The mystery of the lenses

Recently, I ordered a pair of distance glasses from here. I got a pair of glasses that I was very pleased with, with transition lenses and a second pair (basic) free and so I then decided to send my current frames to them for reglazing as reading glasses. They had previously been varifocals, used almost entirely for driving and never mistreated, thrown about, sat on or otherwise mishandled in any way and I had only had them for a year, but after my recent eye examination, I had decided I preferred separate reading and distance glasses.
So glasses were sent off and I waited. In due course, I had an email telling me that they were very busy but still hoped to have my glasses back to me within 14 days, then another one last Thursday, saying they were in the lab being reglazed. Yesterday, I had a curt phone call informing me that they had been unable to procede as the frame was damaged and the screw wouldn't hold. I pointed out that I had only had the frames for a year and they had always been looked after but got no response to this, merely an assurance that they would be returned to me and my money refunded.
This morning, said glasses were duly delivered by our friendly post-lady, and when I looked at them, one lens was already in place and the other, plus the screw was still loose in the case, but when I tried them on, the lenses were most definitely not mine, either old or new prescription. These were far stronger than mine, so I range them up and ...
got nowhere.
The basic message was, 'Well, you're getting your money back, so what is your problem, we may possibly have put the wrong lenses in but we are not admitting to that and it is such a rare occurrence as to be beyond consideration.'
This is a company which apparently sets great store by customer reviews; I had two emails from them inviting mine after my first order but, for the record, Glasses Direct, this time, you didn't step up to the mark and I have now ordered my reading glasses elsewhere.
The thought has also occurred to me that my frames were actually broken by you, as I know they were in good condition when I sent them in packaging provided by you. Of course, I can't prove that, but it would have been nice for you to come clean.

More holes

Today will be Gardening Day, but it will also be hoovering, dusting and tidying up day as we have friends coming for dinner this evening. But yesterday, was 'ladies who lunch' day in Chester with friends Gill and Julie. Chester, of course, was indulging in its favourite pastime...

Yep, that's right, closing roads and digging holes.

Oh, and of course, there were the usual eccentric characters around.

Anyone lost an elephant?

Drilling holes - part deux

The hole finally got drilled and the outside tap duly fitted. What didn't do much for my blood pressure was the discovery that, by sheer good luck, Keith managed to drill neatly between two water pipes which, unknown to us, were running through the cavity in the wall. The drill missed both by millimetres!

Paddy wasn't worried though. He was busy sunbathing.

Drilling holes

Today is hole-drilling day, which means that Keith has borrowed the biggest drill bit he could lay his hands on, tucked himself under the sink and proceded to drill a hole through the wall. The idea is that we should have an outdoor tap, which will be handy for watering the garden (doubt if we'll ever need to do that!) and washing the caravan, the car and his van.
Of course, in  good male, time-honoured fashion, the job is currently unfinished. The drill bit wasn't quite long enough to go through the back of the cupboard, the space between it and the wall and the wall itself, so the hole has not reached the outside, which doesn't bode well for the tap.
At one o'clock, he had to leave it to go out, so it looks like the kitchen will be in a mess for more than just today.
On the bright side, maybe I have an excuse not to cook tonight!

Mystery fencing

Today Paddy and I walked past the new houses being built down the road. Being of an inquisitive nature, I wanted to see how they were coming along and the answer to that was, quite well, I suppose and one or two of the plots or houses are sold already. A little further on, down the lane that leads through the wooded area overlooking the lake, I noticed this fencing.

The wooden stakes are about three feet high and the black in between is some sort of fabric, but I've never seen a fence like it before.
Needs further investigation, perhaps...
Or maybe I just need to get a life!

Mi pluma, tu pluma

One pen I have, sitting, neatly aligned with its accompanying pencil at the top left hand corner of the coffee table. (Keith has a theory that I am a bit obsessive compulsive as I also line the remotes up in the bottom left hand corner. As if!)
Meanwhile, on NASA, there are at least a hundred (all-right, three or four) pens specifically for Keith's use when someone rings up and he needs to write down their details. There are also three or four small notepads.
So why can he never put his hand on a pen or pad when he needs them and why  does his hand immediately stretch out to the coffee table to pinch mine? And then, of course, why do I never get it back?

How did that happen?

"Do you think I've kept the sink nice and shiny?" asked Dad when I arrived on Thursday.
"I've moved that cable up the stairs because I knew you wouldn't be happy about it still being there when you got home," said Keith after I got back this afternoon.
After spending most of my adult life complaining that no-one ever takes any notice of things I say, it's a bit disconcerting, to say the least, to find at least two people apparently hanging on my every word.
How did I manage to do that, then?
Or is it something else that comes with advancing years?  :)