Ouchie

Jamie and Aisling came through to visit me last night and we had a pleasant evening. I felt full of the joys and so glad to be home safe.

This morning however is a different story! My post op euphoria is over. My eye aches, there are tears mixed with blood coming out of it, and now that I have taken the eye patch off my poor eye looks ghastly. It looks like someone has been attacking it with a knife, which I suppose they have! Ouch. 

I have to bathe it with sterilised water and put in my eye drops so hopefully that will help. 

Cataract surgery

Oh boy I'm glad to be home! Today was my cataract operation on my left eye. To my surprise and some alarm, I was told as soon as I arrived that I was being moved from afternoon to morning surgery because one of the patients had not turned up. This was a good thing of course, because it meant that I wouldn't have to hang around for so long. I was taken straight through to the pre-op area, got into my gown and soon was in the anaesthetics room. I had already been given lots of drops in my eye to numb it, and now one of the nurses put a sort of metal frame around my eye to hold the lids open. Unfortunately this sent me into a fit of coughing and wheezing, probably because of nerves. I managed to get control of it and I got a big jag of local anaesthetic into my eye socket before being taken into the operating theatre. Then a big sticky patch was put over my face and the operation started. The good thing was that I couldn't see a thing. That may sound strange but I had been worried that I would see exactly what the surgeon was doing to me in horrible detail. But I think the local anaesthetic made me unable to see, which in turn made the operation easier for me because I could at least try to ignore what was happening. I could feel pressure and was aware that the surgeon was working away. At one point the nurse said something and I said "Did you say disco?" which made everybody laugh because in fact she had said something like "viscous" - I had thought she was referring to the music that was playing in the background. Also the surgeon kept saying "drops" to get more liquid squirted into my eye, but before I worked that out I honestly thought he was saying "Oops" which worried me.

The operation was soon over; I have a big patch over my eye! I was taken up to the ward where I was given a cup of tea and a biscuit. I was glad to get home to my kitties.

Silver Sands

James and I went on a lovely coastal walk today from to Burntisland in Fife. It was a club outing and there were 14 of us in total making for congenial company. As we drove over the Forth Road Bridge we could see that the construction of the new bridge is well underway. The sun was shining and the sky was blue with no clouds at all. We walked along chatting and looking at the beautiful views and stopped at Silver Sands beach for lunch. It was nice to see the beach busy with families out enjoying the spring sunshine. And unusual to see people in swimming costumes cavorting outside in April in Scotland! The sea was sparkling blue and we could see Arthur's Seat and Edinburgh to the south. We ended up in a pub garden for drinks and headed home where we sat outside and spent the warm evening watching the kittens climbing alarmingly high in the trees.

Easter holidays

Since we came back from our holiday in France time has flown by. On Tuesday I had my pre-op at Gartnavel hospital. I found some of the information that they gave me about the cataract procedure rather alarming so I won't go into details about it here because I'm trying to put it out of my mind for now. Later on Cat and I took Alasdair to Edinburgh airport for his flight back to Oslo; it was sad to see him go but we have had a great time with him. Cat and I then had a film afternoon where we watched a French film called "Les Intouchables" that Cat got for me - it was funny and moving and very very French! I loved it.

The weather has been brilliant all week and I have spent time sitting outside in the garden reading and drinking coffee and watching the kitties in their new domain. Tom and Ruby are enjoying being "outside cats" very much, and are now expert at using the catflap. Ruby has been climbing very high up in the pear trees; The first time we saw her up there, we thought she might get stuck but she clambered down backwards without any trouble. It's strange to see Tom and Ruby exploring the garden that Jack and Jill loved so much, but James says it's a good thing for two new wee cats to have fun there. They have not yet found out that it's possible for them to go to the bathroom outside so they are still diligently coming back inside to use their litter tray! 

Today I had another visit to the dentist where I had to get a filling and also a permanent crown fitted. Unfortunately the crown didn't quite fit so I had to arrange another visit for a couple of weeks time. Hopefully that will finish my current course of treatment. 

This evening after tea, James, Davie and I went down to Wetherspoons for a drink. It was the first time that James has been there and he was suitably impressed by the decor and the atmosphere. It was nice to go for a stroll down to the pub on this lovely spring evening. 

