...que dans son propre gîte. That's what Bertie the black cat and Natasha the sheltie tell us: there's no place that compares to this gîte of ours. They were both born in France — Bert’ in Saint-Aignan, and ’Tasha in Chinon — so they tend to use Loire Valley French when they have something important they want to say. They've become fast friends over the past four years. The dog celebrated her fourth birthday a few weeks ago, and the cat will turn 15 in May. In the photos below, the two of them were waiting patiently in the kitchen for me to notice them and go give them something to eat.
Bert is worrying us right now. He's definitely showing signs of age. He's been a scrappy fighter and a fierce hunter ever since he came to live here in 2010. He has only two fangs left, both on the same side of his jaw, one upper and mone lower. I took him to the vet's last week, and the vet said he seemed to be in good health. He was surprised when I told him Bert still hunts actively around the yard and the hamlet. I believe he's been eating toads — they are breeding in the pond out back right now — and toad is a food that seems to upset his digestive system. I wish I knew how I could discourage him from eating them.
Yesterday I saw and talked to our neighbor who is the mayor of the commune we live in. (No, we're not hippies — commune is the French word for town or township.) The mayor told me that our neighbor across the street has finally sold her house. It's been on the market for more than a year — the pandemic kept real estate offices closed for many months in 2020. In July, the neighbor will be moving to the Bordeaux area, where her daughter lives. We'll miss her, especially since she was willing to look after Bertie when we went on our road trips.
I asked the mayor if she and her husband have had the Covid-19 vaccination yet. She said no, because there aren't enough doses to go around in the area. Reports are that our local doctors are soon going to start vaccinating their patients, but nobody knows exactly when. Walt has put in a call to set up an appointment, and now he's waiting for a call from the doctor's office giving him a date and time. I hope the call will come through this week. I need to call and request an appointment too. The mayor said that each doctor is been allotted just 20 doses of vaccine (Astra-Zeneca).
I am shocked at how badly France is doing with the vaccinations. It's the only way out of the crisis as trying to keep people apart has not done the trick.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. and the U.K. are doing better because they have home-made vaccines, I guess. Walt just checked on-line with the hospital in Saint-Aignan. They are doing vaccinations there but they are out of vaccine. They just said "try again later."
DeleteWalt's call just came in. He's scheduled for the Astra-Zeneca vaccination on Friday afternoon. Now it's my turn.
DeleteGlad to know dates have been set.
DeleteGood for Walt. That call came fast, I wouldn't fault France for their tardiness. My state seemed to be really slow in getting started, but it must be due to the distribution coming later. Yours, Ken, will probably come soon, too.
DeleteYou have assured that Bert has had a nice long life, I remember when he came to live with you. I am on a waiting list for a vaccine here in the DC burbs (Fairfax County) The county is getting about 15,000 doses for new patients per week, and there are about 100,000 people on the waiting list.
ReplyDeleteHere at the Fairfax Rehab and Nursing Center, I got my first shot a month ago and the second one a week later. The staff was vaccinated at the same time, I guess. Still, there was one resident and one staff with Covid-19 a few days ago!
DeleteGlad to know that Walt has an appointment so quickly! I'm surprised that you weren't called first, given that you're older. People Walt's age, in the U.S., are not in the tier for receiving the vaccine yet, unless they are in certain job sectors, or have underlying condition. We don't hear about the Astra Zeneca version over here -- just Pfizer, Moderna, and the new, one-dose Johnson & Johnson.
ReplyDeleteUntil March 1, only people between 50 and 64 y.o. qualified for the Astra Zeneca vaccine. Meanwhile, people over 75 in retirement and nursing homes were qualified, and I think they were getting the Pfizer vaccine. The rest of us old people, from 65 to 74 y.o., were not qualified. Then it changed on March 1. I want to be vaccinated but I'm not sure when that will happen. I know they say we should all take the first certified vaccine we can get, but I'd prefer to have the Pfizer shot.
DeleteI think Tasha and Bertie have made an excellent choice in gites. We will be getting our second Pfizer shots tomorrow. I saw a report this morning that said 10 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you two are vaccinated.
DeleteNorma and I got our first shots (Moderna) at the end of February, and we'll receive dose 2 at the end of March. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off us. When fully vaccinated, we'll be able to travel to Vermont to see our daughter's family and especially her 2 children, ages 5 and 20 months. In the meantime, lots of FaceTime. Not sure when it will be possible to return to some kind of "normal," but we anxiously await that time. Congratulations to Walt for getting his appointment, and we rooting for you, Ken, to get yours.
ReplyDeleteGood for you, Bob and Norma. I've heard a few people say they had a noticeable reaction to the second Moderna dose, but nothing too drastic. Maybe by the end of 2021 the world will become recognizable again. I still have some traveling I'd like to do before it's too late.
DeleteI might be kind of fun if your commune was a hippy thing! I have fond memories of the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteD. and I did the AstraZeneca trials here. We had no reactions to the vax. When D. became eligible last week, he got the Moderna. He only had a sore arm. The trial unblinded him prior to the shot and he had gotten the placebo. I still don't know what I got. It feels like Los Angeles is going rather slowly.
PS I thought the house across the street that sold was rather nice!
ReplyDeleteIt is a nice house, but the mayor said that all the windows need to be replaced. I also know that the house is heated by electric radiators (no furnace or boiler or heat pump) and electric heat is apparently very expensive.
DeleteHi Ken and Walt. Been a while since I have written. I know Lynn reads your blog everyday and aways tells me what's new, etc. I enjoyed reading it this morning about Bert and Tash. Lynn and I both got our vaccines today. I got my second dose of Pfizer and Lynn got her first. Hannah and Rachel graduate University in May!! My how time has gone by. We look forward to when things open up again so we can come back to the Loire. We will let you know if/when that occurs. Would be so nice to see you guys again. For now stay well and enjoy your beautiful environment! Joel xoxo
ReplyDeleteHi Joel, glad to hear from you and Lynn. We look forward to seeing you again when the world returns to some semblance of normal. I miss my trips to North Carolina, and I'm glad I went in October 2019 for two weeks, because I don't know when I'll get to go there again. My mother passed away three years ago, but my sister, nieces, cousins, and friends are still there. Hi Lynn, if you are reading.
DeleteWe're all done here! It's such a good feeling. Hope you are able to get yours soon.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to see how Walt reacts to the Astra-Zeneca vaccine. I assume I'll have a stronger reaction to the vaccine than Walt will, given my allergies. He gets the shot tomorrow. On Monday I'll call about an appointment.
DeleteEven though things may seem to be moving slowly regarding vaccines, remember that there's been adult supervision in place in the US only in the last six weeks, and that they had to start from ground zero. It seems to be proceeding at quite an efficient pace, given the logistics involved. And the reason we got a vaccine so fast is that there was already groundwork done earlier because of SARS.
ReplyDeleteMy dog does the Tasha Stare, too. Usually from right underfoot in the kitchen -- the melting glance of pathetic longing that says "I'm starving, poor me." Clever of Tasha to enlist Bertie in her efforts.