@shezza_t is moving to .ieBargain Hunt has been forgotten, we’re hunting down things Mum has spotted in various magazines now. I have two shopping baskets on the go already.
One cardigan bought. Now begins the worrying that it’ll not be right, and there’ll be tutting and returns.
Now we're trying to find out when Hope Street is back on.
So #ShezzaMumsHouse shower. We meet to do battle once more.
Uh-oh. #ShezzaMumsHouse tolerates the start of Nolan to get the news. I’ve heard more Nolan in the last few minutes than I’ve heard in years and years.
I’m fighting the urge to dive across the room and hit the off button.
Getting constantly confused by the bathroom sink cold tap at #ShezzaMumsHouse . Unlike every other tap in the house it's right for on and left for off.
And now I'm on Willy Watch at #ShezzaMumsHouse . Willy is the guy who washes the wheelie bins, and will need paying. Only we don't know if today's a Willy Day or not.
Today is not a Willy Day at #ShezzaMumsHouse.
It was however the second time since February 2020 that Mum was out at the shops. A big day.
And it continues to be a Big Day: I've found a sharp knife in the kitchen to chop the onions with!
Had a wee shock when I was out doing Mum’s messages. Walking back to the car a tiny just-about-toddling child ran out between two cars in front of me, just as a car drove down the car park.
Without thinking more than “shit!” I reached down to take her arm. As I did so the bag of shopping that was nearly bigger than she was started sliding down my arm.
Another internal “shit!”, and all I could do was gently lower her to the ground, sideways.
By this point the car had stopped, and the very shocked grandparents had come from their car where they’d been loading groceries.
There was a flurry of shocked checking on the wean, me asking the grandparents to check I hadn’t hurt her and them thanking me.
And suddenly, when I got into my own car, I was too shaky to drive and had to sit and take big breaths for a bit.
But now, tea!
Today the soundtrack at #ShezzaMumsHouse is Radio 2 and frequent beeping announcements from the washing machine and tumble dryer.
And sometimes you just have to accept you’re not going to finish the article, because there’s thoughts about newspapers and magazines to be listened to.
Thank goodness for @nivrig ‘s Saltaire game.
Today’s #ShezzaMumsHouse was a busy one with medical appointments, and more taking Mum shopping. So it definitely counts as a big day.
It also had a reminder for me that I need to be more zen, and let the small criticisms pass. I got a cluster of them earlier today, and asked Mum to stop telling me what I was doing wrong. Talk about fart in a spacesuit.
It’s sorted now, but the day would have been better without that.
Happy Friday the 13th from #ShezzaMumsHouse. I’m not going home for the weekend after all. My brother has just tested positive and is heading to a weekend rental place. We can’t take any risks with our CEV Mum.
NI Water’s response in this news article has Mum ranting, and rightly so: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewlwd5j91wo
The mouldy “smell and taste were produced by naturally occurring compounds related to algae in Lough Neagh were not harmful to health.”
Who on earth wants their tap water to smell and taste mouldy??
NGL Fediverse, the constant, quite loud, radio background at #ShezzaMumsHouse is really starting to get to me.
Lunch was eaten to the soundtrack of a man talking about the trouble had drying his onions. And dinner prep has some DJ on Greatest Hits Radio talking to a caller over the song Tequila!
Dancing in the Moonlight now.
It’s a stressy wee #ShezzaMumsHouse today, with an incredibly stressed, turned up to 11, hyper Mum.
We’re putting together supplies for my brother, who is in a rental bungalow and feeling really quite lousy. Mum is bouncing all over the place, and I’ve had to rein her back from roasting a chicken. Yes, brother does like picking at chicken when he’s unwell, but he’s not at home and he said he’s not eating.
Looking forward to bed tonight, even if it is the single bed with a double duvet that tangles up on me every night.
For all the Bargain Hunt watched on the iPad, #ShezzaMumsHouse switches the big TV on for Monty Don and his gardening.
Standing in the Spar, looking at a photo on my phone of the women’s magazines Mum had on the coffee table, so I could get the newer ones.
In related news: bloody hell, magazines are expensive now.
Alan Titchmarsh is on the telly, doing a tasting of low/no alcohol wines. Everyone is wearing a poppy.
I had no idea we were in poppy season already.
Poor brother’s getting it rough: he’s got the boking Covid.
It's been A Bit of a Day at #ShezzaMumsHouse today. But all's done that needs done now, so we're at the calmer Bargain Hunt end of the day. I'm footering at my blanket as a brain wind down thing.
The cardigan was Not Right, and the next size up has been ordered.
And now #ShezzaMumsHouse is again trying to work out if today is a Willy Day.
Today was not a Willy Day.
#ShezzaMumsHouse seems to exist in a constant state of flux, bouncing between “Oh no! There’s too much food in and everything’s hard to manage!” and “Oh no! We’re running out of food!”
I’ve not found the sweet spot yet.
And I’ve not yet worked out the rules around recycling. Sometimes it goes in the bucket in the corner, sometimes it goes on the backdoor mat.
There’s no pattern around size, material or proximity of bin day. And so far I’m only getting it right about 20% of the time.
Oh, and That Statue is still a topic of conversation.
There’s an air of optimism at #ShezzaMumsHouse today: Mum has put the parasol up in the garden.
The tumble dryer at #ShezzaMumsHouse appears to have put two teeny holes in the front of one of my favourite tee-shirts.
