School's out for crepeys

[lalsy]

Ooops, sorry, I didn't mean to finish the thread.

Well, QQ and MI, should you ever need to borrow such a thing (for outsize guests and inlaws when camping in the middle of nowhere, perhaps), you will know where to come.

(did I think there were no such things as loos at campsites, I wonder?)

NU, your offspring are very lucky to have you so close by. Many of us can only dream of that level of support.

Hey, BTM, did your ds's rucksack turn up yet?

Thanks for the welcoming arms. QQ, I too have a very pesky dog; I need to have builders in (so that the house looks less like the contents of a dustbin have been strewed around it) but I'm frustratingly having to delay until the dc sort themselves out a bit. Once the oldest one goes off to uni, the floors will be up and the electricians in. I hope.

Bizarrely I've discovered that an ongoing sinus issue may be allergic rhinitis. Yesterday I was tested to see if it's the dog I'm allergic to. If it's dust mites, then that's a different issue. But it looks like they have to test one thing at a time.

Hello, Molly and welcome.

MrsS, having seen the combative gleam in your eye the other night, I think you're going to prevail in the end. I'd bet on it.

Wilbur, v sorry to hear about bike theft. Our burglary was due to DH leaving back door unlocked. Nothing he valued was taken, other than his watch. I lost laptop, phone, camera, sat nav, video camera, DVD player etc etc etc and was tied up in data retrieval and admin for ages. He kept on leaving the door unlocked (still does, though he has improved). I had vengeful thoughts for a while.

Stropps, drooling at thought of Loire & glad to hear DD coming. Say hello to Chenonceau from me (and imagine the satisfaction of chucking your husband's mistress out of it).

BTM hope your holiday is fantastic despite luggage probs. Is it Air Canada? DD's just been telling me one of her favourite You-tubers has posted a damning piece about their customer service.

QQ are you about to have a break? Is new kitchen going to be in basement?

NUFC, hope I can be as involved in DD's life when she has kids as you are. Sounds great.

Just typed, then deleted, boring rant about the extra 15 hours I did this week gathering data for appraisal. Mildly pissed off by the process but tbh gratified by the results.

In bout of extravagance we're taking DD and her friend to Paris for w/e. Haven't been since DH got ill, looking forward to it hugely

Well, what a day! In a long and twisting shaggy dog dinner party story, we have DSs bag

We made it to the local bus to the border where we met a local who offered us a ride to our hotel, saving us $30 (at least some of what we shelled out getting the rucksack back) and our hotel room has 2 double beds, so I will get some fidget-free nights

And we are now on the beach for a sundowner - perfecto!

Auriga, it was United Airlines

Stropps, glad your DD chose you though the it may be just the thought that counts The Loire is fab for cycling, and I know many of les chateaux and the vineyards It is great for family cycling - lots of road maps and you can hire bikes too!

Paris is cool too Are you driving? Parking is free and it is deserted en aout!

I am trying to speak a bit of pidgin Spanish, but it is a great opportunity for DD to step up to the plate!

Herbs, it does sound like your mate isn't really managing. Unless her son has an undiagnosed SN, the biting, etc could be down to parenting style/personality

And QQ how is your kitchen going? I feel about my rants - you are obviously loads more laid back than me!

Auriga, and BTM, I am feeling very envious of both of you. DH keeps on promising to take me to Paris, but I am still waiting (I don't think the Perifique is quite the same! ). And sipping some wine on a beach is very appealing.

We try to keep out of DCs' lives but be there when they need us, if you see what I mean.

Rudy, I am afraid that you are going to be terribly disappointed, a parent never stops worrying. So you worry about exams, getting to uni, being there, getting a job, a home, hurt by a relationship ... the list goes on. But it does get quieter!

Morning all - welcome Molly.

Packing up from my brief surjorn with mate with a fridge full of Champange and heading home tonight after work - quite looking forward to it, but heading back to a fridge with nothing in it!

BTM glad the bag arrived!

Interview was fine, no real feel for whether I would get it or not. Have to wait til next week to find out so I've put it out of my mind.
Thank god it's Friday - all this took of hols is making me

BD, do you think that you actually want the job? I hope it turns out the way you want. And if it is offered could you turn it down if it's not what you want?

Last full day in St Ives and it's cloudy and dull. And I had a terrible night's sleep, for no particular reason. Humph.

This house keeps giving me flashbacks - it is Victorian, 3-storey and exactly the same internal layout and architecture as a rented house I shared with XBF (and two others) many, many years ago. The stairs, the corridors, the windows...The bedroom we have right now is the exact equivalent of the one I had back then, other than the position of the bed, and of course, the view of the sea, instead of Weybridge High Street. The bathrooms are somewhat better too. But it feels spookily familiar.

Not sure about friend's DS. He's apparently even worse at school, and an ed psych has been drafted in to look at him, who wondered if it was an ASD type thing. His twin sister, with the same genes and upbringing, is totally different.

I am very far from house proud, and our house is very much less clean than most of our friends', but Sheffield friend's house has given a few friends upset stomachs. I don't think she knows this, however.

