Back at work today after a great weekend with John and the boys. The snow snowed, pretty much on time, we played, it obligingly melted, for the most part, before I had to be at work this morning. How often does that happen? Bit dicey, off the main tyre tracks, in places, but overall my ride in this morning was fine and not too slippery at all.
Sherlock was absolutely shattered last night, after a very late night on Saturday and then most of the day out playing yesterday. He didn't even wait to be tucked in before he was spark out.
I've been trying to do paperwork and write my seminar all day. Done quite well on it, but I've got a headache now. Yeah, yeah, I should go and get glasses, I know. And a haircut! Sherlock, John, I have to have a haircut tomorrow before this conference. If either of you want in on the action, come and meet me after school and we'll go together.
As some of you will have seen in comments on John's blog, my little sister Rachel told me she's having a baby. So I'm going to be a half-uncle, again. I'm really pleased for her. She's always wanted kids, but has had a bit of a long hard road finding who she wanted them with. She sounded very happy on the phone though. Danger wants us all to meet up - which will be lovely. And she can meet my boys - all three of them. :) although I hope Sherlock doesn't scare her off the idea of kids! (only kidding, Kiddo)
Got to admit, mad me feel a little bit...I don't know. Jealous, I suppose, too. She's my little sis, having her own kids. Can't help but feel that if things had been different, if I'd been her age, might be me. Not that I'd trade Mycroft and Sherlock for anything, but you know. It's an odd feeling. Times change, things change... but yeah, probably better in theory than practice.
Now, with all the snow it's almost felt festive again, so it seems the perfect time to unleash a photo of Danger in his Christmas jumper on you all. This picture sums up him at Christmas, really. Sparkly, smiley, jumpery with a cup of tea.
And even though I maintain the jumper is...well, hideous, really, he still manages to look completely gorgeous in it. Should be impossible, but he manages it with aplomb.
See, horrible jumper, but you can still just about detect just how lovely his body is underneath it, despite his best attempts :) And that tiny tiny piece of our flat should give you some idea of the sheer amount of sparkly things we had in it.
207 comments:
1 – 200 of 207 Newer› Newest»It's a perfectly nice Christmas jumper!
And we will be joining you for haircuts.
You manage to make it look lovely...
It's not as if it has reindeer or elves on it!
true, true. That would be worse.
I'm getting you one next year.
I can't tell for sure, but it looks like a perfectly nice, non-Christmasy Fair Isle sweater in Christmas colors. I know how to do that! (Fair Isle means no more than 2 colors of yarn in any one row of knitting.)
So what color do you want yours in, L? :)
ColorS, I should have said. Also, size?
(And you know, you still could have children, if you want.)
You can get me one...I'm sure I could find a use for it. Something to cover the pavement with when I empty the sump on the bike?
RR - Perfectly nice...yeah, all a matter of taste, I'm sure. Or lack of ;)
And...I don't think it would be a good idea. Like I said, if a lot of things had been different, maybe.
You lack Sweater Appreciation.
I'll get you one with elves and bells, and you'll wear it, and I'll send Nicky a picture. :P
I like nice comfy hoodies, all...clothy and soft on the inside. Not hairy wool.
Doc, the only way you'd get me wearing something with elves and bells is if it was a strait-jacket and a team of burly folk wrestled me into it under sedation.
Not all sweaters are wool. There's cashmere and angora (a FLUFFY Christmas sweater!) and chenille and all sorts of soft non-hairy-wool yarns.
You give me an order, John, and I'll fill it. With bells on. :)
Heh. Christmas hoodie? Reindeer antler headband? Light up red nose?
I'll give you a red nose... (Sherlock, that wouldn't be aggravated assault, that would be defending public decency.)
I saw somewhere that otters bite each other's noses when they mate.
Umm....right.
Well, you are otterly lovely...
I wouldn't use puns and the phrase "defending public decency" in close proximity to each other, myself...
Otterly... Oh dear.
RR, you tell him! I bet that somebody missed the memo that one of the best kinds of wool is merino - exactly the stuff so many thermals are made of! :-) It's all in the quality of the wool, forget the acrylic sratchy nonsense...
Also, I think I would go for the combination of steely blue, silvery grey and either bright white or deep purple (if you go for the latter, RR, be sure to call the jumper Smoke on the water...) - what say you, John?
Otterly lovely - *giggle snort*
Aaand, L, I feel I have to defend John's jumper: not flashy, not blingy, no cartoonish characters, no bells, no clashing colors... I like it! :-)
nothing to outrage public decency in a good pun, RR!
Danger, don't you get on your high horse, I can see you beavering away trying to think up some stoatily brilliant puns, but I tell ya, they don't come weasily.
Someone stop himmmmmm...
Stoatily... You're just trying to get my goat now.
RR - right. I'm ferreting out a way to do that...
I'm sorry, John, but that jumper is... not good.
Congratulations on impending Uncledom. I have entire tribes of nieces and nephews (and great nieces and great nephews), but I rarely see most of them, because the family is so very spread out.
And for the record, Lestrade (and without wishing in any way to detract from Mrs H's place in the boys' lives), you pretty much already do have children.
But I understand your sense of loss for what might have been, in another time.
