The Common Cold

We have had a visitor at our house this weekend and it was most unwelcome.  First of all my 16 yr old left school early feeling unwell and lay about on the couch requesting hot lemon drinks and small helpings of food at regular intervals while I tried to keep a safe distance!  

Apparently once it is in your house and on your couch there is no safe distance and come the weekend I was starting to feel the symptoms, even though we both regularly take Echinacea, we were both still felled by this germ.  It never ceases to amaze me how unwell it can make you feel.  It went straight to my sinuses giving me a terrific headache.

I spent the entire day on Sunday on the couch, after a very feverish night's sleep, in my dressing down under the duvet feeling very sorry for myself.  I couldn't even be bothered to knit, that's how lethargic I felt.  So as son was on the road to recovery it was his turn to play nurse and pander to my every whim.

However it is now Monday morning and I am feeling a lot better, and will struggle into work like a good soldier.

La la la la - I'm not listening!!!

Is it just me?  I am sick and tired of depressing "economic crisis" news stories.  In fact I would go so far as to say they are not news stories, they are not telling us anything new, they are just beating us down and making us all feel more depressed and powerless.  

I have just quickly changed channels as the Business News section came on.  All it will tell me is how many more jobs have disappeared, how many more people have lost their homes, how many companies are going under ...........why?   I cannot do anything about it....apart from feel more insecure and less likely to spend my money or invest my money.  How does this benefit society?  

I think it is time for some propaganda.  Some good, positive information.  Let's all turn off when they are being negative on the TV.  Vote with your remote control.  Ratings are important to these people, let's show them we don't want to hear anymore bad news.  We get it.....the world is in recession.......the powers that be have no idea what to do about it.....let's move on.

OK I feel a little better now.........

Let's talk about the weather

It is early in the morning here, still dark outside, my cup of tea is made and I am now sitting in bed listening to what sounds like the end of the world outside.  Crazy winds.  I am sure it doesn't compare with what you all experienced over in Europe a few weeks ago but it sounds pretty intense!  We have had record plus temperatures in the last few days so the piles of snow, well mountains of snow, that filled up every spare space around the neighbourhood just a week ago have rapidly disappeared and we are left with the filthy grey depressing leftovers.  It was pouring with rain most of last evening and overnight so I expect there has been some flooding as well.

Of course none of this compares with the devastation and tragedy we have all witnessed on the news from Australia.  That doesn't bear thinking about and my heart goes out to all those affected by the dreadful fires.  Nature is a very powerful, awesome thing in all its shapes and forms.

I have to get dressed soon and head outside to walk the dog.  I loathe this transition in the weather every year.  Everywhere is muddy and grey, and everyone, especially the dog, treads it into the house.  The seasons in this part of Canada are not really to my taste, too cold to do much during the winter, a very nice but far too short spring and autumn, and too hot summers.

Well I think that is enough of that for today. Have a good one everyone, no matter the weather :)  

Photo Tag

Toni at Expatmum (my links give me problems when I am on my Mac and I cannot be bothered to log onto the PC - how lazy is that) tagged people to see what the fourth photo is in our fourth photo folder and this is mine.  It is the wonderful viaduct across the valley in Bellac which a market town in our area of France. (You can click on the photos to get a closer look). I took these photos in July 2007 when we were in the area house hunting. As you can see the weather was "changeable". We stayed near Bellac when we first discovered, and fell in love with, the Limousin area back in 2003 and it was towns like Bellac, Montmorillon and Confelens that had us smitten. Quiet, uncrowded and picturesque.

It is a beautiful spot and so I added another photo of Bellac showing the view back up from the river to the medieval church up on the hill.  We were sitting by the river next to the 12th century bridge at a lovely little restaurant.  Great food and a nice spot to while away a few hours in Bellac. 

And another one (can't have too many as far as I am concerned) this one of Montmorillon. The structure up on the hill (to the left of the church) is a Laterne de Mort - which translates as a death lantern, not sure the origin of these. Look at the dramatic sky, it gives you an idea of the kind of week it was, rain was always just around the corner.  Notice how high the river is, they had  been having non stop rain for weeks prior to our trip.  In fact the day we saw "our house" it was tipping down with rain, and we still loved it.  We thought that was a very good sign!

So anyone dropping in today, feel free to join in and if you do, leave me a message so I can come over and check it out.

A bientot.