Shopping..bleh, dentist...bleh, little lambs...aw...!

Well, I thought I had gotten away with it and was happily playing mahjong on the pc while daydreaming about stash (as you do), when Dad mentions the 'S' word...sigh! Thats shopping and for those who dont know - as an experience when accompanied by Dad, thats up there with the 'i' word....bleh!

So we set off for Tescos and how bad can it be, its not five minutes in the car - but unfortunately in the middle of that five minutes is a little roundabout...and nine times out of ten that equals whiplash for yours truly! And he has the cheek to tell me that Im hard on the brakes...ggrrrrr! Today was a corker...kind of two or three staggered whiplashes in a row as we approached said roundabout, so I was a wreck before the ordeal had even got going...sigh!

Around the store things do not get any better. Dad refuses to get out of anyones way, and grumbles...rather too loudly at times, about the various people milling about - comments mostly consist of "just look at the state of that" referring to just about anyone not dressed by Bon Marche or Man at Burton! There are other less savoury comments too, but I couldnt possibly print them here, but suffice to say....I try to keep my distance and pretend that Im not with him! One day he will get a punch on the nose if he's not careful!

At the checkout of course, its a bit tricky to disown him, so I just huff and puff and try to keep him quiet as he is groaning about the people in front, who...the cheek of them, take more than 30 seconds rootling for their money!

From Tescos, I then usually plant Dad on a bench while I pop into Subway for yummies. By the time I come out, he has seen so many versions of 'look at the state of that', and I hear all about it - quite loudly, as we travel down the escalator with other customers ear'oling and head back to the car.......for the journey home.....sigh!

This can be the scariest part of the experience to be honest, as it involves backing out of a space, negotiating through a car park which is stupidly designed, driving over a zebra crossing - at which Dad will not stop, pulling out onto a little road (when its your turn ideally!), and then another little roundabout. I just cover my eyes now and hope for the best...its all too much to bear, and to some extent, Im beyond caring by this point!

I would like to add at this point, that my fears are not totally ungrounded - he does have history! Not least when we took delivery of the new car before this one - it wasnt 3 days old when he scraped down the side of it on a barrier - in that very car park! And he has gone into the back of a bus, another car at a roundabout - I wasnt with him then, that was my poor late mothers bad fortune (oh Mum, I know what you mean now!!!)...and absolutely of course - it was THEIR fault, not his....yeah right Dad!

Anyway, today we survived unscathed (apart from my nerves) and arrived home just in time for a quick cuppa before I headed out for my next highlight of the day....the dentist....again! However, this was not as stressy as most visits as it was just to fit my new crown - no pain, no arguments...for a change! It is however a bit of a long drive away, so I decided to take my new camera with me and on the way home, stop off and take some piccies of the beautiful countryside that we are blessed with in these parts. I have made a little slide show below, and you will find sheep and horses aswell as lots of trees and fields lol! It was a shame that it was so cloudy as the views are so much nicer on a clear day....but its all a bit of practice with my new toy, and I was thrilled to find the mummies with their cute little lambs! These are the kinds of lovely views I enjoy on my way to work each morning...lucky me eh!

Oh well, I think I have a free day tomorrow - no appointments and definitely NO shopping! Hopefully I will find my way back to that layout...my week is running out!

Righty, I just have to check my lottery tickets....so if you dont see me again, I will probably be jetting off to NYC!

Take it easy and thanks for popping by!
Sue x