How was your week?

I'm in France right now. I know they are meant to have good food but I'm flipping sick of baguettes. They are crap from making sandwiches and go stale after 15 mins.

still no job so.....

Looking after my sisters elderly dog for the week, he's 13 and has some bad arthritis and pancreatitis. So he has to be monitored and fed a specific diet to try and avoid flare ups, he's on B12, steroids and pain killer meds too... and drinks a lot of water.

But a flare up we had this afternoon, he also a poop walker... literally walks and poops at the same time, which is bad enough when it's normal poop... but when it's runny yellow poop... at least it's easy to spot across the deck, the paving and lawn.

I also caught him drinking water from a dirty plant pot in the garden... which might explain the flare up... and why he refused to go out for a walk at all today. He's feeling rough.

Sadly, it also means we have to almost starve him for 18-24hrs, aside from something to take the tablets with. So this evenings meal was a spoonful of rice and boiled egg and his meds... rather than his normal special food... When he has a flare up, it's starve for 2-3 meals (he's on 3 small portions a day now) then some chicken, rice and cooked veggies for 1 day, then slowly mix in some of his normal food with the rest.

Aside from dog sitting, ripping apart a bedroom, wallpaper came off today... thursday start removing the plasterboard on 2 internal walls so I can move some electrics about and add new sockets, as well as TV/Satellite/Ethernet ports in the corner, then put some acoustic insulation in the walls before getting them boarded and skimmed ready for paint and carpet.

I also did the skirting in the hallway, so that's another DIY job down and once painted... another room finished... only 3 more to go (guest bedroom, lounge & dining rooms)

I just got back from seeing Moulin Rouge. It was quite good.

Awesome.

After six months on the shelf after being made redundant, I finally got a job offer. Now I just need to pass the security clearance checks, which is all new to me!

If it's anything like when I had to wait for security clearances, so I could actually do the job I was hired for... I got so fed up that I quit after 6 months and they still hadn't been done.
I was supposed to be doing 2nd line support for local authority, govt, CPS and police systems... I wasn't even allowed to reset some ones password until clearance was sorted.
I don;t care how good the money was... sitting around on my arse all day doing menial shit way below my pay grade and self worth just wasn't worth it... But at least I saved up enough money to see me through the next 6 months without taking too much of a hit to living expenses... I was unemployed, I could get my rent and council tax paid... all I needed was day to day expenses for car, food and utilities. :)
Great news! Must be a huge relief!
- It’ll be a massive relief once I get a start date. Until then I’m not counting my chickens.

I'm on me olidays right now so bloody lovely it was. Ta.

Nice, enjoy! Have you gone anywhere or just chilling at home?
- Camping in Cornwall. Always a risk with the weather this time of year but we've lucked in and it's been (mostly) glorious.

yeah alright cheers fella, how was yours?

It was good cheers! My son started back at school on Wednesday and my daughter back in nursery, there weren't any dramas which is a big win. Had my sisters wedding this weekend which required quite a bit of travelling but it was really good! Had quite a bit of trouble with my dad though, he's losing his mobility but is refusing to do anything about it, thinking that any help "is a step back". He's nearly 80 and massively overweight and can barely walk, and it was taking two people to help him shuffle 10 metres to go to the toilet, and having to move the car right up to the door of places so he could get in. Everyone's very concerned as he's obviously struggling but any suggestions are always met with resistance.
Also umming and arring over what phone to buy. It's something I've been thinking about for nearly two years and just cannot decide! My current one isn't even charging properly any more, it'll still loose charge when it's plugged in, unless I restart it.
- Ah man, tough week then.
  Old folks - family or otherwise - can be challenging. I suppose one never really knows what it's like to lose independence until the day finally arrives. I deal with loads of folk who really shouldn't be driving, but it's hard to keep encouraging them to surrender their licences when a) it's their lifeline in a rural community to stay social, and b) a lot of places are built around a car as the primary mode of transport these days. None of the above excuses driving dangerously, but you can see why people cling on to their independence for as long as they can. I hope your dad finds a compromise soon.
  Silly question about your phone, can you wireless charge it? If it's a fucked charging port then it may be easier to circumvent it altogether. My other half just bought a phone (well, I pay the bills, but it's her phone so obvs she gets to choose) and I'm consistently stunned with how much they're costing over the contract length these days. I'm loathed to buy anything other than a Nothing phone and a SIM only deal with mega grandfathered rights these days!
  Good luck with the bairns. The six hours of peace and quiet is nice, though 😊

Wet

Is that a good thing or bad thing?!
- Mostly bad. But you have to laugh. Our roof is leaking. But at least this time it's bad enough that the landlord has taken notice. Whenever he comes around it's sunny and my husband hasn't been impressed with lack of urgency. Yes we know Mr Shah it's not leaking now. It leaks when it rains. That's how water works.
Today I realised my waterproof coat is no longer waterproof...