Icicle Sneezes and Bothersome Toothypegs

Sunday. Mike slept late this morning. There we are, a totally ordinary non-insulting statement of fact. Unusually he came to life quite early in the first coffee and managed to chatter away quite happily without noticing my mind had left the building.  I’m certainly not on form at the moment and he could probably have called me all the names under the sun ( as usual) without me noticing. We set off a bit before lunchtime so he could take me shopping for a birthday gift for my sister-in-law. I managed to concentrate long enough to get a few little things and then we went for lunch.

Today we returned to the Blossoms so we could enjoy a proper Sunday dinner without risking me piling my own plate at a carvery. It was an excellent roast lamb dinner made even more delightful by the owner giving us some pickled red cabbage to accompany it as I dislike mint sauce. After lunch Mike ran me home and collected his mobile phone which he’d left on charge and forgotten when packing. He rang his father to see if he wanted any shopping and waved me goodbye. I’d spent so little time on the computer with the frauds in the morning I headed straight there. This afternoon just the one, I felt cheated- even though that was probably the point of the exercise for them.

You will have gathered I’m not very technically minded so I spent some time working out how to change all the poems I’ve written into a format that the friend who’s editing them for me can actually make changes. After a few false starts I managed it by rewriting them as txt files. I’m not sure but I think the clipart will have to be done separately too so that it can be added to the pages once the book has been put on Lulu. I’ll wait until another friend has created the cover before deciding how to forge ahead. I have four books out and not one has been put on the publisher sites by me. My eyes glaze over and my brain shuts down when I try.

I finished my mail and went through to the lounge for long enough to watch a little TV but I was getting bored so after tea I came back through and started the mail and this blogpost. I’d expected to finish in time to have an early night but it seems not. Just approaching midnight and I’m going for a read. BTW, is this easier to cope with in smaller paragraphs like this?

Monday. I’m pretty sure I have a cold. I’m also pretty sure that despite having put the thermostat up at about 4.30 I’m freezing to death. I swear when I sneeze the icicles from my nose are flying across the room like knives. I dealt with all the usual jobs like mail, fish, tablets and a hot coffee before 8.00 am and then got washed and dressed hoping to warm up. By 9.30 nothing had improved though the radiators are hot so I decided to go out for bread. It’s a disaster, I had to buy brown baps, the white had all gone.

Coming back in it felt warmer so I started changing a few more of the poems to txt files and was eventually able to remove my gloves. I suppose most of you would think them useless as they’re fingerless gloves but they allow me to take the change out of my pocket easily when I’m out. As I was doing my mail I had a message from a friend who told me her landlords are going to fine her for putting her rubbish bin out too early. He would brook no arguments like how did she know how early too early is when the binmen themselves have no set time for arriving. This landlord apparently can ask tenants to vacate if they receive three strikes and he’s counting this as one. It made me think that things in the US must be as bad as here since my daughter was threatened with a large fine by Cheshire CC for putting bin bags in the wrong place. That she didn’t know there was a right place and just added her bag to some others wasn’t an acceptable excuse. They employ a team to go through people’ rubbish bags and can fine them if there’s any recyclable material there. My own authority in Wales issues us with separate rubbish bags for things to be recycled. A bag for paper/cardboard, glass, tins and plastic. We have a small bin for food waste and a large wheelie bin for household waste. Our biggest problem is the bags blowing away in bad weather.

At lunchtime I had baked potato and beans and watched part of one of my favourite films, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness which was showing today. A big coincidence as I was only talking about it on Friday. Then I spied my repeat prescription form on the table that should have gone in this morning and had to go out again. This time when I came back I sat in my armchair and fell asleep during CSI NY. I had some fruit at teatime and managed to stay awake for a quiz but after Law and Order decided the only way to stay awake was to work so I came through  intending to change some more poems. No chance. Tons of mail which included an unexpected award.These may be a nuisance to some and they do take a long time to deal with but I can’t ignore someone’s kindness and so had to blog about it and make my own nominations. It’s a gesture of appreciation for the work they put into their blogs even if it’s for entertainment alone. Having done that I started on the rest of the mail.

Three hours has now passed and I’m off to get my meds which I’ve managed to forget for the last three nights. Then I’m going to do some poems come Hell or high water.As I finished my Pratchett short stories last night I’m going to choose another new book to read and try for an early night. Because of the cold I won’t go out tomorrow so poor Yvonne will have a little peace, at least from me. Reuben won’t give her any as his first tooth is breaking through.

