The drive home

It’s always nice to be home but particularly so with such good weather.  As ever our journey back was long, driving to the north of Italy was frantic. There may be fewer lorries on the autostrada on Sundays but the traffic was still heavy and the service areas incredibly crowded. We stopped for our picnic lunch in 37.5 degrees.

Our usual Aosta hotel was not available, they were taking a holiday themselves, so we searched for an alternative.  I was very taken with a pretty little locanda run by three sisters but MrFF was not taken by the fact the restaurant was vegan.  It turned out to be a delight, the food was delicious, breakfast was the best I’ve had in years and I am a connoisseur of the continental brekkie.  Who wouldn’t be happy waking to this view then eating fresh fruit, many types of bread, fluffy pancakes, banana bread, brownies, apple cake, the best croissants ever, yoghurt, good coffee.

On our drive to our French 2 night stopover we found time to visit the Charles de Gaulle Memorial, situated outside a little village in a quiet and calm wooded area, we were impressed.

We also called en route to quickly look at Lac du Der which isn’t far from our accommodation. It was so nice we went back on our non travel day and took a walk.  It’s a lovely facility with holiday cabins in the woods, camping, boats, restaurants, cycle paths and everyone quietly enjoying the peace.

Back to our apartment for a swim, out for dinner, we left by 8 next morning.  We arrived in good time at the port but received a thorough check at border control, that involved completely unpacking our car and opening our suitcases so we were almost last onto the ferry. We had to park among the giant lorries and wait for everyone else to disembark but it was another epic journey safely completed.

Yesterday MrFF walked down to our beautiful Lido, had a picnic lunch, swam and sat in the sun, he said it was the mostly relaxing day he’d had in weeks and I can well believe that.

Final flora and fauna post

I won’t overwhelm you with nature posts, this will be the last one from Italy as we leave tomorrow.

I took a walk to the bottom of our road late afternoon and spotted this, why had I not seen it before its easily visible from our terrace.  The giant flower spike of an agave, almost as tall as the telegraph pole.  I am really hoping it will still be there and in bloom when we return and that Pietro whose house it is opposite won’t have had it cut down.  The flowering process takes a few months, after which the stem topples over and pups, new young plants, are produced.  The mother plant which could be 100 years old dies, even if the flower stem is removed now it will not survive. 

Now for some nature

So far this year we haven’t been invaded by porcupine, badgers or wild boar digging up the garden. That may change during the drought of high summer when they search for water and easy digging for grubs and worms.

We’ve noticed during our first year without any cats at all that we have many more little lizards about and they all have their tails intact.  However last week I saw a fairly large snake in the front garden, later MrFF spotted two of them and next day they were both intertwined on the path outside the kitchen door.  I don’t know if they were fighting or mating, it wasn’t very romantic, but we haven't seen them since. I checked because we do have poisonous snakes about, a neighbours dog was bitten and died many years ago, but these seem to be harmless whip snakes. We have been told that having cats around keeps snakes away, let’s hope there isn’t a large family here when we come back in September.

Below is the nest of a solitary black bee, it’s on the terrace outside the lounge door at the junction of the floor tiles and the skirting.  The olives are in flower now so we welcome the pollinators and don’t use any chemicals in the garden for that reason.  The nest is staying.

T

Then MrsB decided to build an extension. I consulted a biologist friend who tells me these are egg chambers and when I checked the first one has been sealed so the first eggs are laid. Now she is on her third property, we could end up with a whole terrace of these little chimneys.

For years we’ve had a few bats swooping over our balcony as it gets dark I love to see them.  On Saturday I was delighted to spot one hanging at front of the house, tucked in between the gutter and the fascia board.  Then I found another near the front door and I am sure I saw several little ones that quickly disappeared under the roof tiles.  This is great news.  We have no loft space or attic, the roof is directly above the bedrooms which makes them very hot in summer.  The bats can only get under the tiles, they do no harm and a lot of good.  I checked at dusk and they had moved, they were back next morning.  And the best news of all is that as in the UK bats in Italy are a protected species, it is illegal to disturb their roost which they return to each year.  So I assume the Comune will not be allowed to demolish our house if we don’t get the planning violation sorted. Maybe I need to let them know it’s a protected property, I might also declare our garden a nature reserve, see how they like that.

