Life with Mum – 1993

July: - So far Mum has been eating very well. Mind you, we have been very fortunate in having TWO nice dinners handed over the fence by Yolande next door; a roast breast of chicken dinner on Sunday and a lovely chicken casserole today. Yo-yo is a good cook and with it looking so nice and smelling so tasty it was a boast to the appetite. I think it also helped that Mum thinks Yo-Yo did it especially for her.

For our evening meal tonight we had 2 fillets of place, steamed over a saucepan on a plate. Mum ate all of hers except for about a one inch square bit. For our 'afters' we had blackberries and custard and Mum cleared her dish of that.

At the moment it is a honeymoon period for her and she is feeling bright and cheerful which probably helps her general attitude.

I am really chuffed with the tomatoes, beans and marrows (in the garden); they are all doing so well, I can almost see them growing day by day. As for the pond, that is still a delight and each day I go out to see if anything is happening.

September: - I have been pottering a lot in the garden and still spend a lot of time sitting on my back door step watching the birds. Mum has been down to the kitchen a couple of times but prefers to stay in the front room and bedroom "because of the steps" she says. In a way this is helpful because we both have our 'space' which is so very important and I'm sure is part of the reason why it is working so well at the moment. If I was in Bristol I'd be stuck in the same room and things might not be so smooth.

I gave Mum her breakfast in bed each morning at about 9 o'clock. She has a small dish of grapefruit segments and then a large slice of toast and marmalade and a mug of tea. About 10 o'clock I take a bowl of water in for her to wash and leave her to get washed and dressed. We have just a soup or something light for lunch and then I cook a proper meal for tea time. This way Mum eats it all. If I tried to give her a proper dinner midday it would probably only be picked at as she would still be full up with her breakfast.

I try to vary the dinners so as not to get her bored with them. Last night we had bangers and mash with fried onions and that went down well. Tonight we will have lamb chops, roast potatoes and runner beans. One night we had tripe and onion and that was enjoyed too.

It has been so hot here, I'm not grumbling though. I am well please with the tomatoes and will certainly repeat the process next year. They are ripening so quickly now, every day there are more to pick.

My neighbour has given Mum several books to read but I don't know if she is actually reading them. TV seems to be her main love - providing it is on 'Number 3'!! (ITV). Mum says "You can watch whatever you want" but when I have turned it over she talks all the way through so it is pointless trying to watch, so I listen to the radio in the kitchen or go round to Meg's; who is also a 'Number 3' (ITV) person!!

I got myself a book from the library 'Understanding the Present' by Bryan Appleyard. It is very interesting.

November: - I feel quite chuffed; almost big headed one might say. I'm in bed and listening to 'The Litmus Test' on the World Service. This is an interesting Quiz Game involving two teams, Pink and Blue (hence the name 'Litmus') and the questions are all of a Scientific nature so although I enjoy it and find it interesting I usually don't know the answers..... UNTIL TONIGHT!

The last question of the Quiz, which was in the 'Press the Buzzer' round, was... "What is, or are, Up, Down, Top, Bottom, Charming and Strange? And I said "Quarks" BEFORE the one who answered pressed his buzzer; Wow! This was very good for my morale; that is, until I picked up my writing pad and rested it upon my Library Book only to discover a good ¼ of an inch of the cover of the library book has been chewed away! I had left it by the Guinea Pigs; I wonder if I will have to pay for this. How can I explain my Guinea Pigs ate it?

Grace Russ - 1993