Toothy peg coming through.

Ooh toothache.

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Tuesday. No sneezing this morning so probably not a cold, unless it’s in shock at the 4.10 am on the clock. I knew I’d slept in the bed last night so no surprise at finding the duvet round my legs. My trip to the loo once up though was more an automatic journey than one undertaken awake. For some reason I did it with my eyes closed. I only realised it when I got back and turned the light on before powering up the computer. One of the first messages today was from Africa…..

Good day!
I am Mrs.Bintou Sawadogo auditing and accounting department" (B.O.A)
Bank Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, I need your assistance to stand as the
next of kin to this sum of money (usd7.2) I have agreed that 40% of
this money will be for you as the beneficiary respect of the provision
of your account and service rendered, 60% will be for me

For further procedure contact me for more details,

Yours faithful,
Mrs.Bintou Sawadogo   

Do they really think I’m going to move for a share of less than $8 ? They’re getting very careless considering they have charge of so much money. There was fun to be had with comments on my last blog. There are a few cards amongst my friends and it’s a joy to read what some of you write.

I’d decided not to go out today but Yvonne told me she, Ugo and Reuben would come and bring a chippie tea after Ugo finished work. That gave me opportunity to ask her to pick up some shopping for me on the way. Most important were white baps instead of the brown ones I was forced to buy yesterday. There’s only so much I can do towards a healthy diet……and yes, I know chips don’t count but at least it’s not me buying them. I’ve spent most of the morning on the computer before going through to do lunch. On the way I found the postie has delivered my last Terry Pratchett DVD, The Colour of Magic. During lunch I watched another Sherlock Holmes ( Jeremy Brett) and then drifted off to sleep. I was out almost an hour and was only woken by the phone ringing. They didn’t leave a message so it was probably a salesman for double glazing again. It usually is if Mike’s here and he answers. I NEVER speak on the telephone.

I spent a couple more hours on messages and blogs I follow and finally have all the poems as text files and all the clipart illustrations as individual pieces ready to send off again. I’ll probably do that tomorrow though I know my friend is too busy to get to them for now. Then it was teatime but of course I couldn’t have tea as the visitor are bringing that so I watched an antiques show Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is ad then a quiz. There was a text to say Yvonne was just leaving Tesco and tea would be with me in about twenty minutes. I covered up my well gnawed fingers. Eventually Yvonne arrived carrying Reuben. Ugo was in the chippie round the corner getting the food so they’d walked on. Reuben was a delight. Beard pulling, story telling, dribbling but full of smiles and giggles. I held him until Ugo arrived and then threw him at Yvonne so I could plate up the food. Yvonne had buttered me a bap (white) in readiness while I held Reuben. She’s on a diet fad at the moment so no chips for her but she’d brought some bird food with her anyway. Reuben sat with his dad making snatches with his hand whenever food came close. He wasn’t successful and I felt really sorry for him. There’s no way Ugo is parting with food as I already know to my cost. I washed up and saw to Ugo’s pudding while Yvonne fed Reuben some yucky cauliflower cheese which he pulled faces at ( I don’t blame him) then some pineapple. It didn’t stop him looking longingly but hopelessly at Ugo’s hot chocolate fudge cake and ice cream. I took him on my knee and pulled my birthday balloons over. He had a whale of a table belting seven bells out of them and screaming with joy. The only problem is that every punch was accompanied by a large stamp of the foot which means I’m singing soprano for the rest of the week.

Back over on Yvonne’s knee to start getting ready meant tears and shouts. The same on Ugo’s knee but Yvonne commented as I picked him up again that for me he shuts up right away and no tears. Maybe one day they’ll learn to scare him as I do. They left about 8.00 pm and as usual I came straight to the bedroom to clear up any messages. There were quite a few so it’s now gone 10.0 pm and I still have a few to go. It’s a bit early to check the Euro lottery but if you hear a scream later please keep the begging letters to a minimum, I’m not refunding the postage.

Wednesday. Anotjher early start on the computer so that by 6.00am I was able to go sit in the lounge with a cuppa. No point in waking the fish up yet, it’s not another birthday. I couldn’t nod off despite trying hard and as the light started to come up about 7.00am I decided to get washed and dressed before going back on the computer. Might as well be formal for my friends and dispel the belief I spend all my time in this dressing gown- which is not in the least reminiscent of Noel Coward.   Still couldn’t be bothered to go out this morning so I did keep my furry caveman slippers on. No lottery win, hence no scream. It’s very disappointing, I need a lottery win to be able to afford the bribes to ensure a lottery win.

