Day off? Don't be daft.

The final bit of trim went on the boxing in the cupboard last night.

He didn't like how I'd organised the shelves, and I was making hard work for myself by having the rest of the cupboards organised how I had and I had no idea how to utilise space, and he'd organise them when he got up this morning because he knew I was going to do it wrong anyway, and "no, I won't show you how I want them done now, I'm going to watch how you do it, and then tell you where you've gone wrong" and I just lost the will to live. Anyhoo, it gave me the incentive to do it anyway - just to piss him off, I know it's the wrong attitude to take, but I really couldn't have cared less last night. It's been a hell of a week with this kitchen and I just wanted it to be over. He got up this morning and he's more than happy with the cupboards, except for my cookery books - he'd have them turned the other way round, so he did, and I let him. The comment "Although why you have cookery books I don't know, it's not like you ever cook or bake" made me bite my tongue.

He went out yesterday to cut grass and came home with a pancake pan thingy. His sister had told me that he'd been to the Salvation Army place, and my heart sank. I've been emptying cupboards and clearing things out, and I just knew that he'd come home with something, and he did. So this morning I made pancakes. "Use the recipe that's on the pancake pan thingy's box, because I've never liked your pancakes". Never liked my pancakes? Bloody hell, he certainly manages to pack away a lot of pancakes that he doesn't like, but again, bit my tongue. "These are better than your pancakes" was the high praise I received after his third one, so it's the recipe I shall use in future. I have found a home for the box of the pancake pan thingy so it ended well.

Today is meant to be a day off (what is a day off I hear you ask... Well. I don't know.) Whilst hoovering and dusting and cleaning the shower and dusting the skirting boards he's had me hold the tape measure (how I hate the tape measure) up against the kitchen window trying to work out whether this blind or that blind from the lovely people at Argos would fit. Now to me it would be easier to take the measurement of the window and then match it to whichever blind he's looking at, but nah. Why? We'll take the measurement from the blind we're looking at and see if it fits the window. About four attempts later and we have one that fits and I was to order it. "I've sent the reservation number to your phone hubby" says I. That went down well, no, it really did. He was happy with that. He asked me for a shopping list so that he could get some provisions whilst in the land of the shops (never before have I been asked for a shopping list) and off he's tootled. Dear only knows what extras will come home from the land of the shops, but it only adds to the excitement of putting the shopping away...

The girl's fettle is a bit of a mixed bag today. I think it's because hubby has been a bit uppy downy with his fettle. He's either been lovely or he's been shouty (more of the latter) and it's confusing. A friend of hubby's popped round yesterday to see him, but he was away cutting grass. He said he was pleased to catch me when he wasn't home because he hasn't been able to chat when hubby's about, and phone calls are a pain because either hubby's here with me, or there with him. I asked him how he found hubby at the minute and he looked at me and said he's noticed a difference. His moods are a little bit unsettled and he's either up or down. He mentioned that he's repeating himself a lot and he just wasn't sure how to respond to this. I simply said that if hubby is having a moment and loses his temper and starts to shout that he should let him finish his shout. If he doesn't it'll either make him more cross or he'll start the shout from the beginning. When he's repeating himself, just pretend it's the first time he's heard it because saying that he's already said it will just upset him because he obviously can't remember saying it previously and it won't help anybody, him or friend.

I must admit, when he left I had a bit of a weepy moment. It's one thing noticing these things myself, wondering whether I'm imagining it, noticing things that aren't there or if I'm looking for things, but when someone else mentions that they've noticed a difference it makes it real, and that's another little decline. It's just cruel this illness called Dementia. Unkind and cruel.

So whilst he's away getting the blind, I think I might go and look in a cookery book I don't need, to make something that I don't make so he can have it when he gets home :o)