The Cybergarden - Midwinter Edition

[shodatin]

Hope this is Post No. 1001 equivalent, having just used up the thousandth space and feel I shouldn't ask Madmouse to organise the next one again.

Have just looked into summerhouse to check fire is burning gently, tray of [brew} organised by upward to turn into one's favourite hot drink of the moment is standing ready for visitors, along with a few pounds of chocolates from huge box sent by DSis. (Before DB eats any more today)

It's usually tianc, upward and hob who remember to be hospitable and also remember to send good wishes to previous visitors, including said madmouse and mouselet, kizzie and family, NanaNina, Butterpie and another name which eludes me just now, but am hoping you'll find your way to this new part of the Cybergarden
and continue visiting in the New Year, along with hob's time-travelling cat Her Felinity and her welcome associate ndt (next-door's-tom), who visit us quite often, bringing gifts of when they remember, instead of the usual dead rodents which they know are unwelcome in the cybergarden.

Have just had lovely large lunch, plus Skype visit from rest of relatives, so will have a little potter round RL garden, hoping all is well and welcoming now in cybergarden's summerhouse.

I enjoy hearing about other people's animals hob, and where would we be without HF? Stuck in the 21st century without a time-machine or our brave guardian, ndt (soon to be required for spider duties again). This is a good way to have animals, if it's not possible in RL, and no doubt good for me to remember some of the animal tales and laugh again.
None of us know what's round the corner, so who knows where our next animals will come from, and some of us have done quite well having them as neighbours.
Good luck with toad house, I wonder how tame toads can be? Domestic rabbits can be great pets, ours was trained to newspaper, but would help himself to any coffees and teas left at floor level, learned to beg for toast like the dog and would sit on anyone's knee to watch television
(otherwise we were a perfectly normal family)
Hope you can have a few rest periods through the day, as I've decided to do until appointment (2 weeks), although chores do look endless and would like to stop now.
Many thanks for , great encouragement.
Hope all is going well for departure upward, and that you're feeling happier about the imminent escape.

< hob's screeching laughter is not conducive to our sober contemplative life > ... weeping with laughter & can't wait to tell Dh about tea-sipping , TV -watching lapines

Oh my lord shodatin , I have long craved a house / garden bunny . Too many foxes round here I think , & you can imagine HF's reaction , but ndt's staff member fondly remembers the rabbit they had & used to bring indoors for winter . It was best friends with their ladbrador . < ignores tales of chewed wiring >

So glad you're enjoying sharing the care of HF and ndt , plus night beagle of course < HF flips in warm temperatures >
very glad your lovely animals are being enjoyed again , & you are so right about animal neighbours being a joyous possibility in future.

Oh blimey , sounds as though you need a break from the chores as you can't be recovered yet from Saturday's lurgy . A fortnight seems a long wait for appt , but of course you were brave to make an appt at all < order of great impressiveness medal >

Hope Nilgiri is having a day with plenty of positives , & That upward iIsn't wiped out from all the organisation necessary for joyous day
< adds log to fire , hoping we can all watch the bright half moon this evening - >

You're right about long appointment wait hob, and I sat outside surgery for ages wondering about changing it to a less convenient but earlier date, but am hoping I'll get better with own small changes, and can always ask for earlier date/cancellation if necessary.

Good to hear about ndt's staff's experience with house/garden bunny. Ours first came into house, cage under kit.sink in winter until dog got used to him, when they'd sleep in front of fire together, or on Mother's lap if available (surprising about the dogs adopting them).
Of course you wouldn't need one while HF's with you (whispers this so she won't know about the idea).

Must check moon again, yes, easier to see now over back garden, with lots of stars, surprisingly, as quite warm.

Hope upward had a good day, organising time away from ward, which will seem very quiet and tiring at first, so please allow time for resting/socialising at home.

Many , many aaaaahs coming from this house at rabbit antics ( & sounds surprsingly practicable ... Dh wonders about the nibbling habit- were your carpets munched? I had no idea they might sit on laps & am in transports of delight at future possibilites

Ah yes , the dilemma of the most suitable doctor versus actually getting an appt you can get to - am sure you will ask for a same -day one if discomfort worsens < HF hops up and purrs soothingly , having startled me by appearing out of the thick fog and being in kittenish mood >

Yes indeed , upward must be exhausted , but I hope she'll be sleeping soundly

Glad you saw bright moon & stars , shodatin -_ a sudden & very picturesque fog has descended here

