April Passing

Posted on 19 April, 2010 by Val

Well, many mañanas have come and gone since I last wrote, and I feel more than two weeks tireder and older than I did two weeks ago – if you know what I mean. The dreaded son-house-moving deadline savaged me like an unhappy bear, and the horror of it all passed in a rushing slow-motion wave of disorganisation and aching limbs. But, as with all unpleasant things, the only thing to do was to Just Do It until it was Done, and the usual niceties of human life, such as sleeping and eating, simply had to wait. Continue reading →

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The Immovable Move

Posted on 4 April, 2010 by Val

It’s that time of year again. April. The time of year when I move house. Two years ago we moved from Derby to Roquetaillade. Last year we moved from Roquetaillade to Saint-Sornin, and I moved my son from our sold Derby house to his rented first-home-of-his-own. And now I am back in Derby to move him to another house, in which he will hopefully be happier than he has been for the last twelve months in the one he is about to joyfully leave.

I have temporarily exchanged the stresses of Turbulent Beasts and Wounded Husbands for the stresses of Packing and Heaving Far Too Much Stuff to Various Locations, yet to be determined. And I am once again suffering the Oppression of the Deadline. Continue reading →

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Who will rid me of this turbulent beast?

Posted on 29 March, 2010 by Val

You may have noticed that Simon’s last post was entitled ‘Back to Normal?” The question mark is significant. Certainly, the cat situation feels more normal now that Mother Cat has returned from her wanderings. Six cats is still a good house-full, when they are all in at once, and they do a good furry, purry job of banishing the sense of emptiness left by the loss of Stripe and Tom. But, five days after the landing of Turbulent Lenny, the llama situation remains very far from ‘normal’ indeed. Continue reading →

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Back to normal?

Posted on 29 March, 2010 by Simon

I’ve seen more of the French health system than I wanted during the last week, but I’ve come away from it feeling well cared for and supported, and acutely away of my limitations.

The hospital in Moulins, our nearest town of any size, was able to marshal nurses, doctors and a surgeon to inspect, test and comment on my injuries. The doctor and surgeon, both of whom seemed incredibly young (I suppose this merely proves my impending pensioner status), decided that it would not be sensible to re-open wounds, so the stitches put in the night before will remain for two weeks (why do the French say 8 jours for a week and 15 jours for a fortnight?).

This is encouraging because it means that they are happy that there is no neurological or vascular damage that needed to be repaired. It’s less encouraging that a rough and ready stitching job becomes the final repair. I went to the local GP for a check on progress this morning, and his comment was “It’s not pretty, is it?”
Continue reading →

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Llamas don’t bite people . . . . . normally

Posted on 27 March, 2010 by Simon

Getting bitten by Lenny was really undramatic. He was so approachable when I first met him, gently breathing into my face and exchanging smells, that I was misled into thinking all would go smoothly. As we moved down the hillside towards the horse-box, he seemed moderately cooperative and a little bouncing around caused me no concern.

When he reached round my leg, I thought he had nibbled at my jeans. I glanced down, and was surprised to see that the denim was torn. “Damn!” I thought, “those were decent jeans.” Dominique, the Belgian caretaker who had been looking after Lenny for his English owners, asked me if there was any blood. “I don’t think so,” I said, but I touched the area with my fingers anyway. And they came away dripping red. Time to look more carefully!
Continue reading →

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The Lenny Cometh

Posted on 23 March, 2010 by Val

Okay. So maybe I’m not overly keen on the prospect of Mad Lenny arriving here any time soon. But I sure as hell do want Simon to arrive here safely, asap. I thought I’d better just get that out there in the ether, just on the off-chance that my secret (or actually not-so-secret) thoughts are busy creating my future at this very moment, as I sit and wonder, and wish. I just want The Universe to be absolutely clear that it is my heartfelt wish that Simon should get back here safely, tonight. So that no wishing-away of difficult animals makes any weird stuff happen, that would make the animal-related wish come true with Additional Unforseen Consequences. I have had plenty of experience of that sort of weirdness in the past (The Birthday Wish) and as a result I generally try to be really, really careful about what I wish for these days. Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Llamas | 3 Comments