Mission Crepe: no surrender

[Collymollypuff]

Here ya go...

I only really sniffed the jasmine. I am on a jasmine quest. Would Smoke and Jasmine work as a title, do you think?

Smoke and Jasmine, Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Saffron (wrong continent?!), Smoke and... Sex, Cinnamon, Sufi...

Gone Saffron
Gone Cinnamon
Secret Saffron
Secret Cinnamon Jasmine

Wearing new knickers today. Went to the loo earlier, and there was a "3 for 2" sticker on my arse. It did feel a bit scratchy.

MI - L'Occitane gets my vote for lush bath stuff. Or anything, really.

Lalsy - We were 'teen tussling' well into the twenties - drug induced psychosis meant emergency flight half way round the world...... I never thought we'd come out the other side to the happy place we are now.

Oh shit MM , I dread this kind of thing. Shhh now hands over ears lalala... Poor you btw.

On fragrant bathing : a lovely Crepster once bought me some Aromatherapy Assoc. oils and they were just gorgeous, and I'd love to have them again( adds to Xmas list)
I also adore Ortigia soap especially the lime bath oil.
For Jasmine scent maybe Korres?

It's well in the past now, Crem - ten years ago & life is good again - for now!

Magimedi . I am so glad you are all in a happy place now.

MI, title for your novel, a new scent or new thread?.

CV .

Good to see you Rose, take care of yourself.

Gosh MM - this has happened to the son in a lovely family I know. He is 19 now and I am so glad it's aĺl come right for you.

NU - so sweet for DGS - I'll soon start my annual rant on never having been cast as an angel as I'm not blonde.

DD2's UCAS - has finally been sent -we have lift off

Nooo MM How awful. I am praying we have been through the worst with ours already

Hurrah Hatty!

Aaargh! DH got a puncture so was going to take the car. The car is weirdly lights flashing and not working (modern cars - everything is linked to the electrics - took me ages to get into it at all). He has gone for the train. Good job it's Wednesday and I haven't got a meeting this morning. And now DD is shouting that I haven't washed a particular jumper

I am off to teach. Am well-prepared though embarrassed to have to clarify various procedures to them AGAIN. Though I don't think it's entirely my fault that a lot of them haven't done any work!

I love loccitane too. Did your DH appreciate the sticker, CV?

And it's the title for my novel
.

BTM - I think our DD's would get on really well. I have given a lecture that jumpers have to last at least three days and have still found two in the laundery basket this morning - one of which was washed on Sunday. I cannot keep up.

Anyway - snow tyres are on the car so you can relax ladies - it will be warm from now on.

Smoke and Jasmine great title MI.

I had a surprising Christmas shopping op in Brixton last night which I spent very happily in Morleys and TKMaxx. Scored big. Sadly it only happened because I went to the wrong cinema meaning I missed a preview of Carol with a Todd Haynes Q&A. What a twerp.

www.neomorganics.com/real-luxury-reed-diffuser.html very delicious.

MM - what a Then and Now. Amazing.

Crem - Ortigia packaging is gorge.

Ooh Ortigia. I'd forgotten about that. My fave is the orange blossom, though I've never bought it for myself.

I am finding myself in an 'embarrassment of riches' work scenario. I've been offered, If I want it, up to two days TA work in the local FE college, helping students with their English. It would be a mere £10 an hour, but just involves going in, working, and coming home, with no tiresome planning or meetings, so in fact works out about the same rate of pay as my 'proper' teaching. If I took it I'd have to give up at least some of my voluntary work, but that would be a blessing OK.

Thanks everyone. Good to be back. Clearly keeping schtum for over a week is not my forte

Crem I would so love to escape to the flat. I do feel a bit that all my siblings' spouses seem to be on the case for arranging a break for their bereaved partners except DH. He doesn't think about what I might need. Just points out we have no free weekends between now and the new year.

CV I must admit I also have some fairly hilarious knicker indiscretions on account of my lady magnet, which regularly sticks me to supermarket trolleys, or escapes down my jeans...

Magi and here's to happy endings, in spite of all the grey hair and stress encountered on the way.

Hatty Yipee re UCAS. Hope the offers come rolling in...

Must admit that all that gets added to my bath or shower is baby soap, and I have yet to find a scented candle that doesn't give me a headache. But I do love my No 19 body lotion on special occasions. It's deeeevine.

Took DD to BTEC open day last night and she's buzzing with it. They did a physical theatre taster session with dance specialists, and after a Q&A session with the course director, went in to watch a dress run. This all felt familiar to her but a close friend from her class also came and was enchanted, so she might also apply too. We are definitely applying.

DS2 is knee deep in shows from here on in, and is a different boy since he got his Brum offer. It just makes you realise how much intolerable stress these young people are under, doesn't it.

What is a lady magnet, Rose?

How I wish our UCAS form was even being looked at? Christmas is looking like UCAS form filling while prepping for 11+, while feeding the masses!

Did I tell crepeys of my minor Yuletide triumph? Quite possibly. Anyway, I always get stressed out and resentful about being wheeled out as 'light relief' for other family members' Christmas Days, and never actually doing what I want to do with my little family. Said little family, which took many years to come by, always seems to play second fiddle to others' needs.