I wonder if Nilgiri has enough spoons for her nighttime stroll , & whether I've nagged her recently to carry her phone < hopes no fog round there >

s and warming soup

Sorry , am missing out important things - of course , shodatin, you already said you can ask for earlier appt if needed - realy hope the adjustments you plan to make will help the discomfort

Also , very good advice to upward ... I imagine homecoming is a very challenging time , and hope she soon will enjoy the quiet place we've found , and the contrasting silliness in our cybergarden iwhen she feels like it

Hope madmouse and kizzie are well and drop by to sit with us whenever they can < smoothes bedlinen & sweeps floors of their peaceful cells >

Apologies for delay hob, bit of dormousing then Mumsnet kept refusing to admit visitors, even the Great Google, and almost gave up. Must say, can't remember any mention /sight of chewed items during bunny-years, and do remember answering a Mm poster who enquired about possible problems (last 2 years)
Must say goodnight, yes, I too hope Nilgiri's safely home, and that previous gardners will call in. Night.

Sorry, another exhausting active day, but for happy reasons. Will read and post properly tomorrow. When we hope Upward will be home!

Sleep well all, as I'm sure you already are.

Morning good cybergardeners
How fabulous you had such a good day yesterday , Nilgiri < opens window so N can hear the birds through her recuperative doze >

So hoping upward can return home today , as planned < ffireworks poised >

Poor Dh staggered off to work through the swirling fog earlier , with his vicious chesty cold ... hopes colleagues order him home , but v unlikely he can leave his tasks

Happy St Davids's day and a good March (spring? ) to us all
s and espressos
Hope none of us has to venture out

< warms rugs and puts on Sherlock Holmes films >

at mountain goat - same here

Welcome home to upward! ( Flowers in big bouquets arriving at apartment all day from cyberfriends)

Good to hear from Nilgiri that all is well and present tiredness is for happy reasons this time (not been lost for hours in sudden fog)

Big thanks to hob for warming soup last evening, when it was definitely chilly again (and HF enjoyed using fog for a surprise pounce).

Am making tray of mixed (brew) as usual, with addition of lemonjuice in warm water for self, and hoping there are some wholemeal scones left as not got round to making any. ( Beagle waves tail approvingly, knowing some might be stale enough now to come his way.)

We seem to have crossed hob, and so sorry to hear about poor DH, feeling unwell with chesty-cold but feeling obliged to go into work. Hope he feels better as day continues, as sometimes happens, and at least there's a chance of weather improving as sun strengthens.
Just called friend on her birthday, who is enjoying lovely spring-like weather not far from here, and it does seem winter's over - snowboots looking very out-of-place in hall and am wondering if I'm brave enough/ daft enough to drive out in summer mules for short distance (too idle to hunt for proper shoes, tights etc on tiny errand).
Feeling spoon shortage as I look at neglected borders...

Oh no , I'm always cross -posting ! Glad your friend is having a nice birthday and spring seems to be here once and for all

I think a sensible grownup friend , ie not me , would advise that mules wih tights might be a little slippery for driving < relates to exhaustion at prospect of hunting for the correct shoes > Perhaps without the tights ( but then only if they invent a cure for hypothermia ) Hope you can run errand

Hmmm , wondering whether you were having hot water with lemon as feeling unwell < pokes big nose in > J Hope not
Thank you so much for making a fuss of Dh , who is very stoical but should be in bed . He's got tomorrow off , though , which is his birthday

HF was indeed having a pouncing indeed in the fog! She just asked me to come and share the first lproper session of flipping and baskin on the warm patio

[daffodils] to all ... bordersfull of messylooking forget - me - nots here , beloved of Dh but not of agente

oops - to upward

all round!
You're right as usual hob, and have just dashed on errand without tights, keeping feet moving seemed warm enough.
Glad to hear your DH gets a day off on his birthday, and hope it's a good one. My friend seemed pleased with the small present delivery, and it was good to see her for short time, despite her DH's endless presence.

Forget-me-nots are really the marmite of the garden !
I let them stay if established, but have never bought any.
Did I mention, the new small iris I bought seem scentless, which is disappointing, but v. pretty.

