weepingfoxfury

[weepingfoxfury]

Monday, Monday, Monday ...

After the sweltering weekend … (during which the one and only marble withdrew not only to his hammock, but then left the cranium altogether! I'm telling you, the cranial window was thrown wide open and all post it notes were scattered and origamified) … I think I just about have it together.

Fermata was also just about holding onto things. He managed to sit with me and have his noms but, after that, it was all too much and off he went to sit by himself, stare out into middle distance (of course he wasn’t sizing up the birds) and contemplate life, the Universe and killing small things (No! No! I already said he wasn’t looking at the birds… although it could equally have been the rats as I keep finding headless ones in the middle of the driveway … though that’s probably Killer Queen Lady Clemence’s handiwork ;-))

Anyway, back to all the this, that and the others that I was going to talk about.

Although … hang on a minute … (furrows brow, counts fingers and toes) … yep, yep, I think everything is present and correct, so let’s carry on ……..

I used to go The Journal to get my snippets of Irish news … however, they’re pretty quiet on the things that matter these days. You see, I began to wonder how come all the usual articles relating to our illustrious leaders had somehow magically meandered off … and then, I discovered the (ahem) delights of extra.ie. So, now I have a low budget cousin of the Daily Mail to keep me up to date with such fun headlines as “Hiss-teria in Cork after snake found slithering through street” … “Sketchy behaviour: Gardai not fooled by ‘pencil and crayon’ insurance disc” … and “Ryan Tubridy: Our trip to Wimbledon was in 30C heat so my Pimm’s was practical”

(puts head in hands … bangs it on table)

At least I spotted the headline regarding October’s budget … which means I now know that there’ll be no giveaways. No assistance for any of us. Those poor poly-tic-ians are obviously in need of another pay rise and bunging a few readies in the direction of the ‘vultures’ that pray on the Emerald Isle’s population from the shadows. And then, having read through that cheery little article, I noticed the one regarding the Dublin drug running and the ‘motherships’ that drop off the ‘sweeties.’ I confess, that all I could think of by then, was ‘A mothership you say? A mothership? A spaceship mothership? Something I can get onto in order to get off the globe?’

Ach well … I can dream. ;-)

Time to sign off. One day my (mother)ship will come! Until then, it’s breakfast ahoy … then building a trebuchet … and, if all goes well, I’ll be hefting humongous cabbages in the general direction of the generals and knocking some sense into their brain free noggins ;-D ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday ...

22 to 23 degrees already ... phew!!! And it's only 9.20am. It had hit 20 degrees by 8am. Top temperature today could be as much as 30 degrees ... and it'll still be in the 20s by 11pm. Another sweaty, sleepless night awaits.

I went outside with the full intention of photographing something else entirely ... and then ... then ... I realised that the Hosta that I've been watching for days and days and days, finally decided to burst into bloom overnight. This is the first Hosta I've ever had and I ended up with due to it having hitched a ride in the same pot as the plant I originally bought (and yes, due to the usual me being very distracted, the plant I originally bought died and I can't even remember what it was.) Still, this is glorious!!! I'm delighted with it!!! :-) The dogs have made several attempts to kybosh the poor thing with their usual must get between the wheelie bins to chase after shrews ... but, so far (fingers crossed), the plant has prevailed.

Originally, I was going to photograph a little house shaped frame that I've got grass growing in. However, this proved pretty pointless as the grass obscures the frame ... unless, of course, you would like to see a picture of some grass? ;-) The idea was that, there would be the picture of the funky grass inside the little metal house, and I was going to ramble on about me and my penchant for watching property programmes. Not because I have any intention of moving (no chocolate buttons available in my treasure chest for that kind of shenanigans), but because I like people watching and I like travelling without having to pack a suitcase.

