How are you today?

[blue]

there was ID cards in the past if I remember well ?

Not that I'm aware of, unless they were compulsory during the Second World War. Rob would remember.

A lot of people in this country seem to regard the whole ID card issue as a matter of personal liberty. I can see that point of view, but I guess I'm also 'if you've got nothing to hide, what are you worried about?' That might be a naive perspective though, I haven't really looked into the civil liberties angle and what exactly the concerns are in that area.

The only thing that would bother me about it is having to get my photo taken!

In France they are free, unlike passport which costs a lot ! I guess it's the same in UK, so it's not very affordable to travel.

Yes a passport is rather expensive here too, the main reason I haven't renewed mine. Not that it matters in my case as I won't be going abroad again, unless I win that Euro jackpot on Friday in which case I plan to move to Paris.

[RobB]

Not that I'm aware of, unless they were compulsory during the Second World War. Rob would remember.

Cheeky,
erm......over to Dave on that one i think.

[Angie]

Does a drivers license count as an ID there? Or are there no photos on them?

Thanks for asking (back a ways) how Henry's doing with having Ellis around, Beth. I think it's going pretty well, considering he ignores his baby brother most of the time. I suppose it's better than having animosity towards him. The little guy was sleeping through the night for almost two months and has now started waking up between 3 and 4 a.m. again. It's tiring, but I can't be too upset about it when I can tell he's smiling at me while I change his diaper in the dark.

And your trip sounds really nice, Alex! I hope you have a good time, and the places you want to see are open.

I would LOVE to attend a meetup someday, you guys. I'm probably at least a few years away from affording it though.

[blue]

Does a drivers license count as an ID there? Or are there no photos on them?

A license will count as ID for things like opening a bank account or starting a new job, but it's not regarded as an official ID. It's actually a bit of a nightmare in the UK if you don't have a license or a current passport to prove your identity, they're the two things required as ID for various practical things. When I got the job I'm in now they couldn't pay me for the first month because they didn't know how to deal with me not having either of the required forms of ID. Incredibly, a birth certificate and National Insurance number are not regarded as enough proof. It was only the fact that my boss had gone ahead and given me the job anyway, and I obviously had to be paid for it, that forced them to accept my documents.

Thanks for asking (back a ways) how Henry's doing with having Ellis around, Beth. I think it's going pretty well, considering he ignores his baby brother most of the time. I suppose it's better than having animosity towards him.

Aww, little love. He's probably feeling his way into a relationship with the newcomer who's taking up Mummy's time now. Three is a really interesting age psychologically, the point when they reckon a child develops a sense of its own identity as a separate person from Mum. In that way he's probably less threatened by Ellis now than if you'd had him earlier. I've read that the age of your first child when you have the second one is actually quite crucial to the subsequent relationship between them. This is certainly borne out in my family - I was 18 months old when my first brother was born, and we've never got on right from the start. My second brother was born when I was 4 and I adored him.

The little guy was sleeping through the night for almost two months and has now started waking up between 3 and 4 a.m. again. It's tiring, but I can't be too upset about it when I can tell he's smiling at me while I change his diaper in the dark.

Do you know, Rocco is going through exactly the same thing. He's been sleeping from about 10pm till 7am for ages now, but the last couple of weeks he's waking up in the night again for a feed. My daughter's a bit bewildered, but I think he might just be going through another growth phase so is needing extra calories. He's 2ft 2inches long already, so at this rate he'll be about 6ft by the time he starts school.

[blue]

Belated birthday dinner for me this evening, so having had a nice leisurely day I shall now go and soak in the bath with me posh bubbles wot I got, and look forward to a nice meal and a few drinks and no doubt some giggles. My friend Jackie got her Tarot cards read today, I'll be interested to hear how that went. Hope it was good news.

Now, do I lock Missy-cat in the bedroom while I'm out to stop her eating my flowers unhindered? She has a bit of a psychological problem with doors being shut, but goddam it, I want to have at least some flowers left when I get home. [b)]

[Angie]

I hope you had a fantastic birthday dinner, Beth! How did your friend's Tarot reading go?

I've read that the age of your first child when you have the second one is actually quite crucial to the subsequent relationship between them.

This is fascinating, and I do believe it. I'm excited to see how they'll interact as they get older. I try to plant little seeds in Henry's mind now, like, "I hope when Ellis gets a little bigger you'll help me teach him how to..." It's hard to know how to really prepare him for the fact that soon enough this little things that wiggles on the floor will be an actual human we can all interact with.

He's 2ft 2inches long already, so at this rate he'll be about 6ft by the time he starts school.

Wow, I love it! Ellis is in the 90th percentile for his age, and if he didn't look so much like his brother, only bigger, I'd think he was switched at birth. My husband's of average build, and I'm 5' 1" on a good day, so I don't know where he got it!

Not a whole lot else going on here besides work. On Sunday we had our first 80-degree day in six months, which was so awesome! Later that night, though, we had a storm that blew over our patio table and smashed the glass top. Ugh, but I've been secretly coveting a new one, anyway.

And FYI, Beth, we can't have flowers around our dang cats, either!

[picsou]

Coucou!

[alx5962]

Coucou!

beuh

[blue]

I hope you had a fantastic birthday dinner, Beth! How did your friend's Tarot reading go?

Thanks Angie, it was fun.

