Work! Work! Work!

Had a long busy day yesterday. Knew I had to be at the clothes alteration shop for 9am to try on the dress that was first done last year before I went to Malta, but wasn’t able to wear it at all as it just didn’t fit me right. I wasn’t going to go back to her, because of this one important dress. Last year before I went to Malta, I had lots of clothes altered so that they would be tailor made for me. I was very pleased with them all, but one of them, just wasn’t right! It was ill-fitting. I was unable to even wear it once. It was one of my favourite, tied and dyed dresses that I had done, many years ago. It was liked my many, but as there was only one, not everyone that loved it, was that size, it was a size 10. I was thrilled when I had found this marvellous shop in the town, I had spent a lot of money in there last year in the run up to Malta. The shop owner had rung me many times to ask, “How are you?” I had lied. I didn’t know how to handle the situation, I didn’t know what to say to her, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Although I had tried on the dress in the shop before I paid for it, with her helpers there, I was too shy to say what I really felt, so I kept quiet, the dress felt tight, in all the wrong places. I wore the other dresses, and skirts that she had done, and always advertised her, when I wore them. But my favourite item I was unable to wear. I decided I would never go back to her ever, no matter how many times she rang me!

Been shy has sometimes held me back in life, I remember when I first went on the internet many years ago, my Husband who knows I can be shy in certain circumstances, saw a small cartoon clip, and gave it to me, I smiled when I saw it, and have kept it, it in the diary of that year. It was a picture of a penguin, sat in front of a laptop with the caption, “In the world of the internet, no one knows you are a penguin.” How true that is.

So, having spent SO much to have my beautiful dress altered, I decided to bite the bullet and ring her and ask, “Can I come in and see you?” I didn’t have the courage to say any more. She was as lovely as ever and said, “Yes of course.”

On the day I went in, I brought with me an item of clothing that I wanted her to add to the dress, so that it would be bigger and fit me better, just how I wanted it to. She listened to me, as I said, “I had decided to never come back, because of this dress,” Her words to me last year, “You are one of my best customers,” She knew I was willing to spend the money to get my clothes right and ready for Malta. Nothing else mattered to me, for Malta was going to be the holiday of a lifetime. Whatever price she quoted me, I said, “OK,” For I firmly believe a craft, skilled person should be paid, whatever they ask for. This woman’s sewing skills was second to none, I was very proud to let everyone know, who altered my clothes that I wore, and because of that, business came her way from me, she told me this herself.

I wore to the shop, another beautiful dress she had altered for me, it was a beautiful linen dress that I had bought from TKMaxx and it was a size 10, I had taken it to her and said, “Can you alter this to fit me, with this added material?” I added, “If not, I will take it back to the shop tomorrow,” She said, “Yes, no problem.” So, it was a win, win situation, she got paid and I got a custom-made dress.

I said to Eunice, “I am wearing this dress that you altered, so you can see how perfect it is.” I then went into the changing room and tried on the ill-fitting dress. There was no mistake, it did not fit at all, I said, to her, “I have been unable to wear my dress.” Eunice, said, “There is no way, you could have worn that.” I said, “The zip on the left side needs to go, as it is very difficult to use it with one hand, as it is impossible, to use the zip with two hands, going up to my armpit.” My suggestion was, “With this material, it can be added to the sides and also added to the shoulders to give more length.” Eunice agreed and said, “Yes.” She took lots of measurements.

I was glad I had agreed to go back for the rough fitting, at 9am so I wouldn’t need to panic and would have plenty of time to get to work for 10am. This was not with the material, that I had bought yesterday, but her material, with the pins in for the new size, I carefully took it off, Eunice said, “Friday OK for you for collection?” I said, “Yes.” I am wondering if she will charge me again, if she does, I don’t mind, I just want to wear my dress with pride.

I then went to my local supermarket where my car was parked, and popped into the store to see what items were reduced in the permanently reduced section, there the items have one missing from the pack, or the box is dented or the pack burst open and had to be repaired, most items have thick brown parcel tape around it. What they all have in common, is that the prices, they are greatly reduced! I found a large pack of tins of dog food, should be 12 but one was missing, the price was £6.50 was chuffed to bits! I didn’t need to get any food for work, for I had taken food a cooked chicken breast out the freezer that morning, as I knew I’d be out all day, and the evening before I’d bought reduced items, a bag of mixed salad, smashed avocado, and my recent favourite a pack of 6 duck spring rolls!