Yesterday, without having to leave my kitchen table and chair, I travelled to Dorset, Bulgaria and Madeira. They look at 3 properties in some of the programmes and 5 in the others and (naturally, with all my no monies) I have to decide which one I would buy. The people being shown around the properties rarely buy any of the ones they are shown ... and I think it would be far more fun if the whole thing was that they had to choose one of them. The one in Madeira was huge and needed lots doing to it ... but oh, the view of the sea! I'll pack by virtual bags immediately! Mind you ... (ponders) ... these programmes are from around 10 years ago, so I might just surprise the people already living in them. ;-D Sometimes the programme finishes with them saying that the person is getting surveys done and is thinking about a certain property ... and then that's it, the credits start rolling, and I never know how it all ended. Did they? Didn't they? I will never know ... (sigh) ... and (ridiculously) I'd really like to know whether they did or they didn't.

Ach well ... time for breakfast. Best to cook it before the temperature gets to the point of beyond being able to face having any other heat in the house. And, would you believe it, I've still not found a pair of shorts to wear. So, I'm still in long ones. Although ... summat narsty bit my left leg, twice, yesterday ... this has meant that I've had to roll that trouser leg up to stop the material rubbing against the bites. With this kind of 'fashion' statement, I'm beginning to feel as though I've joined the Masons. Somebody call Inspector Morse cos it's 'always the bloody Masons' according to him. ;-D ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday ...

"We're having a heatwave ... a tropical heatwave ... the temperature's rising ... it isn't surprising ..."

Hiding out at home today and hoping to get a cake made before the worst of the heat hits today. Got off lightly yesterday as the afternoon heat that had been promised never transpired. So glad that there are as many trees as there are clustered around the cottage ... somewhere for both this hooman and all other critters to be able to get into some shadows.

I sat with Fermata yesterday whilst he ate his noms. I stared at all the different insects and bits of undergrowth. The pictures aren't the greatest, but I wanted a little something to remind me of the sycamore seed that had landed and hung itself from one of the clovewort (geum urbanum) plants. I love that little loop of a stem that is curled around part of the plant. So many shapes, so many different shades of green. No wonder this place is called the Emerald Isle.

Been trying not to fret (especially as it won't happen until September) ... but, the local electricity people will be coming to carry out some tree surgery. Some of the branches are just too close to the cables now ... and, with recent events, and the amount of trees that have either gone down completely or lost branches which have hit the cables, I can understand why it needs to be done. Doesn't stop me worrying that the little idyll that I live in will be damaged. I have visions of big cherry pickers marauding all over everything and ending up losing large parts of the canopy. My neighbours says they'll be more sympathetic and less gung ho than that ... but it doesn't help allay my fears. Ho hum.

'I talk to the trees ... that's why they took me away' ;-D I'll talk to anything, living or not. Strange looks aplenty from any and all people I end up anywhere near. Mind you, from a study that was done by the Royal Horticultural Society, it proved that plants do indeed grow faster when talked to ... and that they grow more quickly when it's a female voice. It didn't seem to matter what was said to the plants (good or bad), but it definitely made a difference as the control group (where no-one spoke to the plants at all) just didn't fare as well.

Hmmmmm ... gives me food for thought. Whatever the 'tree surgeon' people do, I'll certainly be talking to all the trees before, during and after. Apparently stuff from Charles Darwin worked pretty well during the experiment ... but, I might just go for a combination of Agatha Christie and Spike Milligan. After all, what could go wrong? ;-D ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday ...

Sometimes, you just get a weensy bit mesmerised by a little red geranium. :-)

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday did indeed happen. Tuesdayville and the whole topsy turvy carried on in fine form as I raced around getting all the menagerie fed ... and then, set up all the food that everyone would normally get late afternoon, waited an hour and served that up too. Many, many confused faces! ;-D Is this going to happen every day? Are we gonna get extras? They're all going to be sooooo disappointed today. Ho hum. ;-)

That place that I went yesterday? The one with the many beds and patients? Well, that went pretty well. Nothing has dropped off ... no extra injections were given ... and I'll now wait for the x-ray appointment letter. I did admittedly start nodding off whilst waiting to be seen ... but thankfully didn't slumber so hard that I tumbled off the chair. Plus, instead of the usual curmudgeonly consultant, I was treated to his rather nice and empathetic Reg (trainee Doctor dude). If only they could keep that one in the Department ... (sigh) ... but next year it'll be another trainee and, whilst there have been some really good ones over the years, there have been some right 'blueberries' too.

