Sunday Pleasantry & Nutter Magnets

Sunday 28th Dec 2014.

When I swung my legs out of bed this morning at 3.09 am there was a wee tug between groin and left butt but I was able to put both feet on the floor without howling. It’s a Christmas miracle! The size doesn’t seem to have become any less though so getting a slipper on my right foot wasn’t easy, but I did it. I managed to shuffle from my bedroom to the loo without use of crutches or stick and with my foot flat to the ground. There’s a small background niggle but heck, he’s still in bed. Actually as I came out of the loo the background niggle was just walking in with the kind of look Might of the Living Dead tried to achieve. He was hardly aware of me at all until I wished him good morning for a joke. “Ohyesyespleasantry” was what I received in return.

I smiled and walked back to my room to turn on the computer and log onto my talktalk mail. Yay, it was still up. I dealt with that then signed into my gmail account to do the same. That one required a few full answers and took a bit longer. But I was up top date by 5.45 am and thought I might just rest my eyes in my chair, in fairness, there had been less that 2 hours sleep so far. I was trying to come to terms with differential calculations or something when sleep took me and I stayed out until 7.05 am. I found out just how good my ankle was a I ran to the kitchen and turned the tank light on. I don’t know if fish celebrate the seasons or have created new holidays based on me and my fickle moods. Lategod Day, Cheerfulgod Day etc but I’d be willing to bet that Forgetfulgod Day came about weekly. I might even have caught them mid-service this morning as they were sort of semicircular on Big Al who has no doubt convinced them he’s my mouthpiece. You could just imagine him intoning ‘And he’s a Vengeful god and will take away the light if you shall transgress’. ‘And he can be a kind god and the food shall rain from above when he wishes ‘ which is as good a get-out clause as you can get. This morning the food rained from above as I wished it and landed on Big Al’s head.

I took my sprays and my morning meds and made a coffee. ( also bad for gout Mike says along with caffeinated drinks like Pepsi max). He’s evil. I went back to work. Once I had the emails under control again I went to Ancestry.co.uk to carry on with the ‘hints’. It can be quite fun finding an ancestor on someone else’s site and realising he two of you may be related. That happened last year with someone in Australia. We had a great, great grandmother in common. At 10.00 am Mike shuffled his way into my doorway and gave a little wave as if to say “I’m here”. “Good morning again” I said.                                                                                                                   “What do you mean again?” he asked. I explained about our meeting in the early hours. He turned and shuffled off to the loo so I went and made him a drink. We sat in the lounge chatting about not a lot until I put on an interesting programme on Hampton Court Palace, the most complete palace of it’s age in the world today, the favorite palace of Henry VIII. So interesting I didn’t consider getting dressed mainly because I nodded off for the last half hour. When I came to again. Mike was dressed and had gathered together all his luggage and his gifts and was wondering if they’d go in the car. I had to get washed and dressed quickly. We decided to go for lunch but to save time later Mike would bring the car up to the house and pack it now. I gathered everything by the door and waited, and waited until eventually I went to see where he was. He was scraping a thick frost off the car. Even in the bright sunshine of midday it hadn’t enough heat to melt it. The car said it was 2 degrees.

We traveled to the Ivy saying how nice it would be to have some bacon and were really looking forward to it but when we got there we found they were doing Sunday lunches and both ordered a roast beef dinner. Angie  came for a kiss, Rob called hello, Tariq came for a hug. All had liked their gifts. Shella was cooking as usual but Angie told us that Shirley’s husband had died suddenly yesterday at 57 and so Tariq was helping in the kitchen today. We still ate. We were both sorry for poor Shiela who is a lovely lady. After lunch we drove home a little subdued. Mike went off to see his Dad before heading home to Rugby and I attacked the full mailboxes until 6.00 pm when I went to watch the Golden Compass. I was sorry they never made the next movie in line after that one.

At 8.00 pm I came back through and have been battling with mail then the blog to make sure I get to bed tonight.

Elf and safety Executive

elf service line

 

Xmas Dream of Reuben’s

 

Xmas Dream of Mike’s

Monday.

