I just wish John could come too.
Sherlock is very excited. Like, still awake, despite us needing to be at school early tomorrow! He is at least in his room now, supposedly having quiet time...
Mycroft and I cooked, and Sherlock and John ate, and everyone was happy, so that's good!
Jo and Lisa sent us a picture of little Tadhg, and he's very lovely and small and wrinkly.
Sherlock is taking this year's transition to the big class very well. I think he's quite looking forward to being one of the oldest in the school. Mycroft has taken to work in an exemplary fashion. He's already working shifts without the owner, and impressing everyone in the process. He joins us in sampling a bottle of wine now and again too, so that's another area where his knowledge is growing.
We went to the allotment today, did some more weeding (it never ends) and pondered why our french beans are all a bit...oddly shapen (Mary says it's because we water 'irregularly'). Sherlock is drawing us up a watering rota, as he does not appreciate misshapen beans. She also says our blueberry needs more acidic soil. Ericaceous compost is our best bet...so we'll have to get some, see if it does the trick.
after tomorrow, Sherlock is home for 6 long weeks...for the duration, I think John will also need watering regularly.
For absolutely no reason, except that it has given me a post title, have a picture of a tiny tortoise wearing a raspberry on its shell.
64 comments:
Have fun canoeing! I think my dad took me once, on a local resevoir. I remember it being fun.
Also those tortoises are adorable.
Are there any long projects or scientific experiments that Sherlock could investigate while he's out of school? If he devotes his energy to something like finding the Loch Ness Monster, we'll have proof by September.
Those tortoises are adorable.
Ella
good luck with the canoeing and with keeping even slightly dry.
Whatever you're up to tomorrow John I hope its a less wet day than Greg's ;-)
Those tortoises are weirdly cute!!
I fear Mrs N knows I don't mind clowning around for the kids, and will inevitably get wet. In this heat, though, it sounds great!
I'm sure the kids will love seeing you in action as much as the canoeing. ;) Will you be on the river, a lake or in a pool. Have fun anyway.
I thought we'd be on a reservoir or something, but we're actually going up the Thames to where it's not tidal and won't have a strong current, so the kids can paddle easily and be in no danger.
Should be an exciting day tomorrow!
I hope everyone has a blissfully fun time canoeing--it sounds like you've all been having the perfect weather for it. :)
That tortoise is adorable!
Hmmm..what've you got planned for your last day of freedom, Danger?
..and Mycroft, if that's Sherlock moving around up there out of bed again tell him Mrs T still has space with the baby class to design t-shirts at school, because only well behaved well rested kids can go canoeing...
...Work. Punctuated with bouts of laundry. When you put it like that, I feel I should've thrown a party or something...
Ha! You should've! I'll pay Mycroft to bring you any energising teas back from his work.
I think you'll need more energising than I will. When are you supposed to get back?
Oh hey, pretty new background! I like it.
Ella
when every last drop of my life-force has been wrung from my body by excited 8 yr olds...
I think we're leaving sometime between 3 and 4? So back home by 5ish. And Sherlock is desperate to ride the bike in to school, not get the tube/walk...so because I'm soft (in the head) we'll do that.
We will, of course await news of how it went, out on the water! This "bag" containing your changes of clothing IS watertight, yes?
John, six weeks is a long time. Skip laundry and other non-emergency chores and read a book, take a nap, have an uninterrupted train of thought!
I am with Ella, the atmospheric watery background is very nice.
Wishing all, as usual, a good sleep.
fA
Missing posters for Puppy have gone up in the alley. Some other person thinks his name is Alex, wtf. But I brought him back and explained that I wasn't stealing him, if anything, he was stealing me (and he also spent the vast majority of the last 96 hours sleeping off whatever it was that stung him). Apparently this isn't the first time he's been a fickle kitty and tried to adopt a new family.
Ella
Awwww. Mixed feelings, Ella?
I think Puppy is a waaay better name for a cat than Alex.
fA
Somewhat. I was getting very nervous about having a living creature depend on me, so that's a relief, but even though he looked at me like I was a very stupid human who was unable to follow clear and simple directions, he was nice to have around.
Ella
Small children can sing very loudly. In a very high pitch. Mrs N should have told me to bring my ear plugs.
She wanted you to enjoy the full experience. With any luck half of them will fall asleep on the way back.
Everyone has mastered canoeing. People are only slightly wet so far. We're heading up river in a fleet. Terrifying.
One of Sherlock's classmates has just given me a bracelet made of those little rubber bands they're all obsessed with. It's blue, black and silver.
That was nice. And waterproof.
Yeah. They're just having a post lunch run around before we stuff them back in their canoes for the return trip... There are very ominous thunder rumbles in the distance....
Has anyone fallen in yet?
