Right, I believe with left off with L publicly groping me, I mean patting my bum. The groping came later.
He was extremely popular with the mums - all of them, not just Y. I don't think he noticed, which was really quite sweet. That was no doubt partly due to the focus with which he was pushing his own agenda...
A: John tells us you're a police inspector. Tell the truth, is that how you two met? Were you arresting him?*
L: Oh, that's a long, long story.
B: We've got time!
L: Nah, really, I think I have to go get tied to Danger** here. But I'll tell you all about it later. You'll be there when we dig the frog pond, right?
They all agreed they would. We'll see who actually shows up.
And then, yes, it was time to get attached at the ankles and hobble down a slightly muddy course. We came in second to C's grandparents, which was pretty good, considering I may have distracted L a bit. Not on purpose, obviously.
And then...it was the kids' turn. And this is where the sign is nigh tag comes in, because Sherlock and Mycroft did it together, cooperated, got along, worked together enough not to fall over, nearly won (second place), and, when they didn't win, hugged each other anyway. And Sherlock told Mycroft thank you for doing the race with him. I couldn't stop smiling.
Mycroft let Sherlock help him build his egg contraption after that - the idea was to find a way to drop an egg without breaking it. Sherlock's suggestion of making a snake eat it first was possibly workable, but a snake was not one of the materials provided.
They made it out of rubber bands, bits of cardboard, wood, and a lot of tissues. Mycroft did the design and most of the construction, and Sherlock brought him cake and shot rubber bands at people and helped him tape things together. Mycroft won that one - I think they could've dropped it off something a lot higher than the fire escape (the roof of NSY?) - but as he said in L's blog, he was kind enough to give the prize to one of the little girls in Sherlock's class. Hers also did fairly well; it ought to, considering her mum's an engineer - and I don't mean that to sound disparaging, she's only five. It was expected that the parents would help, and I think everyone learned something, which was the idea.
The boys' mum showed up after that. The school had a little station set up where you could crack open geodes and look at bits of the crystals under a microscope, and she did that with them. She doesn't look a lot like either of them - more like Mycroft than Sherlock - but you can certainly see the family resemblance when they're bonding over science. It was lovely.
She didn't stay long. Partly because she'd just got off a plane from halfway round the world, and I think partly because she feels as if she shouldn't be too involved in their lives. Which I think is absurd, but I'm clearly not going to win that argument.
Anyhow. We went home. And then Sally commented to say she'd signed Lestrade up for the NSY vs. City of London rugby match. L fears for his life, or at least his pride. I think it's going to be amazing fun.
---
*She has no idea how close she was there.
** That one took some explaining yesterday morning when I dropped Sherlock off, let me tell you.
He was extremely popular with the mums - all of them, not just Y. I don't think he noticed, which was really quite sweet. That was no doubt partly due to the focus with which he was pushing his own agenda...
A: John tells us you're a police inspector. Tell the truth, is that how you two met? Were you arresting him?*
L: Oh, that's a long, long story.
B: We've got time!
L: Nah, really, I think I have to go get tied to Danger** here. But I'll tell you all about it later. You'll be there when we dig the frog pond, right?
They all agreed they would. We'll see who actually shows up.
And then, yes, it was time to get attached at the ankles and hobble down a slightly muddy course. We came in second to C's grandparents, which was pretty good, considering I may have distracted L a bit. Not on purpose, obviously.
And then...it was the kids' turn. And this is where the sign is nigh tag comes in, because Sherlock and Mycroft did it together, cooperated, got along, worked together enough not to fall over, nearly won (second place), and, when they didn't win, hugged each other anyway. And Sherlock told Mycroft thank you for doing the race with him. I couldn't stop smiling.
Mycroft let Sherlock help him build his egg contraption after that - the idea was to find a way to drop an egg without breaking it. Sherlock's suggestion of making a snake eat it first was possibly workable, but a snake was not one of the materials provided.
They made it out of rubber bands, bits of cardboard, wood, and a lot of tissues. Mycroft did the design and most of the construction, and Sherlock brought him cake and shot rubber bands at people and helped him tape things together. Mycroft won that one - I think they could've dropped it off something a lot higher than the fire escape (the roof of NSY?) - but as he said in L's blog, he was kind enough to give the prize to one of the little girls in Sherlock's class. Hers also did fairly well; it ought to, considering her mum's an engineer - and I don't mean that to sound disparaging, she's only five. It was expected that the parents would help, and I think everyone learned something, which was the idea.
The boys' mum showed up after that. The school had a little station set up where you could crack open geodes and look at bits of the crystals under a microscope, and she did that with them. She doesn't look a lot like either of them - more like Mycroft than Sherlock - but you can certainly see the family resemblance when they're bonding over science. It was lovely.