The kitchen is clean, but the kids smear food over all surfaces which then festers. This, and the travails of potty training, I think are the causes of the tramps trousers settee.

BTM, this all sounds terribly exciting (apart from ds bag issue), I think it is brilliant you are backpacking with your dc - they will know how to do it and make it fun when they go alone.

Welcome Molly!

Stropps, that's great dd has picked you. I don't understand about French places [says Lalsy wildly] - what is in the Loire? I'd love us to go somewhere good for family cycling but we never get beyond the UK for that as I can't fathom departements/cycling maps etc.

Auriga, take the girls to Chartier for lunch or dinner - it should be open in August. We are off to Scotland early tomorrow morning. I can't find my swimsuit, so may have to dash to M & S later to see if they have any left.

Pussy seems better this morning - no unpleasant surprises. DH said if she is stressed, we should allow her unfettered access to the bedroom (so fingers crossed that she doesn't pee or poo on the duvet again, as we have had to throw out one, one is at the cleaners and the third is on the bed...) This is most unlike DH as he is not a fan of the cats.

Lalsy, I don't understand about French places either. I am also a generally anxious traveller these days, so mainly try to avoid it. But I am pulling myself together to take the family to experience the delights of the Loire, which are mainly, as BTM says the Chateaux and the vineyards. I myself will be giving special attention to the Cremant de Loire, sparkling Saumur and the Vouvray. I hope.
As for cycling, I am not sure I can persuade dh. He is, as I may have mentioned, not exactly the sporty outdoor type and somewhat, ahem, lacking in condition. He is also built like a garden gnome with teeny-weeny legs, which is handy in that we need the same size bike, so he has the use of the ancient mountain bike that I used to commute around London in the 80s. I think he has used it about twice in a decade. I'm pretty sure the dc will be up for hiring bikes, though, so he may just have to puff along behind us. I suppose I should pack the cycling helmets, just in case.

Hello Molly

I was single parent ( not of twins, though) for 8 years, with a DS that wet the bed until a ripe old age. But I'm a fanatic about smells....my family say even now that I can smell things that no one else can. You just have to clean more, tedious as it is. I was a bit of a mad woman (still am) running around with febreze and lighting candles. I'm not very good about dust and smears, though. Plenty of that chez nous.
tilly your trip sounds amazing and so pleased the bag has been recovered. Do tell.....
auriga I hope it's not true about air Canada. We're flying off with them in a couple of weeks...yikes
MrsS where in Scotland ? Is it worth putting a plastic cover over the duvet whilst you're away?
Im being very lazy today. Not up yet. DH is joining us tonight. Have had very little sleep. An old friend of 40 years standing ( reunited recently for those who saw on fb) ...her town took a direct hit last night. Finally got a hold of her on fb messenger in the middle of the night. They're ok, thank heavens.

Ahhh, now you're talking . I love Cremant - if I can drink my way to a better understanding of French geography, I'm on.

I am definitely not built for cycling but am so, so pleased that dh geed us all up to it years ago. We still do days out biking, and the occasional overnight, as the dc are both still up for it. I love the way you get to be with your thoughts covering the miles and then have something to talk about when you stop (which can be a challenge with family walking I find....). And I think you cover ground at just the right speed to make the changing landscape interesting and memorable.

I am hoping for a fairly straightforward day today - but fear this may not happen. Have also prevailed on all my fellow-inmates to go en famille to a party tonight, which may or may not be a good idea; I had this fond idea I could present us all as a lovely group with adorable girls, which would work only if we inhabited an alternative universe, frankly. As it is there will be huffing and eye-rolling and stomping, not to speak of the reminders of The Time You Got Drunk At Aiofe's Daddy's Party. Like Kathy Lette says, it's like living with the Taliban sometimes.

Rose . I've had both my chickens back home this week and pondering on the undiluted chaos joy that has brought, and thinking of you and how lovely it will be to get your ds home again.

I think for lost luggage Air France win the prize (have a friend who travels a lot and in the people in a similar job - international officer for Unis) say the same thing. We always cross pack so if a bag goes adrift you at least have some knickers and a change of clothes!

I am like Rudy and won't pay Ryan Air (or Easy Jets) hold charges so we are all on cabin baggage for Bilbao......

NU - I am not sure if I want the job - the whole process has been a bit weird, and I would not feel guilty about turning it down - it is as much about you interviewing them as them interviewing you.

I have the house to myself until Sunday when dp, ds and ddog will all return!

Hmmm. I now have gyppy batty. Rather like various friends have also had on return from the Twin Zone. Though it may be unconnected, natch.

Dosed up on Immodium, as determined to go to much-anticipated day in Epping Forest with all DS's old nursery chums. Picnic, outdoor games, treasure hunt, etc etc. There is a loo quite nearby!

My passport saga continues. Dame from passport office rang wanting our 'flight details'. Said firmly we were leaving the house with no possibility of return next Weds and couldn't get the Eurotunnel the following week if passport wasn't with us before....

...then she asked for DD2's DOB as 'security detail' (I feel this is possibly one of the less obscure security details of our time) and will ring back. At some point.