That tortoise is the cutest thing ever. Hope you make it back before anything exciting happens, at least in the weather department. I remember canoeing in a thunderstorm; not the most pleasant experience of my (then) young life.
No one has fallen in. I've had to wade in to about waist deep to rescue panicking drifting children when we started and everyone was being launched in ones and twos.
Sounds as if the expedition has gone well so far! Maybe Sherlock can give us a report on the highlights from his perspective later (or in a day or two if he's too busy tonight).
fA
We're doing final checks that everyone has what they came with. Them: clothes, shoes, bags. Us: clothes, shoes, kids...
..the upshot of that comment was supposed to be that we'll be heading home shortly.
Leaving with the same number of people you arrived with is the most important thing. Whether they have to be the exact same people is debatable.
Ella
I've had a call out, so I won't be home for a while yet.
Take care of yourself Danger. Love you.
I love you too. Don't lose anyone on the way back!
Ha, Ella!
My question is: Is it easier to herd excited, eager kids into the bus at the start of the trip, or stimulated but (hopefully) tired kids at the end?
It sounds like a good time was had by all--and I too would love to hear Sherlock's take on the day!
Each scenario is difficult in its own way.
Sounds like an exciting time was had by all.
I remember the one time I went canoeing (in a lake) and we got stuck in the middle and went in circles and had to be towed back to the dock.
We are home. Mycroft is home. Mycroft is probably wishing he wasn't as Sherlock gives him an exhaustive account of his day. He may finish just in time for John's return, so he can start again.
sounds like a success, bravo!
that tiny tortoise is the tiniest tortoise I've ever seen... I didn't know they could even be that tiny.
Ella, I wonder whether Puppy will decide to return to you at least for a visit... it might be nice to have a visiting cat. And if the other family isn't too jealous, maybe you can cat-sit for them if they ever go away over night.
S
John, I do hope you'll be home soon. Purely because you're missing Lestrade singing along to 'Kiss' very loudly, while making dinner with Sherlock.
That's very thoughtful of you, Mycroft, to not want John to miss the performance.
How's the job going from your perspective--are you getting what you wanted out of the experience?
Home at last. Got one more call just before seven.
Home ... And having his ears talked off. Sherlock has yet to pause for breath. Except to correct John when he said 'don't eat with your mouth full'.
May as well say that I hope your day wasn't too bad on here, as I can't get a word in edge ways.
It wasn't bad, though clearly yours was better. Did he just mention something about alligators?
I can assure you there were no alligators in the Thames. But if there were, we scared them off with splashing. Although if they had sense they'd have gone before Flotilla the Hun turned up anyway.
There was a lot of splashing and some haughty looking swans.
Glad to hear it. Swans do tend to look permanently haughty.
Sounds like a wonderful day. Nothing like a happy, excited child - though sometimes easier to appreciate from a distance than for relentless hours on end. Hope he crashes relatively easily tonight.
fA
I think the swan upping was only the other week. And then they were invaded by kids... Probably want a rest!
Sherlock is half asleep on John. John is half asleep on the sofa. Maf is asleep on all of them.
Take a photo! (Even if you can't share it with us.)
I'm sure he'll tell you all about it at some point.
Hope you're all having pleasant days. We've had a good one together. Ice cream has featured, as has visiting Jo, Lisa and Tadhg.
Glad you've all had a nice day together to start off the school hols well and no day that includes ice cream can ever be bad. ;)
How are the new parents coping already. Is Tadhg a little sweetheart. Have the boys ever seen such a new baby before. I think I remember it not being immediate when you went to see Rachel or have I got that wrong.
Enjoy the rest of your day. :)
Sherlock is slightly disappointed that he doesn't do much yet. But I think he's amazing.
You and Sherlock are both right about tiny babies. That's what I think.
Hope the rest of the evening is good.
fA
It does make me wish... Pointless things. Things whhich arent possible. Its amazing to welcome such a little life into the world.
It is.
Can we be official babysitters, as well as uncles?
I imagine we can, yeah.
Can you?? We shall insist on it!
I'll enjoy it. John may just enjoy me enjoying it ;)
Tadhg will be very lucky to have two crazy uncle babysitters to add to his two wonderful parents :-). I guess now is your chance to start leading children astray and then handing them back instead of having to deal with the fall out Greg ;-)
I hope everyone's days are going swimmingly :-)
Well I'm at work. Waiting to see if Sherlock's life-force depleting powers work on Mycroft as well as John.
The BEST part of babysitting from the very early days? You'll have Sherlock educated about childcare so that by the time Tadhg is old enough/sturdy enough for really exciting adventures, Sherlock can be the sitter for when all the grownups are exhausted. My kids' favorite sitters were the smart ones who took them on crazy, semi-educational adventures that the adults were just not up to.
fA
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