Going Solo

It has been a very strange couple of weeks.  I have had sporadic conversations with the OH but the time difference and his work schedule don't make it easy.  Plus, I have taken advantage of his absence to vary my own schedule somewhat, which has made bedtime a flexible concept.  Clearing out cupboards without having to stop to cook dinner for anyone has meant that I have seen midnight and later more times recently than I have since the children were very tiny. 

This has had an additional effect on the rest of the village, who have all been terribly concerned for my well-being while I am alone.  Word seems to have got round everyone I know and most of those I don't, and I have been checked up on by a variety of people on a regular basis. Verity started dropping in on an almost daily basis, and Annie, Jenny and Celia appear to have planned a rota for visiting.  Even Fiona has knocked on the door, though less sympathetically.

"Is it true your husband's left you? I thought he probably would."  For a childminder, she looked very smart, with high heels and a fitted pinstripe suit showing off her figure rather too well, in my opinion. I was wearing pyjamas and a dressing gown and my hair was looking less than glamorous, so the smirk as she peered round me into the chaos of a half-cleaned sideboard full of ornaments was partly deserved.

Because of my strange hours, I have slept through a few of these checks and was woken by hammering on the door on Tuesday when I hadn't responded to the two o'clock visit.  I have now explained....  I have also struggled to keep up with the demand for tea and biscuits so I hope that the novelty of checking up on me will wear off and I can stop trying to think of excuses for not going to dinner with people I hardly know.  I am quite capable and happy cooking for one!

More cheerily, George came home for a visit.  "Can't have you alone over Easter," he said, though I don't see why Easter should be any different from any other time of year.  Perhaps he was just hoping I would buy him an Easter egg (I did).  And tomorrow, he has agreed to come with me to the local animal rescue place to choose a cat.  Celeste hoped I would get a dog, but I really can't be bothered to do all the walking that would necessitate.  In this weather in particular, it's something I can do without.