22 Foxhole East

f0xh0les

Lovely afternoon with a young work colleague (23 yr old)  who was in my town for an interview.  It is his dream job, so I took him for a couple of drinks after his interview to decompress and have a good giggle about life. He is a lovely boy (originally from Brazil) and I was home before 5pm  after tucking him into his train home - he has work tomorrow morning.

Made plans to see him when I am working up in Manchester in late Summer, if he does not get the job./ he is back on home soil from global travel for the new job  He will get the job though. It is perfect for him.  He deserves a break.

KajiKita

Sounds like a lovely afternoon 😊 If he gets the job, perhaps invite him to yours one evening as a role model for certain others …. ? 😉

Hows the battle against bouncing critters going? Complete? 

KK

f0xh0les

Up until 10pm on Tuesday night I would have said I had vanquished the little blighters, then DS4 came wandering downstairs as he thought he had a bite on him (from the night before, drama usually happens after bedtime in my house), so, being the good and dutiful mother I am, I completely stripped his bed, searched all the dimples, all the sides, and just as I was about to declare the all clear, found a tiny baby critter in the last corner of the last seam on the underside of the mattress.  So he was dispatched, and everything was hoovered again, and yesterday  another can of killer used, everything treated, mattress, carpets, all bedding washed and dryered, all linens ironed,  I can only think he has transferred something/someone on a sock up to his room, because everything else going upstairs is being ironed, and they all seem to be eradicated  from the two rooms we found them in before.  It feels a bit like wack-a-mole.  So hoovering daily is back on the agenda.  

I did find myself wondering why you can buy a treatment for cats and dogs that kills fleas, but can't stick a drop on the back of the kids necks to kill all horrible invaders.  Then I thought I probably should not be allowed to be a parent. 

I am pretty exhausted by it all, because DH wanders back in just over 2 weeks, and DS1 and 2 are still without employment, and there is going to be one hell of an argument when he comes home if they are not working/studying/at least pretending to adult.  I am actually embarrassed by them now.  

When DH comes home, after deciding he is going to concentrate on funding and grant applications to work abroad  - he is wowed by European pay and conditions and staff/student ratios , compared to the clown-show that is the current  UK University sector, there is no way he will continue to subsidise them playing on their computers all night.

The atmosphere is going to be positively delightful! 

KajiKita

That all sounds exhausting. 

Would they even do some volunteering? 

In a change of focus, how are all your plants doing in your back yard? 😊

KK

f0xh0les

I lost a couple of flowers because of the scaffolding being up for so long, and idiot scaffolders putting some of the poles through the planters.  It is looking better than it ever has so far, even the tiny potted indoor roses I planted out last year (and told them they were now wild and free range) are  about a foot tall and throwing out frilly peach coloured flowers instead of tiny tight rose buds.  Crazy!   Run wild, my pretties, run wild.

The grapevine is happily throwing out leaves, the potatoes have flowers on them this week (exciting!) and the passionflower is rampant (still no flowers though), the ceanothus is pretty and blue flowered, and the fuchsia are very green and healthy and no sign of flowers at all.  I might have to move them somewhere sunnier.

The fennel seeds are happily sprouting, the nasturtiums are triffid-like, the gladioli look like they might be more than just greenery (hope) and the pansies are pansies, always happy and smiley-faced. 

In annoying news, someone has hit DHs car, big scuff down the back corner, and it had nearly been totally popped off. Whoever did it shunted his car about half a meter forward and when I got in it to move it for the trapped in gas fitters from the other neighbouring house, all  the alarms went off, the motion sensors went wild, and it was very unhappy.  There was nearly a full red lens from the guilty party's car smashed in the road, that is why I thought to look, but luckily most of the scuff has come off, but it has had a fair old whack.  Himself was not impressed. I nearly didnt tell him, but thought he should know.   But at least it moved for me, so the handbrake has not decided to lock or anything.  Always a worry  with these over-engineered cars with electric doodahs.   No note left (so rude!).

End of the day, nobody died, and himself will be home in 16 days, I am starting to miss him now that I know there is 2 weeks until he is back in my bed. I am looking forward to him being home, more than I am missing him not being here, if that makes sense?

And Donald Trump has been found guilty on all 34 counts.  Hoorah!

badmemory

Good news about Trump.

Sorry to hear about DHs car though.

KajiKita

The garden patch sounds amazing 😊 Don’t worry about the fuschia if you have things that need sun as fischia are shade tolerant - they might just be a late flowering variety. Mine are barely leaving up yet. The roses sound cute 😊

Sorry to hear about DH’s car. <Expletives deleted> reference the person that did it!! And that phrase takes us right back to Watergate I understand… 😉

KK

f0xh0les

Aaaaaaaaand DS1 tests positive for Covid, apparently he has been feeling rotten for two days and didn't think to mention it,while coming down to each and every  meal, and haunting the landings at night,  but he started coughing today, so mentioned it, so I told him to take a test, and he is positive.

 DS3 has maths paper 2 , History, English, and Biology next week.  DS1 will remain in his room with a bottle of lemonade and some panadol.

Just because someone else was getting attention, DS4 has announced he has been coughing all week too, test also taken. No result as yet. Hats will be eaten if he is positive, but he does spend more time with DS1 than anyone else (after being sent to bed).

Why do my kids ALWAYS wait til the school holidays to get sick??? No wonder they all had 98% attendance.

DS4 is negative (no surprise there).  

badmemory

Teachers always wait until the school holidays to be sick too.  After the run up to Christmas my father was always ill until after new year.

f0xh0les

Smug face firmly ON right now.   

After DS1s positivity, I rang work and cancelled for Monday, can't drive my 82 yr old who is recovering from a chest infection, if there is covid in the house.  Just hope I do not get it, cos I drove him home yesterday, but at least I kept the windows  open.

Made a red lentil dahl, as I had everything in the pantry, and I also found part packets of green chilli poppadoms, and plain poppadoms, and had the scrag end of a jar of mango chutney in the back of the fridge.  It was EPIC!!,  a proper feast.  DS1's was left on a tray outside his bedroom door, and I knocked and ran..  There is enough left for us to have for lunch tomorrow as well. Bonus!  Cook once, eat twice.  Of course  DS4 had noodles and a bag of stir fry veg, because he refuses to eat like the rest of us. It was the least I could do, to pack him full of beansprouts,  veg,  and chilli sauce.  Quick and relatively healthy.  Tomorrow he can have the 2 left over steamed buns in the freezer, and a  miso soup.   Job done, no spends, go me.

This morning (pre-covid announcement) I went out to the community fridge, and picked up the bag of chinese veg, a bunch of asparagus, a mango, a couple of bags of salad, a pack of tomatoes, 6 satsumas, some pears, a bunch of bananas, one lonely plum, and a wholemeal loaf.  All for zero pence.

Today was payday, so paid my credit card bill.  It had taken 14 days to get here, from date of printing. The post is shocking at the minute.

Tomorrow all the bills go out, and I will know my budget.  I am not paying myself first this month, because I have scrimped and saved  really hard for the last couple of months, and it has been difficult every week. It is my birthday month, Father's Day, DH coming home day, Summer solstice,  and the end of GCSEs,