DH dropped me at work and he departed to complete various tasks, including packing the car for our great escape later that day.
Meanwhile, I had to print the rota for the autumn quarter.
As luck would have it, the black printer cartridge ran out, just as I was printing the final draft.
At this vital point I was in the middle of attempting to do clever things with excel, so that I could print particular sections as I required.
Please do not think I am a computer genius - I never said it worked...
Suddenly the printer was only churning out blank pages of paper, and I had absolutely no idea what I had done to cause this to happen. I knew that it should be printing because
a) I had just fitted a new cartridge.
b) The computer was clearly showing me that there was plenty of ink!
I was totally at a loss as to why this had happened.
Then the penny dropped.
True, I had replaced the cartridge, but I had failed to remove the tape that prevents the ink from leaking out. That rectified, the printer was back to its usual self. Phew!
When DH picked me up at lunchtime, he confided that he had managed to source a much smaller event shelter, which weighed significantly less than the super-sized shelter AND featured the much-desired carbon fibre rods. True, it lacked the high level of UV protection, and was had a lower rating for withstanding deluges, but we thought the towels and chairs would cope.
I found some more odds and ends that were essential to our vacation, and filled the car - not quite to the roof, and off we went. We took the scenic route across country to reach the M5, as there were reports of delays further north. Almost immediately we discovered the route we had chosen was freshly gritted and we were following a tractor - so much for a speedy getaway.
The motorway was busy, but the traffic was flowing. We stopped for a quick break at one of the services so DH could s-t-r-e-t-c-h his legs. When we opened the car doors the 26 degree temperature outside came as a bit of a shock, as we had grown accustomed to the 19-degree temperature inside the car, courtesy of the air con.
Close to Exeter, brakes were suddenly slammed on, as a result of a 'coming together' of three cars in the fast lane. Fortunately, no-one seemed injured and hopefully, all the vehicles did not sustain any serious damage. We were soon past it and on our way.
We were soon at the site. Having unpacked the car, I started to cook dinner whilst DH deciphered the instructions for the event shelter - helpfully sewn inside the bag so they couldn't blow away. However, there reached a point where I was required to hold the tent steady, whilst carbon fibre poles were tortured into submission. This was not easy and required significant strength, or a technique DH has yet to acquire. At this point the love affair with carbon fibre rods was over, and I think DH would have happily traded them for steel poles that clicked together.
DH and I think in completely different ways, rendering teamwork impossible and stressful.My inabilty to read my husband's mind, coupled with failing to correctly identify right from left, up from down, or back from front, are all clues as to why we are not great at working together.
Fortunately, no-one came to help us, so we didn't have to pretend to be nice to each other.
"Darling, if you could just move to your left...No, your other left..."
After a great deal of stretching and contorting, at times through gritted teeth, the event shelter was assembled. We stood inside the domed structure looking up at the ceiling.
"You could fit a mini ring of bells under here!" I declared.
"It wasn't THAT difficult, " declared DH once was safely completed, "Everything was colour coded."
How would that help, I wondered, as DH is colour blind.
However, before the construction of the edifice was complete wildlife had moved in.
DH was suitably miffed.
"Great! All that time and effort and we have constucted a massive bug hotel!"
We had a wooden bug hotel in the garden at the previous house. All that happened was that a spider moved in, and all bugs were warned off by the sight of the cobweb...It was more effective than securicor...
The chairs and airer look very happy in their temporary abode.There is always something that gets forgotten.
"Rats! I don't think I have brought the pink flask," " I confessed.
"Well I put it on the table," declared DH, "and it wasn't there when we left...
"Oh good. It must be in a bag that I haven't yet unpacked."
A short while later I opened a cupboard and saw the pink flask.
It had been there since our previous visit, as the only thing that I had placed in the cupboard since we arrivedd, were the boxes of cereal.
Then the penny dropped.
It was the GREEN flask that my husband had put on the table and that had been safely transported. The pink flask had been here all the time.
Did I mention that my husband is colour-blind?
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