For reasons I won’t bore you with (you thought there was nothing I wouldn’t bore you with, think again), my electric toothbrush charger is on a low shelf in the dining room. My old electric toothbrush died in July after many years of faithful service and I bought a new one. Was the new one working? It was not. When put on the charger it blinked its light rapidly trying to convey a message but what was it? Unclear. When taken off the charger after sitting there overnight, it acted like all life was extinct. I crouched on the ground beside it trying to reset it and explored various youtube videos in vain. Eventually I sprang angrily to my feet in a state of extreme frustration and banged my head on the marble mantelpiece giving myself mild concussion for the weekend (no reading, no screens, some throwing up) and I seem to have jarred my back also and it was quite sore for a couple of days. On the positive side despite not having retained my receipt, Boots gave me a new electric toothbrush instead when I showed them the Revolut receipt (showed location and amount spent but not what spent on, if you see what I mean). Pretty pleased and surprised about that.
Michael had a terrible cold all week which he transmitted to me on Thursday and I felt pretty miserable on Thursday and Friday and, honestly, not too hot today. It’s the first time I’ve been sick since last Christmas (a miracle which I partly attribute to the flu jab which I will be getting again this year) so I’m just not used to it.
I paid a man to rehang all my pictures after the painting job (judge away) and he came a couple of weeks ago (stay with me, this is a bit relevant). He did an amazing job but never have I felt so judged for my very inadequate art collection (mostly a series of prints acquired in my 20s). He said family photos have their place but there was no point using his expensive time to hang them. I was inclined to agree. I hung them myself yesterday, on the landing in a spot a friend of mine once referred to as “shrine of revered ancestors”. It was a long and tedious job involving the ladder, several dusters, some unorthodox hanging techniques (ask me about thumb tacks) and windolene. I did not enjoy. As I was standing on the ladder, hammer in one hand, picture balanced precariously on the top step of the ladder, masonry nails between my teeth (big tip I got from picture hanging man is that to hang almost everything all you need is one short masonry nail) when sneezes began to rack my poor sickly body. I sneezed, I spat nails, the hammer fell, I twisted to save the picture from the same fate and somehow, I hurt my lower back making me incapable of bending for the rest of the day. It is still a bit sore today but better, thanks for asking.
Where, you ask, is the holiday content you came here for? Stay with me, it’s on the way.