Thursday 31 December 2009

The John Wayne Walk

Poor Robbie, I feel so useless because I can't help him. He has a groin strain and he is in so much pain and I can't do anything to help him. He is walking around with a John Wayne gait looking as if he has lost his horse and groaning. He doesn't know how it happened, it just got worse in the course of a day. I even suggested a cold compress, but his eyes almost popped out of his head at the thought of it so I didn't mention it again. It must be serious because it is even affecting his appetite, hope he will be better soon.

Wednesday 30 December 2009

A Bit Too Random

It has been nice but rather exhausting to have Robbie at home over Christmas, but over the last couple of days we have been able to take life a little more leisurely. It is wonderful not to have to get up at the crack of dawn it is a real luxury. The other day we were still in bed enjoying being close when Robbie suddenly sat up and said "sock bag". I thought I had misheard, but he went on to enquire exactly how to wash socks using a laundry bag. I explained, but I was rather sad that relaxing in bed with his wife only made him think of socks! It is a good thing that I am used to his random comments.

Tuesday 29 December 2009

A New Toy

Robbie managed to get it right this year, I was delighted with my present from him (apparently the girls kept him on the right track). He bought me a usb thingy to scan photo negatives on to my computer and I have spent the last couple of evenings revisiting old photos and remembering old times. I now have photographic proof that Robbie is not the only member of the family with an obsession with trains!
I hope this photo doesn't give Robbie any ideas, I couldn't cope with him dressing like a deltic! I am guessing that the photo was taken about 12 years ago but I am not allowed to identify the person in the picture because at 15 he is too cool to admit to being a Thomas fan when he was younger. I think the photo below was taken at Peterborough, but after all this time my memory is a bit dodgy and it could be Pitsford. I do remember a very excited three year old running up to a somewhat rotund member of staff and asking if he was the Fat Controller!




Sunday 27 December 2009

A Family Christmas


We have had such a busy few days that we are both exhausted. We spent the day before Christmas Eve with my mum, stepfather, and my brother and his family, it was such a lovely day. My nephew is 20 months old now and he is so much fun, he was the centre of attention and he enjoyed making everyone laugh. We spent Christmas Eve at my mum's house, it is a family tradition to have steak and chips on Christmas Eve and it was wonderful. When I saw how much Robbie managed to put away I thought he would never walk again, but like the bumble bee he defies the laws of nature!

The evening of Christmas Eve was a mad rush of getting the house ready and the last leg of the wrapping up marathon. I seem to have been wrapping presents for weeks, why does it take so long to wrap everything up and such a short time to unwrap! On Christmas morning I think Sam broke the record for the fastest ever present opening and the girls were not far behind. Sam had a coat (the type he wanted), a graphics tablet, very expensive photography books (from his wish list), various DVD sets and a whole ocean of smellies - we will need breathing apparatus for months! The girls had GHDs, DVDs, books perfume and countless other things.

My mum and stepfather spent Christmas Day and Boxing Day with us, the cooking was hard work but we all had a lovely time. Robbie behaved himself except for the little interlude on Boxing Day afternoon when he has a tantrum about somthing so trivial that I can't even remember it. He sat on the kitchen floor with his arms folded an his lip sticking out, he looked just like a toddler with an attack of the 'terrible twos'. We just closed the door on him and enjoyed a cup of tea while he regained control of his inner child. I have just remembered what caused the strop, it was because we wanted to make a cup of tea before we did the washing up and it messed up his routine!!

I have to make a bit of a confession, I bought Robbie two railway books because I wanted to read them! I knew that he wiould like them too. I scoured the town to find his favourite aftershave for him and I also bought him some other things, but I think he will write about that later.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Going Green

It was Sam's birthday on Sunday. He had a nice day doing the things that he wanted to do despite his bruised and painful face, the bruises have come out now and his face looks very colourful. He doesn't like it because it draws attention to him, but hopefully the bruises will not last too long.

Several weeks ago Sam provided me with a neatly typed list of items that would like for his birthday and Christmas. I was very impressed, the list was organised under different sub headings and it included clothes, cds, dvds and gadgets. If only his school work was that well presented!

