A Day by the Wayside

Yesterday, I left Duston a little before 9:30 to be on time at Sam's stonesetting at 11. I took into account the delays due to the never-ending construction on the M1, the fact that it was morning traffic, that the M25 was always more or less jammed. I was making great time. I had to get off the M25 at junction 25 and the cemetery was just a couple of miles away. Just before arriving at junction 25, my front left tire blew out. It was 10:30.

I called emergency services and they took all the information and told me to wait. If I needed to call back, I was told to ask for the Essex police and given another number to call. I waited very patiently and finally called the Essex police a little after 11. Already 1 1/2 hours waiting outside, on the other side of the barrier, with my yellow safety vest on. Getting into the car to make the phone call was a relief if only for the quietness of it. I was told to keep waiting. I had my incident number; they knew I was still waiting....

I just wasn't thinking clearly. I should have immediately called our insurance company in France. By the time I thought of them, 2 hours had gone by. I still wasn't thinking clearly because I called Paul to ask him to do it. The emergency services finally got to me after 1:00 and the insurance company called me while they were there taking down my information at about 1:30. They told me it would be better for me to wait for the insurance company's solution and they left me there, still waiting. The GMF were very efficient. Within a few minutes, I had my incident number from them and I got a call from the rescue service they had set up. Unfortunately, the rescue service told me I'd need to wait about another hour.

At the tire shop -- the outside of the tire has this big hole

The inside rim is completely torn apart. 

My hero came in less than an hour and I was on the road again at exactly 3:00, only 4 1/2 hours after pulling over. The rain started just as he was finishing up putting the spare tire on. I got off the M25 and started searching for a tire shop because the instructions were to not drive too far on the compact spare. I continued on the route to the cemetery but I stopped to find gas stations on the GPS. The station I aimed for seems to have disappeared, so I kept on going and lo and behold found myself in a shopping center district and saw the sign for a Formula 1 place. I know that Claire and Geoff go to the Formula 1 up in Duston, so I pulled in and they sold me a pair of tires. (I had to change brands because they were out of Michelins, so I needed to change both front tires.) They checked the tire to try to figure out what happened. Still don't know. It wasn't because the tire was worn out. Old, yes, but not worn. New tires installed and aligned and set to go by 5:15. Got back on the M25 and headed back to Duston. Arrived at 6:15.

To all the family I was going to see at the stonesetting, I'm so sorry I missed you. Luckily, we had dinner the night before with the Pickars. Thanks, Ken, for the picture, to remind me.

Also, thank goodness this did not happen the previous evening when I had Aurelia in the car with me, nor on the way back to France to catch the tunnel shuttle.

3rd and 4th cousins!

With Claire

Hi, Bonjour,

I drove up to Claire's yesterday and today we went to pick up her wedding dress. :-)
It was an uneventful drive. It's good to just be here, relaxing, trying to figure out the seating, etc.

Last weekend, Paul, Anne, and I drove down to Tours (Larçay, to be exact) with Louis to spend the weekend with Gwen's parents and pick up Gwen for the drive back to Paris. It was a beautiful weekend. We arrived a bit later than scheduled, so we had lunch almost immediately on arrival; the kids took a dip in the pool and then we all went off to walk around the old part of Tours. Tours has refurbished much of its old city center and there were people everywhere -- the streets, the sidewalk terraces, on the banks of the Loire -- all over. Very lively.

There's a monument in Tours, put up by the Americans in honor of the American supply forces that were stationed in Tours during W.W.I. It's a very nice fountain along the Loire. After a few hours of walking, we went to Gwen's grandfather's for a little aperitif drink (Vouvray, of course) and then back to the Thomases for dinner. Very good -- and very filling.

On Sunday morning, we all went to Amboise and visited the Clos Lucé, where Leonardo da Vinci died. It's a beautiful Renaissance house with a view of the chateau (François I lived there) and there's even an underground passage to the chateau. It was a very interesting visit and enjoyable morning. Then, back to the house for another copious lunch before we headed back to Paris.

