ALL HANDS ON DECK

Today was very busy for all of us as it was a major cleaning day. As my son works night shift every other week it can difficult to clean the house without making a noise and waking him so some jobs, like hoovering and cleaning the upstairs can only be done when he has his off week. After breakfast Pa went off to the shops and we got started. My son cleaned and polished his newly painted room while I made the bread and then I cleaned my room and the bathroom. Then my son did the hoovering while I sorted out the hoses in the garden as everything was dry. Then I steamed the whole house, floors, carpets, rugs and all. We were glad when we had finished and celebrated with a cup if fresh coffee, made in a very ancient percolator. I one owned a filter coffee machine, but not for long the noise it made was atrocious, it sounded as if someone was trying to suffocate a walrus or unblock a drain, it had to go!

Pa was out for quite a time, half an hour after we had finished the cleaning he returned, and that is as long as the tidiness lasted. I came in from the garden to discover the living room floor and the sofa covered in bags, just dumped there and a large spill of an unidentifiable liquid all over the kitchen floor and what looked suspiciously like dirty footprints all around. Now I am not fanatical about tidiness but I do like things to be clean and it would be nice if the cleaning occasionally lasted more than half an hour! I have heard it said that women can be bad tempered when it comes to house work but when you consider that every day she sees her life's work destroyed it is perhaps not to be wondered at. I was, shall we say less than pleased and requested that Pa packed away his purchases forthwith as I once again cleaned the floor. We buried the hatchet on neutral ground.....one would have preferred somewhere more personal but one can not have everything can one!

Dinner was a wonderful meal and took an hour and a half to eat as was chatted and laughed all the way through. With the new bread we had Stilton, Red Leicester and Cornish Brie, ham, turkey, corned beef , antipasto and chicken. There were lots of fresh tomatoes, beetroot and coleslaw. We were very hungry after all the work so we had some ice cream for afters, I may not eat again for a week.

I took a buggie ride down to the river and watched the boats going up and down while I blasted my ears with Blue Oyster Cult and drank a pint of beer, life is still sweet I find. Have a lovely weekend what ever you are doing.