Hanging around going nuts!

There's no Hodgepodge questions today so I found myself pondering on what to post about.  I find that happening a lot lately.  I haven't been as motivated about blogging.  Finding motivation in general can be a bit of a challenge some days.  

I know I don't perhaps comment as much either, especially if I'm reading on my iPad as using the keyboard on there for anything more than a few words drives me nuts.  Apologies for that.

Adapting to life with hubby home an additional 2 days is also proving a challenge.  Especially when the week doesn't go to plan.  Last week was a bit like that.  He was home Monday and Tuesday but we were occupied with funerals.  This week he worked yesterday (Tuesday) but is home today (Wednesday).  He will also be home tomorrow due to a hospital appointment.  This lack of routine drives me nuts.

Maybe that should be the theme of this post - things that drive me nuts.  Hubby at home all day without any plan and following me around drives me nuts.  Feeling guilty for sitting around reading or blogging when he's at home drives me nuts.  Are you getting the picture yet?  

I was fortunate to have over a year at home on my own when I could just do what I wanted without being under any scrutiny.  Now I feel under scrutiny.  A lot.  Which is an unfair assessment really because Hubby is so unobservant he probably wouldn't be able to tell you what I'd been doing all day anyway!

This week really feels like an "in limbo" week.  On Monday I had to wait in for someone to come and repair the bedroom window that was broken.  On Tuesday I was waiting in for the washing machine repair guy.  Both of those things are now fixed but just waiting around is unsettling.  Today we seem to be waiting around for the medication Hubby has had to take to work.  Tomorrow there will be waiting around at the hospital.

Fortunately Friday has a plan.  I have friends coming for lunch so I will have to shop and prepare for that.  I've decided on my main course (chicken with noodles) I just have to work out dessert.  Then it will be the weekend where lounging about feels allowed.

Next week I can get started on some painting - did I mention that we've been waiting for plaster to dry and yes, you've guessed it, that's been driving me nuts too!  I dread to think what I'll be like when it gets to waiting for the paint to dry.  Might need men in white coats!

Tired today! 23/6/16

I doubt it made the international news but I'm sure everyone in the UK is aware of the awful storms we had here in London last night.  The thunder and lightening were pretty impressive and loud!  The rain was relentless and the air was very humid.

Consequently I did not sleep well.

We were not subject to any flooding although there was a bit of dampness on the cellar floor, nothing out of the usual.  Our nearby station of Manor Park was flooded though and that disrupted the overground train services this morning.  My son was not impressed.  Sounds like he ended up walking to Stratford to get on the underground.  This was after he'd also endured a cold shower as a power outage in the night had disrupted the timer on the boiler!

Some areas were badly affected with several polling stations having to be relocated due to flooding and the travel disruption has been quite widespread.  I think it's a bit harsh when everyone complains about how we don't cope well with extreme weather here in the UK but hey it's EXTREME.  We don't usually get a month's rainfall in one night.  It's hard to prepare for that.  I'm really glad I got my grass cut yesterday though.  It's probably grown an inch overnight.

Fortunately our internet is working again today.  It was out of service from about 6 last night until after the power cut.  Hubby was frustrated enough this morning at trying to set up a mobile hotspot on his phones so that he could hook his work tablet up through that to enable him to get a piece of work done urgently.  If there was no internet I think smoke would be coming out of his ears!

Smoke was nearly coming out of mine as I had to do most of the IT sorting for him in my tired state (he is so last century on electrical gadgets) and on what is supposed to be his day off!

My sense of humour has just been restored though.  In connecting up his phone and tablet I had to unplug the microwave.  I just heard him trying to warm up his coffee and the predictable grumbling when it wouldn't work!  I think I will definitely have to replace the Mr Grumpy mug!  (Go here to understand.)

Scary times 17/3/16

I mentioned in my Hodgepodge post that things had been a bit stressful here.  The cause of this was finding my husband collapsed on the floor early Saturday evening. 