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Le weekend dernier, nous sommes allés chez les parents de Gwen, les Thomas. Ils habitent à Larçay, quelques kilomètres au sud de Tours. C'était un weekend très agréable -- nous avons bien mangé, peut-être même un peu trop. Nous avons bien fait une promenade digestive à Tours samedi et une autre promenade pré-déjeuner à Amboise dimanche matin pour compenser, mais il faut faire diète cette semaine avant de se rendre à la réunion Reynaud le weekend prochain et le mariage le weekend après !

Nous sommes allés au Clos Lucé, la maison de Léonardo da Vinci, à Amboise. L'exposition des dessins et les petits modèles dans la maison préparent bien à la visite du jardin avec les grands modèles. Très bonne sortie.

Hier matin, j'ai repris la route pour venir chez Claire à Duston. Relax -- on fait le plan de table !

September - a busy month / un mois qui est passé trop vite

I kept saying to myself, "I'll catch up tomorrow" and then there was always something else. Sometimes it was just a good book and I didn't bother getting on the computer at all.
Paul and I both screwed up on appointments: he missed a dentist's appointment and I showed up a day late for my post-op appointment with my surgeon. Felt ridiculous. And I still haven't seen him, because the wait was a month long, even for a private appointment.
There was a hike around Conflan. Conflan-St. Honorine, very near, is where the barges that run along the Seine are based. That's where there is a boarding school for the children of the bargemen and women. Anyway, we were not far down the river at the confluence of the Seine and Oise, which is where the area gets its name: Conflan. There's an island, Ile Nancy, that belongs to Andrésy and that is where we started our day. There was a sculpture exhibit disbursed throughout the island to give a walk on the island some interest. After the walk around the island another hiker and I decided to leave the group and I came home early. The next hikes were too long for me and today's walk ... well, I got up too late.
Busy with STC stuff. We had a very successful STC workshop with Samina for people who want to go freelance. Not for me, though.
The art lessons with Francine are back on. I've started oil painting. My first painting is an abstract experiment in balancing colors on the canvas and using a palette knife. The second one, that I'm still working on, is based on photos that I've taken of flowers (and one of Jacque's). It's coming along nicely, although I find painting with brushes is really difficult. I rather like the thicker third dimension you get with a palette knife.
Last weekend, we went to spend some time with Claire and Geoff. That was fun. Paul and I took the Eurostar on Friday. There was a bit of a delay, due to the fire in the tunnel a couple of weeks ago. They are still using just one tube of the tunnel. From St. Pancras, we walked to Euston Station and got on a commuter train to Northampton. Louis, Gwen, and Anne were there in the parking lot waiting for us. They had taken and easyJet flight to Luton and picked up a car. We spent the afternoon exploring the city center of Northampton and then relaxed at the hotel until it was time to go meet Geoff at home. Geoff was just starting a delicious curry for dinner, while Claire shared the wedding plans with us! Looks like we've got a date: October 24, 2009.
On Saturday, the whole Husaunndee clan came up from Woking. Claire and Geoff have made room for her furniture by moving the dining room into the kitchen, where they extended the dining area into the former utility closet by knocking down the wall. (The utility closet contents have now moved into the garage.) It makes a nice dining area, just big enough for 12 around the table and a high-chair on the side. Geoff made a great lasagne and Nigel, a beautiful salad. Claire picked some apples and pears from the trees in the garden and made crumbles for dessert. We were well stuffed. It was great fun seeing Ahmed and Alison, Nigel and Valérie with 6-month-old Noah, and Charlotte, of course, always a delightful bundle of energy.
The weather was beautiful, almost summerlike, and sunny. On Sunday, we went to Hellidon Lakes, the resort hotel where Claire and Geoff would like to hold the wedding. It's in Northamptonshire, not too far from their home. It's got a golf course, a tennis court, a four-lane bowling alley, a pool, and a spa for plenty of on-site activities for what they hope will be a nice family-reunion weekend around the wedding. There are also plenty of off-site sightseeing things to do. The kids left directly for Luton. Paul and I stayed over and left on Monday. We stopped at the British Library on the way between Euston and St. Pancras stations and visited the "Treasures ...." exhibit. The Magna Charta, lots of Shakespeare and literature from the Middle Ages to the Beatles.
And now, I'm getting ready to go to Pau for the weekend. Paul is not coming this time, but I'll be staying with Alexandre, Emmanuelle, and Valentine. It's something I've planned for a long time - going to teach Valentine the (graham) cracker brownie recipe (no graham crackers here, so we use tea biscuits). I'll also see the Josephs, of course.

