Drains

Preparing for a holiday when leaving two grown boys at home alone is wearing, now they’re not little, one is 18 and one is 22, but….. They are old enough to cope but…..The main concern was the cats’ survival (I reckoned boys would be ok for a week they could always visit a friend’s for food) … So one litter locker later, extra cat food, new toys, scratch posts etc (for the cats)and I thought I had it sorted. Trip to Asda to find unpleasant, “boys who can’t cook” food – pot noodles, pizzas, .pork pies, orange juice and spinnach (their only nod to good health) and plenty loo rolls. Money left behind. Emergency numbers inserted on their phones….Eight page spreadsheet of daily tasks seemed to make everything clear e.g. “do not empty cereal bowls directly into bin, empty into sink then use sink drain to get the leftover cereal bits and put in bin” or “when removing bin bag, put inside another bin bag just in case you emptied cereal bowls directly into bin, this stops drips of sour milk landing throughout house when taking bin bag out..” or “when cooking chicken, defrost first, after your last cooking debacle”.  Spreadsheets stuck on fridge and in bedrooms and in hall. Anyway so it went on. A week later I return from Portugal to find the kitchen sink blocked, cats are ok, but dishwasher has flooded and 40 wet towels are over the floor. The party clear up had been very impressive as all I found was one bottle top down the back of the couch and a cigarette end in a bedroom, not bad, but probably a pretty poor party!. Dynorod visit, £150 lighter and I spend two days washing and drying towels, redoing the whole spreadsheet thing, more nasty food to leave, cat litter clear up etc and off I go to see my Dad in Chester. On arrival back home all appears well, but no…. I arrive back from work today to discover they’ve now blocked the toilet. Duh!!!! I’ve tried a plunger, an untangled metal coat hanger and rubber gloves to no avail. Back to dynorod who will come tomorrow, in the meantime we’re visiting the neighbour. …..

Anyway the holidays went fine, but I’m glad to be back at work for a rest from this keeping my boys right carry on. I’m taking a day off to go to Edinburgh for the day on Friday, I hate to think what they’ll block, burn or destroy.