Summertime...and the Crepeys are easy

[motherinferior]

With much love to BD.

(We are going to county cork btw in frugal manner.)

BD - the photos were fabulous. Loved the old family ones, the dogs, the wedding pics. Such a lovely tribute. Glad the day went well. Look after yourself. xxx

Well done Auriga's dd. And hope that Cornwall is a lovely holiday for you all in spite of a wretched year.

BTM, your hols just sound incredible ! I do not know how you can read on a rickety bus though? I'd have been sick and headachy.
CV shame about the weather , but California sounds epic. I love that you are reporting truthfully about so many of those places, like Carmel. I kind of knew it would be all hype.
Enjoy your final weeks laydeez .

Here, mountain of washing, grocery shop, and ironing (from before trip) and WORK tomorrow. Oh God.

Sun coming out though....

I really want to go to San Francisco though I suspect I want to go to San Francisco in the 1970s. Have just re-read the last Armistead Maupin.

We are yet to dislodge the teenagers and get them to go out. DD1 just wants to go home and I feel sad for (a) dragging her here (b) always giving her crap holidays.

What would be a nice holiday for her, MI? Mine moan regardless - beach, Disney, house with pool...

No sympathy here for teen DD's - taking then on holiday is overrated, especially for over 3 weeks Fed up of me, me, me, drama-ing things up and trying to provoke arguments where there isn't one.

And she isn't in a bad mood tonight I just want to give her the bullet straight, but obviously the pain of the fallout would be way too much.

Cremo, the bus wasnt rickety, it's just that the driving/traffic is totally mad! And crossing the road is a near-death experience!

BTW I love the name Carmel for a girl. Do you pronounce the place name the same, CV?

Sorry to hear you are back at work tomorrow Cremo.

NU I don't know how you keep up with all the GC looking-after and hosting friends - wonder woman!

Does she get homesick, MI?

Yes, why does she want to go home MI? I think a certain amount of ignoring of teenage dissent and mooning about - when you know there is nothing really wrong - is more than permissible. Also, within reason I think if they want to spend the holiday in bed / watching crap on a laptop / in the bath / doing as they please that should be allowed. I invite everyone to do what I'm / me and dh are doing and they can take it or leave it. If there is anything they particularly want to do then I try an make that happen too...

So, today have been for lovely very long walk on the beach a short drive away with the dog, taken bikes to be repaired, made lunch, lain about reading the papers... and ds has done pretty much zilch except drink tea! But that's ok. There's so much he has to do for school etc that he should be able to please himself I think. I used to get very exercised by it but now choose not to. Will stir myself for more fresh air in a bit.

Lovely exciting holidays CV and BTM. I feel very unadventurous beside your intrepidness.

Bad luck Crem re the things to do and return to work. NU, you are indeed wonder woman!

Yes, she'd like to be at home with her friends. I can see it would be fun. Having said that she has had a look at the guidebook and said ooh can we go walking in the mountains

It's very kind of you to say so, BTM and GGG, but I am feeling very depressed and incapable atm; I could burst into tears at the drop of a hat. My cough is playing me up, my head feels like cotton wool, and when I cough I feel like throwing up. The house is a bit of a mess, where I haven't touched it, the kitchen ceiling is covered in holes where we have had the new lights fitted, the flooring in there is a mess from the leak from the dishwasher. We go on holiday in just over three weeks' time and I alternate with being excited and not wanting to bother (I appreciate that I sound childish - actually teenagerish). I see the consultant on Thursday afternoon about having my knee sorted, which is preying on my mind, tbh.

Of course compared with what other people are putting up with, these are all minor - but it's the lack of energy that's getting to me: all I want to do is curl up and go to sleep. Sorry for the self indulgence.

Well, cough and tiredness and sore knees do sound wearing, NU but why do you feel incapable? Don't you need to soft-pedal for a while and recover from the cough properly? Especially as you may have an operation coming up.

Welcome back to the returners, hope you get some warm weather soon. Lovely here today.

I'm whacked after the blitz on DM's room but it's a lot better. Found lots of unused toiletries in wardrobe and have successfully banished the scent, which was bothering me.

DD's show was musical theatre, Rose. It was a revue with a jazz theme and she had some great solos and a trio. She's slept a lot since getting home, she's been working 12 hour days. There was a funny moment when the director thanked the chaperones for 'making sure your children were in bed by midnight' and a ripple of smiles and laughter went through the young people on stage

GG glad to hear you're enjoying your break.

