Am I turning into a bad-tempered old bat?

[Sons are not allowed to answer this rhetorical question.]

Coming back from Yorkshire on Saturday, I found myself snarling at a pair of people trying to sell me something in a service station – standing together so the second one knew the first one had already tried and failed – and they had another go on the way out. I’d said ‘No thank you’, politely like my mother taught me – so why did they try again, and again, and again?

Now I've just had to hang up on an importunate woman who asked me why I no longer wished to contribute to her cause [because I'm p****d off with them, that’s why] but then talked over me when i tried to answer her question – making me even more p****d off, and even less likely to contribute.

I did say snarl ‘Good afternoon’ as I put the phone down but I don’t suppose she heard as she was still talking. I hate losing my temper, but have very low tolerance for people who won't take no for an answer.

On to more cheerful matters – maybe. We had a good holiday, just wish it had been longer. Ate too much, drank too much, did a bit of drawing, bought a lot of books and a fair amount of cheese. Can we have a Booth’s supermarket and the cheese stall from Skipton market down here, please?

On the other hand, since we got back I’ve found it very difficult to get going on college work – possibly because I bought one of these in Liverpool

but more likely because I’ve got the draft essay and the research project out of the way and the deadlines for the sketchbook and the personal cloths are months away.

So I’ve made a new sketchbook, and, because the last two were a success with both Babybel and her daddy, a couple of aprons – not quite finished as the machine with the Teflon foot is in for repair after I sewed over a pin, and the take-to-classes machine really really really didn’t want to sew the PVC shiny side out.

These are, as I’m sure you realise, for when daddy or granddad [not ‘grangrad’ any more, she’s sorted that one out] help her with the washing up – while the other ones are for when mummy or gran help her cook. 

And of course, there have been the usual post-holiday delights of washing and shopping…