Despondent is the word that best describes my mood today. Blame my eyes (I'm half blind). Add in the extreme hot weather and the forest fires burning all around France.
This morning the Forêt de Fontainebleau, just a few miles south of Paris, is burning. It's unbelievable.
There's talk of a respite this week. We should get some rainfall on Wednesday and Thursday. I hope the weather forecasts are accurate this time.
Hi Ken, so sorry to hear how you’re feeling. I hope you can stay strong and that you get some rain later this week. The fire here around Die is finally calming down but, given the continuing canicule, I don’t think we can relax yet. What a crazy summer. Thanks for your kind msg last week.
ReplyDeleteThinking about you and hoping your eyes will improve over time. Fires are terrible.
ReplyDeleteKen, I'm sorry you're not feeling well. Thank you for posting about the fire at Fontainebleau - it is not on the news here that I've seen. Hope things cool down for you soon.
ReplyDeleteOh, no.... Oh, Ken, hang in there, friend.
ReplyDeleteThe heat dome has been spreading across the middle of the US this week and is now approaching the East coast. International Falls, Minnesota reported temperatures of 100 degrees F, for the first time in recorded history. Our generation is not leaving our children and grandchildren the planet we knew growing up. Hang in there, Ken.
ReplyDeleteThis might be one example where the UK NHS serves people better. The cataract service would not keep people like you waiting so long for what is probably a quick and simple procedure. If the wait is too long you can then go privately and get it done very quickly. In France it’s all private anyway and if there are no appointments there are none and you have to wait, wasting a chunk of your life just waiting.
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry you are in this pickle but it will be fine eventually. The debilitating temperature doesn’t help.
Thank you, Jean. I do hope the laser procedure will resolve the issue. I'll find out in September. I hope you are doing well.
DeleteVery disturbing to hear of your continued eye problems, Ken. Is it not possible for you to go on Doctollib and self-refer to an opthamologist, perhaps in Blois or another larger town near you? I'd hate to think that your eyesight might deteriorate in a major way because of something that should have been done earlier to correct your current problem.
ReplyDeleteHello Kiwi, my ophthalmologist is in Blois and also does some appointments every week in Montrichard. I worked on getting starting in May, with many phone calls. I finally got an appointment with him for Sept. 9 and I don't think I can do any better without going much farther afield. My doctor's plan was to see me in October, 2 years after the cataract sugery in 2024. I haven't been able to get an earlier appointment tha September 9.
DeleteKen, I have fallen behind on your and Walt’s blogs. I haven’t totally caught up yet but decided to comment on recent happenings there. I am so sorry to hear about your eyesight problem, heatwave, and car A/C issues. The heat here in the Okanagan Valley is unbearable too but we have had worse. Our living room, dining room, and bedroom windows all face south and the heat builds up during the day even with the blinds down. Noise from our A/C units becomes unbearable but we have to keep them running. It’s getting hotter here all the time and so we have recently decided to bite the bullet and get a mini-split system installed. It took us so long to get the sizing, pricing, and HMO approval that it’s pushed the install to the end of this month by which time things may cool off. Unfortunately, due to wildfire smoke, opening our windows at night is not always an option. You may want to look into doing the same in your upstairs bedroom. It’s supposed to be whisper quiet cooling in summer and will supplement our infloor heating in winter which does not cope well when temperatures fall below 2ºC. The compressor sits outside. In the meantime, at night, we have had a ceiling fan installed over the bed and when it’s on low, it makes it comfortable enough to fall asleep. Before that, we had been known to sleep on the deck on our chaise loungers on hot summer nights when the house wouldn’t cool off. Perhaps throw your air mattresses out on your terrace and set up a fan out there to grab some z’s at night. I’ve also heard about southerners using swamp coolers. Have you seen those?
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