Home Again

So here I am again, back after 6 weeks away, 5 weeks spent working at a Summer School, and a week with friends and at mum's. It's nice to be back home, but I'm painfully aware of how much French I've forgotten and how much Mr F-D's French has improved. That is mostly due to the fact he's now working in the local supermarket - no staff discounts, I'm afraid, but he does get to bring home past-its-sell-by-date stuff. Just before I went away, he came home with 10 boxes of cereal bars - for a moment, I feared he was going to get paid in cereal bars!!

Just think: ten boxes with 6 cereal bars in each. That's 60 cereal bars!!! He took them into the Cycle Club house, where I think they were well received after a couple of long hard rides.

Today he brought home 3 squashy beef tomatoes. I'll be using them tonight to make a ratatouille to have with merguez sausages, and thinly sliced pork steaks. I'll probably sauté some potatoes too. It's hot here today, but a Southern style vegetable stew is quite appealing nonetheless.

It's hard work for him, and not the most challenging of jobs - especially a day on the tills - but it's bringing in a much needed cash injection. We may be able to survive on this, if we're careful. I did splash out a bit in the UK - well, I'd earned it!! I went to Log Tall Sally and bought my jeans and I bought Mr F-D a little gadget for his birthday. I won't say what, as he reads this blog (to find out what we're having for tea!)  though I think he might guess!

I've come back from the Summer School feeling rather porky. The food was plentiful and good, and reasonably nutritionally balanced, but I'm afraid I just ate too much of it. At the beginning I tried to be good, and succeeded in a baked potato/salad combo at lunchtime but that went by-the-board when I worked out that the hot lunches were usually better than the hot evening meals, and in the evening the salads weren't so appealing. So I had the hot meal in the evening too!!! But,with a bit of effort here we'll get back to the (reasonably) healthy eating. I've been quite inspired by the Hairy Bikers show, which I saw for thefirst time yesterday... I will look on the BBC recipe site to find out more. And I just have!

So, let's see what we can be doing.

I do know I have to exercise too. It's finding something I enjoy, I can do and I will keep doing. Hmmm. Not much to choose from then!

Bib, the Very Very Bad Kitten is asleep, head on my keyboard. Bless! Every now and then a fly buzzes by, and she twitches an ear, but she's not that inclined to chase them. It's too hot. She'll maybe be more active later on.

So, there we are! Thank you for your encouraging comments and emails. They helped keep me going when Summer School was a bit too much. I've been enjoying catching up with people's blogs today - it's my first day home, so I'm chilling. I may do tidying tomorrow...but then and again, maybe I won't!