Lets just gloss over lunch. I can’t make potato and beans sound any more appetising that it sounded the last few times but I promise myself a small packet of bacon the next time I’m in Pauline’s. The afternoon was spent having a general tidy up before my visitors arrive at about 6.00 pm. A slight problem was that I was going to get my tea at 5.00 pm when I hard “Hello” from the hall and in walked Dil and Matt. Dil had taken the day off for his wife’s birthday and had decided to come early for his weekly thrashing. I’d just finished making drinks when Lee arrived too. I got him a glass of water cos’ that’s how mean I am and got the table and the Scrabble out. It was a close fought game with words like jo and quean making an appearance as well as aglet. Despite (my) cheating young Matt still won. He was pleased about that. Dil made some remark and had us clutching our stomachs.

Time for cards and we decided upon Nomination Whist playing 10-1 and 1-10 again. I claimed victory by four points and a judicial use of the pen I was scoring with. Being landed with that job every week has it’s advantages. Next was crazy 8’s and Matt did the scoring as I made the drinks. He tried to distract me by telling of a new card game for next week. It sounds horribly complicated but all that bothers me is whether we can have a laugh and toss insults about as usual. Despite him wielding the pen I won by  wide margin. Perhaps the aces up my sleeve helped a bit. Lee had to go. I’m so grateful he comes as it’s a very long day for him after travelling early for work and then coming here before he’s eaten. He’s an exceptional person. The rest of us decided to play Newmarket. I’m beholden to Reuben that we all started the game with 40p each from his coin jar. At one stage I was down to 22p and Dil’s pot was looking very healthy. Matt was hanging in there too when suddenly the tide turned and Matt started winning. It got so good that he had ‘snow in the kitty’ but by the time they were due to leave I was 26p up and Dil was almost skint. It didn’t stop him finding four 5p’s in his pocket to make Reuben the real winner of the night though. As always I was sorry to see them go but I settled to watch the second half of a Person of Interest I hadn’t seen and now need to see the first half too.

Time to turn off and get back to catching up on mail. Since I hadn’t been near the computer since the afternoon, my postbox held 93 when I got here. Ai Caramba ! It took me till well gone midnight to clear up and now it’s almost time to get up so Good Night all. Hugs

Thursday. I managed just over 3 hours sleep. How on earth do so many people get so many messages to me in such a short space of time? Don’t you have anything better to do? Actually things went very well and before 7.00 am I’d managed to send off all the clipart to the friend who’s going to do the cover for Reuben’s book. I shall owe a dedication to the friend who came up with the title since it was decided to drop the word Odd which I was using in ‘Odd Poems for Toddlers and Up’. Now it will probably be ‘Tall Animal Tales for Toddlers & Over’ or something similar.

Anyhoo, I went through and fed the fish, did my drugs for the week and had my morning meds before grabbing a coffee.  I was feeling tired again as I sat down at the computer and might have lain down had my phone not beeped with a message. It was Mujo suggesting a visit. I thanked them but explained about the ‘cold’ and said I don’t want to pass it on to John in his state of health. A quick flurry of messages back and forth settled on seeing them next week. I did manage the energy to get ready to go out however and trekked up to the chemist to order an item I’d forgotten and only had five days supply of. To the sandwich shop to get a ham salad roll for lunch and to Pauline’s to renew the lottery tickets. I was back home before I remembered about the pack of bacon. Why did no-one remind me?

The usual morning followed. Dealing with messages etc until 11.00 am when I decided enough was enough and I deserted my post. On went the TV and I chilled out to Murder she Wrote. At least it was one I hadn’t seen though I’ve no idea how that could have happened. I had my pre-lunch tablet followed by my bap which was heavy on the onions as requested. No more colds for me then. Shame on me I also had a small pork pie too. I stayed there with the TV on an antiques programme until I found the enthusiasm to return to the keyboard. During last night’s visit I’d had Matt look at Ancestry.co.uk for me to see how to download a Gedcom file to a memory stick. It must have stayed in my bonce as I managed to download a copy of the family tree for Yvonne. I have two more memory sticks on order so I can do one for Karen and one for Lee if he’s interested. Oh, I must pick one up to do a copy of Mike’s for him too.

