Easy As Falling Off A Bike pt 734.

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Wuthering Dormice
(aka Bike)
Part 734
by Angharad
  
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The next day was Monday, and Stella and I decided to go shopping. The weather forecast was very mixed, and although temperatures on the Continent were soaring, they weren’t doing so here. Having said that it wasn’t exactly cold, just miserable.

Between us, we got the girls and ourselves ready to hit the shops of Brissle a little after nine. To do this we’d been slogging since just after seven. Puddin’ had been sick all over the first choice of clothes, then she pooed herself just as we were about to leave. I had to wash all my three’s hair–it must have been slightly damp when they went to bed –because it was standing up all over the place.

Finally, I got into the shower and the hot water went off, leaving me squealing like a banshee then afterwards, shivering because I needed to shower and wash my hair. It would certainly have put me off sex as hypothermia is wont to do. As Simon wasn’t in the vicinity, it was hardly an issue in any case.

The trip through the Bristol traffic jam was a real chore. Next time we’ll wait until well after nine and avoid it. We drove to the out-of-town shopping centre at Cribbs Causeway and spent most of the day there. It showered on and off all day, so we were hardly missing out on a trip to the beach.

I kept the girls quiet by allowing them to have one new item of clothing each, but they had to decide what they wanted and it had to be no more than twenty five pounds. Then Stella spoiled things by saying she’d add another twenty-five so they could have two items up to twenty five each or one for fifty.

She bought loads of stuff for Puddin’ and finally Trish decided she wanted the pink trainers she’d seen way back. They were going to use up her fifty pounds, but she seemed content with that. I promised we’d get them on the way back to the car.

Stella bought herself a new top and skirt in Monsoon which was delightful–a mix of pastel colours swirling around like huge paisley patterns. Meems wanted some boots, so we got her some and change from twenty-five, so she was allowed a second go. Livvie wanted a dress and some leggings to go under it, she already had some boots she could wear with the outfit or some ballet type shoes.

I bought some red patent ballet shoes to wear with my own footless tights and coming out of the shoe shop Meems saw some shorts she liked, so we got those.

We had lunch at McDonalds, by popular request. We all had the chicken salad thing and some milk shakes. I know it’s all crap, but I think this was the first time I’d allowed the girls to visit one since they’d been with me. They thought it was wonderful, Stella and I were trying not to take too much notice and at least they had a highchair so Puddin’ had her bottle and a jar of baby-goo.

She’s been eating pureed food recently en route to having solids in the next week or two. I suggested doing some stuff in the blender for her; Stella wasn’t sure, leaving it to 57 varieties instead. I tasted a bit on my finger, it was tasteless. I know they have to avoid salt and so on, but it was just mustard coloured goo. In a short time, it would probably be filling her nappy apparently without having changed colour but having a definite niff compared to the jar.

We did a few more shops, including one that does artists’ and craft materials, and I bought three sets of cross-stitch. I was going to teach the girls to sew while they were off school. The one I got for Mima was very basic, the other two had an animal or a bird. Livvie opted for a panda, while Trish decided she’d do one of a robin – European variety, whether it was of the British subspecies Erithacus rubecula melophilus, was anybody’s guess.

As I was paying for these items and one or two other things, I mused on an article I’d seen fairly recently which now classified the European robin as a member of the flycatchers, not the chat like thrushes, which was always where it had been situated before. Seeing one catching flies on the wing, I could easily believe it was correct, but then I’ve seen sparrows do the same, especially when the ants are swarming.

I presume this happens everywhere; if the temperature in summer gets to the right sort of levels, then ants will leave their nests as winged creatures and mate on the wing, the males I believe die off and the females go off to found their own colonies as queens. Huge numbers of them get eaten by birds and other insectivorous creatures, either when flying or when they land.

When you look up at the sky and see dozens of birds darting to and fro, it’s a very good sign that ants are swarming. The same weather lets spiders balloon. Several species do this, essentially what they do is let out a line of silk when they’re standing somewhere fairly exposed, and once the wind takes it, they let go and air currents carry them for miles. Loads of them get eaten by birds as well. Ballooning explains how you can find money spiders crawling about in your hair, it only works with small spiders, so a full-sized garden spider ain’t gonna get off the ground, and if it did and landed on you, you’d soon notice.

Flying insects can be a right pain when cycling, and I nearly always wear some form of eye protection on the bike, because a moderate sized fly or beetle hitting you in the eye, could cause serious damage. I’ve also had butterflies caught up in my helmet, and on one hot day when riding with the zipper of my cycling shirt well open, had to clear out dead flies from my cleavage–only tiny little things, but I know, too much information. I won’t say why I try to keep my mouth shut while riding…

Back to the car and off towards home, as I was parking a small van arrived and a woman got out carrying a bunch of flowers, a rather large one. “Excuse me, are you Lady Cameron?”

