Sunday 13 April 2014

Head melting

I have had one of those weekends where it seems that the contents of my skull are exceeding its capacity by about 40%. It is not that my head is sore, it just feels rather crammed and about to burst, exuberantly, all over the kitchen.

One of my very nice sisters-in-law arrived yesterday, on her way to spend a few days at home. We all went out for breakfast, via a small issue with a large toy scorpion and an unhappy two-year-old ("It's scary. I don't want it," he said, quietly but firmly. It is a trifle embarrassing when he takes an instant dislike to gifts.) (But it was rather creepy.) The spouse headed off Out West with his sister, and the boys and I settled in for a day to ourselves.

The unhappy one was just away for an afternoon sleep, the smaller and happy one was snoozing, and I was contemplating (a) coffee (b) dissertation (c) a magazine (d) a combination when my really good friend, E phoned:
"Right, you said you wanted to get out. Come for coffee!"
"I can't, I'm sorry - spouse away Out West with his sister. Will you come round to my house?"
"No, come out! Meet me then! Get in the car!"
"Sure I can't drive, you eejit, my toe is still broken!"
"I'm coming to get you. We can bring the boys with us."
"We can't, the wee one's asleep and the big one's just away to sleep!"
"I'll come round."

I hate making people feel like I don't want to see them now that I have children. Anyway, E was on her way and there wasn't a bite of sweet stuff in the house, or anything nice to eat. So I made the fastest scones ever (surprisingly successful). I couldn't put on the mixer and wake the small people, and my baking cupboard needs replenished so I am a bit short on various ingredients, so I ended up making white chocolate blondies, which again were amazingly successful. E arrived just as the blondies came out of the oven, and I had a very enjoyable time. She was totally harassed by my big boy, who thinks she is brilliant, so I am not convinced that she found it very relaxing, but she is man enough not to rub it in.

In the middle of all of this, another chum started texting because his mother was driving him potty and he likes to escape in these situations. Next, the postman arrived with a very nasty letter, and an invoice for £500. I am pretty sure that this is unjustified, even though I was expecting it, but it still made me feel rather wobbly all weekend and I am still not quite settled about it all. I have written a polite, but firm, letter, pointing out the error in their assessment of the situation, and am returning their bill by registered post in the morning. It is all rather worrying. The last dealings I had with this outfit were not long before my small boy was due to be born, and I felt so ill after an unpleasant phone conversation with them that I had to come home early from work. I would point out that I am not the wobbly kind, so perhaps this is an indication of how problematic this outfit has become.

I am still feeling wobbly today. I have got very little work done this weekend. 

2 comments:

  1. That outfit sounds like a right shower. (What are blondes?)

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  2. That is a very apt description of them. I am expecting even nastier letters by the end of the week.
    Blondies are what I made from the Hummingbird Cafe cookery book, on account of having nothing nice to eat and very few ingredients for my usual Emergency Buns. They are brownies but made with white chocolate. I only had white cooking chocolate (there's a real life/blog life post for you!) and so they don't taste very much of chocolate. I also didn't have pecans, so I put it milk chocolate chips instead. They turned out beautifully - slightly crunchy tops with soft, not damp, centres. Tasted quite good. It was one of those flukey baking sessions.

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