Does my bum look big in this?

And the answer to that, is YES it certainly does! For friends that follow, you will know that I am referring to Phil’s blog on Monday where he surreptitiously slipped in that photograph of me squatting exposing my bum. Not a good look and I wasn’t a happy bunny. Sod him, I had a feeling he was up to no good behind me! I feel I must explain though; my jeans, brought in skinnier times are too small for me but the reason they were only half on and my belt was undone, was because I had just got changed out of paint clothes and into ‘human’ clothes when I spotted some dust which needed sweeping up. I suppose this blog is called thenakedbloggers so I mustn’t make too much fuss, and, as you know, I’ve had far worse pictures taken!

I have to say Phil has done a good job with keeping up with the blog this week despite his long days in Chard. I’m not sure the snail trail entry was my bag and if you’d have said to me 10 years ago, that I would be going on a snail hunt, I would have said “not in a million years!” But I knew when me and Phil hitched up, that my life would never be the same again! And 10 years down the line, I was right! We certainly don’t seem to lead normal lives, whatever normal is?

I have had a muddled week so far, going to and fro and not really achieving much. I have certainly not been efficient with my time and this fuddled mind of mine isn’t helping. On Monday I went for a swim and then drove to the OU for a walk around the Campus with Jan. The sun was shining although there was a slight chill in the air. Afterwards it was back to OB flat to gloss the skirting board under the stairs. When that was done, I got all of the stuff from Bed 1 and the lounge into the cupboard so the flat is looking much clearer and tidier.

On Tuesday I managed a workout and then went to IKEA to buy all the blinds for the windows. Phil had done me a drawing with some measurements but I didn’t understand them so I had to go on my very basic measurements. I literally had a trolley full of blinds. I checked out some wardrobes but thought I’d better check the size of the bedroom before buying. I offloaded all the blinds and I think I’ve brought the right ones. Fingers crossed otherwise I’ll have to take the whole lot back. I grabbed some lunch and then after checking the size of the bedroom wall, decided to go back to IKEA to buy the wardrobes. Unfortunately when I got to the right aisle I tried to lift the box and realised I couldn’t get it on to the trolley by myself. I could of course, have asked an IKEA person but then I realised I couldn’t get them out the car and into the flat at the other end so had to abandon the mission. More wasted time.

In the afternoon, I went to the Rohan shop to get Phil a travel pouch and then got my car cleaned at the Shell garage. When I got back home I decided to paint the inside of the wardrobes which meant clearing everything out. The place looked like a right tip and I was glad Phil wasn’t around. I had already painted them with emulsion but this marks easily when you lug stuff in and out and I figured gloss would make them nicer for our purchaser. With our imminent sale on my mind, after I’d finished painting, I decided it would be a good idea to get a bin bag and start getting rid of some rubbish. I can only do this when Phil is not around because he won’t throw anything away. But I am a brilliant thrower-outer, this is one of best skills in my opinion but Phil thinks differently and will be nervous when he reads this! But don’t worry honey, I haven’t thrown out anything you will miss or at least, not immediately!

I phoned my sister Louise last night to see if she’d had a nice time on her mini break. Louise & Mark had booked a 3 day break to Krakow in Poland and had taken Julia and Jack with them. Louise (and Mark) said they’d had a great time, the hotel in the Jewish quarters was good, the sun shone and they found everything really inexpensive. Unlike me and Phil who didn’t do anything but eat and visit Phil’s dad’s farm when we were in Poland, they went on an organised tour to visit Auschwitz which Louise said was emotional but interesting at the same time. She said that they all enjoyed the architecture and found the locals very friendly. I’m glad they had a good break, which they all deserved and it made me think that we may revisit with our tourist hats on.

It was good to see the sun was still out on Wednesday in spite of the forecast of rain and after a workout at David Lloyd, I went to the OB flat to put tile polish on the steps. This was a hands and knees jobbie and halfway down I realised that I should have got the power hose on them first because they weren’t clean enough to be polished. I still carried on finishing the bottom step but it’s no good, I’ll have to hire a power hose and polish the steps all over again. Shame really because I didn’t think to put on a pair of gloves and now I’ve got red wax polish all over my finger tips. I treated myself to takeaway noodles from Wagamama’s and then went to Tesco’s to get a few supplies. I then took my car to Arden Park garage where it was booked in for an MOT. After waiting for nearly an hour they told me it had failed due to excessive corrosion and would need lots of welding to get a pass. They won’t finish it by the time we go away and the MOT expires in a couple of days so I had no choice but to leave it with them and get a taxi home. More money going out the pot. Hey ho…..

As I’m housebound (well flat bound is more apt) today, I am going to pack for the holiday, make a chilli and that will be the morning taken care of. At lunchtime today I have to be at the OB flat to let the new gas corgi plumber in. He’s going to drill out the vent for the extractor van and carry out the annual gas safety check. I understand he’s also doing a job for Jill in the downstairs flat and after he finishes there, he’s going to carry out a gas check on our flat next door and then go to our little Giffard Park flat (that’s the one with the subsidence problem). Not sure what I will be doing, apart from making cups of tea all afternoon but I am sure I can find something to keep me busy.

Without a car, it’s perhaps just as well that Phil is coming home today. Somehow and don’t ask me how he’s managed it, but he’s managed to persuade his boss to let him off at lunchtime. This is probably for the best because the M3, M25 and M1 will be a complete nightmare with it being the last day before Easter. Actually I just heard on the news that its the busiest day of the year on the roads. It also means, he’ll be driving in daylight and if no major problems, I reckon he should be back for 4’ish, just in time to come pick me up from the OB flat. And although we don’t fly away until Saturday, Phil will be excited and we shall start celebrating our holiday tonight!

Happy Holidays Everyone. ENJOY……………!!!!!!!