Birthday – 2020 Style
Happy birthday to us! Clearly today is Tonia and my birthday. I make the most of it by treating myself to an upgrade from Doctors – TWO episodes of Holby!! 🙂
Matt has been pottering about in the basement so I head down to see what has been going on. He’s pulled down the remaining ceiling in the utility room and made more of a mess. However, I’m quite excited as we seem to be making some progress on replacing the lighting (at least in the short term). This will all allow us to put in the new stud wall to run all the gaines (ducts) into the new main electrical board in the basement.
I take on my traditional role, as lady of the lamp (and image making device). A few bits are out, including possibly some of the oldest wiring in the house – that probably can’t be a bad thing.
Next up it’s a trip to the postbox to see if anyone has sent us anything. Three cards – one each from Joelle and one for me from Jeff and Vivian! – Also, I look like an awesome wizard!
Back into the house and it’s time to do something exciting so I make up the wonderful smart garden that Tonia got me for Christmas. She helped me to open it so it was like a shared present.
That’s the third thing I have planted now and I pretty happy with it. I do love growing things, particularly in winter when everything else is dormant. The basil I planted is also showing good signs of growth which is making me happy.
Matt interrupted my joy however with an announcement that one corner of the kitchen was being held up, pretty much, by magic. This was not the exciting birthday news I was hoping for. It has however held each of our weight while removing tiles and paper so can’t be too bad. Still makes me very nervous.
Tonia wants to know how to refill the heater in the living room so with a quick 2 min explanation she’s already a pro. Clearly I am a masterful teacher – well that or Matt made it really easy with his new filling station… I’ll let you decide.
Tonia is next up with a surprise. She spent all night making a birthday brownie [the Milka brownie packaging on the side told a different story]. Despite it being 2020 we went crazy and resumed the time honoured practice of blowing the candles out before we ate it. Risky business I know but we have been cooped up here alone without outside contact for weeks so I’m pretty gosh darn confident that we don’t have anything.
After some bubbles and cake I’m feeling emboldened by birthday bravado and I’ve decided that it is a good day to go to the dump (déchetterie)! We’re not really sure how it works and we don’t have some sort of magic sticker on the car but I reckon it is worth a go. It’s not too far and maybe I can convince them to be nice to me as it’s my birthday, and we really need to to get rid of some of the growing mountain of rubble sacks.
Turns out that it was actually much more simple than the local website makes out. My poor explanation of what we were there for and showing him our EDF bill as proof of address was enough – didn’t event have to pull out the birthday plea.
Now Matt is finished in the basement we decide to have a good tidy up. You wouldn’t necessarily imagine it but I do like things nice and tidy.
One thing that has been really irritating me is the massive trip hazard. I have no idea how or why that part in the middle of the room has popped up but it needs fixing. Matt’s answer was some more bashing but I guess it has to be done.
Back upstairs and I have a few presents left under the tree from my stocking. I knew today would be light on presents so I’d saved some. Who knew they would be the best ones. Particularly awesome was the mug with a picture from Matt and my civil partnership!
Matt and I then have a discussion about presents from my mum. It seemed odd that she sent him presents for his birthday but not me and Tonia. After a short search he couldn’t find anything, so we gave her a call. Turns out that she had sent cards and told Matt about them and to keep them safe. With all the crazy packing they’d somehow ended up in one of the kitchen boxes, along with our Christmas presents.
Mummy, money, money! It was a good find. Tonia thought we were hiding them. If I’d known they were there I may have done but I didn’t. Very much looking forward to taking this on our next outing to the Troc. Tonia is still hoping to spend her Euros on a ski pass next time she is over!
Have a chat to my brother later on which reminds me that I haven’t opened their present. Awesome – another new game to play 🙂 And a video message from my niece and nephew, god they’re cute!
Still have some masks to finish, so I do my very best impression of the three fates (if you don’t know what this is you need to brush up on your Greek mythology).
As the evening continues I decide that it is time for some salon gymnastics – what could go wrong. The challenge was to walk your hands down the wall and if possible then move like a crab. News flash – I am definitely another year older, and Tonia remains younger than me (at least that’s how I’m explaining her win). However, we can still do this:
Matt can only see this ending in trouble, so it’s time for Tonia’s awards ceremony. I’m not sure she was too impressed with the medals but I thought I’d done a good job.
Probably enough of all this madness and time for bed.
[30 December 2021]
