Friday 1st February, 2013          1500

I really have to find more energy. All I have done so far today is change the cat litter and take a shower! I am about to take Pepsi out for quarter of an hour then I must change the bed, cook the pet food for tonight and tomorrow and then I need to make a start on the lasagne. Qing is supposed to be arriving in two hours so I may pressgang her into chopping the veg, why not, she is going to eat it as well?!

1600

I came back, stripped the bed and then went to the drawer where I hide the key to the cupboard the bedding lives in. Nowhere to be seen. Don’t panic, sit down and try to remember if you decided to keep it in another place. Having turned out every drawer and cupboard in the place with no success I came to the conclusion I must have inadvertently left it in the lock the last time and Pooh had stolen it. Hands and knees with torch looking under units - still nothing. In desperation I upended the bed (no mean feat as it is solid wood all the way to the floor) for the first time in history.

There was a treasure trove of cigar stubs, dust, a drain cover from my bathroom, sweets, 2y in coins etc the cats have “lost” under there but no damned key. Thoroughly hacked off I sat down and thought about borrowing some of Kevin’s linen. I was becoming convinced either Qing had taken the key by mistake or I had done something old people do such as put it in the oven. I paced the flat looking for anywhere I might have missed and then stopped and leaned on the fridge/freezer. The fridge/freezer! The only place I hadn’t looked! Hoping against hope, I shifted that, also for the first time in history. No money under it, but nestling in the dust was the key! Who in their right mind keeps cats?

Qing is en route and I have so far managed to boil tonight’s dinner of pork bones but daren’t start on the duck gizzards for tomorrow as I will have to go and pick her up when her bus gets in. I don’t want to be messing about cooking too late tonight because the latest I can get up in the morning is 0630 depending on the bus times. Somehow I can’t see me watching the England v Scotland game that starts at midnight tomorrow!

1830

She is here now and has finished her work of chopping the vegetables. We are both tired so I am rushing a bit with it but don’t want to spoil it. The bus we want leaves around nine or shortly before so we do need an early one. The laptop will stay here so I will be offline until Sunday night. Sadly (for me) Qing will go straight from Hefei when we leave to Tongling. She says she will be back sometime as her dad wants me to teach her English but I have no idea when she will have the time - she is going to Lu’an for the festive period  and in all likelihood she will start Arabic soon thereafter.

But for now we have a weekend to enjoy. See you maybe Sunday night.