At 4.11 am when I woke I found myself already sitting on the edge of my bed trying to put a sock on. How I didn’t fall off I don’t know. I stopped what I was doing, slipped on my slippers, put my dressing gown on and visited the loo. The long flow made it seem I hadn’t visited in ages and gave me pause for thought. I was sure I’d been having a dream. I’d been visited by Porcinus who’d brought along a child and introduced him as little Brother Jake. He told me it was time to start earning the favour the gods were showing me. I pointed out that all I’d gained at the moment was sleeplessness and cold feet which made me wonder if that’s not where my foot problem started. A group of goats came up to him and the smell hit me where I was sitting. It was at that point I’d woken up. It was at that moment I realised the flow had stopped and I was still standing at the loo looking faintly ridiculous. I put myself away, washed my hands and returned to base. Yet again I have fulfilled my part of the bargain set and mentioned the gods in order for them to grow. I know Somnos is the god of sleep patterns, Porcinus is I think the god of lost causes ( creating them probably) but I have yet to discover what Brother Jake manifests as. I shall work on that.

The computer gave me a treat today by keeping the mail to a minimum on both mail carriers. By 6.20 am I was done. Not wanting to try for a sleep before the fish had been seen to, I decided to see to them then. The kitchen light went on first today so they knew I was coming. Kind of like a false dawn for them. Then the tank light went on and they knew a new day had started.Morecambe and Wise came to hover round the opening ready for breakfast. Little Al and Sharkey were having a face-off or more likely a tail off as they swam in a small circle trying to see each other off. Big Al was displaying the roots of his problems by flying back and forth end to end of the tank as if chased. Perhaps that’s how the others think he gathers news of the great outside he regales them with. Still, he was leaving me alone so I closed the flap and turned away.Breakfast wasn’t an option this morning as I didn’t feel like eating yet so it was straight on to the meds then making myself a coffee.

I took the drink back through to my room, maybe I could try for a nap after I’d drunk it but for now I might as well do some work as I drink. The end of the drink coincided with the end of the work at about 7.30 am. I got dressed and unlocked the front door before going through to the lounge in case a miracle happened and Somnos sent me a cleaner. I didn’t get one so maybe that’s not withing his purview. I did however get my nap and nodded off until 8.35 am. I spent some time tidying up and dusting before going back through to my pit. There were periods of mail to be done and periods where I was able to add some more leaves to the family tree. There seems to be a branch of my Rogerson side settled in Cook County ,Chicago and boy have they spread out. I worked like this until lunchtime then opted for an easy shepherd’s pie and a film on the box.  When that was over I went in search of my phone after realising it hadn’t been seen in 24 hours.

The message that greeted me was “Plug me in, my battery is low” but you could sense an undertone where it was calling me a name for forgetting it. The battery was practically nil and I think I just reached life support in time. There were 4 messages. One from Mike yesterday letting me know he’d got home safely. One from Tariq saying he was sorry not to have seen more of us but explaining about poor Shirley. One from (possibly) Shella as I didn’t recognise the number saying much the same and one from Dil asking me if I’d be in tomorrow afternoon. As I wasn’t sure when he’d sent it I didn’t know if it meant today or tomorrow. It’s Tuesday. It wouldn’t be until I got back from Yvonne’s but that got me to thinking about going to Chester tomorrow. The pain has almost gone from the foot but the swelling is still very much there. Getting a shoe on and keeping it on long enough to do some shopping just may not be possible. I’ve had to email Yvonne to cancel for this week. That won’t make either of us very happy since we both love the sales.

I did some more work to bring me up to date before finding myself nodding off over the keyboard. I went to the lounge for a power nap and got involved in a programme on TV instead. At 5.00 pm I had some of the cake Muriel made for my tea then had some Big Bang Theory before going through for what I thought might be the last time. Not so, there must have been a lull while all you good peeps went to get your RSI’s seen to and by 7.15 pm I was yet again up to date so I went through to see if there was anything good on the goggle box. I ended up watching something about repossessions done through the courts and evictions . The sympathy is often on the side of the evictee but it’s obvious they are not always the innocent parties and yet they’re still handled with some sensitivity by some of the bailiffs. Then I watched the World’s Strongest Man competition to see how the British contestant did. Amazingly well is the answer. I was going to sit through what I thought was a Countdown celebrity special but it wasn’t. It was a comedy version run by an odious little man that gave me an excuse to turn off and come through despite there being some good comedians on there.

