mint

Here is one way of waking it up. Today I did some hill-walking notwithstanding steady rain and voilà I learned a new French word!   Look, I don't mind if you aren't the least interested.  I am writing about this because then I can be sure of remembering it in future[:)] We passed a small tree with lovely, glossy leaves and bunches of golden fruit that looked like apricots.  I was told that the fruit were called nèfles and the tree a néflier.  Aha, notice the sneaky change of accents.  Of course the French WOULD keep doing things like this to confound les étrangers.  It's like crème but, if it's skimmed milk, it becomes écrémé...... Then, on googling the tree, I learned that it was a medlar and then, I learned an English word new to me.  The word is "bletted"....well, don't know about you, but I was blowed if I knew what THAT meant. So, here is a link to explain all and show you this lovely little tree. [url]https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=neflier[/url].  My French friends told me that the fruit was "pas comestible" and that they gave it to animals.  Ha, wait till I see them again and tell them that au contraire, the fruit is perfectly edible and is in fact quite delicious!

Right from the very beginning, people have always complimented me on my French[:-))]  I thought and still think that they are just being polite.  Especially when I only knew a handful of words. Nowadays, IF I am feeling particularly full of myself and in a mood to impress, I no longer protest that my French is not at all good.  I just say Merci.......[:P] What a nerve!  I know but don't they say just "fake it until you make it"?[;-)]

Paul, do you not have to drive the car a bit to turn the engine over? When OH was doing that when we still had to have the attestation, he was always preparing what he was going to say should he be stopped![:-))] We have 2 cars so we had to take them out in turns so as to be sure they would go OK.  In fact, we were stuck in a village near us when the older car's battery conked out.  Looking at previous bills, it hadn't had a new battery for over a decade! If I was built as well as a car battery, I reckon I might have a few years left in me[:D]

I have brightened up and no longer care about weeks passing at a snail's pace. Diary filling up again with entries....dates, times, just lovely[:D] Back to hill walking tomorrow; very select band, about 7 or 8 at most.  In a place with hills like those in Wales and uncertain weather conditions[:D]  Even the hospital rang to re-arrange RVs and a date for my operation.  And I am sooooooo excited..... must remember not to catch the virus though!!!

Me too, can't be too precise.  I live in a rural area and I don't have many friends amongst British expats so I'd rather they didn't follow me around should they find out who I am, where I live, etc. I go to a gym, only one other Brit and she is lovely and we see each other in the gym and share our medical experiences, as we go to the same hospital and know each other's medical team. I do nordic walking with a group of French friends and go away on short breaks 2 or 3 times a year with them.  No expat of any nationality. I have started a Pilates class, first lesson yesterday, second lesson today (yes, you could say I am keen!).  Again no expats, or if there are some, I have not met them. But I believe that I did tell you once where I live, Eric[:)]

No rain here today but a lovely refreshing wind and sun and cloud alternating. It was special for me today.  Went to my first Pilates class (décalée from Monday 11 March, yes a whole lifetime ago) It was out in the open so lots of space for social distancing.  Nicest surprise was seeing 4 friends that I haven't seen these several weeks.  They were all milling round me to get my news.  And I didn't have the heart to tell them to keep their distance. My daily evening walk was not "something I must do", not today. I somehow felt light of heart and feet.  And was rewarded with the sight of a butterfly that was completely black with a mauve and white spot on each wing. How happy and contented I felt.  Then this evening, the sky is very clear and the moon is bright with its light suffusing the clouds around it. Sometimes you just HAVE to be glad to be alive, don't you think?   

Apart from l'ennui mortel, I have been unusually well all during the winter and spring; so I am not expecting to have any sort of protection.  Just hoping no seconde vague........fingers crossed......

[quote user="NormanH"]I  will be sitting outside in solitary splendour having a fish dish (I don't know which yet) at  my regular haunt. Fresh grilled fish hasn't been on the menu at the "traiteur" from whom I  have been getting most of my meals[/quote] I am delighted you can now go back to your favourite resto.  And can tootle around on your scooter in the sunshine[:)]  At least to me, the confinement has dragged so and I am suffering from confinement fatigue......

Sid, I was never a 16, I was a 17, that being my département, see? Well, I have grown up in the intervening years:  now a grumpy old female Victor Meldrew.  And I'm still only 24 though, at a push, I'd admit to 99 (for lieu étranger)

[quote user="Lehaut"]I don't eat pizza, but cook them every week for youngest at home son. He persuaded me to buy a pizza stone. He likes the base crisp and the toppings well melted. I heat the stone in the oven at 250°C, slide the pizza on and watch it bubble. The dough is rolled out at lunch time, left to rise until the evening. Taken to making a raised crust round the outside by pushing in the rim and then flattening down the inside of the pizza dough. Stops the melted cheese running over the edge and look cute.[/quote] Lehaut, just before I read your post, I was reading an advert for women's clothes entitled "how to disguise that corona stone". It took me a few seconds to realise that they were talking about 14 lbs!  I no longer know what my weight is in stone.  I have had to go to hospital dozens of times in the last couple of years and they always ask your height and weight; so I have those written down. Then, just as my mind had taken that stone in, I read about your pizza stone[:)] So, unless you want that corona stone plus a pizza stone, don't forget that makes 28 lbs.......best keep off the pizza, I reckon!