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J'ai encore loupé un r.v. avec le blog -- trop parressuse.
Paul et moi sommes tellement détendu que nous avons tous les deux raté des rendez-vous, lui avec le dentiste et moi avec le chirurgien. C'est ridicule. Je dois patienter un mois pour le voir maintenant!
Il y a eu une ballade aux alentours de Conflan, pas trop loin de Conflan-St. Honorine. Sur l'Ile Nancy, à Andrésy, il y avait une exposition de sculpture dispersé sur l'île et c'est avec cela que nous avons commencé. Heureusement il y avait ce centre d'intérêt. Après l'île, j'ai préféré quitte le groupe avec une des autres marcheurs. Je suis rentrée à la maison tôt. Et puis les ballades les deux semaines suivantes étaient trop longues pour moi. Aujourd'hui, je me suis tout simplement levée trop tard!
Les cours d'art avec Francine ont repris. J'ai commencé à travailler avec la peinture à l'huile. Mon premier oeuvre est une expérience d'équilibre de couleurs et l'utilisation du couteau à peintre. Le deuxième, sur lequel je continue à travailler, est inspiré de photos que j'ai pris de fleurs (et une de Jacque). Cela progresse, bien que je trouve que travailler avec des brosses est bien difficile. J'aime bien la troisième dimension qui se fait avec le couteau.
Le weekend dernier nous sommes partis chez Claire et Geoff. Paul et moi avons pris l'Eurostar vendredi matin. Il y a eu un peu de retard à cause de l'incendie d'il y a deux semaines dans le tunnel. Ils ne se servent que d'une tube du tunnel. De St. Pancras c'est un court chemin jusqu'à la gare Euston où nous avons pris le train pour Northampton. Louis, Gwen, et Anne nous y attendaient. Ils avait pris un vol easyJet flight à Luton et loué une voiture. Nous avons passé l'après-midi à explorer le centre de Northampton et un moment à l'hôtel jusqu'à l'heure d'aller rejoindre Geoff à la maison. Geoff mettait en route un délicieux curry pour le dîner, tandis que Claire nous divulgué les préparatifs pour le mariage ! On dirait qu'il y a déjà une date : le 24 octobre 2009, qui, après consultation avec le calendrier scolaire, se trouve être le début des vacances de la Toussaint pour les français.
Samedi, toute la famille Husaunndee de Woking est arrivé. Claire et Geoff ont réamenagé la maison pour faire place aux meubles de Claire. Le coin à manger est juste assez grand pour mettre 12 places autour de la table et une chaise haute à côté. Geoff nous a fait un bon plat de lasagne et Nigel, une belle salade. Claire a recolté quelques pommes et poires des arbres dans le jardin pour nous faire des crumbles pour le dessert. On a bien mangé ! C'était un vrai plaisir de revoir Ahmed et Alison, Nigel et Valérie avec Noah, six-mois, et bien sûr, Charlotte, toujours une boulle d'énergie.
Il faisait très beau, presque un temps d'été ensoleillé. Dimanche, nous nous sommes rendus à Hellidon Lakes, l'hôtel où Claire et Geoff aimeraient faire le mariage. C'est dans le Northamptonshire, pas trop loin de chez eux. Il y a un terrain de golf, un court de tennis, du bowling, une piscine, et un spa pour pleins d'activités sur place pour remplir un weekend de réunion familiale autour du mariage. Il y a aussi plein de sites aux alentours pour ceux qui veulent faire du tourisme.
Et maintenant je me prépare pour partir à Pau pour un weekend chez Emmanuelle, Alexandre, et Valentine. Paul ne m'accompagne pas, mais c'est une visite promise depuis longue date. Valentine va apprendre à faire "mes" brownies. Je verrais aussi les Josephs.

