Did you ever have one of those days, the sort where every blessed thing goes wrong, today was one of those. I awoke this morning bright and early to discover that the washing machine had died during the night and that the large load of tea towels,of which I was in urgent need were locked inside, unwashed. It was too early to call the repair man so I passed a merry couple of hours despairingly trying to prise a reluctant Pa out of bed. No amount of begging and pleading helped and it was after ten before he managed to sit up and drink a cup of coffee. By this time my patience was at an end and my son and I were starving. I called the repair man who could not come until tomorrow, time unspecified,and made us all a breakfast of poached eggs on toast.
Rather later than I had intended I went upstairs to clean the bathroom, a job which should have taken less than forty minutes, it actually took almost three hours. Pa was leaving the bathroom as I arrived to clean it and I put some cleaner down the loo and left it to work while I cleaned the bath, so far so good, but not for long. Having finished the bath I whizzed around to loo with a brush and then flushed........the water rose..and rose.... and rose...and there it stayed, the loo was blocked.
During the next couple of hours there was much speculation as to what exactly Pa did to cause this blockage, most of which is to rude to mention here. What ever it was will remain a mystery, all I can say is that after two hours my son and I, having used our ingenuity and in the end brute force the blockage remained.
Flushing was useless as although the water did drain away it took about ten minutes. I poured down half a bottle of Harpic which usually shifts most things, not this time. Next I tried two bottles of seven up, we were out of coke, nothing doing. Vinegar and bicarbonate of soda were singularly unsuccessful as was a long handled bottle brush , which got stuck round the U bend and a bendy length of hosepipe. Worn out we gave up and called a plumber who fixed the problem in minutes buy using a plunger, my gratitude was boundless.
He had managed to make a mess so it was back to square one, three hours after I started the job was done at last.
This was not the day to run out of disinfectant, guess what? That's right, and it caused complications as there was still a lot of cleaning to do.
“Oh bum.” I said, I was not happy and time was running out. I finished the cleaning with diluted bleach which left me gasping for breath from the fumes.
Then there was the ironing to do and actually after what I had been through previously it was almost a treat, I jest of course! Half way through we were plunged in to yet another Pa related crisis, one best not discussed which took a lot of sorting out...no further comment........ exhausted I returned to the ironing board, what a day.
Having had no time at all to do any cooking dinner was a disgraceful frozen scampi and chips with a salad and some home made lemon sauce, the prefect end to an awful day, I don't think!
My son and I washed our hair,and each of us took a very necessary bath and began to feel human again. Tomorrow, the washing machine repair man is due, and so is someone from social services to see if I need any help with Pa , she should have been here today.
I can almost guarantee that Pa will be as bright as a button during her visit, a rapid decline will follow her departure, we have been here before. Such is the carers lot. Actually it is more important than ever that I get help now as I shall soon need to go in to hospital and the added pain of kidney stones and the treatment I shall need means that someone will have to look after Pa during future bouts of ill health.
I would much rather he was looked after at home than put in to a nursing home while I am ill, At least then when my son comes home in the morning he can make sure that Pa is being properly looked after, I do not trust Institutions one bit.
Today has not been all bad really, all my courgette, squash and pumpkin seeds have germinated and along the river the willows are in the green and waving their vivid tresses in the breeze. The darkness of the sky only served to accentuate the brightness of their new leaves.
In the garden a pair of chaffinches have begun to build their nest and this afternoon a large flock of long tailed tits, the prettiest of their breed graced the feeders outside the kitchen window for some time.
Such wonders as this cheer up the worst of days and make me ashamed to be such and old grouch, still a good old fashioned grumble has done me the world of good,and on that note I shall wish you a good night, or day, where ever you happen to be.
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