Hey I'm back! From Outer Space.... Well not quite Outer Space, but it may as well have been! I've had a succession of lurgy pretty much back to back since Christmas and its robbed me of my writing mojo. Given a choice between coming home from work, flopping on the sofa and having a snooze or coming home from work and opening the laptop...well the snoozing won hands down every time!! That serves me right for not taking my Beroca and for working in an open plan office where everyone has a cold. We're all throwing our germs into the primordial soup and watching it mutate. I reckon at this rate we'll have brewed bubonic plague by next month!
Its not all been grim though. We had the pleasure of seeing Sir Willard White (amongst others) sing Verdi's Requiem at Malvern Theatres last weekend. It was a superb performance from all. I had goosebumps! The tenor scheduled to sing was taken ill and his spot was taken by an exceedingly brave tenor from the chorus. He did a great job - a little wobbly for the first few bars but he got into his stride very quickly and did a superb job.
It was our second visit to the Theatres last week. No, in fact it was our third! We had gone on Monday in the hope of seeing The Kings Speech only to find it was sold out. We booked up for Thursday instead and toddled along in time for a swift pint beforehand. Stephen was determined to get a drink down his neck before going in, expecting to see a Rom-Com. I was expecting a serious drama. It turns out we were both wrong! I wasn't expecting to be rolling on the floor with laughter for one thing!! I deserves every Oscar that its bound to win. It was one of the best films I've seen in years!
We've also FINALLY finished our photo wall! YAY for us! We started it waaaay back in the summer when I bought 30 frames and mounts and finished it about 2 weeks ago when the final print was hung. We had fun and games along the way!! We had all 30 printed and ready to go just after Christmas. Stephen got the drill out, marked up the wall and drilled the first set of holes. (We have an old house with solid walls so picture hooks just bounce off - which is why hanging anything on the wall is a job Stephen needs 6 months build up to!) I handed him the first picture and KEEEEERASHHHHH. It slid off the screw and hit the floor. The frame burst into 4 pieces and the glass into many more. Great. I had bought exactly the correct number of frames. No spares. And bought from a place that deals in bulk orders.... I breathed deeply and we pressed on. I was busy modifying the frames with picture wire to tether them to the screws in the wall and it was working brilliantly - clever me. The drilling stopped. The drill had run out of charge...which was just as well. I looked and did a double take. Someone (not me!!!) had measured and marked up wrongly, so all of the holes were a little too close together.... I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry!! At least we had time to charge the battery whilst we filled the holes and the polyfilla dried!!
To be honest, DIY is maybe not Stephen's strongest suit. Most of it goes fine, but there is the occasional little screw up, just to keep me amused...
We've turned the dining room into a second sitting room and opened up the wood fire again. It was all going great until he had to rehang a wall light (one of four in the room). All I heard was "Oh %$#&$^&". I was next door and walked into the room jokingly saying "Oh, what's happened. Don't tell me that you've hung it upside..." Yes, he had. It was upside down!!
Then there was the saga of the curtain poles in our bedroom. We were tired, we were niggly, we were rushing to go to the cinema. It was not the best time to be trying to do a spot of DIY. A mild marital was definitely in progress! I was taking great pains to point out to Stephen that the poles came in two parts and were joined by a screw so it was very important that he cut the excess length from the correct ends (ie not the ones with the pilot hole). He was ignoring me, so I was explaining again when he got ratty.
"Why on earth do you think I'll cut it from the wrong end?"
"Why on earth did you hand the wall light upside down? Because you can"
At this point thankfully we both dissolved into giggles. I went downstairs to make dinner and he carried on drilling and sawing. I looked in expectantly a little while later. The pole was up...but...the pole sloped down to the left at a good 20 degree angle!!!! I wasn't sure whether to say something or whether to just put up with self-opening curtains!!! I'm beginning to think we should buy shares in Polyfilla given the quantities we use! And I'm definitely thinking that I won't be letting him install the bathroom!!! Can you imagine?? I'd get in the bath for the first time and plunge through the ceiling into the kitchen below!!
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