Cheer up!

It hasn't been a good day. I have spent most of it feeling tired and pretty sick about our general lack of progress in the Flat department. I spent a lot of yesterday trying to sort it out, but not getting very far really. Unaccountably, I feel guilty because I can't actually do anything about it - helpless and hopeless is where I'm at. I'm sure it has been worse today because I'm tired, but I'm teetering on the edge of misery a lot of the time. Son is being very stoical about it,and says that he'll cope whatever happens. I expect he will - he has the resilience of the young, but I do want to be able to make it right for both of them, Son and Daughter.

My young French Student has had an up and down week too, She found a job last week, in a French restaurant locally, but soon discovered that the owner was not quite what he seemed to be. He didn't pay her by the hour, but by the shift, and was rather cavalier about actually handing over any money. She had her tips - which were pretty good - but that was not the point. Anyway, she sussed him out and said she couldn't continue working for him while she was doing her language course. Next she went on to (eventually) find a flatshare, and now, this evening, she has gone off to another job - this time in the Arrogant Frog (a local French restaurant which is definitely named after its owner). She is due to leave me on Sunday and I do wish her well.

This evening my regular French Lady arrived for her three-day teaching stint. I made a risotto for dinner, with mushrooms, bacon and red wine for a change - actually it tasted very good. We had it with salad, and then some fresh pineapple with sour cream and pine nuts for dessert. Sadly, I could hardly bear to make conversation, which is not like me at all. If only I could feel a bit more cheerful. To compensate, I have eaten nearly all the chocolates Daughter bought me as a 'thank-you' for having Grandson. I'll be sorry in the morning...

My Brave Little Soldier.

There has been a change of energy today, thank heavens, and I'm feeling more positive - more like myself. This morning I thought I couldn't go on being negative, so decided to make things happen. And it worked. I phoned Estate Agents, spoke to both Son and Daughter, and got things moving. I have to say though that Estate Agents do get so much wrong. Two weeks ago we reduced the price on the flat, after much discussion with the agents, only for Son to discover today that the price still hadn't been reduced on the Internet, and, to make things worse, it didn't even appear on their company website! Wrong price. No pictures. No wonder we hadn't had any viewings! And the offer we had last week seems to have disappeared into outer space - no-one knows where the prospective buyer is. I know the offer wasn't great, but it was an offer! I rather felt like saying that they should be paying us to sell this flat, not the other way around. I hope it's all been sorted now, and we do have another viewing booked through our private website. Fingers (and everything else) crossed.

I'm expecting another foreign student this weekend, this time from Italy. She's a mature woman (fifty-something) and I will be providing breakfast and an evening meal for her, so I expect to have some tasty verbal titbits to regale you with. She will only be here for a week, and I'm going away at the end of that week, so it will be short and sweet.

Tomorrow it's my day with Grandson again, while Daughter works in the Beach Cafe. I'm collecting him from the cafe at 9.30 in the morning, and will probably have him until 6pm, unless the weather turns nasty and the cafe closes early. My new student arrives at about 4.30, so it will be a busy day. I'm hoping for some sunshine so that we can at least spend the morning by the sea or playing football. (Speaking of which, what a result my team had last night against Famagusta! 6 - 1 for the Spurs. That's what I call a decent scoreline.) Anyway, back to Grandson. He had a fall at the flat yesterday, slid on the polished floor and hit his little head on the corner moulding of the archetrave. It must have hurt like billyo, and he screamed. I felt as if I was going to be sick. He has a huge dark blue bruise on his forehead and a nasty red line down the centre - yet 10 minutes after his fall he was apparently fine. It just looks awful. He went off to pre-school quite cheerfully this morning, though, and when we went to collect him he insisted on kissing all the helpers goodbye. They are lovely ladies, and all gave him hugs and kisses in return. He's such a little darling - though I acknowledge that I may be slightly biased. I must get some photos of him and put them on this blog - if only I could work out how to do it...