Dear Sherlock,
I have a bit more fortitude than you, in that I am not “done” after 3 hours on a pub crawl…however, being in Las Vegas for a certified training course coupled with late nights has me running on empty. After a week of less than 4 hours sleep a night, I’m not coherent enough for a full letter. I am not done for another week though.
I haven’t forgotten about you, but I’m going to write you a proper letter when I get home
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
Has spring sprung in England? Or is it summer? I always say that where I live, one week it’s winter and the next it’s summer. I always seem to be travelling during the week that the seasons change. It’s changed and summer feels like it’s here and I’ve been trying to “get out more”.
Do you ever feel you’re too locked up at Baker Street and do you feel the need to just be out in nature?
I’m not a huge nature lover, but I did get some plants (herbs) on sale and have decided to grow something this summer. I may have gone a bit overboard, but hey, a sale plus some good weather made me think I could do this (cue mental vision of Rosie the riveter). But I’ll make a confession – I do not have a green thumb. The running joke is that I have the black thumb of death. Why you ask? I’ve managed to kill all plants I’ve ever owned, including ivy. Ivy’s technically a weed and is pretty close to indestructible, but I have managed to kill it.
I know you do well with body parts, but how are you with plants?
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
Sorry for the delay in writing…did you even notice?
I went to Chicago on a mini visit and I am not an art buff but at the Art Institute as I walked around I was shocked at how much art I knew. Does that even happen to you? You know much more about a subject than you thought? I would be walking down the hallway and immediately think “I know this!” and wander around the room and lo and behold there would be a group of paintings I knew. I don’t know if it’s that I know more than I do, or that the collection there is really good. It was better than the Louvre in my opinion. But I’m biased, as I didn’t like the crowd at the Louvre…so my opinion is tainted with other things.
I never went to any art museums in London. Are there any worth visiting?
Do you like art?
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
A friend of mine (not the pregnant one) just welcomed their daughter into the world last weekend. I guess I’m getting to that age range. It’s no longer engagements and weddings, it’s children and divorces (I’ll get back to the latter some other time).
But do you like babies? I am pretty…indifferent towards them. I don’t really have any strong opinions. I hate that society expects me to gush and fawn over them though. I do it because it’s easier than dealing with the fallout of being stand off-ish. I know I shouldn’t care what other people think. But it still happens.
Anyways, what I have noticed, is that biologically they say women in their thirties are more sensitive to the sound of crying babies and it’s so true. They sound so shrill now – and I’ve been seated next to quite a few on a lot of the flights I’ve been taking. I don’t remember this from when I was younger. I think it’s a big part of why the travel is wearing on me. (I’m in the mid-west this weekend).
Is there an equivalent biological change for men? What’s going to happen to you when John and Mary’s baby arrives?
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
Do you cook? Like really cook – not just making toast and tea.
I have been in a “home cooking” kind of mood and it’s a lot more work than I had anticipated. I have been making things that I’ve eaten during my childhood, not realizing it took so long. I guess it makes sense, as typically it was things that were started early in the day but not ready til dinner. It has been taking up a lot of my time, but the results (in my opinion) are so worth it. Have you ever had cravings for very specific things? Like your mum’s roast, or something nostalgic? I don’t think that you can keep living off the kindness of people repaying you! Do you ever pay for meals when you go out?
Anyways, I think that my cooking is the best, because everything is tailored to my palate. I guess that can be said of anything.
For example, your coat is the best one out there, as it has been bespoke for you. (I love that coat by the way.)
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
In the last few weeks and in the weeks to come, I’ve been traveling. Mainly family related so not really “fun” travel, but travel nonetheless. Because the travel has been to different locations, I’ve been hearing a lot of comments about “settling down” and how it must be nice to be able to travel so much. When you pick up and go, does Mycroft give you any grief? (I imagine not). Do your parents? (I imagine some!)
I’m leaving yet again today to the West Coast, for two days. When I sat down to write, I had a crazy flashback to this TV show, “The Littlest Hobo”. Have you ever heard of it? It’s actually Canadian, but I saw it growing up in the Caribbean. It’s about a dog, that travels to different small towns, helping those in need and (often) solving mysteries. The line, “Maybe tomorrow I’ll want to settle down” is really what prompted this letter.
As I watched the video, I thought he would be a great sidekick for you. He probably would have helped you figure out that it was just a dog in Dartmoor earlier, instead of following up on morse code. 😉
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
Will you retire? Are you making retirement plans? How does a “consulting detective” save for retirement? I’m don’t know the details but do you have to personally fund a 401K or RRSP type fund?
I think this is definitely a sign that you’re maturing – when you start worrying about these things. I just ask because I have a feeling you have a very detailed strategy to get you where you want to be and I’ll take any pointers.
But when you retire, and you aren’t doing cases all the time, what will you do? Will you pick up any new hobbies other than investigating what happens to body parts over time or examining what different types of ash look like?
I want to…farm. In a small way. I always dreamed of having chickens. For eggs. And a cow. And a few vegetables out back.
Have you ever considered beekeeping? I think you might like it.
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
What formula did you use to calculate the optimal blood alcohol level over time for John’s bachelor party? Did you know that John pulled a fast one on you and spiked the beers with shots? I’d be interested in knowing how much I’d have to drink exactly over time. It’s pretty much hit or miss and as much as percentage of alcohol is supposed to matter, all beverages are not created equal.
Is it the sugar content? The fizziness? The tannins (wine)? What are all the possible paramters that can affect a person? I just know I feel very different depending on what I drink and it would be a very cool experiment to see if I could replicate the same “thing” different ways. I also took a bartending course and they go through the physiological changes after, but nothing about the before. I actually ended up getting my bartending certificate…but I haven’t worked in a restaurant in ages or been behind a bar since I got it. Just in front. But I haven’t ended up sleeping on any stairs.
Did you party much in University? it seems to be a North American right of passage, but is it like that in London too?
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
How do you deal with people thinking your deductions are “spooky”?
I was out with a coworker last night and we ran into a guy she obviously had a previous relationship with. Body language, reception, invitation to meet up later… I just figured he was one of the two people I knew of her past. There was only one of those two that was an office worker as this one was dressed.
She was shocked I knew. It didn’t help that she didn’t remember telling me about him when she was drunk a while back and the fact that I would remember two years later, but still. The shock the next day was still there.
Just because you’re observant doesn’t make you spooky right?
I need a John who can appreciate and thinks this skill is brilliant! How is he doing?
xoxo
AC
Dear Sherlock,
Do you ever dwell on the past? The coulda woulda shoulda’s that have gone by?
I’m not sure what prompted it but I’m doing so right now. I think I finally have a regret. I am confused by it. I’ve never had a regret before and it’s a lot more unsettling than I would have guessed.
I wasn’t strong enough to be the person that went against everyone’s opinion to have what I wanted. Well go after what I wanted. Things seem so insurmountable when you’re young yet so trivial now as an adult. But this is about a boy. Aren’t all these stories of regret and confusion and waffling on the sidewalk about relationships? I wish I could have known you when I was younger and I’d use your science of deductions skills on him. I just couldn’t read him then (well come to think of it, I can’t really now). It’s not that I can go back and change things but you know, I’ve been wondering a lot of about the what if’s. This is regret isn’t it?
Do you regret how things ended with Irene? How’s she doing by the way?
xoxo
AC
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