We had a good day today (despite the subject line). Went to the off road place. Sherlock and Mycroft are doing really well and came out on the trail with us for a while. It's hard to believe Mycroft will be able to get his own bike soon if he wants to. I suppose it makes sense than time seems to go faster when you're older, since any given amount of time is proportionally less of your life, but even so, the pace at which this year has gone by seems a bit ridiculous.
This weekend, in particular, was a blur, and Mycroft is back at school already. He and Anthea seem to be engaged in some sort of war in which he tries to work out her birthday and she smiles serenely like he hasn't got a prayer. Since I assume he'd need her real name to find out her birthday, and since I assume that information only exists on some top secret computer somewhere, I'm...slightly concerned. But he assured me he wouldn't do anything illegal because 'that would be cheating'.
I've been thinking, as I know L has, about the boy who died on Friday and inevitably about people I haven't been able to save. About how many people will go their whole lives without watching someone die. About how Sherlock and Mycroft have already seen that and the ways I know it's affected them. No real conclusions. Just a lot of think about.
A. E. Housman
Now hollow fires burn out to black,
And lights are guttering low:
Square your shoulders, lift your pack,
And leave your friends and go.
Oh never fear, man, nought's to dread,
Look not to left nor right:
In all the endless road you tread
There's nothing but the night.
110 comments:
I am sure that someone has stolen a few months out of this year, it can't possibly be nearly the end of it when it only started last week!!
I'm glad you had a good day, the four of you having fun together is always something to smile about :-)
It was a great day.
Mycroft only rides a bike now, so Sherlock is desperate to get off his four wheels and onto two as well. But it's just nice they're good enough and confident enough to come off road with us. The track is very good, but nothing beats being out in the countryside :)
Anonybob - at least a couple of months, yeah!
L - and mud. :)
The mud was perfect. Sticky and wet and brilliant. Soft enough to fall off on, even when you should probably be trying not to fall off and undo some poor nurse's nice neat stitching.
And did you come home singing Mud Mud Glorious Mud?
That's a good poem, John. Thank you for it.
We came home, as always, wondering how Sherlock gets mud in his hair.
Mycroft's doing really well on the bike. His confidence is just going up and up. And Sherlock is seriously listening and doing as he's told, because he knows it's the key to being allowed on a bike as soon as possible - proving he'll listen and be responsible on the quad.
Yay, mud!
And also yay, thinking ahead. :)
There's a dead hippo on the TV and I think it might blow up but I bet they didn't film it.
I bet that if it did blow up and they didn't film it, the cameraman would have been really annoyed. (Not to mention the producer and the director.)
What sort of show is it, Sherlock?
It's about animals and the rain is going to come soon but it's dry now and the hippo died and it looked really big like the rabbits in the canal did when they filled up with gas and might explode so maybe soon the hippo would have but now they're showing it's raining and other animals.
Maybe the rain cooled the air enough that the hippo didn't explode, but collapsed instead? It sounds like a very dramatic nature show, I must say.
Afraid it ended with cute brand-new lion cubs, not gory exploding hippos, as Sherlock would have liked. What were those producers thinking...
They have no sense of drama and should consult with Sherlock before their next film. *nods*
(Although baby lions are pretty good, too. Maybe they could do something cute on YouTube!)
I never wonder about mud in the hair. It's mud in the teeth that alarms me.
And hippopotami of course
Glorious, rsf!
RSF I'm confused. Is it the muddy hippo that alarms you or hippo in the teeth, because the latter would alarm me too, unless I was a crocodile.
Singing hippopotami are alarming whether they are inside of crocodiles or not. The ability of mud to locate itself to places which are only spoken about in hushed whispers is also alarming. It's rather like glitter. You think you've got it all off and then discover a bit of it in your ear three days later.
Whatever your plans are today gentlemen I hope they are going well :-)
Having lots of meetings about Friday.
I've had nicer days.
I can imagine :-( good luck with it all.
How's it going? Do you want to get lunch at some point?
Hope the outcome of the meetings is as positive as it can be in the circumstances.
I'm not going to have time for lunch, sorry. You having a good day? Miserable weather, huh?
All right. Tell me if there's anything I can do?
Yeah, the day's not bad. I've been helping Mrs Hudson hang shelves. I told her she should wait for you, but I think they're mostly level. Pretty much.
Just keep being you. Couldn't ask for more.
There is both a spirit level and laser level in my tools...
Do not leave the laser level within Sherlock's reach.
He has plans to adapt it to cut through the wall.
...Thank you for that incredibly timely warning, Mycroft.
L - we leveled! Enthusiastically. That wasn't the problem.
Of course he would never have managed it. But he would have destroyed the level.
Dare one ask what the problem was?
I am now imagining the difference between enthusiastic leveling and reluctant leveling...
Ella
Whenever I try to hang something, even with the stud detector and a level that checks from every conceivable angle, I always end up with crooked stuff. It's usually because something slipped while I was marking or hammering.
