Going out.

I think I drew the short straw!

In an effort to avoid the therapist I volunteered to help at DGD's Christmas fair.

This meant I was off the boat when she visited but CHS wasn't left alone as the therapist always stays for a couple of hours.

There were only a few stalls at the fair, it's a very small nursery.

There was a Raffle, a Tombola, a Book stall, Guess the weight of the cake, Guess the name of the large toy dog and Decorate a Gingerbread Biscuit, guess which one I got?

The biscuits came in various shapes, man, woman, snowman, reindeer and Christmas tree.

So there was I, six children at a time, tubes of coloured icing, bags of mini marshmallows and tubs of sprinkles!

Some of the children were eating the icing straight from the tubes, some were eating the marshmallows and some were tipping the sprinkles straight into their mouths!

It was anarchy!

I was very sticky by the end and so were the children!

I'm sure some of the parents would have preferred a more structured and disciplined effort but as none of them wanted to get sticky, they had to put up with my lackadaisical approach.

I think I was given that stall for two reasons, 1) no-one else wanted  to do it. 2) accountability, if anyone complained to the staff about their child overdosing on coloured sugar, they could blame it all on me and assure the parents I wouldn't be helping next Christmas. DGD leaves nursery in September!!

Replies

Thank you for all your replies to my earlier post.

I spoke to the therapist as she left the marina last week, I was reasonably polite but very blunt in my observations, she didn't take kindly to my remarks!

Heidi suggested giving CHS some jobs to do, but he doesn't want to do jobs, he just wishes to re-do them!
Joan all the other professionals who visit ask me how I am, they are not really interested but at least have the courtesy to ask.
Susan, yes I agree I think we women are just expected to get on with it and if the man is the carer he get more attention, as Joan says her husband does.
Janice, yes she was full of book learning and bugger all else.
Kate, we need a mutual support society, I love your blog.

I'm sorry I haven't replied to every comment, I've had to wait for my laptop to be repaired before I could reply at all.

In the interim we have had another visit from the same therapist, I missed most of her visit as I went out, on purpose.

However when I did return she beat a hurried retreat. CHS said she had told him that although his frustration was understandable he must try not to make unreasonable requests like slowing down on the motorway for him to read the signs. She also told him he must try not to shout at me as I'd get upset.

A couple of hours after she left someone else from the stroke team phoned me to as how the therapy visit had gone, no one phoned last week.

I know the therapist was fuming when she left last week, I'm wondering if she went back and told the team that I'd been rude to her Maybe someone explained where she'd gone wrong.

Some good news

My house went on the market mid afternoon yesterday.

There are two viewings booked for Monday!! 

I've had a bollocking

Today we have a visit from a new  therapist, she looks 12 years old and isn't married, so obviously she is the best person to tell me I'm doing everything wrong.

I'm not supportive enough, I don't understand how frustrated CHS is, I need to listen to him more.
For example when we are out in the car and he asks me to slow down I must do so, if he feels the need to read the road signs I need to slow down to enable this.

He couldn't read the road signs before he had his stroke and I can't slow down on the motorway just so he can read the fecking signs.

I need to consider his feelings more.
So when he wakes in the night, scared he is going to have another stroke, who wakes up and makes him a cuppa and talks soothingly to him until he drops off again?

I need to find ways of making his meals more palatable without salt and if he doesn't like herbs then I need to try harder.

I need to take him out for outings at night despite not being and to see, as he doesn't watch tv and it's not good for him to just read or play solitaire.

Sorry this is a bit disjointed, but it was either sit in the car and type this or brain the bloody therapist!!

And now it's the bloody cat!

Next door have a cat as well as the Dalmatian.

This evening I was sat knitting when there was a bang on the window.

I got up to see what it was, only to find it had been caused by next doors cat. 

She'd been on the roof of my boat and dislodged one of the flower pots as she had jumped off my roof.

Who's that knocking at the door?

Well actually knocking on my window, you cannot get to our door without opening the cratch cover and it is considered bad manners to step on someone's boat without an invitation. 

During the summer it is usually the swans tapping on the window for breakfast.

Now we are in the marina, the jetty between us and next door's boat is about 3ft wide.
They have a very large friendly Dalmation dog called Marley, who has a very waggy tail.
He often knocks on my window as he waits to go out for his morning walk.
Marley reminds me of Spotty dog from the Wooden Tops. 
Now I'm showing my age!

Buggered off

My get up and has done just that, it's got up and buggered off.

I have knitting projects and crochet projects that need finishing.

I have two half written posts that hopefully will be more interesting than this drivel.

But I have no energy or enthusiasm at the moment.

Rhea, next time we come to Willington I'll let you know, maybe we can meet for coffee.