21 April 2015

Sidelined, but not idle

It is so important to take advantage of every day to do something you enjoy, something that's important for the future, something productive. Thank goodness I got the garden plot tilled up, for example, before I was sidelined by this malady that has had a grip on me for a week now.


I have plenty of indoor activities — cooking, which I'm still doing even though I'm not taking many or any photos most days, and blogging and reading. Watching movies. Doing laundry. Editing photos on the computer. I have continued to go out on walks with Callie the collie, though they are slightly abbreviated and certainly less strenuous walks than normal. The good thing is that I'm not coughing or sneezing. I just have a really bad sore throat. For whatever reasons — allergies or a virus? I can't tell.


At least I'm not sitting here thinking about the big job that needs to be done before we can get the garden put in next month. I'm just waiting this out. I actually feel a lot better this morning than I have in days, and I got a much better night's sleep. Maybe, just maybe, I've turned a corner. Things are looking up.


Today we're going over to Saint-Georges-sur-Cher, 10 or 12 miles west of Saint-Aignan, to have a look around in a store that sells wood-burning stoves. Our plan for a while now has been to replace the stove we had put in back in 2006 with a larger stove in which we can burn larger, longer logs. We are looking at Invicta stoves, and it just so happens that Invicta has a dealership with a showroom in Saint-Georges. Wish us luck.


The wood-burning season is pretty much over, by the way. We haven't had to have a fire in a couple of weeks, and we haven't been using the oil-fired central heat either. Weather reports now are saying, however, that we might need a little blast of heat over the coming weekend. Often there is a chilly spell in this part of France in late April and early May. That's why we don't plant the vegetable garden until mid-May.

14 comments:

  1. My money is on allergy. I've more or less got my voice back, but I have lingering stuffed up nose and scratchy throat.

    Our wood stove is an Invicta. We like it although it has a couple of niggles, and it was good value for money.

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    1. After going out this morning and feeling the effects on my eyes and throat, I think you are right: allergies. Maybe I'm becoming allergic to colza, or to birch pollen. They say that if you are of the allergic kind your body will develop allergies to the ambient pollen. Lovely...

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  2. Nick has the usual croaks and sniffles, which he always gets when the trees burst into leaf and the cherry blossom is out.
    Your malady sounds much more unpleasant and debilitating, which I'm sorry to hear. I hope you soon feel better.
    I'll be interested to hear how you get on at the stove shop. We would like to change ours and now would be a good time I suspect, not when we think about it in autumn and the new stock comes in at new prices!

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    1. We were impressed with the Invicta store and the people we talked to there. The stove we want costs about 1000 euros, but we get one-third of that back from the French government as a tax credit. The store has a dozen or maybe 1½ dozen models on display. They are working up an estimate for the work that needs to be done, and we will make our decision soon, after a visit from a technician who will make sure that what we want is feasible.

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  3. We have an invicta, and it's been a pretty good stove. I have a feeling that they arent as robust as the Godin: both people I know who have them, the bar which goes across the front of the firebox at the bottom (to stop logs rolling out) has broken, cracked with heat. We have completely lost our already. We haven't had a log roll out though.

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    1. Some of the interior pieces of our Franco-Belge stove are broken and/or warped, but it still works well. We need a stove with a rated power of about 8 kw, and the one we like best is rated at 9 kw. That should work. It's the Invicta Kazan model.

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  4. I'm looking forward to seeing what you get. That Kazan model looks great :)
    Hope you're on the mend.

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    1. I do feel better today. Much better. I can swallow food again without great throat pain.

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  5. That stove is beautiful and made in France. Glad to hear you are feeling better today. Being sick and seeing caged crows isn't a good combo. April in Alabama has been cold and wet so far, but the tulips love it like this.

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    1. Evelyn, I think our weather is about to turn damp and slightly chilly. We'll see what happens over the coming weekend. This morning, the house is warm and it seems to be fairly warm outside too. It was downright hot in the house late yesterday afternoon. We set up and turned on an electric fan to cool the place down for sleeping.

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  6. Hi Ken, I hope the allergies pass; they are no fun. Kudos for prepping le jardin!

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    1. Hi C in Calif., between rainy days, cooking detail, and allergy attacks, there are actually very few days when I can spend time tilling the garden in spring. I feel proud to have accomplished what I did last week. Now it needs a second tilling before mid-May. Maybe I'll get my strength back by then. :^)

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  7. Ken, so good to see green returning to the garden and vineyard. Here in Toronto we are just now turning the corner on a rather brutal winter. For what it's worth, take 3,000 to 5,000 units/day of vitamin D3 during the fall/winter/spring season and you will find the malaise, if it even appears, has a very short life. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

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    1. Thanks Terry. I've never tried that but I eat a healthy diet and don't think I have a dietary deficiency. Anyway, it's worth a try.

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