Thread 5 - TalkExiles: "The Planet Goes On Being Round"

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous lifeboat threads (thread 4).

Gather here all ye refugees from the JTT Flat Earth Society, welcome to the reassuringly oblate spheroid of MN! Ye all already know the answers to the questions "How the heck do I format my post?" "Why can't I edit my typos?" "What do those acronyms mean?" and most importantly, "Where is everybody that I used to know?"

So really we're all here just to chat randomly.

Lovely kitten, and lovely Toby!

Had a restless night because I kept getting up to check on Phoebe. She has been sleeping a lot. I mean, more than usual. She's still wobbly and I think perhaps more wobbly than yesterday. Could be my worries talking? She doesn't seem to be distressed and when she's awake seems as bright and alert as ever (even the vet commented yesterday on how sprightly she was for her age), but of course cats like to hide when they feel poorly.

Maybe Phoebe is reacting in a similar way to humans, where after an accident you stiffen more after a couple of days than on the day, or day after, the accident itself. That's happened to me many times.

I hope Phoebe is better than you fear. You remind me of the night last summer when Oscar didn't come up to bed and I was convinced he was dying (he had seemed under the weather for weeks). I slept very badly. And he was fine.

No way to tell. You gave her the best, safest, happiest life possible. I hope it continues for a long time more.

I'm semi grumpy today because I had a "bloody things stuck in my oesophagus" last night that meant a few hours of some trying and a lot of hoping that the pill it would dislodge itself - last time I had a pill lodged it took a minor operation to move it. Thankfully it eventually did but I've not had enough sleep and I'm a bit sore. One day they'll sort this utter bloody nonsense out!

That sounds very nasty, hope it doesn't do it again.

In case anyone wants to try making nettle soup:

Scissors are really useful when gathering the nettles and make it much easier to take just the tips. I remembered this too late.

I used a small onion, half a courgette and as many nettle tips as filled (pressed down a little but not much) one of those small plastic punnets cherry tomatoes come in. Also a stock cube (I know some people hate them - use what you like).

That all cooked down to two large soup plates full of nice smooth light soup with a pleasing green colour and a less earthy flavour that spinach. I didn't add milk to it but did put in a glug of cream and some chopped chives when I served it.

Hope you’re feeling better this evening @NotDrowningJustCrowing , that sounds horrid.

Will save the recipe elderberry- sounds like just the job.

Hope you're feeling better today @NotDrowningJustCrowing. Sounds horrible.

I had another delightful afternoon ChezKuc.

First, Phoebe seemed to take a turn for the worse. She missed her litter tray because she couldn't get herself into it. And then had a few occasions where her back end just sort of fell over and she had to just lie there looking puzzled and cross. I was on the verge of ringing the emergency vet.

Meanwhile, the DC got the tea things out. I had brought home a half-eaten pack of pistachio and almond biscuits (guilty work sin). Halfway through a cookie, DD1 said "I think I'm allergic to pistachios." She said her throat was itchy and felt a bit wrong. I threw half a bottle of Piriton down her neck and prepared to ring 999. And then thankfully she said, "It's feeling better now" but I spent the next hour staring unblinkingly at her and reminding her to tell me as soon as she felt any kind of change.

DD1 has had an allergy to cashew nuts for some years, which give her an itchy wrong-feeling throat, but not (to our knowledge) any other nuts (in fact she loves peanut butter, marzipan, hazelnut chocolate spread, walnuts/pecans in brownies. Well, now we know she's allergic to pistachios too.

Monday morning has dawned nice and normal.

Phoebe has had a miraculous recovery! I wouldn't say she's completely unwobbled (I'm not going to let her attempt the stairs any day soon) but at 5:30am she was up and out of her den box impatiently waiting for me to open the bathroom door. She could stand/crouch normally to eat her breakfast.

DD1 also completely fine, ate teenage amounts of breakfast and went off to school in full sibling-squabbling style.

But fuck me, I feel like I haven't slept all weekend.

Hooray for improving Phoebe, boo to allergies and a sympathy vibe to you, Kuc.

