Another day begins...

Yesterday, Barney's day began with a house full of smoke and ended with a blocked drain.
Mine, on the other hand, began with a hair cut and seems not to have quite ended yet.
The night before last it was so deliciously hot that I opened all the windows, blocked all the doors from blowing shut and went to bed surrounded by cool breezes from every direction.
Very early next morning (If not in the middle of the night - who can say) one of our further away neighbours had a fire lit. They are only neighbours in the sense that they are next but one along the road. A mere half mile or so away. the fire was to burn a large amount of tree branches they recently had cut down with a lot of green wood in them. So a lot of smoke. And the wind blew it across the field straight into our windows! All open invitingly :)
Barney was not amused! (But I was asleep and missed it all)
But after shutting all the windows, he went off to work and then when he came home (fortunately before he'd had his shower), he discovered that our drain was blocked. There followed a good deal of grumpy and hot and sweaty stuff involving bent pieces of metal and hot water and all my washing up liquid. That's life in the country for you :)
Anyway, I got up, rushed off and got the haystack trimmed and then spent the day spending vast amounts of money on food (to be consumed on Saturday when the family all descend. Later I came home and opened all the windows again, since the fire across the valley had now declined to a trickle of vertical smoke instead of a cloud billowing across the countryside. And did a few bits and pieces of cleaning and tidying. All very civilised really. Such also is life in the country :)

We had a conversations last night which went like this.

"Is there anything you want me to do tomorow, I'm writing a list."
"I don't think so, I've got my list here and mostly it's stuff you won't have time to do, Besides, your list looks enormous"

" Well I get up earlier than you so I have more time to do things so I get more done"
"But things have a way of taking longer than you expect"

"Yes but as I'll be getting up so much earlier than you I'll still get more done"
"Ah" biting tongue "Right then. Well it's true you get up earlier than me"
And "Well you could go into Thatcham and collect the glasses and check out the fish shop if you like".
I noticed that he didn't actually put these things on his list!

For some reason, I forgot to put on my list 'spend the first two hours helping Barney to do the things on his list'
Wasn't that silly of me?
So I got up about an hour after him and promptly spent the next two hours helping him put up tents and marquees and things. As I said, things have a way of taking longer than you expect.
Later he was distressed to discover that pastry for the chocolate tart had to spend a whole hour in the fridge before he could do the rest of it. .....As I said......
And he was quite taken aback to learn that he had to go and collect the glasses, wasn't sure if he'd have time for that. What? And go to the fish shop too? ..... What was it I said?....

On the positive side, we have found the perfect way to get the trailer tent up. Hardly any poles fell down and it took rather less time than it usually does (though rather more than he expected)

Oh I am such a smartass :) But a smartass surrounded by a clean tidy house so that makes me a smartass bathing in reflected shininess which is very very good :)And there has been some sun shine too which is also very good :)
I shall go and sleep the sleep of the just. (The just too damned smartass to live)
Good night :)