Paddles and a pouffe
With the uncertainty of Pete's job taking its toll on
everyone, he has done what he usually does in stressful situations
and gone into DIY mode.
We have been trying to make
the side garden accessible from the back of the house, giving the
children a safe place to play. The previous owners blocked the
access with a shed, so I naturally assumed that Pete would remove
it and put a fence panel along the side gap. For the past week
there has been hammering, sawing and various grunts and groans from
the shed, but it's still there. Being busy with all the indoor
jobs, I never managed to pop out and see exactly what Pete was
doing!
On Saturday afternoon, Pete came to find me and excitedly told me
to come outside and close my eyes. As I stood waiting for the big
unveiling of the side garden, I opened my eyes, to see the shed
still there. I looked at Pete, worried that with all the stress
he'd finally flipped his lid. I smiled nervously, as he opened
the shed door, pronouncing "Ta Daa." I stared into the
shed and saw an immaculately cut door way, through the other end of
the shed! He had worked his way through the shed, squirreling away
all the old chairs, toys, rackets and bicycle helmets into the
other shed, blocked off the windows and made a perfect tunnel into
the side garden. I was a bit bewildered at first, and seeing my
apprehension, he told me that the children could pretend this was a
train station and stay in there if it were to rain. I didn't
like to mention that they wouldn't be outside if it was
raining! But seeing his enthusiasm made me smile and appreciate the
unique way he'd created access to the garden. He couldn't
wait to show the children - they thought it was amazing.
We decided to go to a boot fair on Sunday, as we haven't been
to one for years. We stopped by a local one and found a game for
the caravan for our upcoming holiday and the children picked up a
few bits and bobs. Kelvin was with us, and he suggested we go to
the much bigger one, a 40-minute drive away. I'd got the bug by
now and was on the lookout for some paddles to go with our rubber
dinghies.
We arrived just as it was being set up and it was huge. We
hadn't quite mastered where you started first and so followed
some obviously seasoned boot fair-ers! In the end, we all went in
separate directions, Pete with all the other 'anoraks' as
Kelvin called them, at the old coin stall and me and the kids at
the everything-else stalls. I came across a fabulous pouffe that I
could re-cover for £2 and various other bits and pieces. When
we finally caught sight of Pete again he was getting some strange
looks, struggling along with a pair of oars that he got for
£2!
I have to say this was the most fun we have had in such a long time
and to come home with everyone happy, with change from £20,
made it well worthwhile.
As far as the job stress is concerned, for now, I'm happy, we
have the oars we needed and the much-wanted pouffe, so for now,
everything else doesn't matter.
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