The really 'fun' part was when I got back to the old charabanc. My friend had kindly sat with Biggest Dog whilst I was gone and, in the interim, the already really, really full car park had turned into a ridiculous park your car anywhere you like fest. Mine being quite a long vehicle and a little fun to park at the best of times, well, she becomes super fun to try to get out of the already tiny spaces once a van parks at the back ... not in a space, but up on the little curb where you're not supposed to park. Who the hell decided we were playing sardines!?! Had I not had my friend with me ... and, as it turned out, a wonderfully kind Polish lady ... I would never have made it out of that space. My friend guided me at the back ... and the Polish lady at the front ... and after what seemed like a million point turn, I was free!!! Whoopee!!! Dear Polish lady, whoever you were, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

So ... by the time I dropped my friend off and returned home to the usual canine and feline clamouring ... my poor one and only marble declared the day to be something that required much hammock relaxation. End result was me standing in the garden gazing at the geranium as the sunlight dappled on it. Very, very soothing. Figured I'd share 18 seconds worth of my marble in park mode with you. ;-)

Ach well ... breakfast is calling, as is the shiny metropolis and the magical middle aisle. Wish me luck ... make my cabbage a large one ... and here's to today's parking being sardine free! ;-D ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Monday, Monday, Monday ...

Hints of sunshine, but only if you're quick enough to swizzle round in your seat and catch a glimpse of them before 50 shades comes back into play. I've heard the daily misery minutes ... looked at cute bunnies to take away the taste ... and am seriously hoping the whole flavour of the day improves.

The shiny metropolis insists on my being present tomorrow. You may well wonder why. Well, it's one of those Airplane moments ... where the crowd says 'Why? What is it?' ... and Leslie Nielsen leaps out with a cry of "It's a big building with patients, but that's not important right now.' ;-D A yearly check up to make sure nothing has dropped off ... and, even though I only go for this particular appointment once a year, somehow I'm still peeved because of the amount of time it takes up.

I can picture it all now. Me with my book (that I won't read because I can't concentrate in that environment ... but I'll take a book anyway). I can see the vending machine that's next to the toilets. Hmmmm ... I wonder if the options will have changed? I always ponder about where it's situated ... I mean, are you supposed to make a selection to take with you because you might get stuck in there and it's always good to have supplies? Or ... should you remain optimistic, and make the choice once you get out because you're so relieved that, on this occasion, you didn't get locked in?

Then there's the ticket machine. And no matter how many times I go there, there are still people that don't understand the system, don't read the big information sign and hang around hopefully near the reception desk until they're finally redirected back to get a ticket. I always think to myself that it's one thing kind of feeling like a piece of meat sitting there waiting to be prodded and poked when its your turn ... and entirely another to have to get a ticket from a machine that is exactly the same as the supermarket butcher's counter.

Many years back I was friends with the son of the gentleman who designed that ticket machine. Never met the man, just went in his house, sat with his son and a few others and had a few drinks whilst we watched their very thorough Saluki gain purchase via the sofa so that she could spend an inordinate amount of time cleaning her rear end. No matter how much time I spent there, I would always have left before she'd finished. I feel the Guinness Book of Records should be informed.

Ach well ... time to move ... breakfast etc, etc, etc ........ (pauses) ... (contemplates chandelier pic) ......... I often wonder whose house that once hung in ... I can picture it hanging and my mind goes back once more to War of the Roses (not surprised at all to find they're doing a remake) ... and then I smile to myself, cos to re-enact a certain scene, the actors would have to be Lilliputian in size ;-) ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday ...

No sign of any sunshine yet and it took me a wee while to crawl out from beneath the duvet. I'm upright ... just about decided on which way is truly up ... and still wishing pain, lots of pain and a damn good fonging (as per A Knight's Tale) on the 'blessed' little insect that decided to bite and take blood from beneath one of my fingernails. Always fun to wake up to an extremely itchy, swollen and throbbing finger and wonder first of all 'why???' ... and secondly, if mebbe the dream about aliens really did happen, and they really did take a blood sample ... (ponders) ... in which case, could they please improve their technique!!! ;-D