Days of dusty feet

We will start our drive back to Yorkshire in a weeks time.  Meanwhile the heat has arrived in Lazio, it’s 27 degrees today fortunately with a slight breeze.  No definite mosquito sightings yet, MrFF thought he was bitten once but I am hoping they will stay away till we go.

We have made much progress inside and out including cutting both sides of our large laurel hedge, that is at least 4 days of hard work.  Of course everything will run riot over the summer and we’ll do all the same jobs again in September.

I am rising early, opening the doors before the sun comes up to get some cool into the house, watering the pots and sweeping the terraces. A camisole, shorts and lashings of SPF50 are my dress of choice.  I am sticky, dusty and generally dishevelled until an outside shower amongst the wisteria and a change into more respectable clothes for our al fresco dinner.   I love these sweltering days when it gets too hot for serious work, we are alone on the mountainside with just the birds for company and the occasional hang glider drifting overhead. Summer has arrived.

Upcycling

 

Most of the furniture that we inherited when we bought the house, ie what was easier to leave for us than dispose of, was old, brown and poor quality.  I am not complaining, it meant we were set up more or less to move in without sourcing everything new and over the years we’ve upgraded and donated many pieces.  

I’ve never liked this dresser in the dining room, although it’s useful storage and shelf space I’d happily chop it up for the wood burner.  Last week I finally painted it with a blue grey chalk paint.  It wasn’t the mammoth task I expected given I am a very slapdash painter who used the excuse I might run out of paint to cover only the visible surfaces.  Two coats of paint and one of finishing wax, don’t look too closely there are drips, but I am delighted with the result.  The paint cost less than 20 euros, I had good advice from a friend back home well experienced in this process and I am so bloomin happy.  As my mentor said ugly to lovely.

Planning, what planning

Jean asked recently how our planning violation was progressing, though progressing  is optimistic. Here’s where we are two years after receiving notification that there is a violation, not saying what the violation is but that we owe more than 3,000 euros in overdue fees and interest for the last 40 years, we’ve owned the house for 20.

It seems that in 1976 a developer was granted a licence to build a semi detached property on what is now our and our neighbours’ plots.  However 2 large separate villas were built and the plot divided into 2, ours is the larger.   A few years later the first owner of our house added a large room with terrace over and in 1985 during a planning amnesty applied for permission for this.  He actually told a few fibs on his application, got so far with the process then stopped and later sold the house to our vendor.  When we bought we were told there were outstanding matters that would be resolved before we bought and we were told they had been before we signed the contract. We were lied to.

Our Comune have been useless mainly swerving our many questions by saying they have passed the matter to another government agency.  This agency has neither responded to nor even acknowledged our many emails which is galling as the interest continues to mount, I guess it’s an easy way for them to make money.  

We have tried to get the local geometra (surveyor) to act for us. He knows the house and our comune well and has been involved in the last 2 sales. He has done nothing except procrastinate, firstly stalling on giving us a price for his work then after a meeting where we said he should proceed anyway saying he cannot get a meeting at the regional office to look at our file.  MrFF checked on line and appointments were available the next day, that was a year ago. 

Towards the end of last year we appointed a firm of Italian solicitors with offices in Rome and Puglia, English speaking staff and property experience, not cheap as you can imagine.  Firstly for 1,220 euros they contacted our village surveyor for a report on the current problems and a plan of action.  For that price they would also write to the geometra we employed when we bought the house who was supposed to check everything was legal and also our vendor who signed the contract stating that it was, they are both in default.  However the solicitor advised us that the local geometra’s report, which he produced surprisingly quickly, was not adequate and we should employ a trusted geometra that they knew for a more comprehensive report, this would cost 2,420 euros.  

So we went ahead with a second report, this geometra looked at the property, possibly visited our Comune and produced a report that didn’t tell us anything more than we already know except to give an estimate of the work to regularise our situation of approximately 30,000 euros plus 22% tax and local authority submission fees not quantified.  This was shocking, a huge amount of money to invest in a property that has now lost much of its appeal. 

We wrote back to the solicitor because geometra 2 had not addressed some points that were listed in our contract with him and had failed to identify other important facts that Mr FF subsequently brought to light. For that reason we only paid half his fee. The default radio silence ensured and we have not had any response for several weeks.

Meantime MrFF did a lot of research himself spending hours online searching and translating.  We were still not convinced our property has any sort of planning approval at all.  However the authorities have up to date plans and we pay Comune charges and taxes on what exists, they have always been aware of what was actually built and taken no action for over 40 years.