“We both are,” I said indicating Stella and myself.

“Oh shit, ’ang on,” she went back to her van and got the clip board. “Lady Cafferine Cameron.”

“That’s me.”

“’Ere,” she said handing me the bouquet, “Didn’t know we ’ad any nobs livin’ round ’ere. Learn somefin’ new every day.”

“Indeed you do,” I agreed, hoping she wouldn’t hear the sniggering from three minors who were getting out of the car with their treasures.

“Simon?” asked Stella as she picked up Puddin’ and some of her shopping.

I opened the card and said, “No, no it isn’t, it’s from Tom.” I showed her the card, which read:

’Cathy dearest, I hope you’ll forgive my faux pas last week, when I suggested the trip to Scotland. On reflection, you were quite right to object and go home for a few days. I hope the weather and the shopping is favourable. I’ve sent the girls some money, hope it arrives safely. Do let me know. Daddy xxx.’

“Awww, he’s such a nice man,” said Stella when she read the card, “better than that fathead of a brother of mine.”

“I’m surprised he hasn’t been in touch,” I said, gathering up armloads of shopping, having put the flowers by the front door.

“He’s still licking his ego, I suspect if he was as supple as a dog or cat, he’d be licking something else in your absence.”

“Ugggh, Stella you are quite disgusting at times.”

“Well you know the old joke, why does a dog lick his, ahem, you know whats? Because he can.”

“Yes, Stella, I fell out of my pram laughing at that old one.”

“Land on your head, did you? – could explain a few things.” She roared with laughter at her own joke, also safe in the assurance that as she was carrying Puddin’ I wouldn’t thump her.

“When can we start sewing, Mummy?” Trish asked.

“Can I unload the car first?” I called back feeling that letting them carry all their stuff wasn’t necessarily the best option.

“I’m gonna try my clothes on,” said Livvie and rushed up to the bedroom.

“So’s me,” Mima dragged her bags up the stairs after her new sister.

“Aww, I wanna do some sewing, Mummy.”

I looked at my watch it was four o’clock. “I need a cuppa before I do anything. Then it’ll be time to get dinner, so I’d say after dinner might be a good time to ask. Why don’t you try your new trainers on?”

“I wore them out of the shop, Mummy,” she sighed.

I looked down at her feet, “Oh, so you did,” I said blushing.

05Dolce_Red_l_0.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_robin

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Comments

good lesson on birds, insects, and shopping

But I sure wish Cathy'd contact Simon.

One time while motorcycling, I caught a bee in the collar of my shirt. I managed to pick it out before it stung me on the neck but I got stung in the finger. Not at all comfortable. You'd be crazy to ride bicycle or motorcycle without eye protection. And what's that old joke about how do you identify a happy motorycycle rider? [the bugs in his (or her) teeth]

Happy motorcyclists

Drat, you beat me to it, Woody :-)

Distant Sunshine

Me, I Think That Simon

Has gone back to Scotland to cool off and talk to Daddy.

    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine
    Stanman
May Your Light Forever Shine

Shopping.

I can't believe how much Cathy and co. spent shopping. I suppose it goes to show I'm really not in the slightest transgendered. I think the last item of clothing I bought was a new long sleeved club cycling jersey last year. It really upset me because it was size XXL and, as I hope Angharad will confirm, I'm not fat (well perhaps 5kg too heavy :)) I think it's those diminutive Italian climbers that set the size standard.

My one and only jacket is a sports jacket I bought in a sale for £30 over 20 years ago. It's definitely wedding and funerals only wear - mostly the latter at my age.

Glad of another peaceful episode even if the 'S' word was used.

thanks

Geoff

@Shopping

Same here - apart from a £60 leather jacket bought in the C&A closing down sale (can't remember when, but must have been 2001 according to Wikipedia), pretty much everything else I have is <£20, and clothes are replaced when showing signs of wear (I hasten to add - before they've worn out completely!), rather than because they're no longer "in fashion"...

--Ben

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As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

Obviously you two

do not understand the fun that can be had shopping, ESPECIALLY clothes shopping, In my opinion you can never have enough clothes...And if your wardrobe gets too full?....Get a larger one and fill that too!

Kirri

Or do it Stella style and

Give your cast-offs to your younger sister. (but we all know that Stella's are hardly considered cast-offs)

And shoes!

