Positive thoughts

There are times when it feels as though I take two steps back for every one step forward.  Sometimes it feels very much like that even though the reverse is true.  Yesterday was one of those times.  Blogger was still frustratingly refusing to show more than the latest post on any of the blogs in my reading list.  I spent another frustrating half hour trying to find a way round the problem, referring to the Blogger help site and Blogger's forum, all to no avail.  All I found was a reference, dated last Friday, to the fact that Blogger was aware of the problem and working to resolve it.  And success has attended their efforts as, this morning at least, all is back to normal.  That's one positive!

During the last few days I seem to have spent an inordinate amount of time just standing around waiting.  Waiting for the Old Bat to get herself in position for me to help her out of bed, waiting while she was in the bathroom to help her back to bed, waiting for this and waiting for that.  Thankfully, the OB has got up this morning and is, it would seem, able to be a little more active around the house.  With luck, I won't have to cook tonight!  Another positive.

There was a ring on the doorbell yesterday and a courier stood on the step with the most enormous cardboard box.  I was expecting something to be delivered, but didn't expect a package two feet square and two feet six deep.  Anyway, I opened it and, nestling among screwed up newsprint and piles of shredded paper, double wrapped in bubble wrap, it was what I had been expecting.  My grandfather's and father's medals duly cleaned, remounted and framed, like this:

But there has been frustration as well.  I have spent quite a long time preparing a list of grocery products for the Lions to buy from a local supermarket to donate to a food bank.  The list was checked by people from the food bank.  I traipsed round the supermarket in an attempt to see what quantities each item is packed in; no point ordering 30 tins of something if they are packed in dozens.  I checked the stores web site for the product reference numbers.  Yesterday, I went to do a little shopping and spoke to the duty manager, giving her a copy of the list and explaining what it was all about.  I admit, I was hoping to be offered a discount.  But what I got was a shock.  She told me she thought they would be unable to sell us the goods.

I must have looked gob-smacked, and I asked, incredulously, "You don't want to sell us a thousand pounds worth of food?"

She explained that she wasn't being awkward, but that the store has no control over ordering so they would be unable to order things in especially for us.  She did promise that she would have the grocery manager ring me today - but I'm not holding my breath.

I'll try ringing other supermarkets to see if they might be a little more public-spirited.  But it's frustrating all the same.

I can see that I might need to make several visits, one to buy 96 tins of peas, 96 of carrots, 60 bags of rice, 60 jars of coffee and so on.  Luckily there is space in the garage - if I declutter first!