Apart from providing plans for the original approved property and for the current house, we need to submit structural, hydrogeological and landscape reports. We also have to apply to have the rural grazing rights removed from our land.  I don’t mind that animals can enter our orchard, we have had horses, cows and sheep in the past, they cannot get into the ornamental areas, do no harm and I enjoy seeing them.   It’s a requirement of the Comune that this is removed, if they are so keen why don’t they do it themselves, oh yes because they can get us to do all the work and pay the submissions fees.

MrFF managed to find Alberto the (so far) nice geologist who was here a couple of weeks ago. His report including penetration and seismic tests is almost done and he will submit this on our behalf.  He also recommended a geometra he works with who we have now appointed to prepare and submit two further reports. 

This seems slightly more positive though we have no idea if we will receive approval. We are both 77 this year, we don’t know how much longer we will want or be able to keep maintaining such a large house and garden, we cannot sell it without putting things in order though we probably cannot sell it anyway in a village that has so many empty houses. 

We definitely feel we have been singled out because we are not Italian.  MrFF spoke to several local people, most of whom have had similar if more minor problems, many not that clear exactly what their problems were. No one else was passed to the agency that never responds and locals have been able to negotiate with the Comune to get sorted, I am not saying deals were done but I am thinking that. It’s a horrible mess not of our making..   Of course the Comune have the right to demolish our property and charge us for doing so if things don’t get regularised but given the speed they work at we won’t be around to see that.  We might just change our wills to pass this headache to someone who really deserves it.

Our daily bread

There was I worrying about getting a set that would keep my marmalade on my toast.  As ever I was foiled by Italy, above is a slice our latest loaf.  MrFF was so cross I had to bake a couple of whole (as opposed to hole) meal loaves to calm him.   I may be available to run a series of masterclasses in Lazio. 

The earth moves

Last Wednesday we had a very nice young geologist Alberto at the house to carry out testing which will enable him to prepare the hydrogeological report that is required as part of our planning violation.  Our whole area is seismic, there must be plenty of available information about this but of course our Comune requires a special report for each property.   Alberto said that in the years since our house was built there had been 4 notable earthquakes, apart from a little shaking of pots in the kitchen they did not affect us at all. The house has stood steady for almost 50 years.

He arrived with a wonderful little machine that gave MrFF boys’ toys envy.  This hammered a steel rod into the ground and he took various readings about the strata.  Afterwards he took a coffee and a couple UK ginger biscuits on the terrace.  Mr FF had selected Alberto because he likes walking, cycling and cats, so far he has been very helpful.   We chatted about the Giro due to start on Saturday and our favourite cyclists, his the late great Marco Pantani. I sent him off with a jar of marmalade.

Next morning I read on our local news that there had been a minor overnight earthquake down in the valley, the epicentre about 20 miles from our house. It was felt in locations we frequent where it woke people in the night.  Seems to me this is more than a coincidence.

A light magnitude 2.9 earthquake hit 27 km (17 mi) away from Rome, Lazio,  Italy, in the early morning of Thursday, May 8, 2025 at 3.42 am local time (GMT +2). The quake had a very shallow depth of 10.4 km (6 mi) and was felt by many near the epicenter.

Meanwhile in the kitchen

Shortly after we arrived I was given a large bucket of bitter oranges to make marmalade.  I had been promised these before we left so I came prepared with 12 matching jars and 12 printed labels.  I did think about bringing my trusted jam pan but that seemed a step too far particularly as last year I bought locally an inferior pan for the job.

The Italian oranges, like most things here, are a challenge and getting a set is tricky.  I used the oranges in three batches over 3 days, the first lot required a second boiling, the second batch worked perfectly, by the third I was quite nonchalant using much more fruit than the recipe required.  In total I produced 27 jars, or the equivalent because I ran out of glass jars and resorted to a plastic fridge storage box until a jar becomes available.  So I have plenty to give to my donor and to friends here and back in the UK.  I have already given one to the nice geologist who was here this morning carrying out a hydrological survey as part of our planning violation. 

Yesterday at the end of the process I had a major clean up in my sticky kitchen whilst pondering where I am going to keep all these jars.  And yes the marmalade tastes delicious, fresh and fruity with a set sufficient to keep it on the toast.

