The bumblebees gathered all the straw into a little heap to make their nest. I had never seen a bumblebee nest before. This is a rather unusual place to build it I think.If you want to know more about bumblebees and their nests check this in Wikipedia.
I am not a nice daughter My mother is a tough one. But you've guessed that already if you've read the post before this. She'd rather hold a potential bomb in her hands, or to be precise: let her granddaughter hold it in hér hands, than keep it in a bag so it could mess up some clothes. Uhuh
So, she is a tough one, 78 years young and very active: yoga, Nordic walking (she calls it Nordy Wokky), normal walking (she calls that 'wandelen' or 'lopen', but those are the Dutch words for walking so that is not funny) and she rides literally more than a thousand kilometres a year on her bike.
She never complains about the aches and pains she must have sometimes. I mean, we all suffer from something sometimes don't we? Or from something all the time. But never all the time from nothing. Please correct me if I'm wrong and you are superhuman.
So when she started mentioning the pain in her knee, we knew that her knee was really painful. She even went to her GP.
I called her to ask what the GP had said.
'I have an appointment in hospital for photos', she said. 'And he gave me painkillers. I could choose between normal Paracetamol (acetaminophen) or Paracetamol with cocaine, which is stronger, so I chose that.'
My mother is now taking her daily dose of cocaine.
She isn't really taking cocaine of course. In actual fact it's either Paracetamol with coffeine (also spelled as: cofeine or cafeine or caffeine; pick the one you like) or, Jinksy came up with another possibility, it could also be Paracetamol with Codeine which is more likely, however, I'm quite sure it isn't cocaine, but hey, wé are not going to tell her. Wé are having far too much fun.
And the photos showed osteoarthritis. So she needs a new knee. Thát is an operation that will be postponed forever I think. She'd rather take the cocaine tablets for the rest of her life.
Are you sure the tablets aren't Paracetamol and Codeine? A slightly stronger pill than paracetamol alone? Sympathy to Ma-with-a-painful-knee, though...
ReplyDeleteJinksy,
ReplyDeleteah yes, it could of course also be codeine (going to add that to the list, thanks). But I am quite sure it isn't cocaine ;-)
I have never even thought about how bumble bees breed.... but fascinating to read about them :)
ReplyDeleteCocaine - teehee.. although sorry she has a sore knee, although, I always knew all that exercise was bad for you.. see, she has worn out her knees...
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ReplyDeleteMy grandmother was not known to gush or to be fluffy. So, it was quite funny when (in hospital for an operation) she thought everything was very pink due to the morphine!
ReplyDeleteFi,
ReplyDeleteand there was I, thinking you knew everything about all animals ;-)
Clever things aren't they, those bumblebees. They are making a roof out of wax now, with straw on top. Amazing!
Mara,
yeah, morphine does strange things to your mind.
I know someone who saw all kinds of weird creatures coming out of the ceiling. She wasn't amused at all :-0
I'd rather see everything pink, although I'm not one of the fluffy ones either ;-)
I vote for paracetamol with codeine, too. I get them on prescription, called 'Co-codamol'. But paracetamol with cocaine sounds far more fun, doesn't it? LOL!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear she has a knee so bad it needs a replacement joint. If she wants to keep on with the Nordy Wokky and cycling, she's just going to have to kneel to the inevitable and have it done.
Sorry for the awful pun, I just couldn't resist. ;)
By the way, you mentioned that you liked that I included Data in ABC Wednesday this week? You should go find my 'How many Easter eggs' blog. You'll love it!
ReplyDeleteJay,
ReplyDelete'haha' on the pun ;-)
We will be keeping the Paracetamol with Cocaine in our vocabulary, along with her interpretations of dizzy (Disney), TomTom (tomtomtom), stressed (stretched) and of course the Nordy Wokky one.
We'll see if she's prepared to turn into the Bionic Woman one day.
I don't think I'd like those bees by my house!
ReplyDeleteI think "stretched" for "stressed" is perfectly appropriate.
ReplyDeleteMy guess, also, is that it is probably codeine. Cocaine (and similar, such as Procaine) are generally either applied directly to the affected area or (as with Novocain) injected. I don't recall ever hearing of a (legal) ingested form of cocaine. I should hasten to add that I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist; just someone with extensive use, in the distant past.
Carolina, your story-telling just cracks me up :D
ReplyDeleteMy guess was also codeine - but I COMPLETELY approve of letting your mother continue to think that she is taking cocaine every day. That is tooo funny.
I had never heard of bumblebee nests before! They are so interesting. Too bad about the crow :( I hope they build another one somewhere where you can see it.
Also, the list of labels on this post makes me laugh :)
ReplyDelete