Obviously the mail had built up again during my skiving break and I had to work at getting the numbers down so I could do this and still stand a chance of hitting bed before midnight.

Tuesday.

My good friend A.C.Flory tells me I don’t treat Somnos very well. She gets better results with him bribing him with chocolate cake. As I woke this morning I thought it was nearing 3.00 am and considering I’d got to bed early and turned my light off at 12.15 am I thought I’d done alright. But when I was up, threading my arms through my dressing gown I looked again. 1.36 am. He’d allowed me just over an hour and has the cheek to moan I don’t treat him well. Why, I’ve given birth to the rogue and helped him grow and this is the thanks I get. How about I just forget Porcinus and my Brother Jake now. If I can’t cope with one how am I expected to cope with three of them? Anyway , I was up and a gentle throbbing told me the reservoir needed emptying.

Once back I turned the computer on and found that there were quite a few messages I’d missed last night. It took me some time to clear them. By the time I was clear on my main ISP and then gmail it was almost 4.00 am. My foot hurt. I decided to go and sit in the lounge in my chair and contemplate my navel. It worked, I got another 2 hours. So pleased was I that the fish were given a treat, early breakfast. I was in and out like a ninja, before they knew what had hit them. I did notice that it was Little Als turn to go doolally tap today though, charging back and forth so maybe everyone’s attention was on him. I turned to get the milk to fill my mug and then started to take my meds. I’d dealt with the sprays easily enough and put the first batch of tablets in my mouth. I added the milk and the gag reflex kicked in. I had the devil of a job to prevent myself from decorating the wall again and swallowing them at a point where the gag was relieved, before I just threw up and lost them all. I made it though I had milk trickling through my fingers and I was gripping the sink to stop myself falling over. It seems my brain couldn’t cope with gagging and working out I had a sore ankle. Yes ladies, men eh! The second and third tablets were no problem at all though I decided against breakfast just in case.

I took my drink back to the bedroom and set to work on the mail that had come in while I slept. I only worked until 8.30 am then forcing a shoe on with my last remaining shoehorn I went over to the One Stop opposite Pauline’s. I wanted a large trifle and was pleased they had one so I picked up a couple of other things as well. It had been well less than zero degrees last night and a thick icy frost lay everywhere. I tried to be so careful. As soon as I got home I remembered I’d forgotten some ham o had to go out again only this time to Pauline’s. I almost came a cropper on her step but managed to get home intact. I forced my shoe off before I started unpacking and putting away. A huge ridge across my instep was aching. As soon as the job was done I came back to start on the mail again. I managed a break from 9.45 am till 11.00 am and then from 11.45 until 1.00 pm. I knew Dil was due about 3.30 pm so I wanted to be as up to date as possible. It was as well that I’d just managed to get up to date and walked through to the kitchen at 2.35 pm as that’s when they chose to arrive. There were two little calls of hello from the front door  and I started to get their drinks ready.

We had a little chat about our respective Christmases and Dil wondered how I’d got on with the card shuffler they’d bought me. I said I’d saved it until we played and put batteries in. A little noisy but it does a great job. Matt spotted the new game Yvonne had bought me Cards Against Humanity and asked if I liked it. He plays it all the time and loves it…typical. Dil thought it looked good even though I explained how rude it can be. We decided to give it a go. In the end everyone was enjoying it so much we played 3 times and I won three times without having to play a dirty card once. Phew. After that we played Yahtzee and it’s not worth me mentioning how I did, though I will. Out of 6 games I was joint winner once. Dil came first will 3 full games. That was a blow but nothing new.                                                                                  In Nomination Whist I showed them a clean pair of heels and felt untouchable. Then we decided to play Chase the Lady and this was with a vengeance, no holds barred. It was a fairly evenly matched game and the accusations of being evil flew from all of us but in a last flurry we managed to get Matt over the line while Dil’s score and mine was equal. That just left us with Crazy 8’s and all the duckin’ and divin’ that’s a part of that. I was caught a couple of times towards the end playing a scoring card that accumulates points from card pick ups but despite not managing to call last card and go out on a 2 or a 3 so someone had to pick up I still managed to win. The discomfort I was in sitting so long with my leg in one position was worth it. The home team came out ahead.

