Waxy

It’s happened once more. Just before we go on holiday, my ears block up with wax. I’ve hastily put in some olive oil & the wax seems to be flowing out.

It is particularly frustrating at this sort of time. It’s bad enough going half-deaf when you are in an English speaking country, but we’re off to France. Although my French is normally sufficiently good to have a conversation in French with French people, it does help if I can hear them properly. I do have to concentrate more on what’s being said, which is difficult when your ears are blocked with wax.

My consolation is that at least we’re not flying. Having ears full of wax & flying can be very uncomfortable. A long train journey shouldn’t have any effect.

We were relieved to see Carol, our new gardener, arrive yesterday. She’s rapidly tidying the garden & is intending to come while we’re away. She’s even taken my basil pots away to look after them for us for the duration. It’s still too cold to leave them in the garden, but they would die left inside without regular watering. They would either drown initially or dry out later on.

Everything is nearly done now. Today we’re having Salmon Kedgeree to use up a last half tin of tomatoes. Tomorrow will be a day to use up some peppers - either a prawn/chicken stir fry or a pork & egg sauté I’m not sure which. For me it will be a last bed change & washing session this afternoon. Then it will be sorting out what to pack.

I confess I’m a little anxious about the trip. We do seem to be rather more ambitious this trip. I’m just hoping we’re up to it. My confidence wasn’t much reassured when the Fox got a letter from the surgery telling him his blood pressure (BP) was rising too high. Hopefully after a few weeks’ holiday, & a bit of relaxation & leisure, his BP will have gone down in time for his next reading. And that mine will be down, too, for that matter when I next have mine read. We’re beginning to wonder how much longer we will feel up to this travelling abroad. As it is we’ve rather dismissed the idea of long haul holidays much as the idea of another trip to Australia & the Far East appeals. There are times we undeniably feel old & very, very, tired.