It's another Monday

So...another weekend has come and then gone again in the blink of an eye.

We got up to high jinks with the Boy...well as high as jinks with the Boy can get, which in terms of height isn't very high at all!! 

On Saturday, sunny, sunny Saturday , we went to a nearby stately home where we found  to the Boy's delight and our considerable surprise, a gathering of Rolls Royce cars. A Rumble of Rolls Royce cars? A Retinue? A Refinement? Whatever it is called,  there they were , resplendent in their Rolls Royceness. Old ones, new ones, shiny ones, ones which looked as if they felt that sitting (?) on the grass, albeit the grass of a stately home, was undignified and those which looked very much at home. Their owners hovered closely, monitoring the hoi polloi to make sure that we did not smudge the chrome...or key the pristine paintwork.

Jboy and M patrolled the many, many rows of parked cars which after a while all looked the same to such as myself. Unable to contain my joy and excitement in the face of so much car-shaped visual feasting, I repaired to the tea room, where I did some actual feasting on the largest scone I ever did see. I was soon joined by Jboy and M.

Refreshments partaken, we resumed our inspection of the cars. They hadn't changed much in the 46 minutes or so since our last inspection, funnily enough.

When even Jboy had had enough, we trudged back to the car, returned home and watched Shaun the sheep! If he could, I am sure Jboy would have declared the day to be a huge success.

How could we hope to compete with such excitement on Sunday? By visiting one of our favourite garden centres, of course!!! A garden centre, replete with wind chimes, whirly wind sculptures, two delightful eateries, water features AND an aquatic section with a particularly large fish that I am almost sure recognises us because he swims up close every time we visit and observes us with his beady fishy eye.  Once Jboy and Percy (the fish in question)had finished communing, we once again returned home to Shaun the Sheep.

Today, Monday, I have met with lovely chums, paid bills, received a grocery delivery, prepared potatoes and generally had a relaxing day.


Marvellous.

Now, M is home, the Boy has just woken from his post MMDC nap, the potatoes have baked to perfection and the PIP people have sent me a letter, saying that they are considering the Boy's eligibility for continued financial support which is better than an outright 'NO' (grateful for small mercies etc)...

On that note, I shall away.....

The End

A week later.....

So....there is no further news of the house for The Boy, for which we are grateful as we are getting our heads around the idea of M being no longer a Man of Work, come the Autumn.

 I have suggested to him that he could take on the mantle of ironing, manoeuvering the vacuum or even cooking....but he is less than enthusiastic. Not that he thinks these things are my tasks (the ironing certainly isn't) but that he can think of many more pleasurable tasks which involve electrical hedge trimmers, axes and saws. Fair enough!😁

Last weekend saw our house full of our family..sadly not all could be there and were greatly missed. It was the occasion of M's birthday. He enjoyed gifts of whisky  which he has since sorted neatly on the pantry shelf integrated into his whisky collection, vinyl discs and wood carving tools (in preparation for his upcoming leisure time). He was a happy patriarch.

My week at the Bookface has been quiet...rain clearly stopped play. I managed to entertain a child or two, teased a customer or three, tidied a shelf or twelve and generally did booky things.

Marvellous.

M has had a week of shocked responses from colleagues who thought he was an integral part of the edifice and of general disappointment that such a man of great standing, wit, generosity, integrity and wisdom will soon be but a ripple on the pond of that particular slice of life.

He is still mostly delighted...and just a little bit anxious.

Today MelodyMaid and Bassman Bill, along with their Giles Likes Tea colleagues, will be playing at a Peace Festival...we hope to go along, depending on our exhaustion levels ,as a support and as a jolly good chance for a lovely evening.

Here's hoping.

That's all.

The End

Redundant

So....after many years with the heavy axe of redundancy hanging over our heads, it has finally fallen and M is to be made redundant in September. Thankfully, this doesn't have the gut-wrenching twist of anxiety that it would have had ten years ago...we are older and tireder now...but it is still going to mean huge changes for us. It IS a relief that, at last, we know...the indecision has been harder to deal with.

It comes,however, with the potential moving of the Boy into assisted living...so we have the slight feel that there is an imminent earthquake..the feeling that everything will change...that the jigsaw of our life is about to be thrown into the air and could land anywhere.

Where will the pieces land?

Which way up will they be?

Will we be able to make it again?

Or will it be a different picture altogether???

We feel both a flicker of excitement and a shudder of terror...

We have at least three months to prepare for redundancy from the job and a possible 6 months until the redundancy of parenting the Boy...

All change!
Mind the gap!

The End

We went, we saw...we wait

So...we viewed three properties with a view to our chap living independently from us. It felt like taking a very big, very sticky plaster off very, very slowly.

Property one: we arrived.  No one else was there...we waited until a young bearded man appeared on the horizon...the money man. Then his associate..the power woman. Finally the shiny suited, sharp shoed estate agent..who looked about 16. M and I both felt nervous and if i am to be honest(cos I know you wont judge), slightly hostile.

Well, sharp-suit unlocked the door and in we poured. He began his spiel but M and I were already off, exploring. The house was empty so that made it easier. The place was huge. Beautifully extended with a space that shrieked "sensory room" at us..(sharp suit thought it could be a home cinema....Wallace and Grommit on a loop,perhaps?) The garden wasn't big but fantastic. M and I had to admit that we could see the Boy loving it there...and if they didn't,  maybe we could buy it!!! Money man and Power woman were huddling...they liked the property. Great potential. Very little adaptation. This one was a (reluctant) tick.

House two: small, dark, smelly, too many steps, only one bathroom, exposed garden. I went in and said  'No'. We walked around as was expected of us but there is no way my boy is going there. Money man and Power woman agreed..... our visit here was very brief.

House three: adequate.  Requires adaptation but could be good. Fabulous ,enclosed garden.  M and I felt ok about this one. Not exactly ravingly excited. Ok. Money man and power woman walked about with special measuring machines and clipboards. Half a tick...

So..now we wait.

 Both of us with anxious tummies but bits of us thinking that he might actually enjoy it.

Possibly.

So, there you have it...

Ranting and so forth....

So....let me rant first.

Today I took delivery of my grocery order from a well known supermarket chain whose name rhymes with Fresco...our regular delivery of cake for the Boy , amongst other things. The cake which makes his bland, potato based diet slightly more bearable...i noticed that the box had a different design..then I saw the words which filled my heart with dread..."new re ipe". I turned the box over to read the ingredients only to discover that they have added coconut oil and milk...neither of which can the Boy digest. My poor Boy.

So begins a quest for suitable cake...and for who are asking themselves why I don't just make my own...I have tried. Believe me.

I have just penned..or, in fact emailed..a rather grumpy email to the Tesco powers that be, registering my dismay.

My first reaction to this disastrous (albeit minorly disastrous)discovery was dismay that they had changed the recipe..then anger..now all I feel is helplessness.

This was the 'rant'of the title..on to the 'so forth':

Tomorrow, at 10.15,10.45 and 11.15 M and I will be looking at three properties with a view to the Boy accessing residential assisted living. I feel both calm and rabidly sick in equal measure.

I can't write any more....it's all too big and too much.

The End