It's 3 hours of easy listening on the radio ... although, anyone that considers the current track of Filippa Giordano's warbling to be easy listening, is on a vastly different plane to myself. Clears the ear wax, exercises the brow furrows and makes me blink a lot (typically I can't find the name of the most excruciating track she performs.) Pretty sure that particular track could be sold as some kind of aid to a facial workout. ;-)

As you can see, the latest little plant (Cranesbill Geranium) has thrown its hat into the chandelier arena, and is trying its luck at setting up home. I wish it luck and a longer life than the sycamore seed. My other (previously indoor) Geranium seems to be pretty happy with its outside life and is blooming nicely. It was ejected (as you may remember) from the lounge due to both Mr B getting overly amorous with it and the mice considering it a delicacy. Heaven help it once the colder weather comes and I have to move it back indoors.

Mentioning the chandelier has put me in mind of an old favourite film of mine, War of the Roses. Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a warring couple, and boy does it get out of hand! ;-D If only I knew where my copy of it was (and yes, it's in a box, somewhere in this house) I'd park myself in front of it this afternoon. If you haven't seen it and you're fond of a little dark humour, then it's a good un. :-) The one thing I will never forget from it is ........ don't have the fish! ;-D

Time for breakfast!!! I'm off now, leaving this page to the strains of Getting To Know You sung by Marni Nixon (she dubbed for Deborah Kerr, King and I) ... another fave film :-) So many films, so little time ... no wonder I still think it's a good idea to have the sensor on my gravestone that triggers a film each time someone passes ... gotta have something to do on the other side ;-) ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday ...

Having wondered outside with my hot drink to properly gauge the weather that I'd already looked at through my kitchen window (important to do this, as seemingly looking through the window just isn't enough ;-)) ... I pondered (briefly) what picture I might put up today. Seconds passed ... the wind blew a little harder ... I mused further ... and then, something shot past my face and landed on top of the old kennel.

Picture taken (and now posted), I wandered back into the kitchen and flumped at the table. One and only marble is pretty much in park mode today. Yesterday's Scrabble game lasted for 4 hours. Yep ... 4 hours!?! 4 hours of putting tiles on the board, hesitating and then taking them off again ... perusal of 3 different dictionaries (one of which is so big it could give the Sumo book a run for its money) ... looking up words on the internet to see if they might just exist and are simply not in the dictionaries to hand ... plus the usual (fairly futile) attempts to explain the point and purpose of politicians.

It was all both fun and fatiguing. :-) I may just about know which way is up by Monday. ;-D

Since then I've discovered a site that details all the other ways you can play Scrabble. 16 other ways! Naturally, I sent the link to my friend. She was delighted ... told me I'd created a monster ... and that she was busy thinking of ways to strategise the board and maximise points. "We'll play again soon", she said. "I think I'll need a hard hat to hold my marble in", I said.

At least I'm a better loser than I used to be. When I was little, I spent a lot of time in my bedroom 'thinking about what I'd done.' ;-) Many boards were upturned and overturned back then ... but I refrained from such behaviour yesterday. In theory because I've grown up a bit ... in reality, probably because the dogs would eat the tiles. ;-D

Time for breakfast now, and then I'll be heading up the road for the Groundhog Day TV Guide and the kitty litter newspaper, because today really is Saturday, Saturday, Saturday ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Friday, Friday, Friday ...

I've been labouring under the misapprehension that today is Saturday, Saturday, Saturday. I got up earlier than usual (6.30am) as Smallest Dog insisted it was toilet time already (usually she hangs on until 7.30am). I put on a different radio station and, in my head, was already thinking about heading up to the garage for the usual Groundhog Day TV Guide and whatever else I might need. I did all the usual things I usually do with Mr B ... his litter tray, lots of cuddling and grooming ... and headed back to the kitchen for a wee sit down with a banana and a hot drink.

It was only at that point that it registered that today is definitely Friday, Friday, Friday ........ so, I changed the radio station. There was Mr Marty, already an hour into his ramblings ... and there was Mickey Bubbles (Michael Buble) bubbling away and singing about having not met me yet. I'm beginning to think I haven't met me yet either! ;-D So weird when you realise that your internal calendar is busy working away 24 hours further on from the rest of you.

