Wednesday 11 October 2006

Um. What was I talking about?

Hm. I hadn't been drinking or anything. I think, in the last post, that I was just a touch unguarded and let you into the way my mind really works all the time.

Now, I have been drinking, and so I'll be far more circumspect.

The Sage found more mushrooms on the field today. As we walked home from the PCC meeting, he said that the weather was perfect for mushrooms. Since he doesn't even like them, I thought that was considerate. He picked about 8 of them for me. I cooked them, with shallots and wine, this evening. There was one small mushroom that wasn't quite like the rest. I cooked it, but I put a little bit on one side. Just in case Ro or I feel as if a coma is coming on tonight. I'm sure there will be an antidote.

And the odds are that it will be fine anyway.

Not that I have time for a coma. I've got a lot to do before I go to London on Friday. I mentioned my exciting Oyster card. I am studying bus routes, so that I will know where to go off the bus and not be swept off into the wilds of North London. I've driven to my daughter's flat a couple of times. The second time, I was alone, it was November, dark and rainy. I got lost. It was the rush hour. It wasn't easy to stop to consult the A to Z, useful book though that is. In the end, I rang her and she guided me the last couple of miles to her flat.

My bump of direction isn't bad, but you don't have much to go on with English street signs. Whether in the town or in the country, they lead you a long way astray. And then leave you flat, without any clue at all.

I remember an occasion, a few years ago, when I took Ro back to Lancaster University after Christmas. A friend, whose father lives in Lancaster, had asked for a lift. He hadn't seen his dad for a few months and it was a good opportunity to spend the night there, we could share the driving, be company on the road etc.

We got hopelessly lost in Lincolnshire.

Really. There were road works and we thought we could find a way to circumvent them without following a long and devious way through God-knows-where. Well, we went places God had never thought of. At each junction we stopped, consulted the map, decided which road to take - and then, half a mile down the road, none of the places mentioned in the last sign seemed to exist any more. We had planned to stop for dinner. In the event, when we finally found a main road, we stopped for a quick cup of coffee, rang our respective families and then hurried back, two hours late. When you add to this the unusual attitude to road markings one finds in Lincolnshire, it's not surprising that it is not my favourite county.

I found myself having to pass, on a blind corner, a parked lorry marked 'Motorway Maintenance' this afternoon. This was on a B road, the B1332 from Norwich to Yagnub, in a county that has never seen a motorway. This seems odd, but I will not question it. Not mine to reason why.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh Z - I wish I could read your post properly but I can't...too much sadness too many tears flowing...maybe tomorrow I'll be dry-eyed.

But anyway - I did get the mushroom bit..sounds good.

Z said...

Darling Geena, I've just read your post and haven't decided what to say yet. Love and hugs for now.

Mushrooms were good unless that dear little one turns out to have been a wrong'un. But nah, it'll be fine. It always is.

Anonymous said...

How can you tell that those mushrooms are not poisonous? Well, you did survive to write this post afterall.

Z said...

I'm still here, Banana, a couple of hours later. But if this is goodbye, well, it's been good to know you.

Monozygote said...

Oh, don't say that, z. It might have been a toadstool. Many a true word was spoke in jest.

Girlplustwo said...

i'll expect a less circumspect post when you sober up later...or at least a SOS that the wildmushcaps didn't eat your brain...

Z said...

Dandelion darling, It was overcaution that made me keep back that little bit of mushroom, not unwariness that led me to eat it. I'd not have fed it to Ro if I'd really been concerned. But thank you. And does this mean you've posted again? I've been thinking about you.

Jen, you wait until I'm really sober and I'll be totally outrageous. Far safer if alcohol has tightened my tongue.

How do we know said...

Zoe: Work has been very hectic lately, but I just finished with all the ones that i missed in the interim.. as ever, just such a lovely story of ur life here..

Was just thinking.. have you been helping yourself to alcohol a little more often lately, or just posting more about it? Or maybe, I am just thinking too much...

:-)

Z said...

Darling, are you mothering me? That is lovely. No, nothing more than usual. I drink every day, normally. But I don't have to.......

No, really, once in a while I don't drink at all for a week or more. And find, both to my relief and my disappointment, that I don't feel at all different. Not healthier, not deprived, not more intelligent, not twitchy. So I must have exactly the right amount most of the time.

And thank you for asking, I do appreciate that you care.

xx

How do we know said...

Am I mothering you? (rrolling eyes)... maybe, maybe not..and of course I care!!

One can't help caring for someone as warm and lovely as you..

I havent asked in a while.. hows the baby doing?

Z said...

You are so lovely. And thank you.

The baby is fine thanks. His parents say that he thinks that the middle of the night is Party! time, which is a bit of a downer as they don't agree, but otherwise all is well. He gained a pound (450g) in the first 12 days, which demonstrates that he has taken to mother's milk in a big way. Squiffany is still very fond, and kisses him and shows no sign of jealousy, which we are very happy about.