Have a bad week…..

Last week generally was not very good…..  Well, Monday was OK, I think – just normal!

Tuesday, choir went really badly.  I couldn’t pick up or do anything right.  It was only afterwards that I realised that the altos had overlapped the second sopranos and I had one of the loudest of those behind me and that was why I couldn’t hear any altos and couldn’t work out what I should be doing!  Then when I went on to the charity shop the other lady who is usually there wasn’t – so less people to chat to – and the manager was having a bad day.  Her husband was away and they had a cow calving for whom the vet had to be called and do a caesarian and the calf died.  Triply bad as the calf was an embryo (cow version of IVF), the vet and the calf dying all cost….

Wednesday, I put a casserole in the oven and as I went to stir it before I went out, the oven handle came loose as I tried to open the door.  This loosened the glass panel, which fell on the floor ………  but didn’t break.  It took half an hour to work out how to get the panel back and sort out the handle (which runs along the top of the door, which opens downwards).  The oven was hot, of course, so I had to turn it off and let it cool a bit before I could fix it.  There seem to be 2 rubber bits left and I am not quite sure where they go…… All this naturally threw my plans for the day.

Thursday, the man who usually does the coffee machine most wasn’t there (other engagements) and the male, rather than the female manager, was in charge.  Nothing wrong with him, but he works differently and I am not used to it….. (Must be getting old and not liking change!)  I also discovered that the volunteers meal is at exactly the same time as the choir concert!  I would definitely prefer to be at the meal, but expect I will go to the concert, as we will have been working towards it for several weeks.

Friday, I woke up and the central heating had not come on and although the hot water was OK the heating wasn’t.  Phoned up the heating repair people and they could get me someone by the afternoon – between 12.00 and 18.00.  I phoned the charity shop to say I couldn’t be in during the afternoon and did they want me then, instead?  Yes; so I went in for about an hour and a quarter then home.  The repair man phoned about 10 minutes after I got in and was there in another 10 minutes.  He sorted it out quite quickly – it was the switching mechanism and a valve just needed lubrication.  I then had the afternoon to make the cakes I was going to make in the morning.

Saturday, the shower knob jammed.  This happens moderately often and can be sorted, but needs the tool box and some effort before having the shower or anything else.  Not a good start to the day.  In the afternoon I was helping with cups of tea and asked Fiona for a cup and I took one from her, but the second she was passing was half way to the floor before I realised there were two.  (Slow reactions of age?  I can say that now I have a bus pass!).  The cup naturally broke…….  Whose fault?  I would say six of one and half a dozen of the other (but then I would, wouldn’t I?).  I am slow at dealing with domestic problems like that – or the tea pot overflowing (NOT my fault, that one!)  Then at the end of the day there was loads of cake left over and having spent ages making it, I took back about 28 pieces of the about 50 I took.  Very disappointing – and there is no way I can eat 28 pieces of cake when I live alone.  It was interesting that there were none of the chocolate peppermint slices left though – it is the flapjacks which are popular among my friends and niece’s family.

So was it all bad?  Well no.

I worked out why choir didn’t go well.

The charity shop manager cheered up a bit and we got quite a lot done.

I did manage  to put the oven back together, without help (apart from those rubber pieces….) and get the casserole cooked.

I might learn to be more flexible in the cafe, which will be good.

I might get really nervous about the concert and wish I was at the meal, but I have an incentive to work hard on learning the songs.

The heating was repaired really quickly and I didn’t waste the whole day waiting for the repair man.

I did get the shower sorted.

One broken cup is not the end of the world and being aware of (more of) my limitations is good.

Giving away some cakes to some friends was a good incentive to go and see them and I can take flapjacks to housegroup.  And in going to see my friends I got an invitation to go to an orchestral concert, which will be a nice change.

So maybe:  “….in all things God works for the good of those who love him…..”  Romans 8:28   ?