meanwhile in Glasgow

We returned from our holiday yesterday evening, quite late. Now, I am sorting through washing and trying to get clothes washed for the kids next trip, starting tomorrow.... they'll be off to see granny in Switzerland for a week.

You may remember that we left Sam behind as he has a work placement at a computing lab at Uni. He calls it an unpaid internship and finds it rather interesting. Work, he says, is tiring. He was shattered the other day (having worked from 10 to 5), asking if this is how I and Richard felt after a days work. I confirmed and imagined (we were talking on the phone) that he nodded wisely, probably thinking to himself that this would explain our relative lack of patience with teenage issues and the criticisms of dinners hastily prepared.

Sam has coped well with us being away. So much so that it felt like moving into a stranger's house when we arrived home! He was up and waiting and beside himself with seeing Jack. He was happy enough to see us, too.

It seems that Sam didn't eat any of the food we left him for his enjoyment. The chicken drumsticks for example were still in the fridge and the bananas well on their way to compost. He thought that we might want them upon our return. Instead, he did his own weekly shop. I imagine it largely consisted of beef mince (which he insists on calling ground beef) and chicken thighs. Possibly coffee. He did mention lettuce once, which apparently is essential for his super special tacos. He also said that he bought onion and garlic granules for flavour. The overall verdict was that doing the shopping was a bit boring.

Sam made packed lunches for work. Peanut butter sandwiches mostly. He says he is too busy to pop out onto Byres Rd to buy a Greggs and anyway, we had not left him quite enough money for luxurious lunches.

Sam cleaned the house for us - he did mention that it took three hours to do the kitchen alone. It was surprisingly clean and tidy actually considering that his interpretation of cleaning the house is very different from my own. He did admit that he was a bit lazy, having used pretty much every singly piece of crockery before running the dishwasher three times in one day... I am told the £1 pound Ikea vase makes an excellent drinking vessel.

It is good to see him well and happy. It is also good to see that he has learned a few life lessons and that he is ready to live by himself, keeping himself and the cats safe and happy. I think Richard and I have done a good job raising this one. Of course, teenagers are full of surprises and we might yet learn about the three day party and the bonfire in the garden.

Off to put another load of washing on. Thanks for stopping by and saying hello even during my absence! I am looking forward to catching up with your blogs this evening. I mostly use my phone for making phone calls so have missed two weeks of news and chats.

The bananas by the way have been made into two banana loaves, together with the eggs that Sam didn't eat. Rather yummy I have to say if you neglect the fact that the ingredients were well past their official best before date.

P.S. Jo, I am going to send you the measurements for the mustard yellow jumper shortly so you can see if it might fit you. Just as soon as I can find the measuring tape.