The Bluestocking - holding the line and losing the thread

[lcakethereforeIam]

All women welcome, pull up a pygmy hog, the bargerbil will serve you a drink, the flying squirrels will bring you something to read and the goats will do...I'm not entirely sure.

There may be more than the usual amount of chaos as we transition to the new thread.

Wonderful pub, Marie!

Talking of bees, & after one attacked dear Deano the other day... I was looking for finger puppets for a gift, & one that came up was a bee with the most purposeful, evil look in its eye. I've never thought of bees as sly or malicious (wasps, yes, but not bees), but there it is & for £3.50 plus postage you can at least stick your finger up its bum, which should give it pause for thought.

Been sitting in the corner recovering from a few full on weeks involving 3 baby banned’s

managed to blow a few loves hither and thither.

@

wanna be careful round bees' bums, that's where they keep the trouble

I've had a wonderful day - I helped a neighbour who is even older and less able-bodied than me to do a little DIY job, so I felt useful, which I rarely do these days.
Then y'all loved the Bluestocking, and Mr Myrtle-Walrus liked being part of the story, and my suggestion of glow-in-the-dark quolls as fairylights was beautifully pictured by Maggie..

it doesn't get much better than that😀

The Real Blue Stocking looks amazing @MarieDeGournay

Also loved the scene with Mr Walrus.

True, very true. Wise words.

Swashy!!! 💙

(A bit late - story of my life.)

I love the image of teaching a lion cub to be a brave TERF 💙

Took DSD to the optician for a full eye test and they are going to refer her to the low vision clinic! Apparently her retinopathy has scarred her eyes so much, the optometrist said he would be very surprised if she didn’t have considerable problems with her peripheral vision. And lo, the field of vision test proved that was the case.

It was a longish drive there and back, and we had a heart to heart about her upbringing and how she was wary of me at first (because DH had made interesting choices in partners before - including her own mother), but after eight years of living with us, she feels really settled and secure. I felt like a proud mama.

DSD has always been a TERF. When I asked her about the dating apps she just said, nope, not dating men who think they’re women, I’ll have the real thing thank you. So proud!

She and Mr Walrus are lucky to have you.
will they be able to do anything to help her sight now you’ve got her being looked at properly do you think?

Thank you xx

No, her sight is poor and will worsen as she gets older, but for now her central vision is clear. She was born at 25 weeks in 1993 and they gave very premature babies pure oxygen to help them breathe. It blinded a lot of them including Stevie Wonder. DSD had retinopathy of prematurity which caused her retinas to detach. They were reattached twice (the surgeon wasn’t happy with his first attempt). The damage is permanent, but her dad and I have only just begun to realise how much her eyesight affects her daily life, hence getting her the referral. This may allow her to claim PIP and they can help her with enhancements to support her.

She's not used to asking for help, so we’re encouraging her to let us know what she needs, e.g. if she needs the TV moving so she can see it properly. She has her own TV but doesn’t use it, so I think she either needs a bigger screen or she needs it moving so she’s closer.

In the same year she was born, I worked on a clinical trial that replaced pure oxygen with an oxygenated surfactant that is put into the baby’s lungs which both prevents retinopathy of prematurity and allows the lungs to rest while they grow. As a result, retinopathy of prematurity is increasingly rare.

moooooses

Buggerbuggerbuggerbuggerbugger.

We have a cast iron bed frame - we’ve had it at least 15 years - and this morning the bracket that holds it together at one side, at the foot end, literally sheared in half. Dh has spent the last hour or more creating something out of spare wood, so we can use the bed until we can replace it, but it was a much earlier morning than I had hoped for.

So now I am watching absolute rubbish on TV, and drinking strong coffee.

This happened while you were in bed?? That sounds like a very rude and very unwelcome awakening😕

I am visualising your DH channelling Heath Robinson, rummaging through bits and pieces that were kept because they 'might come in useful sometime', and when one of them does come in handy to temporarily prop up the bed, he will feel vindicated in keeping bits and pieces because look, they do come in handy eventually

I admit I'm projecting - any time any of my 'might come in useful' bits and bobs does actually come in handy for something, the slightly hoarding part of me turns triumphantly to the more sensible, clearing-out side of me and says 'See?' in a gloating tone of voice...
Your DH may not be at all like that, of course, Woley..

Luckily (?) it happened when I was walking to the bathroom - my knee was sore so I braced myself on the post at the foot of the bed, and it just broke. I don’t know my own strength!

Dh does have a stock of fence posts and slats - so he can mend the fence if it gets broken - so yes, he is pleased that his forethought has paid off.

Love the real Bluestocking. I've see the verb 'to galump' used to describe the way true seals move. Presumably it can be applied to walruses too?

Could the bed be fixed. Welded? Unless you want a new bed and just needed an excuse? In which case, please just carry on.

I read an article today on the BBC news. When female gorillas joins new flanges troops they seek out other female gorillas they were previously acquainted with. Even if that acquaintance was years ago. I don't know why but the idea of that pleased me. I think I imagined the relief of the shy, new girl at seeing an old friend in a bunch of strangers.

Eta possibly spelled 'galumph'.

Dh reckons it can’t be welded, @lcakethereforeIam. It has done sterling service, but it’s time for a new one.

Depending on the design perhaps bits of it could have a second life as a garden trellis? In a flower bed.

Ooooh I like your train of thought - I can't look at anything broken without thinking 'Maybe it would work as a...'
In the absence of a life partner, I have to depend on that other side of me to say 'It's broken. It'll just become another unfinished project. Get rid of it. Now.'😄

Coming to think of it, my urge to keep all sorts of things in case they come in handy, and the absence of a life partner may not be totally unrelated..😏

Thanks Marie - no problem at all. You can’t be expected to remember someone who posts every 3rd or 4th thread!! Missed this last night but today the sun is shining and it’s never too early for a cold glass of NZ sauv blanc!! 😊

Doing some book nooking as it will be less likely when I’m laid up. Very very fiddly, and I didn’t notice that I needed to put the wires for the lights under the wooden step until I’d glued it in place. Sorted it now.

More knitting and some TV this afternoon. My last Wednesday walking for a while.

Having my hair done tomorrow.

We’ve ordered a new bed - it’s pricy, but it looks good and has a lifetime warranty, so we hope it’ll be worth it.

I told dh about the garden trellis idea for the old bed - I’m not sure he’s going to go for it. He said he could keep it as spares for fence repairs…. 😂😂😂

That's a very nice bed, Woley! Does the guarantee cover being leant on by a wolef? 😂

The warranty mentions wear and tear, but not wolefs, so I think I’m safe, @Magpiecomplex! 😂😂😂

Ooh, I like the bed - very nice.

We bought a wooden bed frame from an advert in Private Eye 28 years ago. It's still going strong, though it's had a change of mattress. It's what we could afford at the time, but much as I like iron bedsteads, I doubt DH could be talked round.

That's a beautiful bed. Exactly what I wanted 2 years ago...but had to make do with a wooden one. Jealous!!