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House and home

Softly, softly catchy monkey!

(29 Posts)
phoenix Mon 29-Aug-16 17:01:25

Me "darling, are you busy?"

Mr P " no, why?"
Me "would you mind getting some glass cleaner and kitchen roll and giving the tv screen a wipe while I do the coffee table and the bookcase?"

So enter Mr P.

I clear the mantle piece of the candle sticks, polish it and as if on auto pilot, he starts to clean the mirror.smile

As I went out to get the washing in, he was last seen making a start on the glass on the pictures!wink

Alima Mon 29-Aug-16 17:09:37

Bless, just needed a prod!

phoenix Mon 29-Aug-16 17:36:57

Needs another one now, he's sitting down again!grin

Alima Mon 29-Aug-16 17:38:56

What time can he clock off?

phoenix Mon 29-Aug-16 17:56:17

Not so much "time" Alima more a case of how much gets done!

However, the sun is very nearly over the yardarm, so perhaps the rest can wait.

Charleygirl Mon 29-Aug-16 18:05:28

phoenix he can always practice here!

phoenix Mon 29-Aug-16 20:02:28

Charleygirl he's been a bit lax of late, however he brought me tea in bed this morning, which to be honest he usually does, and then did the washing up from last night's supper. (We don't have a dishwasher, and as we had used the ancient rotisserie, it had to be left to cool, by which time we had gone through to the sitting room, so although the dishes had been rinsed and stacked, they hadn't been washed up blush ) OK, so line me up for slut of the week bad housewife of the week award!

I must say that although he is a stranger to operating the washing machine, and seems to have some sort of blind spot when it comes to vacuuming, he takes some beating when it comes to oven cleaning!grin

Charleygirl Mon 29-Aug-16 20:23:10

If he was ever out of a job, maybe he could set himself up like Ovenu and clean ovens locally.

Auntieflo Tue 30-Aug-16 09:25:57

I think my DH definitely has a blind spot . At the moment he has relegated the dishwasher to the back burner, and is washing up by hand confused He does a great job, albeit taking ages and ages, but singing whilst working . Then I come into the kitchen and lo and behold the two water glasses are still unwashed on the side, same as the night before. All dirty dishes are stacked on the left of the sink. Quite a few get ignored. He has been known to wash up one plate and cutlery, but leave both cups! I sigh and run another bowl of soapy water. This morning I went to open the back door, no keys. They also were not on the hook. They were on the garage door hook. Where were the garage door keys? They were in the door. At the back of the house, not the front. He's off put in a mo, was going to get the bus, but has decided to take the car, I hope it's where it should be. [ smile]. Probably shouldn't be on this thread, but Phoenix caught my imagination and I just went

Teetime Tue 30-Aug-16 09:34:15

My DH is a paragon of virtue he does all the hoovering and dusting, all the ironing, most of the gardening, all the decorating (but we don't do a lot) and looks after the cars. We would starve and die of thirst if we waited for him to feed/water us. He has other skills but I expect you don't want to hear about those. He was of course beautifully trained by me. grin

moobox Tue 30-Aug-16 11:15:30

But when they do vacuum they put a lot of time into it as if it has never been vacuumed before

inishowen Tue 30-Aug-16 11:34:55

My DH is a very smart man who teaches people to fly. However it seems he can't operate a dish washer, or washing machine. I don't mind, he does all the cooking instead. I keep telling him to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher instead of the sink, but he won't do it. He also insists on rinsing dishes before I put them in the machine.

Mrsdof Tue 30-Aug-16 12:18:12

I think I am just incredibly lucky my DH does everything, and I mean everything! I consider ironing to be my job, but he will do it if necessary and does it well. Before he retired he did shift work, so depending on which shift he was on he did everything before and after his shifts. While I was out at work he automatically cleaned the house, did the washing, the shopping and looked after the garden. He's a pretty good cook and he also does all the decorating. He can't sit still and has to be doing something so it's a bonus for me. wink

Charleygirl Tue 30-Aug-16 12:24:04

Mrsdof if he has any extra energy my lounge/diner needs redecorating- paint, not wall paper please. He sounds amazing-I did not know that there were any men out in the big wide world who could and did do so much.

Juney64 Tue 30-Aug-16 14:16:17

Yikes, I may be an exception here. My hubby has always done the DIY over the years and he's very good at it. However, since he's retired he's started doing things like washing up, hoovering, polishing and - to my horror, he put a washing on the other day. Some would say that I should be grateful but I'm not. The truth is that it privately irritates me to death when he does what I consider to be 'my jobs' and they have been for 40 years. I always took great pleasure in cleaning one room, (with my music on and sometimes having a wee dance as I went) stopping to admire my handy work, then moving on to the next room. I feel that my small but important (to me) pleasure has been taken from me. I don't say anything as he has such a lovely nature and I know I'm very fortunate in that respect. However, I'd be really interested to know if anyone else feels the same?

Synonymous Tue 30-Aug-16 15:26:25

Retirement can be quite a difficult period of adjustment as we feel our way journeying to the new normal. Masses of give and take required and a chance to do things differently. Seeing all the comments on this thread and the way in which the lads are trying to muck in it seems that so many of us are truly blessed in the lovely lads we have in our lives!

wine Here's to the lads - and their lasses!

angie95 Tue 30-Aug-16 16:03:00

Phoenix. would Mr P, like to do my pictures etc, will give the going rate, a cup of tea and two custard cremes xx

angie95 Tue 30-Aug-16 16:05:35

I do have to hold my hands up. Mr A95 does wash up and cook,(he;s so much better than I am) but DIY,, HMM We have a CD player that has wanted to be connected since oooh January!! haha

hulahoop Tue 30-Aug-16 18:40:27

Sounds like most of us are with men who help love em?

Lilyflower Tue 30-Aug-16 19:09:03

My dear OH has a hissy fit every single time he unpacks the dishwasher as there is always something still damp. It's worse if there's a speck on something. I try to head him off at the pass but he thinks he's the only one who can pack and unpack a dishwasher. (He can't!)

Bless. He's a really nice man.

margaretrose Tue 30-Aug-16 19:13:02

JUney yes I know what you mean I feel as if my DH has taken my life away after it being my job

Lilypops Wed 31-Aug-16 08:36:47

June, I know what you mean too, I felt my oh was taking over my world when he retired doing my jobs even telling me how they should be done( he,s out of intensive care now)!!!! , I liked to get on with the housework after he had gone out to work with my music on ,, now , he turns it down, says it's too loud,,
He tries to keep within his boundaries I.e gardening , diy , but one thing really irks me is , when he offers to hang out the washing, I like socks hung together, pyjamas tops hung next to their bottoms, and shirts, tops hung from the hems,he won't do that, he says , does it matter which way, Well it does to me , I have been doing it that way for 48 years, or am I just a bit OCD ??

POGS Wed 31-Aug-16 10:47:53

I just feel ashamed I have never wiped the t.v nor pictures with a glass cleaner. I wondered why my picture of a country garden looked as though the morning mist had arrived. smile

Charleygirl Wed 31-Aug-16 11:38:22

Lilypops I hang clothes out as you do- there is less creasing if done properly. I have started to match the colour of the pegs and do not have eg white pegs hanging up a white T shirt. I try to pin up a blue peg with another blue one etc. I have packed and am waiting for the men in white coats to take me for a lovely rest.

Gaggi3 Wed 31-Aug-16 19:04:16

If my DH started cleaning I'd think he was a stranger who had entered my home. He does shop and cook but laundry and cleaning are a mystery to him and DIY bores him. He once painted half a ceiling, many years ago, and then lost interest. No prizes for guessing who had to finish it.