Beware the Crepes of March!

[QueenQueenie]

Well someone had to do it as my last post was number 999...

I am let off DD2 dance duty - normally DP would do it but has gone, quite uncharacteristically, to a football match (makes a change from TMADSNBN) - by the fact the poor child is coughing and has a temperature.

I do realise my parents are typical of absolutely nothing. Actually a fair number of my dad's academic colleagues played serious squash, I suspect, and some of them may well have gone running too. My father thought of himself as a keen swimmer, but only went while we were on holiday. My mother was far too ethereal to consider such pursuits.

I have a website, Rose, which is basically an online CV. I only have it because it's now pretty well de rigeur for any self-respecting hack. And I don't have any bells and whistles on it, just information about how unspeakably fabulous I am.

Just back from the gym where I wore my new tight black yoga type pants (DH for some reason thinks these are a huge turn on ). Off to football after lunch.

We have booked our Canada flights, too, BTM, it's very exciting.

Rose, sorry you had a disturbed night - but how typical that everyone else slept through the noise.

We have red squirrels here so definitely not on the menu. I love to see them bounding about in the garden (not that it is a regular occurrence).

Hope others are feeling better.
We are coughing in tandem and OH has constant hiccups with his version of the cold, which are driving him (and me) mad.
He has dragged 24 hours worth of logs in, I went out for essential supplies (our local supermarket makes me want to cry after a week of wonderful Waitrose) and we are in front of the wood-burner watching back episodes of Benidorm ER. (Honestly the state of some people....)

Ooooh how lovely about flights being booked.

Rose, hope you are feeling perkier. Loads of people are on LinkedIn because they are freelance in industries where they have to be (same as websites and blogs etc) and their profiles are dull and sensible (I know because I am one such and copied others!). I don't engage with it at all, don't do any of the popularity stuff and still get approaches through it (albeit usually for a type of work I no longer do). Honestly, I really don't think everyone is taken in by the swagger. And missing meals - pah.

Ello crepinas

BTM - for the knackerednes, get B12 levels tested too.

I don't pay for LinkedIn Rose, pretty sure you can have a free profile. Agree it can be ridiculous. VG Graun or Observer cartoon the other week with a request to connect from someone who was 'Digital Creative at Foofyfoo'

They do rabbit and odd things at MI's lunch place which I have dinnered at deliciously.

QQ I feel cool knowing you with your gym/bong teen garden room neighbours.

Please put me on list for April 25th. I would love to join you.

I don't pay for LinkedIn either.

Honesty, if you read my website you'll see how easy it is to sound impressive. Frankly if I can do it...

I never look at Linked In. It's no gauge of how fabulous someone is. Because so many entries are inflated puffery, something genuinely good people (like me, obvs, and Rose, and MI) who just say honestly what they've done, it devalues actual honest entries. All the networking that goes on there is just insecure people wanting to believe their own hype. Or something.

How are you today, Molly? I hope you are recovering and being looked after.

I don't think not being able to eat offal is any bad thing. I have no inclination to eat spleen (and rofling at "whose spleen is it anyway") or lungs or anything that would normally be chucked out or fed to dogs. I imagine squirrel is large on bones (little spiky, sharp ones) and little on actual meat. My father was always of the view that you should eat something magnificent when you ate out, something that you wouldn't cook at home, and I am inclined to agree. I remember him coming gloomily back from a smart dinner party, and saying "They fed us stew, can you imagine?" and my mother saying "No, it was boeuf bourguignon," and him just saying louder "It was STEW." Saying that, we are having a lovely 1970s standby for dinner tonight, one of the main ingredients being Campbell's mushroom soup.

The 1970s for me was cheesecloth, bean sprouts, curly kale, purple sprouting broccoli (my father was an adventurous gardener) and kefir. We also had nylon sheets on the beds and nylon bedspreads (but nice wool Witney blankets). And brushed nylon nighties. If you moved fast enough in the bed, you could create sparks.

Oo yes, brushed nylon sheets and brushed nylon nighties. Whoosh! My mum was so thrilled because they didn't have to be starched and iron. I think polycotton arrived early seventies? It was a great relief.
We had lots of cheesecloth too, OH in cheesecloth shirt and flared jeans and me in damson print Laura Ashley smock. The children in Clothkits....
The grandchildren roar with laughter at the pictures.

My parents retained a pointlessly defiant snobbery about polluting cotton (which is after all a Nice Indian Fibre) with polyester. Also about 'continental quilts' about which my father spoke with horror. Almost as much horror as about anything 'trendy' which was the worst possible thing you could be, even worse than 'sporty'.