She didn't stay long. Partly because she'd just got off a plane from halfway round the world, and I think partly because she feels as if she shouldn't be too involved in their lives. Which I think is absurd, but I'm clearly not going to win that argument.
Anyhow. We went home. And then Sally commented to say she'd signed Lestrade up for the NSY vs. City of London rugby match. L fears for his life, or at least his pride. I think it's going to be amazing fun.
---
*She has no idea how close she was there.
** That one took some explaining yesterday morning when I dropped Sherlock off, let me tell you.
55 comments:
I wonder just how far Lestrade will go for a frog pond?
considering I may have distracted L a bit. Not on purpose, obviously.
Yes. Digging your hand into my back pocket and grabbing my bum was indeed, as you stated 'for balance', and in no way intended to make me forget all about the running part of being tied to you.
As for the * and the ** some of the explaining may have stemmed from me possibly implying you were on the run when I tracked you down. I didn't SAY that. But they may have...interpreted it that way.
As for the NSY vs. City match. You just think it'll be fun because you've never seen just how dirty the game gets. Last time more people took time off sick because of that one match than from every deployment of riot officers that YEAR. But neither side will back down and call it off, as that would seem like admitting defeat. So on we play.
You'll just have to insist that John kisses every single bruise better afterwards.
Sounds like everyone had a good time, which is the point of these things.
I hope the rugby match isn't too rough.
Maybe John can give Molly tips on how to not inspire terror in patients! He's very good at that I've noticed.
I couldn't sleep last night very well, so I'm glad to hear about all this. I'm especially glad the pint and quart sized ones* worked together and their mum was able to make it.
Though it's making me giggle at the slight confusion for those that may not have caught on that you're their nanny.
I'm holding my thumbs for large attendance at the pond digging! If only to hear whatever story Greg decides to tell them. The possibilities are endless! :D
Hope y'all are having a good day!
*Too early for metric I'm afraid, I'll look the colloquial translation up later... Unless y'all have quarts too, in which case, play on!
But I'll tell you all about it later. You'll be there when we dig the frog pond, right? Man, L is SMOOTH. Like a stubbly Sheherezade, always leaving them wanting more.
Sherlock and Mycroft did it together, cooperated, got along, worked together enough not to fall over, nearly won (second place), and, when they didn't win, hugged each other anyway. And Sherlock told Mycroft thank you for doing the race with him. I couldn't stop smiling. That is wonderful! Look how good a job you're doing with the boys! And bravo, boys, for taking care of each other!
Mycroft let Sherlock help him build his egg contraption after that - the idea was to find a way to drop an egg without breaking it. Sherlock's suggestion of making a snake eat it first was possibly workable, but a snake was not one of the materials provided. Sherlock, the way your mind works absolutely fascinates me. Also, I meant to ask earlier - just how much cake did you consume to alarm your teacher so? And which kind was your favorite?
As for your poll, I had to choose muffins (lemon poppy, mmmmm) because I'm not really a fan of cake (I always had birthday brownies rather than a birthday cake). But there is one amazing exception to the rule, which you must try when you do come to New York. A local bakery makes a "Brooklyn Blackout" cupcake that's chocolate icing over a chocolate cake that's filled with chocolate pudding. One of those bad boys is approximately the size of Sherlock's face and weighs as much as his brain. And it is DELICIOUS.
ps - I should have mentioned - I have a very simple recipe for cranberry-orange-almond cake/bread/muffins. Let me know if that would appeal to anyone in your little household (other than the Dogs of War).
Rider - I have no idea what you mean!
Smallhobbit - I intend to, don't you worry. He's far too gleeful about all of this.
Tink - I'm fairly sure some of the other adults there were also nannies/childminders. As well as posh parents (combination of the area and the sort of school mean there are a lot of achingly posh parents.) As for the stories I may tell about Danger - my imagination will run riot.
Innie - I had to Google that. Uh...yeah. But I don't think they'll be making me their queen. Probably.
But I don't think they'll be making me their queen. Probably. Not with that attitude, they won't, mister.
I'm not even slightly surprised that you are both a big hit with the Mums :-)
Lovely to hear that the boys were working together, it's not always easy for kids at their ages to get along. Such a shame that Mrs H wasn't able to stay long. How are the boys getting on with her these days?
Greg: You could always introduce them to Greg the florist and say it was undercover work :D
John: I'm so so so very sorry for the monster being created! :D Sort of :D
Rider - I'm waiting to see if he oils himself up for the ground breaking.
L - It helped my balance quite a lot, thanks.
You do have a knack for making my life sound much more interesting than it actually is.
I think it'll be fun because it's rugby! Come on, it can't really be that bad. I'll bring Disney princess plasters for everyone.
Innie - Very simple you say? I could try them… That chocolate cupcake sounds amazing. (Sherlock agrees; I was forced to explain why you couldn't post one to him, and now he's extremely keen on visiting NYC soon.)
