Monday, October 28, 2013

fallen

Sherlock and I found some good trees today. Here's one:


And Mycroft sent me this site where you can help piece back together an engraved Pictish stone: 


I might need more time or patience than I actually have to make any progress, but I like the idea.

Today included laundry, shopping, hot chocolate with Sherlock who helped me fold a multitude of socks afterward, and a pumpkin delivery. Reg brought over the one he'd promised Sherlock in person, and Mrs H gave him tea. We were not invited. ;)

While looking for fallen trees, we also saw a set of three pumpkins stacked up like a snowman, with a stick arm holding a pumpkin head with the guts trailing out of it to the ground. Should've got a picture. 

106 comments:

Greg Lestrade said...

You're the first person I've met (knowingly) who folds socks. I just battle them into the drawer like a multi-limbed squid monster and slam it closed before they escape again.

Just another thing that makes you so amazing.

John H. D. Watson said...

Are you trying to make me feel better? Because it's working. :)

Folded socks are much more docile and less likely to bite.

Greg Lestrade said...

Always try to make you feel better.

Do you fold them into pairs? My socks are polygamous.

John H. D. Watson said...

I try to. Sherlock's are easy, but between you and I, I think we have roughly 7000 pairs of black/grey/brown socks, so some of them might be swingers at this point.

Greg Lestrade said...

I don't think I have any brown socks. Lots that are mainly black with coloured toes/heels. And I would probably have to refute that I have any pairs. I have at least some that, for an unknown reason, have the days of the week on the sole. Because that would come in handy...

Did you make any rash promises to Sherlock about pumpkin carving?

John H. D. Watson said...

I may have more brown socks than I thought then...

The only thing I said about pumpkin carving was that you would help him.

Greg Lestrade said...

...that counts as a rash promise in my book ;)

I'm going to be off on Thursday. Not quite sure which other days yet. I've got court problems.

That puzzle stone thing sort of...makes my head hurt.

John H. D. Watson said...

I might've also said we could roast the seeds. That is actually a thing you can do, right? I know I've eaten them before.

What sort of court problems?

Greg Lestrade said...

It's a thing. Big pumpkins have tougher seeds, but we can do something with them.

If we set Sherlock cleaning them we might even get some peace for an hour or so...

The usual court problems. Witnesses who don't want to go on the stand, officers on holiday, suspects who may or may not go last-minute guilty plea.

John H. D. Watson said...

Anything's possible!

Ah. Sounds like fun...

Small Hobbit said...

I always pair my socks up, because I can't have one foot wearing penguins and the other one with owls, because that would be silly. Although I have two purple pairs with cats and have been known to muddle them up.

Greg Lestrade said...

Did you know, because I read it today and didn't, that apparently men's haircuts are inexplicably way more expensive in the USA than here? And so is broadband - but perhaps more explicably.

John H. D. Watson said...

SH - the penguins and the owls might get along...

L - I did not. I wonder why.

Greg Lestrade said...

It was a throwaway line in an article - but it made me think of asking people here, who can either agree with or debunk the 'fact'.

Joolz said...

My daughter makes it a point to never wear matched pairs of socks. She just has a mound of them in her drawer and grabs the first two that come to hand, the more dissimilar, the better. :)

Ro said...

I don't know about men's haircuts, but I know women's haircuts are cheaper here in the UK than in Australia. I paid £15 for a haircut in Helston on Friday, which is less than half of what I pay at home. Mind you, pretty much everything here is cheaper than in Aus. Except petrol, apparently (I'm taking other people's word on that, as I don't drive.)

Piplover said...

I'm not sure about haircuts, but I do know about pumpkin seeds. I bake them every year after I carve a pumpkin.

I usually just rinse them off really well, place them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle them with garlic powder, salt and pepper, or some special seasoning blend, and bake them for about an hour. So yummy and pretty healthy for you.

REReader said...

