and how very directly my frame of mind and it’s little blue pilot light are connected.
This morning I was all efficient with phonecalls (made dentist appointments, checked to ensure we were booked on an event at Littlehampton museum, rang and left a message on Julie’s answerphone) and emails (3 to friends we’ve not seen in too long and I’ve been meaning to do for ages, cleared my inbox). I made a good start on my third attempt at knitting a jumper, I sorted out some washing, made breakfast, fed and let out the chickens, took out meat to defrost for dinner tonight and tomorrow and generally was all organised.
Davies and Scarlett were watching Kung Fu Panda back to back repeated so they can now recite large chunks of the dialogue. I borrowed it from work for them and they watched it several times and then Davies said he’d like to get our own copy. Ady found it in Sainsburys yesterday for a fiver so got it for them. They were both a bit aimlessly wandery today which is rare and unusual for them and were also a bit squabbly but we were looking forward to the museum and I think that would have done them good. Especially as I’ve now found out Toby was there today so we’d have met up with them there too.
But, just as I’d made their lunch Mum rang to say the plumber was at their house and handed me the phone to talk to him. I explained the boiler saga and he said he’d come over. It was only midday and we didn’t need to leave for the museum til 1pm but I explained to the children it might mean we wouldn’t be able to go but getting the boiler sorted had to take priority.
It all looked very promising as he arrived, declared it needed a service and would probably be fine and set about doing so. At 1245 he was packing up to go and the kids were getting changed ready to leave at 1pm when he just checked to make sure the heating was working as well as the hot water and realised the light had gone out again. He thought he’d knocked it out putting the casing back on but no, it then wouldn’t relight. Or it lit and then went out again. He got his tools back out and decided it needed a new part (something to do with a thermostat to control overheating and shutting off valves). He promised to try and get the part and ring me later to come back in the morning.
I managed to relight it again after he’d gone although it went out twice more but then I relit and about 230pm, and it’s still lit now having run a full bath, washed up several sink fulls of washing up and run the heating all afternoon. So who knows? And he’s not rung back yet so no idea whether he got the part.
But it did mean we were way too late to go to the museum. I rang to say we weren’t going to make it and see if we could get booked in for Thursday instead but it was fully booked 🙁 Shame.
The kids were disappointed and continued being hard work and I wasn;t in the mood to diffuse it or do anything distracting with them really. They did some drawing, Davies finished his border for his Feeding the birds WAA stuff so that can be photographed and written up. Scarlett did some aquabeading, they watched Kung Fu Panda again and Davies did a fab drawing of all the characters. He really is very talented at seeing and reproducing stuff like that :).
They went off to play upstars and I made pancakes for their tea which they ate with a punnet of blueberries Ady had brought home yesterday reduced to 10p from Sainsburys.
Ady came home, I went off to reading group. It was a big group tonight with 2 new members which is always nice and lots of laughs and banter. When everyone had gone Brenda told me that the opening hours of all the libraries are about to change and there will be job cuts. Initially they are asking for volunteers for reducing hours. Clearly at 11 hours a week I won’t be volunteering but actually Lancing will be ending up open for an extra hour a week as we will be closing an hour earlier four nights a week but staying open on a Wednesday afternoon when previously we’ve closed at 1pm, so I don’t know quite what will happen anyway. The aim is for the cut to be made with reductions in hours without losing any actual staff and all the senior staff will lose 2 hours a week. I doubt my hours will be effected but suspect the biggest impact on me will be low morale among my colleagues :(. I feel very sorry for those who rely on every penny of their salary.
Back home Scarlett was crying as she’d managed to shut the lid of some liquid soap on her lip – not at all sure how the accident had happened but am putting it down to her being six and remembering I pushed a small wooden bead up my nose at a similar age in just such an unexplainable incident! She soon recovered and even managed a smile at my joke about it being a ‘clean’ cut (clean, soap, get it!). She’s really looking forward to her Art Day tomorrow with Rainbows and I’m really hoping she enjoys it as a much as she’s expecting to.