L- I hope that the unpleasant but necessary meetings at least have a favorable outcome. As much of a one as possible under the circumstances.
It was more the drilling than the leveling that was the issue.
Sherlock--You know, I was wondering if a decomposing hippo COULD explode, being that it has such thick skin, so I did a bit of research. Apparently Animal Planet, at least, believes they can, although their filming of the ultimate disposal of a hippo carcass in the wild did not have quite such an exciting result: Review quoting the narration offering the possibility over here; some bits of the show over here (although I'm not sure if the latter will show up in the UK).
But there's always a totally different kind of hippo explosion: http://youtu.be/aA7iAMTAWHM... ;D
I've always thought you were rather good at drilling. And, indeed, screwing.
Don't you go making fun of your young man Gregory! He's been a great help. So none of your cheek.
I assure you I was only referring to his DIY skills, Mrs H.
This is quite an interesting piece of work.
That is...disturbing. But it also makes quite an impact. Thank you, Mycroft.
On way home. finally.
Excellent :)
We should have lemon meringue pie.
...should?
What was with the French? That's a lot of testing for a small country, also India had the bomb earlier than I imagined. Very interesting
Yes lemon meringue pie is good but Lestrade says we can't tonight. We're having crumble tonight. AGAIN.
Yes, it is good, but it's not a fast, easy thing to make, I don't think (it certainly wouldn't be for me!).
I think crumble is better than what I'll be having for afters, which will be clementines. (Although those are nice, too.)
We're having crumble because John brought back all this lovely fruit from the allotment! You don't have to eat any.
Oddly enough, he's having some...
I'm shocked, shocked I tell you...
LOL, Nameless--and I mean that quite literally--I was just about to say that exact thing... :D
I know, it's quite unlike him, to decide that pudding trumps no pudding.
He does this thing where he lifts the cream jug, pours and stares at John, not stopping until John raises his 'stop pouring cream, young man', eyebrow. All in silence... (he tries to begin the pour when John is otherwise distracted, to maximise his cream portion.)
That man has multi-talented eyebrows. ;)
He does manage to convey an enormous number of messages with them.
I imagine the stop pouring cream eyebrow is very similar to the more general stop doing X eyebrow.
It is. It's a powerful eyebrow of silence.
When I was in college we had a practical day at a local grade school. During our preparations in the library some grade school students were being pretty rowdy, and our Prof asked one of us to deploy our 'mean teacher face' and get them to settle down. There were a few who were appalled that such a thing was considered a viable and necessary teaching tool. The ones who weren't were either nannies or parents (or, in my case, a former camp leader)
something like the Mind Scrambling Eyeball Ray perhaps?
http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2010/08/03#.UoqTNSc2Pac
:)
S
If Sherlock doesn't stop, he gets double-barrelled eyebrows. But to be honest, the second eyebrow hasn't done more than twitch in over a year - he's learnt when to back down.
The power of the eyebrow is the reason I can't understand people who shout at their kids, mine are far more likely to react to the right look than they are to me hurting my throat shouting at them ;-)
Great minds, ReRe. Great minds :-)
AnonyBob - yeah, all shouting does is teach them to shout louder, I think. Or it did to me.
We learned to pay attention if my mom was speaking softly. Because sometimes what she was saying was "if the living room is clean by the time I get finished washing the dishes we'll go get ice cream for dessert." And she only ever made the offer once.
That's a very useful one, RSF. Once I taped a note to the bottom of the 'put this stuff away' basket that was good for brownies. They had to turn the basket upside down in it's appointed location to redeem it.
AnonyBob, I'm a shouter. I've gotta own it. Also, Ella, I'm a reluctant leveler... I don't want to measure distance to the ground, which means if I'm hanging two points that are farther away than the length of my bubble level, I just eyeball it anyway. Boys, you would be appalled. Perhaps I need one of those laser thingys. I don't need it to cut through walls, though.
Just blame the ground for not being flat ;). Anyway, sometime levelling something makes it look worse than eyeballing to other non-level elements of the room.
Hope everyone's having a good day. It's lovely here, blue sky, freezing cold.
Nice here too, thanks. Had to do the first scraping the ice off the car this morning so winter is definitely upon us. I suppose that's one saving for you on the bike, but the wind must be bitter, I'm sure, so swings and roundabouts. :)
In this pre-war, floors, ceilings, and even the molding on the walls are off-plumb, so anything level looks so cooked, which is frustrating.
It's a bit cloudy here, and 20 degrees colder than yesterday, so a shock to the system! But it's not raining, which I'm grateful for, since I have to run around doing errands today.
Joolz - got a cold neck this morning, because my scarf, which Ive been looking for on and off for days, was discovered being deployed as a degu bed. Apparently they needed it more than I did.
Good to know where you stand.