Weather lovely, garden not so much

We arrived safely early Monday evening after our long drive to find the supermarket just off the autostrada where we usually stock up with essentials is permanently closed.  That’s a pity as it was convenient but we found another slightly off route and got enough provisions for a couple of days.

It was a delight to pull into our parking area and see my lemon tree, that turned out to be also grafted with an orange, is full of fruit.  The wisteria is in flower and the grass thigh high.  Next morning we were up early, started work before breakfast, it continues to be a mammoth task.  The house as ever is dusty and full of dead insects, plus ones that somehow got inside for winter and are now coming back to life, I am showing them the way out.

We were out for a delicious lunch yesterday at our Danish friends’ house, they have been back a while and got everything in order which was inspirational, so nice to relax, chat and enjoy the sun.  On our way out we called at Mario’s and there was our cat Vincenzo who Mario took down to his house last November.  Our ginger boy was pleased to see us and looked well.  We have said that it’s not fair to bring Vincenzo back here for a couple of months then move him again, the cat should decide, if he wants to be with us he’ll find his own way here.  We’ve said this several times including again yesterday but when we left his house Mario repeated that he was bringing Vincenzo back.   It’s a public holiday today, Labour Day, but not for us as there’s plenty more to do but I am hoping for some relaxing time too.  It’s all going to be so lovely once we get the work done, hopefully well before we leave again.

In France

Today is our calm day, we are in the champagne region of France, it’s a sunny morning and we have nothing planned until we go out for dinner this evening.  Our journey so far has been eventful.  

My dentist managed to bring my final appointment forward by an hour on Thursday, immediately before our drive to Dover.  After the examination and x ray Martin pronounced the implant perfect, smiles all round. So off we went, we hadn’t travelled 10 miles before we came upon roadworks and a queue of traffic.  MrFF turned round to use the alternative route, discovered there was no alternative route and rejoined the queue further back with much huffing and puffing.  On the motorway we were stuck behind a wide load that looked like a bungalow being relocated.  It was accompanied by an escort vehicle that prevented overtaking so we all drove at reduced speed in convoy. Every 50 miles or so the escort allowed a few cars to overtake.  I found it all very civilised but more impatient drivers tried pulling off on slip roads to rejoin further down the route and hopefully in front of the obstacle, generally this didn’t work.

Things were quite tense as MrFF had set his heart on getting the 4 pm ferry. You are allowed to take one earlier or later than you have booked.  We were booked on the 6 pm which with the hour difference would have been a late arrival at our B&B.  We reached check in about 20 minutes before sailing, an extremely pleasant young man said we could take the earlier ferry or one a few minutes later to Dunkerque rather than Calais, fantastic.  The crossing was smooth and quiet, after dashing to the toilet as we hadn’t stopped at all, we settled down with our picnic food and a plate of chips from the cafe, that was our lunch and dinner.

We had booked a very lovely B&B less than half an hour from Calais, it had great reviews about the charming hosts and their adorable cats, quirky decor, a beautiful garden and great breakfast, such a treat.  We emailed from the ferry to let them know our arrival time and received a response telling us where to park, a door code for access and the name of our room, which all seemed a bit impersonal.  We easily found the place, had an argument about where exactly we should park, either was correct. The property was in a narrow village street with cars parked opposite the entrance, it wasn’t easy and somehow MrFF reversed into the wall at the entrance putting a small dint in his beloved car, which apparently was my fault.  Enough said.

We got into the property and found our room which was very nice with a terrace onto a little garden area with table and chairs. 

We took a look round the place, it was lovely but completely deserted, we found a great kitchen area with instructions about breakfast, help yourself, put your crockery etc in the dishwasher, clean your table.  Back in our room I wondered where our convivial hosts were not to mention the cats,  I said to MrFF maybe they live next door and the guests are in this modern part.  I did wonder if the other guests were in there having a jolly time while we sat on our bed.  I did some research, on the website none of the 4 rooms looked like ours, I showed MrFF the lovely garden which he said definitely wasn’t here.  He also confirmed the email with code etc was from a woman, where I expected to stay was run by two men.  When we’d booked this accommodation MrFF had shown me a photo of the modern building and said would you like to stay here, it’s very convenient etc and I agreed. I said give me the name of the property and I’ll take a look, but I’d looked at a different place in a completely different location.  We were in a modern house that accommodated 15 people, the reviews were varied, and we had no idea if we were alone or there were other guests.

