Warm thoughts please.

This Thursday my brother in law is having a major operation on his back. He is having 3 spinal discs fused together. (I think - I don't retain medical stuff very well!) At the moment he is in huge pain all the time and can barely move. He has had previous attempts by surgeons to sort things out but to no avail. He is a very active, full-on kind of guy. Can't sit still, goes pig-hunting; a 'real bloke', as we say. And I might add, with a heart of gold. A good guy. Afterwards, he is going to have to be immobile for several months, and even that will be a huge challenge!
I said to Jane, my sister, that I would ask my blogging friends to send Chris some postive thoughts. She laughed and said that Chris didn't believe in that sort of thing, but she was fine with it! Well, I believe in the power of love and kindness, I really do. So if you would be so kind as to send some warm thoughts in this direction, or offer a prayer - whichever is your preference, that would be just great! I don't think that the timing matters, but just for your information, when Thursday dawns here in New Zealand it's still Wednesday in the States. :-)
Thanks everyone.

I have just had a wee burst and have added a world map which tells me from which countries my viewers have popped by for a visit! (Well, it's not actually a map but never mind!) I've also become a 'follower' of several blogs which I have discovered and which I'd like to read on a regular basis. A couple of those people have joined my merry band of followers too. Soooooo..... I really need to decide what I'm going to do with this blog if I'm going to be attracting readers. Lol! Try to remember bits and pieces from my year away? Just keep adding photos? Start a new blog quite unrelated to France? Or perhaps you have questions? If you want to ask them I would be very happy to answer. Soooo.... (another sooooo) let me know what you think. Please!
In the meantime, a few more photos. In no particular order because they seem to rearrange themselves when published: it's me with Abir, my lovely young uni friend from Lebanon, at the University of Poitiers. Then there's Robyn beside a statue of Joan of Arc. Robyn and I used to go to Sunday School together! My 'walking' friends; me one night in Poitiers just before last Christmas; and my house one sunny winter's day. (My studio is the little bit you can just see at the back!) And my background is just a little bit early for Christmas, but we don't have all that much time to be festive so I thought I'd start now! :-)

Eating, drinking, and food in general!

Just a random selection.... I seemed to spend a lot of time eating and drinking. Well, I was in France! It was compulsory!