Well, you haven't used it in ages, after all... (Is it wrong for me to be giggling? ;))
They looked very happy in it, at least.
Danger, got a nice surprise today. Show you later.
Do I get a hint?
Err... It's not that exciting :). Well, not to anyone else. Involves my warrant card and my new initial, borrowed from you ;)
That is exciting Greg :-D
It is. Very exciting :)
Pics or it didn't happen, Greg. :)
If you got a new one can I have the old one?? PLEASE?
Sorry kiddo, I have to turn my old one in.
And sorry to you too, Olli, we're not allowed to post pictures in case someone uses them to make forgeries.
My day has officially included cleaning up vomit, which I admit I was very much hoping to avoid in my professional life. It's part of why I went into libraries. But we can't all have our druthers.
Ah well. Onward and upward.
Ella
coming home. With my new card :)
John is cooking something and so far nothing has burnt and it smells nice and he's barely said any bad words even quietly.
Mrs Hudson is helping me make a degu climbing net.
Both of those things sound very promising, Sherlock.
Ella
Very good on the fact of cooking without swearing, John, if you're anything like me then that bodes well for a good meal. :)
Will your degus be needing more scarves to make their climbing net, Sherlock, or are they happy with the one they already have. ;)
Yay for a new warrant card, Greg, how exciting to have your full name for all to see. :)
That's very nice of Mrs. Hudson. Does that mean she's more comfortable with the Degus (and that there is hope for my husband and the ferret)?
It does smell good. In Danger's words it's 'lasagne type thing'. I don't know what stops it just being 'lasagne'.
Sherlock's net seems to involve a number of scraps of fabric. Apparently my scarf was too nibbled to be saved for my use.
"Smells nice" and "barely said any bad words" are both good signs, for sure. :)
Are your degus enjoying their climbing net, Sherlock, or is it not done yet?
Clearly you should get the same kind of scarf again this year, L, it's degu-approved!
One could argue that finding a degu-disapproved scarf would prove more useful for lestrade's neck. :)
Ella
I'm sure they could only be that...enthusiastic...with a very soft and warm scarf. ;)
My loving husband has already offered to find me a new biking scarf. You'd think he had an interest in keeping me warm or something...
Now then Greg don't you go giving the impression John might actually care that you stay well ;-)
I hope you're enjoying your evening :-)
Ha, he does undoubtedly care a lot - probably too much! But I was thinking more that he cares that I don't put cold extremities on him ;)
Perhaps it will be a set of scarf-and-super-warm-gloves... ;)
I am not sure how you could get your neck inside his jumper for warming up purposes...but you are a more resourceful man than I, lestrade. (And not just because I'm not any kind of man at all!)
Ella
It's more my chin that he gets wedged firmly between his shoulder and his ear to warm up ;) stubble and cold! Perfect.
I bet "perfect" is exactly the adjective john uses, as well. ;)
Ella
(sigh)
Late to the party, but thanks for the poem, Doc. It's quite timely. Was in your old stomping grounds recently. Still getting the moon dust out of my pockets.
DW! I've been thinking of you--how have you been? Are you home now?
No, not home for months yet.
Which is worse, Doc: Lestrade's cold hands on you or his cold feet?
Hello Desert Wanderer have you really been wandering in deserts because even if you'd been to the moon I don't think you'd have put moon dust in your pockets. But if you have can I have some?
I have been wandering in deserts, Sherlock I say "moon dust" because the sand or dust (what's the technical difference?) has the consistency of what I imagine dust on the moon does--extraordinarily fine, poofs up when you step in it, keeps bootprint shapes well, turns into the consistency of peanut butter when wet, etc. Not really wandering, though, since that implies a lack of direction in my movements. More...investigation, I suppose, but "Desert Investigator" sounds more Lestrade's area than mine..
Hi, DW. Glad you liked the poem. Hope you're doing well. With cold feet vs cold hands...well, it's mainly dependent on where he puts them.
(Take care of yourself, DW, and please stay in touch when you can. :))
Hiya DW,
I assure you, I only investigate Devastating Docs, not Deserts. Although sometimes Desserts.
I've attempted to work out the hands vs. feet thing... he squirmed more when I got my toes up under his jumper, on the side of his belly. But he did a better job of fending off the fingers heading for his neck, so it wasn't a fair contest.
Toes and stomachs don't belong together.
your stomach is always so warm though.
look at this lake!
http://www.damninteresting.com/lake-peigneur-the-swirling-vortex-of-doom/
At least it's harder for you to surprise me that way.
Sherlock, that is...a bit terrifying, and totally amazing. Wow!
I have noticed that you're rather easy to distract. I just need to indulge in a little bit of kissing your neck or nibbling your ears...and my hands can be inside your many-layers of jumper and getting warm before you realise!
Sherlock - that is utterly bizarre. And amazing that no one was killed.
I want to see the barges coming back out again that would be good but yes it's good no one died.
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