Don't get ratty, Danger. And as I remember it, it's goats that get you (and your trousers). Now, do I have to badger you for a cuddle, or if you mink about it will you stop clamming up and huffing and puffin and let me give you a pug?
Oh my god...anything you want, just stop!
Nameless - my jumper can't be worse than his puns.
Nameless - what good taste you have! :)
I can't stop reading your second sentence as 'Congratulation on impending Unicorn' though...
And yes, you're right of course. And I wouldn't swap them for anything. But...well, y'know. I'll get over it. :)
my jumper can't be worse than his puns.
Soooooo true!
Oh my god...anything you want, just stop!
well, you don't have to refer to me as a God. Not in front of these mere mortals.
Come on, you son of a woolly mammoth, have a hug, and I promise I'll stop with the animal jokes. Rhino it can get tiresome after a whale.
I'm sure many things would be tiresome after a whale.
I love you.
Love you too. Love you especially when you giggle. You look so happy.
I am happy. :)
Good. That makes me happy.
We getting an Anthea special 4x4 to go up North in? And if we leave after work on Weds, what time will Sherlock fall asleep? Does he sleep well in cars? Dare we hope?
He did sleep a bit in the car on the camping trip. Anything's possible...
And do you mean after work tomorrow?
Goodness you two are a tonic.
Tomorrow's Tues....bollocks. I do. What would I do without you? (Apart from miss a day of a conference and get a carpeting from my superiors??)
Right, definitely need a haircut tomorrow!!
DW - happy to be of service. John and Tonic, yesterday it was over ice...
And glasses? Do you have a prescription yet? We could pick out frames.
No proper prescription, he told me I had to go in for the full 'proper' test. All he could do was tell me I needed that much. (he was testing more to check I wasn't so blind I shouldn't be driving.) But we could go in, get me tested and pick out frames. Then they might be ready next week. And I could stop getting headaches, possibly.
DW - happy to be of service.
'ppreciate it.
Probably a good idea. I'm sure Sherlock would be happy to help with frame selection...
...Sherlock will probably have me looking like Dame Edna or Elton John in the 80s.
I just want something...boring. And hopefully indestructable enough that they can survive life in this madhouse. And probably want that twice over...
An extra pair is probably wise, yeah.
definitely. I'll forget I own them. I'll forget to wear them. It'll take a while, I'm sure, to get used to them.
Will you do me a favour and pack a few things for me tomorrow? - couple of suits, four shirts, couple of pairs of jeans, whatever else you think. Not woolly jumpers. :)
You and your anti-sheep prejudice. All right, I'll see what I can do. You want us to come by directly after school for haircuts?
couple of suits, four shirts, couple of pairs of jeans, whatever else you think. Not woolly jumpers. :)
Hmmm. Interesting what's not mentioned...
Captcah suggests "noping"
Yeah, you wouldn't think he'd trust me to pack for him after last time...
Boring? You don't want boring. You want simple, stylish and damn hot :-)
You can get lightweight ultra-bendable frames that tend to twist and bend rather than break. A little more expensive, but potentially worth it.
For inspiration: http://spectacle.provocateuse.com
I'm pro-sheep! And pro them keeping their own wool on, not letting you run off with it!
Well, I presumed that given most of the time I won't be with him, he might want me to have some underwear! If not, Manchester can provide....
Nameless...yeah. That. Simple will be fine. I don't know! That's why Danger's coming with!
I wish I could come with--I've picked out lots of frames. I like ones that make a statement. (No, not weird, just ones that are THERE. My best pair were black, the next best purple.)
You are going to have a great trip, the three of you :)
I...really don't want to make a statement. I'm entirely happy with grey. Or metal colour. So generally grey.
It'll...go with my hair, or something.
Well, I presumed that given most of the time I won't be with him, he might want me to have some underwear! If not, Manchester can provide....
Who said anything about underwear? I was talking about socks, of course. I am shocked (SHOCKED!) you thought otherwise.
It's surprising sometimes how much a very slight change in the colour of the frames affects how they look on your face. One of my pairs is soft bronze colour and suit me just fine. The same style in a dark brown looked strange and unpleasant. The pair I'm wearing now are dark metallic red, but actually look quite subtle once they're on - less obvious than a silver pair, for example.
DW - I assumed you were talking about tee shirts and hoodies. Blimey, he's got a one-track mind, hasn't he?
Socks count as underwear...
Nameless, I'd be willing to go as far into grey as... black. No colours. I refuse.
Also, Lestrade, what's up with the font at the beginning of your post? It's like... a visual representation of Sherlock starting a story and then Mycroft finishing it.
Ha! Sorry, I started it at work, then realised I didn't have a way of getting the picture into it, so finished it at home... and didn't know how to make it all the same. It didn't look so bad to me. Is the first bit really massive?
Not too bad. The difference between you and Doc, as apposed to the difference between you and Sherlock.
About a foot, then, instead of two and a half feet ;)
I will try to change it in the morning. If I remember.
Right now I need to go and lie awake thinking about everything I've forgotten for my seminar...
I'm choosing to assume you were talking about volubility rather than height.
Errrr... yeah.
Bed?
Yes.
John, if anyone could make that jumper look good, it's you - you're doing a valiant job up there. I have to admit, though, that it does look extremely warm and comfy. (But were you wearing it back-to-front?)
