Bob goes into the vets surgery first. He sits - not daring to move a muscle - on the examination table. This is his fatalistic '' Very well murder me if you must ! " routine. It is trotted out once a year.
Sophie, when it's her turn , becomes a dead weight. She's lifted out of the back of the car and 'encouraged' towards the front door. She tries heading off , tail down, at a right angle. When this doesn't work she lies down and turns on her back. She is eventually carried into the examination room. Usually, she loves attention. Today, for whatever reason, she's decided she doesn't.
Back at The Rickety Old Farmhouse the PONs work on their guilt inducing ' How could you let that happen to me ? ' routine.
The Old Farmer is going into hospital on the 21st for his hip operation. He arranges for Angus to drive him there. '' I think the Volvo will be better. More room for my legs ". He likes playing with the technology in the Volvo. We agree that he'll be collected at 9:45. He has to be at the reception desk at 11.00 and they'll prep him and operate at 3:00. This rapid admission to theatre timetable seems highly optimistic if not improbable.
In the afternoon a toddlers tea party in the village hall. A young mother has spent an hour blowing up balloons. Two male toddlers soon discover that the balloons make a very satisfying 'Bang !' when they burst. Within five minutes all the balloons have gone. Two male toddlers are delighted with their handiwork - their mothers less so.
The Very Old Italian Farmer has been wheeled out onto the churchyard grass by the district nurse. A chance to enjoy the warmth of the afternoon sun. No one knows how old he is but we do know he arrived in the village as a child in 1924. He sees the PONs and lets out a high pitched laugh. His voice is increasingly thin but we chat away in Italian. He tells me he has cousins in Udine. They came to visit him in 1964. '' Perhaps they'll come again this year ? ''. The district nurse says she's not seen him so animated in months . He's at that age where time doesn't necessarily run in straight lines and what happened sixty years ago is as fresh, if not fresher, than what happened yesterday.
So passes another day in a little village in deepest, deepest France profonde.
11 comments:
Best wishes to the Old Farmer for a successful hip operation.
Bertie wants to know if the PONs succeeded in inducing enough guilt for special treats to be forthcoming?
So, both dogs are healthy and have now had their annual vaccinations? And their teeth checked? Torture, pure torture, that's what it was! Treats are certainly deserved, thank you!
Sophie continues to be overweight due to her 'recycling ' habit. Special treats are ,for her, out of bounds. She did however get a sliver of carrot.
Both robustly healthy. Didn't even notice the injections. Bob sneezed with the kennel cough nasal spray but apart from that and Sophie's 'chubbiness ' ( a French veterinarians technical term ) all is fine.
I'm not surprised with the Old Farmer's schedule. I have been operated on only once, on my foot, and the Toulouse clinic had me arrive early the same morning. Keeps costs down, I guess. I hope his surgery goes well.
Your stories about the Italian Farmer are wonderful.
So pleased that the delightful duo have had a clean bill of health - much relief all round.
Speedy hospitalisation here, too, in Spain. Quite normal to be out on the same day, or the next. Lingering and
recuperation to be done at home.
Hari Om
Could Mlle Sophie have been having flashbacks to bigger operations than an annual check? To spend time with the elders lifts them - and ourselves... YAM xx
Either my coffee is too strong or not strong enough this morning; the shadow in the last picture, looks like a buck with antlers! The Old Farmer could be right, as they are doing same day hip replacements in Atlanta as well. It makes me happy that you, Bob and Sophie brought the Italian Farmer such joy.
Good eye.
You're right. It does.
I hope you and 'the Font' have recovered from the vet visit!
All the best for both Farmers.
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