Tom and Ruby venture outside

We collected Tom and Ruby from the cattery on Sunday morning; they were amazed to see us. When we got home they explored the whole house. Then to their further amazement we opened the French windows to let them go outside for the first time. When they were tiny we carried them outside a couple of times and they were very excited, but we decided to wait until they had their ops and we returned from holiday for their first proper excursion. They stood looking out for a while then tentatively stepped out into the garden, and made their way up onto the grass. Unfortunately at this point there was a sudden rain shower which alarmed them; they started running about frantically, not knowing how to escape the water falling on them! Ally and Davie ran outside to rescue them.

They went out again later and ventured a bit further, even going round the front of the house. Tom has started (with encouragement) to use the cat flap. He can go outside without too much trouble, however when he comes back in he seems to need to take a run at it, so he bursts in and runs the length of the room before stopping! Ruby however can so far only use the cat flap when it's held open for her! By the evening both kittens were absolutely exhausted by all this excitement and collapsed on our bed without their usual evening shenanigans! 

Sunbathing at Chambéry Airport

Our last day in France was rather leisurely because we weren't being collected for the airport run until 2 p.m. So we breakfasted, packed, deposited our luggage at reception and went for a wander round the shops. We took the gondola down to Bellecôte and bought some of our favourite sirops in the little supermarket there. We had lunch sitting outside on the terrace at La Godille in the sunshine. The bus journey to Chambéry was only two hours and when we checked in we went back outside to sunbathe on the grass with many other travellers until it was time to go through security - not something that is normally possible at an airport but Chambéry is so tiny that you can just stroll back outside if you wish. There was a holiday atmosphere and some other travellers gave Ally and Cat a bottle of wine which they proceeded to quaff al fresco! 

Our journey went smoothly (well perhaps smoothly is not the right word because there was a bit of turbulence due to headwinds!) and by 9 p.m. we were back home and enjoying a fish supper. 

Holiday memories

* The lovely Jéremie giving Susan and Cat ski lessons - and the tender yet slightly strange moment on the ski lift when Susan told him he was "gentil et beau." Also Jéremie's amazement when Cat sang him a "conjugating French verbs" song on the piste. 

* Davie "rugby tackling the mountain" - a spectacular fall which amazed onlookers with an explosion of snow.

* Davie doing the water ski challenge.

* Team Anderson triumphing in the pub quiz where we won a bottle of sparkling wine and a zip wire experience for David.

* Ally's record speed of 99.7 kph, closely followed by Davie with 98.3 kph and James with 90.2 kph. Too fast.

* Cat skiing down the red run on Aiguille Rouge in Les Arcs after less than a week in total of ski lessons.

* Jamie's big wipeout off piste at Champagny.

* James' amazing farting on piste.

* Susan's horrific vomiting after her "pizza quatre fromages"

* Having drinks and taking in a few rays on the deckchairs at L'Arpette restaurant. 

* The wee guy with the green ski jacket that Susan accidentally knocked over.

* Lunch at Chalet des Arcs above Arc 2000.

* All four boys drinking Grolla from a wooden bowl on the last night. 

* Dinner at L'Alpage at Belle Plagne. 

* Lots of snow and brilliant weather all week. 

On y va

Our last day on the pistes was excellent except for one thing - James' day was curtailed by a sudden and excruciating neck pain as he was going up on a lift. There was no apparent reason but he had to return to the balcony before lunchtime to read his book. Not such a hardship on such a beautiful day but of course he was disappointed that his last day was cut short. He generously insisted that the rest of us continue to ski. We skied around our favourite areas in twos and threes and met for lunch at the top of Roche de Mio where I wisely chose a delicious raspberry tart instead of a heavy (albeit delicious!) tartiflette. Off we went to ski for a few more hours - I was amazed to find myself still skiing all afternoon because normally my legs are done in by the last day. I think they are better this year because my skiing has improved so I have not damaged them as much. At about 4.30 we all (except James) met up at the beautiful Restaurant Arpettes where we sat on deckchairs in the sunshine having drinks.