All this talk of sheep and wool and no one's mentioned L's being shorn tomorrow?
Congratulations on the newest addition to the family!
I was not wearing it back to front! Although if I were...you wouldn't have been able to tell. Looks basically like that on both sides.
You alright, Doc? Up late/early.
I promise I wasn't casting aspersions, Dr. Danger - I figured an underwear model like you might not know what to do with so many layers, that's all. No, seriously, I asked because my little brother went on a class trip to a television studio when he was about eight or nine and covered himself in glory by having his sweater on back-to-front while he very seriously spoke about the need to stay in school and how that would lead to good jobs. (In his case and yours, the collar looks a little higher on your neck than is strictly comfortable.)
Yeah, just thinking. Nothing bad.
Seems to be a lot of that going around. Hope you get to sleep soon.
Innie - heh, poor boy.
Mine is...not exactly uncomfortable, just snug.
DW - thanks. I hope you do, it must be getting lateish even where you are.
Sorry, I was at my weekly t'ai chi class, not ignoring anyone!
L, I didn't mean frames that say "Look at meeee!" (although, if they were for Sherlock ...:)) I just mean frames that don't pretend they're not glasses. If you go for metallic, go for a matte metallic--gun metal grey, maybe. A shiny silvery frame will wash you out and make you look older---a bluish or darkish gray will look better. Try on both kinds and see. (And maybe a few colors--not neon, but colored metal frames very often don't registered as colored when you're wearing them.)
John, I don't get what's wrong with that sweater, aside from being a bit bulky, perhaps. It's really not garish or twee or in any way offensive--it's just a nice patterned sweater in holiday colors.
Innie - heh, poor boy.
Yeah, his little earnest face! Too cute for words, really. I'm so glad he's mine.
Have a splendid time on your trip, and good luck at the barber shop!
(ps - all this talk about Rachel and my little brother makes me curious - has Harry met the boys? She must have, right? I'm totally blanking right now, sorry.)
DW - thanks. I hope you do, it must be getting lateish even where you are.
This fortnight has been particularly...difficult, so I doubt it'll happen soon. Hope springs eternal, though. :)
Innie - yeah, she's been over for holidays and things, and Sherlock's spent a few afternoons with her when I'm sure she's sober.
DW - I got that impression, yeah. I'm sorry. I hope it gets better soon.
John, I don't know if Sherlock will sleep on the drive to tonight, but I hope you do. Is everything okay? It must be quite 3:30am in London--well, almost 4:00 now.
He's asleep now... and I was going to go to work early, but i'd rather stay here and keep Sherlock from waking him for a hit longer
That's a sweet and thoughtful thing to do, L. Especially as it's going to be a hectic day for all of you.
Least I could do. At least he got a few hours. Hpefully might get a little rest between work and the end of school, although I doubt it.
Safe travelling guys and happy haircuts. Hope you get some rest Doc and that your day goes smoothly L.
What SH said - have a good one, all, and land safe in Manchester.
DW - Hope things improve soon; there's a virtual hug here for you if want one.
Seconded. Both parts.
Thanks, running about like a blue arsed fly
Thanks, guys. :)
Is there a scale showing the different fly-arse colours for comparison? I imagine the blue-arsed fly is busiest since blue flame is hottest, but you know what happens when you assume.
Hope you can sleep in the car, Doc.
I'll drive then, yeah? :) seems like the blog has spoken...
How long is Manchester from there? I'm off on a road trip as well to South Carolina, which is only about six hours away. Hope you have some good tunes!
DW - you just reminded me of something I've read: "For an American, 100 years is a long time. For an European, 100 kilometers is far away." - I don't recall where I've read this (and I don't think it's entirely true either), but in 6 hours of standard speed on the highway (with no speeding and no traffic jams) you could cross our whole country from one side to the other and back! :-) We're small... :-D
Only 200 miles. About 3.5 hours, but we'll need to stop to feed Sherlock.
That's so true, CR! It's about 3000 miles from one side of the States to the other, not including Alaska, which is about an 8 hour plane ride. I think it would be a week to drive it, but I've never tried. And in Texas, you could literally drive for 24 hours and still be in the state.
In our defence, 100 years is a long time when you've only been a unified country for 246 or 233 years (depending on how you count). :)
That's a lovely jumper and I'm sure he was very warm. I love the design that goes round the shoulders like that(the colours are less my thing, but hey, that's not my jumper). And for the scratchiness, they're not supposed to be worn on bare skin! Where did it came from John ?
(there should be a pool about the jumper, our opinions seem to be pretty divided)
DW - I have no idea where the phrase comes from. But I probably overuse it.
I feel like i need to clone myself to have any hope of doing everything I need to.
Can you delegate any of that, L? Or put some things off until after the conference?
I DON'T WANT A HAIRCUT
I can wear my ear hat forever instead.
Sherlock - actually, I don't think I've spotted in the discussion WHY are you so against a haircut...
I don't like it.
What part of it?
The scissor noise and the keeping still and the lights are bad.
The keeping still I'm afraid can't be helped, although I agree that's annoying. Maybe you could get a razor cut, if the scissor noise bothers you--I'm not sure if that works with curly hair but you could ask.
