April 30,2013

“Do you want them smothered and covered, hun?” …that’s the phrase I’ve been practicing with my Waffle House smile.  I’m in the middle of this crazy long dental work.  But, instead of a temporary crown to cover the stump, they just leave it due to the infection.  So, I smile and speak carefully so it doesn’t stand out.  I have an abscess in the bones above a tooth.  I’ve had a crown and root canal so it is a problem above them.  At first the dentist thought she could drill through the root canals and drain it.  BUT….I did not realize that once an endodontist finishes a root canal he basically packs the root holes with cement.  Okay, so they squirt a chemical in there, wait and drill; repeat over and over and over only making millimeters of progress as they go each time. We love our dentist here and she is very good, but she hit a point and said….”off to the endo”.  BUT…no Novocain and no pain since the nerve was gone….that’s good!

So, last week the endodontist went through the root canal and also cut the gum….this needed Novocain in several increments as I was there over two hours.  She couldn’t get to it……..So, with my chipmunk cheeks and antibiotics and anti inflamatories, I wait until this Friday where they will go in and cut the gum open and take out the end of the root, remove some tissue and scrape the bone and hopefully be able to get out all the abscess. She said then we wait a few weeks to make sure it’s okay before getting the crown.

This has not been a fun process and I hate dental stuff, so you know I’m enjoying this.  The endodontist speaks French and a little English, so we have simple conversations…..I’m hoping this week fixes it and I can go get my new crown soon.

I need a crown on a back tooth as well, but will start that once this is done.  The only fabulous thing is the cost.  Because we are not on US or French insurance, I pay in full and then submit our bills to a special insurance for expats.  So, I see all the actual costs…..amazing how much less it is here, probably in the end 1/3 the cost of doing this in Georgia.

Last night at dinner Ross commented that I haven’t blogged in a while; my reply was that nothing is funny or weird here anymore, it’s just normal life.  Things that eighteen months ago made me do double takes or feel uncomfortable don’t even phase me now.  In fact as I visited the US in April, it was a culture shock to be back in the south and I found things there fun and quirky.  About the third day of southern politeness and sweet accents I smiled and said to myself “ah I missed this”.

So, I’ll summarize the last month, but it’s not anything fabulous or hysterical…..

I arrived in the US and the first weekend went to the Camp Hope Spring retreat with Lindsay and Calum. We had a great time and I enjoyed getting to see a large amount of people in one place.  The food is different so your body has to re-adjust to that…..I find that funny…..you wouldn’t think it would be that different.  Here it’s just all fresh, no additives and low fat……I feel like I function better with that.

Tristan, Katie and Liam arrived for Easter weekend, so that was great fun taking Liam on an Easter Egg Hunt…..he’s changed from a baby to a boy overnight.  He’s so funny and we all enjoyed our time with him.  He calls Lindsay Chi-chi which we think is so funny…..and he says Nana, Papa, Cal…etc….so we think he’s a genius!  I went to Birmingham the next week to get some one on one time which was great.  He climbs everywhere and on everything…..reminds me of his father which then makes me smile!!!

The pollen in Georgia nearly killed me though, I guess not being there has made it less resistant.  Of course if the pollen count at 200 is very high and it hits 4000 when you’re there, no wonder it b others people.  I’ve been to the doctor twice with the allergies and finally it is on the good side.  Of course just as I arrive here, everything is just starting to bloom, so it compounded the problem! And I’m the one in the family with NO ALLERGIES….I’ve been tested at the allergist and am allergic to nothing…But I have severe allergic reactions to certain plants……WHAT????

Coming back to France, I brought Lindsay along for her spring break.  Thank you Ross for frequent flier miles!  She was only here Sunday to Sunday so it was a quick, whirlwind visit.  We arrived Sunday at noon and Tuesday morning we left for Disneyland Paris to celebrate her birthday.  We had so much fun and because it was colder and the kids here were in school, not crowded at all. Lots and lots of British people, but very few French.  Disneyland Paris is pretty small, but still fun!  Who doesn’t smile at Disney?  I was making regular visits to their infirmary though for Paracetamol (Tylenol) as the cold weather combined with my head being shaken on rides like Tower of Terror made the abscess ache and ache.  I knew I had my dental visit the next week, so it was a suck it up cupcake time.

We returned to the house Thursday and had a few days before Lindsay and Ross left for the airport on Saturday.  She spent the night in a hotel for her morning flight Sunday and Ross left Saturday at midnight for Malaysia.  So I had a quiet week at home doing laundry, cleaning and getting back into routine. The schools were on “vacance” for two weeks, so I didn’t have class either which was nice.  Here they go six weeks and have a two week break…it’s quite nice actually.