I thought at first he might have had a stroke but he passed all the stroke tests in that he could raise his arms, smile and he didn't seem to have any one sided weakness.  However he wasn't very responsive or coherent and when he did become more lucid he couldn't remember what day it was let alone what we'd done on Saturday. The ambulance service were brilliant though and he was fairly quickly whisked off to the local hospital.  

There has been a lot of news coverage here lately about junior doctors striking over the imposition of new contracts so that services can be offered 7 days a week.  Well it was clear this weekend that already happens.  My husband was admitted and various tests were done including a CT scan of his brain.

The scan confirmed that he hadn't had a stroke and his brain looked ok so that was a relief.

The conclusion is that he most likely had a seizure, especially considering the initial confusion and memory loss (that came back after a short time) and the muscle pains he has had, especially in his back afterwards.  Now they just have to try and work out what caused it and we have to pray it doesn't happen again. But whether he fell and that caused the seizure or whether the seizure caused him to fall we'll never know.

He was kept in until Monday and has to go back for a 24 hour heart monitoring test in a couple of weeks.  He seems fine now apart from being tired and the aching muscles which are not helping his sleep.  But it was very scary at the time.

Fortunately he's now on a week's leave so he has plenty of time to rest and recover before going back to work and today it was a bright sunny day so we took a bus ride to the Olympic Park and had a nice gentle stroll around the park.  I hope the weather stays fine so we can get out a bit more over the next week.

Sunday snoozing 21/2/16

I would love to be able to say that I'm fully recovered from whatever bug has recently invaded my system but that wouldn't be totally true.  I am feeling much better but the cough hasn't gone (although it's not as annoying) and I keep getting the pressure feeling in one ear like you get during a plane take off.  

I did manage to venture out for a walk today.  Not far but it was good to get some fresh air especially as I'd started to snooze on the sofa so needed to do something to wake me up.

I also managed to get myself to a get together with some old work colleagues on Friday evening.  That took me back a bit - we met in a pub I used to frequent when hubby and I were courting.  The pub hasn't really changed that much.  Still very much an East End pub.  

I've also managed to get an online shop done with delivery scheduled between 10-11 am tomorrow morning.  That will give me a good reason to be up and showered at a reasonable time.  Don't want to embarrass the delivery guy by still being in my pjs!

Hubby has just got back from an outing to listen to some live music.  He is so daft sometimes though.  He told me when he got back that he had nearly phoned me from the corner shop to see if we needed anything.  We then had a conversation about milk - me saying we had enough milk until the morning and then some would be delivered.  When he then got on to the subject of cooking dinner he mentioned making a parsley sauce to go with some fish.  However, somehow, when I said that there wasn't enough milk for that he was moaning that I should have told him when he was at the shop.  

But I didn't know you were at the shop I responded. 
You could have called me and told me we needed milk before I got to the shop.  
But we didn't need milk.
Yes we do for the parsley sauce.
But I didn't know you were going to make parsley sauce!

And then he wonders why I get cross sometimes.  He'd undertaken to prepare dinner but somehow it was my fault that he hadn't checked the milk situation! I'm really not complaining because he does do most of the cooking but sometimes his logic is definitely skewed.

Hodgepodge Alternative - Date Night

No Hodgepodge questions to answer today so I shall just have to waffle a bit on our date night last night.

For my birthday my daughter bought me a voucher for a meal at a restaurant in town.  Now when I say "in town" I refer to the central part of London.  We live on the East side so our main line terminus is Liverpool Street and anywhere beyond that is in town as far as I'm concerned.

There hadn't been a good time to use the voucher but, fortunately, I noticed that it expired next week so hubby and I planned to use it yesterday.  The restaurant was within walking distance of Liverpool Street station so the plan was for him to make his way there after work and I would join him.  Our table was booked for 7.30 pm.

