Watching L watch football is more entertaining (and occasionally heartbreaking) than actually watching almost any sport.
Sherlock's class are doing ancient Egypt related things again, although no one's getting mummified (that I know of) (possibly one of us if we stand still too long). I called Mycroft earlier and got about two minutes to talk to him before Sherlock stole the phone and told him about Egyptian temple architecture for two hours and also discussed what sort of animal head he would have if he were a god. His top options were jackal, crocodile, and cobra. (He said I ought to have a giraffe one, for which I blame my husband.)
I then got two more minutes of Mycroft before he had to go and do his homework. He says he's fine and, if transformed into a god, would like the head of something with no ears. We'll have him and Anthea and the dogs home again this Saturday, which will be very nice.
In his first two minutes, he told me a story about Phobos going after the rugby ball while some of the younger boys were practising and making off with it...all the way back to Anthea. Bounding across the campus with two teams of twelve year old tearing after him and whooping. He laid it at her feet and sat down, proud and panting and expecting a scratch behind the ears. Sometimes I wonder if Anthea regrets meeting us...
Sherlock's class are doing ancient Egypt related things again, although no one's getting mummified (that I know of) (possibly one of us if we stand still too long). I called Mycroft earlier and got about two minutes to talk to him before Sherlock stole the phone and told him about Egyptian temple architecture for two hours and also discussed what sort of animal head he would have if he were a god. His top options were jackal, crocodile, and cobra. (He said I ought to have a giraffe one, for which I blame my husband.)
I then got two more minutes of Mycroft before he had to go and do his homework. He says he's fine and, if transformed into a god, would like the head of something with no ears. We'll have him and Anthea and the dogs home again this Saturday, which will be very nice.
In his first two minutes, he told me a story about Phobos going after the rugby ball while some of the younger boys were practising and making off with it...all the way back to Anthea. Bounding across the campus with two teams of twelve year old tearing after him and whooping. He laid it at her feet and sat down, proud and panting and expecting a scratch behind the ears. Sometimes I wonder if Anthea regrets meeting us...
158 comments:
He laid it at her feet and sat down, proud and panting and expecting a scratch behind the ears.
That's how I generally approach Anth too.
Would you get the neck of the giraffe thrown in for free then? ;)
It's the safest way.
I think that was the idea... What would you want?
An owl would be good. See in the dark, turn your head all around.
Or a tortoise, so I could hide my head in my shell...or ribcage.
Dunno, what should I have?
What would you like, if you don't agree with giraffe?
Owl seems good. It's be useful for keeping an eye on people. I suppose I shouldn't say fox...
Hmm...something with gills would be good, if I didn't suffocate on land. Which I assume I wouldn't, since I'd be a god. Or maybe a falcon.
Wolf?
You are a god already. But you could have the head of a Clown Trigger fish. Why gills though? I...am not sure I appreciate why they'd be good. (Shush, all of you, I've thought of THAT reason.)
Just for breathing underwater. I wasn't going to use them for anything untoward.
..but if you're a God, and you'd survive having gills on land, then...you'd survive not having them in the water, I think?
(I very much like that you feel you have to protest that you wouldn't use your gills for 'anything untoward' though.)
Here, look at some of the headline-grabbing things which have happened - why were we not informed on the 24 hour rolling news??
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2014/03/25/45-local-news-stories-that-rocked-the-world/
Well, if you can just do anything if you're a god, you wouldn't need to be an owl to twist your head round either. There must be some sort of rules.
I think "foot path proves popular" is my favourite...
No, I take it back. I hadn't read all the way through. FURY OVER GIANT HEDGE.
...true. Ask Sherlock if he can find some god-rules. Or make some up. Might be good exercise for him, thinking up reasonable ways for a god to behave.
I like the seagull vs student saga. And the 'petrol smell'. So dramatic!
I do enjoy the over-dramatic tone.