Dil and Matt left just before 9.30 pm and I spent some time tidying up and washing the pots before taking my meds and coming through to work. I could see there were 231 messages in my main mail box. I worked until 11.00 pm but there was no way I would finish tonight and I’m tired. So, I had done what I could up to that time and then started the blog. I’ll just have to work harder on the post in the morning.

 

Tower of Babel destroyed.

Wednesday.

2.00 am on the dot this morning. I was actually glad to be awake because of the dreams I was having. Somnos has mentioned he can turn his hand to anything as befits the offspring of an older god, we know Porcinus is in charge of the sheep and goats for a reason which isn’t as I thought because he’s thick, but because he cares for animals. Jake has been a problem until now but in the dream I discovered he”s the god of lovers and also wishes. So far all he can do is put the wishes in a goldfish bowl ( minus the fish), give them a good shake and hope the one he pulls out will say “I hope it’s liver and onions for tea” as he can manage that. If that’s the best he can do for wishes, heaven help the lovers. They’d be lucky to score a kiss.

Another reason I was glad to be awake was because of the messages I hadn’t been able to deal with last night. There were so many I needed an early start. Well I got one, maybe that was one of Jake’s wishes come true. It was actually gone 5.00 am before I was seeing daylight- in the literal sense as it was still pitch black outside. I decided to carry on till 5.30 am and take a break. In the end it was a few minutes after that and I was up to date to 5.00 am. I went and sat in my armchair in the lounge glad I wasn’t outside where there was a thick frost on the ground. Somehow, without any encouragement, I nodded off. It was 7.20 am before I came to again.The fish became the focus of my attention. As I turned the light on Big Al led a deputation towards me consisting of little Al and one of the smaller plecs. The bubbles of air went completely over my head but I could tell there was real rhetoric in them. No doubt I was being told that gods must stick to timetables where the sun coming up and going down are concerned and that food must be on time too. I put all my acting skills in place then and said sorry which seemed to mollify him. Privately I was thinking it wouldn’t take much to crush you mate so don’t push your luck. If only the agencies knew I’m the natural successor to the great Sir Alec Guinness.

I took my meds, decided on not having breakfast and instead just made my coffee to take through to the bedroom. I managed to get dressed before restarting work so I at least looked professional and not someone with too much time on his hands. I’d set to work and was going well when I was interrupted by the arrival of the postman who made the delivery of two books and a catalogue sound like the outbreak of WWIII. They hit the floor one after another with a resounding BOOM. After opening the books I went straight to ebay to leave feedback and found myself ordering something for Reuben. I took a small break from 10.30 am to 11.00 am to glance through the catalogue and then I broke off for lunch at 12.00 pm. Sausage, sweet potato mash and beans today which I’ve fancied for a while now. After that I slept again until 2.00 pm which put me in a panic of course. Before rushing back to work though I remembered my phone which was on charge in the kitchen. I thought I’d better check for messages. Oops, there was one form Ugo’s mother and one from Mike to say he was setting off to come here.

I battled with the new post and bit by bit got it under control. The frauds weren’t working bank holidays but the advertisers surely are. I could have bought all next years gifts by now if I’d had the cash handy.Oh, found a tweet from Sexy Molly again, I wonder if she’s on double pay today.  I finished at 5.15 pm and went to put the kettle on. My guesstimate was that Mike wouldn’t be long. He walked in a 5.30 pm just as one of his favourite quizzes started. I made a drink as he settled in. We saw that, then the news then back to another quiz with Celebrity Mastermind. There was a little difference of opinion after that but I put my foot down ( quite lightly) and we had Indiana Jones until 9.00 pm when it was time for me to leave him to his own devices and come back to work. I paid a heavy price for the skiving and catching up is proving hard tonight. I’ve broken off at 10.30 pm to do the blog as I don’t see why you lot shouldn’t suffer too.

