Never boring, for sure

I spent many hours unpicking the quilting lines of my my first Ice Cream Soda quilt, then quilting it again. That was after I replaced a damaged block a few weeks ago. There were a few small split seams, which I also fixed. I never liked the quilting lines much, they were too widely spaced and and therefore allowing fabric and batting to shift. So not good for durability. I hope the closely spaced quilting lines will give the quilt a few more years of gentle wear. I have another one to mend but I have run out of mending energy for now. 

Richard and I went to see Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. This was first performed in 1995, no doubt causing a stir in the traditional ballet world. It was absolutely amazing. Before seeing it, I wanted a swan tutu, now I want a pair of feathered swan pants. If you are not familiar with the choreographer Matthew Bourne, his productions are unusual, usually set in modern times. In Swan Lake, all the swans are male. The dancing was energetic and beautiful, elegant and a bit aggressive, just like swans. Male dancers make for authentic swans, for sure. The production also had laugh out loud moments. I had previously seen his Romeo & Juliet, which was also a contemporary interpretation of the old tale. 

During the interval, I saw a text message from Iris, asking if her friend could stay for a sleepover. Fair enough I thought. Only, the sleepover turned into a teenage runaway situation and the friend is still with us, ten days later. I got in touch with the safeguarding officer at school, who referred me on to social work. They were already involved with the family and were glad to hear the young person was safe with us. They’ll be returning home tomorrow, after some difficult conversations. We are glad about that because we sure don’t need another teenager in my life. We most certainly don’t want to be responsible for a vulnerable teenager we barely know, and definitely not without the required training or vetting. We seem to be a bit of a magnet for random teenagers needing a bed for the night. Maybe the word on the street is that we are a good place to crash (fresh sheets, hot shower and a bacon butty thrown in for good measure). This is the first one that didn’t go home. 

It is all drama chez nous. James got sloshed, on a Monday night. He denied being drunk, of course. Two days later he finally admitted that he had drunk the remaining prom booze that his friend (who is 18) had bought for the prom afterparty. Not that there was any doubt! Why he decided to drink it all on a Monday night without eating dinner remains a mystery. I was so angry, 2:30 am on a Monday night, just what we needed. There was a smashed drinking glass, a lot of shouting and swearing. Some people are funny drunks but sadly, James is not. He has since redeemed himself by being unusually cooperative and kind, even took the bins down without being prompted. He also managed to get himself on a six week hospitality training programme. That’ll keep him busy, and hopefully will lead to some employment. He has two interviews lined up for two separate apprenticeships. I am cautiously optimistic although when I checked over his preparations for the first interview (I gave him a list of typical questions to expect), he had taken almost three hours to write exactly four lines, which essentially said nothing other he wanted to be considered… please keep my sanity in your mind. 

I spent some time dismantling our poor wee robot vacuum cleaner. It got confused and was rolling around the house randomly (I was on a walk), then ran out of battery. The teens were trying to show it home but that didn’t go well. I found it under the table, all looking sad. It was offline and would not re-charge, which was weird. However some deep googling informed me that this could be solved by removing the battery and re-inserting it. As the battery was in the bowels of the robot, I took it apart, removed the battery and cleaned it all out. I felt a bit panicky when putting it back together again as I had not taken photographs along the way. Alas, it is now clean, fully charged and tested. 

I am going to London tomorrow, for work. I am really looking forward to get away from the drama that is my family life. Four nights in a hotel, all by myself, doing something I love (it involves parasites and microscopes). I even got a new lab coat for the occasion. I blew my entire June pocket money on a ticket for Alice in Wonderland (ballet) at the Royal Opera House on Thursday evening. I also booked myself a table at the Liberty restaurant, for lunch on Saturday, before I catch the train back in the late afternoon. I know I am worth it. I’ll be on expenses for all other meals, which will be less glamorous.  

We decided not to go away during the summer but go on local adventures. I’d like to do the mural trail in Glasgow and maybe climb a hill. Richard wants to cycle and maybe climb a hill. Neither of us has the headspace to plan and book something. Booking a holiday is so overwhelming! We also decided to sell our camping trailer and give away our huge tent. We no longer need either as our camping days with four children are over. That makes me sad because camping is my favourite type of holiday. I am planning on buying a smaller tent, maybe one of those fancy ones with inflatable poles. I have a small getaway planned with two friends from Switzerland in August. We’ll meet in Annecy (France). I am determined to go by train, all the way. It will be fun. Maybe I’ll travel back via Marseille, just because. I think I’ll get a five day InterRail ticket, to be used within 2 weeks. I like train travel much more than air travel. 

I started watching Torchwood (a Doctor WHO spin-off of sorts, set in Cardiff). Not for the first time. You know, when life is stressful, it is comforting to watch a bit of science fiction, particular science fiction that throws up no surprises (because I have seen it already). 

In other news, I had my nails done at the new place that opened nearby. I ran out of my gel stickers and decided that I needed a bit of pampering. I decided on letterbox red for both finger and toe nails.

Time for bed, for sure! Thanks for visiting 😊