I've had some great call-outs in my time. To things being 'nearly' stolen. Or 'rampaging livestock' (gerbil.)
Rampaging gerbil! Ha.
My favourite is the Crêperie Battle. The two words do not sit comfortably together.
That pheasant story is no joke though. Where I used to work we had that happen. If we wanted to go from office to kitchen (to make tea) we had to go in pairs, one carrying a broom.
John would be a defender-of-the-tea against pheasant attack. He'd do anything for tea, even fight off grumpy old birds ;)
Wild turkeys are scarier. They breed in the area near my home. We have flocks of 20 or so who roam the neighborhood....They are watching us all....
We've had robins build nests under our deck. Usually they just sit tight and ignore the dogs, but last year they took up dive-bombing anything with four legs. We had to provide an escort service.
Awwwww. I won't tell you our yearly bunny stories, because they all just end badly for the rabbits.....
Okay, I know the Welsh have a distaste for vowels, but in #10:
LLWCHWR.
Is that a town?! How is "There is a town named Llwchwr" not a bigger news story than "We are changing our table arrangement??
Ella
Also, I have been known to protect small dogs from rampaging geese with an empty cracker box.
Ella
Hope youre all having a nice day.
I'm tired. Could happily have a nap.
Hey Sherlock, I found something you, might find interesting. It's a combination of art and science, and how art can give us clues to what the world was like in the past, and help us predict how the environment might behave in the future. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/26/secrets-earth-climate-famous-paintings_n_5021573.html
Very interesting AC.
Mycroft is a good brother.
I am now envisioning the Lestrade-Watson-Holmes household going for coffee in their Egyptian god forms.
fA
Today is a seriously tired day Greg, something in the water I think ;-). I've just driven home from a midweek adventure and had to stop twice because I was falling asleep!!
Am I right in assuming Sherlock's teacher isn't an NUT member?
Pretty tired here too. Cut down my pain meds a bit too much and woke up in pain. So I took a dose and it's helping.
What's a NUT member?
I know they're not on strike, AnonyBob. I don't know if they are members or not. They are very kind to parents though. ;)
Becca, hope you're doing better, and I too want to know what a NUT is.
A member of the National Union of Teachers who are striking today
I was happy about the date of the strike because it allowed me to go to the football last night without the 2am arriving home problem I normally have but I know that for working people it's far less of a good thing!
It's a good job school wasn't closed I guess because Sherlock would never forgive them for cancelling art class ;-)
I have come to the realization the though I am 2/3 of the way through my "Couch to 5k" app, I'm nowhere near covering 2/3 of 5k, because apparently I run really slow. So now I need to figure something out.
Deadline for running is May 18, which seems far but isn't really...
Ella
Ella, I'd say just go longer & slower (that's what I do) but I know time can be an issue, even with your newly shorter commute. You *will* get faster with time and interval work, but I'm always afraid of getting too ambitious, getting injured, and then losing gains I'd made
Though I suspect there's an age difference between us and your body is more forgiving than mine.;-)
fA
Good luck hitting the right balance, Becca! It sounds like things are trending to improvement, despite the ups and downs.
fA
After the triumph of all passing our fitness tests, someone bought doughnuts in today. Krispy creams or however you spell it. So we're all fat again now. (They are really quite horrible. How did they become famous??)
Will you make us doughnuts??
Make them? We could. Perhaps when the dogs aren't around, because of the pan of hot oil required.
So we have to do it really SOON because Mycroft comes home on Saturday!
How about Friday after school?
YES thank you!
No problem kiddo. I'm off on Friday so John and I will make sure we.'ve got everything.
Have a good art club? How's John's day been?
He has a doughnut dance to show you when you get home...
My day's been all right. Quiet. Yours?
I'm working tomorrow, by the way. Mrs Hudson says she can stay with Sherlock if necessary.
Ok. I'll try to finish early anyway. Depends what comes up.
My days been...same old. Insulted, cried on, threatened, thanked. (And that was just Sal ;) )
Hmm...the first and the third sound likely...