At this site, they never have milk in the fridge, and they may have tea or sugar but more than likely nothing so what I do is at home I cut an inch of fresh ginger, slice off the outer part and pop it into my little flask, I add a tea bag and half a teaspoon of sugar and evaporated milk, then when I get there I boil the kettle and fill up my trusted little flask, I make it last me the whole time I am there. I put my food in the fridge and left the frozen chicken breast in my bag because that was for my evening meal. I had made sure the night before my Heinz salad cream was already in my tote bag. Organization is key! I got to work and was told what they wanted me to do. I always pray that at this site, I will make a difference, as I am there to help. I am not there very often; I love it there. It is not somewhere I would like to work full time or part time, for it can be too intense, but any time I volunteer to work there, I always enjoy it, as it is different to my usual work.

I worked in the morning, then had my lunch, it was the cooked Mackrell with cherry, piccobella tomatoes, I cant get enough of cherry tomatoes at the moment, I have them every day and buy them each time I go to the supermarket. I usually check to see if they are grown abroad in the sun, those are the ones I will buy. If there are not grown abroad, I will still buy them. I did try to buy the cheaper cherry tomatoes, for 75p but they didn’t taste very nice, they tasted bland! But all of the cherry tomatoes, the ones I buy from abroad or not, they all taste amazing, and for that I pay £2 they are on-the-vine. I have them straight out the pack, I never wash them first. I have half the pack in one go, and then later on, I have the other half. So, a pack a day! It was a lovely lunch. I then went for a walk with someone from work, not a worker, it is a walk we always take when I am there. It was a lovely hot day yesterday, it was a chilled familiar walk, around the neighbourhood, we always go the same route. Even though it is the same route each time, though the small tiny walk through the green trees and grass all in full bloom now, I still have to stop and take a picture, I never get used to that scene. In the winter I see different things as the trees are bare. As for autumn, the myriads of colours of the leaves, means more photos have to be taken!

I am always aware of my surroundings, yesterday was no different. We walked past a family sitting in their front garden, enjoying the sun, there were about eight of them, adults with a baby in the mum’s arms, none of them were at work, I thought about the rushed morning I’d had even before I’d got to the clothes alteration shop, and that I had many more hours to go at work, and where I had to go after work and the late hour I would get home that night. It remined me of the time many years ago, when my Mum had been to some houses to visit different people and she was with her beloved sister. Mum had said, to me, “Pack your job in, I have been to people’s houses this week and they don’t work, and they are all better off than you are, they are not struggling for money.” I replied to Mum, “I have worked all my life, I could not do it, and if someone had asked you to do what you are asking me to do, you would not have done it either.” She realized that I was right, for my Mum nor any of us were brought up like that, to never work. So, I admired the little family, there in their garden enjoying the hot sun.

At another part of our walk, we always see a little dog in the window upstairs, he always barks at us, this is a lovely, lovely section of the walk, with the quirky houses. Last month when we were at these houses the little dog was again in the window but there was this time a little dog outside, with his owner, the man said, “Hello,” To us, and we said, “Hello,” Back to him. The person with me asks, “Does he bite, can I stroke him?” The man said, “He might, so it is best not to stroke him.”  So, he didn’t and we carried on our walk.

At another section of our walk, a man walked past us, he seemed to be in a hurry, he was eating a large bag of crisp, his large walking stick, the kind that you put your arm through to hold onto the handle was under his arm, I watched him as he walked at speed, and thought, now that he is not in the town, for there are no cameras here, it is clear to me, he does not need that walking stick at all. He was SO healthy, he could have won a walking race! I thought again of the family sitting relaxing in their front garden.

Back at work, there were lots of notes to write up, but I don’t mind, as I love writing and I drank my ginger flavoured Yorkshire tea at the same time.

After work, it was still no where near time for me to go home, I joined the rush hour traffic to drive the eight miles to my Mums as it was my turn for the three hours with Mum. When I arrived, Mum was sitting in her comfy chair with her feet up, as her left foot is a bit swollen. My routine is to get Mum up and to the bathroom, for a bit of exercise, then I cut up a quarter of the honey dew melon, that she loves, I remove all the seeds. I then put my chicken breast and 6 duck spring rolls in the oven, as Mum slowly eats her melon slices, we watch her favourite, ‘Keeping Up Appearances,’ even though she has dementia this still makes her laugh, every time and at the right places. I love to watch Mum laughing. Then after that we watch, ‘Birds of a Feather,’ she loves that too, and then we watch her other favourite, ‘Judge Judy,’ she loves it when Judge Judy gets cross with them. I really enjoyed my dinner eating it unhurried, and quality time with my Mum I stay until the paid carer arrives at nine, and then I go home.

It’s a long journey home; I get in and some of the cats think I am going to feed them! I wash my hands, Mum taught me to always do that, as a Nurse, I put my slippers on, settle down to watch my favourite Law and order, Special Victims Unit, and soon fall asleep!

Thankfully, I can rewind back an hour to catch-up on what I have missed. I’d been up since 6am and now it was almost 10pm.