Is it the kind of light itself, or is it that they have fluorescent lights that make a nasty noise?
My favorite thing about haircuts is that it feels nice to have someone sort of massaging my scalp, so I concentrate on that.
Thank you for your answer. I get it. My husband absolutely dislikes when somebody who is not me touches him, so for him it's that part. Me, I like it, especially the part when the hairdresser massages my scalp. It's nice.
Unfortunately, there's not much to do with keeping still, but how about playing some of your favorite music so you don't have to listen to the noise, and maybe sunglasses for the lights? I use sunglasses when I go to the dentist - I had laser eye correction done and I really disliked any strong light in my face since then, it caused me really unpleasant panic attacks. The sunglasses help me. A lot.
Great minds think alike, RR :-)
CR, I like your idea about the music. That would also help if the problem with the lights is the noise. (I really, really hate fluorescent light hum, myself.)
Ha! I almost just wrote that too!
RR - kind of helps with the sound of the dentist's drill too, but for that you need something heavy on bass and percussions :-)
Almost everything normally on my iPod is something I can hear over or through subway noise (the classical pieces are those heavy on horns or violin, or I couldn't hear them at all), so I'd think any of it would work as anti-dentist-drill sound. Definitely worth a try, so I will try it next dentist appointment.
Does it sound worth a try for your haircut, Sherlock?
maybe.
RR - The point is, it has to be something more aggressive, as the sound of the drill transmits through the vibrations of your skull. :-)
Sherlock - think about it. You can also have a look at different salons and decide which you like best and also choose your hairdresser and make an appointment with them so you can work with who do you feel more comfortable with...
I used to be terribly against haircuts, too, Sherlock. I wiggled a lot and was nervous about the scissors and I hated strange people touching my head (I have a story about a haircut I will save for another time. Like after yours.) However, they are absolutely necessary and not likely something you'll be able to avoid. Give John and Lestrade the benefit of the doubt that they'd never try to get you to do something that would hurt you, or anything that would make you terribly frightened/uncomfortable. The person cutting your hair will be very careful and the idea of getting some music to listen to is really a very good one. You can close your eyes and only hear something you like, and I bet it will be over very quickly.
And for today, you could just ask John to bring your music player with him when he picks you up, and see if that helps. One variable at a time.
(The NY subway noise also transmits through you skull. And every other part of you! :))
Hey, Sherlock, we'll work something out. Think about something you'd like to talk about and I'll sit with you and chat. And you don't have to have lights or be in front of a mirror.
I can even tell you all about a barber who was a murderer, and we can see if we think the guy cutting our hair is a murderer, and what we can work out about him.
and ice cream after?
I'm really not sure we've got time, Sherlock. It's a long drive we've got to do tonight. Talk to John about it, see what he says, and if we don't have time today we'll work something out for tomorrow, okay?
Means we have much more mellow metro in Prague :-)
I think EVERYWHERE does!
Not been on the tube then. RR?
Actually, I have been, on my one trip to England 25 or so years ago. I recall it being a smaller, more navigable system, quite a bit cleaner, and somewhat quieter inside the trains than the New York subway. Also a lot deeper underground as compared to most of the NY system. :)
Haircuts all done yet? How'd it go, if so?
Oh my, RR, I wonder if I have to be afraid in case I visit America...
On the other hand, I've been in Moscow and Sankt-Petersburg metro, so I have other sets of experiences :-)
(And of course, our Prague metro has to be more silent and all - after all I work for the company supplying the spare parts for the trains! ;-))
Say what you like about your transit, but it has to be better than the TTC here in Toronto. Never have I heard so much pride for such an embarrasingly small amount of area coverage.
(And I lived in Tokyo, once. When it comes to Transit, I know what I'm talking about.)
Haircuts are concluded. I got mine cut too, but I can't see that it looks that different than when I do it myself. L assures me it does.
I don't remember much about the ny subway.
The underground has had the trains stopped a few times now as the noise level was hazardous to public health.
It is easy to follow the tube map, unless you want to know where the stations are in relation to each other, in which case it's useless.
You look great, as does ShearedLocks :)
My short back and sides is a bloody freezing back and sides. There's a biting cold wind this evening.
And I have ordered specs. Missions accomplished. Now to get home, lock up the bike nice and tight and pile into whatever monster truck we have been provided with.
I bet you all three look wonderful. :)
Did having Lestrade talk to you help with the sitting still and the scissors noise, Sherlock? (And did not having the extra lights on help too?)
What kind of frames did you pick out, L?
Drive safe and have a lovely trip!
The NY Subway system is huge and sprawling and will get you to and from most of the city in the fastest way possible. But it is also VERY loud (the older the type of car, the louder it is inside them--on some lines I can't hear my iPod at any volume and I'm sure SHOULD be closed down for dangerous noise levels but never will be), very, very crowded in rush hour (although not Tokyo crowded!), and while not as dirty as it was at its worst, pretty dirty (I ALWAYS see rats in some of the stations).
The subway map is accurate as to topography above ground, and a nightmare for non-natives to navigate. I've used them my whole life, so I don't have a problem with that.
I've spent a chunk of today getting an eye test and checking out new frames too, Lestrade. I forgot how irritating checking out frames is.
