Yesterday LSS went to visit the aged FIL in the hospital in Orleans. She took him some toiletries (and smuggled in some little chocolate cakes). She managed to speak to the nurse who is dealing with him, and it transpires that the aged FIL will not be back home any time soon. They are intending to send him to Paris for an operation; he’ll be there for eight to ten days, and then will be sent back to Orleans. From there he will go to a recuperation centre called The Pines, in a nearby town. He’s not overjoyed about all this. Apart from a stint in Algeria for his military service, he’s pretty much never left his farm. But he appears to have accepted the situation.
The clocks went back this morning. So when we got up at our usual time (around six thirty) it transpired that the time was actually five thirty. Oh well, too bad. We’re completely unlike our neighbours T&M in this respect. They are not early risers at all; in fact M can stay in bed until nearly lunchtime. They go to bed fairly late though; on the odd occasion when we’re invited for dinner, the party usually breaks up at around two in the morning. The older I get, the more irritating I find this clock-adjusting becomes. And it’s surprising just how many clocks one has to go around adjusting. Only the computers and servers adjust themselves.
The poor old neglected apple tree at the aged FIL did manage to produce some apples this year. Not that many though; I gathered a bucketful. Although I am partial to a bit of apple-and-blackberry crumble, LSS is a bit too busy these days to make puddings. So I may have to make one myself. That reminds me – we’d better buy some custard when we visit the UK at the end of the year. The “Crème Anglaise” you can get here just doesn’t taste right!
The garden is looking somewhat overgrown at the moment, as LSS doesn’t have the time to look after it (and I’m busy doing other things). Yesterday I picked the last watermelon, and I noticed we still have some raspberries and strawberries, although they are looking a bit sad. Not bad for the end of October!