Thanks, Sue.  It's good to see the product so that I know what it looks like. TBH, I have just done without.  Not without completely, but greatly reduced quantities.  My blood pressure HAS gone down but I don't know whether it's due to the prescribed tablets or less salt. One of my medical specialists assured me that no salt would work and I wouldn't need the pills.  So I shall persist with low salt but it's not as easy as you would expect.  Lots of my favourite foods are salt-laden!  Crisps, salted peanuts, smoked salmon, bacon, cheese, crackers for cheese.......[6]

Weegie, do they sell it in specialist shops or can you get it in any grand surface?

I have returned here to remind all you gluttonous folk that the déconfinement is virtually over and it's time to see and be seen again.  So, time to set aside some of those little treats we have so fondly got used to[:-))] I haven't bought any more Magnums so as to avoid temptation.  No more crisps and nuts, but that is no longer as painful as it was because I decided to stop to test out "low salt" as they have recently found I have high blood pressure. If anybody knows what a "low salt" salt is called in France, and where to get it, I'd be most grateful. Do have an opened bottle of Merlot rosé in the frigo so will polish that off (with OH's help) and will deffo have a long walk late today when it gets cooler. Incidentally, aren't the long days wonderful?  Still light at 10 pm!    Last tip for today, wear a stout leather belt to remind yourself your waistline is the only thing that will stop your descent into a blob with high BMI and cause the doc to wave a finger and tut.

Thanks for the DN link, GG.  But I only like pyjamas AND I only like traditional ones with a jacket with collar and buttons.  None of these flimsy t-shirts with legging type trousers. I managed to bag a pair of cotton ones with short-sleeved jacket.

Thank you very much, Id, yes there are some nice ones in there.  I have now bought a pair from Ebay but I have put aside a pair from your link.  As I already have a big order made to Amazon yesterday, I shall wait to see how long things take to be delivered before ordering anymore. I had a very generous birthday present of money from my sister so I am in the mood to indulge myself[:D]

Yes, Sid, you gave me that site years and years and YEARS ago and I still use it![:D]

Had my hair cut, paying 3 euros extra for "sanitaire".  For that I got a big gown with zip closure and had my hair washed as that was "obligatoire".  I don't usually have my hair washed at the salon because I can only use products that are surgras.  Thankfully, no reaction to the champoing which I was assured was "très doux".  Plus, she was washing every chair that had been sat on.  They were also taking only half the number of clients. Wish I could say I was thrilled with my haircut but, alas, my hair is now very thin on top, not having grown back since chemo.  So it was just a case of looking a bit tidier. Had 2 nordic walks with 6 others, well distanced from each other and talking at the top of our voices.  Must have sounded like ignorant, ill-mannered types[+o(] Then, looking for bras (surgeon has stipulated firm control!) and thought I'd buy some new pyjamas so as not to look too shabby when they call me to go to hospi for the op that was cancelled in April.  Has anyone seen the cost of these essential items of wear that no one even sees?[:-))] As for traditional pyjamas with a proper jacket with collar and buttons, they appear to be as rare as  hen's teeth. Tant pis for me as I have NEVER been a Marilyn Monroe type who only sleeps wearing nothing other than Chanel No 5.  Still, I don't think the pyjamas can possibly cost more than 10 ml of Chanel No 5? Lori, you will be walking soon in a PARC in Sceaux[:)] Next week, ah....next week.....I am supposed to be having my first Pilates lesson in a park (had to be open air to meet requirements) but guess what, the méteo says next Wednesday, it will be raining.....damnation!

I see the words all the time now.  I see them in newspapers and hear them on the radio and TV.  I am not the least bit confused by them[:D] It's like when you buy a new car, and because you notice it more, suddenly it seems that the roads are full of cars just like yours!

[quote user="Gardengirl "]Mint, Michal Gove spoke very earnestly about doing that very thing himself on the Today programme earlier this week. I wonder how many others there are in the country who would even think of behaving so stupidly. On their wives’ birthdays or any other time. What an extremely lame lie from The Liar.[/quote] GG, I read a comment today that made me smile.  The commentator said I wonder whether DVLA will introduce a 30-mile drive to test your eyesight[:)]

Yes, Weegie, nice and clear!  Also it's very good to find someone else who likes to look at the details and are fascinated by language. I do this with English too.  In fact, I am finding lots of things about English that I didn't know before I started learning French[:D]

Sorry, Weegie, you are right, of course.  I was taking a short cut to say "that's the end of the matter" as far as the police are concerned.  I mean, no further action and all that? I hope nobody drives around testing their eyesight.....lol

And here it is, a drink for the long, hot days ahead[:P] [url]https://www.brewdog.com/uk/barnard-castle-eye-test[/url]

Whatever he has or hasn't said is all now purely academic.  Police have cleared him of having made any breaches. Meanwhile a brewery has produced a beer called Barnard Castle Eye Test with profits going to the NHS.

Some months ago, certainly before Chancer left, we had a discussion on here as to whether it is rouvert or réouvert. I have read an article today which seems to use réouverture but also rouvrir.  I am now led to think that you use réouv for the noun but rouv for the verb. Here are the relevant bits that concern us: "Limitation de déplacement, réouverture des restaurants, lieux culturels... Les annonces du premier ministre ce jeudi à 17h, concernant la suite du déconfinement, sont très attendues." and "À voir aussi - Faut-il rouvrir les parcs et les jardins en zone rouge ?"

I did hear murmurings that health professional might get their pay reviewed after all this covid stuff is sorted.