Hope you all have a nice smooth journey up to Manchester.
I don't like getting my hair cut very much either, Sherlock. I think it's rather boring sitting still for so long, and I don't like the sound of the scissors. I think that's why I like it when my hair dresser talks a lot. It helps distract me.
I rather liked the tube when I was there. After a day or two, my family and I had become rather good at figuring out where we were supposed to go. The only problem we had was when one of the stations was undergoing construction and we ended up going down the wrong way and had to go all the way back. I think it was rather soothing!
I've never been to New York, but I have been on the Moscow and Sankt-Petersburg metro. It was a long time ago, though, so what I remember is mostly being overwhelmed and trying not to get lost. At least in England I didn't feel quite so shy about asking directions.
I will say, however, that you need to get more lifts. All those stairs nearly did me in!
I got brushed titanium. The bloke said they were pretty hard to destroy. John thought they were okay. Sherlock didn't care.
To he fair, Cyril is a barber, his shop doesn't really have 'extra lights'. Or...anything, much. He does a fantastic wet shave though, and a decent haircut :) and Sherlock decided he wasn't a murderer.
I wish I had a hat like Sherlock's now.
Piplover - the tube is very easy to navigate, but most people don't realise that some stations are a ten minute tube ride, with a change of lines apart...or 30 seconds down thread if you walked, as the map bears no relation to where things really are.
And some people think the circle line is a circle, still, and get a shock when they reach the end of it...
I don't want to sit in the back! Why can't I sit in the front? John will just go to sleep and be boring everyone says, so I should sit at the front and help you drive!
Brushed titanium sounds good. Maybe you can take a photo for us--even of them off!--when you get them?
Not a murderer is undoubtedly best for someone who has sharp objects at your head. :) Did Sherlock say what about the lights was the problem? Too bright or too loud or something else? (Because his hair isn't going to stop growing, after all...)
Well, things are different in different parts of the world, that's for sure. For example, we have 3 lines in Prague and the longest one takes about 30-40 minutes to ride through one side to the other - but on the other hand Prague isn't that big. :-)
L - nice about titanium! I think I will go for it myself in the future.
And about the circle line, in Moscow there really is a circle line that is a circle - Koltsevaya :-) It just goes round and round and cuts across all the other lines, so if you stay on for long enough, you'll get to the one you need. But four-way transit stations? Ugh. My nightmare!
(map of Moscow metro: http://img.artlebedev.com/everything/metro/map/process/metro-p18.png )
On the metro and nightmare related things, anybody read Metro 2033? I am thinking about getting the book, it has pretty nice reviews and I have always been a sucker for a good post-apocalyptic book!
Well done about getting the haircut, Sherlock. How was it?
You can talk to the Internet in the back, Sherlock. Maybe John will let you put up a post on his blog, if you ask nicely.
And since you are here--what about the lights are bad when you got your hair cut in the past and was it okay today?
About sitting in the front: not fair, but sometimes laws have their conditions. In our country one has to be at least 12 years old to sit in the front seat...
Sherlock, when I was your age, and for many years after, my family would drive across country to visit my grandparents. It was a three day drive, without any stopping overnight, so I can totally understand being bored.
I found that if I brought a book or music, it helped the time pass. Do you have a book you can read? If not, I also found it fun to look at the cars that passed us by, and try to make up stories about the people who drove them. Where they were going or where they were coming from.
I'm one of those people who get still get caught out by the "Surprise! It's a spiral" Circle line, although luckily I've never actually managed to got on the wrong one, just had to do a couple of lengths of Paddington station :-p
I think you'll all be wanting hats tomorrow; I've just caught the weather forecast, it's going to absolutely brass monkeys out there tonight and tomorrow morning.
I like the tube map, it's functional art :-p A good way of seeing where the tube stations actually are is to grab to bus map from the TfL website (eg, http://www.tfl.gov.uk/assets/downloads/central-london-bus-map.pdf), it has the tube lines as well as the stations, makes it a lot easier (for me, at least).
The haircut was okay and he didn't cut too much off because John told him not to. Lestrade's driving so I've got his phone and I want to play yellow car but it's dark and hard to see. What are brass monkeys? And Lestrade laughed when I said I wanted a wet shave if they're good and said I could have one one day. And he said John's packed enough bags for an Artic expedition not a few days away and I'm hungry.
I'm glad your haircut was OK.
"Brass monkeys" is a colloquial expression meaning "very very cold". It's supposed to get down to -10C tonight.
It's safer, by the way, to sit in the back, and general advice is that children should usually sit in the back of the car whenever possible.
Maybe instead of looking for yellow cars, you could look for Eddie Stobart lorries? They're big enough that you should be able to spot them even in the dark.
I'm glad the haircut went okay, Sherlock and that John was able to make sure it came out the way you wanted.
How do you play yellow car? I don't think I've ever heard of that game.
To get a wet shave you need to be growing a beard, so you'll just have to wait for that. Maybe you can go along when either Lestrade or John gets one so you can see what it is.
Did you eat before you left or are you stopping along the way? I always think it's fun to eat in the middle of a car trip. (Although it's a lot harder to do if you can only eat kosher food, as is the case for me.)
What part of the trip are you looking forward to the most? The mummies or the flying or all the policemen?
