In the bleak midwinter, frosty Crepes may moan

[Collymollypuff]

Earth stood hard as iron, my heart like a stone.

MrsS it's the presence of raisins that is the issue - toxic to dogs. Look like they are okay and then keel over with organ failure. Can't risk it, so have to purge.. Mince pies are the worst....

It is what it is, dent in bank balance taken. Couldn't not do it, despite fact as lab and eater of anything and everything he'd have probably been okay.

Herbs so sorry for everything - hope dp is okay.

DP is home, and just very quiet. Occasionally says something like 'I'm an orphan'. Just so sad.

DS is disturbingly unpeturbed. I told him she'd died, and he briefly paused the Simpsons, said 'well, that's life... sometimes sad things happen' and restarted it again. He is also pretty un-scarable in films. I wonder if he's lacking some kind of empathy gene...

Not knowing what to do to be comforting I made a curry. A new recipe, and one which involves asafoetida. It was utterly delicious.

Yes, exactly, CV. We didn't find it particularly expensive but it would be if you couldn't be outside a lot, or in our case in municipal swimming pools, cos we is classy. R was pleasant enough but I don't think things like whale watching and the Blue Lagoon would be much fun in winter. We swam in a hot river which was amazing but it was 10 deg and driving rain walking to and from it - in August. I've just looked up daylight hours in feb and the days get a lot longer during the month.I might be wrong though an do infuriate my family by insisting on being on the move all the time when on holiday.

CV - NYC is great in February but very prone to snow, and the city comes to a standstill. We woke up one morning to three feet of snow, uncleared pavements and all the shops shut because the staff couldn't get there. I was there with my mother at the time, so you can imagine my distress at being effectively tied to the flat with her.

I think I am having hot flushes and my periods are now happening every 43 days. So I am still regular but the gap between them has increased!

My evening was not as raucous and drunken as intended as we couldn't get into the RVT so ended up in swanky hotel bar with GBF's MIL being snippy to everyone.

Sorry, Herbs, my post went into limbo and then appeared. Poor dh. it is so sad indeed. I am sure ds' reaction is very common - he will probably say something about it in six months or something.

Glad to hear Flash is ok

Cremo, I'm putting it in the diary - yay!

Herbs, a comforting curry sounds perfect.
And what are small boys supposed to say/do in these cases?

Herbs. I suppose when kids know something is going to happen, they sometimes seems to shrug it off when it actually occurs. Think BTM is right and it will come out as sadness down the line. He strikes me as highly compassionate, I wouldn't worry.

MrsW we went to the Rockies and Vancouver, and then on to Vancouver Island three summers ago with DD and DS2 ( they would have been 14 and 16) . We flew to Calgary and after one night there, hired a car and drove to Banff for a few days, seeing Lake Louise etc. Then gave back the car, and (and this was a long held ambition of mine) took the Rocky Mountaineer train for two days, with a stop over in Kamloops, to Vancouver, where we collapsed into a lovely hotel with a pool for five days, before moving on to the island by coach and ferry.

I was really impressed with the tour company who put together our itinerary. If you like I could look it up for you?

I am feeling sluggish and achey from spending too much time lolling, and eating too many crisps and nuts. But I am off to see beachy shortly!

Have a lovely time with Beachy, Rose.

I too am sluggish and bloated from food and wine. We have our last lunch out today then work and school harness for tomorrow. I have joined a fry January thread to inspire me to stay on the straight and narrow

Nu, hope your recovery continues to go well

MI and cocoa, hope you are enjoying your hols in far off lands.

How is puss today, Herbs? Glad to see flash is ok, BD.

Crem, I have a couple of friends staying that weekend, alas. Mind you, they are both splendid crepes and would fit right in, so perhaps we could all join you for a drink . Hatty, looking forward to seeing you in February.

Sorry to miss BP today. It's a gorgeous day for it. Have a good one.

Hm, fry January sounds like a much more appealing prospect. Bacon every day. Yum. Sadly it's just no . For weeks. Vineyards across Europe will no doubt fold as a result.

A belated HNY to everyone! Sorry to hear about DMiL, Herbs (and also the cat). I hope DP is coping as well as can be expected. And I agree with everyone about DS; when my much loved nan died when I was a similar age I reacted in much the same way, quite matter of fact, but I was hurting inside.

Stropps, an apology from DD: she is growing up.

Hasty, you asked if anyone had been to Mauritius; we went about 10-15 years ago and really enjoyed it. We found the people were lovely, and it's one of those places where it celebrates everyone's religion. It's got a very interesting history, read it up. Not an amazingly attractive place: endless sugar plantations. The water sports are incredible and we really enjoyed the swimming. One particular day stands out; we went on a large speed boat around the coast, transferring to a glass bottomed boat in one place to see the coral reefs, followed by a leisurely swim. The day ended with a barbecue on a deserted beach - bliss.

Like Rose we went to Canada a couple of years ago, MrsW. We really enjoyed ourselves, but particularly Vancouver where we hired bikes and cycled round Stanley Park. Would definitely go again, but can't think of holidays atm.

Knee healing slowly, but am already fed up as it's so painful (and my other replaced knee has started hurting so I guess I am over compensating.)

