Forever Autumn Forever Crepey

[cremolafoam]

The summer sun is fading as the year grows old,
and darker days are drawing near,
the winter winds will be much colder,
now you're not here.
I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky
and one by one they disappear
I wish that I was flying with them,
now you're not here

Stropps another sisyphean task!
Well done you! Amazing woman!

Oh and I must be the harshest mother here, because I force dd to go to bed when we go to bed. I can't be doing with people clumping around the house when I'm trying to sleep and I also can't be doing with her behaviour when she is under-slept - it's bad enough even when she's had enough sleep. I go in and open her curtains and tell her to get up when it gets after 10 at weekends and during the holiday. And as for cooking after about 9pm - ah, I cook supper - if you ain't there when I cook, you don't eat anything other than a sandwich. Do I get the "Horrible Old Bag" award?

Thank you, Crem! I am strangely proud of myself.

I'm very impressed by the freezer action.

Glad all dc have at least survived school return, as has mine. It must be de rigueur to moan at home about as much as possible - "not fair...everyone else...blah...blah..."

MrsS, I do feel for you with your poor mother and her brothers. I hope you will be alright tomorrow.

And finally, I just have time to say Happy Birthday to BTM - could not squeeze it onto the last thread.

Quite right Stropps. You should be very proud.

Nope, Stropps, that's me . By a county mile. Ten is a lie-on. I can't stand grumping either. Do rather wish someone else would cook occasionally but certainly not late at night. Have to say I did just have a rather lovely dinner with ds and his mate who accidentally stayed. Well done on the freezer.

I am ridiculously pleased because I have just bought a toolbox, so grown up. It has little compartments.

MrsS, .

I am here to say Happy Birthday to BTM only to find (from FB) that she's been taken up the Oxo Tower. Anyway, many happy returns and all that - hope you've had the most terrific celebrations.

I am missing you all, my crepey friends, but have been trying very hard to move forward various personal and professional projects over the summer and so have been very strict about time online (with a timer and all) and it seems that once I have done all things I have to do online - banking, dealing with holiday house rentals and Airbnb, researching various extension-related materials and finishes and so on - it seems there is no time left for lovely chats. It has made a difference and we seem at least to be moving slowly forward with our house, so that the leaking toilets, lethal electrics, nuclear fission oven and asbestos-lined garage may at some point be things of the past. Watch this space for exciting news of builder nightmares!

If there is a meet up soon and I have not been around, will someone PM me? Dd and ds2 have both started new schools and my commute has been mercifully simplified so that I can get out a bit more easily in the evenings. In fact, I am celebrating the 50th of a lovely friend tomorrow evening at a trendy bar near my office. V much looking forward to it, although I think it might be a bit of a pick up joint in which case I will be offended if someone doesn't try to chat me up a bit.

Oh, and I dyed my hair platinum.

Ciao bionda

Lovely to see you, wilbur. I believe Sat Oct 11th is the next meet up.

Go Stropps!

Don't take too much notice of first day back blues... they just need to settle down into the new set up most probably. I do very perfunctory sympathy and briskly change the subject. Am I the most

Just time to get a Happy Birthday in for you BTM.

The family illnesses and awfulness is terrible Mrs S. Truly horrible for all concerned. I'm sorry you're having to deal with all this.

WILBUR! Can you come on the 11th? Are you still lurking or have I missed you already as your time is up... Hope all is well. Respect for the self discipline and the rl accomplishments.

Typing weakly from sofa. Survived Legoland and associated 3.5 hours driving, mainly in queuing traffic. Went on much scarier rides than I'd been expecting, but DS was thrilled to pieces with everything, with much insistence that we do everything 'again'. See my photo on FB for the atmos.

First day back tomorrow. Poised to move schools, but half expecting belated leap into action by current one. Just to confuse me.

Knackered, with aching hips and back from endless queues and shuffling.

Am still here and have put 11th October in the diary - yay!

Herbs - didn't realise you were possibly moving schools - is this to the one that ds's nursery friends went to?

Will try and check in more often now I'm back doing normal work hours again and not frantically checking emails at 1am in order to keep up with stuff.

Excellent news Wilbur.

That is a brilliant photo Herbs! have you dried off yet?

Ooooh, I want a full report from the Oxo Tower please. Legoland - less so. Been there, done the queues. You should get a Good Mummy badge for that.

Hi Wilbur! I'm most impressed by your resolve with regard to online time wasting. How much more could I get done if I wasn't faffing around on here? Although I am doing a fair amount of bathroom research while I'm at it. And platinum blonde...wowser.

MrsS Hope your uncle is comfortable, at least.

My uncle's funeral is next week, but oddly he has specified that there is to be no get-together afterwards. At least DM will be back from her holiday in time.

Glad you "enjoyed" Legoland, Herbs. I did have a soft spot for the place.

Strops - it's early days, 6th form wise....plenty of time to settle in.