One of the things that he wanted most of all was a pair of dark green Converse boots, it sounds simple enough but it proved very difficult to find any at a reasonable price. I finally found a pair for £35, it seems a lot to pay for a pair of canvas shoes, but he was delighted with them and he has worn them every day since he got them. He had lots of other things too including a shopping trip with his sisters and a large sum of money to spend on clothes. He chose some very nice things and he looks very good in them.

Poor old Sam, it can't be fun having a birthday and Christmas in the same week, I really should have planned it better.

Monday 21 December 2009

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?

I haven't seen much of Robbie this weekend on Friday he allegedly got snowed in and had to stay overnight in Birmingham. I say allegedly because he went to the office Christmas celebration on Friday afternoon and evening so it may have been that he was conveniently marooned in Birmingham, so I had a peaceful night and just for once I was able to hang on to all the duvet! He came bouncing back on Saturday lunchtime, but he got his priorities all wrong the best way to get into my good books is to make me a cup of tea! He has a nasty bump on his knee, he fell over in the snow on Friday.

On Sunday morning he was off again on a secret mission (I'm not allowed to write about it on the blog) but he had my approval. I had to take him to the station, I can't believe they haven't gritted the car park it was like a skating rink, it is an accident waiting to happen! Anyway Robbie didn't get back until late in the evening, but he had a great time and surprise surprise he managed to stay upright all day!

Friday 18 December 2009

Getting There


We woke this morning to find the world covered in snow, in fact it was still snowing very hard and it was very slippy under foot. Robbie was determined to get to work because it was their Christmas meal today and there was no way that a few inches of snow were going to get between him and his food! The likelihood of a bus turning up on time was almost non existent so I was pressed into action. While Robbie was trotting around the house in his underwear deciding what to wear, I was outside thawing the car out! Most of the roads had not been gritted so it was a very slow crawl and skid towards the station. In fact Robbie had to bale out before we got there because he thought it would be better if I didn't have to drive down the steep hill to the station. He got to work OK (there wasn't any snow there) and I haven't heard from him for ages so he must be having fun. We have had more snow during the day and it is snowing again now so I am not sure if he will manage to get home again!

Wednesday 16 December 2009

How Could They Do That?

Sam will be 15 at the weekend, he has been looking forward to a shopping trip to town to buy clothes with his birthday money, but now it looks as if all that will have to be put on hold. Yesterday on his way home from school he was badly beaten up by three men aged about 18 or 19. They wanted his phone and they punched and kicked him between 15 and 20 times around his face and head. He was so upset and frightened that when he rang me I found it very hard to understand what had happened and where he was. Emily and I went straight out to find him but it took a while to locate him. He was in such a state that I took him straight to the surgery to be checked over by the doctor. His face was already badly swollen and very painful, and the inside of his mouth was badly cut, but the doctor hopes that no bones are broken. There is a possibility that his nose is broken and there is some concern about the damage to his right cheek, but nothing can be done about that for a couple of weeks until the swelling has gone down. The police came out to take a statement from him and they are sending someone out to photograph his injuries today. Poor old Sam, I really hope this doesn't spoil his Birthday and Christmas for him.

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Too Hot to Handle

Having insisted on heat in the bedroom I looked forward to a comfortable night, but it was worse than before. I was so hot that I thought I was having a senior moment! I went into the bathroom and found that the radiator was so hot that anyone using the' facilities' risked burning their bits. Robbie had been twiddling with the timer and had somehow set the heating on constant and set the thermostat to tropical! He is like a man with a bag of spanners, he goes round sticking them in the works and I run along behind trying to restore order. We now have the timer set at the correct time and it is obediently coming on and going off at the times set. The thermostat is back to normal and sanity has been restored - until the next time!

Monday 14 December 2009

The Big Freeze

Robbie often comes up with ideas and most of them are totally batty (I think he reserves his sensible thoughts for work) but his latest daft idea has really annoyed me. We have had a couple of occasions recently when he has struggled to get up on time. Any sensible person would tell him that if he stays up working on his timetables until 2am he will not be ready to wake up again at 5am! Robbie has given the matter a lot of thought and has come up with the idea that we are feeling tired because the bedroom is too hot, so without any discussion he turned the radiator off. We only have it on for a few hours morning and evening, but that is enough to take the chill off the room and make it comfortable. Without heat it is so cold that I can't get to sleep for ages and when I wake up in the morning it is so cold that I just want to turn over and go back to sleep. I have had a full and frank exchange of views with Robbie and until normal heating is resumed I am on strike!

