Everyone needs a day or two when there are going to be service engineers in their house!
No I mean it.
One of the advantages for us is the cleaning.
No they don't do it, I do but it is enormous motivation :D
Our house is usually the pit of Hell.
Things are everywhere.
I used to clean religiously every weekend when we both worked and all the time when I stopped to have kids.
Then as the years went on and the OH continued to drop the wrappings from post and parcels.
Leave clothes everywhere ,never wipe his spills or clean the basin ,bath or loo after use and fill the kitchen drawers with his motorbike tools, I turned from a tidy to an untidy person.
It was necessary to maintain sanity.
Now the only time the house really gets any kind of organisation is when a service person must visit to do maintenance
This last couple of weeks we have had the gas engineer and the plumber.
Our house is at the moment relatively civilized.
The kitchen is clean enough to not give you the horrors if you are offered a cup of tea and the bathroom looks like you could wash in the basin without becoming any dirtier.
The loo has no horrors to speak of either. Well okay if you are a prima donna (or OH's sister) you will most likely need for us to buy a whole new bathroom suite before you will set foot through the door but for normal everyday visitors,it is acceptable.
Actually if you need to go, you really don't care what state the only available loo is in as I can readily avow after several years of homeschool camping in fields with a compost loo and the need to use it after various unaccompanied toddlers have been there first.
Other times when cleaning takes place are....
OH's relatives are visiting or
He has an exam to do at home.
As neither of these things reflect on me in any way(I mentally turn off ) ,I can happily let him play house cleaner in mad desperation.
Reading that last , I expect you are thinking that I am a mean and lazy person .
I don't care.
When I cared, I would spend days cleaning it all away only to watch it build up in new layers before the visits had even taken place.
I think if I hadn't decided to shrug and turn my back on it, I would be in a mental institution.
One very liberating thought came to me a couple of weeks back.
I was watching the film
Winters bone.
It was all about a family who lived on a homestead in the US.
The film depicts several families in a largish area all going about their days .
Every house had its little idiosyncrasies.
Pictures and musical instruments.
Clothes in piles.
Home made things lying around.
How free I thought.
Well that is what I want.
I like the idea of being free too.
Why should we have to hide our every day selves from visitors who either don't know us or don't like us or both.
Its our house and we can live in it any way we like.
When the kids were little, the health visitor who would come and weigh my daughter said she liked our house because it looked like someone lived here.
Saturday 15 December 2012
waterworks
We had the plumber 2 days in a row!
Yesterday he was scheduled to come at 8am and install a new mixer tap in the kitchen.
He arrived at 3.30pm and was here wrestling with the tap and the lack of stopcocks for 2 hours.
Luckily I didnt need to take a day off work to wait for him or I would have been fuming.
The result was a nice new tap.
This morning he rang back to finish the work he should have done yesterday (fixing the toilet).
OH let him in, I was still in bed and so was DS.
Now we have not only the new kitchen tap but also a loo that flushes and doesn't overflow.
As a bonus, we have a stop valve under the sink so we no longer have to crawl about in the roof when the water needs turning off.
My daughter will be visiting us for 4 days of christmas.
She has just got a new job and so must squeeze all her and her boyfriends visits into the little bit of time they each have off.
It will be lovely to see her .
I have her 2 presents wrapped up and OH has one for her too ( we do our own thing regarding presents).
My presents to her are wearable so if she cant carry them, she can put them on.
I have started watching Netflix.
I decided to try their free 1 month viewing.
After 1 month,having discovered how to watch the US version ,I decided it was worth 6 pounds of my paypal money a month, to keep the subscription .
I have watched about 20 films so far and there is plenty still to see.
We have one or two things ear marked to watch over the holiday.
I dislike holiday stories with santa etc but there is plenty that avoids that sort of stuff.
If I find that the content gets less interesting or they find a way to block non us viewers, I will cancel it.
The uk version is scanty in comparison.
I can also see Hulu using the same strategy.
Hulu has lots of free viewing but also adverts.
It is quite handy for the odd thing that isn't on NF but you do have to sit through an ad or 2 or 3 every 5 minutes.
I can see why they have them, it pays for the site etc.
My daughter has love film which is another subscription service.
She asked OH for a subscription for her birthday and he bought her one.
They don't have TV at the flat and were spending quite a bit on DVD's so it was a good idea.
I shall be Asdaing tomorrow.
We will go in the car as it is about 5 miles away.
I want to buy the rest of the pudding ingredients.
We always make our puds in the microwave.
Also I need flour for mince pies and co.
Our family is much more a food family than a presents family.
Yesterday he was scheduled to come at 8am and install a new mixer tap in the kitchen.