I dithered about what to wear.  I wanted something comfortable around the waist.  Nothing worse than trying to eat a meal when your waistline is expanding but your clothes aren't!  Eventually I decided that I ought to make an effort and opted for a dress that I've only worn a few times which is smart but comfortable.  Of course this led to a debate about shoes.

I needed something comfortable to be able to walk to the station but also something that would look right with the dress and cope with rain.  (Although fortunately it stayed dry last night.)  Sorting through my shoes I came across a pair I'd forgotten I'd bought!  That makes it sounds as if I have loads of shoes and I really don't.  These were a black court shoe with a low stiletto heel.  I bought them back in February intending them to be worn for work but then of course I didn't go to work and the poor shoes have been languishing in a box of shoes in the wardrobe ever since!

Anyway they seemed reasonably comfortable so I thought I would take a chance on them.  Well it's a good thing they were made for walking as I had extra walking to do!  I arrived at the station with plenty of time to meet hubby.  Trains are usually quite frequent (roughly every 10 minutes) but not yesterday.  There had been problems earlier apparently.  The 19.04 was cancelled and the 19.14 was not expected until 19.22.  I didn't panic too much, just told hubby I would meet him at the restaurant instead and that he should go straight there and explain I was slightly delayed.

Well slightly became substantially when they announced that the 19.24 train was also cancelled.  Hang on, what about the 19.14?  That seemed to disappear into a black hole.  Never to be mentioned again.  Although the helpful Temi from TFL (Transport for London) did keep announcing, EVERY COUPLE OF MINUTES, that they were very sorry for the inconvenience caused.  In the end I decided my best option was to walk down to the bus stop and catch a bus into Stratford station where I could get the tube to Liverpool Street.  

As I was walking down to the bus stop I watched 3 buses go past.  Ever had the feeling that you were just not meant to get where you're headed?  I definitely did, especially as when I got to the bus stop the buses due were not the ones which go directly to the station in Stratford.  I had to catch one that left me with a walk through the shopping centre to the station.  As I said, good thing the shoes were fit for walking in.

I eventually arrived at the restaurant at 8.00 pm but it wasn't a problem.  We had a lovely meal, including a glass of champagne each which was included as part of the deal and we managed to get through a bottle of wine.

Hubby had a starter of Goat's Cheese samosa with mixed herbs, beetroot and apple and elderflower fluid gel, followed by pan fried salmon with green beans, carrots, artichoke, potatoes and fish cream
I opted for the main course of  pan fried duck with courgette, carrot, beetroot, potatoes and carrot puree followed by a raspberry dessert.  I couldn't find the description of that on their website but all of it was delicious.  

It was a lovely relaxing evening and the journey home was absolutely fine but I was very glad to kick those shoes off once we arrived home.

Breakfast in bed - time to get over it!

I am going to have to get over the stance I currently have that as hubby is the worker and I am not, he must get up first and have the use of the bathroom.  This usually works well except on days like today where he has decided to make full use of his flexible hours and go in late.  Very late.  To be fair he has just worked 2 very long days getting a report finalised and submitted but he disrupts my efforts at establishing a routine.

The routine usually starts with at least a cup of tea in bed.  Often accompanied by toast and sometimes a cooked breakfast.  A girl gets spoiled. And looks forward to these things.  To get up first would disrupt this.  It might even mean permanent suspension of these services. This is unthinkable. So I remain in bed knowing that he will get up first if I wait long enough but sometimes I know I should just get up and get on with my daily routine.

Hmm this routine thing sounds boring but it's not really.  Yesterday was an example. I was up, dressed and ready for the day at 7.30 am. I needed to be at my son's flat for 8 am to wait for the engineer to come and connect their internet.

When I arrived my son was waiting to go in the shower as the engineer had just called to say he would be arriving "in 5 minutes". (He didn't want to miss the doorbell while in the shower.)  I thought this might have been an unnecessary visit for me as it shouldn't  take very long to connect them as the socket was already in place from the previous tenants and my son could have just waited.  Thoughts of my nice warm bed on what was a chilly miserable morning were still in my head.