It is necessary to eat Krispy Kremes when they are hot out of the oven, which is why the sign on their store lights up like a beacon and says HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW! when they have fresh ones ready.
It also helps if you are a bit drunk when you eat them. Manna from heaven, I swear.
I don't think these ones came from a place which has ever seen an oven...
They have to have been in ovens, but I understand what you're saying. Apparently my grandma used to fry up doughnuts for my mom and her brothers, and she's constantly moaning about how the doughnuts you can buy aren't real doughnuts.
CAN'T buy real doughnuts.
I meant the shop didn't have an oven for them to be hot out of. Very few do here. I imagine they had a long cold journey on a truck.
My sister made doughnuts recently, but she baked them rather than fried them, and they just tasted like small ring cakes--quite nice, but not doughtnut-y at all!
A doughnut dance sounds awesome!
You'd think Krispy Kream would make sure the shops did.... That said, I don't actually like them at all. I prefer a cinnamon role doughnut, with chocolate on top....then a sour dough with powder sugar.....mmmmmm
Krispy Kremes are fried in oil. I've seen it in their flagship shop in my hometown, where the company originated. (A fun trip for kids, there's a shop-sized mechanized assembly line fryer, glazer, dryer.) They're a slightly different taste, which some people seem to love (if anyone's never had them, they are the light, airy dough style & are made with potato starch in the mixture so they have that flavor). But they are sickeningly sweet.
I like them, but I am completely amazed that they have become something that people all over seem to want.
fA
I prefer our local doughnuts made with potato flour. There're called spud nuts, are gluten free, and taste amazing!
I've never had Krispy Kremes, actually... (Although I hear there is one Krispy Kreme store in New York that has kosher certification! But I've not been tempted to go see.)
Was the doughnut dance wonderful? :)
I must admit, the few times I've had Krispy Kreme doughnuts they've tasted like stale chip fat :-(
It was. Very...dizzying. And bouncy.
I wouldn't make the effort, personally.
I think doughnuts should have jam in them and be rolled in sugar and nothing else. No weird icing or fillings.
Mycroft has such a big holiday and why can't I have the same holiday pleeeaaaaase and we could go somewhere and do camping and have fun or a boat or a cave or a castle or a treehouse.
Sherlock, you have the best ideas for holidays. I also know how you feel. My parents are currently on a two week holiday in Phoenix, Arizona, while I'm stuck here back home in Michigan, completely jealous (and bored).
Wow, Greg, you must hate my third favorite doughnut then, Long John's, (with custard filling, not cream)
Mycroft is home for ages like nearly a month or even more than nearly and I have to go to school for almost all of the time and it isn't fair and are you at home because you have to go to school too? I've never been to America but we will one day and John said he'd like to drive all over it too in a nice car and it made him smile.
Well, the US certainly has the roads (and gas prices, compared to Europe) for long road trips in nice cars!
And does John have any particular nice car in mind?
one with 2 wheels if I had my way ;)
What does petrol go for in the US then? As for nice cars...I suppose you don't have any corners, so they'd be good enough ;)
I don't know how to convert it, but it's roughly $3.50/gallon in the parts of New Jersey near New York now. (It depends a lot on where in the country you are--it's more in Manhattan than New Jersey, for example--and prices can fluctuate from season to season and even day to day, but that's the current ballpark.)
Yeah, about $8.30/$9 USD per gallon here then. More in some parts of the city - a lot more in rural areas! We've just had a price drop, lowest it's been for a long time.
I thought it was something like that. Not exactly an incentive for energy efficient cars we have here.
Sorry Sherlock, I was making dinner. As for school, nope, I finally finished getting my Bachelor's of Science (for history) this winter, so now I'm job searching. Plus someone had to stay with our dog, Scout. You're lucky because you've got lots of people to look after your animals!
