Goodness me, somehow the clock has ticked remorselessly round a great deal further than I had thought, and somehow it is almost two in the morning.
This is because we have got a friend staying with us, and of course we have talked and talked.
We have talked so much that we ate an enormous dinner, washed up and then sat comfortably around the living room with the dogs without even noticing the clock regularly dinging in the background.
I took the night off work to talk. Mark is only mildly interested in female conversation, and went off to drive a taxi until late in the evening, when he came back to listen to any interesting revelations which might happen after a couple of glasses of Merlot.
Apart from our visitor it has been a fragmented sort of day, we meant to get up early and go to the farm, but didn’t. Mark took my taxi for an MOT. It failed to get one because the handbrake has got too many clicks on it, so he had to come home via Autoparts and is going to have to spend tomorrow bashing brake pads about and getting oily.
I stayed at home and took the children to the dentist.
Obviously that wasn’t all that I did. I did some washing and tidied up and made up the bed in the spare room as well, but those things are not especially exciting so I shan’t tell you about those.
I could mention that the spare room bed was not fun to do because of being covered in children’s school trunks and PE kit and spare trainers and cricket pads and tuck boxes.
I am ashamed to say that I hurled all of that into a corner and threw a duvet over it. This is absolutely rubbish housewifery, because every single grubby item that has so far gone neglected and unnoticed is still neglected and unnoticed. I have not resolved a single solitary domestic issue, except to ascertain that the one bag I was looking for was most definitely not there, so I have lost it, which is tiresome.
The dentist was about as much fun as a trip to the dentist ever is. I was not having my teeth looked at, Mark and I go to the dentist in Barrow, who is employed by the National Health and therefore is perfect for those on a limited budget. The children go to this one because it is across the road from the house and you can get Denplan cheap for under eighteens.
I enlivened the occasion by tickling the children’s feet whilst they were in the chair. This made them both laugh and perplexed the dentist, who presumably is not used to people giggling whilst he pokes sharp things into their gums.
After that Mark came home and went to work, leaving me to my own devices. Fortunately our friend turned up before I had time to wonder if I would like to buy anything much on eBay, which is usually where my thoughts start to turn when I am without occupation, so it is a good thing that it doesn’t happen very often.
I did have time to think, however, and after a while I was able to inform Mark that I would like to have a Pirates of the Caribbean theme in the camper van bathroom. I did want a Moroccan arch, but the bathroom measures about a metre and a half each way, and with the most careful measuring and pondering in the world he did not think we would be able to fit it in unless I was prepared to forgo the loo, which I wasn’t.
Thus it is going to be a pirate themed bathroom. I am very pleased about this, what an excitement this will be.
We are going to think a bit more about it tomorrow.
Number Two Daughter rang us on the computer last night. It was the sort of telephone call where you can see the other person’s face if they are pointing their phone in the right direction. She is much better at doing that than we are, she seemed to get rather a lot of pictures of our elbows and the shelves behind us, however we could tell that she is looking very well and happy, and obviously is enjoying life in Canada. I hope she becomes a citizen and makes a lot of money, because it would be nice to retire there and be looked after. It was very sunny at her end of the telephone.
Have a picture of the Lake District. It is a special stock photograph of the sort that I take at work occasionally and then keep for days when I haven’t taken any.
I forgot today because of the talking.