Before we went to bed MrFF went to check the car and see if it was possible to close the gate to the parking area, it wasn’t. He said he thought there might be other people in the building as he’d heard sound of movement.  We settled in to find the lights in the corridor which had a motion sensor kept coming on, in fact they were on and off all night illuminating our room as the door wasn’t a great fit, a bit like sleeping in a lighthouse.  

Next morning we went off to the kitchen for breakfast where we met a very nice Belgian man who was staying with his wife and like us had wondered if they were alone.  He hadn’t received the key code and had to conect the owners, he was as surprised as us at the do it yourself experience.  We worked out where everything was, how to use the coffee machine, made toast and had an adequate breakfast sadly without fresh bakery products, I tidied the kitchen, vacuumed up our crumbs, and we left.

It’s not an experience I would repeat, the property was beautiful, well equipped and comfortable, rather like an upmarket youth hostel without the comeraderie. It worked fine for us but if the property had been fully occupied by strangers it wouldn’t.

Next day our drive to the champagne region was easy, we enjoyed lunch at a boulangerie we often use, stopped at a supermarket for French treats to take to Italy and were into our apartment by 5, time for a swim and sauna.   I am hoping for no more surprises when we restart our travels tomorrow.

Our happy place

Although we start the long drive to Italy next week currently we are having such a good time in Ilkley it’s going to be hard to leave.

We’ve enjoyed beautiful spring weather, our little town and the countryside are looking beautiful. We are so grateful to live in this part of the world especially given the madness that’s happening elsewhere.  We are both out most days for walks, MrFF usually with one of his groups, this week he latched onto a party who were Friends of the Dales buses, supporting this valuable service that takes us deep into the Dales.  I have used the service too, it’s such a sociable experience and the drivers are helpful and pleasant.  Except once when the driver said he’d never driven the route before, he’d been called in as an emergency driver, and asked MrFF for directions which he happily provided.

I am a creature of habit, my solo walks generally take the same route so that I can check on my favourite gardens and monitor building projects.  I call it my Bertie walk named after the alpaca who lives across the valley above our town.   I don’t see him every time, it’s such a bonus when I do.

Yesterday afternoon MrFF and I walked together with the intention of seeing the bluebells in a nearby wood.   We ended up walking 6.5 miles, across fields and down to the river where we sat beside the old bridge watching the ducks for a while.  

We agreed we are so fortunate to be able to step out of our door into such amazing countryside, onto the moor, along the river or through pastures.  I am so happy we came back to Yorkshire.  And we never tire of taking photographs. 

Friends of the Dales Buses walk

Malham Cove, the cows are belted Galloway

Insitu

This afternoon I finally got my implant crown fitted. 5 months 1 week since my front crown broke, £4,000 lighter, I am fixed.  I was feeling a bit edgy about today’s appointment, mainly fearing the new tooth wouldn’t fit or look right.

It was quite a painful process, my dentist said there would be some pressure and stretching of the soft tissue.  After the second ouch he administered anaesthetic and announced he'd need to trim my gum.  Now several hours later I feel a little sore but am already enjoying not having to wear my temporary denture or feel the gap uncomfortable at the front of my mouth.  I have to eat carefully tonight and by tomorrow I am ok to bite on the tooth, I think I’ll stick to banana a bit longer and not be tackling a crisp apple for a while.

I need to go back to the dentist in a couple of weeks for a check after which we can leave for Italy.  However the weather here is so lovely we are in no hurry to depart, just look at the snaps MrFF took on his walk in The Dales last week, Yorkshire what’s not love. 

Testing times

I am convinced that when I was at the doctor last week he looked again at my test results and said that while my folic acid level was acceptable it was in the low percentage of acceptable.  He asked if I’d agree to a course of folic acid and vitamin D, which I did. So I was surprised when I collected the prescription to receive a course of oral suspension antibiotic for fungal infection.  I was even more surprised at the disgusting taste of the medication, which 4 times a day I have to swill around my mouth before swallowing.  It’s shockingly sweet with a chemically fake almond flavour, yuk.  I have almost finished the course and it’s made no difference at all.

Meantime on Tuesday evening I received a call from the surgery asking me to provide another urine sample and make a face to face appointment in 4 weeks time with the first doctor I saw.   I explained that I would probably be away and asked if the results could be delivered by phone.  Apparently not which was worrying, they said they’d get back to me. 

