Mardy Crepeys

[SheherazadeSchadenfreude]

Done it...

Anyone offering you biccies and wine?

Actually the music is quite calming. And theres a fab croquenbouche.

Or space cookies?

Make sure you genuflect on the way out

No incense thankfully as it makes me sneeze. A lot! But sadly no space cookies either (unless the macarons are disguised!)

I love the smell of incense, must be the Catholic upbringing lingering on.

Herbs, I welled up when I read your DS's comment; poor little lad - courage to you.

We have been out for the afternoon to the coast: it must be warm as we took my car with the top down. Interesting, though, it was 15.5 degrees C when we left here and down to 9 degrees C at the coast which curtailed our walking somewhat. We did manage to pay a visit to an Italian cafe and had some lovely icecream (cherry, rum and raisin, and Ferrero Rocher chocolate flavours) - delicious. Icecream is my downfall, I am afraid.

DH has also started suffering with hay fever, he told me (as if I didn't know after listening to his trumpeting!). At least he doesn't have huge nosebleeds these days which is what used to happen.

NU, I am so of you - you live in a beautiful part of the country, you have lovely GC (and DC!) to go to cafes with and you have the time to enjoy it all! Roll on retirement (if I am still around by then!)

I am of anyone who can retire. Ain't gonna happen round here. Still, I quite enjoyed the fact that my self-employed status enables me to go to for a haircut on Wed morning and then spend a happy hour faffing around in various opticians trying on new glasses frames. Will have to put in some extra hours tomorrow to make up for it, but hey.

Hair now even shorter. But why do all glasses make me look like my granny looked in about 1974? Boooooo.

I have bought myself a new fancy cup and saucer for drinking fancy herbal tea in whilst thinking zen thoughts. It says "Let it go". I'm trying to do that a bit more. And dh has just done the washing up, ds has hoovered the stairs and dd is contemplating hoovering the ground floor. I am honing my assertive delegation skills.

BTM, yes, I know I am (we are) very lucky. The fact that we are now financially comfortable helps enormously, of course. I think the worst time with children is actually when they are teenagers and then (hopefully) going to university: they cost you an arm and a leg, you seem to have no rapport with them very often and they certainly don't want you around much of the time. Life is much simpler when they are younger and you can just kiss their hurts away. My DH has always been a worrier - jobs, retirement, you name it, he will worry about it, but it's thanks to him that we can have such a lovely life in retirement. And having GC is indeed a blessing. I find that I actually have time to enjoy them, as when my own DC were young my DH was away a lot and worked long hours so I was always under pressure.

Stropps, I am booked in for an optician's appointment next Thursday - I hate, hate, hate choosing specs. I never know if they suit me, I resent paying an arm and a leg for them so I know I am going to be stressed. I have varifocals, a coating on to make them not so thick and then reactolite or similar which I like instead of getting prescription sunglasses; the last pair were over 500!

I am glad to hear that you are getting to grips with the delegation thing - every little helps.

I also have varifocals and need to opt for slightly pricier lenses to avoid getting ultra-thick ones. Some of the quotes I got today, eh, £500 would have seemed bargainous. Dh had his eyes tested yesterday and says he doesn't need new glasses. Except he does because he has had the same frames for 11 years and they are going a bit ... yukky. And even ds says they are old-fashioned. Dh refuses to pay more than what he considers is absolutely necessary for his glasses and wants to go to one of those places you just pitch up with your prescription and measurements and give them £25 and hope for the best. I think there's probably a happy medium somewhere between the ludicrously expensive £500+ eyewear and the £25 bargain-basement bottle-bottoms and we both need to find it. Dh also refuses to wear varifocals as he thinks they are for the vain. Like me. I have put it to him that bi-focals make him look (more) ancient, but he says he doesn't care.

Stropps at the cost of the specs! I look worse than you all as I wear my cheapy reading glasses perched on the end of my nose and peer over them at the family/TV, etc!

DP bought £500 glasses and then lost them

This is one of the very many reasons why we do not entirely share finances.

I hate the written word. What stupid bugger thought universal literacy was a good thing, eh? Am futzing around with sentences on the screen.

I wouldn't spend loads of money on glasses if they were not on my face all the time. If my vision was good enough that I could take my glasses off, leave them somewhere and lose them, I'd be off with dh to the bargain-basement bottle-bottoms shop.

I am with you there, Stropps; I have worn glasses on and off since I was about nine and I always think I look better without them. I would love not to wear them; do love my varifocals, though. I think I coped with them from about five yards outside the opticians.

Good Lord, MI, I would have slaughtered my dh if he had lost glasses costing that much

I hate my glasses. I need to get new contact lenses sorted out.

One optician I went to asked me if I wanted a dog or a white stick. I told him to fuck off. (I am slightly touchy about my eyesight as my eyes were badly affected by measles and will just get worse and worse.)

I've only started really needing reading glasses in the past couple of years. They're only a 1.5 prescription, but without them I do that weird 'old lady' peering face, and get cross with diddly things DS wants me to do.

I also keep mislaying them. A string cannot be far away.

Sorry to hear of all the illness and grief among friends and relatives. Hope your friend's pregnancy won't be completely blighted, wilbur. Third trimester hormones may protect her a little. But not her dh, of course

Things are still grim here but I had to laugh yesterday. In a discussion about diaries, I told DH our choir has been asked to take part in a performance of Peter the Great in May. He looked thoughtful for a minute.

Then he said 'Do you mean Ivan the Terrible?'

And I did

But at least I know it's Tuesday. And Mrs Thatcher is still Prime Minister, right?

MI thanks for the boosting 'it'll be fine' speech :)
Yesterday went from bad to worse because whilst colleague 'apologised' I discovered he has been saying these in high level meetings with the great and the good and of course there has been no one there to put my case - thanks for that.

I bought specs on line cheap but they are hideous - I wear them at home to read and use my off the shelf ones at work! I guess I should take it all seriously and pay for a proper fitted pair.

Misty start to the day here, but I am looking forward to a good one and I am not working woo hoo...

Herbs, I only started needing reading glasses once I got into my 40's, as did all my friends. I have millions of cheapy pairs everywhere, but I still sometimes forget to take them out and we have to pass round the one pair a friend has remembered to read the menu!
MrsS, measles sadly blighted quite a few lives - DFIL has one non-working eye and DH's best mate's sister has LD's

Auriga

it's another lovely day here in the NE (I noticed in the paper that we were 5 degrees C warmer than my sister in the Midlands yesterday -most unusual).

A family member has MS and has recently lost her sight altogether: she is amazing and never seems to let it get her down. She and her husband just get on with life; they don't let it interfere with what they want to do.

Wilbur, sorry to hear about your troubles - I hope that the pregnancy continues ok.

i had my eyes lasered about 4 years ago and can recommend it if anyone is considering that. i was v shortsighted with a touch of astigmatism and rubbish with both contact lenses and glasses.

v misty up here in herne hill with my dad (staying night with him after dental op) looks like classic autumn, back to school weather

btm - see you on wed? hv you done your appts online?

hm - are your initials cr?

Eyes are totally date-stamped. Past 40, they deteriorate. Whatever the rest of you looks like. Seems to be no exception...also if any of you haven't had an eye test in recent years please have one as the risk of glaucoma (totally treatable but existing damage cannot be reversed) zooms up too.

Auriga, I feel much better for your tactful prompt that it is the 20th century after all

Have just RTFT - so sorry for your friend and her husband, Wilbur.

MIL is out of hospital - came out last night, still being pumped full of antibiotics, although they can find no reason at all for why she vomited blood, which is worrying.