Two Stars

               

 

 

 

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Stuff happening…busy,busy!

Really short post with explanation why I won’t be around for the next week or so…Lots of reasons.

1. I have shingles (that’s what my painful “trapped nerve” shoulder was all about) – which means I’ve been tired, I’ve taken a couple of days off, & haven’t planned for next week’s lessons yet. It needs to be done. Thankfully, I’m not in a huge amount of pain, as it was caught early: I have painkillers & anti-viral drugs. What it doers mean is that I can’t lie down without a lot of pain, so I’m sleeping on the sofa at night. It’s OK, but it’s not my bed!
2. It’s the Church Thanksgiving Meal tomorrow – I have to prepare spiced red cabbage and a peach-and-apple crumb cake. I’ll be out most of the day.
3. I haven’t inputted last week’s lessons into the ILS System. Nor have I inputted next week’s. It takes time.
4. I have been asked to write a reflection for next year’s 40 Acts!!! How exciting! I’m honoured too – I thought it was only proper Christians who did these things! That needs to be done in the relatively near future.
5. I’m teaching a calligraphy course next Saturday. I have done NO preparation whatsoever.
6. I have been given a date for my interview for my Titre de Sejour – on Wednesday!!!! I have to collect a few (but not too many) documents together. I’m already getting nervous! TBH they have been really efficient (excuse me while I faint!) about this – I sent off my initial request in August, got asked for certain documents beginning of September, got a phone call two weeks ago asking for certain other documents which I dropped off the following day, and today I received notification of my Rdv on Wednesday!! Let’s hope it goes smoothly.

So – no time for blogging. Sorry! I won’t have time to reply to your comments either, but I do appreciate them & will reply when next week is over!

PS Thanks for your suggestions on my Challenges before 60. There are some great ideas.  Do please keep them coming!

60 before 60 redux

Thank you to those of you who happily offered their lists of “experiences” or challeges for my perusal – I appreciate the offer…However, that wasn’t quite what I meant. I actually would like you to choose a challenge/thing to do for me…It could be as simple as “Invite French friends for an English afternoon tea” (I quite like that one!!) or a bit more challenging.

I like The Home Place Web’s suggestion of an art exhibition/show…One of my students recently said that a restaurant she goes to has art work for sale on the walls. Perhaps I could explore that possibility.

So those of you who said “You’re welcome to choose from my list” please could YOU choose something from your list…The proviso being that it incurs (if that’s the right word) little or no cost. Sadly, that might put Shazza’s llama trekking out of the picture, but maybe I could visit the llama farm which isn’t too far from here…

So N°1 on the list of A Few Things Before I’m 60 is organise some kind of art show.

What’s going to be N°2?

 

60 before 60…?

I’m going to be 60 next birthday. Eeep, how did that happen?!

People often plan “35 before I’m 35” things to do…I don’t think I can manage to do , or even think of 60 things!

But – here’s a challenge – I’m going to ask each of those of you who really do read my posts instead of just clicking “like” without reading to suggest one thing that I could do. Preferably nothing that costs a lot of money…for example, I’d love to fly in a hot air balloon over the Chaine des Puys…but it’s way too expensive

But something that might be fun, or interesting, or slightly off-beat, or a challenge (but not too challenging!)

And I’ll try to do them! So get your thinking caps on, and put your suggestions in the Comments.

Mr FD has set in motion our joint 60th Birthday treat – he’s booked tickets to see Big Big Train in Newport, Wales on 1st November. We have friends in South Wales and the south of England, so we’ll try to get to see them. We’re going to set up a virement each month into Mr FD’s Livret A account (savings account) so that the money quietly transfers, and mounts up, without us noticing. Not too much, but enough to help spread the cost. Hopefully we’ll be able to stay with our friends, but it would be nice to maybe have one night in a posh hotel…

Here’s a Big Big Train song for you

Food highlights…

Actually, there haven’t been any particular highlights this week – the Chinese pork was OK, but nothing special.

I think the Feta stuffed chicken was the nicest (this is the correct recipe – I linked to the wrong one in an earlier post) but next time I’ll make the pepper sauce in a different way. It was too watery made like the recipe suggests. Tinned tomatoes, marinaded peppers and some harissa would be better than using stock, I think.

I was lucky enough to get another 1€ Lidl box – this one had about 10 packs of mange touts. A lot were too brown-spotted, but we got the equivalent of about 5 packets of good ones. That’s 1.25kg, which were blanched and frozen. There were also 1.5kg of mushrooms, all perfectly fine, which were sliced and frozen (some cooked, some raw), and 4 wrinkly parsnips. There was also a completely rotten celeriac and an unusable lettuce, but still it was worth the 1€ and a bit of extra work. Parsnips will probably go in soup at the weekend.

I’m looking forward to trying this recipe tomorrow: Stove top pulled pork, with coleslaw, and sweet potato wedges. My slow cooker died a death last winter, so I don’t have the convenience of that – we will get another, but just not yet. This recipe seems to give the delight that is pulled pork, without the slow cooker experience. We shall see.

Our rector’s 5 minutes of fame!

For anyone who can read French, and who may be interested, here’s a link to a newspaper report about our Rector, here at Christ Church, Clermont Ferrand.

Sorry, I’m not doing a translation for you!

 

Oh, how true!

Last night, I had Bib either taking up most of my pillow, or licking/nibbling my ear so I’d lift the covers to let her in (why can’t she go in by herself?!), Millie sprawled between my feet, and Jasper was taking up more than his fair share of the Napping Quarters on Mr FD’s side of the bed. Only Pomme was absent, and that’s because she’s less and less inclined to climb stairs now. Bless them!

But we know that they would always come to our aid, should we need them!

Yeah,right….