Next morning I delivered said sample in a small jar inside a not transparent plastic bag.  The receptionist seemed a bit surprised to the point she seemed to move away when I presented the sample. She went off to prepare the necessary paperwork and returned with a little tube like I was given the first time. She said if you can get that back to us as soon as possible and seemed impressed when I offered to go to the toilet and decant the contents of my jar into the tube, simple, job done immediately. 

I asked why they needed another sample, apparently the first one didn’t reach the lab, aka it got lost. It definitely reached the box of samples at reception because I saw it go in.  I have no idea why the missing urine test wasn’t spotted at my last appointment and how it came to light a few weeks later.  I also asked about my next appointment, which I can have in 2 weeks time and can be by phone if necessary.  

It’s all been a bit shambolic and that early evening phone call could have been handled better, particularly as we had friends staying so I was busy preparing dinner whilst stressing about the need for another test.  It’s 6 weeks since I raised my concerns about my sore tongue.  I’ve had 2 blood tests, stool sample test, chest x ray, a lost urine test and another urine test plus a course of antibiotics, nothing has changed my tongue is still sore and cracked.  I am wondering if things will improve once I get my implant tooth, the dental treatment is finished and we can think about going to Italy. 

On a happier note we enjoyed time with our friends, were able to show them the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and of course our lovely town looking extremely springlike.

Counting down

My dentist has now taken impressions and my implant tooth is being made.  I am back in under 3 weeks, if it fits ok and everyone is happy that will be the end of this almost 5 month process and we can think of returning to Italy.  Reading today however that the French government is about to issue survival instructions to its citizens to prepare them for invasion makes me wonder if travelling into the EU is the best idea but things are changing so quickly it’s hard to predict

My doctor has prescribed a week of medication for my tongue.  I really cannot wait for all this oral annoyance to be finished. 

We have friends coming to stay for a few days next week.  I am hoping that at times a gappy smile will be acceptable as I cannot contemplate wearing my denture all day long,  maybe if I promise not to laugh.

Still knitting from stock, a very snuggly scarf in Debbie Bliss Angel 75% super kid mohair, 24% silk.  I used double yarn, dark blue with a little sparkle and pale grey together, I used 50g of each for 1.5 m long x 0.3 m wide. 

And on the go another pair of oddments socks for MrFF, I definitely have enough yarn for the legs and heels to match, what’s inside his shoes may not.

Today is the spring equinox, equal hours of sunlight and darkness before the daylight hours start to lengthen.  It’s 14 degrees outside with a hazy sun so I shall soon go out for my walk.  I am trying to feel spring likes, new growth, new beginnings, the start of spring, and hoping that getting my tooth fixed will be just the regeneration I need.

We started off so well

I was able to check online that my second set of tests were satisfactory and expected to be called back to the surgery for the official results and further discussion.  The radiography department advised me to contact my doctor if I hadn’t heard within 7 days.  I waited a bit longer than that before I sent a message on the pro forma we now use to contact the health centre.  I received the response my test results were ok and no further action would be taken.  Of course I wasn’t able to respond so back to the pro forma, same details, same questions like what did I expect from the doctor, was I affected mentally.  I did mention it was annoying to keep doing this and not being able to continue a conversation.  I also pointed out that my dentist had referred me to the doctor because of my tongue which no one had bothered to examine. They asked for a photograph of my tongue and provided a link for a one time reply, now I have an appointment in 2.5 weeks time.  

I am grateful for all the testing I’ve had which was all quick and efficient, at the hospital in Skipton I was in and out 10 minutes before my official appointment time and parking was free.  But I do wonder why I’ve had so many tests, pleasing as it is to know they were all ok, or why the issues I raised haven’t been addressed, no examination of my tongue or weight check.  I am back at the dentist before I am back at the doctor so will have another discussion with him and decide whether to cancel my appointment.

Meantime I’ve been knitting up sock yarn oddments.  I weighed the yarn and thought I had enough to make a reasonably matched pair.  Wrong. As MrFf said they will be inside my shoe, no one will know except me.  Same with my sore tongue, i could just keep my mouth shut. 

Health ok, eyesight not so good

I have not been called back to the surgery yet but it’s possible to check ones health records and tests results online. Obviously I did that after a couple of days and happily all the results were normal or satisfactory, no further action required.  That’s a big relief, as MrFF cheerily pointed out I’d be disappointed if I had weeks to live having paid thousands of pounds to get my tooth fixed.    Remember Yorkshire values are very different to those of the rest of the world.