So, this year I put my foot down with a firm hand and announced that we will be At Home for Christmas Day. I don't care what I have to do after that, but want to establish my own traditions, in our own house. I was ridiculously scared before my announcement, but it was accepted with a breezy 'OK then', and made me realise it was only a big deal in my head. Naturally I now feel guilty, but shall not be moved!

DS has mock AS exams this week. It seems only minutes ago that it was GCSEs. Does anyone else think there are too many exams between Y11-13?

Delighted to hear good news following the UCAS application stresses.

Is a lady magnet related to a fanny magnet?

WAF, I always forget about Brixton for shopping. Especially TK Maxx - must try it before Christmas!

Herbs, that's great re the work. And Well Done on putting your foot down - we did that when DD was born, and never looked back!

Good luck to your DS, cresset - DD's are in Jan and she is stressing about having to revise over Christmas but not doing anything about it! She has a careers fair tomorrow which looks great, but apparently her slot is in her free study period

And a journalist friend has just left a message intimating he's got some work for me too! Famine, meet feast.

My main shopping possibility these days is Wood Green Shopping Shitty, next to the 'office', which is mainly Primark, New Look, H&M and TK Maxx.

Rather trepidatious about Gideon Osborne's spending review today, as it seems the axe is going to fall further on FE. I absolutely CANNOT BEAR that man. He's got far too much power, for a half-witted toff with an unworkable 'long-term economic plan' that is not really a plan, and in any case is already failing. Anyone else think he looks like he's on some pretty hefty drugs most of the time?

Thought of you when they mentioned the review on Today, Herbs.

BTM - Morleys has Korres, Ren, Neom, l'Occitane among others. And was a lot quieter than Poundland.

Rose - that is maddening. Particularly as your spouses are being well looked after. You must fight your corner for what you need. Can you make yourself a free weekend?

Herbs, I think he is mainly just drunk on the sense of his own ineffable perfection.

I have just pressed "Send" on a big job and now need to go and walk the dog before zipping off for my volunteering in school. Dm stayed last night, as she had an eye appmt at the hospital and couldn't drive home yesterday. As she's not particularly confident with stairs these days, she slept in ds's room and he had to sleep in the loft, much to his chagrin (he says it is too scary). He complained, saying that Granny is not old enough to warrant any kind of special treatment. Dm snorted and said that actually 85 is pretty damn old.

I managed to rip a tendon in my shoulder by being a bit too enthusiastic at circuits several weeks ago and am having to go and have an x-ray and ultrasound blah blah blah. Most annoying. Dm (retired physio) was vastly patronising about the general inadvisability of violent exercise in middle age. Just to add to the happy-happy-joy-joy. My back is also being mighty troublesome. feh.

Here, the Ucas saga rumbles on: PS still not returned from the person who is supposed to be checking it, reference from biology teacher not yet appeared (despite other teachers hassling her for it) and dd's teeth-gnashing about the whole thing continues unabated. In more positive news, yesterday dd gave a presentation in French and guided tour of the school - also in French - to some visiting Algerian dignitaries. She really didn't want to do it, but at least she did step up to the plate in the end. And she was mighty pleased with herself afterwards. Some of them didn't speak any English at all, so it was very good practice for her.

Wow Stropps, all power to dds elbow. That would terrify most of us I suspect. Brilliant.
Very sorry to hear of tendon and back woes. Gosh Stropps, don't you think it's more likely to be stress plus exercise rather that age plus exercise.?

Agree , far too many exams between yr11-14. Remember when lower sixth was a dossy year , with no exams except maybe an extra O'level in sociology or something untaxing. I was a year of growing into yourself, inter-railing and learning to neck cider as I recall. Not nose to grind-stone, hiding in room vacuum.

Smoke and Jasmine evokes scent and atmosphere and mystery I think MI. Like it a lot.

Hatty well done getting the UCAS form sent. For those wait it on the return of the PS and refs, I know dds school waited until the 11th hour to finish these. I though I was goi g to have Heart attack, but dd was q sanguine about the whole thing.

herbs I never go to Wood Green...despite being so near. Go to Brent Cross. It's only a few miles down the road....it has the advantage of me being there. A lot. and john Lewis, of course.

Fanny magnet ??? I read about the lady magnet on here...menopause forum. It's all unproven but supposed to help. I wear it for back ache, though which gets worse in the meno. A few years ago I seriously put my back out...happened once every 2-3 years. After several days of Valium and codydramol ( best nights sleep evah) I was better but left with a permanent ache, so I bought one of these magnets. That was nearly 6 years ago. I get an aching back sometimes but since, it has never escalated to that bad attack. I'm scared to take it off...

Exams...don't get me started. When I look at what my kids are going through, I offer up thanks for the wonderful, dossy lower sixth year we spent back in the day....lolling around in the common room, discussing existentialism, listening to reggae and hiding outside the gates to smoke menthol ciggies. When I told DS2 about it he said "but mum, you went to a Russell Group University..." Clearly I did, having done no work until well into the upper sixth... I suspect these days I'd have failed everything.