Ghost Room

 Since my mother took to her bed we hardly use the living room. The TV's in there but if there's something to be watched Ailz and I watch it on our laptops. I go in in the morning to raise the metal shutters (like the ones they have on shops on run-down estates) and again in the evening to run them down and that's about it. It crossed my mind that we should start calling it "the ghost room".

We had a ghost room in my childhood home. The grown-ups called it the dining room but we only used it when my grandparents came over at Christmas. It was colder than every other room and I didn't like going in alone or even passing its open door. I don't believe there was an actual ghost in there, it just felt like there should be.

This house wasn't designed to accommodate a stair-lift. The stairs are in the wrong place and only just wide enough and wherever you park the chair is inconvenient. There are three possible positions- firstly at the top of the stairs, secondly halfway up-  in both of which it becomes an obstacle to be wriggled round if you're carrying a tray or basket of clothes- and thirdly at the bottom of its track where it completely blocks the doorway to the living-room. In the past we've always opted for positions one or two but if we're not using the living room why not go for number three? 

Fussy Eaters

We gave my mother a nice piece of salmon for her lunch. She ate the chips and the kale that went with it and left the fish almost untouched. I'm guessing she saw this big lump of unidentified something and thought "I can't be bothered to cut that up."

So we gave the salmon to the cat. He also ignored it. I'm guessing he thinks it's not cat food unless it comes swimming in jelly or gravy.