Nutters. Both of them.

Ooh Canada NU that's on my bucket list!

I got inveigled into Linked in by a friend. What a load of toss. And I can't work how to get out of it, and the bloody updates.

I am knackered after 2 nights of not sleeping and not getting to bed till after 1 last night. But at least I don't have a cold!

Well, I think LI is like all these things - the content is as good as the content (although LI has particularly annoying features). Posturing idiots are everywhere and find ways to posture, whatever the medium. And freelances have to have an online profile and I have been heartened recently by positive responses to my being firm about what I can't/won't do. Rose, there are people out there still looking beyond the spin.

Oh my dear god. DH has come back saying his DParents have broken the news to him that they are dividing their estate unequally between him and his (estranged to us ) sister. In her favour. Neither of us give a damn about the money....these days most inheritances are going on care of the elderly anyway. But emotionally it's hit DH hard. He's been a good, attentive son.

but not surprised. We've seen it coming. However I think nothing prepares one for how it feels to be faced with a tangible sign of being the less favoured offspring, does it.

We were all fire risks when I was growing up in the '60 and '70s. Nylon fitted sheets and brushed nylon nighties. Oh yes....

Oh Rose, that's awful.

Thank you so much for all you solicitous enquiries! Sad to say I am not much better, but it is an excuse to spend a lot of time reading books since there is nothing else I'm capable of, and barely even that. H is for Hawk - has anyone else read it? It is a set text for my course.

NZ - fantastic, BTM. I have very distant rellies there and seriously intend to follow them up at some point (when not close to death as now). Really sorry we can't walk tomorrow. Yes to another Sunday.

If you have red squirrels, NU, you cannot prevent me from visiting when we investigate Newcastle Uni.

Oh Rose that must be very difficult.

Oh fuck, Rose. That is truly so shit. What did dh say to them? I think he needs to work out a way to feel better about this. It's damaging enough without him having to feel bad for the rest of his life. How can they do that? Can we Crepeys go and beat anyone up?

Why do parents do this? It's absurd (unless there is a specific reason for one child needing a larger provision for disability or such). I appreciate it's their choice but to pass down your preferences to the next generation is very unfair.

We are having a quiet weekend, napping, catching up, sorting out - you get the picture. We have a great friends 50th birthday party tonight, but I'm still not feeling 100%. I will struggle through ....

SIL has always been seen by PILs as the lame duck. She is single, 45 and has intermittently had an ME type illness. She works for a well known retailer in the buying dept who kept her job open ever through sick leave. She has an excellent pension scheme. She also has her own place, runs a car etc etc. she got the dead needle for some reason when DH and I met, thinking I feel. that he was the geeky loser who would never marry and she was the girl about town. She stopped speaking to us allegedly because she disapproved of our lifestyle, whatever that means. My kids have never met their aunt.

Thanks all for the solidarity. I hurt for DH. He was I think very balanced with them but they'e always thought that he was " made up" financially so tended to spend a lot of SIL instead, including our wedding...they didn't want to help him pay for the grooms bit of it because they needed to save I case SIL got married. We didn't care...we made our own wedding but I saw the writing on the wall.

Apparently one of the reasons for their blizzard decision is that I have professionally qualifications!!! One wonders what that has to do with the price of eggs....

But look, they charged DH rent when he was doing his professional training so....

Rose, my own take on this is that your dh should spell out how hurt he is by this. Why should he keep schtum and suck it up? It's not fair AT ALL. I'm also shocked at your SIL having nothing to do with her nephews and nieces; although one of the reasons I am so outraged on your dh's behalf is that I have a similar story, with viperish behaviour against me in the warm bosom of my family . Inheritance is a crock of shit and there are so often sly manoeuvrings going on behind the scenes.

Blizzard? Bizzare...

Oh Rose Let's all make sure we don't favour one of our children over the other (s)

DS has been revising for 3 (III) hours
DD has been sleeping but is now I hope, getting something done!

Rose - that's really bad news and also very sad that your children have never met their aunt. In France - everything has to be divided equally although I don't know how this works for furniture, jewellery etc.

We have booked to go to Somerset - somewhere near the Wookey Hole I think. In this way we can visit Exeter, Bath and Bristol uni's plus my sister in Devon. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the weather. Hiking in the Lake District will have to wait for another year.

Emily Alice - I'm in Paris if you're ever down this way.