Season of Mists and Mellow Crepiness...

[QueenQueenie]

Here you go Crepesters...

CDiff, on the other hand, is refusing to send me copy. It was due in last week. Publisher is on case nagging them...

It has just struck me I am going to miss my children. On the other hand, I am sure I can endure this bravely.

MI - I find that as long as I know they're looked after, the pain of leaving them is not too great. Indeed, it is lovely to have a few days of unaccustomed liberty. FB it a great tool for getting all the gossip whilst you're gone - including blow by blow accounts of various trivial argument s you'll be not sorry to have missed.

Sorry to hear about lurgies but good news about MI's visa, mini-Herbs and Stropps's DH. Stropps, I was driving in the rainstorms on Mon too, was scary.

QQ, was delighted to bump into you at the Bumping-In Place & sorry I was so frazzled. You looked v. elegant and calm. I'd been working in Essex, had horrible two-hour drive home; had to run straight to station to catch train & two tubes to seminar. Disconcerted, then, to find no sign of it. Tracked it down in time & all went well, hope yours did too.

I too liked your hair Mi and the pretty hair grips. And am excited for you at the prospect of your trip now being a reality.
Stropps that is a hell of a lot of driving. Are there no train options at all? herbs I don't think many human males grow out of boob grabbing, do they?
Hatty lalsy I'm supposed to Skype for work meetings sometimes. I avoid it like the plague...it's like a hideous selfie come to life. But nice way to stay in touch with the Dds, though.
Beachy we have an iPod rule too. Perhaps I should check up on it more....
tilly has your ear popped yet?

I am having a bitter sweet morning....shopping for DMs birthday but having to buy a present and card for Ddad to give her and wondering how to get it to him and more importantly how to get him to REMEMBER....feel sad and tearful about it all.

I am also waiting frustratedly for ConScript to get back about a draft scene that I wrote ( had to re type....it was lost forever cremo molly) worried that it's too blue even for him. Its got, y'know, words in it....... yikes.

Just met Ancient Yet Spritely sort-of-uncle for Indian lunch. He felt back in Bangalore (he now lives in Canada) so a good time was had by all.

There was an article in the French press yesterday about how Steve Jobs banned his teenage children from the iPod and generally from computers during the week. I cut it out and left it on DS's pillow.

My bassoon has returned from its refurbishment, with a £450 bill. Fortunately my mum has promised to pay for it. Well, if she remembers.

I haven't played properly for years and years, and am a bit shit. Yet I've got myself roped into playing for a music appreciation crowd on Saturday. I can never resist a sweet old man. Said SOM, from my choir, tuned our piano for us for peanuts. When I said I played the bassoon, he asked, in a querulous voice, whether I'd mind awfully just playing a little for his little music group. I said yes, of course. We made a date, and I belatedly realised it was the same date as a good friend's 50th birthday party. I tried to get out of it, but he said the PUBLICITY had already been PRINTED! Turns out people are PAYING to come and hear me, and thankfully others, play. My humiliation is going to know no bounds.

Bassoon, Herbs.... wow. Good luck.

Found that article, HM. Might pass it onto my children too. here

Rose, the left one's a bit better but the right one is still pretty much blocked, grrr.

That Steve Jobs article has incensed me. So he invents all his techy stuff to wreck our children's brains, but makes sure his are OK?

BTM -I guess it's moderation in all things - I'm sure there is a parallel about this somewhere.

WTF - a parable!

His birth sister - brought up by his birth parents while he was adopted - is a rather good novelist and writes a lot about being an Arab-American, you know.

I am taking advantage of not having copy to try and grind out lots of short story. It is admittedly not a very good short story.

Oh, who, who, MI?

Mona Simpson. I first read her stuff in the 1980s

Thanks for the Mona Simpson info, MI. That is indeed fascinating.

Herbs, you should have stuck with baking the SOM a cake. Great news about your ds, though. Sounds like was worth the angst of moving him?!?

