The Future Mrs Barefoot has taken the younger two sprogs plus a friend of CS3 to London today. CS2 has volunteered to be a steward at one of the summer rock festivals so he had a training day in London today; The Future Mrs Barefoot thought it a good opportunity to take CS3 plus friend on a shopping trip.I’d already booked my car for an MOT this afternoon, so couldn’t go. Not that I’m bothered; there’s only so much enjoyment that can be obtained from trailing a group of women round the shops (that amount being … er … none), and besides, it meant I could sit in the garden and drink beer all day.
Yeah right. The Future Mrs Barefoot left me with a list that included: mend puncture in bike (which I haven’t yet done); tidy the garden (which I haven’t yet done); prepare dinner for when we get home (which I haven’t yet done). Come to think of it, that was pretty much the entire list.
But I have been shopping to buy victuals for dinner (chicken with honey and lemon, methinks). In fact, I went shopping twice. On my first trip, I bought pretty much the amount we normally get when there are two of us to carry it, temporarily forgetting that there was only one of us. On the second trip I bought some plastic glasses (if that isn’t a contradiction) for our mini engagement celebration next week.
Then I thought “hmm, no one in the house to get in my way; I’m going to blitz the bathroom”. So that’s what I’ve spent a few hours doing. You would not believe the amount of stuff a household consisting of three women can accumulate – or maybe you would. I know the menstrual cycle is important, but SEVEN unopened packs of sanitary towels? Really?
Seeing as there was no one to contradict me, I took an executive decision and, based on apparent lack of use, binned most of what I found. And just to make sure my decision remains beyond reversal, I took it all to the tip.
I took my car for its MOT test this afternoon. For non-UK readers, this is an annual test of road-worthiness that every car over three-years old has to take. MOT stands for Ministry of Transport, which is a bit odd seeing as there hasn’t been a Ministry of Transport for donkeys’ years.
While it was being tested, I walked to the nearby carpet remnants store to get some flooring for the bathroom, and to the DIY store to get a knife to cut it with. I hadn’t appreciated how difficult carrying a 2-metre roll of vinyl flooring can be. I also bought weed killer for the driveway which I applied when I got back - not sure what effect it will have on the weeds, but it has bleached the driveway.
While I was in the carpet store I overheard a parent tell his 6-year old (ish) son: “no we can’t have AstroTurf”.
“yes we can – then we can play football up and down the stairs” was the reply.
Don’t you just love the enthusiasm of young children.
And in other news, we have set a date for the wedding – with venues booked for both ceremony and reception. Last weekend we went out for a meal with a group of friends, two of whom got married (to each other) a couple of years ago; they were able to give us a few hints and tips. It also turned out that the female of this couple, whom I have known for about 25 years, is the god-daughter of a friend of The Future Mrs Barefoot’s.
Right, tea-break over, back to the grindstone.