He arrived at 3.30pm and was here wrestling with the tap and the lack of stopcocks for 2 hours.
Luckily I didnt need to take a day off work to wait for him or I would have been fuming.
The result was a nice new tap.
This morning he rang back to finish the work he should have done yesterday (fixing the toilet).
OH let him in, I was still in bed and so was DS.
Now we have not only the new kitchen tap but also a loo that flushes and doesn't overflow.
As a bonus, we have a stop valve under the sink so we no longer have to crawl about in the roof when the water needs turning off.
Christmas is coming
My daughter will be visiting us for 4 days of christmas.
She has just got a new job and so must squeeze all her and her boyfriends visits into the little bit of time they each have off.
It will be lovely to see her .
I have her 2 presents wrapped up and OH has one for her too ( we do our own thing regarding presents).
My presents to her are wearable so if she cant carry them, she can put them on.
Streaming TV
I have started watching Netflix.
I decided to try their free 1 month viewing.
After 1 month,having discovered how to watch the US version ,I decided it was worth 6 pounds of my paypal money a month, to keep the subscription .
I have watched about 20 films so far and there is plenty still to see.
We have one or two things ear marked to watch over the holiday.
I dislike holiday stories with santa etc but there is plenty that avoids that sort of stuff.
If I find that the content gets less interesting or they find a way to block non us viewers, I will cancel it.
The uk version is scanty in comparison.
I can also see Hulu using the same strategy.
Hulu has lots of free viewing but also adverts.
It is quite handy for the odd thing that isn't on NF but you do have to sit through an ad or 2 or 3 every 5 minutes.
I can see why they have them, it pays for the site etc.
My daughter has love film which is another subscription service.
She asked OH for a subscription for her birthday and he bought her one.
They don't have TV at the flat and were spending quite a bit on DVD's so it was a good idea.
Chrissy food
I shall be Asdaing tomorrow.
We will go in the car as it is about 5 miles away.
I want to buy the rest of the pudding ingredients.
We always make our puds in the microwave.
Also I need flour for mince pies and co.
Our family is much more a food family than a presents family.
Monday 10 December 2012
Goodbye dear old Patrick Moore
The stars are not wanted now: put out every one;
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood.
For nothing now can ever come to any good
From Stop all the Clocks by W.H.Auden
Friday 7 December 2012
Christmas shopping
Ive done it already.
It was easy.
Go online, find things that were commented upon by various family during the year.
Use my survey payments to buy them.
Wait for the postie.
Daughter has 2 presents. Husband has 2, Son has 2...
Food will wait.
We will get the Turkey nearer the 25th because I don't have a big freezer.
Probably buy a lump of ham and maybe a lump of beef.
We bought a tin of sweeties in Sainsburys who were doing them for 3.99
Usually we buy cheeses and some cheese eating biscuits( they don't eat them themselves, they are for us to eat with them :P )
There are still sprouts ,spuds ,kale and carrots in the garden.
There are 5 big marrows sitting in the kitchen as well.
One went a bit niffy in the spare room because I forgot that once the boiler was fixed, it would get warm in there.
OH will stick decorations up most probably. I cant be bothered now the kids are grown up.
He will do the tree too unless my son wants to which is unlikely.
....................................................................................................................................................................
I love how people word things on freecycle.
How its written How I read it
Offered Wooden baby cot. A cot for a wooden baby
Offered Metal childs bike A bike for a metal child
Offered Chatham A whole Town for free
Offered chest of draws Erm ...box full of sketches
Wanted 6ft rabbit hutch A house for an enormous pet
It was easy.
Go online, find things that were commented upon by various family during the year.
Use my survey payments to buy them.
Wait for the postie.
Daughter has 2 presents. Husband has 2, Son has 2...
Food will wait.
We will get the Turkey nearer the 25th because I don't have a big freezer.
Probably buy a lump of ham and maybe a lump of beef.
We bought a tin of sweeties in Sainsburys who were doing them for 3.99
Usually we buy cheeses and some cheese eating biscuits( they don't eat them themselves, they are for us to eat with them :P )
There are still sprouts ,spuds ,kale and carrots in the garden.
There are 5 big marrows sitting in the kitchen as well.
One went a bit niffy in the spare room because I forgot that once the boiler was fixed, it would get warm in there.
OH will stick decorations up most probably. I cant be bothered now the kids are grown up.
He will do the tree too unless my son wants to which is unlikely.
....................................................................................................................................................................
I love how people word things on freecycle.
How its written How I read it
Offered Wooden baby cot. A cot for a wooden baby
Offered Metal childs bike A bike for a metal child
Offered Chatham A whole Town for free
Offered chest of draws Erm ...box full of sketches
Wanted 6ft rabbit hutch A house for an enormous pet
Customised pets
I have been on swagbucks again watching the animal videos.
