1. We made homemade salsa and I made a tandoori sauce for the chicken we were having. This brought up a conversation about double-dipping (taking a bite out of a chip then dipping it back into the salsa/dip). Apparently, until the TV show "The Doctors" did an episode on the subject, MIL wasn't sure that she really shouldn't double-dip. She needed a TV show to tell her that it was gross.
Within minutes, she asked, while nibbling at a chip, if she could try the tandoori sauce as a dip. I said "Sure"....she reaches for the dip "but let me get you a fresh chip." *nervous giggle*
YUCK!
2. They came down for a "visit" to pick our grapes so FIL could take them home to make wine that no one likes, but whatever. They arrived Friday at 2 pm and left Saturday before noon (it's a 3 hour drive home). On the one hand, short visits work great for me. On the other, I feel a bit used. They haven't come to see us in over 2 years, and this is what they can manage? Bruce had Friday off, so they could've come Thursday afternoon/evening and had more time with all of us.
The other problem with this visit is that now it's "our turn." Again. And Thanksgiving is right around the freaking corner. UGH!
3. MIL complained quite bitterly about how "no one has time to sit and visit any more. Everyone is so busy. They just have to GO and DO things."
First, what could I possibly have to visit with you about? The reality is that I just don't like you. You don't like me. Pretending otherwise for hours while we "visit" is painful and a waste of my life.
Second, if you want to visit, how about sticking around long enough for it to happen?
Third, do you even vaguely remember what it was like to have kids at home? Granted, her kids were not in many activities, so I think that's where some of this complaining comes in, but she had *8* kids. Surely she remembers what it was like to be busy with them.
4. Tristan went straight from school on Friday to his music lesson and then to a Scout campout. The Outlaws went with Bruce to take Tristan to these things so that they could see him. And whined about how far it is to the music lesson (it's about a 20 minute drive if traffic isn't bad). We don't mind it one bit, ya old biddy. This, of course, led to a discussion about how life in Idaho is so much better than life here in Salt Lake. Dream on lady!
5. I had a yard sale on Saturday morning. This had been planned (just like the Scout trip) for weeks before they decided to come and get the grapes. Considering their history of cancelling visits at the last minute, I wasn't rearranging my life over this. Having a yard sale with Depression-era people around is amusing, to say the least!
A. We were selling a treadmill. Someone called about it the night before and I quoted him a price of $20. FIL about had an apoplectic fit over that. See, new they're at least $500 (this one probably was closer to $800 new, 5+ years ago). But I really didn't care. I wanted it out of my house. The next day, we discovered that the small bumple on the belt had grown to a full-blown tear (fixable with duct tape, I suppose). A new belt is $100, so I really couldn't justify selling it for more than that. We sold it for the $20 to a lovely family and I'm sure they'll enjoy it far more than I!
B. I was selling a number of articles of clothing, sweaters I no longer wear, sweatshirts that aren't my style anymore, stuff I bought on clearance and just didn't ever wear it....you know the drill. MIL kept pulling things off that table "This is a pretty sweater. You should keep it." Yes, it's pretty, but *I* don't wear it.
I was also selling sweatshirts with our college logo on it. Since we went to University of Idaho, several of them simply say Idaho in the school colors. MIL said, probably 4 times, that we might go back to Idaho and therefore should keep the sweatshirts. (Because we need to look at our shirts to know where we are? Or we're not allowed into the state unless we have the appropriate label? Never did figure out that reasoning).
This sort of conversation went on and on and on.....This is brand new, why are you selling it? This is handy, you might need it someday. These are fun things, you should keep them......I must have said "I don't use them" 20 times that morning.
And this is the woman who wants me to come and help her have a garage sale? When I told her that the rule was that what goes out does not, under any circumstances, come back in, she quickly said we should start with FIL's stuff! ROFL!
C. Bruce sold two different lawn mowers, both needing some minor work, to a group of men who, I think, either had or were starting their own business. They were driving a tiny 4-door car that already had a bike and another mower hanging out of the trunk. When we realized that they only lived about 5 miles away, Bruce offered to deliver the mowers for them. He got the trailer, loaded 'em up, and off he went. They offered gas money and paid Bruce $10 for his trouble.
All of this was taking place at about the time the Outlaws had decided it was time to leave. They had to be talked into waiting until Bruce returned before taking off!
6. MIL kept trying to buy stuff from the sale. I kept tellilng her that she didn't need it and when she dies in 5-30 years, I'd just have to try to sell it to someone else. The 5 years part ticked her off! But, really, she's 82 years old!
7. That started a conversation about how she wants to live to be 105. Just because. *groan*
8. A puzzling moment that we haven't quite figured out yet. MIL asked Bruce if he blamed them for something.....not sure what though. See, apparently BIL said something to MIL about blaming his parents for something. I can see BIL telling MIL he "blamed her" for something in a funny, joking manner, like I tell my dad it's his fault that I can't flush a live goldfish (dad taught me an overwhelming respect for life.....eating it is fine, wasting it is not). I can also see BIL telling MIL he blames her for other things, like the choices he made as a teen/young adult. Or I can see MIL taking something he said that was totally unrelated and turning it on herself. We're curious, but nailing MIL down about these things is dang-near impossible. She rambles and doesn't make much sense and then gets mad when you ask for more info or clarification. I don't envy Bruce that conversation (he may not even have it)!
So, there ya have it. I did walk away several times when the conversation turned to Neice who's recently announced she's getting married in Ocotober 2010. The problem comes, not with the engagement, but with all the "we'll see if she actualy goes through with it," and "I don't know that this is a good idea," and "She's always been rather impulsive," blah, blah, blah, badmouth-neice-some-more.
And I referred to the room they slept in as my "office," rather than the guest room because, well, 350 days a year, that's exactly what it is and I don't want them getting the idea that it's their territory.
MIL left a full bar of soap because she didn't have a dish to take it home in.....she refused the offer of a ziploc bag. She also left a washcloth. She leaves a wash cloth every single trip, and then, when I try to return it to her, claims it isn't hers, despite it's matching the towels in her bathroom. The soap was tossed and the cloth was added to my rag pile.
Oh, one more weird thing they do, at least *I* think it's weird. They stopped for lunch and brought their leftovers with them. Then they kept trying to get Bruce and I to eat them. I think that's a bit odd. We're not talking about rolls or the crackers from the soup or whatever. We're talking about "This was on my plate, I couldn't finish it, why don't you eat it?" Maybe because I'm not blood-related to them, but I think that's nasty! Of course, I simply politely refused, but EWWW!
