When Harry and I welcomed in the New Year, I lifted my glass and said "Here's wishing time will go a bit slower this year!" Well, that was a forlorn hope! January and most of February went by in a blur of juggling too many balls in the air. We had our reward towards the end of February though, with a ten day family trip to a French ski resort. Now, most of you know that I hate snow and would rather be sitting by a pool somewhere warm, but what made this holiday so special was that both our daughters were able to make the trip this year. Completing the line-up was our elder daughter's partner of twelve years, a great guy who fits right in. The plans had been months in the making and we were looking forward to being together as a family for the first time in several years.
From the moment we arrived at our destination a curious thing happened in the family dynamic. Harry was undisputed head of the household but our elder daughter took charge of running the apartment, which is usually my job. I remarked to Harry that she was doing a great job but was very bossy. He just smiled and said she was her mother's daughter. We mostly ate out but she produced some wonderful meals in the small but well equipped kitchen. One morning, when she'd had enough out on the slopes, she took me on a marvellous adventure, involving two cable car rides and a bus journey. The second cable car took us to the highest level of the mountain, where we had arranged to meet Harry and the other two at a restaurant. After a leisurely lunch, the skiers and snowboarder continued their fun on the piste as daughter and I made our journey back the way we came. I really enjoyed the outing and would never have had the nerve to do it by myself.
Despite being surrounded by snow, nothing could dampen my spirits and I was an angel the whole trip. Nevertheless, a couple of nights before the end of our stay, Harry and I were doing the dishes when he held up the wooden spoon he was washing and said, quietly, "Soon be home." I made a surprised face because I really had been good, no sass at all! He just smiled and got on with the job at hand.
Two nights later, we were getting ready to go out to dinner. I was in my undies when he squeezed my bottom and said he couldn't wait to get me home. Then he made the spanking sign to be sure I knew what he meant. The journey home was long and arduous, with torrential rain and high winds on both sides of the Channel. We fell into bed exhausted, the only thing on our minds being sleep! However, as he kissed me goodbye the following morning, he told me I had an appointment at 5 o'clock.
As 5 o'clock approached I went up to our room to wait but didn't undress. I had a feeling that on his first day back at work after a ten day break he wasn't going to get away in time and so it proved. In the meantime, I worked up a good head of steam because he hadn't phoned to let me know he had been held up. Eventually, he called to say he was just heading for home. The exhaustion in his voice dissolved all my annoyance and he was met at the door by a loving wife. He had to go out on errand after dinner and it was nearly 9pm when he got back.
We watched some TV, then I went to bed. I'd been under the duvet for about fifteen minutes when he came up and was unprepared to hear him clashing his two favourite paddles together. Noooo, not now please! He said if not now it would be first thing in the morning but he really wanted to get it over now. So I reluctantly crawled across his lap and he began rubbing, teasing me that my bottom would be quite tender after no attention for ten days. He used a mix of hand and both paddles and I was soon making a lot of noise. He finished up with the love/hate paddle and said that should ensure a good night's sleep. I fell asleep in his arms, with a hot bottom reminding me I was home.
Just four days later he went back to the resort on a boys-only trip. The next morning I got into my car bright and early to go shopping then on to the gym for my regular Saturday workout. I turned the key in the ignition and a message on the screen said 'Top up coolant.' Okay, that was no problem but it took me ten minutes. I started the car again and turned the stalk for the wipers; the front ones wouldn't work at all and the back one went like it was on drugs. I couldn't drive it that way, it was raining heavily. Fortunately, I have a roadster that I take out on high days and holidays and I swapped to that. My next-door neighbour owns a garage so I sent him an SOS asking him to check whether the car might need a new water pump and to sort out the wipers. I didn't get it back in time for my mum's dental appointment mid-week and had to take her by taxi; there's no way she could get in and out of the low-slung two-seater. That was a nuisance but these things are sent to try us, so the saying goes.