Actually it turned out I was wrong.  The wiring to the socket was faulty and had to be redone and this took a while.  The joys of being in a second floor flat.  I was there until after 11 am.  But the return walk did mean I got some exercise fitted into my day.

Wednesday wasn't routine either.  I had to collect the car from the garage after repairs to the exhaust system.  This meant a journey to nearby Walthamstow.  A new journey for me as our previous garage which was in walking distance recently closed.  I don't like doing new public transport journeys when the toilet demon* is stirring.  It becomes stressful which agitates the demon more.  But, as I am determined to overcome the demon I planned and successfully made the journey.  Now done I know the next time will be fine.  

(*Toilet demon - Monster in my head saying  "you'll need the toilet" whenever I'm confronted with a situation where that might be tricky so things like using public transport, sitting in the middle of a theatre row, going for a walk in the forest.  When the demon's really on the loose he can cause full blown panic attacks or total avoidance of situations.)

I'm trying hard not to get overwhelmed by all the things that need doing or that I want to do.  I know I've not progressed very fast but this week I have tidied my bedroom and sorted out all the coats around the place.  Not finished with those yet as some belong to the kids so I will need to consult with them before consigning them to the jumble pile.  Or maybe not.  Possession is 9/10ths of the law is it not?  You move out and leave your coat here, it becomes mine.  To do with as I see fit. Hmmm can't see that going down too well.

I've also managed to nearly get to the bottom of the ironing pile.  A few more shirts and I'm done.  But then there is the washing and the cycle starts again.  Time to stop.  I'm waffling.  When did I manage to find time to work?

A - Z Challenge - H is for Husband

My theme for this challenge is family and relations.

Husband  “the man to who a woman is married”

My husband is Nick and we have been married now for nearly 31 years.  I don’t think of us as soulmates as we are different in many ways.  We certainly have different interests.  He likes music.  He likes to listen to it.  He likes to go and watch bands perform and even perform himself if you can call jamming sessions with other local likeminded people in local venues (usually pubs!) performing.

He has a large record collection (yes those old fashioned things the kids wouldn’t know what to do with) and can quote names of band members and other trivia that I just never seem to have had the head for. 

He is more sociable than me although when we first met he was rather shy.  We’d been on 3 “dates” before I was confident that we were actually dating.  The first was a meal out during which it turned out he had a free voucher for the meal so I wasn’t sure if I was there just to make up the number.  The second was to see a film.  The film was the weirdest film ever (Eraserhead by David Lynch) and his best friend tagged along as well.  The third date was better. 

We have different tastes in most things, certainly films and books are good examples.  But we get along.  And we work well as a team.  He’s an accountant but it’s me that balances the household bank accounts.  He likes to do the fun scary stuff with the kids but he’ll consult with me on the big decisions regarding their upbringing.  Of course the kids are grown now but there are still decisions to be made and discussions to be had and we do talk.

He’s more adventurous than me and he has introduced me to a lot of foods that I probably never would have eaten if left to my own devices.  He also likes to cook.  He’s pretty good at shopping too.

Hmm he’s sounding too good to be true.  Of course he has faults just like all of us.  He snores!  Well he did snore, so much that he had his sleep checked out and it was confirmed that he suffers from sleep apnoea.  He now uses a CPAP machine at night and this prevents him from snoring.  It also ensures he doesn’t stop breathing which is what he was doing before.  He’s also quite fussy about some things – they have to be just so, too mild to be classed as OCD but you get the picture???? ;)

He was also late for our wedding, despite living just around the corner from the church, a mere 200 yards away at most.  He’s never been allowed to live that one down. 

 
But I’m very glad I persevered through those first few questionable dates and became part of his extended family.  I can talk to him about anything and he truly is my best friend.