Anon - They're getting on with her...fairly well? It would help if she was around more, of course, and she does see them more than when they were in Devon.
Tink - Ha! I don't believe you.
I've never oiled myself up for anything!
Um...well, not for YEARS, anyway.
Didn't help your balance at the end. You should just be grateful I sacrificed myself to lie between you and the wet ground...
Well, okay, it will be a certain amount of fun. Once I've got over thinking it's anything other than a mass brawl, with a vague side-entertainment of trying to score points with a rugby ball.
As for telling stories about you...it's years of people thinking being a rozzer is all car chases and catching criminals, whereas really it's all paperwork and sitting around waiting for judges to pull their fingers out.
I wish I could post myself to you, with all the Brooklyn Blackout cupcakes to be had - I think we're likely to melt at the same time, given the sweltering heat and humidity strangling NYC at the moment.
I have not one but two recipes for you. First up, the cranberry-orange-almond cake/bread/muffins with my emendations:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1/4 t salt
1 t grated orange rind [note: I always zest one or two oranges and use all of it]
1 c chopped cranberries [note: I always use dried, and I've never chopped them]
1/3 c oil
2 t baking powder
1/2 c chopped nuts [note: this must be why I used slivered almonds, which I usually have on hand. also, I don't like walnuts]
1/2 c orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir the eggs, orange rind, and orange juice. Add to flour mixture and stir until just moistened. Stir in berries and nuts. Pour into greased 9x5 loaf pan [note: I've also made this in 9x9 and 9x13 pans]. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes [note: that might be too long - try 45 minutes and see if it's browning nicely]. Cool 10 minutes.
While rooting around for the above, I also found this unlabeled but yummy-sounding recipe, for which the directions literally say "mix all ingredients, bake on ungreased cookie sheet at 350 for 24 minutes":
3 c all-purpose flour
1 T honey
1 c oil
1 t vanilla
3 eggs
1 c sugar
3 t baking powder
1 small package chocolate chips
Enjoy!
L - Ha. Just make sure they know I'm not actually a criminal! I'd like Sherlock to be able to have friends over some day if he wants to.
My offer to play in your stead still stands. I'll just dye my gray, no one will be able to tell the difference.
Innie - It's 18C/64F here. I'll try not to look too smug about it.
Thanks for the recipes, and I have what is probably a very stupid question. That second one makes biscuits, right? So I should make the dough into little blobs to go on the sheet and not just tip the whole lot on there in a mass?
Oh, I will. Eventually. Or at least, I'll say you were acquitted...
Dye your what grey? ;) And no, I'm sure none of the people I've worked with for twenty odd years will notice I've suddenly got a few inches shorter and vastly more attractive. Not at all. They're not trained to be observant or anything, afterall. (Actually, I wonder if some of my lot WOULD notice. Worryingly.)
You going to bake?
Despite your smugness, I'm still unaccountably fond of you, so I'll answer your question - you really do just tip the whole lot on there in a mass. That's part of the reason I always make this with my little nephews (6 and a few days from 8). You just cut it into squares when you're done. (You could also just pour the mixture into a cake/brownie pan if that sounds better to you.)
Dye your what grey?
Wouldn't you like to know.
You going to bake?
Maybe. Unless we're doing something today. Are we?
Innie - Oh! Brilliant, glad I asked. That is almost as good as the black eyed peas one, I'll try it.
given it's just gone four, and so far all we've managed is the park, coffee and persuading Sherlock he really can't catch and bring home a duck, I'm thinking we're not going to do much.
Tomorrow, if Mycroft's up for it, we HAVE to get him some bike gear! Or...well, I dunno, have him create some sort of award for worst guardians ever or something to present us with.
persuading Sherlock he really can't catch and bring home a duck
Hey, that took a lot of effort! I feel accomplished.
Then maybe I'll try those bars. I think we've got all the stuff, and I know we don't have oranges.
I am, indeed, up for it.
Well, I do like ducks. but I feel a duck is much happier at the park, with its family, than in our flat being chased by dogs...
We going to run again today? Or do you have some other fiendish scheme of torture lined up for today?
(And I don't mean subjecting me to your cooking! :D)
Mycroft - great!
Now, I know you don't usually really go in for wearing jeans, but biker gear really comes in two flavours...jeans/combat trousers - with appropriate padding, or leather. Any idea which you'd rather have? And we'll get you a helmet, gloves and a jacket of your choice, too.
Innie, I only had one of each sort, but there were three, so maybe three pieces of cake is a lot. My favorite was the kind with chocolate stuff in the middle but your cupcakes sound even better than that because of the pudding and extra chocolate and even all three pieces together weren't as big as my head.
Sherlock, as you've probably guessed (deduced?), I have a weakness for anything chocolate - except white chocolate, which is a contradiction in terms and is disgusting besides - so I understand your choice of favorite. I'll treat you to a cupcake when you get here.