Later we all had dinner at our favourite Belle Plagne restaurant - L'Alpage. We sat round a big square table and ordered fondue savoyard and pierre chaude; it was a very happy and convivial occasion to celebrate Alasdair's recent 21st birthday, followed by champagne back at the apartment.  

The Vanoise Express

So much to blog about but too tired to write much! The weather continues to be brilliant; our lovely ski instructor says it is the best week of the entire season because there is lots of snow and lots of sunshine. It is so hot; almost too hot at times when skiing! Today we took the Vanoise Express over to Les Arcs and skied to Arc 1800 and Arc 2000, where we had a delicious but rather large lunch sitting outside a restaurant on the piste. Then we took the cable car up to l'Aiguille Rouge which has spectacular views of all the mountains including Mont Blanc. It was quite a big day for me - 41 km which is a lot for my legs! I fell near the end of the day and twisted my knee but I think it will be fine tomorrow if I wear my knee support. David won a zip wire session at the quiz night on Tuesday so he went on it before dinner and loved it. We all went along to spectate. I'm falling asleep here so I will sign off for now. 

Pub quiz champions

Today we met Jamie and Aisling at Bellecôte and the seven of us spent the morning skiing together. It was absolutely brilliant. We skied up to Roche de Mio and over to Champagny in blazing sunshine and had lunch at our old favourite, Les Borseliers. Sometimes part of the group would head off piste and rejoin the rest of us further down the mountain, but we mostly skied together and it was great. After lunch we made our way back to Belle Plagne and Cat and I met up with Jéremie for our lesson while the others set off for the glacier. We had a lovely afternoon practising our turns and chatting on the chairlifts. Among many interesting facts, Jéremie pointed out that the animal tracks that we could see from the chairlift were those of fox and deer. 

Later James and I went out for a drink together and got pizzas for dinner. And then it was time for the pub quiz night. We had a good laugh and the questions seemed to have been designed for us! There was a whole section on flags which was perfect for Ally and Davie, and there was a music section which all of the young ones were good at. We won a bottle of Prosecco and a zip wire session for which we nominated Davie; he was delighted! A lovely evening. 

Bonjour le soleil

The sunshine arrived this morning and James excitedly hustled us all out onto the slopes just after nine o'clock. The mountains and valleys looked beautiful and we could see Mont Blanc. We skied down past the Vanoise express to Montchavin which is the lowest village in La Plagne at only 1250 m (Belle Plagne is at 2050 m and you can ski as high as 2770m). From one of the chairlifts we saw a little squirrel with tufted ears, prancing lightly along on the snow; so sweet. The snow is so good just now that you can ski right down to Montchavin even so late in the season, but it's really weird because it's like Spring down there and the piste reaches down into the village like a long finger of snow surrounded by grass and trees. It was such a great run that we did it twice before heading back to Bellecôte for a pleasant lunch with Jamie and Aisling, who had spent the morning at the glacier. Then Cat and I made our way back to Belle Plagne to meet Jéremie for our ski lesson while the others headed for Montalbert. Again our lesson was both fun and useful. We went up to the top of Roche de Mio and Jéremie pointed out different mountains and runs to us, he showed us Les Arcs in the next valley and Courchevel in the distance. We skied some lovely runs; my favourite is Levasset which is long, wide, and steep enough to go nice and fast while you take in the beautiful views. All the while Jéremie kept an eye on our progress and gave us individualised tips on how to improve. I really felt that it was helping me to ski in a more efficient and therefore more relaxed and enjoyable way. Our pre-dinner drinks were taken in the atmospheric Le Cheyenne and we went back to the apartment for chilli con carne and a relaxing evening. 