< glad time machine was able to transport shodatin's electric blanket for chilled feet >
Ah , how lovely to take your friend a pressie I know think we all know what you mean about that endlessly present type of husband , and wish your friend could join us in our single-sex retreat < points ever present husband to monastery across the river >

Heh at forget-me-nots' marmite - ness - they are very striking as a border , but so untidy growing to flowering stage . Lovely that you show mercy to ones already flourishing
Oh yes- I forgot to commuserate with you on scentless iris and o subjec you to this article , which you won't have time to readwww.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/05/dan-pearson-winter-flowering-iris

Dh needed to take holiday days or lose them , but will spend another weekend treying to improve house / garden ... may I show you what I got him as pressie ? I never , ever spend this much but have given a string of tiny birthday & Christmas gifts & IOUs so hunted for something he'd always wanted , which he can use with the chessboard he made when a lad
..( .the British Museum make a set for hundreds of pounds , and a miniature for 250 )- anyway , I haunted ebay etc for months before finding copies, full size and weighty www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_image.aspx?image=ps342892.jpg&retpage=20942

s & snnacks all round < wagging and wheedling looks toward kind shodatinr

oh bah , sorry , will redo iris link
www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/05/dan-pearson-winter-flowering-iris

Thank you for the and

At least I can start reading posts now, or trying to! (computer vs mobile phone).

The quiet is lovely...

Welcome back upward, and hope you have all you need for a comfortable night, with an enjoyable meal and not too many chores. Also hope it';s not too quiet, and glad you're appreciating absence of other people's noise.
You really do very well with only the phone to keep in touch, but am so glad you're able to do that while in the hospital.

It's years since I saw the Lewis chessmen hob, and am so pleased you found some for DH's birthday. We did get one of the first sets, before they were really easy to find, but it was in one of the two teachests which went missing when we put things in store, along with some really beautiful wedding presents,DH's schoolboy trophy, my guitar and some gorgeous designer furniture we bought as investment.
It certainly taught me not to store up worldly goods, and remember getting chest-pain when I got news our things were missing.
I never got round to having a special board made; you are both so lucky to have one handmade, and the pieces deserve it. What memories there are on this thread!

Joooooooy to see you're home , upward Absolutely wonderful
< hopes celebratory fireworks won't go off accidentally until you've drunk in all the peace & quiet you've been missingcontemplative community , >

What a coincindence about the chessmen , shodatin , and how hideous to lose such incredibly precious things - I could weep for you
Agree about that parable , but have still squirrelled away some very sentimental things , & been distraught to lose others , so am a work in progress

The board is one Dh made with his Dad in teens ,big and long needing a suitable set ...trouble is , with my memory I have to relearn the rules every few years ... The Lewis men were feautured in the Harry Potter films so are now more widely available

Hope Nilgiri Has had a pleasant day despite great need for extra dormousing

Another one her very glad upward has had internet phone whilst in hospital
hot choc overflowing with flumps

sorry about the superfluous "contemplative community" there

Many thanks for hot chocolate (don't fancy flumps, think it's the sound, would hounds eat them?) Had forgotten about the extra dormousing when first at home, so hope this was not too inconvenient, and can just imagine the luxury of peace and quiet when finally in bed. So glad you made it home as planned upward, and hope you have a good day tomorrow, while "on holiday".

Thanks for iris article hob, but my new variety were not mentioned, just the slight natural scent, so will maybe bring one indoors.

Hope everyone has a good night - am off to bed now, taking mug of chocolate (and leaving flump outside for beagle to find and gobble up).

Contemplative community never surplus!
Hurrray Hurray Hurray for Upward's homecoming. I know there's lots of tedious travelling to attend day stuff now, but being back in your own space sounds marvellous.

Seem to be a lot of other casualties at the moment. shodatin I hope you're not in too much pain while you wait for an appointment - and that GP is useful when you get there.

hob, sorry DH is unwell. Hope he's better for tomorrow.

In fact, it's after midnight, so Happy Birthday Mr Hob! And what an amazing present, hob! Another fan of the chessmen here: of course, HP is not their first media appearance - they used to have their own show, Noggin the Nog. But they'll be demanding more from their agent now they've hit the big time!

Wishing everyone, especially Upward, a peaceful night of good solid sleep.

It is brilliant to be home :) Not keen on all the travelling today, but it wouldn't be good not to go.

Happy birthday hob's DH!

I'm sorry you lost those possessions, shodatin That's a good way to look at things I think.

I hope everyone has a good day.

Good to hear from you upward that all is well at home.
Yes, shame you have to be at hospital today, but this should mean that you'll avoid possible unpleasantness like being alone with any med problems, and/or delays getting to see consultant if necessary. Being in charge of your own food must be a relief too (apart from the time necessary from A toZ, like list to plate), and hope there's been no weight gain while on hospital regime.
Wishing you plenty of spoons, x

And wishing A Happy Birthday to hob's DH !