Jeans would be all right if they're black. Or at least not blue. The ones John got aren't too bad. I don't know about the jacket, but I imagine they won't have a wide selection in my size anyway?
Innie - I live in Brooklyn. Where is this shop! I feel an immediate need, I'm having a chocolate emergency.
I'm sure we can get some black jeans. And there should be a bit of choice on the jackets - mainly between leather and sort of...waterproofy stuff. I know they do some a little like John's - sort of retro-looking.
If we don't find anything you like, there's always the world of online stuff. It's just better if you can try it all on. And you definitely need to try the helmet on. And we should get you some boots, too.
Sherlock - three pieces of cake within ten minutes IS a lot!
Are you really in Brooklyn? Awesome! It's the Ladybird Bakery. Enjoy!
It's not that much! I could eat more!
Innie, we will come and visit SOON!!
Sherlock - excellent!
Becca - sorry, I totally forgot to put your name in my response above. My advice is, go face first into that thing and don't come up for air - that's how you whip that chocolate emergency into submission.
All right. Thank you. This is very kind of you.
It's no problem! Think how much fun it'll be, escaping school for the weekend on the back of the Striple. And we'd be home within 30 mins.
You'll really come to get me sometimes?
It's 18C/64F here. I'll try not to look too smug about it.
I just got back from getting groceries and my car said it was 41C. I am beyond jealous of you. I'm only 3 days back from vacation and I really miss the need for wool socks and hiking boots.
You'll really come to get me sometimes?
Oh love, they're not abandoning you.
Whenever you want - and the school let us have you - of course i'll fetch you.
Thank you.
Pleasure. We'll miss you a lot.
Wish someone had been around to rescue me from school on a bike!
I'll miss you too.
Innie, thank you!
*shakes fist at Brooklyn*
It is close to where I live, and yet, completely awkward to get to by subway, as I am off of the 2345 or the AC, and it's on the FG, and I can't even transfer in Atlantic. Boo!
John: *looks innocent and grins* I am absolutely trustworthy, but I want you to take a tape recorder to the pond digging so you can recount here word for word the story Greg makes up about you ;D
Mycroft: I think if it was up to John and Greg, they'd have you home most evenings. So I think you'll be picked up as soon as they can when you call and give the word!
Tink - after what he's putting me through in the name of health and fitness, I shall make the story worthy of a Hollywood film.
You asked me to! I don't recall asking you to make me into Peter Lorre in the Maltese Falcon!
Oh, please, you're telling me glow-in-the-dark hounds, special ops blokes, helicopters and fights in swamps, or bogs or whatever they were, all set against a backdrop of a bloody mansion country house on the bleak moors isn't blockbuster-worthy?
Plus a dashing hero, a couple of cute kids and a slightly-dumb but eager-to-help-the-hero sidekick, who SOMEHOW (God knows how) manages to cop off with the dashing hero...it writes itself!!
The mums will be beside themselves when they hear that you're a secret BAMF hero, rescuer of kids and cops...(and, incidentally, dogs...)
a slightly-dumb but eager-to-help-the-hero sidekick
Don't remember anyone of this description. You cannot, of course, be referring to yourself, since you were well on your way to solving that mess when I stumbled into it.
Also, thought I was the sidekick?
Ha. Go ahead, they'll never believe all that.
You didn't stumble into it! You marched right in an sat on the chair marked 'prime suspect'.
We're in a switch relationship, aren't we? Both take turns to be the sidekick... ;)
I shall, of course, embellish it slightly...well, let their imaginations run riot, anyway.
And I'll only tell them a small bit per day. Until the pond is finished.
You're devious. I approve.
Stumbled in and knocked the chair over, maybe.
well, you were on the floor, I suppose...
Not often my suspects give up and sit quietly on the floor waiting for me to turn up.
Or that I have to wait for them to finish confiscating chocolate from their charges before questioning them...(at least no one who knows Sherlock will doubt the vast, unbelievable quantity of sweets they bought that day.)
Do I get a muscle rub now you've tortured me? Will you still love me when I look like a 20 stone bloke has stamped on my face?
Or that I have to wait for them to finish confiscating chocolate from their charges before questioning them
Ha. Well, you couldn't have predicted Sherlock and Mycroft. No one could.
Yes, I'll be happy to give you a rubdown. I hear lavender oil is meant to be very soothing.
notice the lack of answer to the last question...
I'm just going to write a blog. You can, er, warm up your hands. And the oil. And anything else you think you might need...
I will still love you regardless of what damage gets done to your face, but please try not to let anyone step on it.
Mmhmm. Hurry up.
I'll try.
Yeah, done. Think I'm slightly shell-shocked by my own post.
Sorry everyone. all got a bit heavy. regular stupidity will be resumed shortly.
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