Spring is sprung, the grass is ris, I wonder where the crepeys is

[herbaceous]

As requested!

Hooray for uni course, Beachy. Pretty sure I know where it is!

Crem, my Dad had his Duptreyn's operated on (many years ago as he's been gone for over 20) & it gave him a new lease of life.

Rose - nop point in going & coughing.

Mrs S - hope the bruising goes down soon - I 3rd/4th arnica

Auriga - . Do what you feel is right & what you are comfortable with.

BD - I thought you personally had found the £SD!1 Your Dad is quite right not to continue with the feeding.

Hallo to Mindy - am no longer the junior person here! (In time of being on these, threads, not age).

Yeah Beachy and Hatty on universities.

Auriga, .

Rose, don't go! Sister is right. Don't let it drag on, making you feel low, you don't need that now, not for something that is supposed to be Fun.

MM if only! No - the place I work which has just made a load of my colleagues redundant on the grounds of financial blackhole

Auriga - {{ }} so very very sorry......

Auriga That's so hard. My DM was carer for DGM for around 10 years. She also refused help from carers and when offered help whether it was from friends or carers she always replied, "No thank you. DM will do it". I, as a teen could see that DM felt she had no choice in the matter. It's made me very hard though. And determined my DC won't do anything like that for me.... Do think of yourself occasionally, and what you want to do.

Hooray for Hatty's DD and York too.

I am schlepping myself to this physio appointment now, and then will come back to lie once more on the sofa. DH is trying to do something about the theatre tickets...but the run ends on Saturday and we really have no other spare evening. Default is that DS2 will go with him tonight instead. Some anniversary... gah

And Hooray for Hatty's DD & York.

Such a lovely place.

Brilliant brilliant! Hatty. That's great. Now you can visit her as well as the relies at the same time! Is it conditional or unconditional ?
Oh Rose, pet. You sound done in.back to bed after physio. Another anniversary present will have to be forthcoming surely if ds and Dh go tonight.

Oh Auriga Do you have support from others at home?

Beachy, that's fab. I am wondering if it's on the S coast with your cryptic clues?
Hatty, great news about your DD too - I am hoping DD will go oop north, or at least out of London!

BD, so pleased to hear that your DM is settled and your DF is looking after himself - of course he shouldn't be feeding her now (unless he really wanted to) - that is the homes job!

Rose, sorry you might have to miss your treat.

Herbs!
Dsis is recommending Paso Oscura for the long wild beach. They stayed there two summers ago, and got public transport into Rome for days out apparently. They rented here. HTH

Yes, thanks, DH could not be more supportive.

But DM was absolutely at her worst this morning, with her emotional manipulation . Cousin wants to visit, fine, but cousin is married to total pillock, whose criminal negligence contributed to DH's accident 4y ago. I do not want to see pillock.

So I said I'd go out when they come. DM does not want me to go out, she wants me here. She 'wishes I could put it behind me'. She will take them out to lunch instead (will she hell - she could not get as far as bathroom this morning without help). She does not want me to make lunch for them. I am putting her in a very difficult position. Martyred tears. Can I not see how difficult this is for her? She might as well not be here, she can't get anything right

Knowing this cousin, she will cancel anyway.

Auriga, that's so sad and enormously wearing. Could you work in tandem with the carer's at the start, so 'x is going to change the sheets, while I help you to the bathroom' just to get her a little more used to the idea. I know it's a long shot, but may work, or even just give you slightly less to do.

Oh my, Auriga, you must be at boiling point. You poor thing.

Oh Auriga, how draining. And infuriating.

I spoke to DM today who was in a real grump - basically saying that this is her life now and she just has to get on with it. Which is sad, but true. I am lucky to not have to listen to it 24 hours a day though, unlike you Auriga.

Auriga - Beachy's suggestion of working in tandem with the carers sounds good. You cannot do it all.

BTM - for DM and you having to listen. I think i said this before but the York open day had many Londoners saying they could not afford Uni accommodation in London and their DC's did not want to live at home.

Crem - reasonably attainable (I hope) offer from York.

Meanwhile, DD2 in tears over some girly infighting.

I was surprised at how university accommodation costs varied outside London too.dd's first choice uni's cheapest was about the same as her second choice most expensive (what they call the tower blocks gives unsubtle clues - OldCryingYards vs NewLeafyFields . She went for cheapo in her first year on the grounds that shared manky bathrooms meant more socialising and less cleaning and didn't regret it.

One of my friends son is part of the UCL rent 'strike'. Unix do screw their students if they can - another source of revenue....

Agree Lalsy - I think catered with shared bathrooms means you meet more people although obviously not top lux .

Congrats Beachy and Hattie - great news

Auriga, I'm so sorry and like Hattie and Beachy think maybe you could try working in tandem with the carers

Molly, was reading excellent book on ptsd in soldiers called aftershock, which contained v powerful descriptions of veterans helped by being with horses

In first year DD was in self-catered with flat with 10 others and ensuite in the room. Can confidently report was not lux approx. 24 hours after they had all moved in

Haha, I remember the shared bathrooms in my friends mixed halls (and being thrown in a bath of cold water ) - the shared flat we stayed in last September was far nicer, but the ensuite bathrooms weren't top end!

Addle

at lux. ds bedroom at home is so small he will be in the unusual position of having more space at university, when he goes.

Addle, equine therapy is out there. I would love to see it being done in RL. In our house, we recognise that ddog is the best nurse among us when we are sick, but I wouldn't mind a tiny pony on my bed as well. I'm sure ddog would snuggle up.

Next year - DD1 has a huge room it's done by raffle, so she was at the bottom last year. This year she got first choice. Looking forward to seeing her on Saturday although am still mad at her about her lack of research on these Vacation Schemes, which she's failed to secure. I feel if she'd looked into it more last summer, which would have cost her nothing, she wouldn't be in the position she is now. If she gets nothing this summer, she will be too late for the 2017 intake and will have to do something else for a year while she reapplies. A hard price to pay for student lack of awareness!

Sorry I have been too busy to post, but have been reading. MrsS, sorry to hear that DM is being so difficult. Shared caring sounds the way to go, if possible, I honk. Congratulations to DD and uni offers.

Off to Harrogate for two nights for a bit of R andR (and peace and quiet). DH thinks we might drive there via the Dales which should be lovely. Weather not particularly good (or bad for that matter).

Good luck to those with ageing parents.

EN SUITE BATHROOMS? By heck. My student house was an ex social club. So the 'bathroom' was the old toilets, at the back of the house, complete with cubicles. And a window that was jammed open, and no heating. The water used to freeze in the toilet bowl.

Students today. Tsk. No wonder we lost the empire, etc.

Hatty, gosh that is hard. It will be lovely to have her back though. dd is still wrestling with her summer - casual work should be fine but she was hoping to get something more geared towards a career (tho as she doesn't know what she wants to do that is tricky) but there isn't much around that suits her subjects (and her lack of corporate ooomph).

Sitting in ds's piano exam.....