We’ve been going to a few volleyball games to see our friend David play.  He’s the American on the professional team here and I met his wife in the grocery store.  We’ve become friends and enjoy having English speaking friends!! Plus I adore their little boy who is turning one in May….gives me my Nana fix! He plays on the US National team each summer, so next month they leave until September when they’ll be back to play here.  He played on the US Olympic team last year which is pretty cool.

We had one week of gorgeous weather last week….windows open, no jackets….loved every minute….however, French weather has returned and it’s colder and off and on rain.

Saturday Ross and I went to the zoo. It was a decent day, with rain expected in the afternoon.  It is a nice place to walk with natural habitats and it’s quite hilly so you get a good workout.  We enjoyed watching the animals and since it’s a breeding zoo, there were tons of babies!  We especially enjoyed this one breed of monkey….you know the ones that look like they have a big red tumor butt……they were all playing and we sat for a bit to watch…there was this one playing with a big leaf…he then turned and stuck the stem up his butt and ran off to play with the leaf flapping.  We died laughing; he then stopped and re-adjusted it and took off again.  The gross part was after a while he pulled it out and then ate it…we left then!  Something about zoos are fun and we bought a years pass to this one since we’ll go walk it again.  There are a few restaurants in the park or you can take a picnic.  We ate at a restaurant outside the panda preserve so it was nice. Atlanta was highlighted on their world map as one of 16 zoos in the world with pandas from China J The women’s toilet was being cleaned, so the ladies did what they always do here(if it’s closed or crowded)….just went in with the men.

Saturday Calum arrives for eight weeks. His second day here we are going to the final Volleyball game, the championships.  The Tours team won first place in France, so it should be a great match. We get to sit with the players’ wives, so it’s been a lot of fun.  Professional volleyball is a bit different than the Camp Hope camper/counselor games.

Calum is doing an internship at SKF.  We got to read his multi page project and whew…I’m glad it’s him and not me.  He’ll go to work with Ross and then off to his department and building.  The week Ross is in China I’ll need to drop him off and pick him up each day….like our old MCA days.  I’m looking forward to having him here at night for dinner and weekends.  Of course his first week is next week and it’s MAY….so there are two big holidays next week Wednesday and Thursday so they’ll bridge it over the weekend.  So, his first work week is Monday and Tuesday.  Last year the three holidays in may worked so Ross had three two day weeks in a row!!!  It all depends on what days they fall on.  Ross is off this Wednesday for the May 1 holiday. It’s May 1-Labor Day; May 8-WWII Victory Day; May 9-Ascension Day; and May 20-Whit Monday(?) Don’t know what it is, but it’s a holiday.  During next week’s holiday the three of us are going to Futuroscope, an epcot type place with lots of hands on and 4-D movies.  Then off for the weekend at Claire’s so Calum can see Jean-Sam, Sylvain and William. Calum will be tired, but he can do it.

Before Calum is finished his internship, I’ll leave the boys and head back to the US for Teen Camp.  Calum will fly home a week after I leave; then Ross two weeks later.  We’ll be in the US for a couple weeks together before coming back to France.  Ross hasn’t been in the US since last summer so he’s overdue! Me…I flit back and forth J

Tomorrow on the May 1 holiday, Ross is off, so we’re taking some guys visiting from the Flowery Branch factory touring.  Fortunately my face is getting smaller and smaller each day and only a bit green bruise left, so they won’t be thinking “Ross has a freak for a wife”…of course after this Friday when she re-goes in….it should puff up nicely again.  It won’t have fully healed from this procedure…..fun, fun!

We had lunch Sunday with our friends who own the local hotel/restaurant.  They’ve been in the US since Christmas so it was nice to catch up.  He called his insurance agent Monday for me to see if I can change policies and not have to take the “code de route’ test.  I’m praying it works. I’m just not making progress on it…when I understand the vocabulary, I don’t understand the way they ask the question….argh!

Our nephew Craig is coming in June too, so we’re looking forward to his visit.  I love having visitors here; it’s a bit of home…..

So, I’m off…I have to go downtown Tours today for a rheumatology appointment.  Kind of a dreary, cold day, so I will just go to do what I need and come back home….no walking the city. More of a good cup of tea and a show day.

I’ll continue to look for the crazy….but like I said, it’s just my life now