When we had quarter acre garden, I worked 50 hours a week,3jobs,(nights)3 of my 4 kids living at home, dogs,cats, chicken,rat, the house was immaculate,you know how fussy I am. I also looked after my grandson,who was then 18 months,later my friends FOUR kids. Grass cut twice a week, chicken cleaned out weekly. Garden pretty,we did a lot to it, hubbies brother came round, said "this isn't a garden,it's a field",he had (still has) a "patio", full of weeds and dog ****. Their mother, when she came would very sarcastically say,"Ew, there's a dead head there,(or a weed) shall I remove it for you?"
I was sneaking up to bed last night at 1am, up the creaky stairs without a sound, avoiding all the noisy treads, across the landing using the places I know won't creak, into the bathroom to check on nocturnal pets without opening the door wide enough for the hinge to squeek (I must remember to oil that again) and then got ready for bed without causing a break in my wife's snoring. Then just as I slipped quietly under the sheets the whole side of the bed collapsed and dropped six inches onto the floor Solid pine bed that's been in the family for longer than I've been alive and the corner fixing picked that moment to fail. We spent the night sleeping on a slope and I'll have to find some way to reglue it or prop it up before tonight.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
The more you do, the more people expect and take for granted @Nanny Beach.
@wild edges - get the in-laws to take the boys away for a long weekend so you can fix the bed and the creaky stairs and floorboards and have at least one good night's sleep.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Either that or you and Mrs @wild edges go away for a long weekend and leave the boys at home with the in-laws and they can mind the children, do the DIY and de-moss the driveway ...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
The in-laws wouldn't survive a weekend with our kids The perils of both you and your parents having kids later in life sadly. They're on waiting lists for various spare parts as it is.
We had a few days away with the kids last weekend and I could do with a week off to recover from that. In fairness though it was the first holiday we've had in four years and the first time the youngest one has slept anywhere that wasn't his own bed. They both did very well but it was an exhausting few days.
I agree that the more you do the more people expect of you. The in-laws know we aren't the type to sit around watching tv while the weeds grow. It makes it more annoying though as they're just making us feel worse about things we don't have time to deal with right now.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
OK @wild edges ... time for a 'mind reset' .... just run stuff past us for our agreement as to whether you should leave stuff be for a bit or pull your finger out and sort it .......... from now on we are the ones you will take notice of ... not the in-laws. All you have to do with them is smile and nod.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Yes, you're correct,Obelixx. Mother in law kept telling me recipes I "ought" to do,then said,very sarcastically, did I actually have time to peel a banana!! In the days 30 years ago, the phone was wall mounted,you couldn't unplug or remove handset,she would ring, just as I crashed out on the sofa, for a nap,after a night shift. Last time was Christmas day....she knew I had worked Christmas Eve. No,we don't speak to them anymore
OH has very kindly made me a large cage with insect mesh to go over my Cavolo Nero, he made it in an empty room in our new extension, trouble is it doesn't go through the door......
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@wild edges - get the in-laws to take the boys away for a long weekend so you can fix the bed and the creaky stairs and floorboards and have at least one good night's sleep.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.