Z de-creases

Tim will be off-road for the next few months, having had a medical incident that means the DVLA has had to be told about it, and 6 months’ wait is standard.  As he’d gone down to Reading in his own car three weeks ago, and was advised not to drive back – though it wasn’t actually illegal to do so – he had to put me on his insurance and the first time I drove the small but nippy 3 litre jalopy was through Reading and on the motorways.  And that was okay but I’ve driven automatics for a number of years now and so a clutch and 6 gears was something to reckon with.

All is fine, Tim is fine and it’s all precautionary.  We’re going to be together all the time from now on – we’d efficiently spread ourselves for the last year or so, but one always looks for the best in any situation and we intend to do nice things when we visit Reading together.

The *nice thing* we did today, however, was try out the new iron.  I decided against a steam press in the end.  I wasn’t convinced it would be the best way of dealing with the tablecloths.  I have, however, bought one of those irons with a separate reservoir and we used it for the first time.  It certainly cuts through the shirt ironing and also steams out creases on a hanging-up jacket.  I’m building myself up to try the tablecloth – I’m sure that, at the least, it’ll be much better than my previous iron.

The good news from next door is that Rose’s Lawrence has finished his course of chemotherapy.  Now he has to recover from that, of course, but he’s coped very well and she’s been a real brick.

I’ve also bought a carpet shampooer.  I’m clearly turning into a domestic goddess.  Not before time.

10 comments on “Z de-creases

  1. Mike and Ann.

    Please give Tim my sympathy. I too, a year ago nearly, was given ‘medical advice’ not to drive any more. For the last few years Ann has been doing most of the driving, but it’s been nice to know that I could take over when she tired if it became desirable. It’s rather frustrating; but we’ve rearranged our lifestyle as necessary, and got used to it. Tell Tim I blame this Anno Domini stuff they’ve been dishing out this last few years, that has caused our problems.

    Warm regards to you both, Mike and Ann.

    Reply
    1. Z Post author

      Pretty sure it’s a one off, but it was scary. Russell had to have his licence renewed annually for the last year or two of his life – and actually, he wasn’t a very good driver any more, having always been an excellent one. I agree, very frustrating. Warmest regards to you too xx

      Reply
    2. Z Post author

      Yes, it’s a difficult thing to get used to – fingers crossed for Tim that it’s temporary. He had a seizure, out of the blue – as a one-off, it’s just one of those things and we have no reason to expect more; but then we didn’t expect this one.

      Reply
  2. Allotmentqueen

    I thought steam presses were intended for tablecloths and napkins, after all apart from handkerchiefs and sheets, they’re the only things that are flat! As the only things I iron are shirts and T-shirts, oh and jeans and pillowcases, I’ve always thought steam presses were not for me.

    You need to keep Tim closer to hand if he’s going to have ‘incidents’.

    Glad that Lawrence is doing well. Much love to them.

    But carpet shampooer – jeez, that is so 60s!

    Reply
  3. Z Post author

    I wasn’t convinced that a steam press would do the heavily embroidered and laced Victorian tablecloths. i asked the manufacturer and was referred to YouTube – which is pretty well unusable now there are random long ads – and a woman took about ten minutes to iron a shirt, which was less appealing than watching a test card. They didn’t deserve my business so they didn’t get it. The iron is pretty good, whipped through the ironing in no time, though the button for continuous steam is really awkward.

    Moments of success count. I’m getting to the age when anything positive counts, frankly.

    Reply
  4. How do we know

    I am sure Tim will be better and driving around soon. We use a steam iron at home for pretty much everything and you are right…just zips through the creases and all done in very little time.

    Take care, Z.

    Reply
    1. Z Post author

      He feels absolutely fine and is being very patient about not driving. I’m still getting over the shock!

      I’ve always had an ordinary steam iron, but this has a big separate reservoir for the water, I’m not sure how it works so effectively, but it’s quicker and better than anything I’ve used before.

      Reply
  5. 63mago

    …”small but nippy 3 litre jalopy” … let Tim take all the time he needs for a full recovery ….

    It is a bit of a surprise when all of a sudden someone tells you that driving is a big no-no. I only understood when my boss’s right-hand-man came by and wrestled the car keys out of my hands …

    Best wishes for a speedy & full recovery to Tim ! Best wishes for LAwrence.

    Reply
    1. Z Post author

      Yes, one doesn’t understand any sort of disability when it happens to oneself. Tim really is fine, it was a sudden thing that he recovered from completely – but it may happen again. If it does, they’ll be considering epilepsy, but it’s just as likely to be a one-off and the longer he goes without it happening again, the more likely one is to shrug and put it down to a random occurrence. I haven’t seen Lawrence for a few days, he’s recovering from the poison of the chemotherapy, but we hope that test results will be good. Thank you, lovely friend 🙂

      Reply

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