Friday 16 July 2010

Anything that can go wrong...

will go wrong in the kitchen department.
The family arrived on time yesterday...something of a miracle given that they were flying with a cut price airline and had the newest member of the clan and all her essentials. Babies do seem to need a lot of things these days. (She is, for anyone interested, utterly delightful. My father fell instantly and irretrievably in love with her - and she with him. They spent the rest of her waking hours 'talking' to one another.)
All that was fine. I did have the soup finished and I scrambled to make sandwiches while they unpacked items of baby related luggage. We ate. I cleared away the mess with some help from my sister-in-law - a truly wonderful woman who never minds helping when needed.
My brother however is the cook in their household. He is rather good at it. He and I set to work on what should be tonight's meal as we planned to be out today. (I know, wicked. I was going to take a day off.)
I turned the oven on. Nothing happened. My brother (technically savvy about many things) took a look. Nothing happened.
Now, we need the oven. We needed the oven not just yesterday but we really need it today. We need it next Tuesday and Wednesday too. On Monday the oven-cleaning service is also supposed to be coming. They will expect a working oven.
My father 'phones the electrician. Can it wait until morning? We decide to take everything over to my sister's place and add to the chaos there. Yes, it can wait until tomorrow. That is today. I have to stay at home and wait for the electrician to arrive while the others go off and enjoy themselves. We know this is the sensible thing, the only possible solution. After all I am not going to ask my father to stay behind and not enjoy the company of his new love in life. He has been looking forward to an entire day with her - and another tomorrow and Sunday morning as well.
All the same my tail is drooping. My whiskers are drooping. I am not purring. I wanted to go too.
I know I can do some essential work. The electrician says I am to ring him again if he has not arrived by lunchtime. He is a nice man. We know him quite well.
He had better turn up!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cat,

Murphy struck again ..... though I think you may have messed with Mrs Murphy on this one!

Sometimes sensible is not any fun at all. I hope they think of you at some time during the day, and don't spend all evening telling you how much fun it all was!

Judy B

catdownunder said...

Sigh - I mind for them as much as me because they are all the very nice sort of people who will miss having me there! And the electrician has just been and said,
"You need a new oven." Ow!