Master Plans & Mad Dogs

Halfway through the week and nothing out of the ordinary has occurred. After getting back from our holiday, I’ve kept my head down and generally got on catching up with jobs. As always, the list is never ending but I do feel like I am winning. Phil has told me I’m not allowed to buy anything until we sell the TMA flat but I couldn’t resist getting this print from B&Q. Its great isn’t it? And I don’t think it’s indulgent, it was cheap as chips and fills the blank walls after taking the prints down and putting them up in city centre flat. My only other purchase other than food and paint, was this colourful non-sticking frying pan advertised in the Sunday Times supplement a few weeks back. I thought I was buying a wok but it’s no good for stir-fry’s because it’s so small. But still, we needed a new non-stick pan and this one is very pretty.

On Monday I made it to David Lloyd and managed a 40 minute workout. Okay it’s not that brilliant but it is a start in the right direction. I came back home to get Phil his lunch and also to wait for the Rescue man to come and recover Phil’s Land Rover and take it to Stratstone garage in Newport. Fortunately the mechanic was able to repair the gearbox outside the house so this saved us both time and more importantly, money.

Phil went after work and finished off the tiling at the TMA flat and on Tuesday morning I went to do the grouting. It took me a while because I am awfully slow but I got there in the end. After I finished, I cleaned the kitchen and generally gave the flat a good going over. I got up the dressing room carpet and underlay and piled my car with the rubbish. I just about had time to call into Tesco’s, stop off at the tip in New Bradwell and get home for a shower before picking Jan up at the OU to take her out for lunch. We went to The Plough at Simpson which is handy and the food isn’t bad. Jan and I both went for the hot chicken salad with a slice of garlic bread which was tasty. I was tempted to have a bowl of chips but somehow managed to resist. You will be pleased to know that I have lost the six pounds that I put on whilst in Cape Verde. Even better, Phil has lost 7 pounds! Not bad in just 5 days. After work, we went to Sid Telfer’s to get the wood to box in the bathroom at the TMA flat. I love this shop; it reminds me of the olden days. We got all the wood cut to Phil’s measurements and it only cost £66. Bargain.

Jim popped round last night in his new Toyota Eco car which is I think is called a Hybrid. It’s amazing because it can park itself. I need one of these! Phil said that the control panel is great and apparently the engine can turn itself on and off. It looked ultra modern and I don’t think Jim paid a fortune for it either. Talking of cars, Phil has decided to sell his Land Rover because it’s so expensive to run. He hasn’t been that impressed with it and we have received poor customer service from Sratstone Garage which is where we brought it from. We would like to get a Toyota pick up instead but we haven’t done any research into costs yet. I did however pick up a copy of Auto Trader yesterday so perhaps this is a job for this afternoon with my afternoon tea.

Harriet told me last night she was the owner of a dog called Coke which apparently she has been keeping at Shane’s for the last 2 years. I was a bit shocked especially when she told me that Coke was a staff, one of my least favourite dogs. Anyway she told me quite emphatically that it was nothing to do with me and I suppose as long as she doesn’t bring it anywhere near my cream carpets and laminate floor, then it isn’t. She brought Coke round so I could have a look at him. I suggested a short walk along the canal but Coke has a poorly paw and was limping slightly. When he first got here, Coke tore around the back garden like a madman and did a couple of pees before finally calming down. Thankfully he didn’t do a poo. Now there’s an interesting thought. I wonder if Harriet takes a plastic bag and picks up the poo and dumps it in the dog poo bin when she takes him for a walk. My guess is she doesn’t. Nothing to do with me though, but surely she realises that a dog is for life and not just for Christmas? Bit like kids really.

Today is Phil’s last day at Rexam and he is really happy to be finishing work. Check out the big grin on his face when I snapped him at 7 o’clock this morning. He looks like he’s just won the lottery. He hasn’t I can assure you! I am happy for him, if feeling a little churn of trepidation for myself. If I’m honest I was a bit gob smacked at first and worried how we would manage without his income. Harriet asked me if I realised that she would be the sole bread winner in the house? I said I did and maybe I should up her rent? She grunted at me and gave me a digusted look so I guess that’s a no no. But Phil being Phil, has obviously given our situation a great deal of thought over the last 2 weeks and has come up with ‘a plan’. The plan, among other things, involves a dozen house moves, a barge on the canal and trading shares but its complicated and I will leave it to Phil to blog about if he wants to share his wider vision.

Even though we have just tied the knot and made our vows, for richer and poorer and all that, initially I was concerned about being together 24 / 7. But I’ve given it a lot of thought and I have come to the conclusion that Phil’s forced early retirement can only make my life a lot sweeter. For a start he has agreed to take on all the shopping and cooking which is great. I hate shopping for food and I find cooking very stressful.

Although Phil will be in the kitchen to cook, he has kindly agreed to move his laptop and make his base in the conservatory. This means that I can keep the kitchen as my space and have daytime TV on in the background. I think it is important that we all have our own areas and that these are defined sooner rather than later. The best thing is though, I figure now that Phil’s at home, my workload will be halved and now I can really start to live the life of riley which Phil is always telling me I have! Bring it on is all I can say!!!