Letting things Slip

A while ago Sophie gave me a flavoured gin she didn’t like. It is apple and cinnamon flavoured. I put it in the boot of my car and wrapped it in a cloth bag to protect it. I remembered it was there but every time I thought about bringing it indoors, I had too many bags to carry. Enough was enough… my hands were laden with sports stuff and shopping but even so, I thought I had just enough space to pop it into my shopping bag that also had my handbag in it. I brought it indoors.

I smelled gin! The lid had popped off and about an inch of gin had soaked through my handbag and puddled at the bottom of my shopping bag. I washed the handbag and rinsed the inside of the shopping bag but still there was a distinct smell of gin. On my more recent outing to Tesco I was well aware that I exuded an odour of gin!! All I needed to make the image of a lush total was fluffy bedroom slippers and hair rollers. Hic!

I need not worry about the smell anymore. The bag that had the gin leak now smells of toilet bleach. The bottle I bought at Tesco had a pin-prick hole in it. This is not exactly a wholesome smell but rinsing the bag out has resulted in my shower smelling really clean.

I can also report that I no longer need to wobble on the loo. A long time ago Ezra-Mae stood on the seat cover and reached for the tap. This dislodged the fittings that helped the lid stay in place. Sammi then "fixed" it... a temporary solution actually. The rubber bungs had slipped inside so the lid became totally unstable. Jeremy has now saved me from future wobbles and slips. Thanks to his nifty repair job, I can poo without fear!

Toilet seat sorted so I have no fears when I am on one leg. Over this week I have been making a pile of things I need to take to the hospital – medication, baggy clothes, letter,  a big plastic bag to cover the cast and I have made a garter to seal the top of the plastic bag for showering. It reminded me of my school days and wearing fat elastic garters to keep knee-length hockey socks up over the pads. Life has gone full circle.

I went to IKEA with Danielle to get some stuff to make life potentially easier when I become a hop-a-long. As Danielle had Mattaya in the stroller, we went up in the lift in the store. Sharing the lift, a lady had both her children in a trolley sitting on a car rug. I asked if they were expensive. She said yes, very. I asked were they flat-pack. She laughed and said yes and very high maintenance. I just wonder which aisle she picked them up in. They are probably named Sven and Helga so I could look them up, I suppose. So onto the shopping, along with a basket to put toiletries in in the shower – that is so I don’t need to bend down on one leg -  I bought plants and plant pots – these are things I cannot resist. I wanted a stool to rest my knee on but I forgot that. I looked but I just couldn't decide. I can’t even remember the names of the things I looked at. I didn't even look for Sven or Helga. This means I am back to square one on the stool search. At least I already have one in the shower. 

This week, I went to visit Nicolas, who lives in Towcester, with Naser. Nataliia is in Odessa with Philip, the baby. so it was a boys’ night in and I tagged along! There are a few English jokes I just love besides Eric, the horse. The ones that start, “What’s the difference between…..” My favourite for English teachers is – What is the difference between a sentence and a cat? This led to scrolling Google and then asking ever more silly jokes that just don’t translate. To me, that makes them even funnier. I should have taken the gin that night!

Mattaya the Marmite eater

Mattaya laughs at everything - probably even my jokes. That makes me laugh. Danielle brought her over for lunch and she sat at the table and had Marmite on my sourdough. Thank Goodness she likes Marmite. I am not sure I could cope with a grandchild who refused to eat it. Danielle reckons I’ll be able to lean on the stroller and rock Mattaya back and forth while standing on one leg. These are Danielle’s future plans for my babysitting. I'll probably need a pain killer in a bottle if I do that. Let’s see! 

My we world