It's not minor NU it's very wearing and let's not minimise the exhaustion factor of a chronic cough. I wonder whether getting that sorted might make a huge difference? Could if be due to reflux?

what GGG said about teens and holidays! Could not put it better. It's their job to be vile...normal part of separating themselves from us. Not that we should accept abuse and rudeness of course. I agree with just deciding what we want to do, and say to them 'you're invited'. If they want to lie around instead so be it. Unless there's an imperative of course, like a flight to catch. Then I recommend lots of shouting and bribery

I have not been in a good mood today. When PILs turned up we had to take two cars to the restaurant. DH jumps in with his DParents ostensibly to show them the way. I couldn't get parked on arrival, and had to find a space 15 mins walk away. They all berated me for not going in the (heaving) carpark where there were spaces. I tried to explain that they were in a little hatch back. I was in a bloody MPV and there were NO spaces that I could swing in to without taking off someone else's near side. I had texted ahead that they should order and not wait for me. They didn't and it was 2.15. I didn't talk to anyone the whole meal. Especially DH.

Grrrrr Rose, that sort of thing drives me mad. Hope the food was good!

Can any of you dear Londoners help me out? It's dd2's bday next week and I'm bringing her and a friend into London. She's desperate to go to Madame Tussaud's but the queues and reviews are truly crap and I just can't bear the idea! I though about a water based day, maybe swimming in the Serpentine, Princess Diana fountain, fountains at Somerset House, boat ride to Canary Wharf or Greenwich.... Any other ideas? Not sure I need the Aquarium or the Duck Tour.... We could do Sky Garden courtesy of previous employer?

NOOOOOOO, don't go anywhere near Madame Tussaud's!

Can you swim in the Serpentine? Know you can hire a boat and muck about in that for a bit...

Have you seen this? open air swimming pond
Or there's always Hampstead Heath Ladies Pond

Yes, she'd like to be at home with her friends. I can see it would be fun. Having said that she has had a look at the guidebook and said ooh can we go walking in the mountains

Swimming in the Serpentine - the lido is a small area and the water quite, erm, green. People use it to train so it isn;t very good for spashing around, IMO. I liked it but ds thought yuk. How old is dd2, Beachy, and what is she especially into?

NU, you sound exhausted. Take to the sofa for a couple of days and get better properly?

Teens on hol - yep, I agree GGG, don't always find it easy but we did that in Spain and they skulked for some of the time and joined in cheerfully the rest. t is hard when you are moving on a lot though.

You can swim behind King's Cross, near a great set of squirty fountains, which happen to be in front of two great restaurants, and the canal.

The south bank also has good squirty fountains.

The Olympic Park has many squirty fountains, and you could combine it with actual lengths of the actual Olympic pool! And some shopping at Westfield for emergency teen-calming. Or to rev them up, go down the slide from the top of the Orbit.

As a teen on holiday (from age 13 onwards - I looked a lot older than 13), I found a succession of Spanish, Maltese and Greek waiters and other hotel staff most entertaining during my stay. I remember one holiday when I was getting frisky with the night receptionist, and he had to shove me under a sofa to let my parents into the hotel. We resumed activities when they had gone up in the lift.

We are going to need a new thread title soon, Crepeys.

"And summer's lease hath all too Crepey a date" (Shakespeare)

"“The best of the summer gone: the odd uneven Crepey time.” (Plath)

"Hot town, Crepes in the city"

"Home and Away: Crepes en vacances"

The third one.

We'll be too early for September ones - like "Crepetember Morn". As the weather gets worse we could have "Someone left the Crepes out in the rain."

For you Mrs S.... The Lovin' Spoonful....

Hot town, summer in the city
Back of my neck getting dirty and gritty
Been down, isn't it a pity
Doesn't seem to be a shadow in the city
All around, people looking half dead
Walking on the sidewalk, hotter than a match head
But at night it's a different world
Go out and find a girl
Come-on come-on and dance all night
Despite the heat it'll be alright
And babe, don't you know it's a pity
That the days can't be like the nights
In the summer, in the city
In the summer, in the city
Cool town, evening in the city
Dressing so fine and looking so pretty
Cool cat, looking for a kitty
Gonna look in every corner of the city
Till I'm wheezing like a bus stop
Running up the stairs, gonna meet you on the rooftop
But at night it's a different world
Go out…

Loving that for the next but one thread!

MacArthur's Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet, green icing flowing down
Someone left the cake out in the rain
I don't think that I can take it
'Cause it took so long to bake it
And I'll never have that recipe again
Oh no!