Mumsnet Talk

We are with pil at present and they are very sweet but so bloody uptight about everything.
Bil has been away for a week so he left car with pil so that it "wasn't left in the street" it has a steering lock on and fil takes it for a drive each day! The car is an old banger worth about two hundred quid.
Kids can't even eat a banana without a table cloth,mat and plate
Leaving the house to walk to shops is a major ordeal. Costs hats gloves change of shoes everything switched off at the wall last minute run upstairs for wallets. I could have been there and back.
So I'm asking you to entertain me with similar stories to help me through the day.

It just took me a while trying to work out why your kids needed a tablecloth in the car

Last christmas when im in laws came to stay for a week my dfil started the car up every day and left it running to charge the battery. It was only a couple of months old!

Ha ha oh yes that really would have been anal. Though mil does run out to the car with hand held vacuum cleaner as soon as they get back.

galifrey isn't that odd? It must be exhausting for them

Whenever my father in law pays for anything by card, he then checks his wallet 5 or 6 times to make sure he put it back. So far as I know he has never left it anywhere ever, so it's not to make sure he doesn't do it again or anything.

I want to walk to the shops to get some decent caffeinated coffee as I'm having withdrawals but can't bear fils wittering and he needs to go up for veg! I

It's how cars used to be though, especially in winter. Old habits die hard!

They are bickering now as they prepare lunch. Fil is counting carrots into a casserole.
I have a long day ahead and now have a migraine coming probably caffeine withdrawal as they have all de caf.
I am also hungry due to having a regimented early and meagre breakfast.
As soon as fil goes out I can remember I need syndol and take dds up for coffee and cake mmmmm

My grandma serves instant coffee from a coffee pot, wheeled through to the sitting room on a hostess trolley with the mugs, jug of milk etc.

So SO much extra work. And the coffee gets cold.

My FIL refuses to buy anything online (although he uses the internet quite happily) because there is a 100% certainty that his bank account will be emptied by fraudsters as soon as he does. What he does instead is get DIL to order stuff online for him and then posts her a cheque - barking mad.

SIL, sorry

Sorry to be unhelpful, but

Your misery has made me laugh.

But that's because I know what it's like to have nice, but difficult PILs. My MIL would argue that black is white - she's NEVER wrong.

Hope you enjoy your cakes and coffee

My mum takes an hour to make a meal DH could produce in 20 mins. And she never snacks, so you take Twixes in your handbag are starving by the time a meal appears.

My dad has certain foods he eats on certain days. He told my mum off on 27 Dec as she hadn't got his macaroni cheese in. Thursday is his macaroni cheese day!

We can only ever stand to stay one night!

My PILs never turn their mobile phone (yes, they share it) on. Never occurs to them that other people might want to contact them.

Everything is eaten at the table - even a banana or apple.

They are every, er, genteel and I am not and neither is DH. Sometimes I wonder if they really are his parents.

Still not left. I could take dd1 for a coffee as she's ten I guess but how do I get away with not going with fil as he still hasn't left the blooming house.

No I'm not genteel either. Me and dh left our nice car in town for two days over Xmas because we were never sober to collect it. Lol

It's the teapot that gets me, they keep trying to buy us nasty charity shop ones as well because they're horrified we don't have one (and I keep giving them back to the charity shop).

I have no problem with teapots, but do think that more than 1 teabag should go round 4 people.

Grandad switches his mobile on once a day to check for messages and save the battery.

Oh I know exactly how you feel!

Everything is so .... organised? .... prescriptive? .... planned?

Nothing can be <<gulp>> done on impulse - god forbid!

My ex PIL were just like this. Even making a sandwich for a quick lunch seemed to turn into a military exercise. I just couldn't get my head around how they made everything seem so, well, difficult! They would go into the lounge and ask who was hungry, if not, when they were likely to be hungry, if so, how hungry, how many slices, white or brown, did they want cheese, ham, a mixture, any pickle etc, crisps or salad .... it went on and on! The table had to be laid, with full settings and table cloth, then everyone needed to be consulted on what drink they wanted, did they want a soft drink now, and tea/coffee later, or did the wat their tea with their sandwich etc!

Meanwhile, I was stood in the kitchen offering to help, thinking, I could have whipped up half a dozen rounds of a selection of fillings and popped some crisps and salad on the side for everyone to help themselves by now! Still makes me smile 10 years later! actually, they were really lovelypeople, but so anal.

I feel your pain

george I leave my bag in the cup lol but it's so decaf here so makes no difference to me

It's just because they're tight ledkr! Not for taste reasons. But it's all such a palaver as well, they can't just make a cup of tea, it's very similar to the happycamper's description (except we don't get on that well!). They drive me nuts.

FIL unplugs the wireless router when he's not using the internet, wraps the wires round it and pops it in the bottom of the little cabinet that the phone stands on. It's a special thing, the router - it allows him to access the Google once in a while

happy that sounds just the same. Today they are feeding 16 so bought 16 chicken breasts
Last new year fil was shoving take away menus at us around 3 in the afternoon.
They want us to go away with them for a week. I seriously don't think my mental health with cope.