People's reactions to what we see as "normal"

[Wotta Wally]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread.... I am not the only one! I'm fairly lucky - the guys at work and my friends are a bit in awe of what I do. One girl told her hubby what I am up to - chooks, jam, bees etc - and apparently his response to her was "why can't you do things like that?" She told him in no uncertain terms why not (had to do with working FT, looking after the kids and doing an OU degree) but it was sweet of her to tell me. The rest of the people at work are encouraging me to get a smallholding cos they can't w8 for me to get goats *chuckle*

I DO have a TV but rarely watch it 'cept to catch the news occasionally. So many people ask me how I get so much done and I tell them - turn off the TV of an evening, amazing how much can be achieved! I do get quite a few odd looks at that stage.

The ones tho' that do upset me is my parents. My father is interested in what I am doing and think that he wouldn't mind dabbling but it is my mother who upsets me - not intentionally but she really makes no sort of effort to even try and understand what I am doing. She rolls her eyes when I talk to her about composting or saving electricity (the rows we have had when I have gone up to my spare room when they are staying - she being downstairs - to find three lights on, turn them off then she has a go at me as she wants them all on "because it makes the room look cosy when she goes to bed"!!!!!! Suggesting the room would look just as cosy if she turned them on when she goes to bed doesn't seem to work. We have had to compromise - she leaves only one light on now but I am working on it) or not watching TV. The comment on here about colleagues telling you about Eastenders really rang a bell - she INSISTS on telling me the plot when I am not interested and, if we are in the middle of a meal when it starts, she will get up to go and watch it - how woooood! And then there was the look of sheer horror when she was reading a magazine and telling me about some new beauty product that was out and I told her I just wasn't interested. She was aghast - she thought I would be. I think I spoilt her day!

Sorry - that is all off-point but it just shows how far apart I have grown and how non-"normal" I seem to her. What a shame.

[ina]

I have really enjoyed reading this thread.... I am not the only one! I'm fairly lucky - the guys at work and my friends are a bit in awe of what I do. One girl told her hubby what I am up to - chooks, jam, bees etc - and apparently his response to her was "why can't you do things like that?" She told him in no uncertain terms why not (had to do with working FT, looking after the kids and doing an OU degree) but it was sweet of her to tell me.

Tell her to suggest to her hubby that as she seems to be doing more than he anyway - why doesn't he do all those things? You don't need two t*ts to keep bees, and make jam...

My father learned jam making in his 70s; my mother died when she was 68, and we had always had our own jam and all sorts of other bottled stuff from the garden - so he had to learn - or that's how he saw it, anyway!

[happy place]

ina wrote:-Tell her to suggest to her hubby that as she seems to be doing more than he anyway - why doesn't he do all those things? You don't need two t*ts to keep bees, and make jam...

quite correct you dont need two t*ts to keep bees just one to collect honey and get stung

[ina]

quite correct you dont need two t*ts to keep bees just one to collect honey and get stung

Tsk, tsk!

Actually, tits (the feathered kind) do eat bees, as far as I remember...

[Millymollymandy]

Please don't get me wrong - I'm not knocking it - I'd love someone to help me out too!

Sorry I think I took your comment in the wrong way.

Also this is the 2nd time I've found that the forum won't let you use more than 3 quotes at a time which is extremely frustrating as you have to carefully try to edit a load of them out when you want to quote something, and the whole context is lost.......

[Milims]

My mother always had a cleaning lady - still does - and a gardener. The daft thing is - she always cleaned up for when the cleaning lady came! I think I'd hate to have a cleaning lady - she'd probably tell me off for being messy!

[Millymollymandy]

I always tidied up (but not cleaned!) before a cleaning lady came and the one I had in Holland would do all the washing up that was left by the sink which really embarrassed me! But she came early and we are the kind of people who prefer to leave the washing up that can't go in the dishwasher for the next morning cos we can't be bothered in the evening.

Many years later when my husband lost his job I got rid of the cleaning lady but she even came to my new house and begged for the job which was embarrassing because I had to tell her that I couldn't afford her any more! Now I do it all myself but I don't care if the house gets grubby as I've more interesting things to do in the garden.

I always clean and tidy before anybody comes round though!

[eccentric_emma]

Haha I always *try* and tidy up before people come round. but generally its easier to not have people round. saying that though my husband has decided to have friends over for cards on saturday night, and now after 6 months of me asking (nagging) him to get stuff up in the loft and help me organise the house a bit (we suffer from a real lack of furniture,e verything always in cardboard boxes - mainly because we've tended to move house a lot), we've finally got a tidy living room and a coffee table! Saying that I reckon a lot of our friends will think we are odd because of all the saved jam jars knocking around the kitchen and whatnot!