The Bluestocking Inn, cocktails and cocoa and all

[DeanElderberry]

Opening soon in a salubrious location.

And thanks to the miraculous qualities, although we will indeed have

One-steps and two-steps and the divil knows what new steps
We know that we never would be dull again, bedad
We'll have wine, porter and lemonade.
We'll have cocktails and cocoa and all
We'll have champagnes tonight
But NO real pains next morning
Tonight when we dance at the Bluestocking Ball

slight apologies to Frank Harte

I'm such a freeloader😟
When I wrote 'two gossamer-winged gerbils forcefully removing an iPad from the' hands' of a dragon - what could possibly go wrong?' I knew that somebody cleverer than me would probably do a wonderful AI image of what I had described in words.... sneaky , eh?😏

And sure enough, Myrtle did just that - a perfect representation of what I had in my head, without me lifting a finger, AI-wise!
Such a freeloader! I should be thoroughly ashamed of myself.
Thank you Myrtle

A poem for today
Dear March—Come in
Emily Dickinson

Dear March—Come in—
How glad I am—
I hoped for you before—
Put down your Hat—
You must have walked—
How out of Breath you are—
Dear March, how are you, and the Rest—
Did you leave Nature well—
Oh March, Come right upstairs with me—
I have so much to tell—
I got your Letter, and the Birds—
The Maples never knew that you were coming—
I declare - how Red their Faces grew—
But March, forgive me—
And all those Hills you left for me to Hue—
There was no Purple suitable—
You took it all with you—
Who knocks? That April—
Lock the Door—
I will not be pursued—
He stayed away a Year to call
When I am occupied—
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come
That blame is just as dear as Praise
And Praise as mere as Blame—

The Shakespeare fritillary are coming up in my garden. If I can get a good picture I'll try to post one when they're flowering.

As it's a bit quiet in the Bluey today, here's something about me, as in the real-life Marie de Gournay 1565-1645.

A while ago somebody mentioned a novel based on her life by Jenny Diski - sorry I forget who it was - which I've just finished.

I don't come out of it very well. I'm very scholarly and all that, but I'm also a bit of an over-emotional lu-la who has fits, literally, when things get too bad, or too good. I am plain, frumpy and worst of all wear clumpy shoes!
I have an exaggerated sense of my own abilities and importance. I think people admire me but in fact they snigger behind my back, and not just behind my back, they actually publish scurrilous things about me - including that I am an ugly old maid who has a perverted lewd relationship with my housekeeper.

Michel de Montaigne didn't really rate me, so I forged some expressions of praise and admiration in his books, when I was editing them. He took advantage of me - no not that way, see above re ugly old maid - for practical reasons like a refuge outside of war-threatened Paris and the services of a cheap, star-struck, and clever amanuensis

What Diski appears to have done is taken the ridicule that was heaped on de Gournay for daring to be a woman with intellectual ambitions, and used it as her template for the fictional 'Marie de Gournay' character. Even the girl-on-girl action with the housekeeper is there😒

I've also got another book, which I haven't started yet, which is a study of Marie de Gournay as philosopher, written by a professor of philosophy.
I hope I come out of it better than the fictional version of me, and I hope my choice of unfashionable footwear isn't held against me😁

AI's pleasure. It was a matter of moments.

I took the plunge today and went to a two garden centres. The Walrus stayed at home because he hates people. He particularly hates people on a Sunday. In a Garden Centre. Twice. To be honest, he's not wrong.

Before I went out I assembled a planter trellis. Then I went searching for lavender to fill a large but shallow garden pot. When I arrived at the first place I was annoyed to see only two disabled spaces but four parent and child spaces. The car park was not paved and had potholes etc. Having found a space reasonably close to the entrance I then found packs of four Tunnocks caramel slices and some snowballs. I think the gerbils had gone ahead to give me something lovely because the only lavender was in 9cm pots and I left without buying anything else.

So I drove to another garden centre with better parking and 10 disabled spaces. They only had French lavender which I'm told doesn't like wet British winters and I was prepared to be disappointed once more. But I turned a corner and they were offering two pots of pinks for £13. Fragrant and deep pink Moulin Rouge variety - the flowers look like can-can dresses. So I bought two.

I would have stayed for a cup of tea and a slice of cake but they're was a queue for the café and there were people. So I came home. Given that I spent yesterday in pyjamas, got up at 9.45am (thank you Sleep and Dream Gerbils for another 7+ hours), also showered this morning, I feel very productive and it's not even 3 o'clock.

That sounds like it turned out to be a Grand Day Out, Myrtle!
The Tunnocks were definitely an omen, and who can say they were not deliberately strewn in your path by the gerbils to sweeten your path?

The violas that I planted last year - courtesy of a remainder bargain from B&M, I recall - have either come again or re-seeded - so I have some unexpected violas in the cheapo pot on my front door porch.

I had a dreadful night - terrible nightmares of the heart-pounding variety - so I finished up sleeping in today. (The nightmares were so bad that I had to put all the lights on...That's what I get for watching daft Science Fiction and Horror in my my younger days.)

I'm just having a quiet day and tidying a bit. I really should have been out in the garden, but I'll put that off.

