Stormy

The past couple of days have seen a tremendous amount of rain fall again here in the Ariège. But it has been cold with it - just 4 degrees up at the Col de Port (1200m) this morning. The potager always benefits from a good soaking, but we need a good spell of warm weather to follow on. Fortunately, that is just what is forecast for the weekend :-)

A trip down to Foix this morning to see the ear specialist at the hospital for more involved tests to try and establish what is going on with my inner ear workings. I have been on reduced meds for the past 2 days and off them completely today. Tanganil has given me strong feelings of light-headedness and imbalance which have not been altogether pleasant (but better than the full-on vertigo) and have meant that I have been unable to drive. I was therefore hoping for positive news today. After a battery of tests, the good news is that my actual hearing is unaffected and that the symptoms of the vertigo are much reduced. However, tests also proved that the vestibular system of my left ear has simply ceased to work. No specific reason. No explanation. It is simply not functioning. Time may well sort out the problem. I have a prescription for some drugs that I need to take twice a day for the next 6 months, yes, 6 months, which will supposedly help the remedial process. But it is quite possible that the vertigo will return in the meantime. I will be living on the basis that it will not be returning. I expect to be able to drive within the week and will get out running as soon as the effects of the Tanganil are out of my system. Unfortunately, I won't be able to take part in the trail race on Sunday that I was supposed to be doing with Pat, but hey, there will be others.

Just a final word ..... in my experience to date, the French health care system deserves its reputation as one of the best in the world. It is efficient and thorough in every respect and, provided you are 'in the system', it does not cost an arm and a leg. I am lucky in that I found an excellent accountant who is an expert in both UK and French accountancy and who has enabled us to get set up in the most cost-efficient manner, meaning healthcare costs are taken care of and we have peace of mind should one of us require medical treatment.

Bumper strawberry crop this year

... or at least that is that is what I am expecting if the slugs don't get there first!There is a tremendous amount of blossom on the plants which appear to be thriving in the current conditions. I can't wait for the first fruit!

Some piccies

This blog has been a bit dry on the photo front recently, so this post is a gratuitious photo post, just for the hell of it.

The climbing rose 'Ena Harkness' at the front of the house is now in flower and with simply tons of buds waiting to bloom;
...the pretty stichwort alongside the pig poke wall;... the Charlotte potatoes in a tub poking through;... and last nights rather colourful and totally delicious dinner of a gésiers de canard (duck gizzard) salad which included home grown rocket and baby spinach, crusty croutons and a garlic, anchovy and olive dressing - yum;

Yes!

Great news! The parsnips have germinated! Little green shoots are poking their heads out in two nice ordered lines! I have read so much about how difficult they are to grow, I was not optimistic about the chances of success. I sowed the seeds on the 13 April, so it's taken 3 weeks for germination to occur. Let's just hope the voles/mice don't take a fancy to them and snaffle my hard earned 'snips before they reach maturity.

The coriander is also now coming through along with the Charlotte potatoes that I planted out in the potager - the ones in tubs on the terrasse have been up for a few days already. The beans are also now well and truely up and the tomato plants that I planted out on Wednesday are really taking off. The combination of wet weather (VERY wet on Thursday with literally a river coming down the hill and past our front door which ended up flooding Claudine's, next door!) and warmth (24 degrees in the shade today), seems to be to the potager's liking.

Pottering today has been interesting. The nystagmus flickering eye movement and dizziness seem to be stabilising and the nausea consequently subsiding. If I am standing up or sitting down, provided I don't move my head, everything is stable and normal which is a BIG welcome relief. But if I walk or move my head, my balance is not yet there and I am decidedly wobbly, particularly if I attempt to turn round in a narrow space such as between the rows in the potager. But things are improving and the drugs are slowly working on my inner ear's vestibular responses so I am optimistic that full service will be resumed in the course of next week :-)

Le spécialiste

Spoke to the doctor yesterday and was given orders to head down to Foix hospital this morning. The drugs should have stopped the vertigo. It wasn't 'normale' that I was feeling no different. I needed to see a 'spécialiste'. So, hospital it was. Bank Holiday here today, so chances of there being a specialist available were small. But I was in luck. They were able to get one in to see me. What a nice man :-) After various tests and examination of my eye movement and balance he confirmed that the vestibular system of my inner left ear was indeed malfunctioning fairly severely. Some IV drugs and some saline followed and eventually, 3 hours later, we left, with instructions to make an appointment with the specialist next week for a more thorough going over. More drugs to take in the meantime and hopefully over the next 24/48 hrs the movement should start to stabilise. I can't wait.

Le vertige

Vertigo. It's not funny. Since Sunday I have been experiencing increasingly frequent, increasingly prolonged and increasingly severe 'crises' which culminated yesterday in a bout of vomiting and a visit to the doctor. Probably an inner ear balance mechanism problem, he reckons. An injection was given to relieve the vertigo. Home for a lie down with a brief nausea relief stop on the way. Horizontal and with eyes shut brings relief. The drugs don't work. More of the same in tablet form later and fingers crossed. This morning, no improvement. More of the drugs. Walking is 'interesting' and nye on impossible without support. So the morning is spent horizontal with eyes shut. I would like the world to stop spinning please. Another call to the docs this afternoon is in order. This is really really not very nice :-(

Potager update

We had a fine, warm day yesterday, which is just what the potager needs. More is forecast for later in the week, although today is cold, grey and damp. But the veggies are coming along well and we had our first handful of rocket and baby spinach leaves in a salad yesterday which was lovely. The pea sticks are now in, as the plants are shooting up. The second sowing of both beetroot and rocket are now coming through, the second batch of garlic is sprouting nicely, the French beans are just starting to show and the mixed salad leaves and lambs lettuce are also showing signs of life. The various sowings of carrot need a decent spell of good weather to take off and despite being under a cloche, the capsicum and chilli seedlings seem a bit hesitant. Sun is what we need now and lots of it!