Whilst in the lounge, I noticed a couple of the boxes and the state of the labels. You see, when Mr B moved into the lounge, I had to box up a lot of stuff. Cats being cats ... and especially male cats being male cats ... anything and everything is fair game both as a play thing and something to make territory on. (I have a very fun and special spray that combats his efforts). Anyway ... as you know, the mice are also occupants of the cottage. And, without really thinking about it, I was using a combination of cat litters ... wood pellets, recycled paper twists and corn crumbles. A good combination ... or, so I thought. I think you can guess where I'm going with this. Mice + corn crumbles = buffet!!! My litter layout had put up a banner and some flags and streamers and said 'Come on in! The more the merrier!' ;-D

Needless to say, the corn crumbles are no more.

Still, as I knelt next to one of Mr B's litter trays this morning, it was then that I noticed the redesigning of one of the labels. Just one of those moments where you look up and think 'Huh? When did that happen?'

At least, since its now just wood pellets and paper twists, a lot of the mice have buggered off. The ones that remain in situ I think are feeling reasonably safe. Mr B does dispatch one or two of the weeny ones ... but, for the most part, I think he just watches them. Maybe they put on little mouse plays for him? Perhaps, they're running creative courses (a la Bob Ross) ... making happy little munched into shape signs (my fortune is obviously made, I mean, look at the artistic endeavours ... they'll be going on Ebay any day now!) ;-D

So ... now I've confirmed beyond doubt that today is Friday, Friday, Friday ... I'd best shift myself and have breakfast, see to the rest of the menagerie and then grab my Scrabble board and dictionary so I can head across the road. Fingers crossed the one and only marble is feeling cooperative and I manage more than two letter words ... and, if not, then praps I'll take a leaf out of the books of the mice and just reshape the little tiles. Surely I'll get points for that? ;-) ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday ...

Another sunny morning ... the Philarmonic Orchestra from somewhere or other was just playing some seemingly random and jarring notes ... and I'm sitting here contemplating today's foray into the shiny metropolis. I'm looking forward to tomorrow when I don't have to get into the car to get where I'm going ... just hop across the road to my neighbour for the game of Scrabble we've been promising one another for months. Howzat for a racy kinda life? ;-)

The magical middle aisle was jam packed with all sorts of stuff yesterday. Lots of 'Back to School' stuff (of course). I stopped to look at the pens (you can never have too many), but came to the conclusion that 1. who the hell decided a pen should be that skinny? and 2. I'd like to meet the person who designed them and watch them try and successfully use one. They looked like they'd snap within seconds. Ended up with more ring bound scribbly books and also picked up a pack of multi coloured pens to take to the vets - they can never find any pens and I figured a rainbow assortment of colours might amuse them. ;-D

The magical middle aisle people have also decided to jump on the Dubai chocolate bandwagon. So ... being the good little consumer that I am (rolls eyes at self), I grabbed a Dubai chocolate gooey looking muffin and some confection called Pishmanya Angel Curls. Once back at the car, where Biggest Dog was eagerly awaiting her cheesey savoury pastry, I presented my shopping friend with her Dubai treats. The muffin was declared fantabulous and yes she'd definitely eat another one ... and the peculiar looking chocolate (with something purporting to be pink candyfloss in the middle of it) was also declared nom nom nommy and would be happily received on another occasion.

Once home, and after all the menagerie were fed, Smallest Dog and I pottered up to the end of the enclosed garden ... she to sniff and follow trails ... and me to check out 'what's new.' And all I could think was 'Wow!' when I saw how much the brambles have increased over my rickety, rusty old garden bench. It's not like you can sit on the bench anyway (even a lightweight like me might cause its frame consternation) ... and now you'd need a hardhat to avoid having your noggin given some unexpected and randomly directed acupuncture. Who knows where such a treatment might lead your mind. Hitchcock's 'Vertigo' popped into my head ... the opening credits ... and I sat smiling to myself as I combined those kind of images with the magic middle aisle. What a film that would make! ;-D

Now ........ I think you can guess where I'm headed ... and yes, porridge will definitely be involved. Here's hoping that my day will be big and beautiful but without the kind of bill that'll result in the supermarket giving me the 'bum's rush.' ;-) I think that's quite enough wordplay for now ... so, this is me, becoming a little dot in the distance as I wander off into the nearish, vagueish, distantish ... kinda like Pale Rider but with floppy slippers and a complete lack of poncho ...

