31 March 2015

Seems like you, Chase the clouds away

So, today is the anniversary of the birth of one John Hamish Danger Watson. Husband, child rearer, companion, doctor, soldier, carer, organiser and the best friend I've ever had.

I'd told him I was going to work and would make it up to him on our little holiday we have planned. But actually, we switched off his alarm, and made some ridiculous heart-shaped french toast and bacon, and Sherlock arranged our cards and gifts, and then we went and woke him up with tea :)

Mycroft even took Sherlock to school for us so I could tidy up and get ready for the day... OF FUN.

We were really lucky, it was sunny this morning, so we went for a walk, then got lunch in a little cafe before I decided we should do something different and we rented a rowing boat on the Serpentine. We were pursued by swans. Stealthy silent ninja swans.

Afterward it rained...torrentially... so we had to run into one of the little folly things and hide. And have a sneaky snog.

Once it was time to pick Sherlock up we dragged John off for tea and cake...and now I'm stuffed and I'd promised Sherlock we could make birthday pizza.



Anyway, here's a pic from when Tadhg came for his visit - isn't he gorgeous? They showed us a picture of his Dad, too - and...well, he's the spitting image at the moment, and if he grows up to be too then he'll be beating off suitors with a stick!


In other news, you can now play pac-man on Google maps, in case you had some time that needed wasting...

75 comments:

pandabob said...

What lovely family planning for a special gentlemen's birthday :-)

I'm glad you've had a good day and I hope Sherlock enjoys his pizza even if it's not today when he gets it :-)

Tadhg is a lovely, very gorgeous :-)

What does birthday evening have planned?

Joolz said...

What a lovely surprise, congratulations to all the surprisors and, of course, to the surprisee. Happy birthday, John. Hope you've had a wonderful day surrounded by your lovely family. A sneaky snog is always fun at any time, come rain or shine.

When I read the first sentence and saw: Husband, child... my first thought went to 'catcher'. Not, I have to emphasise, that I think John resembles said creation because he is just creepy and used to scare me so much, but what does it say about me that that was where my head went. ;)

Tadhg does indeed look so cute, is he a bit more interesting to have around now, Sherlock?

Enjoy the rest of your day. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

Sherlock was unimpressed that Tadhg looks as though he's reading things when he holds them, but actually can't read...or speak...or do much of anything still. But he laughed when T decided to try and fit his entire hand up my nose.

AnonyBob - my plan is to lie here like a snake and digest...

Becca said...

Are you going to shed your skin, too, to make more room for your meal?

Happy Birthday John! Sounds like a very fun day.

Greg Lestrade said...

..that is an excellent idea!

pandabob said...

I've often wondered how much babies can do but just can't tell us they can especially when they're doing things like 'reading' books.

I like the sound of your plan for the evening Greg, I hope your other half has equally suitable plans :-)

REReader said...

I have a photo of my niece at maybe a month old. My sister is holding her in one elbow and a book in the other hand, and you'd swear they are both reading intently. (She starts medical school in the fall. :))

John H. D. Watson said...

'with tea' is by far the best way to be woken up, I think. Thank you for today, it was wonderful. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

infinitely better than being woken up by ninja swans.

Thank you for every day. For being in my life. For everything, really.

And Sherlock wants us to get a lead for Maf to take her camping and walking with us... I'm not sure she's that sort of girl...

John H. D. Watson said...

I think she'd escape and return to the wild and we'd never see her again...

Greg Lestrade said...

...by 'the wild' you mean 'into someone else's house to kip in the sunshine'? I don't think she'd appreciate a lead at all. Might get one for Sherlock though.

John H. D. Watson said...

I was picturing her hunting down and eating tourists. She seems like a cat with a lot of ambition.

I love you, by the way.

Greg Lestrade said...

...her main ambition recently has been developing photosynthesis!

But yeah, she's certainly not a scaredy cat. I'm pretty sure she could eat a few unsuspecting tourists. 'The Beast of The Wall'.

I love you too, birthday boy.

Rider said...

In my experience cats cope with walking on a lead in one of two ways.

Absolute refusal where you are trying to drag around a furry lump which mysteriously weighs as much as an adult Rottweiler despite being only as big as the average hardback book, or after a bit of getting used to it walking proudly with an air of "worship me as I walk amongst you humans, you will never see something as wonderful as this again"

I would suggest a harness rather than a collar though, harder to slip.

Greg Lestrade said...

Her colar is one of those that breaks open if she tugs on it, in case she leaps around and get tangled. Don,t want her strangled. But she'll be staying at home keeping Mrs H and the degus company, whoring herself out to security for cuddles no doubt. She may actually be an enemy agent, she has everyone so wrapped around her paws, world domination can't be far away

Small Hobbit said...

Most cats believe they belong to the world dominators, and why haven't you opened the door for me as I need to go in/out now!

Greg Lestrade said...

She already dominates her little corner of the world! Which revolves around John's head...

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a happy family birthday day - so nice that Mycroft could be there.