One simply mustn't forget shoes. So many colors and shapes and heels, and styles, and .... :-)

Why no, my closet isn't overflowing with clothes and shoes... yet.

Janice

Shopping...

Shopping is fun -- if you're interested in the merchandise.

It is said the men are 'bag it and drag it' artists, but that isn't true for everyone. I know some female 'bag it and drag it' artists, and some men who like to look around and consider things carefully before buying. I tend to be that way.

Not being one for decorating my body, I tend to enjoy looking around the hardware store, electronics stores (both complete items and pieces-parts,) sporting goods (camping/hunting/fishing/canoeing) stores, and the like.

Now, if I had more money...

clothing

simple - women are worse to each other on how they are dressed & it's severly tested if you're considered hi-society where even if you want to go grubby. it just isnt gonna happen & especially true for a woman. In high society there only one thing worse than being seen out in public wearing the same outfit twice at some gathering within i think it's year's time. And some think that's even bad manners. THE thing worse you ask - simple being seen seen in something that someone ele @ same party is wearing with exception you KNOW you look better than them.
also from way young women will pay atten IN DETAIL everything what everyone else is wearing, how it fits,and every little detail.

That why crossdressers & transsexuls out in public get outed so easily. IF you get past a pack of female teenagers in your local mall w/o them detecting you, you' are extremely lucky. they may or may not say anything, but if you've messed up anything of the DRESS CODE, they'll know & then start looking for other things. WHY or HOW Think about it from about age 0 they are reading magazines cover to cover & in pack discussing every minute detail why this or that works or not.

Men - the look @ face, maybe the hair, then straight down the body, then back up to the bustline where they zero in & all focus of that person is stuck UNLESS they get caught then they will keep sneaking peaks till objects leaves area or they get fed up & Tell em off

clothing - male

some other male made a comment about wearing something till it wears out then replacing it with something simular ... would you like to know WHY YOU DID THAT ? ... Simple your fav clothing was complimented on by someone you liked or looked up to ... usually a woman

I know it sounds silly, but creatures of habbit comes to mind. in your mind if it worked once, then it'll work a second,third, time, especially if the girl/woman ou asked out liked it... men's attire changes when he gets involved with that girl/woman for long time, she keeps complementating you on something you did right, sulks if you dont, and if you still dont get it...that when she starts buying things for you to wear & we all know how fast one gets into the doghouse if we dont rofl

Back to normal-sort of.

Visiting Bristol was to be a get-away to relax. Cathy relaxes by riding her bike, shopping and staying away from the media. With the girls and Stella in tow, bike riding will be limited. Shopping is a group activity. So shopping becomes a form of therapy for Cathy.

For guys, style is pretty static. They buy it and wear it until it wears out or is damaged or is outgrown. Then a replacement is bought which is similar to the one being replaced even though it was purchased 10 or 20 yrs ago. Having worked sales for a large catalogue clothing retailer, the biggest fashion advances in the last 20 years for males were the no wrinkle and stain resistant shirts and pants. This is why TG's refer to dressing in male attire as being Drab.

Female fashion is totally different. As a society, we still place too much emphasis on appearance and style for women. Women's fashions can enhance or detract from her appearance. Finding the right outfit to convey a desired image is part of our female culture. Inorder for women to convey an image, everything must coordinate, the clothes, the shoes, the handbag, and the other accesories. This requires research and experimentation. Shopping excursions are the means to accomplish this goal. Practice makes perfect. Shopping is also social bonding for women, like sports are for men that is why we women do it in groups.

I love this story. Thanks for keeping it going.

Hugs,
Trish-Ann
~There is no reality, only perceptions.~

Hugs,
Trish Ann
~There is no reality, only perception~

There is nothing like a

There is nothing like a little retail therapy to make you feel better about yourself or others. Also receiving flowers from your "Daddy" is really nice also. Janice Lynn

Young sparrows learn by watching too!

Angharad,

accurate information about flying ants, sparrows, etc. When I was a ween, when the World was still young and nature relatively intact, despite there being a War on ( as if there were times when there were not!), I recall recording in my diary seeing young house sparrows watching as an insectivorous bird ( with long thin beak, as opposed to the short thick one house sparrows, who are seed-eating birds, have) flew short flights from its perch into a cloud of flying ants to catch one. The house sparrows, freshly departed from their nests, then copied the same behaviour and several were succesfully rewarded with nice fat wiggly flying ants. It is so long ago that I do not rmember what species had taught them, I think it was a warbler, as there were reedbeds not fsr away. Although we were taught to regard bird behaviour as mostly instinctive, there were several examples of learned behaviour actross species in my childhood. Back in those days people all had their milk delivered every morning to the doorstep in glass bottles. Somewhere in East Anglia in the late 1940s a Blue Tit discovered that if you pecked through the milk top ( then a cardboard or waxed paper disc used to close the bottle), you would get some lovely creamy stuff inside. Full of high grade fats with masses of energy in. The habit was quickly learned by other Blue Tits, but soon afterwards, Starlings and House Sparrows, who nested under the tiles and thatch and slates of houses back then, had watched and learned this too. The Dairies had to change to metal foil caps, but these too were pierced some time later. of course, with the demise of the Milkman and his cart, the learned behaviour will have died out now.

