The things I do in France....

I've always been keen on the great outdoors and here in France there's always something outside demanding our attention. Today, having looked at the weather forecast, WPH decided he needed to cut the grass in the field before 'les orages' (thunderstorms) rendered the long grass saturated. The sit on mower, WPH's boys' toy, has had a dodgy battery for at least two years now. This hasn't been too much of a problem with jump leads and some assistance from yours truly, transferring revs from car to mower. Normally I sit in the car on the very steep hill adjacent to our garden, while WPH does the clever bit with the jump leads through a fence. Today however was different. Maybe I am becoming protective towards my new hip but I found myself suggesting we push the mower up the very steep hill and into the drive, so that I didn't feel so precarious sitting in the car, totally blocking the lane, but vulnerable to speeding Frenchmen, whilst revving the car. There is no photographic evidence of us pushing the mower but believe me it is a steep hill and the mower is very heavy but we finally made it!

Some expert revving and soon the mowing was underway.

Yet again I find myself thinking how lucky I am to be able to do crazy things like pushing a heavy mower up a very steep hill with la nouvelle hanche. I know of two people who are having major hip operations today and I hope their outcomes are as positive as mine. One is Beth, aged 8, and the other is J's friend. I wish them both well and hope they are also doing crazy things before too long...

She who dares ......

I realise that almost a month has passed since my last blog. No reason really but it may reflect the way life has settled down as a hipster. However significant improvements continue to take me by surprise and therefore others, facing a hip replacement, may be encouraged by my recent log of achievements.

• The other day I ran indoors spontaneously as it began to rain. I contemplated running a marathon too...not for long BUT the thought was there!


• When I rose from a chair yesterday I no longer needed to stand for a few seconds to collect my muscular strength before walking.


• Getting in and out of the car is a doddle and I managed the long drive down to our French home with minimal stiffness.


• I can now lift quite heavy items and carry them without pain.

But best of all is what I managed to do this morning. I was feeling a bit daring do... WPH says he is glad to see this aspect of my personality re-emerging. I decided to throw caution to the wind and handed him the camera....

And here is the evidence. I can SQUAT! Yippee.