Chatty thread for ND mumsnetters

[whiskeyarmadillo]

I thought I'd try and start a friendly chatty thread here on the ND board. All are welcome. Bring a cuppa.

I'm whiskeyaramadillo. I'm late 40s and AuDHD. I have a ND parent and two ND children - my third DC is NT ish. I work full time and live on the western edge of London but my heart is firmly in the countryside which is where I grew up. I have one black and white cat who is my sunshine although he is in my bad books today after bringing in a mouse.

Today (Sunday) I'm sorting out my very very messy house - again. Making sure homework is done and uniforms are clean. Putting endless pants and socks in drawers. If I'm lucky I'll get to lie on the sofa and continue reading 'Wintering' by Katherine May or watch a bit of a crappy fantasy movie with a giant mug of tea.

What is everyone up to today?

So my medication has been dispatched and it's concerta xl
Is anyone on here taking it
I've just started a thread asking if anyone is on it ,but I thought someone on here might be on it ,or been on it ..just wondering what to expect really

Hello bedfrog! Nice to see you here

@Newyearsparkle I hope you get some answers about the ADHD meds from those with experience of it

Inspired by bedfrog's list of interests, I'm curious to know what people's special interests are. I'm really into birds (watching livestreams of nests), genealogy, gardening (but I blow very hot and cold with that), and - bit of a weird one - Holocaust studies. I used to work in tech and love all things spreadsheets and databases. One of the things I've struggled with before realising that I'm autistic is my attempts to make connections with people with shared interests, and the negative reaction I've sometimes got when I've been "too much".

I also love birds! But I'd say my special interests are the 1940s (social history, not military) and Harry Potter - 2 topics I know a LOT about and frequently bore my husband with. But his is tennis, so he gets me back.

I agree about being 'too much'. I'm bad at small talk so either end up seeming really boring or way too intense.

Those are cool interests: what is it about 1940s social history that makes it particularly appealing?

On Harry Potter, I'm really excited to see this new TV version that's coming out later this year.

I'm also weird about music: I love music but either I'm obsessively listening to it or not listening to any, there is absolutely no in between.

I've thought a lot about this. This is all just my perception and opinion, obviously I wasn't there - I think it's because during the second world war there were a lot of rules to follow that most people did follow 'for the greater good' - people were community minded and there was an 'all in this together' mindset. Things were also a lot simpler, no TV or computers, you had 5 outfits and kept them and took good care of them, there was less in the shops. They didn't have the disposable culture we do now, things weren't made of plastic and engineered to break after a year. There weren't huge motorways and the world wasn't built around cars, so less noise pollution from big roads. I feel very overwhelmed by everything these days - there's just so much of everything. Even if I want to live in the countryside these days, I have to live along a busy road so you never get proper peace and quiet. (See, I went off on one there! You shouldn't have asked 😂)

It's interesting you seem to blow hot and cold on some things - what is it about music and gardening particularly that mean you sometimes enjoy it and other times don't?

I love the programs where the family go back in time and live in a a 1940s or 1950s house ,or any other period in history,it's so interesting
There is a museum in London where they have a room per year and they decorate it at Christmas how they would of decorated it then ,I've never been,but I know I'd love it ..and there is a pregnant lady on tick-tock who follows a 1940s lifestyle And I loved watching her .
I'd actually really enjoy more of these types of programmes except they don't regularly come up ..
But I don't like the farm type ones as I'm vegan and I'm always worryed they will kill the pet rabbits for food

I'm utterly obsessed with clothes..I spend hours trawling through on line shops for clothes to try on and send back ...it's actually now really frustrating me how much I'm doing it ,and i want to stop ,but unfortunately I seem to be using it to fill some emotional need,which is annoying..I needed another outlet

I like photography, tv, sometimes reading, colouring, I used to do diamond art but got bored with that and also my cat. I take photos of him, talk about him

@bedfrog because you like antiques, do you watch bargain hunt?

And I absolutely love watching call the midwife, because it's line a history lesson of that time,I watch it more for the houses and decorations and fashion than the story of giving birth
I'm currently rewatching brookside from the early days , purely to see the furniture,the houses ,the cars the fashion ,and how it all seemed normal then and modern,and watching it back it's so old fashioned ..

I need more interests than clothes ,I tried colouring ,but I felt stupid doing it

That is fascinating and I totally get what you mean about it being a simpler time (although with many hardships of course). I'm always drawn to things that are set in the 40s and 50s, possibly for similar reasons: it's a particularly interesting period of our history I think.

With the music thing, it might be a sensory issue - I can't really cope with background music. If there is music I have to listen to it properly or not have music at all. With gardening I think I just like it visually and I find reading about plants (not even in an interesting way, just lists of plants and their characteristics) relaxing, but the actual physical labour part of it I don't enjoy at all. I'll force myself to do it so I can enjoy the fruits of my labour later 😅

Brookside, wow, that brings back memories of the early 80s ... Harold Cross and Barry Grant! I loved it.

What's wrong with being interested in clothes though?

I get why people do colouring but for me it makes my brain itch.

Yes Edna recently died after being mugged
Very sad .

Nothing is wrong with liking clothes,I'm just getting frustrated with the fact I want to do something different and can't seem to move away from clothes

Do you get very tunnel-visioned with your interests? I get very monotropic with things and find it so difficult to switch to something else.

Yes .I get stuck easily in my head and can't move on ,even when I want to .
I don't want to keep looking at clothes and ordering them and sending them back ,I feel I am Stuck in a negative pattern of behaviour that is not helping me

You've got a lot on your plate right now though (just remembering your post about your birthday, and obviously the stress of having the assessment and getting new meds). It's a lot. Don't be too hard on yourself!

@Newyearsparkle do you watch the repeats of call the midwife on a Sunday? They’re on the U&Drama channel, freeview channel 20. I’m loving watching them. I can’t remember when I stopped watching CTM but like these repeats

Yes ..plus I'm a carer for two DC with autism,one is an adult and one 16 ,eldest will never live independently.and I don't get out of the house much ..so I don't even need lots of clothes as I don't go anywhere...make it make sense 🤣🤣

I've watched CTM from start to end about 4 times on BBC I player .. absolutely love it ..

I'm hoping for 1970s and 1980s one

@Newyearsparkle Oh I love those too, I went to Eden camp last year for their 1940s weekend and it was amazing, I had such a good day. It's a bit of a trek for us otherwise I'd be there all the time. Also did the Black Country museum, and of course the Imperial War Museum in London - I love it all! I loved 1940s House (you can find it on youtube) as well as 1900s house (a bit harder to find - I also love the Edwardian period). Can't deal with Call the Midwife at the moment - I can't watch anything with babies in for silly personal reasons (maybe I'll try again one day).
Try not to be too hard on yourself about your clothes, I get like that too with things and I think it's a coping mechanism.
@InertBird I agree with you about music, I always say I hate it but what I hate is music as background noise. I enjoy singing along in the car or in the kitchen though. What sort of music do you like?
I agree with you about colouring too - it makes my ears ring, I hate the sound!!