Monday, December 21, 2009

Domestic arrangements

And then there's the matter of managing on other people's turf. No dixie cups in the bathroom, for taking pills or rinsing out the mouth purposes (I went out and bought some). No plastic wrap in the kitchen, although there are two rolls of waxed paper (I swear my mother and sister are the only people in the world who still use waxed paper), as well as a roll of some very strange stuff called Press'n Seal. The problem with it is that it's almost impossible to get it off what-ever you put it on. I mean sealed is the word.

What gets recycled where? How does the dishwasher work? (I've practically never in my life had or used a dishwasher.) Ditto, the washing machine. And my god, the television remote!

The hot water takes forever to "arrive," particularly at the bathroom sink, but even in the kitchen. I wait and wait.

I want to put a chair on the far side of Mother's bed, as that supplies the best angle for feeding her, but my sister objects to "too much stuff" between the bed and the couch, so I have to carry the chair around from the other side of the bed whenever I want to sit and feed Mother, then carry it back. And if J is already in that chair, I have to go out and fetch a chair (the one I'm wanting to leave in place all the time) from the breakfast room. This is known as keeping the peace.

But would you believe that the thing that drives me the craziest is that none of the plastic storage containers, of which there are a decent number, has a matching lid (of which there are even more). Maddening, getting the leftover food into a container, trying lid after lid, and none of them fits. How can this be? I've finally taken to using foil...but there's not much of that, so I need to get some more...

It all makes you miss home, where your preferred products are in place, you can put the furniture wherever it makes the most sense, and the hot water instantly appears.

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