I normally get a lift home from my boss, and she's only to happy to make such diversions (not least because it helps propel me out of my parents' home), but this week she's been rushing home early because her husband has been in hospital all week with breathing problems which turned out to be heart-related.
So when it looked like I wasn't going to get to Ikea, my mother offered to take a few things over there. I rather snappily refused, insisting that I'd take whatever I needed myself, and started drawing up contingencies...
After all, what does one really need to make a bed? There's a sofabed already there, and I could make do with the cushions from that as pillows. My mother's suggestion that pillowcases from home would somehow make them "more hygienic" was promptly laughed at, not least because the average pillowcase is made of fairly thin fabric and, let's face it, I've already dozed on the sofa.
I reasoned that all I truly needed was a sheet to put on the mattress and a blanket. With much reluctance (and having to be torn away from the TV) my mother agreed and helped me find suitable things.
Part of my stupidly large collection of t-shirts also came with me, because there's way more storage space at the flat than at home (how long will it take for me to refer to the flat as 'home', I wonder?), with a five-drawer unit for the clothes that won't fit in the wardrobe, which is much larger than the fitted one in my bedroom at home.
So I went to work with a stuffed backpack, expecting to have to haul it to the flat after work.
But, of course, one of my designers is still in hospital and my boss had been talking about paying her a visit with flowers and a card, but hadn't got round to it. This proved rather fortunate for me as she suggested I tag along, and she'd deposit me at the flat on her way out of town.
Visiting hours at the hospital turned out to be rather awkward, so we ended up leaving at only 2pm, much to the surprise of my team...
It turned out very well for me, though, as we stopped off at a Tesco along the way, intending to pick up flowers (or a plant, as my boss was sure flowers wouldn't be allowed on the ward), but also picking up everything I needed to make the bed - mattress protector, fitted sheet, duvet, pillows and a duvet/pillow case set... as well as a new dustpan and brush, because I'd noticed my parents had managed to break the one that was already there.
The hospital visit was a bit grim. My designer is looking fairly well, but it seems she has Lupus and the joint infections may be related to that. While she kept talking about being back at work next week - aiming for Monday - our boss pointed out that it would be better to get well before even considering returning to work.
Oh, and the plant wasn't allowed. It had to be set aside to be collected by her mother later.
On the way over to the flat, my boss mused that it was strange the girl wore so much makeup when she looked so much better without. It's possibly just a personal thing - many girls do - or it may be related to the Lupus, if it manifests itself with skin inflammation.
Once at the flat, I quickly unloaded everything and dashed back down to the car, as my boss had further offered to drop me off at a tiling shop so I could look into tiles for my new kitchen. Everything there looked great for bathrooms, but not so good for kitchens. Their brochure helpfully labels all the tiles with icons indicating suitability for bathroom, kitchen, flooring, etc... but that didn't seem to affect this.
The bizarre thing, as my mother pointed out yesterday, was that I was offering all kinds of interior design suggestions when she was redecorating the house... but now it's my space that needs designing, I'm coming up blank all the time.
I left the tile shop with their catalogue, intending to read it thoroughly back at the flat.
The evening was fairly dull, the tedium interrupted only by a phone call from my boss (husband back home having finally had the ultrasound scan of his heart that revealed the true - containable but sadly incurable - malaise) and the hour and forty minutes of Kiki's Delivery Service - a movie guaranteed to raise one's spirits.
I headed to bed and had a terrible time getting to sleep in a bed that, while about a foot wider than my wallbed, kept making me think I was about to fall out of it.
Eventually I dropped off - though I'd spent several hours cursing that I'd not brought a book along - and slept fitfully, waking up early enough to do a bit of tidying up and watch some terrible kids TV before heading off to the chiropractor.
So far, the rest of the weekend has been fairly idle. That said, the weather has turned rather cold and when, so I'm not well inclined to go out anywhere... and there's not really enough light to do any worthwhile photography.
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