That's appalling, Marie! I am thoroughly indignant on your character's behalf. Not about the lewd r/ship with the housekeeper, obvs, but the character assassination based on being plain! Grrrr.
I had better introduce myself as this is the first time I've been in the bluestocking under this username (I'm not sure I like this one). I have come out of hibernation today, although it is still a little bit chilly in my shallow burrow.
I've spent absolutely ages trying to think of a different username, and I have other things I can be getting on with, now I have plumped for this.

I'm just back ftrom church, and an additional meeting regarding the worship band in which I sing.
It was not an easy meeting at all, and has left me feeling more discombobulated than normal. And my friend the flautist was in tears.

Well good day, Moontree and welcome! Marie will be along shortly to greet you in her wonderfully warm way, even though some people have been cruel in their depiction of her.

In the meantime a passing gerbil will take your order. All nasty effects of alcohol, dairy and gluten etc are removed and all the nice effects, feeling lovely and enjoying tasty cake are enhanced.

I am sorry to hear that, @FuzzyPuffling. Being in a group like that should be a positive experience, but I know that choirs can get really political and some people can be rather nasty. {{{hugs}}}

Politics, in the broadest sense of the word, rear their ugly heads everywhere.

i am currently sitting in the Urgent Care with a UTI which I could have done without. I was here last weekend for the same thing but they only gave me 5 days of antibiotics which wasn’t enough, so the symptoms chose my birthday evening to recur and I was up and down to the loo half the night. I am waiting for my sample to be analyzed and a different antibiotic to be prescribed

Oh no, Fuzzy! That's terrible and not at all what you expect when you do something like singing in a choir. I wish you could join my choir, it's not a church choir, but it is really wonderful singing with so many different women.
Thank you for the welcome, Myrtle! I shall have some beer and a large carrot, I reckon it's sunny enough to have it outside today.

oh for goodness sake a UTI is the last thing you want on your birthday! How horrible.
I hope you feel better soon.
Hugs

Welcome, MoontreeMarmot, the Bluestocking is just the place for a marmot, you'll fit right in!
I gather you are not completely new here, it's just a new username? But please accept the full newcomer welcome anyway, better to be overwelcomed than underwelcomed, I always say.
Well, not always, but I've just said it now🙃

I see you're already sitting comfortably in the warm spring sunshine [guaranteed] with your beer and carrot - from our own vegetable garden, naturellement.
Anything else you wish for will be supplied promptly by an efficient and highly trained bar-gerbil. Don't forget that all food and drink in the Bluey is both delicious and magically devoid of any regrettable stuff like calories or the kind of alcohol that gets you pulled over by the traffic police.

Britinme and Fuzzy both urgently need the attentions of Rosie the Red Panda, the purveyor of hugs - so sorry to hear you are both having a miserable time, for different reasons.

Marie de Gourney vous remercie chaleureusement... the real MdeG thanks you for your support. The clumpy shoes calumny will go down in the annals of infamy - or the annals of calumny, or both.😄

I hope Boily isn't listening to this - but whenever MdeG was said to have worn unfashionable footwear to court etc., I visualised <whispers> Crocs😁

Obviously I really hope Boily is listening, and is well, and will pop in sometime soon, if only to defend Crocs from vile calumny

Thank you for the warm welcome lovely Marie!
That Rosy gives fantastic hugs. She is very generous.

Thank you. I feel very hugged!
It's a band, rather than a choir, and i think that leads to a greater danger of musical ( and other) opinions!

Oh great, somebody else with good AI skills that I can exploit😁
Did you depict Britinme as a bird, Moontree? what kind? why?

BTW love your St David's Day daff

Ah hugs from Rosie - all will be well (or at least it will be once the antibiotics kick in). Whatever one says about the awful system of American healthcare, which I will not defend, it works very well for those within it who can afford it, which is much easier if you're an old bugger like me on Medicare. I arrived at Urgent Care (not the same as the 24 hour ER at the main hospital in that it has limited opening hours of 9am to 8pm 7 days a week and I think probably doesn't deal with dramatic accidents but is there for things that can't wait until your Primary Care Practitioner, or GP as we would call it, can get to it in their hours) just before 10am, was checked in, had temp and BP taken, had a urine sample analysed, saw a nurse practitioner (next step down from doctor and checks things with a doctor) and they called a prescription through to the pharmacy in my local supermarket, and I was on my way home just before 11am. On previous experience that will sort the symptoms out pretty quickly. I hope so because DH is taking me out for a Posh Dinner tonight.

Hope you're well enough to enjoy your posh birthday dinner -
fingers crossed, not legs😬
😄

really not fair. BAD universe!

I saw this today and thought some of you appreciate a good tractor. (I hope I've remembered correctly and do not just sound like a total weirdo!)

Fuzzers, commiserations on a non calm and sustaining church experience. Mine was also a bit disconcerting yesterday, but got resolved (I hope and trust) after a fairly amiable discussion of a neighbour's complete lack of teeth (displayed via wide opening of mouth).

We're probably the talk of three parishes by now,

phwooo aaarh!

You remembered well, which is good, because Bluestockingers shun total weirdos. Shun them.