I couldn't believe it when I saw poor old cats dressed up in 'costumes'.
Okay some people like to dress up their pets for halloween and that at least is a one off each year but what is this pet fashion thing all about?
Apparently pets like to be well dressed.Um really?
While the addition of weather proof coats for dogs and horses is practical, I cant see any reason a pet would want frills and fancies getting in the way of daily living.
Then there are even greater extremes.
Owners dye their pets with actual fur dye.
One poor old woofer was masquerading as a panda due to its owner painting circles around its eyes.
I wonder how that would affect their socialising with other dogs?
I remember one cat that belonged to my mother in law, it was a tortoiseshell and was pretty much ignored by all the other cats in the house( there were 6 all together).
It was a funny old thing and wouldn't even be petted by MIL but it always came and sat with me on the settee.
I put it down to its different colouring.
All the other cats were plain coloured and it was the only one that was different.
I had a jersey in those days that was almost the same colours as the cat, blacks,oranges browns and I wonder if she sat with me because I was similar .
Animals will often reject one that is different. It makes the whole group vulnerable in the wild unless it has an advantage (for example is better camouflaged for the terrain).
I couldn't believe it when I saw poor old cats dressed up in 'costumes'.
Okay some people like to dress up their pets for halloween and that at least is a one off each year but what is this pet fashion thing all about?
Apparently pets like to be well dressed.Um really?
While the addition of weather proof coats for dogs and horses is practical, I cant see any reason a pet would want frills and fancies getting in the way of daily living.
Then there are even greater extremes.
Owners dye their pets with actual fur dye.
One poor old woofer was masquerading as a panda due to its owner painting circles around its eyes.
I wonder how that would affect their socialising with other dogs?
I remember one cat that belonged to my mother in law, it was a tortoiseshell and was pretty much ignored by all the other cats in the house( there were 6 all together).
It was a funny old thing and wouldn't even be petted by MIL but it always came and sat with me on the settee.
I put it down to its different colouring.
All the other cats were plain coloured and it was the only one that was different.
I had a jersey in those days that was almost the same colours as the cat, blacks,oranges browns and I wonder if she sat with me because I was similar .
Animals will often reject one that is different. It makes the whole group vulnerable in the wild unless it has an advantage (for example is better camouflaged for the terrain).
Monday 3 December 2012
Will power is everything
I have just seen an advert for the diet chef.
Apparently it is a scheme you subscribe to that will produce your meals for a given amount of time.
I assume the meals are full days worth of food,all calorie counted.
You subsist on the meals and lose weight.
No calorie counting involved,just shovel it in and get skinny!
But there is something not quite sitting right about this idea in my mind..
Doesn't dieting involve will power?
Why yes it does and will power is not just about portion control and calorie counting as anyone who has ever seen documentaries about hugely overweight people will tell you.
It is about not going out and supplementing the 'diet allowance'.
OR
If unable to go out themselves, it is about either not accepting other 'helpful and well meaning ' additions to their diet
OR
Not Persuading others to supplement the diet through mental manipulation.
That last sounds very harsh I know but it happens.
The person on the diet will tell all who will listen that the diet is this many calories a day and involves their weighing everything or putting things on small plates or on avoiding this particular ingredient.
What they avoid mentioning is the supplement part of their 'diet'.
This is the part of eating that is avoided when calculating their allowance.
It can be as simple as a couple of packets of crisps with a drink of something fizzy or alcoholic
or a full meal of fish and chips eaten at the local chippy on their way home.
The reason it 'does not count' is because they see it as a snack.
The drink is liquid and so they dismiss any calories in the same way that they would count zero for a glass of water.
The crisps or biscuits or whatever are small and light and so cannot be seriously seen as additional food.
The chippy food or whatever is a 'takeaway morsel' you have it when you are out and about just to keep the wolf from the door...it isn't real actual meal time food so is ignored.
Okay back to the diet chef........
As with most things, accountability has a lot to do with it.
The company look at it that those who wish to diet but have struggled, are unable to take accountability for their calorie intake.
They blame their busy lives or their family or friends tempting them or knowledge of what is both calorie efficient and healthy.
I think they are living in cloud cuckoo land if they believe that...
Of course the product will work if you buy it and use it exclusively and it is the correct calories for that particular person with all requirements for the day .
The problem is that for most people who yoyo diet, their will power will be lacking.
They will not be happy with the meals alone but will subsidise them with their 'allowed extras'.
You might just as easily manage weight loss by only drinking milk all day long .
