MAY
We tried out our new plan for sharing our time between France and the UK. The cost of a return trip in the car for all of us, including the cat and dog, is now so enormous that we decide to travel individually. Nick flew back to the UK at the end of April for two weeks.
While he was away I found this lovely Gien jug at the Paulmy brocante.
Breakfast for one chez nous.
Being in sole charge of dog walking for a couple of weeks I was distraught when Hugo was bitten by another dog while we were on our favourite walk around the château.
The owner blamed me because Hugo was on the lead and his dog apparently only wanted to "play".
He nevertheless agreed to pay the vet's bill.
By the time Nick returned from the UK the weather was hotting up.
It was too hot to linger for long at the brocante at Ciran but long enough to pick up a couple of nice Veuve Clicquot glasses, a Camembert baking dish and a recipe book. All for less than 6€.
Our old outdoor chairs finally started to fall apart so they were "mothballed" into the barn.
Nick thinks he might repair them one day as they are only twenty five years old!
We treated ourselves to some new chairs for outdoor relaxing and dining.
The weather got hotter and hotter and the ground was beginning to look very parched.
We were pleased when our lime tree, trimmed rather late in the year, came into leaf.
One of the reasons for our regular trips back to the UK was to check on my dad.
He was 93 and had dementia so we decided to install CCTV in his flat to keep an eye on him.
Odd things had been happening and we needed to know what was going on.
While Nick was in the UK I took Daisy to the vet for a biopsy on the lump on her head. It turned out to be a sarcoma that would have to be removed.
A few days after Nick returned we checked the CCTV at bedtime to find Dad in distress and trying to call for help. My brother took him to A&E where they spent the night, triggering a chain of events that ended with his death.
The CCTV had revealed some surprising and upsetting things. His carers were doing a dismally bad job.
On the Bank Holiday we tried a new restaurant not far from home and it was very good. It's surprising how many places there are around where we still have not eaten, even after fifteen years.
We spotted our "resident" again, possibly enjoying a spot of lunch himself.
I made a coconut and lemon cake for an event at the Salle des Fêtes, handed it over and left in a hurry, dashing home to make plans for my early return to the UK. I flew back to the UK on 31st May.
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