Why do I bother!!!!

 

This week, whilst husband and son were gaming I decided to paint a wall blue. I managed it in an evening (though a bit of tidying up is required at the edges). The next morning I waited excitedly for their reaction. They both got up - made a coffee and got on with their day.

'Have neither of you got anything to say about the wall?', I asked.

"WHAT WALL", they both replied.

Just to put this into perspective, the photo is the view from the kitchen door. Every other wall in the house is white.

I'm really pleased with it actually. As previously mentioned the 'ink' drawing I got for my birthday really looked like nothing on the white wall. I know repainting an entire wall, just for a single picture is quite a dramatic step, but I'm somewhat known for those.

As mentioned I'm trying to modernise the house. Baby steps as neither husband or son cope with change very well. You may think this room looks cluttered, but there's about half as much in it as there was previously. 

I'm removing things from this room one at a time, next to go will be the majority of the things above the dresser, then that mirror and then the hanging lamp.

I never did love the mirror, but when husband's mother went into a care home we were given the opportunity to select things from the house that she didn't need. I saw this on the wall in the sitting room and thought it would be nice for husband to have something he remembered from his youth. It's clearly vintage.

Last week I mentioned I may get rid of it.... 'fine', he said. I asked him why he was ok with that going when he was so possessive about other things. He said 'I dont' like it'. I said 'doesn't it remind you of your childhood?'. He looked confused, so I explained where it was from. He said 'it wasn't there when I was a kid, I've no idea where it came from'.

Needless to say, it's going.

In other news, yes I know the photo shows how odd my house is. I've mentioned before it's built into a hill and in answer to other questions you may have... no it's not a real gun, it's a toy that my father made for my son - a replica Brown Bess, made out of wood and radiator pipe. He gave this to my son when he was 3 years old. We put it up on the wall son son could see it, but not touch it and kill himself with it. It's been there ever since, and is now part of the furniture. And the sword................. that's real! An impulse purchase many years ago.

On Sunday my parents came over for lunch, it was Dad's 89th Birthday. I remember telling him when he turned 80 that if he went onto Britain's Got Talent he'd get a round of applause for being alive. Now one could only assume he'd get a standing ovation! 

I did a vast Indian meal, in the style of a British Army curry. Yes, this is actually something. It's pretty much a normal curry, but the table is absolutely covered in little bowls of things to sprinkle on top. Things like cucumber, peanuts, chopped tomato, desiccated coconut, chopped apple, chopped banana. Apparently this tradition came around because it was a way of making a curry more palatable (pre 1980) with sundries that you'd expect if you were 'back home'.

As Dad has dementia I thought that this may take him back in time and promote some memories. It seemed to do the trick, I got a call from him later in the evening saying how much he'd enjoyed it. The last time he called me was during COVID when he rang to tell me mum had had a heart attack (which she recovered from by the way).

I'm going to spill over to this week whilst the emotion is still high. This morning son has his last GCSE. This morning he got into his school uniform for the very last time. I tied his tie, for the very last time. We then went outside and I took a photo of him in his uniform in exactly the same spot I took a photograph 12 years ago of him on his way to his first day of school.

I was an emotional wreck. Son didn't give a damn.  But then he is going back for 6th Form and so it's not the very very last time he's going into the school. Just the last time in uniform. In 6th Form officially they are meant to wear suits, but most of them just wear jumpers and Chinos and I know that will be son's choice. I have mentioned that if he decides on a suit for 6th Form he's going to have to learn how to tie a tie or get a clip on!

Actually on a more positive note, I guess this means that today is the very last day I need to get myself up to make sure he gets to school ok. Wow, that's quite a landmark for me!!!!!