Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 June 2004 20:57:25
OK, so how can riding a bike downhill for ten minutes leave me totally exhausted? And how on earth am I going to manage two hours on Sunday? I could do with a cushion!
I've achieved a lot of little things today but none of the big things I'd hoped to do, so the lounge looks no different. It's a fact, I can't get on half as well once Dad is around. Not that I don't love having him around and I did miss him while he was at my sister's, but I just cannot get on with jobs when it's interspersed with doing things for him, making lunch, having coffee on the patio etc, and he can't understand that I do want to get on. Still, I've made a start, and maybe tomorrow morning he'll be too occupied chatting to the cleaner while I get on with moving and sorting and decluttering... as long as I've recovered from this mad exercise I've started!
I took Dad up to see the doctor and then on to the post office to set up a card account for his pension. We took all the pieces of paper we needed, or so we thought. I mean, the letter said "Bring one form of ID, e.g. passport, driving license, utility bill." So we took his bank statement which had just arrived and his wallet full of credit cards. Apparently, however, "e.g." does not mean "for example" as I previously believed, but actually means "specifically". So I had to walk all the way home to fetch his passport and all the way back again to do the paperwork.
This time I decided to cash in my child benefit while I was there. Whoops - apparently you're not allowed to let that accumulate and if you don't cash it within three months, the order book becomes invalid! What's more, because I hadn't cashed the ones from earlier this year, they'd sent the new book back, so I couldn't even draw the ones which were still in date.
I sorted Dad's tablets, rang for details about an ironing service (pure decadence I can't afford... but incredibly tempting!), arranged for my poorly computer to come home on Friday, hung out the washing and did three more loads, tidied the kitchen and set fire to the lunch - literally!
My piano is now beautifully tuned and even more of a delight to play. I had a word with the tuner about all the wrong notes, but he said there wasn't much he could do to remedy that. My fingers are as shocked at being asked to do the twiddly bits of music as my poor legs are at being asked to ride a bike, but I'm sure with practise we'll convince at least one of them to conform.
Don't let me forget to remind the tooth fairy she has more work to do tonight. I now have a son with no front teeth at the top! Dad offered to lend him his false ones, which I thought was very kind. No toffees for Smudgelet for a while!