At 4.00 pm I went to the lounge and saw a quiz show after which I had some toast and a tin of pineapple for tea.After washing up I thought I’d watch Law and Order but fell asleep in the chair instead till 7.30 pm. I came through to check whether I’d won something on Ebay and found Mike on skype. We had a conversation for a while  (written only) about him coming tomorrow, he’ll be late as he’s visiting his dad first. I missed the Ebay item altogether , for which I’ll blame him for distracting me. Never mind, I can always bid on a different one ( but I won’t let him off the hook that easy). I’ve since caught up on my mail and have managed to bore the pants off you all so I’m going to have a short read though I’m starting to yawn now. See you tomorrow !

Friday.This was a 4.45 day. What an idle git I hear you say but in my defence it was well gone midnight before I finished reading this morning and settled to sleep. When I got up all I could hear was the rain. I turned the computer on and left it to reach live while I nipped to the loo. The rain was annoying today whereas I can usually ignore that kind of distraction. So, headphones on and over to Youtube.  It’s quite easy to get lost in my music while I’m dealing with mail as most doesn’t require too much concentration. Be fair, I come out with such rubbish sometimes people wouldn’t know if I were distracted or not. For no other reason than it pleases me I’ve decided to add at least one song to each blog IF that song has made a difference to me that week. Today I offer you http://youtu.be/-SiGnAi845o which is the great 80’s group Simple Minds with a later offering called She’s a River. Ju and I used to play this during a certain part of the ride we took to visit MuJo.  I apologise if I mention her to anyone’s discomfort but she’s much on my mind at the moment.

By the time I’d finished the mail and I’d disentangled myself from the headphones which I was still wearing as I tried to leave the room, it was almost time for the fish. This was the day when the albino cory hid and I almost had a heart attack thinking it was dead somewhere. I’d got the top off the tank and was fighting back the advance guard of the snail army when the little beggar came out from behind the pump with slow deliberation. I slammed the lid back on and got a disgusted look from the biggest of the bullnose plecs ( only about 2 inches). I put a heavy vase on top as I’m sure the snails are enough to move the top if they make a concerted effort now. I washed my hands, took my meds ( I must cut down on the hallucogenic ones) made a coffee and went back to the computer. I refreshed the screen, sat down heavilly when I saw what came into my mail box and decided to get dressed first.

Catching up again took me till 9.30 am so I decided to nip to Pauline’s and get the bacon. I also picked up some roast pork and stuffing, some corned beef and (here logic defeats me) a pack of microwave baked potatoes. I mean, I do the bloody potatoes I buy in the microwave anyway and I get a lot more for the same money. Back at home I worked for a couple of hours then had lunch. Today I had the corned beef with my baked potato ( ordinary one) and beans. Such variety. After I’d washed up I sat in the lounge for a while. I didn’t feel guilty at nodding off and knew Mike wouldn’t catch me as he won’t be here until tonight. I managed to catch up with post again before my antiques show started then I had a little of the news when I found Law and Order was a recent repeat. At about 8.00pm I went for a shower and had just finished in there when Mike arrived gasping for his coffee and full of tales about his week. It’s been a particularly frustrating one for him it seems, he’s been waiting to talk to me and obviously it doesn’t help when I don’t speak on the phone. After forty years the relationship between Mike and I is a little symbiotic in that we both have a need for the other to talk to. It’s a double edged sword this telephone business as I can’t share with him either.

At ten o’clock he’d about exhausted his problems and I’m sure there was a degree of relief there. He’s full of hope that his son will move back to Wales with the children and he’ll be able to come home so we’re only a short distance away. I think my problems can wait for another time. So, it was time to come through and have my final catch up of the day and do the blog before having a short read. It’s early shop day tomorrow of course. If, and it’s a very big if, I can actually move someone out of his pit while the shops are still open. One minute past 12 so the weekend has started. I wish you all a Wonderful one.

Saturday. Well the mornings are startling to get a little lighter.  Just not at 4.12 am  which is when I went to the loo falling over my slippers, stubbing my toe and them cracking my kneecap. The blue tinge that appeared in the air did at least help me see a bit. One thing I did see as I passed Mike’s room s that his bedside lamp was on . He appeared to be laying across the bed face down and I was grateful for the covers because I knew which part of his anatomy was aimed at me. Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…. He was fast asleep so I didn’t disturb him. I concentrated hard on my emails from late last night and this morning. So many people report the weather is giving them a battering one way or another. I finished just before Mike’s alarm clock went off for the first time. I say for the first time secure in the knowledge that Quasimodo ringing his bells wouldn’t get Mike up yet. For one thing his coffee isn’t ready.

