More bookish bemusement

I ordered a cookery book from an online company. It arrived about a week later. So why did I just get another one.....?

Unexpected

Something bookish arrived in the post for me today. Well, something more than bookish, it was indeed an actual book. One that I hadn't ordered. Hmmm. A bit of a puzzle. It is 'Last Night in Twisted River' by John Irving. I guess it could be a belated birthday present by someone who hasn't owned up. However, all that came with it was a 'Compliments of Bloomsbury' slip, so unless I hear otherwise I'll assume it's from them .

I'm still puzzled, but I'm not complaining. Thanks a lot for the book:0)

Weisenkleber

I eagerly awaited Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day , so was very disappointed to see that every recipe was calling for Vital Wheat Gluten. I was fairly certain that getting my hands on some would be a long and painful process.

However, the internet is a wonderful place and someone on Ravelry pointed me at a particular blog post where a fellow 'ex-pat-in-Switzerland' had the same difficulty. She solved it very simply- she bought some from her local baker. In the UK this might be quite difficult, as there are not many local bakers left. Happily, that is not the case here. The next village along has a bakery with shop right on the main street. In fact, you can watch the bakers at work as you go past. I dropped in today and they were most helpful. They didn't have any on the premises but are going to order some for me. Result :0)

ETA: I Had a phone call from the baker. He was speaking Swiss German, I was (wo)manfully plodding on with German. I think it is now on order. All 12kg of it. Yep, they can't get a smaller pack.

PFO test

I had the test done on Friday- Profolol you are my friend, I don't remember a damn thing about the procedure, which is just the way I like it. The good news is that I don't have a hole in my heart. The bad news is that there is nothing physical that can be done to stop the migraines. However, the very best bit of news as far as I am concerned is that my stroke risk is not any greater than it would be in any other 'average' woman.*

The only unpleasant thing that happened was trying to get the Venflon in. In the end it took FOUR people. The last person to try was a nurse from the anaesthetic department. He snuck up on the vein and then rammed it home so fast I thought it was going to come out of my elbow! But he got it in... My hands and arms look as if they've had a good beating.

So it's back to being appreciative of the good things in life and not letting the bad weeks get me down. Speaking of good things, I am listening to one of the CDs that Baby Bear gave me for my birthday. It is 'Y-Yo Ma plays Moricone.' Baby Bear and I both love the music to 'The Mission', so this was a very, very thoughtful gift, filled with beautiful music. It's on in the background as I drink my coffee, read a good book and generally enjoy life in Switzerland. Good things indeed.

* People who have migraine with aura have an increased risk of stroke. The cardiologist confirmed for me that this is directly as a result of PFO

Halle-%&*+°?=!!-luja

I'm new to eBooks. I'm new to iTouch. I'm new to downloading eBooks to my PC and then transferring them to my iTouch.

Despite that, I somehow (not sure how) managed a major step in the proccess when I registered with Adobe Digital Editions. No big deal? Try doing it in a foreign language....

New personal best

10km, 1 hour.

This health &v fitness thing sure is odd. I didn't get up until 1.00pm today because I had (another) bad migraine. Ye this evening I feel good enough to go on the crosstrainer.

What is even odder, and more frustrating, is that my weight stays resolutely the same. I am not eating between meals. I am not eating huge amounts of carbs. I am not drinking lots of milk. If my measurements were changing, then that would be great. But everything stays the same :0(

just in case

Last winter we had trouble with the heating a couple of times. Well, it wasn't really trouble, since by the time I realised there was a problem the letting company were already on to it. But I do wonder what would happen if the heating failed at 5.00pm on a Friday. With this in mind I bought enough wood to last a few days. This is a pathetic fire to be sure, but it was only to check that there were no chimney problems.

Now, where did I put those chesnuts...