Another nice chapter, Angharad. Bless you.

Briar

Briar

Shopping

Many people miss the point of shopping.

There's a good reason that shopping is often referred to as retail therapy. It isn't necessarily about need, it's often simply about looking at what's available. We don't always set out to enhance our wardrobe, although something that we 'must have' can, of course, catch our eye.

A day's shopping can involve simply coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and hours of fun just trawling the available goods. Admittedly, I am presently deciding on outfits for my October cruise to the Mediterannean, and I know that they are unlikely to be available in a month or so's time.

Oh, the joys of womanhood!

Susie

I call that ...

... gear fondling. It was a popular wet day activity in Keswick or Ambleside when we spent Christmas in the Lakes. Trolling round the outdoor clothing shops looking at foul weather clothing and, sexiest of all, (walking) boots :) Very rarely actually bought anything.

I do the same thing looking at grown-up toys like toy aeroplanes and bicycles but then I occasionally let the moths out of my wallet. I'm afraid my attitude to clothes shopping is to get in and out in the shortest time possible and escape, hopefully with something that fits. If I'd been differently modelled perhaps I would find clothes more interesting but as it is, a pair of trousers and a shirt and sweater if it's chilly is hardly interesting, is it?

Enjoy your cruise :)

Geoff

Depends upon why you wear clothes

Angharad's picture

Even if one describes it as function, that function can be almost limitless eg, keeping one warm or emphasising one's assets, both functional. Decoration could even be described as a function in clothes which have symbolic purpose as well, such as church vestments, military uniforms, or even le mailot jeune.

Clothing can also affect the wearer, make them feel good or bad; sexy or unavailable such as a vampish dress and high heels as opposed to a nun's habit and lace up shoes.

If you see clothes as something to enable you to keep warm/cool, perform certain activities, have longevity, comfort and value for money - that's fine.

However, while I expect all of those, I also want to feel good wearing them, and I also might want to attract attention to myself in a positive way (if that's possible - I'm not an exhibitionist)- such as in a social setting. So the purchase of such things requires some thought, lots of trying on and more thought and then starting at the first shop all over again. In the right company, it can be quite good fun. If I'm shopping for minimal requirement - I do it on the internet.

Angharad

Angharad

I won’t say why I try to keep my mouth shut while riding…

Many, many years ago, while riding in Rockcliffe Park (that's in Ottawa, dear), I had a bee go down my front and sting me right in my cleavage so everything you have said, dear, rings ever so true!

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

x

Yours from the Great White North,

Jenny Grier (Mrs.)

Insects & Cleavage

Many years ago (early 1990s), a wasp was unfortunate enough to find its way into my sister's cleavage while relaxing in the garden.

I couldn't work out who was more agitated - the wasp, who unsurprisingly was not amused by its new environment, or Katie, who being an insect hater at the best of times, unintentionally compounded the agony of both of them by running up and down the garden, screaming and flapping her top in a futile bid to dislodge it...

But on the topic of keeping your mouth shut when riding, having a wasp fly into your mouth must be even more terrifying, as it's an enclosed space, only one exit (into the wind), and once it does go it would presumably be a bit harder to apply bonjela to mouth stings than an antiseptic cream to skin stings...

 
 
--Ben


This space intentionally left blank.

As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!

Relaxed

This is one of those episodes where Angharad idles while thinking of new torments for both us and her characters. I like it calm, especially before the storms.

Ant Nights

Podracer's picture

I can spot when it's an "ant night" as I call them up 'ere in t' north-east. The sky over the village is darkened with gulls and starlings all doing the ant dance from late afternoon to early evening when the air cools. Not so much over the surrounding country, I suspect from the lower incidence of the comfy paving stones and garden paths to nest under, and possibly the higher pesticide coverage.

"Reach for the sun."

It's all temperature controlled

Angharad's picture

so ants nesting under stones would be more responsive than those living under grass and soil, the paving stones, concrete, and tarmac warms up quicker.

Angharad