Of course we are no wiser as to why my tongue is sore and cracked which was the reason for my original consultation and tests.  Maybe once I have my implant things will improve, meantime I keep brushing and scraping, smug in the knowledge that I’ve passed by MOT for now.

I started knitting with the Trek sock yarn but found it impossible to do so in the evening, basically I cannot see what I am doing.  We do have a reading light beside the settee but MrFF isn’t happy to have it on in evening while we watch tv which is when I do most of my knitting.   So I’ve cast aside the Trek until we have lighter nights and knitted a pair of pink West Yorkshire Spinners socks in the same pattern, they took no time at all and were pretty much self illuminating.

Then I found a spool of 4 ply 50% wool 50% silk in the charity shop, approx 100 g for £1.99 enough for yet another necker.  The yarn is beautiful, on the spool it has a lovely sheen that doesn’t seem to transfer to the knitting but feels very soft and cosy.  I love the colour.

What’s wrong with me

At my last dental appointment I mentioned that my tongue was stained, furry, cracked and quite sore.  Martin confirmed that I didn’t have anything fungal or bacterial but that it could be an allergy to the strong mouthwash he gave me.  He then asked if he could look at my eyes and check my nails after which he suggested a blood test might be a good idea as I could be anaemic.  When I told him I’d lost almost a stone (6.3 kilos) since my front crown broke he said I should definitely get a blood test.   

It was easy to enter my symptoms online and within a couple of hours I spoke to a doctor and was given appointment next day for blood to be taken at our local surgery.  This week I went back to the health centre to discuss the results with a different doctor.  I told her about my dentist’s concern, the state of my tongue etc.  She looked at my results which were all normal but said they hadn’t tested for anaemia as the doctor had marked weight loss as the problem, so now I have to go back next week for more blood to be taken. 

Then she asked me various questions from a script one of which was had I ever smoked, which I had for a few years in my 20s but mostly socially and never regularly. She listened to my breathing and felt my abdomen which she said were fine.

Now in addition to more blood tests I have to give a urine and a poo sample and also go to Skipton for a chest x ray.  At no time did the doctor look at my tongue or ask me how much weight I have lost or what I weigh now (8.5 stone/54 kilos).  I did mention that I am quite happy to be thin and the weight loss occurred when I struggled to eat for a month with a wobbly crown before I returned to Yorkshire. Now I am eating normally and healthily, not drinking alcohol, sleeping well and exercising regularly.

I seem to have opened a can of worms and we have gone completely off piste. I am grateful to be getting such thorough testing while wondering about all the people with serious medical issues who wait months and months for treatment.  Meantime at my dentist’s suggestion I have bought a tongue cleaning brush and a scraper (he suggested a butter knife was a good alternative to the latter).  Things are much improved and I am hopeful I shall be fixed before the results are in.

Into February

So far February has gone well.  Tuesday I was back at the dentist who said normally the stitches would have dissolved but mine hadn’t so he took them out.  It was painless and he reported everything looks healthy.  Now we wait 6 weeks before impressions are taken for my implant, then another 3 weeks before it is fitted.  What an age this has taken, my mouth still feels a little sore but I am grateful to be so well looked after and hopeful of a good outcome - eventually.  Meantime I have not been very sociable because I really don’t like wearing my temporary tooth. MrFF would have liked us to take a break somewhere warm but it would have been pointless for me, I’d rather stay home with a gappy smile.

It’s lovely to have longer hours of daylight with quite a lot of sunshine.  I am walking out regularly and climbing the 3 flights of stairs back to the penthouse.  I often return through the town with a dash into one or two of our charity shops for a quick treasure hunt.

Lovely recent finds are

A Kosta Boda snowball t light holder for £4.50, it is chunky, heavy and twinkles beautifully. My lovely Danish friend in Italy has several these that are always lit when we dine outside on warm summer evenings. I have admired them for many years and now have one of my own that even in February brings to mind convivial summer nights.  

200 grams of Trekking Hand Art hand dyed sock wool £4.99, just look at those gorgeous shades. 

The yarn 75% wool, soft and squishy, it speaks to me of men’s cable socks and I cannot wait to cast on.

Nice weather, time outside, good books, lengthening days, green shoots, it’s going ok here even if the outside world is a crazy scary place.  Sometimes we have to find comfort where we can.