Friday 19 August 2011

A silverfish in the gravy and other strange events

I've officially done my back in. The doctor has prescribed a week off work, plus co-codamol and 'gentle pottering'. No-one would choose to be ill or in pain, but when you've been on the go for a while it's quite a relief to have somebody order you to stop. For the first time in ages I sat in the garden today, without feeling obliged to get up and deal with weeds, untidy lawn edges or holes dug by Harvey. Oh, and from the funny rash on my hands I think I've also developed primula allergy which is another good reason to leave the garden to its own devices for bit.

A few days ago I watched a neighbour reverse off their drive, slap bang into their other neighbour's car! Of course I wouldn't have been so amused if they'd reversed into my car, but happily Mr F. Focus was safely tucked up in the drive.

The following night I opened the gravy granules to find a silverfish running round inside. How did the silverfish get in the gravy? It sounds like a joke, but I'm rubbish at punchlines so maybe someone else can suggest one. I threw the gravy out, by the way, as it was nearly gone anyhow.

Yesterday I managed to write about three lines of a story. They're good lines, I think, so that's OK. If I do another three later my story might be finished by Christmas. Speaking of which I've actually seen some 2012 calendars in the shops! No wonder we feel we're constantly racing against the clock, with retailers so keen to rush us into next year already!

Well, excuse me for dashing off again but my back won't let me sit at the computer for long. Must be time for some more of that gentle pottering.

24 comments:

Teresa Ashby said...

Definitely a title for a story there A Silverfish in the Gravy!
Sorry you've hurt your back - take it easy!

larainydays said...

Here's hoping your back improves and that you enjoy your pottering. I love that word. American's potter, but they don't know that is what they're doing.

joanne fox said...

Thanks Teresa, I'll see if I can work it into a story!

Laraine, pottering was always one of my favourite activities and I put my bad back entirely down to the fact that I haven't done enough of it lately.

Old Kitty said...

Dashing off?!?!?! Walk slowly! LOL!! Awwww I'm so sorry to hear your back's gone and you have this allergy! Please do take care and yay for your story!!! Silver fish in gravy!??! Heston Blumenthal might be interested!! Take care
x

joanne fox said...

Oh sorry, dashing is a habit! Good idea on the menu suggestion!

Frances Garrood said...

So sorry about your back, Joanne. As for the silverfish in the gravy, it sounds like the title of a James Thurber story (do you know him?).

Patsy said...

Dash slowly and recover quickly.

joanne fox said...

Frances, I love James Thurber and I find him especially funny when he writes about animals. I don't know that he wrote about silverfish - but if he had it would have been hilarious!

Thanks Patsy, I'll try.

hydra said...

I wonder why they are called silverfish when they can't swim? Or maybe they can and take secret dips in your mineral water and bottle of wine late at night!

joanne fox said...

That's a very good point Hydra. A siverfish in the chardonnay is definitely not something I'd fancy.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Sorry to hear about your back, Joanne, but every cloud has a silver (fish) lining. Enjoy taking life a little more slowly. I'm away to peer into my gravy granules now!

joanne fox said...

Take a good look Rosemary because the silverfish and the gravy granules were a very similar colour! Just lucky I saw it move before I made the gravy.

Jenny Woolf said...

Sorry about your back. I really hope it is better soon. Sitting around in the garden sounds moderately pleasant, though - better without the backache. Beats me how bugs get into sealed containers too. I once was plagued by horrid little moths that got into the flour no matter how carefully I cleaned out the jar.

joanne fox said...

Eeeh - moths in the flour? Yukk!

Keith Havers said...

Sorry about your back. Time to take it easy and enjoy the rest of the Summer.

joanne fox said...

Thank you Keith.

Rachna Chhabria said...

A silverfish in the Gravy is a perfect picture book title. Take it easy, Joanne :)

joanne fox said...

You too Rachna, thanks.

broken biro said...

Ouch! Sounds like you need some r&r.
p.s. There are officially no punchlines to the silverfish in the gravy, but i agree with everyone else that it's a great title! 8-)

penandpaints said...

Aw, I hope you feel better soon! It's difficult relaxing when you're used to dashing about. As for the silverfish, how do these little things get in? It's not nice. I once had a flour problem too, with really tiny bugs inside. I think they must have been in the paper it was packaged in. Shudder. I've since only bought small packets of flour that I use up quickly and don't have to store.
I am going to be wary of the Bisto now!

Denise Covey said...

Hi Joanne. Seems ages since I've visited and vice versa. Sorry to hear about your back but it sounds like your life is still pretty exciting! Hope you get your story finished!

Denise

joanne fox said...

Thanks Broken Biro.

Pen and Paints, it's a mystery sometimes how bugs find ways in!

L'Aussie - gosh I've actually finished a story! Having a tricky back is not all bad.

Suzanne Ross Jones said...

Hope you're feeling better. XX

My gran once got a shock when she found a large beetle in a tin of pilchards. She sent it back and got a case of pilchards as an apology, but had gone off them for some reason.

joanne fox said...

Lol - I can certainly see how that would put a person off pilchards!