Funny old thing. Whenever we have time off and don't go away we always seem to spend large chunks of it squabbling over the division between relaxing and working around the house. And then when we do spend most of the time tidying and diy-ing by the end of the week one or other of us ends up with a bad head and we both just fall asleep when we do manage to sit down. Must be a lesson in there somewhere but I'm sure we will never learn it. All I'm asking is for Joan to put herself first for a while when she has the chance, rather than worrying about what people might think if they come to visit and there is a speck of dust or piece of paper lying around. One day.

So, what have we been up to?

Saturday Joan was still at work so I did my main relaxing and getting unwound from work. I did also do a spot of tidying in the study as that had reached limits even I wasn't prepared to put up with any more! And then Richard came along and irritated me. I know it must be fairly tough for him sitting around all day applying for jobs and not even getting interviews but it really seems like half the time he does nothing to help himself. He never was a particularly outgoing person but he keeps isolating himself more and more from the rest of the world. No friends, no social life and no responsibilities. All of which make it harder for me to understand him these days. And he doesn't seem to comprehend why I get wound up by things he says or does as they seem so divorced from the reality of life. Plus he has absolutely no idea of what it costs to run a house or the work involved but doesn't take it in when I do try to explain. And the constant changing of jumpers and fleeces when the rest of us are sitting around quite happy with the temperature or insisting lights be turned on or off or curtains adjusted because he is being "blinded" or "dazzled" by tiny glints of light no-one else had even noticed just winds me up even more. So when he comes around wanting to spend hours on the internet searching out obscure bits of music making software to go with all the others he never uses despite having all the time inthe world it does rather get my goat.

Anyway, enough of him.

Sunday Joan started her holiday and among the sorting out did manage to catch up with a bit of sleep. We also went round to Ma & Pa for dinner which was pretty good in my books. And Joan made loads more bread, all of which has been very tasty so far.

Monday was D-day as far as my teeth were concerned. Not knowing what to expect I had asked Mum if she would like to come along to Colchester with us in case I was not feelingup to driving home again afterwards. Richard came along too and proceeded to "entertain" us with the most depressing music from Elvis Costello I have ever heard on the drive down. Really put me in a positive frame of mind for what was to come.

So, the chap was quite pleasant. Between him and his nurse they took about 15 x-rays of my mouth from assorted angles including a 180 degree scan thingy (which did look pretty impressive when I saw the developed picture). Then he did the old 6 stabs per tooth measuring malarky and sent me to sit in the waiting room while he decided what to do next. The decision was a bit of a shock to all concerned when he did reveal it. I thought it would be some kind of really deep cleaning and possibly medication or something but no.

He wants me to have a couple of wisdom teeth out (they are just in the way it would seem, despite causing no pain) and then slice my gums open and insert artificial bone to encourage my own to grow back. All over a series of 9 or 10 appointments coming to over £1,000 in hard cash. Ouch. In more ways than one.

Quite frankly I'm not at all sure if I want to go through with it all and become Simon Cyborg Jaw (and not sure if we can afford it either) so am waiting for the written version before I make my mind up. Which will be done in consultation with my normal dentist as it seems a bit extreme to me. OK, I don't want my bones to rot away and my teeth fall out but frankly that lot scares me stupid. Definitely not something to enter into unprepared. Plus it will mean loads of days off to go down to Colchester early in the morning, which will not be fun in the traffic and arse up our holiday prospects I'm sure.

After that had sunk in we went into town for a bite of lunch (three main meals and for Richard a sandwich he didn't finish. Yet he'd been picking at stuff all morning - even before we were out of Felixstowe. Another reason I prefer not to go out for the day with him as he won't eat properly and makes a terrible fuss over where he will and won't "try" to force a meal down. All fast food is out to start with...). Also had a look round the shops and were a bit disappointed by what we saw given the size of the town. No wonder people on my Park & Ride surveys say they prefer to come up to Ipswich.

I spent the rest of the day in a bit of a daze frankly, and am still coming to terms with what I might be spending the summer going through.

Tuesday we spent in Felixstowe. Did a bit more about the house and went in to town for a bit of shopping - mainly a new shower.

Yesterday after taking Tawny to the vets for her annual injections (which left her totally spaced out for the rest of the day, but she seems back to normal now) I stuck the shower up while Joan did some stuff in the garden. Not put the new rail up yet though as it is of course a different length from the one already in place and I don't want to be left with holes in the tiles that have only been up just over a year. That of course is now a bone of contention with Joan. I will get it done, but not until I've worked out a neat way of doing it. Anyway, we then took Ma & Pa round to the White Horse for lunch. Very nice again, and nicer still to get away with no Richard for a change.

After the meal we popped up to some of the furniture shops looking for a new coffee table but with no luck. We want one with drawers in to keep the numerous remote controls away tidily but haven't found anything that will match the existing furniture. And I zonked out for a couple of hours alongside Tawny when we got back.

Today Joan has woken up with the headache mentioned before and I'm just trying to let her recover.

Part of the plan was to watch a few films while we were off, but we've only managed one so far. Bound. Pretty good thriller if a little grizzly in places, but some fantastic use of odd camera angles. Right, off now.