Thursday New Years Day 2015

I’m not sure my body and my mind were in full agreement today. The body swung out of bed at 3.03 am but I’m pretty sure the mind stayed where it was in the warmth and tried to grab a couple of extra Zzz’s. The body followed the usual track, heading straight for the bathroom then came back and turned the computer on.  I felt the usual two fingers stiffen up preparatory to typing and away we went. I’m guessing that my eyes must have defected to the other side since I haven’t received complaints so far of gobbledegook messages, but I couldn’t tell you what a single one said. By 6.15 am I was up to date and lay down on my bed near the recalcitrant brain. I woke up at 8.50 am. Yep, you read that right, more that two and a half hours later and nearly two hours late for Big Al. Worse still, almost so late that Mike could have caught me.

Given that I could actually only put one foot on the ground it’s a miracle I reached the kitchen intact. Once there my only form of defence was to ensure Big Al had no chance to react. I opened the flap, threw in one of the large tablets then switched the light on while it was falling. There was so much activity from the others Big Al would have struggled top reach me. I turned away in relief. Next job, kettle on while I took my meds. When it boiled I started the machine making my drink while I made Mike’s and took it through. I’d already decided if he didn’t get up I’d leave him a I hadn’t given Yvonne a time of arrival. “Coffee’s up Bro” I called, loud enough to wake him. That was it. I picked up my drink and returned to work. Heck, there was a lot. At 9.15 am I heard Mike get up (gasp) and make his way to the lounge. I did a few more messages and went to join him.

We made decisions about where and when we’d meet Yvonne.11.00 am by the precinct, sent her a message and waited for a response. That was OK. So, next job, we needed to get ready. Mike finished first and came through to help me put my right sock on and then to get a shoe on. What a bloody performance. They’re like Chelsea Boots with very soft gussets and I was close to losing another shoe horn.Talk about a tight fit. Still. Mike managed it and at 10.15 am we were on our way.

When we arrived in Chester Mike dropped me off before going to park the car so I didn’t have a long walk uphill. While waiting I found the precinct wasn’t open and had to walk towards where Mike would appear so we could walk round the block. Mike had to get into conversation with someone who wanted to tell us about his pending court cases against the police and against the County Council over parking and speed cameras. There are times he should have a scold’s bridle applied. We just about made it to the front of the precinct in time to find Yvonne was late. We soon found her and paid a visit to W H Smiths’ a big newsagent and stationer to see if Mike could find a case for his 10″ tablet. Answer NO, but Yvonne and I found plenty of books to spend our money on. Reuben was getting restless so Yvonne let him out of the pushchair. Mike took the pushchair and the shopping to see if he could get it to sleep. Outside the shop we met Ugo and his delectable sister Janet who had kindly brought me Christmas gifts. We hugged and kissed before Ugo and she took Reuben home for a nap and Yvonne had a few n more shops with us.

Yvonne left us to go home when Mike and I went to have lunch. Or brunch as the choice appeared to be. The only time I’ve ever had bunch where we’ve has to pay separately for the fried eggs. It was poor, it was luke warm but it was filling. When we finally came out of there we decided to head back for the car. I thought I remembered a gentle slope to where the car was on the river front but I misjudged and we ended up at the top of a massive set of steps. It’s raining, it’s slippy and I’m on crutches with a bad foot. Mike said “Come on, let’s go into the park and take the slope.” Did I mention I’m stubborn and stupid too. With a lot of effort we made it but towards the bottom I see someone talking to no-one, then talking to Mike, then talking to me. I swear we’re like nutter magnets. If I was the only person on a bus and a nutter got on, he’d sit next to me. Or maybe he’d sit next to the nutter? Who knows.

We eventually got to the car and drove home. It was 3.00 pm and I went straight to work until 5.00 pm. I didn’t finish the work but as it’s a bank holiday I thought I deserved a day off. I had tea with Mike and stayed to watch a very clever John Grisham film but at 9.00 pm there was no avoiding it any more. As I signed into gmail the count was 284. I’ve done an hour of personal emails and then broken off to do the blog as it takes some time. I’ll return to the mail in a minute.

Friday.

I slept until 4.27 am. It may not sound much after turning my light out at 1.00 pm but it’s definite progress over the two o’clocks. I rose gingerly as my leg was hurting a bit. Not vicious pain as it started but more a gnawing ache and the swelling rather than having gone down has started an upwards creep. Like I’m now wooden top and bottom and it’s just filling in the in between bits. That’s how Mike puts it anyway.