Tadhg has that adorable baby thing going, the one that leads otherwise sane adults into taking on endless work and feats of self-sacrifice just to make sure they're healthy and happy - and then we say things like "I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!" Wish all kids had parents well equipped to do it.

Sleep well!

fA

Greg Lestrade said...

Half a day at work... Easter egg hunt with Sherlock's school... Then holiday!!

Joolz said...

What an egg-citing start to your holiday (ooh sorry that was bad! ;)) Good luck on the hunt, Sherlock, and hooray for finishing school & work earlier. Do you actually leave to start the trip today or is it just the 'all being off' part? Have a wonderful day whichever. :)

pandabob said...

Did you find lots of Easter eggs Sherlock? I hope you all got enough to make yourselves very sick ;-)

We're already enjoying our Easter holiday I hope you lot are as well :-)

Greg Lestrade said...

Everyone found just the right number of eggs (they had their names on...) and our holiday starts tomorrow!

Unknown said...

happy belated birthday, John! sounds like you had quite an adventure. :)
T is a cutie-pie!
now I'm looking forward to tales from The Wall...
S

John H. D. Watson said...

Thanks, S. It was a good one.

Joolz said...

So how has today gone, did you manage to get any walking in already or was it just travelling up there and settling in? Hope you're having a wonderful time either way. :)

REReader said...

Passover starts here in around an hour, so I want to wish you all a Happy Passover/Easter/spring weekend, and a fantastic holiday!

Greg Lestrade said...

Mainly travelling today, bit of walking. We're very fortunate to have security to move our vehicle from the start of our walk to the finish! It's a winning way to travel! The dogs will walk at least 4 times further than the rest of us i think...

Anonymous said...

Enjoy the holiday, and Easter or Passover for those who celebrate. (I always think it's a bit special when Easter and Passover coincide. Despite my continuing slide into heathenism.)

fA

Greg Lestrade said...

Well, muscles i didn't know i had now ache...but Arsenal put a spring in my step ;)

pandabob said...

That was a pretty impressive result Greg and good goals as well :-)

I hope you've found someone to aid your aching muscles. I bet Sherlock isn't feeling any of the suffering from your adventure is he ;-)

Joolz said...

Morning all. Has the Easter bunny visited you out on the trails today. He popped by here & my two are currently hunting down his prizes (even at their great ages! ;).) Some are hidden in the room & some are done by treasure hunt clues & it's just as much fun for the bunny to set up I'm sure. ;)

Happy Easter or Passover to everyone. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

The easter bunny did visit, albeit with small and easily transportable eggs...

And we've walked. And walked. And i worry John will end up even shorter as his little legs wear away.

Joolz said...

Me thinks you're chancing your arm and you'll be kicked out of the wigwam at this rate. ;)

So is Sherlock doing as many extra miles as the dogs with his to-ing & fro-ing or are you wearing him out too. ;)

Enjoy your pint & your peace as it all begins again tomorrow. Have fun. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

It's ok, he doesn't have the energy to kill me. And even if he did, i wouldn't have the energy to resist...

Sherlock is probably walking about twice as far as us, with running about, investigating, clambering etc. makes you tired just watching him.

Greg Lestrade said...

...progress definitely being slowed by geocaching along the way. but the boys are enjoying it, which is the main thing. And we get a chance to rest while they search. Should have brought more beer. Or less beer. Depending how you look at it.

REReader said...

What's geocaching?

Lancs. Anon said...

I can really see why the boys would like geocaching! Glad you're having a good time.

Greg Lestrade said...

...more beer has been obtained. My fingers are fat, and slightly inebriated, so apologies in advance for autocorrect doing its thing.

Geocaching is when people hide little messages/items in places and you have to find them. The co-ordinates are published, and often there's a clue for the exact location, but usually written in a code you have to crack. They can be anything from a plastic tub down to a tiny film cannister. Each ahs a log book and if you take anything you have to leave something too. It's like a treasure hunt with high tech stuff. there are loads on this walk.

REReader said...

That sounds like major fun!

REReader said...

(The geocaching. I can't speak to the beer. :))

Greg Lestrade said...

the beer is entirely medicinal.

Small Hobbit said...

I presume it has been prescribed by a doctor ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

but of course!

Tomorrow is our last day of walking...and our night in a teepee. Up until now we have been put up in nice comfy pubs and B&Bs. We (meaning those of us who have creaky bones) didn't think walking 15 miles after a night under canvas sounded like that much fun...

Joolz said...

Geocaching sounds like great fun, I hadn't heard of that before. Did the boys bring things to swap too?

I think the creaky boned ones were very sensible in their plans but a last night in a teepee sounds brilliant. Hope you're not too worn out from your last day of walking to enjoy it. Have fun. ;)

Joolz said...

Geocaching sounds like great fun, I hadn't heard of that before. Did the boys bring things to swap too?

I think the creaky boned ones were very sensible in their plans but a last night in a teepee sounds brilliant. Hope you're not too worn out from your last day of walking to enjoy it. Have fun. ;)

Greg Lestrade said...

well, our teepees are lovely. And we're going to have a barbecue.

