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Are you all nursing hangovers or just clearing up the post Christmas mess?

Hello luvverly!

Are you rejoicing in Her Nibs' departure?

We have returned from visiting my parents yesterday and DP's aged aunt and uncle today. We have eaten a succession of Christmas lunches: roast chicken (cooked by DP on Christmas Day), roast goose (cooked by good friends on Boxing Day), chicken curry chez my parents and roast turkey by DP's aunt today.

And my father has added SatNav to the List Of Things Of Which He Does Not Like The Sound. It is quite a long list including duvets, dishwashers, answerphones, online supermarket shopping, deodorant and hair dye.

Yes, huge relief! Have spent most of today throwing up, though - not sure whether it is horrendous period pain that is causing it, or the phantom gall bladder pain (brought on by stress, so has been giving me gip all over Christmas).

My mother would include all of those in her list of things of which she is suspicious, apart from hair dye, as it is "very aging" to go grey, so she has a puffball of bright orange fluff on top of her head. Oh and she would also add the internet and computers in general. And dvds.

She made us all miserable over Christmas. DD1 said "She would perhaps have had a better time if she had actually put her book down occasionally and spoken to us, or come out with us to look at the Christmas lights or go for a walk." She is so rude to DH it is unbelievable. Her little habit of turning to me and saying "What did he say?" every time he spoke to her made me want to stab her. DD1 also said that she seemed to want to pick a fight with me and DH over everything, just contradicting us or saying the opposite for the sake of it. The ILs can come next year, even if we have to pay for 1st class Eurostar to persuade them. She was also really rude about them as well - "I'm not surprised they didn't want to come. It's not like they like to go anywhere, is it? They like to stay in their village where they know people and it's all familiar to them." Yes, that's right - that's why DFIL spent 6 weeks in the Philippines last year, doing conservation work for a charity, and a fortnight in the Galapagos. Oh and let's not forget his walking holidays in Nepal and Peru this year...

Oh here you are! wilbur has a creperie going as well, so I posted there first. QL, well done for not stabbing your ma. I am not sure I would have been so restrained in your shoes.

I have just ascertained that my "charming" nephews have given ds the special gift of headlice for Christmas (and this is a really minor issue compared to the ones raised by the "d"ns' bevhaviour). And ds has - generous little fellow that he is - passed them on to me. Hedrin all round then. O joy.

We have Christmas Mk2 next Sunday with a bunch of aged aunts and uncles and delicate cousins, so we'd better not be crawling with parasites by then. Or maybe we will just send the dog as our representative. He is probably the only one in this house not playing host to creepy-crawlies at the moment.

Yuk.

Where is Wilbur's Creperie? I tried to post on the last thread and it was full, so started this one. I did look to see if there was another one, but couldn't see one.

Wilbur's creperie

Why couldn't I find it? I went through the whole lot of S & B, very carefully pointing to each thread with my finger with my tongue sticking out slightly

Were you frowning though QL?

I'm totally confused now - do I post on both threads?
...... on the plus side I have managed to hide my FB likey button.

.

We could post on both.

Ola - I am here, ignore the other thread Mrs S, the title of this one is better and clearer for the elderly and confused.

Re your nephew's gift of headlice, Huff, the bright side is that you now have something to blame on someone else's child instead of just being permanently paranoid about your own kids' behaviour. A moment of pure Christmas joy was provided by my dnephew who has been, shall we say, more carefully parented than my brood (and that's saying something as I was on the stricter side of the parenting fence when mine were small). I witnessed him in an act of impressive deviousness and when I suggested to him later in the day that he undo what he had done, in order to avoid an almighty family incident, he barefaced blamed ds2. Marvellous, because for once, without a shadow of a doubt, none of it was ds2's doing. My silent shout of triumph will keep me going through years of raised eyebrows from SIL when one or other of my children has knocked out another tooth or added further graffiti to our playroom walls. The only downside is that I imagine that dnephew no longer likes me very much, in the way of things when someone knows one of your dark secrets, but he is only 6 so I hope he gets over it.

I realise the above does not mark me out as a very evolved person, but then I thought the crepeys might be the ones to forgive such base emotions. And dnephew is a lovely boy whose reins will hopefully be loosened soon which will make life a little less frustrating for him.

That is me, confused and elderly. Or just tired.

Wilbur, I share your lack of evolution

Wilbur - I did check out the other thread. Groovy shoes

I have just ordered another pair of boots. BUT they were a bargain and I do need a flat pair as mine gave up last month (zip broke) and I only have heels apart from wellies with isn't good for a mother and dog owner I feel

......... and I had to buy them before 1st Jan as I am then on my 3 month abstinence <wibble>

QL - your Mother! jeesh.

I am undoubtedly confused, elderly and should not be tired but am that as well. Those vitamins I was taking to make my hair grow faster appear to have brought me out in a lovely itchy rash. Splendid. I shall go back to being suspicious of supplements and shall instead eat more avocados. I do not have any proof that avocados will make my hair grow faster but I am convinced they are v. good for me as I like them alot and they are not cheese or chocolate. (you can add "irrational" to the confused, elderly and tired)

My nephews are 9 and 5.5 and are astonishingly badly behaved due to a number of factors, not least their parents' inability to say the word "no" or to rein them in in any way at all. They are rapidly becoming everyone's least favourite guests. My mother's blood pressure goes up about 50 points every time she has them to stay. She is currently muttering about how much better off the boys would be if they were sent to boarding school. Not sure any school would have them, to be frank. And SIL would never send them anyway.

Db does have v. good taste in expensive wine and chocolate and is always ridiculously generous, so now the nephews have been gone for 48 hours, I can forgive them a lot . Sadly, the dog will still hate them forever, though.

Aha. So this is our permanent home. sits in armchair with loud 'oof'

Somewhat trying Christmas. Good fun on the surface - xmas day with my parents, DP, DS, and some of parents' friends, then boxing day sis and brood joined us - but lots of sadness too. My dad, whom I used to worship, is really suffering badly with alzheimers, and getting quite shouty with frustration. My mum, who has always been the more go-getting, is being driven mad, and is in lots of pain herself from a shoulder that's being replaced in January.

I kept getting really cross with my dad, and wondering why I was quite so angry. Then when I got home of course realised I was angry with him for not being dad any more, and that I missed him, and cried for about three hours solid. I found myself wishing he'd get ill and die of something physical, rather than just fading away. Then of course felt awful.

So, there. Another crepey confession.

Oh herbs. I am so sorry. And fwiw it is also entirely reasonable to feel that way, I think. Alzheimer's is one of the nastiest things out.

Ah, herbs, that is very sad. I agree with MI. My dad was gone quite a while before he actually died and I think I grieved more when he was reduced to a shell of a person than when he finally disappeared physically.

Thank you ladies. There are still glimmers of old dad still there, thankfully, and it's still lovely to see him, but when I think of how he used to sail boats single-handedly to far-flung places, and now stands looking confused in the kitchen it makes me bawl.

Still, at least he's not QL's mum!

Herbs - that is sad. Is he on medication?

He won't take any medication as its contra-indicated for those with gastric problems, and he's got both a hiatus hernia and an ulcer.

So sorry about your Dad, Herbs. Alzheimers is terrible.

Herbs, I'm sure you know this but there are different types of drugs; are both main types contra-indicated for his gastric problems?