As for long car trips....that take patience, and lots of preplanning to make sure the passangers have enough to do to fill the long days. When my sister and I were younger, my family made a couple trips down to Florida, by driving down there. That was TWO days in the car, with only stopping for meals, bathroom breaks, and nightly stops at hotels. It's...okay, but make sure you bring LOTS of reading material.
There are parts of the US that I would happily road trip through for the rest of my life (much of the south, tha Appalachians, the ozarks, the rockies, the west coast), and other parts that I hate driving across with a fiery burning passion (kansas, texas). Of course, I live in colorado, so driving across Kansas and Texas is fairly inevitable. (And to be clear, my objection is that the scenery is boring, not that anythings wrong with the states or the people in them).
I would a holiday in a tree house.
Ella
*would love a holiday in a tree house.
Ella
Aj - I have a dream of us doing a road trip when both boys are big enough to have their own bikes. But they probably wouldn't want to spend their holidays with an old man and his husband then ;) Might just have to stick to trying to keep up with John instead.
The bikes would be great, of course, but I think some kind of convertible might be nice too.
It would. And if the dogs can't come for the trip, I shall hang my head out into the slipstream with my tongue lolling out, in their place ;) (especially if I have my god-head on!)
I think they'd love it. Especially if you stopped all the time along the way to investigate what you come across, and don't over plan everything like my parents.
When I was younger we used to travel from Washington state to Michigan. It took us about three days, nonstop. We wouldn't stop overnight, just keep driving, with my parents taking turns. Those were very, very long car trips. My siblings and I used to pack backpacks with books and games to play, or we just tried to sleep.
However, those are some of my best memories. Road trips are amazing when spent with those you care about.
My mom has stories of going on road trips when she was a kid. She's got 5 sibs, so it was my granddad driving, grandmom in the front seat reading chapter books out loud, two kids in the rear seat, and the other four sitting on top of the luggage in the back of the station wagon.
It was, of course, perfectly safe. ;)
Ella
We used to get driven to Italy sometimes.I loved going there...but hated the journeys. We had to sleep in the car. Nicky and I used to fight almost as much as our parents.
For a period, we moved every 2 years and road tripped between places in the summer. Took it slowly enough to stop at some attraction and/or have a late afternoon swimfest and family time every day. There were difficult moments for both my parents and us kids, but I'd love to do a grownup version.
fA
My mom and her family used to drive across state, before the express-ways were put in. I think those journeys would be more interesting since it was more than just highways, it was towns, and roadside attractions and other things to see. Not just trees and fields.
We did do a road trip across Michgian's Upper Peninsula though. THAT was fabulous, because stops were planned in along the way where we went camping, like Mackinac Island (where there's the only fort to have been under 3 different nations in the USA, and the island doesn't allow cars!), Tahquamenon Falls, Copper Harbor (where the old copper mines were), the Porcupine Mountains....
We were also a little older than that first trip to Florida, (where my sis and I were only 4 and 6, respectively.)
I miss going on trips/holidays as a family. So do it as much as you can while you have the time, and the boys are still both willing.
My kids don't care for road trips much, but there are days when I think it would be fun to just get in the car and drive, going where the road takes me, checking out the various small towns and big cities and whatever all. Of course, such fantasies also involve having adequate funds and a really reliable car.
How's everyone doing this morning/afternoon?
i'm doing all right, bracing for rain over the next few days, but at least it's not snow, right? (Sherlock probably disagrees.)
Usual Thursday here, good stuff, busy stuff. No bad stuff - so fortunate/blessed. Hope the pain management trumps the effects of rain.
fA
Just trying to get stuff done before I leave for the weekend. Already failed my first target of fetching Sherlock.
Hope you're okay John, nothing too dramatic at work.
I'm sure mrs Hudson will provide enough entertainment for Sherlock until you get there Greg but i hope you get finished soon :-)
How do you feel about cats
Freeloaders. Only interested in you if they want something. I don't mind ones which catch pests though b and live outdoors.