We didn't start off with things to swap, but we got some in places we've passed through.

pandabob said...

a barbecue sounds like a fantastic way to make use of the good weather :-)

My baby girl has come home with sunburn today after a day out to a wildlife park! who would think that was possible up here in April?!

good luck with your tepee night, I hope you have enough medicinal beer to make it fun ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

yeah, John has pink ears, and is moaning that I look like I've been on a tropical beach holiday, not traipsing through the frozen north ;)

Kestrel337 said...

Geocaching is the best! Glad everyone is enjoying it. They do go even smaller than a film canister; I found one that was glued to the bottom of a bottle cap. I had to use a tweezer to get the paper in and out.

Greg Lestrade said...

aaaand we're back home. Maf is winding herself around John, and Sherlock has gone to tell Mrs H everything.

REReader said...

Sounds like all's well, then. :)

pandabob said...

I hope the weather is as nice down there as up here, I'm glad you got to enjoy the frozen north without the freezing bit :-)

How many words a minute did Sherlock manage during his tales of your trip?

Greg Lestrade said...

many, many words. I get a break tmorrow - work. John gets the full force of the holidays on his own then.

Got to say it's been fascinating listening to these boys talking as we're walking though. An excellent holiday.

Greg Lestrade said...

And it's a beautiful day down here, for working and playing. Hope the rest of you have a good one too

Tina said...

It's a beautiful day here, too, temperature might go up into the 20' (C). Its Friday so for me that's a short day at the office and then: Weekend! :-)
Great that your holiday has been exciting, hope you're well rested for your "break" from it.,

Anonymous said...

I envy your holiday, though shouldn't. Just returned from going on one with a friend (since we were teens) who was taking her nieces to the Theme Parks of Orlando Florida. We walked about 12 miles a day, but it was less scenic and more crowded! Also, warm, but only in the 80s (F) so not too bad. And the girls were delightful.

Glad I went, very glad to be back! Hope everyone who had a school holiday enjoyed it.

fA

Becca said...

Wow, fA, that's a lot of walking!

I just found out I have mono. Now I know why I've been feeling so poorly.

Small Hobbit said...

That's rotten Becca - hope you start to feel better soon. Having googled mono, I'm assuming it's what we call glandular fever.

Unknown said...

geocaching is a cool thing, I saw one once. friends from the visiting team on a morris tour were able to find one at the fairground where we were dancing. it was a plastic container such as you might put a sandwich in to bring along. but that's as close as I've gotten!
sounds like you had a great trip!
the weather here has warmed up enough to melt almost all the snow, yay! I am about to have daffodils and hyacinths and things, at least in the area up close to the house.
S

Greg Lestrade said...

Tahnks for the translation, SH! and hope you're better soon, Becca.

Joolz said...

Hope you're all settling back into life off the road & tired muscles have now recovered.

Is anyone having a little flutter today? I did one at work & we have a sweep we do at home for the grand stake of 50p a horse (I know, extravagant, right?) ;) I'm sure the boys would be able to wangle the odds & choose you a winner if they were in to that kind of thing. ;)

Have a great day everyone. :)

Hope you feel better soon, Becca.

Greg Lestrade said...

I'm at work, so yeah, we had a sweepstake. I've got Spring Heeled. I'm hoping the fact there was a dastardly menace called Spring Heeled Jack, who evaded police, is a good omen?

Joolz said...

Sounds like a sure fire winner - well it has as much chance as any other in a race like this. ;) I have Owega Star at work which is about 100-1 so I'm good to go. ;) Good luck to everyone having a wager. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

I think the boys are more interested in the boat race, to be honest. Come on Oxford!

Becca said...

What are flutters and sweepstakes?

pandabob said...

Bets on a horse race becca, it's the one day when everybody becomes a gambler!

Good luck in the football later Greg ;-)

Greg Lestrade said...

yeah, sorry, flutter is a bet, and sweepstake is where you all draw the names out of a hat for a small stake - we do a quid - and the winner gets the money, plus a bottle of something from me, usually.

Greg Lestrade said...

Oh Oxford, you beauties.

Joolz said...

Well no luck on any of the sweepstakes but a good victory for Oxford & a good 4-0 win for us, let's hope the Gunners finish off a good day for you too. :)

Greg Lestrade said...

I hope AnonyBob will still be speaking to me after the footy...

Anonymous said...

I think it's debatable, but there's still time yet...

Becca said...

Oh, I take it there's a big race today? I know about the Oxford/Cambridge boat race, but I didn't realize you had horse races too.

Greg Lestrade said...

Yeah, it was the Grand National (horse race over fences) and the boat race - and for the first time the women's race was on the same day, over the same course, in the same TV show as the men's.

I think Burnley were unlucky to come away without a draw - i've only been able to read the text commentary, mind you, not watch.

pandabob said...

I make it a rule not to let football get in the way of friendship Greg ;-)

Anonymous said...

You all sound unusually sporting - nothing like having a little something riding on the outcome!

Becca - glad they've discovered a cause for at least some of your malaise, sorry that it's something that usually has such a long gradual recovery. I will hope that you will be feeling better and more energetic soon, and that your life allows you to take it as easy as you need to.

fA

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