I like to have a project to keep me busy when Harry is away and this time it was to renovate the 75-year-old door between the kitchen and garden. I also wanted to repaint the kitchen woodwork. We have grey tiles in our kitchen and last year I spent a lot of time and effort, not to mention money, matching the paint to the tiles. It looked just right until it dried, after which it turned out to be completely wrong. I'd lived with it for a year but couldn't stand it any longer and began another search for the right hue. Eight tester pots later I had a tin specially mixed and it looked perfect. I told the guy who mixed it that if it didn't work this time I was going to strip it all off and paint it white. Well, the white looks clean and fresh and I have no intention of trying another fifty shades of grey to get the right one! I was pleased with the door, which I also painted white.
After a week of torrential rain and strong winds that had kept me awake at night, the sun shone and the wind dropped on the day of Harry's return. He came bearing gifts too, a bottle of my favourite perfume and another handbag for my collection.
We had two kinds of reconnection and once again all was right with my world.
I said it was long - am I giving Windy a run for her money?
Here is the line for more recent news!
There's really not very much to tell in recent weeks, principally because I put my back out three weeks ago reaching down to pick up the vacuum cleaner. I get flares from time to time but this was the worst episode I've had in years. Harry came running when he heard my distress, laying me on the floor until the nausea passed. From experience we know it will heal in its own time; we just have to wait it out, with a combination of rest, exercise and pain relief.
I've always been self-sufficient and I hate having to rely on other people, even Harry. Our house is old and one day we'll get round to updating the bathroom with a walk-in shower but, until then, the shower is over the bath. Getting in and out with a bad back is impossible without help and Harry had to get in with me the first few times. We've never gone in for hanky-panky in the shower, even fancy ones in hotels, but he managed to make it fun, nevertheless. He had to go to work but he lit the fire in the sitting room for me before he left every day, filling up the coal scuttle to ensure I'd keep warm. I've been there before and know the drill but he still gave me instructions on what I should and shouldn't do. Going for a walk wasn't on his list but, after a couple of days, I needed some outdoor activity as well as the specific exercises for the back pain. I wasn't sure he'd approve but I really needed the fresh air and walking in the garden wasn't enough. Time was that I'd have gone anyway but things are different now, so I phoned him to ask what he thought. I could hear in his voice that he was pleased I'd asked him and he said it was a good idea but the post box at the end of the road was probably far enough. That's a ten minute walk and where I planned to go anyway, so we were both happy. I needed no reminder to take my phone with me; that jam spoon is horrid!
I was pretty miserable and it took a while to pull myself out of the doldrums. I'm still taking things a little easier than usual but, as you can see from this message Harry left for me a few days ago, we're pretty much back on track...
If you've read both parts you deserve an adult beverage...
I promise I won't leave it so long next time!
Rosie
I've always been self-sufficient and I hate having to rely on other people, even Harry. Our house is old and one day we'll get round to updating the bathroom with a walk-in shower but, until then, the shower is over the bath. Getting in and out with a bad back is impossible without help and Harry had to get in with me the first few times. We've never gone in for hanky-panky in the shower, even fancy ones in hotels, but he managed to make it fun, nevertheless. He had to go to work but he lit the fire in the sitting room for me before he left every day, filling up the coal scuttle to ensure I'd keep warm. I've been there before and know the drill but he still gave me instructions on what I should and shouldn't do. Going for a walk wasn't on his list but, after a couple of days, I needed some outdoor activity as well as the specific exercises for the back pain. I wasn't sure he'd approve but I really needed the fresh air and walking in the garden wasn't enough. Time was that I'd have gone anyway but things are different now, so I phoned him to ask what he thought. I could hear in his voice that he was pleased I'd asked him and he said it was a good idea but the post box at the end of the road was probably far enough. That's a ten minute walk and where I planned to go anyway, so we were both happy. I needed no reminder to take my phone with me; that jam spoon is horrid!
I was pretty miserable and it took a while to pull myself out of the doldrums. I'm still taking things a little easier than usual but, as you can see from this message Harry left for me a few days ago, we're pretty much back on track...
If you've read both parts you deserve an adult beverage...
I promise I won't leave it so long next time!
Rosie