Day six, and brother’s still testing positive with a strong red line :|
Just deployed the spider vacuum to deal with one of those small bodied, enormously long, thin legged spiders that had dared to build a web in the ceiling corner above Mum’s seat.
Day seven, and brother’s test line was a bit slower to appear, and a bit less vivid than previous tests.
There's a powerful caterwauling going on out there tonight.
I have to say, Universal Paperclip is the perfect distraction for #ShezzaMumsHouse . Unlike reading a book, or crocheting, it’s very patient about me not being able to give it my full attention.
Security Writer :verified: :donor: (@[email protected])
Remember to take breaks and hydrate, and possibly play some Universal Paperclips while you work: https://www.decisionproblem.com/paperclips/
Muting every WhatsApp chat apart from the one with my brother. Otherwise every time my phone pings, Mum goes “Is that M? What did he say?”
And I go, no, that was @intheseheels showing me the fabulous outfit she’s wearing today.
I’ve lost the “please upgrade from your blue medical mask to an FFP3, or at least an FFP2 mask” debate with Mum.
She’s happy with the medical mask, and it’s the same as her GP wears. To paraphrase: if a better mask was needed, the GP would apparently wear one.
:/
I've released the Hypnodrones.
Day ten: Brother’s still getting a definite red line, fainter than Friday 13th and slower to appear.
Guess I’m not getting home any time soon.
Apart from that dentist appointment next week to get a couple of ancient fillings replaced. Woo-hoo.
The ‘mute every chat except the one with my brother’ strategy has failed.
Phone buzz. Mum: what’s that? Is that M?
Me: that’s the cat tracker turning on.
No phone buzz, but I message @OpinionatedGeek .
Mum: is that M?
Me: that’s @OpinionatedGeek saying “good morning “ to me.
Me: stands up to go get a tissue.
Mum: What? What is it?
Me: I’m going to get a tissue.
I think it’s safe to say Mum stress levels are sky high.
Finished the paperclip game. Slowly at first, and then quickly, to,paraphrase whoever.
Uh-oh. A tiny fieldmouse just ran across Mum's back garden and into the neighbour's garden.
All windows have been closed tight, and the back door shut. And apparently the local birds will have to fend for themselves until harvesting is done.
If you ran a record player's needle over my crochet, you would hear an amalgamation of every Bargain Hunt played while I worked on this bit.
Oof. In a rare change to usual viewing, Mum is watching something on the TV rather than her iPad. And o.m.g it's LOUD.
Day eleven: Brother’s still getting a red line, fainter than Friday 13th and slower to appear.
Guess I’m not getting home any time soon.
Day twelve: Brother’s still getting a red line, fainter than yesterday and slower to appear. And the poor sod is still feeling exhausted and crap.
Today was a Willy Day.
The radio is subjecting me to a James Last cover of Take Me Home Country Roads…
I snuck a single earplug in tonight to cope with the TV volume while Mum watched the local news.
And welcome to the regularly scheduled Bargain Hunt binge watch at #ShezzaMumsHouse
Day fourteen: Brother’s still getting a red line, fainter than Friday 13th and slower again to appear.
Guess I’m not getting home any time soon.
The Asda delivery #ShezzaMumsHouse is waiting on has been two stops away for the past 25 minutes. Someone’s getting a big order.
And now the internet says the driver is here, but he's very much not here.
Spanglor@shezza_t even the Asda man gets a lunch break!
Unless of course this is a "Confessions of an Asda delivery driver" scenario 😱
Luke@shezza_t blimey! You sure he's not got a red pencil and drawing the line on?
@luke Believe me, I'm certain. Thon fella has reached the stage of desperately missing his own bed.
Mark Goody@shezza_t Good grief 🙁
@marramgrass You said it, dude. You said it.
Sean D@shezza_t At least it isn't the original!
@seanddotmedotuk I find it less irritating than a plinky cover version.
@shezza_t We'll agree to disagree.
teledyn 𓂀Buy them a copy of James Last "Best Kept Secret“ — that band CAN play, it's just that those records don't sell nearly as well. In concert they blew my socks off; dad just smiled knowingly.
@teledyn I knew they had to be good, because my Dad wouldn’t have listened to them otherwise. But Mum’s tastes in JL definitely run to the cover versions.
My wives might have liked Coltrane with Miles, and could tolerate an occasional My Favourite Things, but Interstellar had to wait until I was alone 😅
Charles Anthony@shezza_t Christ. “Dear Diary, will this torment ever end?”
@spoonrefuter It’s like you’re reading my mind.
Geoff@shezza_t Wanna borrow a cat? He's off-duty right now, but I reckon he could solve your fieldmouse problem sharpish. As soon as this snooze is over. And maybe the next one.
@OpinionatedGeek I'd love to borrow #SamCat, I'm starting to worry he'll forget about me! Sadly #ShezzaMumsHouse is not a pet-friendly place to stay, and not just because of busy roads.
Give him a scritch from me plz.
@shezza_t He's pining for you. There's no chance he's forgotten you. You're the Nice One.
(Scritch has been done.)
Noah Gibbs@shezza_t Woot! I'm a huge fan of the paperclip game.
@codefolio It's a genius wee game.
@seanddotmedotuk I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve always joked Mum has been style over function, for example choosing pretty coats that don’t keep you warm or dry.
And she has no patience with uncomfortable things, even when they’re absolutely, completely necessary.
Stuart Gibson@shezza_t @intheseheels Hey! Why am I not seeing the fabulous outfit‽
I'm moving to mastodon.ie