Riding the Rough.

This post will be interspersed with totally unrelated pictures of various plants in our garden. I need to lighten some of the dark patches of the rough. (or should that be trough? as in trough of despondancy.)

This past week has been somewhat strange.
I have spent time lying about in public.
As opposed to lying about the public!

Gom would not 'play' with me, so I had to recruit some staff... mostly women!
Test driving beds can make one feel so ridiculous! Especially when the portly other half skulks and lurks around the edges of it all, refusing to prostrate himself for anyone.
Conversation in one shop went something like this.
Pretty saleswoman. "Come on, have a lie down. Don't you want to see how the different beds feel?"
Gom. "I can sleep anywhere I dont care what it feels like. I am happy with the one we have."
Pretty woman. Looks with disbelief then nervously laughs. Gets on the other side of the bed, so I can see how little disturbance there is.

Round & round I go. Sampling the delights of each bed- or not! Some were really hard, I could never sleep in a rock hard bed!
I suggest to pretty saleswoman that what they need is a Coffee Shop, so customers can go off to discuss things, & mull over the choices, in between hitting the mattresses. Another couple around our age, are also shopping for a bed. They agree a coffee shop would be good. Pretty woman agrees. I tell her to suggest it to management. I tell her I know just the person to run the shop. She asks me do I have a card? Good grief, I nearly sold myself!!
The shop is somewhat isolated, so no coffee shops nearby.
Pretty woman was very nice, & I wished I had bought a bed off her.

Eventually a bed was chosen. A deal was chiselled- well, we kid ourselves it was a deal, but most shops were offering enticing extras to try to drum up sales. It can be quite miserable strolling about vast expansive shops full of no one but furnishings, & a small sprinkling of staff.

One shop was full of young lads with spikey hair & ear rings & other facial piercings, along with the inevitable crop of zits, poor boys. They were very busy unpacking huge lumps of furniture for a huge sale to be held over the weekend. Lashings of cardboard lying about, paper flying, piles of tapes. Assembling shelves & hanging doors on the huge lumps of furniture. Fit to fill a mansion they were, but who can afford a mansion these days?

I offered to buy lunch for Gom. There is a nice shop called Pie in the Sky. It boasts having the best pies on the Coast. I would agree. There is another Pie maker close to the Beach who wins at Royal Shows in Sydney & even in Melbourne. The thing is, both my daughter & I dislike his over priced pies! Perhaps we are just contrary..

But Pie in the Sky never disappoints. There is a little Rotunda where one can sit in the sunshine or shade, to enjoy the delights.

I nipped into the nearby Sewing Centre to see about some free motion quilting lessons. A woman 'might' be going to give some lessons. I hope she does.

I fear Gom is 'abdicating' his life.

He has certainly changed over the past few years since he retired. He drives me crazy with his obsessive rearrangements of the pantry, the freezer, the fridge, my cupboards. I can't help but see this as some perverse arrogance. He obvioulsy thinks the placement of crockery, dishes, cookware, containers as defective in some way. A part of me knows it is not really, but it is an affront, somehow, to my organisational skills. The garden vanalisms have been blogged about in some depth. Parts of it all are not without humour. I am finding it somewhat harder to see the humour in much of what occurs.

The final straw came when I could hear him thumping about in the bedroom. Upon going to investigate, I found him with all my books from my To Be Read pile, on my side of the headboard/bookcase, about to take them off downstairs. It bloody well infuriated me! How dare he? I was angered & told him so. He just does not see why I might feel annoyed that he would presume to take my books away. He stacks them in inaccessible places down in his precious garage. Some I never can find! I caught him offering some unread books of mine- yes Gom they are mine!- to someone who never returns books. To be fair, to the recipent, why would he, he thinks we have finished with them.

I was infuriated to the point where I rushed into the laundry & thumped things about.

"That's right go bashing things about!"

Meggie is heard to reply, "I have to, I cant very well bash you, but that is what I feel like doing!"

I think he must have felt he had gone too far, since concilliatry moves were made.

I do feel sorry for him. He is losing his sight. He knows it will get worse. He insists on driving when he knows he should not. I live in terror every time we go out. His vision seems to fluctuate, so he cant always read, & he has always been an avid reader.

He even admits that his TV viewing is not the pleasure it once was, which is sad.

I have begged him to talk to our Doctor about things, but he refuses.

I hate to whine & feel sorry for myself, but it is very hard living with someone who basically cannot see the point in living. I know this, because he tells me...often.

Our son can see the changes when he visits. He knows how it is increasingly hard for me to keep upbeat.

Recently we had a quote done for replacement drapes for our kitchen & dining room. For the cost of an extra room they could be custom made!! Holy Cow! I know it is some time since I last bought custom made curtains, but I had no idea! Since the windows are not standard sizes & I feel too tired & clapped out & I dont feel I could tackle making curtains, I wanted the easy way out.

Friends were shocked also at the cost, so it was not just me. I have compromised & bought some drapes that will need some alterations, but since they cost me half the quoted price for custom made, I am confident I can 'unclap' myself enough to do the necessary.

It was made quite clear to me, that I was to choose the drapes & Gom wanted no part in selection.

Some days I dont get spoken to all day, & have no reason why. Some days the only person Gom speaks to is Leo!

Speaking of Leo, he had a right royal feast last evening. Friends came to visit, & Gom sparked to life & produced some crackers & Pate.

While we were out in the dining room discussing the new drapes, Leo made off with a large slab of cream cheese, and one container of Pate. I walked into the lounge to hear slurping noises, & I found him hurriedly attempting to devour the second container of Pate!

Haha, I know what my Beloved Brother would say!

Speaking of BB, he is recovering slowly. Says he is very tired, but that is understandable. He is very relieved he does not have to have the remaining side of his Thyroid gland removed.

Other family have not fared so well. As one Cousin said "It has been a sh!t year!"

Yesterday, while shopping for drapes, I saw the most beautiful quilt! It was in jewel colours of blues greens & turquoises. The proud maker was choosing a valance to go with the quilt. I wish I had had my camera. She showed me the back, it is reversible. Absolutely gorgeous. She made it to give to a friend. Lucky friend!!