I had great plans for today, Pa had an early appointment at the hospital and I had intended to spent the morning making strawberry and gooseberry jam,alas it was not to be. With a Herculean effort we got Pa out on time after which,totally exhausted with the effort my son and I sat down to a breakfast of pancakes and lemon. We had meant to have a leisurely meal and after washing up my son had offered to help with the awful business of topping and tailing several pounds of green gooseberries.
Barely had the first batch of pancakes been removed from the griddle when the telephone rang, now I know that I should not complain as the repair man was coming to take a look at the cooker hood but of course this meant that I could not start jam making until he had finished. The lock on the back door was also to be replaced and this would mean tea and biscuits for the workers and by now it was becoming obvious that it would have to be jam tomorrow.
I sat about waiting for the men to arrive and of course they were much later that the had promised, typical! I got bored sitting about and decided to paint my toe nails, this is a job I detest but needs must when sandal season arrives, I finished the paint job, still no workmen. During the course of the morning a large number of honey bees came in to the house and a merry old time I had catching the little blighter's and returning them to the garden, I think they must have sensed the impending heavy rain we had later.
Twelve thirty brought the chap to repair the lock, he had great difficulty removing it and we came to the conclusion that it had been there since the house was built. This is entirely possible as the door is the original as are all the doors in the house, a fact which explains the creaking as well as the howling draughts! Off he went to buy a new lock intimating that it would be expensive, I was not surprised. The electrician was still conspicuous by his absence and so I decided to get on with the jam making,and the electrician arrived!
He replaced the blown out bulbs and as he prepared to leave I told him that they would be out within half and hour,he smiled. By now the lock repair man complete with new barrel. "Worth a try." He said had returned and had for the past half hour been attempting to fix the lock. He managed to put the thing back together again and all seemed well until he tried to remove the key,it was well and truly stuck. This was the reason why the key broke off in the lock in the first place so we were back to square one. The electrician who had not yet left offered assistance and with the aid of a hack saw and some brute force they managed between them to make the lock work. Our cheers were brought to an abrupt halt by the cooker hood lights flashing and then going out, the electrician was flabbergasted even though I have been telling him about this problem for over two years. He apologised and went off muttering about checking the specifications, one to me I think.
Pa returned home from the hospital spattered and besmirched with plaster of Paris, A cast had been made of his leg in order to produce a new calliper which will we hope help him to walk with a little more ease. Judging by the amount of plaster on his clothes I would say that the person who carried out the plastering needs to have and eye test, fortunately being used to such procedures we took the precaution of sending Pa to hospital in some old togs, wise decision.
With all the repairs done I made the lock man a late lunch of poached eggs on toast and then got on with the jam making, soon another eight jars were glowing on the kitchen table waiting to be labled.
Today has been at once amusing and frustrating but at least we can now lock the back door and we are at last making progress with our electrical problems. Now there's a word, problems, I still have problems and absolutely refuse to have issues,it sound so stupid. I heard a woman say. “I have issues with my health.” Others have money issues, boyfriend issues, there are political issues. A problem is still a blasted problem no matter what you call it. I can understand companies, corporations and governments not wanting to be seen to have “problems” but to hear everyone else adopting this silly phrase gets right up my nose. What the heck are marriage issues for Gods sake, I think I had better change the subject before I end up with blood pressure issues!
I made Pizzas for dinner and three sorts of dip to help the crusts go down. This was served with anti pasta and fresh salad from the garden. The showers we have had today are doing the garden good but I am afraid that it has also brought up about a million slugs, dammit. I shall have to encourage the local hedgehogs to pay us a nocturnal visit, a couple of slices of strawberry jam on toast usually brings them in from far and wide as a nice starter before the main course, Yuk!
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