I got up at 4:30 his morning. I slept really well, and I feel good. It's unusually warm outside — the thermometer on our terrace reads 19ºC. According to forecasts, we're in for a pleasant weekend weather-wise, with highs of about 27ºC. The only thing to complain about is how dry and parched everything is right now. We haven't had a drop of rain since mid-June, and we're under water restrictions. I thought last summer was bone dry, but this one is even drier.
Here are a few photos that I took in the Saint-Nicolas neighborhood in Blois two weeks ago.
I'm going to Blois for a medical procedure on Monday. I have to adhere to a special diet this weekend — no vegetables; no fruit; no bread; no fried or even sautéed meat, fish, or eggs; no spices or herbs; no milk or soft cheeses like Brie or Camembert. Par contre, I can eat meat or fish that's been boiled or grilled; boiled or poached eggs; rice, pasta, and polenta; uncooked oil and butter; sugar and honey; clear broth; and clear liquids including fruit juice (no pulp). Can you guess what the procedure is?
Since I can have grilled meats, I bought a rolled-and-tied roast of lamb shoulder yesterday. Walt will cook it on the grill later this morning, and we'll eat that over the weekend. I also have some sliced boiled ham (jambon de Paris), and plenty of rice and pasta. There are some foods that are not on the dietary list — yogurt, for example — as either autorisé or interdit. I guess I'd better abstain. Just thinking about how careful I need to be about what I eat makes me really hungry.
By Monday, we are supposed to be going into a new épisode caniculaire — a few days of extreme heat (36 to 40ºC). I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I'm thinking more and more of getting some kind of air-conditioning installed in the house. Or maybe we should go spend a few days in Carteret up in Normandy, where it's going to be 10ºC (20ºF) cooler than here in the Loire Valley.
With you dietary restrictions sounds like sushi would be a good choice! Are you having a colonoscopy?
ReplyDeleteNo sushi restaurants around here...
DeleteJust like Diogenes, I think you 're going to have a colonoscopy. Do they have Fleet in France?
ReplyDeleteWhat the doctor prescribed is called Picoprep : Poudre pour solution buvable. Arôme orange. I can't wait to drink it!
ReplyDeleteA clue to getting that liquid down - use a wide straw and put it to the back of your mouth - then just get it down without tasting it. It is strange to me that you can have all those things. When I had to prepare it was ONLY clear things. So I made jello and clear broth for the two days before.
ReplyDeleteMy diet is a four-day trial, not two days. And the magic potion I have to drink is not overwhelming. It's less than 2 cups of orange-flavored swill in two doses, followed each time by 2 liters of water or clear fruit juice. Bottoms up!
DeleteI had one of those procedures a few weeks ago. I prepared myself for a horrible experience, but it really was nothing. I didn't feel a thing, no aftereffects, and after a few hours sleep when I returned home, everything was back to normal.
ReplyDeleteThe drink I took was called "Golightly" - very creative! - and even that wasn't horrible.
Good luck
Jim
This will be my fourth "procedure" in 20 or so years. It's the strict pre-procedure dietary restrictions that I don't like. And the anxiety over the result of the examination. Have to stay optimistic.
DeleteI just had one last week, and it was my third, I think. My husband has had two, I think. We were both saying that every time we do it, the prep instructions are different--at least in terms of what we have to drink for the real "cleanse" part of the prep. But, we've NEVER been given that restrictive diet that you've been given. We've been told to have a "light diet" for a couple of days before starting the prep, and then, of course, on prep day, absolutely NOTHING other than clear liquids (including broth) and jello. Then, the special drink, starting late afternoon. That's the thing that changes... a different kind of drink/solution. My latest was like yours--- two small-ish bottles of a syrupy liquid, mixed with water, each to be consumed within 20 minutes (first one, then the other, several hours later), then followed each time by two 16-oz cups of water, also drunk within 20 minutes. I have to say, it's amazing how hard it is to gulp down the noxious syrupy liquid! I kept telling myself, "Just do it! Just take another big gulp, and get it over with!" But, it was surprisingly hard not to gag LOL.
DeleteThanks for that info, J. I can't wait to taste the Picoprep solution I've been prescribed. I take the first cup of it, wait an hour, and then drink two liters of water over a 4 hour period. They say to take the poison at 6 p.m., so that means I have to stay up until at least 11! And when does the desired effect occur? I'm somebody who usually is in bed by 9. I guess I'll just start early. I guess you'll see the diet I'm on if you look at my 7.20 post.
DeleteYour prep sounds like the one I do. I always dread it, but it works and now I don't have another procedure until 2024. I hope yours will be good for another ten years. Bon courage.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Evelyn. I hope I won't ever have to have another procedure. That, I guess, is part of the optimism. Monday the coloscopie, and then 2 or 3 days of canicule. From hunger to heat exhaustion. Ouf.
DeleteAccording to my doctor, old age weakens the the walls of the lower intestine making it more likely that polyp growths will perforate the wall with fatal results, so that colonoscopy becomes even more necessary than before, sorry about that, Roderick
ReplyDeleteHow old are you, Rod? Do you speak from experience?
DeleteI am approaching old age, enough said! I remarked to my doctor that surely colonoscopy was not needed in old age and got the above reply. By the way you can but most people here don't get knocked out for the procedure during which it is suggested that one looks at the images on the screen - yuck! Roderick
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