h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Was the 4th plinth the one with the pregnant quadriplegic ? I really liked that .
GT I am sorry to here about Lady , I am a owner myself and they do become one of the family .

I spent the day at the National Folk Festival in Butte, 120 miles east of my town. It was thoroughly enjoyable to hear so many kinds of live music in one place (I heard Croatian folk music, bluegrass, Dixieland jazz, Zimbabwean chimurenga and zydeco all this afternoon):

http://www.nationalfolkfestival.com/2009/

*And* I remembered to drink lots of water and regularly slather myself with sunscreen, so I'm hydrated and nicely, lightly tanned. This is unusual for a two day music festival in 92F/33C heat.

<>

Oh man, I think that would be awesome. Could you imagine a small town stage version of Boogie Nights? It would be an X-rated version of "Waiting for Guffman". I'm sure every little community has a budding Dirk Diggler.

Good night all.

Has Waitig for Guffman ever been produced on stage? That would be so... recursive.

*discreetly slips an 'n' into Waiting*

I came home yesterday, and D had taken out the recycling, cleaned the litterbox, and gotten the mail. I have to admit, my 13 year old is much easier to deal with than she was at 7 or 8.

MR you may be the only parent in history to say that.

yes, well. It just proves I've done something right...

right?!

[Sol]

Right, MR

Among the many theories I hold, there's one about parenting which says that at some point in your child's life, they're going to be absolutely horrible.
Some get this stage over and done with by the time they're two, others wait until later. Different child: different age.
#3 was the most fantastic baby, toddler and young lad but, as Salonistas know, he has given us many hours of angst since he became a teenager.
Come to think of it, his teenage tears have lasted more than the supposed seven.

I'm happy to report that The Towers was still standing when we got home. Unless there's hidden damage lurking somewhere, the worst I've found as yet is the source of a rather nasty smell which turned out to be five week old rotting veg and salad doings in both fridge drawers

>MR you may be the only parent in history to say that
Nope. Our 16 was, ermmm, difficult (and probably even not compared to what you might have) at 11. Now she's actually sensible

Of course it means you've done something right, MR. (and that would imply that so have we )

Welcome back Teuchter. Seems to have been the tough luggage delivery weekend - I picked Mrs SG V and 13 up at the airport yesterday. A full hours wait for the luggage!

Welcome home Teuchter, did #3 manage to leave the house in one piece? When do you head north for Ben and Z's nuptials?

So far have had two dreadful babies and one awful toddler. Just waiting for t'Other to become a terrible toddler too now. Seriously hope my pair are going to be good teenagers, I'm owed! My friend had one of those dream baby/toddlers that everyone thinks they will have beforehand, but she is apparently turning into a 7 year-old terror so everyone gets it at some point.

Afernoon all

Welcome home Teuchter! We're mid packing for our trip starting on Wednesday.

Ah teenagers. And the ongoing interpretation of rules/ standards/ codes of behaviour, whatever.

I had a rather lovely and very busy day yesterday, which ended up with lots of people thinking I was wonderful, which is always gratifying.

10.30 - drove to Antrim Road to pick up sis-in-law's wee dog. She can't walk him at the mo due a recent op (but her results have come back clear, so no chemo or radio required! Yay!)

11.00 Drive to parents house in Portstewart to sign some forms. Have lovely al fresco lunch, entertained by Big Dog Little Dog. Parents thank me profusely for organsing all the form-signing.

2.00 walk doggies on Portstewart Strand, much to the amusement of passers-by. I tell them I get a grant from Coleraine Borough Council to entertain the tourists.

3.00 drive to sister's house in Belfast, dropping off wee dog en route, to continue the Signing Of The Forms. Sis thanks me profusely for saving her from having to entertain the parents.

5.00 drive to Bangor to get son's signature. Son thanks me profusely for doing all this running round organising, as the end result is money in the bank accounts of all grandchildren.

6.00 Get home, pour glass of wine.

Congrats on the job, Marv. I might have already said that!

Sorry to hear about you dog, GT.

Someone I sort of know but haven't really met in real life is going to be on the 4th plinth during week 5. He's going to be see how many km (if any, I suppose) he can walk round the plinth during the hour. He's trying to walk 1000km in a year to raise awareness of congenital heart defects. He has a blog, if anyone is interested: http://walkingforheartkids.blogspot.com/

*opens the french doors and goes out onto the terrace to enjoy the summer afternoon*

Matina, could you make some fresh lemonade, please? And bring out some tostado chips and that salsa I got in Tularosa.

I think part of the reason D is so much less of a teenage hassle is that I'm a pretty mellow parent. When she announced she wanted purple hair, I said okay, and then helped her select the purple dye. When your mother doesn't actually make the rebelling rebellious, it's sort of hard to create a fuss about it.

I think MR's got a point. My parents let my dye my hair, cut it any way I wanted (I had a mohawk my freshman year of high school) and wear tons of gothy makeup. By the time I hit college, I got all that surface rebellion out of my system.

That's part of it, I would agree - I think another is instilling a set of reasonable values in them. That's probably the part that shows up gradually along the way (and is sooo rewarding ).

Piccies from Tivoli today:
http://picasaweb.google.dk/madseno42/TivoliJuly2009#
(the family ones not included)