Raspberry Season - La saison des framboises

I promised myself that I would stick to a regular rythym (except when traveling) and churn out a letter every two weeks on Friday or Saturday. Here it is, Monday morning, and I'm finally getting around to it.
Almost every morning for the past week, I 've been going to the back of the back yard to pick myself a bowl of raspberries. This is the time of the year I love our garden. This year, the raspberry crop is not extraordinary; I don't think I'll be picking so much in one day that I can freeze them. Last year I managed to freeze a big bagful, make a couple of jars of jam, and eat fresh berries every day. This year, we eat all that I pick. I do leave a few ripe berries on the vines for Neal, our three-year-old neighbor to find.
I wish I had the patience or stamina to clear out the weeds and grass that seems to have taken over the yard. Because we were away from mid-April through most of May, I never got around to planting tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini), etc. But last year's rhubarbe is still thriving. (Last year, one of my jams was raspberry-rhubarbe.) And one of the artichoke plants from two years ago finally grew before the snails could eat it back to the root and we have an artichoke! We also have so many dandelions that we could make dandelion salad if this were war-time and we were desperate.
Last time I mowed the lawn, a couple of weeks ago already, I guess I did something I shouldn't have, or maybe it was in rushing off to an appointment right after. What ever I did, that nerve in my neck that wreaks havoc on my left arm seems to have gotten pinched again.
That did not prevent me from going to England last week (June 13-16). Julia, family and friends, rented a cottage in the Cotswolds for a week so I decided this was a great excuse to go see Claire, Geoff and family. I took the Eurostar to the new St. Pancras station in London. We were delayed an hour and a half because of a "problem" in the tunnel. I'm still wondering what kind of problem they could have in the tunnel, but because it was a problem with the tunnel and not the Eurostar, passengers do not get any kind of compensation for the delay. It's a little more comfortable than sitting on a runway for an hour and a half. You can get up and walk! Once in St. Pancras, I had to get my bearings. At Waterloo, I finally knew where to find the ATM, but now I had to hunt again. Once I had some money and got myself some lunch, I headed to Waterloo to get a train to Woking, where Geoff's parents live. I took my time. In fact, I had enough time to do something else if I wanted to, but really my arm was hurting, so I just went straight to the station. It was a little early to drop in on Geoff's parents, so I had a cup of coffee and read a while before calling. They live a short walk from the station.
It was so nice to see Alison and Ahmad again. Alison and I had time for tea before Nigel and Valerie arrived with Charlotte and their baby, Noah. Just a nice quiet tea time for us to chat.
Then the troops came. Noah is almost three months old (born March 28), so he's past the eat and sleep stage. He's quite awake! He loves smiling at people and having them talk to him. As the French like to think, he can say "ah-reux" (heureux) and make people happy. He's at the jerky movement stage, not quite grabbing things, but getting close. Charlotte is happy with her little brother. She's just a happy little girl. She has a whole stock of toys at the house and sets about settling in immediately on arrival. Geoff called to say that Claire was still at work and they would be late, so we started dinner without them and they showed up a little before 9:00. They ate; Nigel and Valérie left to put the kids to bed and we followed shortly afterwards to let Alison and Ahmed recover from the houseful.