I saw to the fish, took my meds and finally made us both a drink. Mike’s I deposited on the bedside table  letting him know it was there…”Mike, coffee’s ready” ……….           “Grunt”…….” OK then, I’ll call you later”. I took my coffee back and refreshed my screen. Just 6 messages, no problem. I finished them as Mike’s alarm went off for the second time, it rang until it hit the wall. I’d just finished my drink so I went to get washed. On my way out of the bathroom I reminded him his coffee was getting cold (it’s been there half an hour) and he actually moved so I came through and got dressed. Minutes later I head him go to the bathroom so I emptied my wastebin and took it through to the kitchen to add to the black bag from the main bin. I emptied that and put a clean bag in then did the same for the food bin. I took them outside to await collection. Then I took the recycling bags out and stuck the edges under the wheelie bin to stop them blowing away.

I came back in to wash my hands and Mike was just making his second coffee though to be fair he’d made a start at getting dressed. I’m nor sure what the dress code is for supermarket shopping but instinct tells me it may be more than a pair of shreddies (underpants) a rather ‘relaxed’ stomach and one sock. Eventually we got underway. He was driving as though trying to recycle the fumes of any car in front. When I asked him about it, he sarcastically told me he was just trying to reach the speed to get us there yesterday to shut me up. We arrived at what felt like lunchtime and toured the car park looking for a place. Well OK, we didn’t as there was no shortage, but there COULD have been. First job potatoes, done and dusted. Then flowers for Ju. Some chrysanths and a few carnations. Some outfits for Reuben and then moving to an aisle to look at gifts for Dil’s birthday Mike moved ahead of me. He was standing still so I guessed he’d found something suitable and moved towards him. As I got closer the grin appeared and broadened until it hit me, and I mean like a sledge hammer. It was like walking into a brick wall. “No warning?” I gasped. The valley of death had struck. Heaven help us if another customer came that way or worse still a member of staff. They’d evacuate the store at the very least. Then I noticed him scuttle away “I need the loo he said.” I threw my crutches in the trolley and rapidly scooted to another aisle.

From the supermarket we headed to Flint for his verbal sparring match over a coffee. Today he wolfed down a piece of tiramisu in Ju’s honour and the biscuit from both our saucers. At home again we met the bin men collecting the recycling bags. I hung back a moment to collect the empty bags to put indoors. The young lad asked me if I’d like the bags putting on my front step where it’s protected and a thanked him. He asked if I’d like them putting in a box I keep there and I thanked him. As he left I couldn’t help but wonder they don’t do that as a matter of course instead of just throwing them down anywhere to get blown away. I went in and dropped the shopping I was carrying in the kitchen, Mike was unloading the other bags. I put the shopping away and while Mike put the flowers in a vase I went to bring the rubbish bags in.

We’d been out almost 3 hours by then so I caught up on messages again while my lone arranger worked on. I decided to have a shave and thought an electric one would be quicker perhaps. I really can’t get on with electric razors at my age. Too many wrinkles (folds) in the skin where it misses so I had half electric and half wet. Time to see where he wants to go for lunch. He has a date tonight with a paramour he’s had a crush on for years so I knew he wouldn’t want much lunch. Because of that we went to the Ivy to see Tariq and Shella. Tariq showed us round the room he’s turning into a photographic studio and he has great plans for some other rooms too including, crafting and cake sales. There’s a large room to be used for private parties which will  be great if any of them want photographs on the day. I had fresh cut ham, egg and chips for lunch while Mike stuck to cheese on toast.We also had puddings and an argument ensued when Tariq said we weren’t to pay for them at which I pointed out he’s running a business and is supposed to make a profit. We had a nice chat with Shella too and I really must see if I can find a way to get her a couple of Titterton’s pies.

After we left Mike decided on a cross country tour. It was fascinating. Some fantastic houses and some brilliant views. Eventually we found ourselves by Jackson’s nurseries where we bought a couple of things before heading home. Mike had time for a shave before having to head out again. I’ve told him if he’ s not in bed by 11.00pm he’s to come home. That’s about it really. I’ve caught up on emails again this evening and decided which two pictures of Reuben will grace the page. I wish you all a fantastic week and don’t forget to be generous with the Hugs please. I think it’s National Hugs Week……………………………………………………………………………………….

The Happy Chappie.

  Hugs Everyone.