The hundred and twentyfifth week of the pandemic

Apologies for lateness, but we have been having a hell of a week, during which there were some really nice things and some not so nice and at all times we have been chasing our tails.

There are some fruit on some of the trees

The visit last Wednesday to the Dacia garage was successful, in as much as they identified the problem and said that if we came back next Thursday, hopefully the required part would have arrived and they can fit it. We agreed and hoped that we can somehow organise ourselves with where to spend the remaining time between then and the arrival of Stephen and the kids.

Bowls everwhere

Well, all our plans went awry, as they usually do. On the Thursday, the day after the garage, Roy had his audiology appointment, which went well. They showed us the printout, which confirmed what I knew. Roy can hear OK in the deeper frequencies, but has little or no hearing in the higher ones. The very nice technician guy gave us a leaflet, which amazed me, but left Roy cold. Nowadays, you can apparently provide hearing aids, which deal with only particular frequencies and do not block natural hearing in the other frequencies. If that is true, that might be amazing, but Roy would not hear of any of it and that was that.

Lovely old XVIIIth century building

The original plan was to stay until the following Monday, when we were due to have our dinner with our American friends Herve and Didi, but the heat had got to me, I couldn't sleep and Roy said that we should go home immediately after the audiology appointment. I accepted his proposal and we were back in the village on Thursday night.

Óbuda church

The main event of the end of that week in the village was the arrival of a very nasty cold front, which brought thunder, lightning and sudden violent cloud bursts which were pretty frightening. Unfortunately, our dodgy patio door and the now non-existent insulation around it had given up in the downpours and we had lots of little leaks all over my bed, computer and in between. We spent hours watching the drip, drip, until we put out a fair number of buckets and bowls and covered up the computer.

The venue of our lovely dinner

In many ways, it was a godsend that we gave up being in town and came home early, as otherwise we would not have been here to protect my room from the drips. Obviously, the watering of the plum trees was suspended, as the series of downpours put a fair amount of water on the garden. Finally, it stopped and unfortunately, violent it was, it could not dent the heatwave, which returned as soon as the front was gone.

Herve and Didi

We also realised that there are some jobs which will have to be done around the houses and the garden, so we grabbed Pali, who agreed to find people to do all the things we can no longer do:

1. chop down the tree in the front garden of the Kotege, which is undermining the garage and the corner of the Farmhouse. 

2. clear our rainwater gutters, which were absolutely full of the fallen leaves of the tree that was to come down.

3. try to see if the leaks, due to the sealant having given up between the Farmhouse and its back garden facing patio, could be fixed.

Roy eating the goose liver

Then on Monday, 1st August we departed for town, which went with no problems and we managed to use public transport to get to the Kéhli Restaurant for our dinner with our American friends, Herve and Didi. They are actually both French, but live in Texas, where until his retirement Herve was a casualty doctor. 

Didi and Roy with all the dishes on the table

They turned out an absolutely delightful couple, interesting and interested, with a lovely patter, willing to take advice on food and drink, and with the ambience, food and service of the Kéhli, Monday night turned out one of the best ones we have had for years. We sat in the garden, under the big trees and enjoyed the food. I had a veal paprikash, Herve had beef with onions, Didi also had a beef dish and Roy a pork dish. We had cucumber and cabbage salad with our meals.

Herve trying to fall backwards off his chair

The star attraction, however, was the fact that Herve ordered himself a gulyás soup, some goose liver and beef with onions. We all thought he would never be able to eat it, but he did. Mind you, he did share the goose liver with the three of us, and amazingly, even Roy tried it and liked it. I am now absolutely sure that the reason why he would never try it before was because it is ridiculously expensive. Now that Herve was paying, and was urging him to have a taste, he did and seemed to like it.

Elian, whom I can't wait for

 

Tuesday and Wednesday was spent tidying and cleaning the flat, which was exhausting in the heat, but necessary. Both of us was wearing only a pair of pants, so we couldn't have the lights on as the workers in the  courtyard would have had a fright. The big fan in the lounge is the best one we possess. It cools you down quickly and is not really producing a hurricane of draughts, which my forehead, ears and cheeks do not like.

Xander the little wizard of a footballer

And then, we left town for Bér this morning, with the appointment at the garage being at 2:30 pm. We left the flat around 11 am. We caught our usual trolleybus, then got into the car and departed towards  IKEA. We were trying to buy some bedding, as ours has got too old and had to be discarded. The supply chain crisis has caught us up yet again, this time there were no ordinary white cotton sheets, which are not fitted, to be had for love or money. Later we tried it in Tesco as well, and no joy. We got some new pillows in IKEA and two fitted sheets in Tesco, and we'll have to make do with old stuff for the rest.

The second visit to the garage for the repairs to the car did not work out as expected. It turned out that the part we had to wait a week for was not the one required. This was very bad news, because the odds were that the correct part would not arrive in time to use the car with the family from Monday onwards. Roy suggested to the mechanics that they simply disconnect the alarm system, and once Stephen and co. went home, we'll have it properly done. I'm glad to report that miracles still do happen, as he went to the workshop and simply demanded to have that done. And it was. Having cocked up the part order, they have now ordered the correct one. With the noise turned off, there is no longer a hurry. I told the guys that we won't be back until after the family had gone home, and thankfully they were OK with that. 

Winter fuel

It was such a delight to sit up front, next to Roy all the way back to Bér today, without the damn safety belt alarm howling non-stop. As soon as we got home, we unpacked and put the food away, followed by an inspection of my flowering cactus. As sod's law would have it, the cactus, that took 7 years to produce a flower, managed to do it when we were away, so no photos I'm afraid and we haven't even seen it in full flower. Such is life, I keep telling myself.

A few of the plums that are still on the trees

 

When the heat subsided a bit, we went outside to water the plum trees and pick up plums for the mash. I do hope that there will still be some plums on the trees when the boys arrive in Bér next week. Elian loves fruit and has never eaten any directly from the tree it grew on. Hopefully he should be able to do that next week.

Must go now. Next post next week, but I have no idea when exactly. When I get a minute in the bedlam that is having the grandsons over. 😏