I started work after my usual visitation to the porcelain.  There was a fair bit but I’d every confidence I could finish. I did, just before 7.00 am so went straight off to feed the fish. As I put the light on Morecambe and Wise swam up to the hatch. I dropped flake in for them and proceeded to drop pellets in for the rest. Sharkey was first at the trough as usual and started flying at anything that came near. He wouldn’t do that at Big Al of course but all I could could see of him this morning was a disinterested nose sticking out from under the bridge. I was grateful as Friday is the day for doing the fresh medicines. First I had to take the last dose from the container. So, getting myself a glass of milk I did just that. Once I was done I could bring my medicine drawer to the kitchen and start work. As I emptied a carton I’d turn round and get a replacement from the newest delivery. I also needed to not down the things I needed on a prescription request  so my  hands were going in every direction. Fast enough to sweep the container off the counter. As I searched for the tablets on the kitchen floor I was so grateful I hadn’t done too many. I still had to work out which was which and whether they were from the morning or night end.

It was 8.05 am before I finished and returned the drawer to it’s place and took my drink back to the bedroom. I quickly got rid of the outstanding post and as I had time I was thinking about something a friend had reminded me yesterday about a review he’d put on Amazon which had been shared with other Amazons. I think this was a hint to do some marketing. I thought “Why not.” Does anyone have a loaded pistol I can borrow? I did a very small piece saying I tend to forget promotion, added a link to this wonderful review and others that are there and promptly forgot about it. The time was fast approaching 9.00 am so I left the bedroom and went to put the kettle on for Mike’s drink. As soon as it boiled I took the drink through to him and with my usual battle cry, I woke him. Knowing it would take a few minutes and a bloody great miracle to shift him, I went back to the bedroom and got dressed.

The miracle happened and Mike moved through to the lounge under his own steam with no second curtain call. I joined him there and as usual we traded insults. I tried to get mine in early before he woke up but wasn’t having much joy. I asked him if he’d be kind enough to follow me in to the kitchen and spare he laughter but I wanted to drop my trousers for him. He just about managed to restrain himself but agreed my leg is not a pretty site. Not that it ever is he reminded me. He suggests I give the Doctor’s some serious thought. I will.

At 10.20 am Mike was going out to travel to his Dad’s. Before he left he helped me get a shoe on so I could go to Pauline’s and pick up the new lottery tickets. I’m not sure what came over me momentarily but while there I asked about the price of the stop smoking kits with the liquid refills. Luckily I fought the urge to buy one and won. Back at home I found quite a few message and just started work without thinking. At 11.30 am a knock on the door and what I hoped was a parcel was the warden for our  weekly chat. That lasted a while so I just carried on from there and made my lunch and found something to watch on the box. Once that was over I fancied 40 winks so closed my eyes and didn’t open them  until 2.05 pm. Not what I’d normally consider a problem until I got back to the computer. There was just so much mail it was unbelievable like the World has decided to write to me all on the one day.  When Mike returned at 5.30 pm I had only just passed to midday mark. It was all to do with this morning’s blog post. People I’ve never heard of liking it, befriending me, commenting. Wonderful and so scary at the same time.

I came back through at 8.30 pm and by 10.30 pm when I stopped to do the blog I had only just reached 2.30 pm in the mail. I won’t work longer that midnight as it’s shopping day tomorrow and I value Mike’s company but if I haven’t made real progress this is going to be a terrible weekend for trying to play catch up. Wish me luck.

The Reader

Saturday.

I did go to bed around midnight and turned my light off a little before 1.00 am. Nothing I could do could get me to sleep and at 2.20 am I gave up trying and turned the computer back on. By 4.45 am I’d cleared all last night’s outstanding post and by 5.25 am all of the morning’s too. I went through to the lounge, took a small padded chair for my leg and dropped into my armchair. I don’t know when I fell asleep but I did. I only woke up when I heard Mike’s alarm go off at 7.00 am. I went through to the kitchen and turned the light on. The fish all broke out into such activity it was like Big Al was directing the performance at a circus. He was at the centre while the others raced round him. That stopped the minute food was dropped in. Big Al with Little Al in tow came to the side of the tank as if to ask “What’d you do that for”? I didn’t have an answer for him so I smiled for a moment then turned away.