DS made me laugh this evening - he is now Upper School (with a natty crest on his school tie) and clearly feeling like a grown-up all of a sudden. One of his mates had a birthday today, so a group of them went out for a "sit down meal", with proper waiters and all. And he's decided he might start wearing a watch, because "it looks professional". I'm looking forward to his new-found maturity being reflected in his school work.

Yay Wilbur please come on Saturday 12th Oct as I want to see your hair as it would be great to hear about the house. I'm a bit weird as I love talking about finishes and papers and looks!
No venue yet but will pm you when we've sorted it.

May I be the first to say Happy Birthday Wilbur . Enjoy your day.

Stropps - well done on herculean freezer task. I did our small three drawer one in July and that was sufficiently arduous.

Today my two youngest have their rentree so I'm crossing my fingers. No uniform here so DD2 has left the house at 7 am in shorts and reeking of Amour Amour.

Herbs just looked at FB - your expression is a classic. When do you start your teaching course?

Happy birthday, Wilbur. Hope you have a lovely day . And belated happy birthday to BTM for yesterday. Hope it was a fab day.

MrsS, am thinking of you today.

Had to work myself silly yesterday and cancel my holiday booked for today as I have too much to do. Only skim read on the bus home very late. Will try to catch up properly today as I am working at home.

Managed to wake up for work, and no hangover after copious amounts of drink! The Oxo Tower was great - we sat outside which was lovely at sunset, if a little chilly by 10 (it was a surprise and I had a thin silk dress on under a leather jacket!) Food was lovely - DH is definitely in the Good Books

Herbs, I also love your expression on that photo - we have never bought one of them, but there was a fab one from Parc Asterix IIRC with DH looking like he had died and DS hiding under the bar which we really should have bought!

Wilbur, great to see you and it is Sat 11th

Is it your birthday tomorrow Wilbur, or a friends? Happy Birthday if it is yours!

Stropps, they all like to moan - I bet it's just normal moaning and everything is actually fine. I am very of you getting them to bed when you go and up at 10 DD was still up at 1am when I went to the loo, but she is still on hol till Monday, and had just come back from a few days away with friends (which involved going to bed much later, eek)

DS is back in today as is DH and my little lovelies are back in today - happy days! DS's age 16 trousers are too short, but he seems quite happy as he likes the ankle-skimming-white-sock-look of the 1980's I will have to buy him men's 34" slim-legs at £££. He is 13 FFS!

I think it's her friend's BTM my 6.30 am start has clearly addled my brain.

The poetry thread on Chat is beautiful by the way.

I actually really enjoyed LegoLand, after an initial massive grump when I couldn't work out where anything was, and got thrown off a ride after queuing for ages for DS not being six.

The queues weren't too bad, the rides were ace and DS loved the Lego figures everywhere.

It's of course a horrific rip off. Luckily I had a voucher, so only had to pay the £40odd quid for DS, but ridiculously also had to pay £4 parking. It took 45 minutes to get out of the park, and 2.5 hours to get home, but it was worth it.

I don't normally succumb to buying those 'action' photos, but this one was so funny I had to do it. Can't imagine how I got my mouth so far from my nose.

Oh dear, BAD start to the day here: have been sleeping very very badly (all sorts of stuff - CDiff issues*, my mum, the fury I realised at 5.20 that I'm feeling with my mum for being a bit crap at a lot of the mother stuff) and also have vicious stomach cramps (sorry if TMI but am having horrible breakthrough bleeding/spotting); DP says he's been sleeping badly and this is partly MY FAULT for coming to bed at - get this - 11pm (I did suggest I sleep on the sofa); DD1 is cross because she doesn't want to be back at school (despite her 101 BFFs there - I'd rather be lounging around at home, I do see her point) and Nobody Understands that it's just as hard for her as it is for anyone going back to work and also because DD2 is getting a bit of a fuss. DP did Aggressive Laundry and has bogged off.

Oh, and I'm so knackered I tried not going for a run and having a whole 20 mins' extra sleep while DP showered, which annoyed him. It's rather like when the girls were tiny and he would say I got a 'lie-in every morning', ie breastfed a baby and chatted to a toddler while he showered...

*Dippy designer now refusing to be corralled into any kind of order or schedule again. If she were an inspired designer I might be more inclined to let her get away with this.

Oh yes, Aggressive Laundry - the heavy sigh as the laundry is sorted, then coming to ask me where the Ariel is kept, coming back again to ask if we have fabric conditioner, then again to ask which programme he should use. We also have Aggressive Hoovering and mutterings about Those Fucking Cats Shedding Fur.

DD1 is relatively happy as she has a better part in the school play and is on the football team. DD2 went to a sleepover yesterday and we have no idea if she arrived safely or not - I had thought she would call/text DH, as he took her to the station, and he assumed she would text me. She has not responded to texts or calls at all (this is not unusual). We are going with the assumption that she got there and all is well, as DH did call the child's mother to tell her what train she would be on, and the mother said she would call if there were any problems... (The lack of contact only became clear around midnight last night when it was too late to call child's mother, and show what crap parents we are...)