September Days

I'm trying to use my time constructively whilst I sit through Judo with William. Today is my first time in the Jodo and, given the rather inconsistent start he's had (tears, refusal to join in), we figured that, maybe, he'd be a bit more confident with me around. So far, so good; he's taken part in the whole session, from the very start! 

So,  how has the past week and a bit been? Full of home admin, life decisions, training, fasting, socialising, and keeping William busy....

Last Monday, I posted, again in some ex-pat groups looking for advice re: the broken velux shutter. One of the electrician guys said he'd come and have a look at it, and for the first time I felt like we were moving towards a solution. Perhaps this positivity was a bit premature. We're over a week on already and no further forward. He did take the transformer away but apparently it's fine so I'm not sure what the next step will be. 

Monday, did, however, provide us with Day 1 of our new regime: Meat Free Mondays! We didn't exactly fully embrace the idea, totally forgetting at lunchtime as we were concentrating so heavily on having a go at our first proper veggie dinner: a potato vindaloo. I got the recipe from one of Jess' cookbooks and it was really tasty. Neither of us could help thinking though: wouldn't this be great with some slow coked lamb through it? Not exactly the point though is it?! Anyway, it's a start. 

On Tuesday, Iain and I went for a run along the Meadow towards the kayak centre. I managed 3km straight so I was delighted with my progress. Got home and it was straight into a French lesson with Sylvie. She's done some research and it turns out that it will be really simple to enrol me in a French proficiency test. So much better than doing it through the university. William goes to guardarie on a Tuesday so it tends to free me up for getting into all the admin that's been hanging over me. I made appointments, followed up on trying to get reimbursed for that Pau - Toulouse train shambles, and contact some UK Unis about their masters programmes. The guys at Cardiff Met were particularly welcoming and we jacked up at meeting to discuss their course on Friday. 

Our Wednesday routine has changed a bit now. We used to always get sushi but as it's so bloomin' expensive, we decided that La Gourmandaise for sandwiches is enough of a treat. However, as we were walking past the new(ish) vegan cafe Millefollium, I noticed that they had actual Sans Gluten marked on their menu. It tough for me to resist this kind of marketing, especially in France. We pulled up seats and had lunch. I'm not a massive vegan fan but the food was tasty and super healthy and the big bonus was that all their desserts were gluten free too. What an absolute treat! Pricey, but great to have on our doorstep. Later in the afternoon, Iain took William to Judo for his second go. This time, he actually took part and seemed to enjoy it. We've still been looking for tennis clubs for him to join though - he's interested and we both agree that ball games are important too. I managed to get out for a dinner with the rugby girls on Wednesday evening and it was so great catching up with them. It's also amazing how quickly the group dynamics can change in one season! So many new faces! 

On Thursday, Iain finally ripped out a sub 30 5k and he was rightly delighted with himself. In keeping my back healthy, I just biked round the route. Everything in moderation! 

On Friday, we got William a kimono for Judo. The instructor was very clear: be on time, wear the right gear, come on Wednesday and Saturday. He's a bit unsure about actually wearing it in public though. Baby steps indeed. 

The weekend rolled round and we were once again keeping ourselves busy and sociable. It's just so strange having Iain home at the weekends. On Saturday morning, Iain and William went to tennis in Billère. By all accounts, it was really good and he got stuck in from the start. Yay! They were home just after 10am which left enough time for a snack and the Saturday judo session. He was all for it, but just as they were about to leave, he changed his mind and even though they went, he just sat on the side, wouldn't wear the new kimono, and refused to take part. We need to find a balance here and work out what he really wants to do because the sports are good for him but it's a lot of money to fork out, just for him to sit on the sidelines. While they were doing nothing at the jodo, I met Jess at Les Halles to buy cheese from her usual farmer and we even managed to grab a coffee. It was so great to catch up and have a proper blether. It was absolutely pouring down (welcome to Autumn!) so we spent the rest of the day at home. William and I have changed his bedroom around (including Iain flipping his bed) so it was time for a big toy sort and clear out. Deffo a good use of time on a wet day. He's pumped with his new room. And I'm pumped to have cleared so many toys from downstairs. 

It was a slow Sunday morning and in the afternoon, we met JN, Sandra and Gideon in the pub. The men had one eye on the football, the ladies blethered and the boys played. It was great. We even managed an extra pint in the Galway on the way home. And when we got in, the lamb shanks were ready. Served with a bottle of red, it was a perfect way to finish this new style weekend. 

We started this week off with an appointment at Dr Assali. Sophie very kindly came with us to translate, ensuring that we had all the information correct. I don't know why, but I'm always quite nervous when we have appointments with him. I think it's because the RDVs are like hen's teeth so I feel like I really need to get everything right as I won't be able to see him again for months. Anyway, this was a follow up from William's allergy challenge in June and I was under the impression that we would be starting a reintroduction programme. However, it wasn't the case. He feels that William is still a bit young to start the reintroduction so we will just keep things the same for another year. He said we need to continue to be vigilant but not to the point William has a phobia of walnuts. He gave us ea new script with slightly different meds, and we'll be reassessed in 12months. Done. 

Monday was also #2 in our Meat Free Monday regime. And this time we did it properly with sweetcorn fritters for lunch and, wait for it, macaroni cheese for dinner! I seem to have finally gotten the gluten free roux monkey off my back. The cheese sauce itself could have been stronger, but it was definitely a win in terms of consistency. I didn't even really do anything new; it was more of an adaptation of Jinty's old recipe that's been taunting me for years. 

I also finally made a decision on doing the Master's programme at Cardiff Met and it was a, "Non". The likelihood of us doing an international relocation in the next year is quite high, so a Master's on top of that would just send stress levels through the roof. Time to park it, again, for now. 

Tuesday was a helluva day. I started off by running my first full 5k since my back surgery. Go me! I'd never have thought it would've been possible when I was lying on my back on the living room floor at New Year. I'll probably never go more than the 5k, but to get it ticked off felt like a proper milestone. 

The rest of the day was full French immersion. I had a one hour lesson with Sylvie in the morning then had to attend a school introduction meeting in the evening. I went on for two hours. As you can imagine, I was utterly exhausted when I got home at 8.10pm! At least I got to see this wee other world that William's part of: 

We're desperately clinging onto the end of summer and managed a lunchtime picnic on Wednesday. Then, as described at the start of this post, I took William to Judo. He was involved from the start with no hesitation whatsoever. He had a wee wobble towards the end though when the instructor said he couldn't speak to me (to get his kimono fixed) during the session. Fair enough. All the other kids looked like they'd been dragged through the proverbial hedges but he still wanted his re-tied. It's all learning. We managed to meet Claire Whitelock and her parents for drinks before dinner. It was great meeting Rod and Alethea who have been here on holiday for the past five week. Proper solid kiwi folk. Aaaaaah, NZ. ;-( 

We had grand plans to swim yesterday but the typical French system of keeping public things a secret meant that when we got to the pool, it was closed. They've moved to winter opening times but hadn't actually changed the website. Raging. We still managed to get out for a run (Iain) and cycle (me). Our health regime is going well. Then it was just pottering round the house, cleaning and tidying for Legs arriving. I still cannot believe we're actually going to have a visitor this weekend. The first in two years! I even managed to get to the hairdressers this morning in anticipation of much socialising this weekend. BRING. IT. ON. 

Lorna.