I put the kettle on while I took my meds and heard Mike’s alarm go off a second time. I carried a coffee through in one hand and the padded chair in the other , falling over the big new candle stand in the hall. Ha, you should have seen him move then. Fair enough, it was out of concern for me falling but as soon as he realised I hadn’t, he asked why not. I shouldn’t waste his time. Wt a beaming smile I passed his coffee over and went to make mine safe in the knowledge that he was up to stay. I nipped back to my bedroom with my drink so that I could just check something out on ebay then I joined Mike in the lounge for a few minutes. As soon as my coffee was drunk I went to get dressed. Mike had been talking about putting something more supportive on my ankle so when I reached that stage I called him through and we battled to get my foot in the new blue desert boots Yvonne had got me for Christmas. It really was a struggle and we almost couldn’t get the shoehorn out once my foot was in, the laces were straining to meet but it was on. Mike finished getting himself ready and at 8.00 am we left.

At the supermarket Mike got the trolley while I raided the cash machine. Then after having a cigarette we went inside. First stop was flowers for Ju. We found some but the choice wasn’t great. Then we flicked through all the sale goods and Mike found a pair of jeans he liked. Of course they didn’t have any trousers or jeans in last week so I’d ordered mine online and couldn’t remember what I’d ordered. I did find a couple of really nice things for Reuben which was good. We must have wandered a bit because time seemed to slip away. I got the food I wanted and we headed for coffee. Mike decided he really needed to eat so was going to order a breakfast. I’m not sure he remembered we were in McDonalds. He had a breakfast bap which was double sausage, double bacon and an egg on a bap with a funny potato thing on the side. The bap looked like polystyrene, the bacon was real enough, the sausages like beefburgers and the egg like rubber. He was fine till we got outside then started deciding it hadn’t agreed with him. We loaded the car and set off.

In Flint we needed to pick up a particular size of watch battery for Mike so we headed off to one of our shops. Halfway round Mike decided the food wanted to pay a return visit and had to leave me with the basket and disappear- fast. I paid and followed slowly behind him. When I reached Temptations he was just coming out to get the sweets from the car after having visited the loo. We went in together and gave the sweets to Kyle who took our order. It was to be a bit of a double upset for Mike. Our usual seats were taken and he couldn’t banter from where we had to sit, and Ceri was off. Still, we got over it. After coming out of there we were going to head for home to put the shopping away but realised it was already 12.30 pm. Easier to go straight for lunch and then get back early for me to go to work Ha! The plans of Mice and Men eh. We arrived at the Ivy just after 1.00 pm. Mike almost had to carry me across some of the paving slabs as my crutches were sliding everywhere. Rob had seen us arrive and by the time we got in the reserved sign was sitting on our table right next to the log fire. Glorious, after two minutes my left side was done to perfection. Our drinks arrived and we went straight back into the cold for a cigarette. Coming back in Mike decide what he wanted to eat, settling for a baked potato and beans ( with cheese) ad we already knew I was having the bacon sarnies I’d promised myself last week.

Tariq said his hellos but was cooking today and it was getting busier. Angie was on the run flat out as was Rob and we knew Shella was cooking in the back. There was no news of poor Shirley, not that we expected much this soon. Lunch eventually came and we really enjoyed it. Things had calmed a bit and Shella came out for hugs and to say goodbye. It was hugs all round and some of the other patrons made a point of saying goodbye too. It’s becoming quite a community of huggers. No, put your hearing aid in dear, I said HUGGERS. We came home. I was in for 3.00 am and had put the shopping away and opened my parcel which proved to be more formal trouser than jeans. Ah well. I started work trying not to let the quantity scare me. By 6.00 pm I was over half way there and ready to take a break with Mike and eat a doughnut.  At 7.00 pm we were going to watch a film but it was chronically bad so by 7.15 pm it had been abandoned. I came back here to work and left Mike with some kind of Frank Sinatra talent competition. As he knows I wasn’t a fan he couldn’t complain. It paid off as by 9.00 pm I was up to date and able to go and see to supper. Then Mike and I swapped the camera between us to take very poor shots for here.

Dragon in the house

Pixie feet or twinkle toes?

 

 

 

Milk, Coffee and cafe au lait.

Thanks for sharing with me. Have a wonderful week and enough Hugs to hold you till next Weekend.