling up on the back seat under a blanket and going to
sleep. We had considered leaving her at home but decided that she was too
valuable to do that. And she certainly proved her worth when we got to the
garage that was selling the car. As the only French speaker among us, she acted
as translator as the salesman took us through all the convoluted steps to
buying a car in France. I think (hope) we got it all right in the end. Then we
piled back into our car and headed homewards once more. We had packed a picnic
lunch, but in these conditions we didn’t see much future in even looking for a
picnic place. So we pulled into an ‘aire’, a French version of the British
Roadside Services. Having ordered some thick hot chocolate, we looked around
the cafeteria and saw various people blatantly eating their packed lunches, so
thought, “Why not” and brought our lunch in too. Sirens didn’t go off and the
police didn’t barge in wielding truncheons, so possibly the management had
realised that everyone had at least bought a cup of something and it was just
unfair to expect all their customers to go and sit out in the cold damp air.
Warmed and replete we continued on our misty journey until………..surprise! Fifty kilometres
from home the clouds cleared away and the sun came out and we were back to our
perfect day of eight hours before. What ridiculous weather!
No time to sleep in
on Sunday. We had to be ready to go to lunch in the Salle de Fete at midday and
this was a special lunch. All the people who had helped with any village and
commune events during the year, were invited. So having helped shred mountains
of fish for the Estofinade, I was invited. And Courtney also got an invitation
for waitressing at the same event. And Neels got one too by association. The
special lunch was scheduled to start at midday, so at about five past, we
ambled down the hill to the hall. An hour later we were still standing around
although we had been given aperatifs and some delicious snacks. Knowing these
affairs only too well, we tried not to have too many snacks but when the starter
was served (a large mushroom vol-au-vent) I realised that I shouldn’t have had
the third one. The starter and its feather-light flaky pastry was to die for
but was quite large. The main course came around already served – a huge
spoonful of hache parmentier -
cottage pie to you and me- with a cheese topping over the mashed potato. It is
a very rich dish under normal conditions but this one was made of duck mince,
which is not the most light-weight of meats. The server was ladling out the
same amount for the whole hall – farmers, young children, old ladies, the whole
lot. Needless to say, I couldn’t finish my
serving although the farmer sitting next to me went back for seconds! Then came
a giant bowl of green salad, followed by cheese and then profiteroles filled
with a sort of chocolate cream. Then they produced champagne and finally
coffee. And they still weren’t finished with the days events. Still to come was
the commune treasurer’s speech and then
the election of new board members. I probably let the side down as I slid
out when Courtney left to go and study just after the champagne. Next year I
will go an hour after the advertised time and hope to arrive just in time! All in all though, it was a good outing and
this year we actually knew some people to talk to and to sit with. It made all
the difference.
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