Ancients
What happened to the 'i before e, except after c'? What's the point of having a rule, especially one with a special rule built in, if it's not always true?
This weekend Hubby and I decamped down to MIL's bungalow to empty it prior to completion. MIL has been in a nursing home for 18 months now and it has taken that long to sell her home, we were just starting to become really concerned as the monies are running out and the fees are £2,500 per month. Having sat on the M25 for 1 hour, and then still having another 1 hours journey I was looking forward to getting there to use the amenities. When we arrived I leapt out of the van urging Hubby to unlock the front door PDQ and switch the alarm off. I skidded to an abrupt halt when I saw a loo cistern lying behind a shrub. A weekend of torment flashed before me. Only one loo would be bad enough, but my sister and brother-in-law being there as well would be intolerable. My SIL conducts a bi-daily ritual in the bathroom. I have no idea what she can be up to in there. I've asked her, as I feel I must be leaving out some vital part of my ablutions, but even allowing for the fact that she is larger than me, and therefore has a larger skin area, I can't account for the time she spends in the bathroom. At this point I could be really bitchy and make comments about how what ever she does hasn't worked, but I won't, even if it's true. Back to the bungalow, rushed in, key to the alarm at the ready, no telltale beeping, its not on. Look in the bathroom, heated towel rail disconnected from pipework, cistern gone. Thank heavens the other loo is still all present and correct. Piles of bricks and breezeblocks down the side of the house blocking access to the back door, and every radiator disconnected.
The bungalow was filthy, smelly and filthy. We got started, loft first, then kitchen. 3 trips down to the dump with a transit, and one to the charity shop saw us heading home on Sunday with a van full of clutter. SIL had not broken with tradition, even when she knew we had time contraints. I have to congratulate her though, in a room approximately 5ft long and 3ft wide, containing the smallest basin I have ever seen, and the only loo, she and her radio made the best of a bad situation.
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Katja / Website (10.7.06 21:24) My SIL (or rather, my partner's sister - but SIL basically covers it) also manages to spend hours in the bathroom. Lord only knows how - she's a very low-maintenance kind of girl. I think it's probably because she goes off into her own little dreamworld and forgets where she is. |
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midwifemuse / Website (10.7.06 23:00) I think you're very generous to your SIL. I mean how can she just spend that long in such a small, boring room? It's so antisocial as well, other people can be desperate to get in there....urgently. |
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Katja / Website (11.7.06 12:14) Yes - in the days when there were 4 boys sharing a house, along with 2 girlfriends staying at weekends, me being one and her being the other, it used to get pretty nightmarish of a morning. Tempers most definitely got frayed... |