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.

Lovely bed!

Are you going with the authentic knobs or pushing the boat out with the nickel?

Also, why does the tailboard need to be restrained?

Many years ago I made the base of a bed from plywood to sit on top of an iron bedstead. The only space big enough was outside the front of the house.

I was happily sawing the wood, and suddenly a lot of cars kept driving slowly past the house. I realised it was because I was a young woman doing carpentry in a purple sundress. Not sure if it was the young woman, carpentry or dress that made them slow down.

I posed for a reenactment for AI so you can see what I mean, though the wood was more like 6 foot square.

Happy International Marine Fish Day to you all, for apparently 'tis today!

Ah, one of your favourites @FuzzyPuffling ?

We’re going for the same coloured knobs as the frame - anthracite. And I’d missed the bit about the restrained tail board - but you would r want an over exuberant one, would you?

No indeed!

Got to love a Sand Eel!

You looked very stylish, Myrtle. I wouldn't feel up to tackling a massive piece of ply.

Doing non-female things while being obviously female is a surefire way to get stared at. I went on a sailing trip years ago, several days on a big old wooden vessel. Early one evening we came in to a biggish place with lots of restaurants along the front. For some reason or other - I forget what, now - I was sent off to the very far end of the front. So off I trotted, past all the bars and eateries, early evening diners just settling down.

I'd been at sea for about 3 days. I was wearing a knackered t-shirt that probably had an oil stain on it, and a pair of grubby shorts. Also sturdy boots, so not only was I rolling after being at sea, but also clomping like a carthorse. The wind had got into and under my hair so I looked like Struwwelpeter on a bad day.

I have never felt followed by so many eyes...

I just learned about Struwwelpeter earlier today! Didn't think the knowledge would come in handy so soon.

'Anthracite' is a lovely word.

Or six…
I suspect the feeling isn’t mutual!

I remember my sailing days. Croatia. Fantastic wind, no tide on the Med, mostly sunny, but bloody hard work and as a single woman I slept in the main cabin while everyone else and the skipper had their own space.

I know what you mean about anthracite.

Lovely bed @SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius

At one point I did a job that involved getting paint on my hands and having to wear work-clothes that often got paint on them too.
I used to enjoy the looks I got going home on the Tube - a woman wearing 'workmen's' clothes was obviously hard to process.
It felt pleasantly transgressive to be slightly grubby - 'clean' grubbiness, though, just paint. It's not how women are supposed to look in public, is it?

Your new bed looks nice, Woley, it reminds me of the bed I used to sleep in at my granny's, except hers had very battered brass finials which I can still see clearly in my mind's eye. Yours looks very elegant.

Is graphite the same as anthracite?? the colour, not the material, obvs!

Hi Swash, lovely to see you, hope you're doing as OK as possible. It's nice and quiet here tonight, no swinging from chandeliers or raucous karaoke
[I had to check the spelling of 'raucous', it still doesn't look right]

As a mining family we used to get an allowance of coal per month which was anthracite which brings back memories of our coal fired boiler.

Hey! Some of us like wooden beds. I bought mine from a local workshop, so designs were very customisable and most were available in a wide choice of timbers of different colours and grains. You could choose the finish too, but with such beautiful wood it seemed a pity to choose anything other than clear lacquer. Mine's over twenty years old and still going strong.

Yes, it is quiet. I suppose it’s one of those mid-week drinking nights in the pub. Gentle conversation with the bar gerbils, a few embers in the fire (as it’s not cost effective to keep throwing logs on when there’s so few in).
Peaceful, I suppose.
That time you mentioned people swooping in if they lived nearby in real life… (I think it was swooping). For the first time I imagined where we all lived if we regularly came into the Blue Stocking. I imagined all these little cottages or shacks around the pub; up little lanes and round corners, where each of us lived. Felt rather nice.

(That was in response to Marie)

My bed is massive and thick wood. Oddly, it really does look like a pirate bed. Headboard is huge and it almost didn’t fit up the stairs. I had to be very stern with the removal men because they weren’t as convinced as I was. Love it though.

I love that idea i have an imaginary cottage with a little cinder path, down the middle.

it has a dry stone wall.

and lots of flowers and lavender

my back garden is given over to vegetables, some perennials.

and I have two old fashioned deckchairs which i am currently sunning myself in.

Ah yes. It’s the legendary FWR village of Badley Fuckitt iirc…might have slightly misremembered the name.

Sounds lovely @Bannedontherun

That’s what I was pondering upon; how each house would be so different and reflect each of us. I suppose I’d have a piratey looking affair. But I’d want it to be welcoming so it would be clean etc. But maybe flame torches and lots of candles. Apothecary type bottles lying around. Barrels turned into furniture etc. But I’d like red velvet to soften it.
Not sure about outside. Maybe a bit medieval looking. And a twisted kind of architecture with a turret.

What is Badley Fuckitt @ErrolTheDragon?

Sounds intriguing…

I need to get back into conservation volunteering - I used to rather enjoy stomping back from whichever area we’d been clearing, clad in boots, full waterproofs if necessary , usually extremely muddy and rather literally looking as though I’d been dragged through a bush backwards. This might seem not too unusual for a nature reserve, but it’s in the middle of the city on the other side of the park which I had to walk through to get back to my car…at least not public transport!

At one point the FWR board had a whole village with everything we wanted and nothing we didn’t!
I’m headed for the spa (ok, bath), will see if I can excavate it later.

@ErrolTheDragon

Thanks! I’d love to learn about that.
Enjoy your bath!