I am guessing after a few days, the will power needed for that, would be equal to the sticking to your allocated bought in meals given that milk can include cheese and yoghurt.
Apparently it is a scheme you subscribe to that will produce your meals for a given amount of time.
I assume the meals are full days worth of food,all calorie counted.
You subsist on the meals and lose weight.
No calorie counting involved,just shovel it in and get skinny!
But there is something not quite sitting right about this idea in my mind..
Doesn't dieting involve will power?
Why yes it does and will power is not just about portion control and calorie counting as anyone who has ever seen documentaries about hugely overweight people will tell you.
It is about not going out and supplementing the 'diet allowance'.
OR
If unable to go out themselves, it is about either not accepting other 'helpful and well meaning ' additions to their diet
OR
Not Persuading others to supplement the diet through mental manipulation.
That last sounds very harsh I know but it happens.
The person on the diet will tell all who will listen that the diet is this many calories a day and involves their weighing everything or putting things on small plates or on avoiding this particular ingredient.
What they avoid mentioning is the supplement part of their 'diet'.
This is the part of eating that is avoided when calculating their allowance.
It can be as simple as a couple of packets of crisps with a drink of something fizzy or alcoholic
or a full meal of fish and chips eaten at the local chippy on their way home.
The reason it 'does not count' is because they see it as a snack.
The drink is liquid and so they dismiss any calories in the same way that they would count zero for a glass of water.
The crisps or biscuits or whatever are small and light and so cannot be seriously seen as additional food.
The chippy food or whatever is a 'takeaway morsel' you have it when you are out and about just to keep the wolf from the door...it isn't real actual meal time food so is ignored.
Okay back to the diet chef........
As with most things, accountability has a lot to do with it.
The company look at it that those who wish to diet but have struggled, are unable to take accountability for their calorie intake.
They blame their busy lives or their family or friends tempting them or knowledge of what is both calorie efficient and healthy.
I think they are living in cloud cuckoo land if they believe that...
Of course the product will work if you buy it and use it exclusively and it is the correct calories for that particular person with all requirements for the day .
The problem is that for most people who yoyo diet, their will power will be lacking.
They will not be happy with the meals alone but will subsidise them with their 'allowed extras'.
You might just as easily manage weight loss by only drinking milk all day long .
I am guessing after a few days, the will power needed for that, would be equal to the sticking to your allocated bought in meals given that milk can include cheese and yoghurt.
Human arrogance
I have been watching the 'ZOO' videos on swagbucks recently.
Many of them feature baby animals born in Zoos.
What strikes me as rather mysterious is the need for almost every zoo to take the young away from their mothers and hand rear them.
If humans were treated in that way ,their would be a public outcry but it is alright to pair off animals, wait for them to produce and then steal the babies.
The thinking of the zoos seems to be that the parent animals are too stupid to care for their own young.
They point out that these young animals would not exist if it wasn't for them and their breeding schemes but I cant agree.
The animals wouldn't even need a breeding scheme if they were not hunted to almost extinction in the first place.
Also the animals that are bred are often those who would not naturally survive due to colour mutations or even cross breeding.
Lucky babies! They will grow up in a cage and be able to produce their own young that will be taken away as soon as they appear!
The zoo will point out that the mother didn't feed them properly or there was too much danger of their being trodden on. Yeah right...
More likely it is the money making aspect of showing clean fluffy cubs that are not hidden safely away from the vulture tendencies of the human population.
I am not against zoos or even breeding schemes, I can see they preserve animals that would otherwise die out but come on...put the animals in a natural setting and let them keep their own young at least.
Many of them feature baby animals born in Zoos.
What strikes me as rather mysterious is the need for almost every zoo to take the young away from their mothers and hand rear them.
If humans were treated in that way ,their would be a public outcry but it is alright to pair off animals, wait for them to produce and then steal the babies.
The thinking of the zoos seems to be that the parent animals are too stupid to care for their own young.
They point out that these young animals would not exist if it wasn't for them and their breeding schemes but I cant agree.
The animals wouldn't even need a breeding scheme if they were not hunted to almost extinction in the first place.
Also the animals that are bred are often those who would not naturally survive due to colour mutations or even cross breeding.
Lucky babies! They will grow up in a cage and be able to produce their own young that will be taken away as soon as they appear!
The zoo will point out that the mother didn't feed them properly or there was too much danger of their being trodden on. Yeah right...
More likely it is the money making aspect of showing clean fluffy cubs that are not hidden safely away from the vulture tendencies of the human population.
I am not against zoos or even breeding schemes, I can see they preserve animals that would otherwise die out but come on...put the animals in a natural setting and let them keep their own young at least.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)