You play yellow car by shouting 'yellow car' every time you see a yellow car. And in the original rules, thumping the person nearest to you, but fortunately Sherlock can't reach anyone to thump, and is banned from digging his feet into the back of my seat in lieu of a thump.
We've just stopped to eat. Not making bad progress, but being so cold and icy we're just taking it easy.
Nameless - you mean it's taters. :) And Sherlock has been Stobart-spotting and moaning when he can't read the names of the ones going the other way.
John has snored at least twice. I've unintentionally felt up his knee when going for the gear stick at least twice. And intentionally done it quite a lot.
Ah, thank you, L. What an...interesting....game.
Sounds like a generally good trip so far. :)
Sounds like a fairly normal trip so far. At least you haven't started singing yet, which is what we would do on long journeys and then argue about the correct words for the songs. "Ilkley Moor ba' t'at" was a favourite.
We would sing, too, SH! Or play Places (where someone starts with a place name, and the next person has to come up with a place name that starts with the last letter of the first one, and so on around the car). Or look for the alphabet on license plates and road signs--but that only works during the day.
Once on a long cross country trip, my sister entertained herself counting pronghorns. My husband and I play a variation on Yellow Car/Slug Bug we call 'Stang Bang. Yes, we hit each other when we see a Mustang. We had to make up extra rules, though, like: Dealerships don't count. :)
When my family used to travel, we would all sing together. I miss that. My hubby doesn't sing. Safe and interesting trip to you all!
Sherlock and I sing. Although he doesn't know the words to most songs I do, so tends to join in on the chorus. Occasionally with some amusingly misheard lyrics... (I nearly had to pull over onto the hard shoulder with him shouting out "Hey you, get off my cow" to the Stones.)
John looks at us with a slightly pitied raised eyebrow. And tries to go back to sleep. Sherlock air guitars. I very occasionally air guitar (whilst maintaining full control of my vehicle...)
I'm suddenly glad that my very rare family car trips as a child didn't involve singing at all (punching, kicking and general annoying behaviour yes, but never singing).
Hmm, let's see... My family car trips usually consisted of me sleeping, me sleeping, all of us praying that the car won't malfunction, car malfunctioning and we all praying that we would handle it soon... Later my dad showed me how to read maps, so I had some fun there.
These days I'm usually the one to drive and the trips include dirty jokes, cursing the other drivers, joking about Exit being such a big town (mandatory at least once each time), getting into hysterical laughter about names of the cities and villages we are driving through (I mean, a village called Cold and two kilometers behind it is another one called Hot Water?), and before September 23rd, 2011 also chain smoking for me...
No singing though. Never ever.
Singing is fun. :)
I very occasionally air guitar (whilst maintaining full control of my vehicle...)
This would normally bring forth squawks of outrage and dismay, but knowing how you feel about your "cargo", I'll just take you at your word. (And close my eyes so I can't see you doing that.)
We've also played a game called 'Sherlock found my phone had a satnav system on it, put in a random address and then couldn't make it stop' so I had an electronic voice continually telling me to 'turn around', until John stepped in and managed to turn it off. (I didn't even know my phone could do that.)
Right, back on the road. What's the betting Sherlock will fall asleep now...
I'M NOT SLEEPY
John is
Can I have a lorry named after me?
Hee! When people talk electronic entertainment systems, that's not exactly what they usually are talking about. :)
(For falling asleep, what you really need is to play an audiobook. Have you got any audiobooks with you? One of those usually puts my sister's kids to sleep. And if it doesn't, it puts ME to sleep.)
Sherlock, if you're not sleepy, don't sleep.
I had an electronic voice continually telling me to 'turn around'
I recalled how our friends drove to our wedding - we have the continental driving system (right side of the road - actually introduced by Nazis in here) so all the highway exits are on the right side. The friends had their satnav on, drove past the airport in Prague and then it started: "Drive two hundred meters and turn left" every 30 seconds...
I won't! Lestrade says we haven't got audiobooks and that if we did it might put him to sleep, and then that would be bad because I can't reach to steer. If he let me sit in the front I could.
Maybe for the drive home you could download an audiobook to your music player (if you have one) or to John's or Lestrade's phone, so you could listen to it and it wouldn't put Lestrade to sleep.
I don't think you could reach the steering wheel and the gas and brake pedals, even from the front seat. (I'm pretty short for an adult--5'2"--and it's a bit of a problem for me in some cars, even though I'm as big as I'm going to get.)
Maybe you could help Lestrade stay awake, if you are not sleepy.
(I meant, so you could listen to the audiobook with earbuds or earphones, by yourself.)
If he fell asleep he could just keep his foot on the pedal that makes it go I could just steer. This is a big car and when John drives I can only just reach his seat with my toe but when Lestrade drives I can put my whole foot on it
I am helping him stay awake and telling him what you're saying on here and it's more fun in the car when Mycroft's here too.
Sherlock - Eddie Stobart lorries are only given female names (I'm not sure why - I think it was a tradition he started when he started the company). And I think Lestrade would be much happier if you don't try to steer the car until you're learning to drive properly when you're older.