How are you doing, Rudy, BTM and BD?

I hope all the lugged are receding?

CV, just thought about Iceland. DSis and her DH went on a cruise a couple of Februarys ago to see the Northern Lights; they really enjoyed the whole experience although DBiL says he prefers his holidays to be somewhere warmer! I particularly liked their description of lying in the hot tub on the open deck with snow lying all around them. I think the cruise was with PandO, they said it was extremely well organised, although not cheap, by the time they had bought suitable clothing (and special batteries for the cameras as the cold drained them in seconds!).

Herbs I'm so sorry about MIL. What a sh*te start to the year for you all. DH went into 'orphan mode' when he was on his own. MY DS was also pretty unphased by it. Said stuff like Well, he was old. He was ill... It was going to happen. Much more pragmatic than I had anticipated.

CV DH and I did Iceland (Rekjyavik) last August for long weekend. No Northen Lights but we had a lot of fun.

Mrs W check out Vancouver Island. It's on my bucket list.

We have had a long long but slow drive today to get to Dunedin. Not helped by going back to visit some lovely Kiwis who intervened on our behalf last night when a bar decided to close. They insisted we joined them to drink their last bottle. We had to go and repay the bottle before we left town this morning. I just love this country. Where else would you get scooped up into the bosom of a family and invited back for coffee the next day? It did, however, make our early start more like a mid morning departure.

So we went on a penguin and albatross search. We've ticked the albatross box, so will have to search for penguins before long track back to Queenstown.

DH still behaving, but am expecting it all to go pear shaped again. He's talking about taking a sabbatical. I wish he'd do it, and de stress properly. Then I can have my old husband back.

Cocoa, a sabbatical sounds like a great plan. If you do see penguins, please post a photo - penguins are my favourite!

NU glad your knee is on the mend, if slow. But you only had it done just before Xmas, so it's not been that long?

Gosh we are a very well travelled bunch.
So CV , I texted my Icelandic Guide /friend and said (tips for) 'visiting in February'
His response was 'Why?'

I think we can take this as Icelandic humour, but thinking about the darkness and the cold which would prohibit outdoor visiting of great things. Nah i wouldn't.
Re The northern lights.obviously there are no guarantees , but the Aurura is regularly seen in Reykjavik and even this year as far south as Londonderry.

Herbs, ds reaction is totally normal.
Its not that he has rationalised it yet, just that he is prob still working out how he should react.if at all. Once the info has sunk in and he sees Daddy's sadness, he will tune in. There is def no gene missing.
Humans are funny creatures.look at us crying more about the cats than other humans.

Dont know GGG open to suggestions for venue.
Suggestions for March 25th:

NU glad to hear you are recuperating from op....

Here all is okay - I am not back at work until 9th and intend to spend the latter end of the week (when ds is back at school) having a think about things and what I want.

Mad bloody hound had just filtched the butter - everything has to be put away - oh well, might make us tidier.....

I watched 'Strictly Ballroom' yesterday - one of my most fav 'feel good' films and Pride - which was interesting in terms of back story.

Ooh BD - I love strictly ballroom too. Especially the end scene. Makes me well up. In a good way.

Re crying over cats, it's like they're a lightning rod for other less manageable and more complicated emotions that are suppressed for fear of mental breakdown.

There is a very nice pizza/Italian place that I went to with Molly on Northumberland Avenue, called Bianco 43. The pizzas are the best I have had in UK, and the coffee is excellent. And I go there so often I always get free limoncello.

Herbs, sorry to hear about mil. DS was about the same age as yours when my father (who he adored) died. When
I told him he said:"that's sad, will I still get my comic Every week? " (Grandpa bought him Beano every week).

It took some weeks for the real sadness to emerge.

Still having a lovely time in the sun wish I could send it to you all.

Hello all. Herbs, I am so sorry - I, like Auriga, do feel I was there for my mother's last coherent moments (and in my case I would very much not have wanted to deal with the onslaught of my father's grief).

In other news I am continuing to doss around, have had a look at my novel manuscript and done an interview for my cousin's arty website with a young bloke curating a new exhibition who seemed v Eurocentric in many ways (is expat brought up here) but appears to think (a) Van Gogh was an impressionist (b) the impressionists were Renaissance. "I'm not an art historian," he said. Nor am I, sunshine, I know BOG ALL about art but I do know a bit of history and I am not the one curating an exhibition.

I am going to Pondicherry tomorrow for a couple of days. I will have free wifi (and things like hot water - my cousin's place is beautiful and BASIC. oh, and I'll have plug points too!!!) Can we have a new thread please as this one takes about five years to load?

x

Cat update: he has inoperable liver cancer. Well, with 95% certainty. Not worth putting him through the trauma of a biopsy. He'll be given some palliative medicine, and can come home tomorrow, but isn't expected to live very long.

Glad to hear other children are as seemingly heartless as ours. He was like this when Cat 1 died, and then started being sad about it two years later.

Also, does it matter if child gives not one shit about doing schoolwork well? He will literally do the least possible, and with minimal effort. No application whatsoever.

New year thread beckons.

On the list Mrs S. Where do D&S usually occur?