Thursday 10 December 2009

Inconvenience


Robbie got home from his course last night, he was tired but he said he enjoyed the course. This morning he was keen to get to work, so I hardly had a chance to talk to him before he was gone. I looked forward to his usual phone call when he got tho Birmingham, but when it came he was more like Reginald Perrin than ever. There was no introduction, like hello or how are you he just launched into a frustrated tirade about the failings of London Midland. Apparently there were no working toilets on his train and by the time he got to Birmingham his need was so urgent that he had to sprint to the Gents! It may surprise him, but I really don't need a daily bulletin on the state of the train toilets!

Wednesday 9 December 2009

What Goes Down Will Not Go Up!

It is surprisingly quiet here Robbie is away on a course and I am feeling abandoned, he forgot to ring me last night.

This morning when I took Sam to school he opened the back passenger window of the car, he attempted to put it up again and it wouldn't do anything. So I am stuck with a window like the Grand Old Duke of York - its neither up nor down! This had to happen on a wet day, so I have had to cover the window with some plastic. I hope it will decide to work later on.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

I Hate Mondays!


Whoever started that saying 'one step forward and two steps back' must have been thinking of me! Yesterday turned into a disaster, Sam had problems at school, so he arrived home angry and upset. Then when he had settled down I headed off to work and as I was driving along a main road some fool in a great big car pulled out of a parking space right into the side of my car! He just pulled out without looking, I swerved but he kept on coming at me and hit the rear passenger door and the part behind that door. I think he was on the phone. It left me really shaken up, and cross because it really didn't need to happen. I have spent most of this morning sorting out the insurance and the repair. I really could do without this aggravation at the moment. At this rate I don't think I have any chance of having everything ready in time for Christmas.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Grounds for Divorce!

I'm finally starting to feel better after the swine flu jab, it made me feel really rough, but I expect it is a lot better to have the jab than to risk getting swine flu. I really need to get organised now, I still have so much to do before Christmas and it seems as if the days are just rushing past. I have Sam's birthday to think about too, poor Sam, it is no fun having your birthday and Christmas in the same week. I asked him for ideas about what presents he would like and he presented me with a neatly typed page of A4 paper with his wish list neatly divided into categories - if only he put that much effort into his homework! So now I know what he wants, but I will need a second mortgage to afford it all! Robbie's wish list is truly scary among other things he wants some Dr Marten boots with union jack toe caps - no way! I put up with him wearing bright colours and lurid patterns but the union jack toe caps are a step to far, it would be grounds for divorce! He will have to settle for something a little more sober, after all he is not far off 40, it's time he grew up!

Thursday 3 December 2009

A Pain in the Arm


I had my swine flu injection on Tuesday. I have the 'flu jab every year and it usually causes a very painful arm so I was expecting the swine flu injection to be much the same. As usual I got a hard red painful area on my arm but by Wednesday evening the pain was really bad and impossible to ignore, even painkillers don't seem to help. Now I feel as if I have 'flu too, I expect it will sort itself out in a day or two but I feel really rough, I hope it was worth having the jab.

Robbie took Sam to his first gig on Tuesday evening, they went to see Hadouken. They both had a very good time, but I think Sam found it a bit loud. Robbie wore his see through converse with yellow socks, words fail me, it looked horrible. Oh well I should be grateful, at least I didn't have to go with them!

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Winter Woes


1st December dawned icy cold, one of those mornings when the prospect of getting out of bed seems unthinkable and the temptation to roll over and go back to sleep is hard to resist. I had the usual battle with the alarm clock and as usual it won, so by 5.40am I plodded downstairs ready to face the day. I'm not sure why I was surprised to find the car windows covered in a thick layer of ice, but I was; it was the first frosty morning this winter. My carefully timed morning routine had suffered a set back and the prospect of being late loomed large. The ice was soon cleared and I was on my way, but from now on I will need to allow time each morning to clear the windows. I hate winter!