I am having a day off from dealing with my son and driving over to Oxford to meet some old and dear friends. We are having lunch and going to the Ashmolean museum to see the Knossos exhibition there.

@Britinme are you still in touch with any of the old issues folder group? I think you you used to post there occasionally. I was thinking about lusmeri and bibberty the other day. Both been very quiet on fb, or perhaps I've deleted them by mistake!

@Kucinghitam good to hear about Phoebe, and you squabbling sibs made me laugh and get a bit nostalgic! I probably didn't enjoy my two girls as much as I remember, but, my goodness, I so loved being their dad. Still do, thankfully, but they were my beautiful girls and here I go again...

Kucinghitam I can imagine the surging adrenaline after all that - I'd say go easy on yourself, but that is contingent on your nearest and dearest not giving you horrible frights. Does knowing that it's cashews and pistachios point to a specific protein trigger which might give an advance warning of other things to be wary of?

That sound like a stressful weekend, Kucinghitam, but at least you now know to finish the biscuits yourself! Hope Phoebe continues to improve.

Phew to a getting a bit better Phoebe. The allergy must have been scary but at least her reaction was manageable. I'm sad for her that she's allergic to pistachios because they're probably my favourite nut. The cookies sound lush!

@Britinme I hope you have a fabulous day, you deserve it.

Honestly, @Kucinghitam, I'm having palpitations at the thought of Phoebe and allergic reactions. So glad all seem well today. At least DD1 knows what to look out for. Perhaps Phoebe had some some swelling pressing on a nerve and it's subsided? Hope they all stay healthy!

Hi everyone. I said that I'd report back when I had tried that Gaba spirit called "Sentia". Just had about 25ml with ice and tonic.

I think the taste isn't something I can say much about -quite pleasant, slightly medicinal, to be liked or not according to prefs. I think it's relaxing somewhat and I have a bit of lightheadedness. Unforch, Angelica flatly refused to join mw, so I can't comment on social relaxation - still, here I am typing...

Yeah, ok. I'll have double next time and see.

Hmm - I looked at their website, I dont blame her, it seems curiously opaque as to how it works. Lots of "science" but pretty unclear on the active ingredients.

To my mine it looks like an expensive placebo (not that there is anything wrong with that!)

Well, gabapentin has a long clinical history, so that's fairly well-supported. I think that's at the heart of it.

OTOH - gabapentin is a controlled drug so there can't be that much in it.

Well that wa smy thoughts! There don;t seem to be any restrictiosn on buying which suggests that it's clincially proven mood alterign properties are minimal!

That said there is a lot going for a placebo effect. When I am not drinking alcohol (for whaever reason) a very cold tonic water in a fancy glass with a bit of lemon does seem to have the same inital relaxing effect of a good GnT.

Money-saving Brexit bonuses! You read it first here! 😀

One of my non-alcoholic pre-dinner drinks is yesterday's rosehip tea. At least as nice cold as hot, and served in a nice glass (like Gin's water) does a good job of being a relaxing punctuation at the end of the day.

Ha, moto! :)

@Ginmonkeyagain - you are right, of course. The trouble is, I have discovered that I don't even like the taste much. But I've got a draw full of gabapentin and have to take it daily in small doses, so it might not have affected me too much anyway. I'm all for placebos, I just wish they tasted like whisy, brandy or wine, got me happy, cost nothing, and resulted in no hangovers. Surely that's not too much to ask? It's the 21st century! Mind you, no floating cities, jetpacks either.

We were promised so much more in INternational Geophysical Year. Spandex jackets, one for everyone, was only the start!

I have that record. Great cover photo. But to be admired more than loved, I think.

I love it, duc! It's Fagan taking on a partic personna for musical effect - not unlike any of them! Top musos, I mean. Have you listened to his only other solo album? Kamakiriad? GOAT, if you like the Fagan and Becker.

angelico53 · Today 17:38

Spandex jackets, one for everyone, was only the start!

The only song I can think of is "True."

Wasn't "true" by spandau - ha! ok, sinner, gotcha!