Pixie Toadstool

Hi there - just to say that I was prescribed Seroxat when it first came out in the UK and when I tried to stop taking it without doctor's advice I felt extremely weird.  Eventually I weaned myself off them gradually - cutting down to half a day, a quarter a day and then a quarter every other day - which worked for me (over a period of a couple of weeks).  Since then, the industry has admitted that this approach should be taken for all these types of anti-depressants because of the way they work.  A friend of mine had exactly the same experience as me but it took her much longer to get off Seroxat than me (maybe 4 weeks or so) - so give it a go and see how you feel. The thing with sleeping tablets is that they will all alter your brain chemistry to some extent.  I think you will find most GPs are less inclined to prescribe anyone a benzodiazepine these days as they are considered EXTREMELY addictive and very difficult to stop once started.  Echoing what the previous poster said, Zolpidem is meant to be pretty much non-addictive.  Again you will need to wean yourself off it - maybe try to do it when missing a few nights sleep is less important than at other times.  Depression/anxiety and insomnia tend to be linked and so sometimes doctors prescribe antidepressants because they believe the sleep disturbance is to do with depression - not generalised anxiety.  I have worked in the pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years and one thing I have learned is that whatever drug you take will alter the way your body works - there is almost a balancing mechanism which can take some time to sort itself out.  I am sure you have tried other remedies for insomnia including herbal ones (which can still give you the hangover effect the next morning).  For me, the one thing that helps me sleep at night is if I don't drink alcohol and if I put my earplugs in to cut out any noise (including my husband snoring) - so that might be another idea.  They say a warm milky drink helps and I know it has something or other in it which aids sleep - so another possibility (my mother in law swears by Horlicks).  Sorry if you have heard all this before.  Just one thing - the insomnia really could be due to depression which is not adequately treated by Seroxat - if this is the case the GP would be able to offer you much more modern antidepressants now which are generally well tolerated and very effective - a good one I would like to have if I was depressed again would be escitalopran/m (it has 2 different spellings and different brand names in different countries).  Another one which is meant to be excellent is duloxetine.  Anyhow I wish you luck! Regards Pix

Hi Newbiee - just putting cloves and brandy in your mouth at the same time WILL NOT have the same effect as heating the two together first because the hot alcohol actually extracts the essence of cloves into the alcohol and this is why it will work.  It will also work better if the resultant essence is applied whilst still warm as from a pharmacological point of view warm liquids are absorbed into the body quicker than cold - so try this process - I promise it will help him a lot.  My husband was amazed at how quickly it calmed the agony he was in - worked in about 5 minutes from applying it - a hell of a lot quicker than any painkillers I know of! Pix

Hi Newbie, My husband had the same problem when he broke a tooth in September and the nerve became exposed.  I made some essence of cloves by putting several in some brandy and heating them up in the microwave.  The resulting essence was then applied to his tooth on some cotton wool, which he held there from time to time.  It was absolutely  marvellous and completely got rid of the pain (he also took ibuprofen tablets as back up).  We had to wait a day and a half to see the dentist who took out the root all for 50 euros (compare that to UK prices!!). Pix

It says in my book that stone martens can swim but your animal could also have been a mink - either American or European.  These can swim and tend to live around rivers.  Actually I think almost all mammals can swim but the thing is whether they want to!! Pix

Dear Benjamin I apologise unreservedly for accusing you unneccesarily - it was the previous poster who referred to peasants! Pix

Benjamim that is because you have cleverly gone back and edited your comments - including the one about peasants! Pix

The word "peasant/paysan" is not a pejorative term according to some of my French friends - it is actually an honourable term. You are welcome to your opinions Benjamin and I am too!  When I read John's response I felt as if he had slapped the reader around the face!  This is not a friendly or sociable way to behave and you wouldn't do it if you were face to face with someone so I believe it is somewhat cowardly to behave like that when you are sheltered from a physical reaction by means of a computer screen!  Good way to get your block knocked off if you ask me ... and as Maude said if Steve had wanted a fight there are plenty easier ways of doing it!  Next time you have a query about something Benjamin bear in mind that, according to your stand point, you will be bleating (baah!). Pix

I can see you are a relatively new member here Steve and I would just like to say that most people on this forum do not behave or respond quite as unpleasantly as John has just done to you.  I have been stung by his vitriole in the past.  Does anyone else have anything helpful to say? Talk about rubbing salt into the wound!!  The term "self-righteous" comes to mind, John! [:P] Pix

Strange ... just after I posted that reply I nipped down the bottom of our garden here in Hampshire and there looking at us was a naughty muntjack - eating my variegated laurel!  We get roe deer too who love our roses - but they are lovely to look at! Pixxx

Well I'm not known for my originality and so I would name her Bambi! Looks like a female roe deer to me! Pixxx

At Saint Michel-de-Montjoie on Saturday 29th December there are fireworks and a general jamboree Normandie style (i.e. mulled wine etc., for sale plus grillades and sausage frites).  It normally attracts quite a few people - so you may need to walk half a mile up the hill into the village (just telling you in case you can't walk that far). Anyhow, usually the fireworks are very good and they're set to classical music too.  I am not sure what time it starts but if you get there early you can always go and have a drink or something to eat at one of the stands.  One year they opened up a village house as a mulled wine emporium - very effective as they were heating the wine in a cauldon over a fire in the enormous granite fireplace.  I don't know if they will be doing that this year though. If anyone knows of anything else going on please post! Pix X