I am an Apple-refuser. Dd has succumbed and has an iPod she never uses (she has hearing issues and isn't very good with headphones, so I don't know why she insisted on getting one), plus an iPhone. But she did get crabby when no tech help was forthcoming at home because we don't do Mac stuff. Dh sorts all other tech stuff out happily, but just pulls a face when confronted with Appleage.

NU, I hope you're feeling better. Sounds like a bad bug you have. Btw, I did smirk at your remark about the "old folk stepping up to the mark". Dh would fairly bristle at that. Although he should be immune to rudery about his age after all the years of old geezer jokes from us.

Stropps, I hoped that would amuse you. I am feeling better this evening, thanks.

Herbs, so pleased to hear that DS has settled down so well at his new school - it must make the angst worth while.

I am off to my charity meeting tomorrow morning and then to the funeral of the DF of one of my friends in the afternoon.

Just back from a sixth-form evening - DD's third this week! Was great, the speeches were really good (sixth formers and Head of Sixth Form) and we were shown round by the loveliest Y12. Only downside is it's a bit of a trek - definitely a possible

And the bathroom lights have suddenly started working again

I loved Off Keck Road, MI, had no idea she was Steve's sister.

I am feeling stressed and unhappy. I seem to have too much to do before going to NY, both at home and practical stuff for going, like getting money out, clearing my credit card and sending the cheque for the travel insurance that I forgot to include. The good news is that they don't need me at the 0800 meeting tomorrow. The bad news is that the two people who are working for me have said, please don't go on leave and leave us with that awful woman, we can't stand her. I thought she was quite nice! Apparently she shouts at them, but not me - they think I intimidate her.

Just DH, DD2 and I are in residence this evening, so we popped out to Prezzo for a meal. Isn't it lovely and considerably cheaper when you just have one offspring to focus on?

Two INSET days are upon us. The elder two have been doing some furious social planning, and we will barely see them until the weekend: sleepovers tonight, meeting friends tomorrow, then (separately) off to Thorpe Park Fright Night on Friday. DD2 hasn't been quite so proactive so will be home. So DH will work from home tomorrow and me on Friday. Not sure yet how DD1 will get to Thorpe Park, as her lift has fallen through.

I've been planning the office Christmas Party....eek. Fifty people; half of whom want to drink themselves insensible and dance on tables, and the other half wanting somewhere nice and quiet so they can have a good chat. Which group do I belong to?

CV, my sympathies on the Christmas Part malarkey - it has turned into a major saga at our place this year!

Is it only Thursday? This week is long, as DD1 would say.

Am faintly miffed because Kevin the Roofer is due to come round when I am doing a phone interview. Otoh DP did find and arrange KtR so I should not grumble.

Our Christmas party has been downgraded from an evening to a lunch....Something Is Up and I am particularly annoyed as I had already paid for a hotel.

I have applied to be considered for a particular rescue dog this morning. Eeeek! Wish me luck.

Today I have had hideous hot flush (after several nights of night sweats) followed by appalling ovulation pain in the middle of doing a phone interview. I realise that probably I am subconsciously overdoing all the effects of ladyhormones given my mother's diagnosis and my consequent musings on ladyparts, but this is really Not Fair.

I did do a Ladyjog though.

Good luck on the canine front, beachy. I've had 2 rescues and they have been amazing critters. The first one, however, did not come from a "reputable" rescue. He was an electric storm on the end of a lead and would quite possibly not have ever been re-homed from a "proper" rescue, but he was probably the canine love of my life, although he was generally, er, a bit frightening to the rest of humanity and most other dogs. My current woofer is from The Blue Cross and they did a fine job of assessing both him and us. His nuttiness is merely breed-typical.

The roofer finally came to take away his scaffold yesterday. Hurrah. I spent yesterday evening taking up half the hideously disintegrated carpet in the loft. Operation New Office (and improved spare bedroom) should be complete by the end of the weekend. Oh yes!

Have just done my weekly stint in Reception. I was wayyyy more on it this morning and really quite enjoyed myself. I'm unearthing my old teacher persona and actually remembering the good bits rather than the bad for once.