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.

Comments

  1. It sounds like he did really well. You should be very proud of him, as I know you must be. Hey, maybe he's turning American - we call it ground beef over here. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you returned to a house that was still standing, and a teenager who was happy to see you come home. I think you need to give yourself a well deserved pat on the back for raising such a great guy!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like he did really well, we call it ground beef too, has he been hanging out with Ameiricans?
    Isn't it funny when they find out that work is actually work. I always told my daughter that's why it's called work and not play.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It brought a smile to my face when I read about your dear son and his keeping house. It sounds like my son. Who has grown up to be quite tidy and a good cook, too. We call it ground beef here in America. I hope you had a lovely vacation. Pat xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. he has learnt rather a lot I would say and don't forget there is probably a load of stuff he learnt that he can't even admit to!! In the vein of my own blog post - I wonder how you do it all Christina. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  6. He sounds amazing, I am very impressed. I fear mine will never achieve such giddy heights of self-sufficiency. Although I am certain the eldest would eat ALL the food he could find. CJ xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope you had a good time away and that all will be good on the trip to see your Mum too. Glad that Sam did so well on his own, sounds as though he has got things pretty well figured out, because even though the bananas were past eating he knew you would do something with them! That is all good isn't it. Well done to Sam!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Christina, I am a first-time visitor to your blog having stopped in from Lorraine's blog, Mama Mercantile, which I recently started reading. My husband dearly would like to visit the island that she and her husband now call home! I am always interested in reading new blogs and had an enjoyable time reading your "About Me" and "Recipe" sections. And, by the way, I also like red and also purple so the turtleneck was fine. Glad to read that your son coped well during your vacation and hope you had a wonderful trip. I will drop in again and invite you to also stop in for a visit to our blog space anytime.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so happy to hear that your son managed to take care of himself and everything else.. for sure you can consider your raising of him a success! Good for you to make those dark bananas into a bread and use them. Welcome home!! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I remember leaving our girls for the first time...not sure that I remember it been that clean and tidy so sounds as if Sam did really well. I am a great fan of Banana bread, a wonderful way to use up those forgotten fruits. Thank you so much for the offer of the Harris Tweed scraps, I would be thrilled to have them.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I think it's great if you come home from a holiday, after leaving a teenager to look after things, to see the house still standing, anything else is a bonus. Well done to Sam, he sounds a very capable young man. Looking forward to hearing about Cornwall, I shall miss it this year.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Sam sounds just like my boys. You leave them lots of food but they much prefer to buy their own! I'm looking forward to hearing all about your holiday, after you've finished the washing of course :-). B x

    ReplyDelete
  13. Such a good experience for your son, you have obviously done an excellent job which shows in how well he coped. It is so important to teach your kids how look after themselves, one of the most important things we can pass on to them I think. xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Sounds like your son did pretty well looking after himself. Banana bread is definitely the way to use up the bananas and eggs and delicious too, one of my favourites:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. It seems like Sam did a marvellous job coping by himself. My daughter did her work placement last week in a local nursery school, she was similarly exhausted every evening but enjoyed it nonetheless. I haven't made banana bread in ages, and I have some blackish bananas - you have given me an idea - thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  16. It sounds like Sam coped brilliantly and very kind of him to leave bananas just perfect for cake making! The only time I left a teenager a home we came back to the house smelling like a brewery!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, well done that boy! I think it's par for the course to use all the crockery, pans and glassware (well, it is in the case of the boy here), not to mention a last minute quick run round with the watering can. Hope all the laundry is well on the way to being done and dusted.

    ReplyDelete
  18. You make me laugh. My oldest has been having a bit of a realization that working life is not the easiest. I can still outdo him on working hours most days, but has he gained respect, I am thinking not! I laughed out loud about the vase. Ah boys, they are interesting are they not?

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for visiting and leaving a comment, I love to hear from you, I really do. I sometimes reply by email but I am not all that reliable... Christina xx

Labels

Show more