Jackie's tarot reading was an interesting example of synchronicity, or maybe something more. It was very positive - she's had the most awful time the past few years, just a terrible run of bad stuff going on. The reader told her this time was coming to an end and that her luck was about to take a turn for the better. Later the same day, she got a call to say she'd succeeded in getting a job she'd interviewed for the day before (having been unemployed and on disability benefit for three years), and no sooner had she put the phone down than she got another call to say she'd won a place on a Buddhist retreat she's been trying to get on for ages. All in all rather a good day, and quite a spooky coincidence!

I try to plant little seeds in Henry's mind now, like, "I hope when Ellis gets a little bigger you'll help me teach him how to..."

That's an excellent strategy, giving him a sense that he's an important part of his little brother's life and a feeling of positive responsibility. He's lucky to have an intelligent and sensitive mother who understands the importance of helping his self-esteem in this new situation.

Ellis is in the 90th percentile for his age, and if he didn't look so much like his brother, only bigger, I'd think he was switched at birth. My husband's of average build, and I'm 5' 1" on a good day, so I don't know where he got it!

It's strange isn't it, Rocco's dad is also average height/build, and while Kate is taller than average for a woman she's not remarkably so. We're a bit bewildered at this point by Rocco's very rapid growth, when we took him to get weighed about a month ago he was at the 75% mark for babies born at the same time, then on Monday last week when Kate took him he was at 98%. He's now 21.5lbs.

Poor Kate was actually very upset by the attitude of the health visitor who weighed him, she made some remark along the lines of 'he'll have to stop this growing soon.' As if Kate was doing something wrong? Um ... how exactly do you stop a baby growing? She was in tears on the phone. I told her to just go with her own instincts about his feeding, she knows him better than anyone else in the world, after all. He's having solid food now but she's cut his bottles down to compensate. He looks in proportion so I think he's just going to be a tall lad.

And FYI, Beth, we can't have flowers around our dang cats, either!

It's weird, this obsession they have with eating flowers. Luckily my other two are not as bad as Missy. My bouquet has now gone the sad way of cut flowers, so she's now started eating the little violet-coloured plant you can see on my table in the pics.

[sound world]

I always thought cats only ate plants to make themselves sick, unless it's catnip.
My cat, who's very old now, has got less and less ladylike in her dotage. She pisses wherever she feels like it now (she even found a way to get under the floorboards in the roof), so we've had to start using litter (I've always had cats, and never used litter before). She also pigs out on whatever food is going, and waits around after our mealtimes to see what we might have left on the table or on the surfaces in the kitchen-and no matter how cross you get with her, she keeps on trying it.

[blue]

I always thought cats only ate plants to make themselves sick, unless it's catnip.

They do eat grass to make themselves sick, but a lot of cats seem to enjoy flowers for some reason. They're not the only animals that do, either - in rural areas deer and foxes have a penchant for coming into gardens and chowing down on flowers. Deer are supposedly particularly fond of roses.

My cat, who's very old now, has got less and less ladylike in her dotage. She pisses wherever she feels like it now (she even found a way to get under the floorboards in the roof), so we've had to start using litter (I've always had cats, and never used litter before). She also pigs out on whatever food is going, and waits around after our mealtimes to see what we might have left on the table or on the surfaces in the kitchen-and no matter how cross you get with her, she keeps on trying it.

Yeah, this is absolutely typical behaviour in old cats. A pal of mine has a female cat that decided at 14 years of age to start peeing in the bath! She's considerate though, she squats over the plughole.

I'm curious how you managed not to use litter till now, Dave? Did you train your cats to go outside, or something?

[sound world]

A pal of mine has a female cat that decided at 14 years of age to start peeing in the bath! She's considerate though, she squats over the plughole.

I'm curious how you managed not to use litter till now, Dave? Did you train your cats to go outside, or something?

I used to have one cat who, if she got shut in or something, would pee in the bath, or next to the loo. Quite sensitive really.

Yes, I think most cats, given enough green space, will prefer to go outside to do their business-so I've always made sure there was a catflap (or similar-thereby hang a few tales ). The only training involved was shoving them through it a few times or putting their food one side or the other to give them the practice of opening it.

[sound world]

Your new avatar is a bit creepy, Beth!!

[blue]

Your new avatar is a bit creepy, Beth!!

Ha, there's something about an eye in close-up that freaks people out, isn't there.

I was browsing a photography thread on another board, where people were posting close-ups of their eyes. I find them quite fascinating, it's amazing the range of markings and jumbles of colours there when you look very closely. I haven't read up yet on how to use the 'macro' setting on my camera, but even with this basic shot I can see a splodge of deeper brown around my pupil that isn't evident when you look in real life. It reminds me a bit of a continent.

I must sit down and get to grips with my camera manual at some point, some of the macros I've seen on photography boards are awesome.

[sound world]

Yeah, I've been doing a few macros of spring flowers. Trouble is, my eyesight is so rubbish without specs now, that I can't make out the controls on the camera clearly (let alone the view through the viewfinder ).

And also there's the 212 page manual for my camera. I mean....oh look, there's a potential fantastic picture! now how do I set that up, er, now where are those printouts of the manual I made, OK, here, OK, index....er...page 79....rustle rustle...OK, set that control, turn that...OK ready...

....oh, it's gone.