This was a big week, at least for us retired folks. In chronological order:

We’re going to France. We’re not sure when we’re leaving. We’re not sure what we’re going to see. But we know for sure when we’re coming home. We will take a repositioning cruise on the Queen Mary from England back to the US in October. The general plan is to fly to Paris, take the train to Provence, drive up to the Loire Valley over a period of weeks, then turn the car in and take the train back to Paris. (I’m not crazy enough to drive in Paris!) We’ll stay in Paris for a while, then take the chunnel train to London. We have our ticket for the return cruise. I thought we were reserving well ahead. But our first choice of rooms were all booked. We had the choice of stepping down one step, or going up. We said “What the heck” and stepped up. It was a hard decision, mostly because we had trouble paying for a balcony to cross the Atlantic in October.

I’ve been having a little trouble with vertigo. It’s a re-occurance of what I had about 35 years ago. Back then, I saw a GP, an ENT, and a neurologist. The neurologist knew what my problem was and knew I could do rotations to fix my problem; but he never gave me a name for my condition, and his description of the rotations left a lot to be desired. I finally got better after a month or two. This time my doctor’s assistant knew I have BPPV (Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo). She recommended a place to go to get the rotation done. That didn’t work out, but there’s lots of information on the web. I did one Epley Maneuver and kept my chin up for one day and two nights. That set me straight. BPPV is caused when calcium stones in your ear get stuck in your ear canal. I’ll never know what caused the first occurrence, but apparently once you get BPPV, it is more likely to recur. I’m thinking that going to Yoga 3 times a week may not be the best idea for me moving forward. There’s too many downward facing dogs.

“plique-a-jour” bowl

Today we went to the Walter’s art museum to get a free brunch for 20-year plus members only. Who says there’s no advantage to getting old? While we were there, we toured the Faberge exhibit. What caught my eye was a “plique-a-jour” bowl. This has enamel is applied in cells, but with no backing in the final product, so light can shine through the enamel. I didn’t have my camera, but here’s an example I stole from the internet.

Tomorrow we’ll take Mark out for breakfast for his birthday. It is said that we will meet his girlfriend, Jia Jia.

I hope this finds everybody doing well.