Something Close to Normal

Robbie is back in 'normal' mode – well, not normal exactly, Robbie doesn't do normal but he manages a fairly close approximation. He has been trying to make up for being a pain in the rear on Christmas morning, I have forgiven him, but he is still cross with himself. He invited me to have an early night last night, but I realised that it was just his one track mind getting the better of him when he said “just you and me and the new train DVD”. I like watching the DVD's with him, but sometimes I think trains are taking over the bedroom. The top of the wardrobes are packed with his model trains, he has piles of railway magazines on his side of the bed and his collection train DVD's is growing like a triffid. Most of his books have taken up residence in the lounge, but there are still plenty upstairs and some of them even find their way into the bed! I have to ask him not to read his books out loud when I am trying to sleep!! People told me that having a 'toy boy' would be exhausting, but I don't think this is quite what they had in mind, sometimes it would be nice to be just a bit more normal.
On the subject of 'normal' Robbie was in a fragile mood on Christmas Eve, not yet in a full blown strop, but working on it. All the family were at my mum's, just enjoying a nice family day together, but Robbie sat there reading The Grocer! What am I going to do with him?

This evening he is watching a scary film on his laptop, it is called The Strangers. It is comical to watch him, he's there with his headphones on looking terrified and making occasional terrified gasps and whimpers. At least it has given me a bit of peace for a little while.

Mission Impossible (Shopping with Robbie)

Robbie and I went shopping at Toys R Us on Friday evening. Robbie came straight from work so he was still dressed in his suit, bit as soon as he walked through the door his 'inner child' took over and he was almost bursting with enthusiasm. I wanted to look for Christmas presents for my niece and nephews, Oliver is only 6 months old and Jack likes cars and diggers more than trains so despite Robbie pleading with me there was nobody to buy trains for. It didn't stop him trying, first we went to look at the brio and all the wooden Thomas series engines, he really wanted to buy one. Then we went to look at the die-cast Thomas models, I remember when Sam used to collect those, I think we still have them packed away somewhere. Robbie was rather taken with a carry case in the shape of Thomas that could store a selection of trains inside. I finally enticed him away from that section, but my problems had only just begun because he made a dash for the Hornby section. He described every single item in detail and I thought we would still be there at closing time. Thankfully Emily met us and we finally dragged him away to concentrate on the Christmas shopping. We bought Oliver's present, but we also bought a rather nice wooden train set for when he is old enough – guess whose idea that was!

I hate going to town especially on a Saturday, but Robbie pestered me until I gave in, so we spent this afternoon trailing around the shops in Northampton with Sam. When we finally sat down to have a drink and a snack Robbie told me that a parcel should be delivered on Monday. He had that guilty smile and it was clear he didn't want me to ask any questions. It is my birthday soon so I thought it may be something for me but clearly he had other things on his mind he finally revealed that he has bought a lump of deltic (to add to all his other junk) and I have to alter my whole routine on Monday to wait in for it to be delivered!

Pillow Talk

After coming to bed on Thursday night and ranting about Barry Doe, Robbie found that his list of banned subjects had a new name on it – I am so sick of hearing about that man! Robbie was going on a rail tour on Saturday, but it didn't involve an overnight stay so just as I settled down to sleep on Friday night, Robbie plodded up the stairs and plonked himself on the bed with a thud (as usual). I was jolted awake. He was looking forward to the rail tour and he checked the alarm clock several times as he talked about the route, and all sorts of details of the trip. He wasn't exactly talking to me, it was more like speaking his thoughts, I like to listen to the radio at night because I can switch it off when I am tired – if only it was that simple to silence Robbie. I usually give him a sharp prod, occasionally it makes him shut up but usually it just jolts him on to another subject. After pausing for breath he launched into a completely different subject – the demon from the deep north! An irritating chap, bigger in ego than brain cells who has a one man crusade about coach replacements. Robbie muttered darkly about him for a while, he made me laugh because he refers to him as 'Barry's brother in the north' – another haemorrhoid, no wonder Robbie never sits still!

The alarm woke me in the middle of the night and I got up to take Robbie to the station, then I went back to bed, to get a couple more hours sleep. I was enjoying it until Robbie rang to tell me about the lack of coffee at Northampton and about his breakfast – typical Robbie!

I had a busy day, I have been looking after my mum's 3 cats and 2 tortoise for the last fortnight and I was glad that my mum and stepfather were coming home on Saturday to relieve me of the responsibility. One of the cats is very old, close to 20 years old, she is quite frail and she needs a special diet so it was a bit of a worry to look after her. I picked up some shopping for them then I went over to tidy their house and to make sure that everything was ready for their return. Then I went home to do my own cleaning and to tackle yet another washing mountain.

Robbie rang me a number of times during the day, he really enjoyed his day, but it was almost midnight when he arrived back at the station so it was a long day for me too. He talked non stop on the way home and he was still talking when we went to bed, it didn't matter because I was so tired that I fell asleep. Sunday morning was wet and miserable, but at least I had Robbie's undivided attention. He got up to make me a cup of tea and when he came back to bed he brought two boxed Bachmann wagons with him, Satlink Western to be exact, he started to tell me all about them and he was rather hurt when I wasn't interested! Men!!

A Year of the Blog 15.11.07

Yesterday was the first anniversary of this blog. I have another blog that I have been writing since 2003, but that one had a more practical purpose. I started this one as a bit of a joke, I thought it would amuse a handful of people for a few weeks and that would be it. It has taken on a life of it's own and I am constantly surprised that people want to read my jottings about the daily trivia of our lives. I am sure many people think I am really mean to write about Robbie's idiosyncrasies, but I think he quite likes it most of the time. If I ever suggest giving up the blog he is insistent that I should keep it going.

So, what can I write about to mark the first year of the blog? I think the answer is obvious - I have to write about Robbie, so I will answer the question that we get asked most often - how we met, and how we became 'the odd couple'. The meeting bit was fairly boring, usual sort of thing, friend of a friend, we just happened to be at the same event. Anyway I didn't really take much notice of Robbie at first, I just thought he was a bit loud and excessively talkative with a bizarre taste in footwear. The thing about Robbie is that he will happily talk to anyone about anything, and when he spoke to me I realised that he was quite interesting. That was it really, I just thought he was nice, I had no intention of falling in love with him, it didn't cross my mind. In fact at first I thought he might be gay because when he chatted to me he always mentioned one particular colleague. One day he told me that they had been shopping for shoes together and then he mentioned that they went shopping for records every week. Yes, I do mean records, Robbie collects 7in vinyl's, I know I don't keep up with the latest trends in technology but even I know that records are a thing of the past. Eventually I asked Robbie if he was gay, he was horrified, but in my defence I must point out that he is closely 'in touch with his feminine side'. As I got to know him better I realised that he is far too untidy to be gay!

So that's about it really, as I've said a few times before, Robbie talked me into submission! Can you think of anyone else who would invite a girlfriend back to their flat to see their collection of model trains and then spend hours describing each train in detail! There is so much more to Robbie than trains, weird fashion sense and loud music. He is kind, caring, fun to be with and mad enough to fit into our family perfectly. The rest you will just have to guess!