Hiya! It’s Mister C and Me…

Hi there… We hope your week has been a calm and happy one. In the ‘house of sickness’ (yes-still ongoing!), our week has been a quiet one; Widy and I both spent many days tucked up in the house (both had to have the dreaded Covid tested on my birthday-of all days!). We trudged up to the hospital and unfortunately, had to wait about 45mins to be seen (I know-it could have been worse), but when you’re both feeling pretty sick, it can be (really) hard to stand up! The staff were very kind and gentle, which was a relief (a BIG thank-you!). The tests were both negative (which we did expect); there have been no cases in our local area for some time now (thank goodness). Flossy managed to get back to school the end of last week (well done sweet girl), and didn’t miss too much school work or gossip at school; so that was a relief for her.

For Husband and Mister C, I can (surprisingly) report, they did not get any sickness! Funny huh? It must have been a ‘girl’ sickness (as Mister C so eloquently stated- who knows really?). I managed to get back to work at the end of the week, and was able to wear a mask; so as to continue to protect our wonderful residents and staff too. Widy begrudgingly dragged herself back to school too (I’m sure she would have liked to have stayed in bed for the rest of the week!) and survived her days. We are hopeful for a happier week coming up and less sickness in the house too; not to mention getting back to our beloved karate…

Righto, let’s go back to 2018 (so it can ‘done and dusted’-right?) … It’s now May and Flossy’s birthday month (and Mother’s Day too!). We celebrated Flossy turning the BIG ten; having lots of birthday party fun with two close friends, who also had a sleep-over. We managed to set up disco dancing party, in our empty dining room area (due to the renos, we had to move some furniture out). Flossy had a happy time and so did her friends; that was the main thing, considering the kitchen area wasn’t quite finished by then. I recall the next morning, I took Widy, Flossy and her two friends to the movies, to see ‘Sherlock Gnomes’ at our local cinema; it was a fun movie, and so nice to be able to sit and unwind to watch a movie (had been a while). Husband commented, “Saturday May fifth, had a lovely party for Flossy turning ten; two of her closest friends stayed over. I went and got a ‘motza’ of pizza, they played ‘pass the parcel’ and everyone had a fun disco (even Mister C did some groovy dancing), in the empty dining room area. Wife made it lovely time with a fun disco ball, loud music, lots of balloons and beanbags!” (thanks Husband!).

The following week, the tiler (finally) turned up and completed the splashback areas and grouting, with my fix-it-dad’s special black and red tiles (it all looked great-thanks!). The flooring was complete, but it did look a bit strange with half of the (kitchen) room newly varnished, and the other not. So, I called the flooring tradesman, who was able to come back and re-varnish the wooden Maple flooring in the dining room, for an extra fee (it came up great too). I managed to get all the walls and ceiling finished, patching up all join areas with gyprock, then painting EVERYTHING! I was able to successfully (I think?) smooth-finish the wall, where the old (second and strange) doorway to the kitchen had been filled (with new gyprock). We only needed one doorway into the kitchen, not the two that had originally been there; so, the new (custom made) fridge cupboard and walk-in corner pantry, could be inserted along with the other new kitchen cabinets (what a job- never again!) … Husband reminded me how he helped our electrician to install the new kitchen downlights (free Husband labour?).

Husband had made it back to work, after fully recovering from his procedure and was able to drive again (phew!). We celebrated his (forty-something) birthday together (early June); we both had a day off (how unusual!), and made the most of it going to the movies and out to lunch- was nice to spend some quality time together (doesn’t happen much these days). The days before, I managed to also complete some renos in the chook shed and area, where the chooks were fed and roamed around (don’t ask me how!). We had found a lovely old chandelier (and a few other non-essential items we had to have!) in an antique shop in town; I was able to attach and hang it on the inside roof of the chook shed (no power of course). It looked so pretty for the girls; I even put up a couple of old paintings and a few cute wooden signs (not that the girls could read) for the girls to enjoy (and maybe create a happier egg-laying environment). I will admit, I was stuffed; I (really) loved painting, but after all of that work, I didn’t feel the urge to pick up another paint brush for a LONG time (think Husband and the kids were pleased) …

After all that work, we finally got to celebrate our new kitchen and house renos, with a wonderful gathering of family and friends (about thirty people joined us). The days leading up to the party were busy (naturally), with trying to finish cleaning up and preparing for the event (Husband and I did exchange a few tense words). I can report, a great time was had by all, particularly Husband (of course), who’s birthday we were also celebrating. Husband commented, “Wonderful party, we lit a great fire in the new fire pit thingy. Most people left by about 7pm, but some family and friends arrived about 530pm and stayed a few hours. We sat around the fire (as was cold) with Mister C entertaining us and having a great chat” (and a few brews).

Naturally the whole family were tired (but happy enough) days after the party; with so much going on, we really hadn’t had much time to relax and unwind. I recall, curious Mister C was in the garden with Dad the following day, and decided to take a small red chilli off, one of the HOT chilli plants in the veggie patch; then proceeded to bite into it! Husband recalls, “Mister C yesterday late avo, bit into a hot chilli that was growing in the garden; he then cried when it became too hot in his mouth. He wound up rubbing his eyes with the chilli juice in it and went berko! (crazy). I called out and Wife ran upstairs to help; I helped by rinsing his mouth with milk and Wife helped with his sore eyes, by putting my contact lens eyedrops (saline) into both eyes (to flush the chilli out). I had to help hold and calm him down, as he was crying and squirming (poor little guy); after about ten minutes, the sting settled down and was mostly good. Gosh it was quite stressful!”…

A Word from Mister C…

Dad and Mister C were sitting on the couch watching TV together. Mister C had a look of deep thought on his face and then said, “Daddy, can God give you a second chance, once you go to Heaven?” … “Oh, not usually, my son,” Dad said smiling; “Once you’re in Heaven, you generally stay there with your other loved ones; who are not with us anymore.” “Oh; so, like Opa? He’s in Heaven now” … “Yes, my son,” Dad replied. … “So, what does Heaven look like then, Daddy?” Mister C then asked. “Well, I think Heaven is like going through the soft, fluffy clouds, when you’re up in an aeroplane.” … “Oh, yes! I’ve been up there in an aeroplane, too. Wow! I’d love to go up there and visit Opa!” … “Not yet, my son! It’s not your time yet.” Dad said, tickling Mister C in the tummy and both giggling together…🤨

Stay tuned…

For more silly stories in 2018 (nearly finished soon); Mister C was having a few troubles at school, a few issues had come up that were needing to be addressed with his school teacher. Mister C was very grumpy on Dad’s birthday; not realising he wanted to stay home with us on that day. I have completed quite a few illustrations for the third book, having been unwell the past week, I gave up with my sore head and running nose! I will keep you posted on further updates shortly. Keep on reading and night from Mister C…🙃