I know you're not sleepy, but if you don't sleep soon, you'll be too tired to do all the fun stuff with John tomorrow. Personally I find it easy to sleep in a car; I usually have trouble staying awake :-)
Hmmmm. If Lestrade fell asleep his foot might slip off the gas pedal (that's the one that makes it go). And if it didn't, what would you do if you needed to stop? You'll be better off making sure he stays awake.
I bet it is is more fun with Mycroft in the car, and it's a pity he can't be along. Maybe one day Lestrade will have a conference when Mycroft's on a school break and you can all come to that one, but of course, the people scheduling these things aren't thinking about school holidays.
Lestrade says it's called the accelerator and then he said you're not wrong but we don't call it gas because we call it petrol and that would be silly if we said put your foot on the petrol.
I'm going to get my own lorries that you can have any name on and Lestrade says he's having trouble staying awake too but I'M NOT and then he said don't put that because you'll worry and he's fine just looking forward to getting there and so am I because I get to sleep in their room not on my own and we can have a big breakfast in the morning but I'm worried Argon and Mercury will miss me because Mrs Hudson said she'd feed them but she doesn't like playing with them and pulls a face but John said I couldn't bring them with me.
I'll try very hard not to worry about Lestrade falling asleep. It's good that you keep talking to him, then.
It should certainly be fun to sleep in the same room as John and Lestrade--I liked sharing a room with my sister, which I mostly did. I also liked it when I had my own room when I went away for school, but I was in my twenties then--I lived at home for most of my schooling.
Argon and Mercury will probably miss you, and will be very glad to see you when you come back home! But I bet that when Mrs Hudson is feeding them she'll start playing with them despite herself because they are awfully cute. And they have each other to keep company with, so they should be okay. I don't think they'd like a long car ride--and they might not like being alone in a strange hotel all day.
Oops, that should have read "you might be too tired", not "you will" :-)
Oh, I'm envious! I love a good car trip. When we were kids, dad used to sing to us. We learned "The Ballad of the Alamo" (my favourite), Harry Belafonte's "Marianne" and "The Banana Boat Song", the Bobby Darrin song, "Things" - all sorts of stuff from the 50s and 60s. My sister and I used to play "Window" - but you have to be in a built up area for that (you have to yell out "Window!" when you spot a house with a window in the front door).
I used to make myself carsick by reading in the back seat. My family love to remember how I used to try to read by the light of the street lights at night. Then they'd have to pull over so I could vomit! Ah, the good old days :D
Have fun, guys!
Oh, lovely--now I've got a nosebleed.
Messy.
RR I don't think you can blame us for the nosebleed, although I'm sure if we try hard we could find a reason why it must be L's fault. Anyway hope you're okay soon.
And Sherlock you could remind L that some cars are fueled with diesel.
John said the people who come and clean your room might be scared to see them in the room and might even not let them stay so I had to leave them but I'll phone Mrs Hudson every day and ask her about them.
Lestrade says it won't be too long until we're there now and that he'll carry John into the hotel over his shoulder if he has to and that would be funny.
I know what's to blame for the nosebleed--me being congested because of the construction dust and blowing my nose too much, and the room being too dry because I put away the humidifier. Which I did because it has to be cleaned once a week, and to do THAT I have to take it apart, and it's a pain in the butt.
*sighs and resigns self to dragging out the humidifier*
Sherlock, calling Mrs Hudson every day to check on them would be a very responsible thing to do. And you could ask her if she likes them more once she's had a little time with them herself. (But wait a day before asking that, so that she'll have had time with them!)
John's probably right about the people who clean the hotel room. They don't usually find degus when they come to clean a room!
i'm awake
mostly
Sherlock - Tell Greg that we know that he's always extra careful (even though that isn't ever going to stop us from worrying; it's what you do for people you care about).
I'm sure that Argon and Mercury will be fine under Mrs. Husdon's care -- it's only for a few days, and then you'll be back to play with them. While I'm sure the degus are curious critters, John is right in not letting you bring them along. You'd be too busy playing with them to go see the mummies or flying. Anyway, when you get home, you'll have lots of stories to tell them about everything you've done. =)
If you're not too sleepy, try to keep Lestrade talking to you. It will help him stay awake and focus on the road.
*hugs*
~A from NW
i'm awake
mostly
That's enough for getting up to the hotel room.
Mostly. :) (Go back to sleep.)
John's reading a map of the city. They won't let me make Lestrade's phone talk again to find the hotel even though I could.
Sherlock - ask L questions. To talk helps more to stay awake than just listen, A from NW is totally right.
RR - how about some houseplants? Some people say they don't notice the difference but I really breathe much easier and have much less nosebleeds since we gave in to our plant obsession. We have now only about 15 plants in our room because a lot of them did not make it through the cold...
Sherlock, I'm sure you could, but having John talk to him will also help Lestrade stay awake, so you might as well let them have their way. :)
CR, houseplants are not good for my bedroom, according to my allergist, because of mold spores (which is something else I'm allergic to). We have some in the living room, though--my mother is very good with them!
Lestrade likes plants but we don't have any except a cactus in the bathroom. We should get some really big ones so the living room is like a jungle.
John's rubbing the back of Lestrade's neck I hope they don't do soppy stuff all night we should stay up and Lestrade could tell murder stories.
CR - Only 15 plants? That beats our household by quite a margin.