Nigel and Valérie live a short walk away, but we had to park the car, so we went by car. We played a game of Balderdash before going to bed. Lunch on Saturday was a barbecue at Alison and Ahmad's, so Geoff and Nigel left in the car to put up the tent (we were expecting rain). This is a BIG tent that Nigel had bought for his catering business and this was the first time putting it up, so it meant making sure he knew the procedure and how long it would take. Valérie, Claire and I followed later, on foot, with the kids. It turned out to be a really nice day. The tent was useful to keep us out of the cool breeze, but there was enough space in the garden to sit in the sun, too. We celebrated Father's Day a day early since Geoff would not be spending Sunday with Charlotte or his father. Lunch lasted until tea time and we ordered pizza for a light supper.
Sunday, we (Claire, Geoff and I) headed off to the Cotswolds.
Julia found a cottage in Stanton, south of Broadway. It's a small, one-pub village. It's beautiful - perfect - like a movie set! And that Sunday was open-garden day. It's a charity event -- for £4, you can visit gardens (almost every house made its garden available) and even have tea. We all thought how much Ken would have liked being there and how clever Julia was to have found such a place and timed her arrival with this event. Imagine not having to go anywhere for your first touristy outing!
When we arrived, Julia and Max were at "home". Max was in his Spiderman costume! When Brian, Kelly (his sister) and Andy (their friend) came in from their walk, we all headed to the pub for lunch. And from the pub, we got our tickets for the garden tours and meandered our way back home. These are private gardens, but true to the cliché, the English love their gardens and they are all beautiful. The roses are just magnificent.
After tea, when Claire, Geoff, Julia and Brian decided when and where to meet the next week (yesterday, actually), we headed up to Northampton. I found it nice to be just with Claire and Geoff. We had a simple spaghetti dinner (Claire put a bit of bacon in her tomato sauce and that gave it an interesting taste!) and went to bed. Claire dropped me off at the station on her way to work and I got a train almost immediately. Again, I didn't feel like doing anything while waiting for my train back to Paris. I had enough time, but wasn't up to taking in an exhibit or go shopping or just walking around. So I got myself a few books at W.H. Smith and a sandwich and water at M&S and sat in a sunny spot (St. Pancras has a glass roof) and read until it was time to board. I was home in time for dinner.
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Sans vouloir trop me repeter, je suis allée en angleterre rendre visite à Claire et Geoff. Au fait, nous n'étions chez eux que quelques heures. Le week-end a commencé le vendredi soir chez les parents de Geoff à Woking. C'est là que nous avions rendez-vous avec Nigel et Valérie. J'ai eu la chance de bavarder un peu avec Alison avant l'invasion des autres. Ahmad se reposait. Une fois Nigel et Valérie arrivés avec les enfants, j'ai eu la chance de faire la connaissance de Noah, le bébé (né le 28 mars), lui donner le biberon et m'amuser avec lui. Charlotte a eu le temps de refaire connaissance avec moi. Elle est devenue très bavarde et elle est toujours aussi affectueuse et amusante. Claire et Geoff sont arrivés un peu tard car Claire a du travailler plus tard que prévu.
Nous avons passé le samedi tous ensemble dans le jardin où nous avons déjeuné sous la tente! Les roses de Alison sont en pleine beauté !
Dimanche, Claire, Geoff et moi sommes partis dans les Cotswolds pour voir Julia (cousine Pickar), Brian et Max (son mari et fils de 3 ans) et Kelly (la soeur de Brian) et leur ami, Andy. C'était le jour des jardins ouverts dans leur village - une magnifique sortie pour la journée ! Puis nous sommes partis chez Claire et Geoff à Northampton et Claire m'a déposée à la gare lundi matin en partant au travail. C'était un bon weekend, quoique fatiguant.
Depuis, je me régale de framboises ! Chaque matin je commence la journée en recoltant un bol de framboises à comsommer immédiatement !