friggin� ladder
July 17, 2006

It was hot here yesterday. Blistering hot. So hot, in fact, that the ladder on my swimming pool melted.

So the damn thing buckles under me and throws me off. Naturally, as I was wearing a swimsuit, large amounts of uncovered skin were involved, as well as bare feet.

So I�m sitting here writing this with a skinned-up back and a twisted ankle, after having been chucked into the dirt by that cheap, injection-molded plastic piece of worthless, useless shit.

And obviously, I am denied access to my pool, until I can replace the ladder with a better one. Which, given the current cash-strapped situation in our household, could be awhile. All this during a heat wave.

Grrr.

And since that ended in tears, I feel completely guilt free for spending nearly the entire day immersed in the goings on at 165 Eaton Place. I watched 9 episodes. So I�m nearly done with the first two seasons�they are overdue, but I sometimes think the library would have to close were it not for the revenues generated by fining me. I�m hoping to wrap up the last DVD tonight, and take them back tomorrow.

I�ll pony up the fine (raiding my change can to do it), and if season three is in, I�m grabbing it. Just the one season this time, though. There simply aren�t enough hours in the week to watch any more.

I�m enjoying it so very much. It has been a while since I was able to say that about a television program. But the pleasure is on a lot of levels. I am enjoying seeing it again, welcome as an old friend. I�m enjoying the relative quality of the DVDs (The last time I managed to catch the series, it was on an underpowered PBS station, and the reception was unpredictable, at best.) I�m enjoying the nostalgia generated by recalling the various times in my life when I�ve watched the series before. I�m enjoying the opportunity to compress time by watching a large number of episodes in a short period.

So I�m really very into UpDown right now. Plus, I found out recently that �Thomas and Sarah�, the spin-off starring John Alderton and Pauline Collins, is also available on DVD! A set of all thirteen episodes. I�ve never had the opportunity to see that, so now I have another jones going! I�ve heard it is quite a good series, mixing comedy and drama, and is UpDown�s match as to entertainment value and quality.

I�m a huge fan of Alderton and Collins together�it was their series �No, Honestly� that first got me hooked, when it was shown on IPBN back in the seventies. It was that show, and my fondness for the stars, which first drew me into Upstairs/Downstairs. And it goes without saying that I�m the proud owner of their Wodehouse Playhouse. Well, the first two seasons, anyway. The third had no Pauline, so I never bought it.

And then, to have to come home to my Spouse who is currently on days, and who will expect a cooked dinner, and to my lovely swimming pool, that I�m unable to use because I can�t get in or out�it makes me want to crawl in a hole and die. Especially since tomorrow will only be more of the same, plus my boss back from vacation like the worm-filled cherry on the shit sundae.