RR - You might also want to keep a cup of hot water nearby. Inhaling the steam from hot liquids is one of my substitutes for a humidifier. Then again, I live in the NW... On the other hand, it's been bright and sunny for the past two days. \O/
John, Greg - I hope you're finding that hotel all right...
~A from NW
RR - awwww :-( How about hydroponia, that being keeping potted plants in water instead of a pot with soil?
Sherlock - oh! Does it have enough sun there? Most cacti require quite a lot of it... We have one too (when choosing, my husband touched all the cacti in the flower shop to find the most prickly one - his ambition is to have Evil Plants :-) )
A from NW - yup, that's "only" for us. Before the Great Winter Withering there were more than 30 of them, this is drastic cut :-)
Sherlock, I think you being in the room will keep the soppy stuff to a minimum. (But you know, it makes them happy. Which can only be a good thing.)
If Lestrade stayed up all night telling murder stories, he'd probably fall asleep in the middle of his session, which would be very embarrassing. And you might fall asleep in the middle of the mummies--or, what would be worse, in the middle of flying! Better you all get a good night's sleep tonight and start fresh in the morning.
My mom had a really big plant--all the way up to the ceiling!--but she had to trim it back so it wouldn't break under its own weight.
Sounds like your home is a total garden!
Only our room (we live in my mom's living room for the moment... okay, for the last 4 years, because of the finances). The rest is nearly completely plant-free, except for a small sansevieria on my mom's table.
My husband tends to go for poisonous or carnivorous ones (hence his Evil Garden or Evil Plants), I go for whatever catches my fancy. I like to look up stuff about the plants - not going for the flower language but for the stories how the plants behave in their natural environment and what people used to believe about them. For example monstera deliciosa (amazing plant but poisonous) is actually directing the new plants into the dark at first. It's a liana and so it goes into the deepest shade it can find to get to a tree to wind around. Or sansevierias - the natives believed that the plant would protect you from an evil eye and in some places made bowstrings from the fibers. Or that to get vanilla planifolia to blossom, it has to be at least 1-1,5m long and hang down...
I find plants of all kind (and spices too, since they also come from plants and it's kind of like chemistry, how the different stuff interacts in food) really fascinating.
*ahemasyou'veprobablyallnoticedalreadyahem*
Glad to hear you guys made it safely. Sherlock, your observations about the relative distances of seats to you (and thus through the communicative property to the steering wheel and pedals) amuse me greatly. Even if they were nicely hidden...
I had Bacon and eggs and toast and hash brown and beans and sausage and black pudding and tomato for breakfast and Lestrade introduced us to lots of people he knows because they wanted to know who we were and he said it's complicated but it isn't really.
Sherlock hope you (and Doc and L) have a great day. We'll all be looking forward to hearing about it.
L - any pictures of the Doc eating breakfast?
Ooh, giant breakfast, Sherlock :-) It's not complicated at all for you; John's your Nanny and Lestrade's your DI and you're their Sherlock. But for other people it's not always obvious how people who aren't related to each other fit together in family-like groups.
Have a wonderful day with John. Lestrade - hope your conference goes well too :-)
Ah Sherlock, so jealous of your breakfast right now ): nowt like a full english to start your day! (Hope everyone has a lovely day! :D)
Breakfast is one of those things that doesn't translate as well as you'd think. I never could really aappreciate the full English. You can have it, Sherlock. ;)
We've been to the museum and now we're walking and it was good and John says we can have lunch out and then Lestrade's doing his talk and I want to go but John says it's for police and we won't be able to get in.
What am enormous breakfast, Sherlock! I can't imagine how you ate all that without exploding. (okay, yes, I'm joking. Mostly. :))
I think you're right--it's not complicated really. But even though you are all obviously family, there aren't good names in English that properly describe your connection to each other so that other people will understand without an explanation.
I'm glad you had a good time st the museum. Did you get a lot of information about mummies for your report,
It's a pity you won't be able to listen to Lestrade's report, but I bet John will think of something good for you to do.
(Lestrade's talk, not report! I obviously have reports on the brain.)
Thanks. Just kicking off now...
John's your Nanny and Lestrade's your DI and you're their Sherlock.
Beautifully said, Nameless.
Good luck with the presentation, L. I know you'll do fantastically well. Glad you're enjoying your day, Sherlock (and you too, John.) Can you tell us the most interesting thing you saw at the museum?
Knock 'em dead, L!
Don't actually kill them though unless you want them to do a crime scene like we did that time but then don't really get arrested for murder.
Quite right, Sherlock. Seeing as the place is crawling with police, Lestrade would be well-advised to only knock 'em dead metaphorically or in a play-acting way.
No one has died yet.
Although there are two lurkers at the back of the room...
How mysterious!
(Is it a good talk, Sherlock? :))
They were going to shoo us back out until Sherlock showed them his Scotland Yard ID and told them L was his DI. Some very confused looks all round...
Hee!
I knew that ID was going to be useful some day. :)
He brought his ID? How... organised.
So, how did I rate? Not too bad, I hope. At least it wasn't a press conf. I don't mind these, where I can actually say what I think.
You sounded good! Very professional.
So, Sherlock--what did you think of Lestrade's talk?
And what are you three doing for the evening?
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