[weepingfoxfury]

🔳... middle managment meeting ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday ...

A sunny morning ... Van Mimble is mimbling away like a good 'un on the radio ... and I'm admiring my finally flowering lupin and honeysuckle. The slugs were intent on eating every last leaf of the lupin, but it has prevailed. As to the honeysuckle ... it's huge! It covers most of the wall and, left to its own devices, it wends and winds its way through every other plant ... so I have to keep following it and disentangling it and trying to send it up and over the wall. Flowers are very dinky compared to the hedgerow variety ... but I think my resident bees are still quite happy with it.

Tis a shiny metropolis day. Biggest Dog will get super excited (as always) once she realises where we're headed. Fingers crossed the 'temporary' repair on the car continues to hold. No doubt the magical middle aisle will offer up all sorts of temptations, but today (like most days now) will be a day of walking firmly on. Other than, of course, taking a few photos of the most 'unusual' or 'exciting' items. I have a habit of sending those photos to a friend of mine as she doesn't have that particular shop near her. It's fun to look at the stuff and declare all the things we would buy because obviously we desperately need things like a kayak (or two), miniature bouncy castle and a trampoline swing. ;-D

And now for porridge ... cos time's a ticking ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday ... yet another topsy turvy Tuesday in Tuesdayville ...

Yesterday was muggy as hell ... sweat in every crack and crevice. Then suddenly, enough rainfall to be considered a mini monsoon. I was super impressed that my sad and sagging guttering held up and I didn't end up with the all too often mini river flowing into the kitchen. Had there been any ducks hanging around, they'd have demanded a bigger boat!

Today is so much cooler. Today I'm back to three layers instead of one. Old Frank is crooning away on the radio "down and down I go, round and round I go ... under that old black magic called love."

I'm always impressed with spider webs that they can withstand as much pressure as they do. The strength of the silk is amazing. I often wonder what it must be like to have heavy rainfall hit your home when you're only the size of a pea. I felt small enough as the rain battered on the roof, walls and windows and drowned out the sound of the programme I was watching.

I had a bath yesterday and kept a watchful eye as the not harvester spiders hung from every possible nook and cranny. They love water. They regularly set up their homes under the spout of the taps. I regularly move them. They promptly move back. As I lie in the water, it can be like having a little long legged army approach. Up and over the roll top of the bath en masse. I have to move fast to repel them. To push them to safety ... only to have them, Sisyphus style, come back at me.

I'm fascinated by them. The long, long legs that reach out and twirl a little, tasting the air and looking for movement. They don't care what they eat. Dead or alive, it's a tasty morsel and they get on with it. I like having such numbers of them in the house ... they're good for dispatching woodworm larvae and beetles. Plus, when Mr Snippy takes it into his doggy head to snap at and dispatch a fly, I can present the soggy remains to one of these arachnid assassins and they'll instantly set to, sucking the liquidy goodness out of the corpse. They'll also eat their neighbours ... I've watched before as they begin to throw themselves around at a perceived threat, only to realise that, if they're quick enough, they'll be the one dining out on old Cyril that had set up home just that little bit too close.

I often wonder what it would be like to have a bath out in the rain. When I first moved into the cottage and there was no plumbing for the bathroom, I bought myself the biggest tub I could find in the garden centre and had lukewarm baths in it outside ... just never in the rain. I'm probably romanticising the idea, but I'd still like to try it.

Ach well ... time to vamoosle. Gotta make a cake today ... probably apple and apricot. I love apricots. The flavour of a baked apricot is as close as I can get to the tang that I used to love from thick cut marmalade. Not that I appreciated the chunks of orange when I was little. I spent my time carefully picking them out ... slathering my toast with the wonderful dark coloured, orangey preserve ... and then I'd put all those orange pieces back into the jar. My mother would roar each time she discovered my efforts. ;-D

Aaaaaaaaaaand now I really must go ... I must, I must. Porridge ahoy! ...

