As if we didn't have enough problems my wife fell backwards out of the loft to land on her back ten feet below. Although concussed by the fall no bones seemed to be broken. However she was unable to weight bear on her right leg and her ribs seemed to be very bruised. She has been confined to bed.
Fortunately both my sons have been to help me clear out the loft in time for the builders to come and assess the job of re-insulating the loft, and putting in a new stairwell to make access safer. However, she was in so much pain by 1 am Tuesday morning that we had to call an ambulance to take her to hospital for an X-ray. There were no fractures, but they put her on stronger pain-killers and gave her a walking aid to enable her to get to the bathroom.
In the meantime I am learning how to be a housewife. I first attempted a casserole, which went very well, and encouraged, I thought I would make an apple crumble. I picked half a dozen apples from the tree, peeled and stewed them and then made up the topping with flour, sugar and butter. Because the oven was in use with the casserole, I had to use the top oven, which doubles as a grill. Somewhat confused on how one switches from one to the other, I ended up grilling the crumble instead of baking it. It immediately caught fire. Smoke began issuing from the grill chimney, and when I looked through the oven door I saw flames dancing on the surface of my dish. I pulled it out and threw a cloth over it to extinguish the fire and then had to scrape the charred surface from the pudding. I quickly manufactured some more crumble (quantities by rule of eye this time rather than exact measurements on the scales -and I threw in some cinnamon) and it turned out an excellent pudding.
Since then I have managed fish and chips and a cheese pie, not to mention runner beans, mushrooms and fried tomatoes. This evening I will attempt bangers and mash.
But the cooking is only half of it. I have been vacuuming, I've done three loads of washing and I've cleaned the toilets. Truly, a woman's work is never done.
this is all very admirable, but you must be careful not to get "too good" at all of these chores, lest you become a candidate for husband of the year, a title held by my
ReplyDeletebest friend who is an opthalmologist/cook/cleaner who's only question to his wife is "what else van I do?" and who's mantra when she gets annoyed with him is "I love you very much".
Keep up the good work
DWCLL
And you though that CLL research was hard! Try adding a few children to the mix, maybe an aged parent or two, and a full time job and then guess how you would handle those.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness. Praying for you. I had a season like that last summer. New floors, new furnace, health stuff. All at the same time.
ReplyDeleteI went home to my mom for one day and napped.
I also resorted to take out food a lot. Cooking and vacuuming...only when necessary.
Take care, both of you!
Liz W.
St. Paul, MN
I'm almost sorry that I laughed out loud. Calamities are as often serious as they are funny...
ReplyDeleteIt seems no matter how burdened our lives seem, something always catches fire. Humbling - but glad to see you got right back on the horse. The food sounds delicious!
Been there, done that, though I did manage to skip the fire.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was first on my own (pre-microwave), I decided I wanted a baked potato. I heated up the oven and put the potato in, and then fell asleep. When I woke up, I had a very interesting, completely charcoaled potato. You could see the various skin blemishes and so forth, but now 100% pure carbon, having been in a 350 oven overnight.
As a bachelor, I must admit the vacuum came out about twice a month.
I like the picture of you in the kitchen and I am sure the results of your efforts are good and comforting. Now, for the grilled crumble? How you arrived at the decision to grill the dessert is more than a little interesting. My best to your wife for a hasty return to normal (in order to safe guard home and hearth).
ReplyDelete