I don't really know about the cost of men's haircuts, here OR in the UK, sorry! I think it's true about broadband, and the reason is "because they can." :(

That tree is amazing--and even more that it fell across what looks like an empty street and not on a house. And I love the idea of helping to piece together the Pictish stone--crowdsourcing has done some excellent things! I may give it a go, I like jigsaws. (I find they keep my hands and the top layer of brain busy so thinking can happen. :))

Greg Lestrade said...

Piplover - I've heard things about boiling them in seasoned water first??

RR - i think your infrastructure is a bit more involved than ours, too. Pretty huge distances involved.

REReader said...

Welllll...yes and no. It's not true for most urban areas. There's an interesting article on Engadget about the differences, and they put it down to lack of government forcing competition.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, the article I read was about the broadband. The thing I was more interested about was the haircuts, which seems far less explainable.

REReader said...

I think the price of haircuts would depend very much on where you lived in the US. I mean, I don't think a haircut in a small town in Iowa is going to cost as much as a haircut in Manhattan, men's or women's. But I wouldn't swear to it.

Greg Lestrade said...

Well yes, same here, although you also have to account for competition and supply & demand, so it isn't always quite so clear cut.

Danger, hope you've had a nice peaceful day.

REReader said...

Oh, yeah, always. And rents and all the rest of it.

Piplover said...

I asked my brother how much he pays for a haircut and he says $25 for a trim. We live in a rural area, not a large city but not a really small town, either. Not sure if that helps, but that's about $10 less than I pay for my trims.

I haven't heard about boiling the seeds first. I suppose you could, but if you want to marinade them it might be better to let them soak in a seasoning solution for a few hours. I just rinse them off really well to get rid of the pumpkin bits stuck to them and usually put Johny Seasoning Salt on them. Don't think you have it over there, but if you have something like that, it might work. Or, just regular butter and salt. Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour and then eat!

pandabob said...

I hope you've all had fun and productive days gentlemen :-)

Kestrel337 said...

Cost of haircuts also varies widely within a locale, based on where you go. Upscale salons can (and do!) charge three and four times what a basic place does. Think hubster pays around $30, not including tip.

Greg Lestrade said...

Couldn't describe it as fun, Anonybob.

pandabob said...

I realised after I'd written that comment that I should have gone for or instead of and Greg. Sorry if its been a tough one.

Greg Lestrade said...

Cheers.

Danger, Sherlock, I'll be a bit late home.

John H. D. Watson said...

Late has turned into out of petrol... We 're going to rescue him.

Greg Lestrade said...

Thanks. Sorry. I wasn't paying attention.

John H. D. Watson said...

Not a good day?

Greg Lestrade said...

Not... Not bad, just difficult. Kids involved, spent most of the day interviewing them.

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm sorry, love. It doesn't sound good. Do you want to talk about it?

Greg Lestrade said...

I don't know. You just want to do something, don't you? And you can't.

John H. D. Watson said...

Yeah. I know. It always seems like there should be more you can do.

Greg Lestrade said...

Just...wanted to hug them. Bring them home. Obviously can't.

John H. D. Watson said...

Yeah. I know the feeling, believe me.

Greg Lestrade said...

and I know you don't mind but I do feel bad when I don't come home straight away.

John H. D. Watson said...

I really don't mind. Sometimes you just need to clear your head a little. Everyone does sometimes.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. Always feel like I'm somehow wasting our time together.

But then run out of petrol miles from anywhere and need you to ride in on your big red steed to rescue me...

John H. D. Watson said...

It made Sherlock's night. He was soooooooo boredddddddd before you called.

Greg Lestrade said...

He did tell me that you and he were the best rescuers ever. Repeatedly. And that he'd seen more fallen trees on your way to me.

John H. D. Watson said...

We did. There were some pretty good ones.

Joolz said...

Sorry to hear you've had a rough day, Greg. Good job you've got such a stunning white knight (plus sidekick) to ride to your rescue. Have some quality time together now and enjoy just being with your man for the rest of your evening. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

I didn't realise how many hundreds of trees were down all over the city. It is a lot.

John H. D. Watson said...

