22 Foxhole East

joeyjimbles

Hope you are surviving the in-laws and laying a stock of celebratory treats for afterwards.

f0xh0les

Well thank fornication that is over.
They came, they were polite yet demanding and difficult, they offended DH and were rude to him, then left. So they saw the kids Sunday through Wednesday. No arguments, but starting to wonder about m-i-l who is getting scatty (got her daughters age wrong, and could now work it out from DH's -2, and refused to play scrabble (she is forgetting how to spell). Traumatic and stressful but over. yay!
SiL has moved into her new home (she has finally bought at the ripe old age of 43). I think this has finally convinced in-laws she is not coming back to Ireland to live. Hence them being more demanding about seeing the kids and DH. They are thinking about their future.

We find out about f-i-l's misbehaving prostate on Wednesday, which may cheer DH a bit. He has not yet seen a dr about his low mood. If it goes the other way, I think he may crash.

Rang step-gran to let her know I had cleared a week to go over and see her, and that I might go down and see the in-laws overnight after her 7 days. She did not take it well. Apparently she has known me since I was a baby and I should spend the whole 9 days with her. She says she is cancelling the carers as I can do all for her, I told her I did not think it was a good idea, but she is going to do it anyway, she takes her meals at 8am, 11.30am and 4.15pm and turns into a screaming nutjob if they are late.

Bah! I will not borrow trouble, I will strap on my Gloria Gaynor toolbelt and I will survive!
Even if it means sitting in her garden for a week and only leaving the property to take her stuff to the tip. It is not forever. Thank all the gods I am not just down the road from her. She would be unbearable. Hats off to everyone caring for an older ungrateful relative. Apparently, it is their due.

Ihave told the kids they are not to go and hide in the bedroom this visit. They are to be in the living room and make conversation or read a book, or something. Just not to abandon me to the lunatic. I am only taking 3 kids with me this time, so we may be able to bring enough seats into the living room for everyone to be allowed to sit down uncomfortably - honestly, she sulked and carried on like you would not believe the summer I carried enough seats for everyone to be able to sit down together. She is a firm believer in children being made to sit on the floor, which is fine when they are small, but not when they are bigger and she has the chairs! Long gone are the days when it was a holiday. But it still has to be done. So it is being done.
I am quite envious of people who have nice in-laws, and nice families who help out, and do nice thing for each other. Good for them, but it is not something I have ever had, at least I know what not to do with my own kids once they are grown.

I cannot believe in 6 weeks time I will only have one primary school age child. 3 kids in high school or college (fingers crossed!). I took them to a space related event yesterday, and DS1 started chatting computer coding with one of the event people, which was nice, when he had only come into town with me to buy snacks for his week away. If he is fed nothing else, the sugar will keep him going for a fortnight, and of course he is as thin as a rake. Hollow legs, the lot of them.

So, after the International Champions Cup football, it is folding laundry and supervising DS1 packing. Easy supper of hummus, pittas, and salad, and then making DS1 bathe and pack his toiletries. Then getting him out of the house and to his coach for 8.15am. Nightmare!! But it would never do for me to be bored: and one day I will run out of laundry, and hoovering, and baking, and tidying, and diy, and dropping off/ picking up kids. And then what will I do with myself? Oh the plans I have!!

joeyjimbles

Glad to hear you survived - oh, if your walls could talk!

f0xh0les

It is sweltering here, 30 degrees and 65% humidity.

I came back from volunteering last night to find DH in a bit of a flap - have you seen the washing machine?? Erm, no I have been out for the last 2 hours, so went in to find an F05 code and every light on the display going mad. Aha! deja vu. Gack hole (or cr4p trap) has something in it, so I fixed it before breakfast this morning. Not sure that 4GB memory card will have survived, or the random bits of plastic strip. The turny lid of said trap snapped after 2 and a half rotations (it usually takes 3 to 3 and a half rotations to open) so we need to bodge a new handle or buy a new one - job for later, try and think of what an engineer might call the gack trap hole fillery thing.

I have spent money today, took the kids to Mr M's shopping emporium to buy fizzy drinks, ice cream and cordial. It is sweltering, had a hot flush this morning whilst changing all the duvet covers, in this heat. Inconceivable! and jolly disgusting too.

So all the beds are changed, the washer fixed, jelly made, stewed greengages and pureed for a kind of fool for later on, but with greek soy yoghurt. Stewed the last of the plums from the fruitbowl before they go off in the heat - will go on DHs breakfast yoghurt or as the base for a crumble.

No news from DS1 so assume he is doing fine. There is no reason why he should not be having a whale of a time. His mattress protector is flapping on the washing line. Grim!
I am no further in researching vegan HRT, I keep finding out more about pregnant horse urine medications and how awfully they are treated. 750,000 are impregnated each year and kept in awful conditions. So sad. Did not realise it was in birth control pills too.

Will have to look into health food store 'magic' products.

f0xh0les

Apparently they are called 'drain pump filters' - who knew?

greenbee

f0xh0les wrote: »

Apparently they are called 'drain pump filters' - who knew?

Me Take a guess why ...

f0xh0les

because, like me, you are rubbish at checking pockets????

f0xh0les

The weather forecast for 11pm is 22 degrees.

I am melting.

Tomorrow is 35 degrees. I will not be going out. I will be on the sofa with as few clothes as possible.
The kids do not want to go out, the freezer is full of lollies I bought with my lurve2sh0p vouchers -free shopping! I love it.

This weather is marvelous for drying laundry, so getting it all done again. Sewed DS3's school badge on to his blazer this morning. The house is 90% clean and tidy, even the hamster house has had a quick hoover and he has some new plant based fluff he likes to pull apart. He is enjoying a frozen blueberry or strawberry or grape daily.

It is too hot to cook twice a day, so I have hit the sl1mfast, and the kids are happy with hotdogs for lunch (microwave!) in ys rolls, or pittas, hummus and salad. I am new to this whole sl1mfast thing, but I just need something to kick start it all off again. Might as well take something positive from all this heat. I am pretending I am in a sauna. It is what it feels like anyway.

Right, the tv all day seems to be a Boris-fest, and now they are waiting for the coronation, so I am going to recline on the sofa with a book and look like a limp lettuce leaf.

22 degrees at 11pm!! I might go and sleep in the fridge.

greenbee

f0xh0les wrote: »

because, like me, you are rubbish at checking pockets????

Nope, because I washed a chenille rug and it clogged up the filter... :cool:

Hope you haven't melted...

f0xh0les

Well I am still vaguely solid.... just.
F-i-L has prostate cancer, early stage they think, so it will either be a prostatectomy or radiation, or maybe both who knows. Either way the prognosis is good as it is early on, and success rates are up in the high 90%s. Plus, with radiation he will not lose his hair. Well, not the hair on his head anyway (!). Hopefully this means DH will be a bit happier in himself.

Blimey it is hot!!! Which is surprising, as the kids keep leaving the freezer door open when raiding the lollies. They have now been banned from touching the freezer. If I had a paddling pool, I would be sitting in it right now, in the middle of the living room. You are hot again 5 minutes after a cool bath or shower. I am whining. sorry.

Ice lollies are to be deployed.