The hectic pace of
the past few weeks has finally caught up with me, poor Pa has been in
a state of collapse for several days and even my son is lacking his
usual energy. Today it was my turn to bite the dust.
Six thirty this
morning saw me downstairs mending the fires as usual. My task it is
to open the flues, heap on some logs and coal, open the curtains and,
in the winter put on the lights so that a cheery aspect awaits the
later risers, it is a time of day I love.
Another part of this
morning ritual is to give our dear little Moth Cat her first cuddle
of the day, a. pleasant interlude but one which this morning had
unusual consequences.
I made the mistake
of sitting (for a moment) in one of the big cosy armchairs while
stroking the cat, many sleepless nights, the soft chair, the warmth
of the fire and the soporific effect of stroking the cats fur took
effect, I fell asleep.
Loud ringing of the
doorbell jolted me back to consciousness, the postman, with packages
needing to be signed for and tired of waiting was leaning heavily on
the bell push, the noise was deafening.
Cursing roundly I
stumbled to the door and took delivery of yet another pile of
reference books for my son from a postman grinning like the “Cheshire
Cat”;it was not until I looked in a mirror half an hour later that
I realised the cause of his amusement: Boy did I look rough!
Now an hour late
waking my son with a morning cup of coffee I mounted the stairs with
what passes for haste these days and switched on the coffee machine
in my room. After presenting the coffee to my sleepy son with
apologies for my tardiness I returned to my room, made a coffee for
myself, sat down and promptly fell asleep again!
Breakfast was much
later than usual.
After our morning
meal Pa who had slept until eleven loaded the dishwasher while I
raked the ash from the stoves ready for my son to carry them off to
the ash heap. Hot from tending the twin infernos I sat for a moment
in the conservatory to cool of and…..you guessed it…. I fell
asleep again. This time it was the arrival of a courier which
disturbed my impromptu nap, I jumped up, headed for the door and fell
over the cat. It was some time before I managed to regain an upright
position.
Realising by now
that further resistance was useless, I made haste to finish up my
outstanding chores and then subsided into the same easy chair which
had tempted me earlier in the day and within minutes I was fast
asleep again; this time for several hours:
My boys had taken
pity on me and left me to doze before the fire for the remainder of
the afternoon. Snug and oh so comfortable I caught up on some much
needed sleep and for once the pain of arthritis did not wake me after
a short time.
I drifted back to
consciousness as daylight was almost gone, the room look lovely in
the lamp light and for two pins I would have gone back to sleep but
there was dinner to prepare so off I went to the kitchen followed by
the cat who had kept my company all the long afternoon.
We tucked in to beef
stew, made yesterday and reheated, and suet dumplings, freshly made,
it was the perfect meal for a wild wet evening and we all enjoyed
enjoyed it very much.
Now we are all ready
for bed, after chatting awhile over hot cocoa three sleepy people are hoping for a good nights rest.
Although I have felt
ghastly for most of the day, it was lovely to have an excuse for
sitting quietly by the fire with the cat for company and
doing…..nothing. Even so I hope to be back on form tomorrow in time
for baking day., which I love.
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