The Bluestocking - Best Pub on the Internet

[EdithStourton]

Welcome to the Bluestocking women's pub. Excellent (if sometimes wilful) gerbil bar staff, varied cocktails, splendid cakes, cracking Sunday roasts...

Voted Best Pub for the umpteenth thread running, join us for conversation about tractors, units of measurement, films, wildlife, and even, sometimes, women's rights.

Just keep Glenda off the gin.

Any men, you can trot along to the Staunch Ally just up the road.

Perhaps you could just go to check in on the crofters and knitters and puffins? That would be very nice!

I'm days behind and have to sit down a rtft, but meanwhile there's been a shamrock airlift, so happy St Patrick's day to all.

Though I do wish Bing could count to three more reliably

☘☘☘☘☘

Happy St Gertrude & her Cats Day!

Is Gertrude the gerbil celebrating her saint's day? Perhaps with Spartipuss?

Do gerbils get on with cats?

They do in the Bluestocking. House rule, all other animal inhabitants are friends not food.

I think cheerbils are unnecessary but I love the enthusiasm, and at least it gets me out of the house.

Gynae is not a long lost cousin, but if they are well-behaved today I will bring Galene, named for the Nereid nymph, who was the goddess of calm seas. She can bring some tranquility to the Bluestocking.

Because I've waited so long I am being seen at a nearby private hospital, so I have no idea what the situation will be for blood tests or treatment. I always answer my phone, even if it is number withheld.

I've never got over the excitement of answering the phone that I had as a child.

Happy St Patrick's Day to the Bluestocking Irish contingent☘

Sun and blue skies today, so it's "clearing out the garage day" here.

I'm going in. I may be gone some time.........

I have that joy to come when the Walrus has some time off over Easter. I think Grünhilde can send some capybaras to help you. She would send the gerbils but they would probably be more of a hindrance.

The parade crowd are getting ready for off. They're quite lucky, the traditional St Patrick's day horizontal sleet hasn't happened. Climate change, huh?

Sorry to hear about your X account. I followed you and have just checked to find that the account no longer exists.

Dh went to the consultant this morning, about his possible hernia. The doctor couldn't find anything on examination, but said it might still be a hernia, so he's got an MRI booked in 10 days time, to check. The doctor did rule out the two cancers that run in the family (bowel and prostate) which was a relief for dh, but said it might just be early arthritis of his hip.

All in all, it was as good as we could have hoped - so fingers crossed for no hernia on the MRI, because coping with his recovery and my complete inability to do anything helpful, wouldn't be easy. If we have to, we'll manage - ready meals and takeaway for the win!

@AsWithGlad - there is a part of me that would like to go and live somewhere like Fair Isle - it looks so beautiful up there, and I loved Orkney when I visited, some years ago - but in reality, I don't think we would cope with the isolation.

Plus, as my latest project proves, I am terrible at fairisle style knitting - I'd be drummed off the island in no time!

I hope I haven't been greedy, but the Sleep Gerbils have been working overtime for me for the past two nights. Despite being so tired I actually slept poorly the night after the op, as my eye was sore and scratchy. However, since then I've had two of the best nights I've had in a very long time, the first an unbroken 7.5 hours and the second a whole 9 hours, interrupted only by one trip to the loo. It's made me realise that though I wasn't consciously worrying about the op, underneath I must have been very tense and apprehensive and now the tension has completely gone.

As a bonus the forecast is for 4 sunny days in a row after so much grey and rain. It's a pity the post-op instructions include doing no gardening for at least a fortnight, because of the bending involved.

Good to hear DH’s doctor ruled out the two cancers, @SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius - whatever the problem turns out to be, fingers crossed that it’s readily fixable.

i wish all our Irish Stockingers a happy St Patrick’s Day! My DDIL is a Catholic and she normally makes Irish food in the American style today - St Patrick’s Day is quite a big thing over here.

At least you'll be able to sit and admire the garden in the sun, @AsWithGlad. I'm glad to hear you slept better too - there is nothing worse than insomnia.

I don't know if it's due to the long covid or the antidepressants I'm on, but I have very vivid dreams. Last night I was trying to pack a suitcase, and every time I thought I'd put everything in, I found more that needed packing - and then two of the boys turned up with clothes that needed to be fitted in too, until the suitcase wouldn't even fasten. And people were hassling me to get packed as quickly as possible, because we needed to leave asap.

I wonder what that says about what's on my mind? 😂

The cheerbils didn't appear, so you didn't get a chance to decide whether they were being too giddy about Gynae or not. Here's they are.
Hope it all goes well Myrtle.

There's a lot to unpack there.

Lololol!!

This must have been a very worrying time for you Woley - I'm glad Mr Woley had the worst things ruled out, and hope that things work out as well as possible for you both.

Thank you, @MarieDeGournay.

Clearly somebody in your family is a good knitter, Fuzzy, and they've already kitted themselves out for moving to Fair Isle😁

[recycled image]

Thank you for the St Patrick's Day greetings, and happy St Gertrude's Day to all - I believe they worked together at one point : '
You drive out all the snakes, Patrick, and I'll replace them with cats'
'Oh grand so, Gertrude'
😁

I agree about the welcome absence of horizontal sleet for the big parade in Dublin, Deano.
One of the big features of the parade is the presence of a number of huge American high school/marching bands, who bring real pizzazz to the parade - masses of them, wearing Ruritantian-style uniforms, playing very jazzy music and doing all that twirly baton stuff - great fun!

However, I feel sorry for them when the weather is bad, esp the ones from the likes of 'Mary Immaculate and Sacred Heart of Jesus High School Band' from sunny Apalachicola, Florida, as a stiff easterly coming up the Liffey flings stinging rain and sleet into their faces as they mark time on O'Connell Bridge, poor things! 😟

I'll be watching it on the telly, I wish I could be there in person.
It used to be a great treat when we were kids, although it was just pretty boring floats on the back of lorries in those days, we thought it was great😄
Now it's full of creativity and colour and diversity and some really amazing floats and contraptions - groups spend all year making outfits and things like giant fantastical pedal-powered creatures...