I should ask why, shouldn't i
Possibly...
2 questions. 1. Why? 2. Has it eaten the decomposing body of its owner? (Sherlock and I both want that one answered. Although I think we're going for opposing answers)
It definitely hasn't
It's very small. Found it near a crime scene but have no reason to believe it was involved. More later. Have to treat a non cat bite wound
Can a very small, lonely, sad cat be taught to see degus as friends rather than dinner?
Almost certainly, cats can tell the difference between family and food even if the family is food shaped!
Um, anonymous, cats are known for eating their dead owner....
John, are you sure no one in the house is allergic though? I can only be around one for six hours MAX before my throat closes up.
Couldn't just leave her there
You really couldn't. (Not being sarcastic! You really couldn't.)
If anyone turns out to be allergic, or if it can't learn to get on with Argon and Mercury, you can always find it a good home with someone else. (Maybe Mrs. Hudson loves cats? ;))
Well, I guess if we can't find an owner and it's not chipped, not full of dead person, doesn't seem like it might shapeshift into a demon and that sort of thing, it deserves a good home.
Sherlock has rushed of to find out Mrs H's opinion on cats. I feel like she might prefer it to degus.
We don't need to keep her. But someone should. She's very young
Is it on your bike?? Does it have leathers and a helmet??
Blog cat-naming contest! :-D
Ella
Lol! Now there's a mental image Greg!
She's down the front of my jacket
I'm not sure what I should think about you picking up young ladies on the street and stuffing them down the front of your jacket.
We should call it Mafdet.
I can't think of any other way to transport her under the circs, but I am reminded of a cat first-aid book I once had. Every single page had a red box with the text "Remember! A cat has five weapons: four paws, and a mouth".
How will Phobos and Deimos feel about a kitty? Or will you find her a forever home elsewhere, before they come home?
Is Bastet too common, Sherlock?
Mafdet was maybe a god of justice and she could rip out the hearts of bad people and that's a good thing.
yeeees...Mrs Hudson, by the way, does like 'pussy cats' as she calls them.
Possibly not ones which rip out the hearts of bad people... but we can ask.
You certainly have a point there, Sherlock--a very appropriate name for a cat in your household.
I'm not sure she's up to ripping any hearts out at the moment, but maybe when she's older.
I am home, by the way, just locking up
I shall get you a saucer of tea and... something a small cat can eat. Not a degu.
Lol, degus would likely be more than a mouthful for her at the moment. If they teamed up I'm sure they could take her down!
Sherlock now has a kitten on his head.
And does he like having a kitten on his head? :D
It is quite cute.
Heh. I feel like you're just barely managing not to add 'for a cat'...
It just tried to kill my foot.
Not very successfully.
No. It's only about the size of my foot. I don't think it appreciates that under my jeans, I'm all attached. The foot isn't out there on its own, as prey to a wanna-be tiger.
Don't call her 'it' she's called Mafdet. Her ears are big. Will they stay the same and she'll grow into them like you say I will with clothes?
I don't know a lot about cats, but it seems likely. I think if they grew much bigger, she might take off in a stiff wind.
Let's hope they fit her longer than your clothes fit you. Your clothes go from 'too big' to 'too small' with only a 5 minute window of 'fit properly'. She'd look silly with tiny ears.
What color is Mafdet? And does she seem to be settling in nicely?
She's a patchy orange and white sort of colour.
I'm not sure she's yet settled in to owning her own paws, let alone being here. She doesn't seem too bothered though. She likes John. Who can blame her?
She was asleep in my jacket for ages.
(And look, I have to say it because...maybe I'll stop thinking it. I keep nearly calling her Medfet. Usual rules apply on that one, if you don't know what it means.)
...And now you've got me thinking it... Oh dear.
John can we go on a ride on the bikes at the weekend because we haven't been for a long journey for ages and we should please say yes.
Probably, yeah. Don't see why not.