I believe it is common knowledge that plants will put effort into flowers and therefore fruit if they feel threatened - rather than wasting it on extra growth in other areas because it is the need for survival of their genes and the species which fuels the process not individual success!  This explains why people dead head flowering plants - to encourage more flower growth - presumably the plant is shocked into producing flowers and hence seeds. FYI The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins covers this (as do various other books) - a very interesting subject especially when you look at how survival of the fittest can affect behaviour amongst animals and even more interestingly amongst humans! Pix

I am in agreement with Chris as I have been watching the berries thing every year and haven't noticed any relationship at all yet, here in the UK.  This time last year the bushes and trees were absolutely laden down with berries and there were loads of acorns everywhere but we had one of the mildest winters that I can remember, with some of the summer and spring shrubs flowering very early.  This year there are just as many berries and even more acorns so I am keeping watch to see what happens. Pix

OK so I don't have a recipe but just wanted to point out that there is no need to put an apostrophe in between the e and the s of recipes because it is only a plural - save yourself all that effort of pressing the apostrophe key.  The lesson of the day is: You need an apostrophe to show that a letter (or letters) is missing e.g. don't (= do not)You need an apostrophe to show that the thing owns something like the chair's coverFor instance you could quite rightly say that Pixietoadstool's exceedingly pedantic or Pixietoadstool's post was particularly annoying AND THAT WOULD BE FINEJust in case someone gets cross - I would like to explain that I'd much rather someone corrected me about something that I was doing wrong rather than have someone laughing about my mistake behind my back. AND yes I know I'm not perfect (and you shouldn't start a sentence with AND either!) AND when I think o' some good recipes I'll post Pixietoadstool's favourites. Pixie

[quote user="Jonzjob"]Is there any particular reason for wanting seedless? I only ask because the pips are really good for you.. I'm not kidding. The French don't seem to go for them. I can't even remember seeing them for sale in the supermarkets? That's probably why they are reluctant.. [/quote] Funny enough our local epiciere denied the existence of "raisins sans pepins" and seemed shocked and horrified when I said we had them all the time in the UK.  I explained that it was the same sort of thing as Jaffa oranges but she didn't seem convinced as she fixed me with her beady eyes whilst glancing at the calendar to see that it wasn't Poisson d'Avril!! Valerie

Moles are meant to taste horrid - so  it could have been a reject from an airborne carnivore! I see dead ones over in the wood from us and they always look perfect - never clear how they died - maybe old age - but they are never, ever mutilated by scavengers - they just eventually rot down by the side of the path! Pix X

Squidge - I have suffered the same problems and wondered if it was anything to do with the flour - I think it is.  I have no problem in the UK making them (and I am the daughter of a Yorkshire lass and a Yorkshire lad) but when it comes to France I have been known to make some very nice roof tiles (much appreciated by my friend's son by the way).  I am not sure which flour I used when they did work so I must find out - probably cheapest Champion stuff.  Another tip (from my grannies) - add half water and half milk to make them extra light.  Dripping is of course the ONLY thing to finish off the recipe - so a nice fatty rib of beef cooked in advance usually supplies that side of things (but so expensive in France!). If you add fizzy water you must do it just before you pour the batter into the smoking baking pans otherwise the bubbles escape.  This is a good way of making batter for fish etc - add some fizzy beer/lager to the batter at the last moment - it really works! Pix X

Call me naive but I was under the impression that one could claw back most of the extra costs of treatment in France from the UK Government on one's return.  I wouldn't have thought they would pay for repatriation though! Please enlighten me - anyone out there? Pix

P.S.  My husband says he is of Huguenot descent too - OUTFIN - a very unusual surname and not one we have found the basis for.  Any ideas from your research? Pix

The tonic has quinine in it which is an anti-malarial drug - but did your MIL drink it or rub it on? Pix [8-)]

I have also used gin as an insect repellent - only by wiping it on the skin - not drinking it - but hey - that might work too!  Mosquitos love me but the gin stopped me getting bitten at all when I was in Greece - didn't put off the boyfriend either!  (Many years ago dears!)[:P] Apparently the nastiest and cheapest gin is the most repellent - so don't waste the Bombay Sapphire! Pix

I have never tried shaggy ink caps because I don't think you can drink with them (alcohol) - they have the same or a similar compound in them as Antabuse - which they used to give alcoholics to try and get them to dry out - it makes you vomit if you drink alcohol!! [+o(] Just realised how sad that makes me sound - can't go a day without a drink!! [:$] Pix

Hi there Hagar, Gyromitra esculenta is deadly!  Check this out! [+o(] http://www.rogersmushrooms.com/gallery/DisplayBlock~bid~5984.asp I can't remember why I am not too sure about oyster mushrooms but something in the back of my mind suggests that there is something a little like them which will at least make you sick! Pix

I have been picking wild mushrooms to eat for many years now and these are the ones that I consider safest.  As far as I am aware they cannot very easily be confused with anything which is poisonous: Hedgehog fungusChicken of the woodsBeefsteak fungusCepsBay boletus Giant puffballEverything else I can think of that is edible can possibly be confused with poisonous species.  Here is a list of some of the others I pick but check meticulously before eating: Wood blewitField blewitThe PrinceHorse MushroomParasolField Mushroom Chanterelles MorelsTrompette de mortOyster mushroomsIf you look up any of these on the internet you should be able to find reasonable photos to use for identification. I also use Roger Phillips' book - any other books I have come across give insufficient detail or inadequate pictures to give me the confidence to try them. So far this year I have only managed a reasonable haul of hedgehog fungus - which was early due to the wet summer, I think. Pix (aka Valerie)