Un jour blanc

All went according to plan on the first morning of our ski holiday. James' plan that is; he is very efficient at getting us organised in the morning. We all got ready while James went to the patisserie to buy our pains au chocolat for breakfast; we left the apartment at 9, went to the ski hire shop and were on the  slopes by 10. We started off by skiing down to Bellecôte then skied around the area above Arpettes to get our bearings and get used to being back on the pistes. We met Jamie and Aisling for lunch, then Cat and I went to our ski lesson pour deux. I was a bit concerned that we would be allocated a wizened, cigarette smoking old ski instructor, however we were given cute twenty-five year old Jéremie. who was just lovely. He was brought up in Chambery and works as a ski instructor in the winter and as a carpenter in the summer. We explained to him that over the next four afternoons we would like to brush up on technique while enjoying exploring the resort, and he totally understood. So he guided us around and he gave us advice on what to work on, it was great fun. Cat was absolutely brilliant and Jéremie couldn't believe that she has only had four ski lessons on an artificial slope and has only skied on snow once, for two hours in Oslo. She is already skiing nearly parallel and will soon be way ahead of me, however for this holiday it's really nice to have lessons together and we had such a good laugh. Today the weather was cloudy with light snow and in some places quite misty, so it was hard to see the pistes clearly and it was reassuring to have a guide who knew the layout of the resort like the back of his hand. Jéremie told us that this is called "un jour blanc". At one point he warned us that there was a steep drop to our right which we couldn't see at all in the flat light - as we skied along we saw a man fall off it! (He was fine.) Meanwhile the rest of the gang were skiing around together at a lively pace and they skied up to us on one of our runs and we introduced them to our instructor. 

The two and a half hours flew by and we just had time for showers back at the apartment before meeting Jamie and Aisling for drinks at La Têtine, where there was a good country and western duo playing. We all swapped ski stories and listened to the excellent music and I felt very relaxed and happy.

Journey to Belle Plagne

After what seems like rather a long journey we have arrived in our apartment in the ski resort of Belle Plagne in the French Alps. First of all Tom and Ruby went on their own holiday to the cattery. They cried all the way in the car (probably because they thought that they were going to the vet!) It's the same excellent cattery that Jack and Jill used to go to, spacious and comfortable with lovely owners whom we know well, so I have no qualms about leaving them there. We then set off for the airport and had a leisurely lunch after checking in. There was a stag party of about eight young men sitting beside us on our flight who became increasingly drunk during the journey because they were refilling bottles of tango with vodka that they had bought in duty free. They offered me some but I declined! One of them was dressed as the disgraced entertainer Jimmy Savile (I always thought he was creepy but I was shocked when it all came out after he died that he really was a child sex abuser) and his friends shouted "Jimmy! Jimmy!" endlessly. I heard a little girl asking her father "Is Jimmy a pop star?" to which he diplomatically replied "Yes that's right." To make matters worse one of the inebriated band asked the steward pointedly if the co-pilot was having a bad day and whether he would be landing the plane. This was clearly a very poor taste reference to the co-pilot who locked his captain out of the cockpit last week and deliberately crashed his plane into the French Alps, killing himself and all on board. The steward understandably just walked away without replying.

I suppose the whole journey was only eight hours or so including car, flight and bus journey. which is not at all unreasonable, but it felt quite long, perhaps due to the stag party who although friendly were rather wearing, or perhaps due to arriving at the resort in the dark which I always find a little dispiriting. We were cheered by the large amount of snow on the mountains; Belle Plagne has had more snow this past week than in the whole season up to now, which is good news for us. And our apartment is clean, well appointed and more spacious than we thought it would be.

We soon met up with Jamie and Aisling who flew out from Edinburgh earlier today and had a lively and enjoyable supper in the nearby K2 restaurant. Everyone was in good spirits and looking forward to our holiday.

Holiday haircut

I'm sitting in the hairdressers feeling very happy to be on holiday. It was a busy but productive week at school and everything is up to date and in good order. Ally arrived home from Oslo yesterday, hooray! After work I drove through to Edinburgh, met Cat at Ingliston tram station, and drove the short distance to the airport. After accidentally driving through the drop off area (for which mistake we had to pay £1 to get out again!) we parked in the short stay car park and had a lovely coffee and a chat at the arrivals gate while awaiting our boy. It was so great to see Ally and we headed home where Davie had kindly cooked haggis, neeps and tatties for tea. A convivial evening followed and Ally showed us some amazing photos from his trips around Norway. 

I'm mostly packed for our holiday and have a pleasant day planned including meeting Heather for lunch - her and Ewan's birthday present to me.