billabong

Shame I live miles away, way up north. Would love to join you, if you're meeting up some time! Hm, not out of the question, now I think about it. Billabong

Like we don't snore or burp? And of course, in the summer, we 'merely glow'. Such delicate little fings we are.

That lemon and suet pudding is what I've heard called a Sussex Pond Pudding. It is good for keeping you upright when it's a windy day. Just make sure that your suet is not out of date; it tastes very nasty and rancid when it is. Patak's pastes were originally created for the Indian catering trade so you end up eating something that tastes almost as good as what's served up in your local Indian. I'm now sooooo hungry, slobber slobber. Talking of which, has anyone seen the latest 'Simon's Cats' cartoon? It's actually about a dog, this time - don't have the link but you'll get to it if you google 'Simon's sister's dog'. Too many puddings and you'll feel like the dog. Billabong

Well done Mumble! So even more people, not just some people, believe in you. You've always come across to me as exceptionally gifted and creative. Are you still bouncing and did you win the lottery? Billabong

Good for you! And I'll admit that I spent a l-o-n-g time adding my bit to the 'Borderline AS' thread as I really, really didn't want my comments to be taken the wrong way by anyone. Here's to openness and acceptance - if only I knew how to add the glass of wine icon.

Yes, think I got that, after a bit of brain-cell-stretching ! Billabong

splat

Sorry, I still haven't worked my way round multiple-quoting yet. Can I add my ten-penceworth as one of those 'wimmin' people? My own survey shows that 'most' women, on hearing about traits of a male partner diagnosed or undiagnosed AS, will respond "but all men are like that" rather than saying "so my partner must be affected by AS". I could interpret the former as 'so therefore no man has Asperger's syndrome', rather than that 99% of men 'fit' the criteria for Asperger's syndrome. I've only come across one woman who has truly recognised traits in her partner. By the way, finding out more and more about AS has made me much more appreciative and understanding of my husband - whatever he actually 'is' (bearing in mind he's set against going for diagnosis) and I'm more likely to attribute his better qualities to AS than not. Whilst a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing (don't let me go to car maintenance classes again), a goodly gathering of knowledge and wisdom from this forum and elsewhere dunnarf help. The downside of having a partner who recognises and accepts his AS-ness is that I get accused (usually with humourful irony) of being an illogical, emotional NT!!! Or was that nit-wit? Billabong

Just finished 'The Grandmothers', four novellas by Doris Lessing. Just started 'The Gathering' by Anne Enright. Just dipping into 'Freakonomics'.

canonball

That's great news re this last week and how things have improved for you both. Hooray! The relief must be enormous. Take care, Billabong

manure

Did I miss the forum party? Did anyone disgrace themselves by dancing on tables and getting outrageously drunk? Went to bed way before midnight, after finally catching up on the last mega-episode of 'Little Dorrit', and didn't wake up until after 3 a.m. So today I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as I metamorphosed into a squirrel overnight (I think that means I've become grown-up, ha ha). Happy New Year! Billabong

Thanks for latest posts re dog-walking. We stayed a couple of nights this week with friends who had a very, very cute Cocker/Springer Spaniel pup - I fell in love with it. Will ask around for dogs to be walked. We're planning on being adopted by young cats soon, which will also help. Re living abroad, Michele - I can empathise with you, been there, done that, even more lonely than 'up here' and stays that way for longer. I'm surprised you didn't fall off the stress ladder. Happy New Year! Billabong

Thank you! My part of County Durham is about 1h20m from Leeds, probably much less by train, so maybe I can get my act together and meet up some day. There was also 'talk' of a meet-up in York before Christmas for some forum members although it didn't go ahead. Maybe some of us newbies could join in? Billabong

Another 'wow' - good for you, Tally. It sounds as if what you are doing is for very good reasons and the changes you are making are well thought out. You'll probably get a few people telling you that you're mad but sometimes you've just got to do things for your own sanity. I left a job the other year and once I'd decided to hand in my notice, I wondered why I'd stuck with it so long when it was making me so miserable. Just making the decision can be enough to make you feel better. Take care and all the best, Billabong

Nothing's plenty good enough for me too. Had a kind of virtual partay last year. We had an invitation from neighbours who we didn't know at all but bravely went along. The doorbell wasn't answered, HOORAY!, so we sneaked (or snook?) off like naughty children and just went back home. Then phoned a friend who was in on her own, put partay music on in the background and had a very nice 5 minutes worth of partay down the phone-line. No canapaes though. I thought posh canapes came in tins, the little green things (not sprouts). I HATE NEW YEAR'S EVE . I am a grumpy old woman and do I care?

case

Ditto to every single bit of this. In some situations, and depending on who I'm talking (blubbing) to, if I have something difficult to say I can preface it with "I know I'm going to cry when I say this, it's just how I am". It seems to take away some of the anxiety about crying and makes me feel a teeny bit more in control ie the person I'm talking to has been warned and knows it's not (or not necessarily) their fault, and has also been warned that it's something I find difficult to talk about. This seems to make them more receptive. But, as I wrote, it does depend on who I'm talking to. Billabong (not AS but definitely differently wired)

Thank-you for that - I knew there was a reason why we were calling it the 'it' rather than 'eye-tee' crowd, just couldn't remember what the reason was. At least I could remember the question. Now I need to re-programme brain, having tried to get used to calling it the 'eye-tee' crowd over the last couple of weeks.

Custard (and it just had to be, after reading Warren's 'Custard' thread)

Mm-mmm! Are you able to cater for large numbers? Sounds like you might have to for next Christmas. Billabong

Can I sue you via this forum? I have fallen off my chair laughing and may have damaged my posterior. Actually, it's obvious, isn't it, that if you give Ben razorblades for breakfast, then he will be sharp-tongued. You have obviously been eating witabix for your breakfast and, as you can tell, my choice of cereal was cornflakes (very obviously just the bits at the bottom of the packet). Oh dear, I'd better go back to writing the jokes that go inside Christmas crackers. Billa the Bong

I'm so glad that Father Christmas managed to get on the early shift instead of leaving it until after he'd recovered from all of those mince pies and glasses of sherry. Sounds as if that news was as exciting as the present. Is it a Fisher-Price one and did it come with the batteries? Enjoy! Billabong

Happy Birthday! Billabong