I think I could offer guided tours at this point.

Greg Lestrade said...

Maybe you should! Most kids are on half term this week, I think - some are, definitely. Although Sherlock would never forgive you...

Mycroft says there are a few down at his school, but no damage to anything else.

John H. D. Watson said...

Yeah, I think he's personally attached to all the ones we've seen so far.

That's good. Glad it wasn't worse.

Greg Lestrade said...

I guess he's too little to remember any other storms - and the moors weren't exactly covered in trees to fall over.

John H. D. Watson said...

True. It's impressive when it rains there though. So much open sky.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah.

Seems a long time ago.

One of the boys today reminded me of Sherlock, back then. So angry with the world - with reason. But so unsure of himself.

John H. D. Watson said...

Poor kid. That must've been hard to see. I hope he can get the help he needs.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. I mean, everyone's doing their best. The kids are together, in an emergency foster home, with experienced foster carers. But... I don't know. Just makes everything seem so pointless, such young lives, dealing with such a horrible situation.

John H. D. Watson said...

It shouldn't have to be this way. I'm glad they're together at least.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah. I hope they stick together - I mean, I hope they can talk about, when they're older, when they need to.

John H. D. Watson said...

I hope so too. They'll need each other.

Greg Lestrade said...

Bed? Think I need a cuddle.

And I told Sherlock to plan his pumpkin carving, so if he's at a loose end tomorrow, maybe remind him?

And he said he wanted to go to school as a bat on Friday, but I don't know if it's official hallowe'en costume day, or just his desire...

John H. D. Watson said...

Bed, yeah. Think I could use one too.

I'm sure we can find him something dark and flappy.

rsf said...

Can you sew? My cousin just made this in a single afternoon, for her son. (except his wings are purple on the front side and black in the back.)

REReader said...

Your cousin is talented, rsf--that's a wonderful (and wearable) bat costume!

Purple and black is, of course, much more dramatic than just black, if a teensy smidge less authentic. *nods*

Small Hobbit said...

RR - I presume you've never met the Lesser Purple Winged Bat. They are indeed very hard to spot, appearing extremely infrequently (possibly only once a year) and surviving on a diet of cake and ice cream.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm not yet convinced this is an official thing from the school. Sherlock isn't going in dressed up if Mrs N isn't expecting a classroom full of ghosts and ghouls and creatures of the night.

John is investigating...

rsf said...

Investigation is good. Halloween is Thursday, not Friday. No good being a late bat.

pandabob said...

Good luck with today Greg :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Ah, that was my fault. I looked on my phone and thought it was Fri, but my calendar was in Nov. crap. I hope he doesn't have to dress up.

REReader said...

SH--It sounds like a fascinating and exotic creature, indeed!

I do that all the time with my wall calendar, L, only in the other direction--I forget to flip to a new month. (Well, everything else advances without me doing anything nowadays!)

Greg Lestrade said...

When the clocks changed I was very glad our oven clock hadnt, so I could be sure everything else wasn't lying to me.

REReader said...

Heh! I know that feeling. I used to check by my wristwatch, but the battery on that died somewhere in the last six months and I never even noticed.

Greg Lestrade said...

Anyone else feel like going into hibernation for a bit?

REReader said...

*waves hand in air very very quietly*

Small Hobbit said...

Sounds like an excellent idea.

Kestrel337 said...

You can do a quick and dirty spider costume with black socks, string, a black shirt and pants, and safety pins.

Kestrel337 said...

By pants I mean trousers, of course.

Greg Lestrade said...

I just got a text from my sister, who is alone in the house, and has a spider sitting in her kitchen sink. 'stopping her doing anything'

As if I can possibly help from this distance.

I told her to make friends with it.

REReader said...

It's a HALLOWEEN spider! She needs to give it a candy and then it will leave.

:)

So does Sherlock's school have a costume thing tomorrow?

Small Hobbit said...

Perhaps if you phone Nicky you could speak to the spider and ask it politely to leave.

Greg Lestrade said...