I'll admit it's not helping that she adopted you - her personal doctor ;)
She hasn't made any improper suggestions so far...I'll let you know.
Awww, sounds sweet. Especially with those ears! Is Sherlock doing any research to see if he can identify the breed?
*considers*
*does not google medfet*
Orange and white sounds attractive, and cats do latch on to individuals. And kittens are so cute! :)
(Alas, I am quite allergic. Which made things easy for my mom, who doesn't like cats at all, but didn't have to say so when refusing my repeated requests over the years.)
Can we change it to Maftet - it helps a bit.
AJ - No, Sherlock is currently trying to get her to chase one of John's socks. She's not that interested. I think he thinks we have a defective cat. She's probably tired. Or has a sense of smell.
Oh...so that's what that means. Huh, didn't know there was a term for that.....
I just recommend to keep it away from doors. My mother traumatized my sister and I when we were younger with her retelling of the story of how she accidentally broke her kitten's back when she didn't realize it was following her out the screen door....
*sticks fingers in ears*
Lalalalalalalala I can't heeear AJ....
Hey, it always has made me VERY paranoid when I have a puppy though! Doesn't prevent the tripping over them through.
AJ - I think she's fairly safe here. We may not have had a moglet before, but degus, children, dogs and babies have survived here.
Well, the fate of the cat was cemented as soon as Greg started referring to her as "her" rather than "it" I suspect.
I thoroughly approve of Sherlock's name (ripping out the hearts of bad people is kind of appealing) and anyone who wants to mangle it into slightly dodgy specialized vocab is simply the victim of their own . . . breadth & depth of knowledge, we'll call it.
May harmony reign.
fA
I have now increased my word power, my chance of using it is however probably limited.
I should be embarrassed that I knew that one without googling it, shouldn't I?
That's actually a very unusual color for a female cat, so she's quite special. Colors in cats are sex linked, and it's much more common for male cats to be orange.
Kestrel - Only if you think I should be embarrassed about not only admitting I thought of it, but thinking of it in conjunction with marrying a doctor ;)
fA - Sherlock told me off. I had no choice.
Kestrel - if it's any consolation, you weren't the only one.
I like her colour I didn't know it was special thank you for telling us Becca I hope it doesn't mean someone will want her back because she's special.
Kestrel--I know it too, so you and me and lestrade can be corrupted together.
At least, I have a reasonable hypothesis, though I have not yet googled to confirm.
Ella
I'm assuming John checked she was a she...hoping he also checked for any little extras, using her as a home...
She is staring at the sofa as if she wants to jump up and isn't sure she'll make it.
Oh, that reminds me of the existence of this:
http://animalssuckingatjumping.tumblr.com
Ella
Checked as well as I could...she'll need a bath though. And a visit to the vet.
Ella - your guess is near certainly right. There isn't anything unusual about the terms combined. Wholesomely straightforward, as far as "do not Google" goes on this blog, actually.
fA
Sherlock, did you know that all Tortoiseshell cats are almost all exclusively female as well?
In fact a lot of cat's colouring is dependent on their sex! I found a whole article devoted to the issue: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_coat_genetics
well, congratulations on the new family member! I have a kitty myself, so I wholeheartedly approve. It will be interesting to see what she makes of the degus. I expect she'll have the dogs wrapped around her little paw in short order, if the cat/dog households I am familiar with are any indication.
I love the image of her tucked inside John's jacket on the way home. :)
S
Aw, you are making me miss my cats' awkward-adorable kitten days. Congrats on the addition to the family! (And I'm amused and relieved about her name change, because I was thinking the exact same thing when I first read it, though it's incriminating of me to say so no doubt...)
It does stick in the mind...
She keeps crawling into my pocket every time I sit down. Or stop moving long enough for her to scale my leg. I don't know what she's going to do when she doesn't fit anymore.
She keeps crawling into my pocket every time I sit down
Awwww. And you've clearly been forgiven for the bath!
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