I don't think it needs to leave. There's space for it to live in the house.

Although she should help it out of the sink.

John H. D. Watson said...

It's in the sink. Can't she just wash it down the drain?

Greg Lestrade said...

It sounds like it's set out some sort of cordon, preventing approach. Maybe landmines, or lasers or something. I mean, she is only a few thousand times larger than it is. I'm unsure she'll survive.

John H. D. Watson said...

When the spiders start arming themselves, you know you're in trouble.

Nicky said...

Gregory! I can't believe you told everyone!

John, you'll understand, I just want a cup of tea. The sink is now controlled by the spider. And the kettle area.

Your husband told me to call it Hamish, by the way.

John H. D. Watson said...

Why would he ever name a spider after me?? Just terrible.

Seriously though, drown it. Highly effective. Or I'll send Sherlock over and he'll befriend it and keep it as a pet until it has 20,000 spiderlings and we have to move out of the flat.

Greg Lestrade said...

So she thinks of it as cute and cuddly.

Don't drown it! Just...scoop it out with a glass and set it free. It just wants to eat horrible flies, get a mate and raise a family.

Nicky said...

You are both horrible. And Carla has evicted the spider.

John H. D. Watson said...

I'm not horrible! Apparently, I'm cute and cuddly... I'm glad it's not standing between you and your tea any longer.

Greg Lestrade said...

I think you're only horrible because you made her think her whole kitchen would be full of spider-babies, eating everything in her fridge, getting little spidery footprints over everything. Leaving their little spidery school uniforms to be washed...

I think you're cute and cuddly.

John H. D. Watson said...

School uniforms...so many legs. You and Sherlock need to stop anthropomorphising spiders or I'll start having problems drowning them.

Greg Lestrade said...

Ooh, hush your mouth! Sherlock wants you to love spiders because they're spiders.

Not because you can imagine eight little tears welling up in eight little eyes as your hand reaches for the tap...

John H. D. Watson said...

Stopppp.

Greg Lestrade said...

little front legs lifting, clasped together to plead for it's life...

John H. D. Watson said...

No, you cannot have a tarantula. What happens when it goes off to boarding school? I'm not sewing name tags onto a uniform that small.

Sherlock said...

Lestrade says I'd have to make sure it was really BIG so you could sew them in more easily and anyway it wouldn't wear clothes you could just write it's name on the tank.

Greg Lestrade said...

When you're old enough for your own home, kiddo, you can have any animals you like, provided you take care of them.

Until then, degus are your lot, for now.

John H. D. Watson said...

you could just write it's name on the tank.

Well, that would make it easier.

Small Hobbit said...

And just imagine pairing up all those socks ...

John H. D. Watson said...

Terrible thought!

Greg Lestrade said...

How many socks would a spider wear?

John H. D. Watson said...

At least six, I would think.

REReader said...

Imagine buying socks for a centipede--or a millipede...

O_O

Greg Lestrade said...

I was thinking six. So really, you'd need to fold them into bunches of 6, right?

John H. D. Watson said...

How could you ever fold them? They'd be so tiny. They'd need little sock bags.

Greg Lestrade said...

You've gone from spider-killer to worrying about fictional millipede socks... Should I worry?

John H. D. Watson said...

I think you should take me to bed.

Unknown said...

oh, random-internet-person hugs for the kids in the awful situation. I can see why you'd want to bring them home with you, Greg! Glad to hear they are together and with a good foster family.

The bat wing shirt is brilliant!

Friends of mine came to a costume party once as carpenter ants. They were in fact carpenters, so over all-black clothing they wore their carpenter's tool belts, and bulbous dark sunglasses, and made the third pair of legs that an ant has, from black pipe cleaners attached to the sides of the belts.

I'm not sure yet whether I'm going out tonight anywhere or not, usually my Morris lads gather at a pub and do a bit of sword dancing, and then take the antlers out to a cemetery or the common where we dance on May Day. Not sure we have a whole side yet... if we do they may want me to dress as Robin Hood for the horn dance.
S

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