[weepingfoxfury]

[weepingfoxfury]

Monday, Monday, Monday ...

Good morrow, good morrow and I hope that all of thee are fayring well. Something like that anyway. ;-) This is what comes of looking up plants (I both blame and thank @amphibium for setting me off on this path today ;-D) and finding the medieval medicinal options for them. Apparently, the Geum Urbanum (colewort) from the other day could be boiled in wine and made into a cordial to be used against the plague. They did love their 'worts' as 'cures' for a variety of ailments. I guess, if nothing else (considering what happened with the plague), such things at least added yet another flavour to their wines and that sounds pretty tasty to me. You may aswell go out of life as happy and inebriated as possible if the plague has afflicted you ;-)

Pottered about a bit more yesterday and came across the inevitable sycamore seeds. They're everywhere!!! Conditions are obviously proving totally tickety boo for them. I've never seen so many manage to plant themselves and get going. I'm having to pull a lot of them up (unfortunately) because, much as I'd like to just let them go for it, I get the feeling that my little cottage wouldn't survive the process. Although (ponders), were they to grow fast enough (as per some of the films I've watched) then I could wake one morning to find myself up above the clouds with a gentleman called Jack. Let's just hope the phrase 'Fee Fi Fo Fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman' can't be heard at that point! ;-D

Was also delighted to catch the (mock) Orange Blossom before all the blooms disappeared. The aroma is delicious! I forget which year it turned up, but I've been enjoying the scent for at least the past 5. I had such a plant in a previous house and was very sad, after the place was sold, to see it had been cut down. All the plants at the front of that house were decimated so the driveway could be widened. :-( C'est la vie, I guess. That house was wonderful. A Spanish lady had previously owned it and the garden was amazing. Tulips as far as the eye could see when I moved in ... and then my dogs ate them!?! ;-D

My other fond memory of that house is of making a friend jump whilst I checked out the loft. I'd already convinced her that the former owner had probably done away with her husband (naughty me, such mischief). She was steadying the ladder for me ... and as I got halfway through the hatch, I shone the torch around and said to her "Well, there's some rolled up carpet up here ... I'm going to investigate" ... "Be bloody careful!" she shouted after me. I crawled into the loft ... left it a few seconds and then screamed. Then I went quiet. "What is it? What is it? Are you alright???" called my friend. And then, extremely naughty me (having found a large old doll up there), I dangled it's head out of the hatch. Oh how my friend screamed and oh how I giggled. I have a terrible sense of humour ;-D but she forgave me.

Enough remembrances, it's time for breakfast again and this, that and a whole pile of the other to get on with. So ... onwards, upwards and I may just work out which way window we'll be going through today ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Lee Dong Wook, Korean hyperrealistic sculptor

[weepingfoxfury]

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday ...

Always fun pottering round the garden and thinking to yourself 'Ooh, little plant (another unknown) ... I photographed you a wee while ago and look how big you're getting!' :-) The piece of guttering should, in theory, be more in an up position rather than the current down ... but, there you go, it's been down for quite some time and best intentions haven't yet caused a reverse in gravity. Ho hum.

So far I've managed some stretchy exercises to get things in some kind of mobile state ... given double time simultaneous cuddles to Biggest Dog and Mr B (my largest black and white cat) (I'm trying to get them to be friends) ... and given a modicum of attention to the 'misery minutes' that have played out on the radio.

I find it most interesting at the moment that the Irish news on the radio doesn't correlate to what's being reported on the online news. If it wasn't for the radio news, I wouldn't know half of what the current bods in charge are doing ... or, in this case, not doing. I mean, these are people who love nothing more than a photo op. You know the ones ... look at my big hands, look at the practiced serious expression on my face, listen to the catchy soundbite. This has to be the most shifty and shambolic iteration yet ... still giving out that everything is the fault of the opposition.

Anyway ... today's cake related icing came in the form of several housing projects being cancelled because 'they'll cost too much'. (The amount my eyes are rolling and the heavy sighs that are happening, you'd think I'd found some new kind of breathing exercise.) Homelessness is at an all time high ... a certain hospital's building costs are now heading toward the 3 billion mark (5K alone was spent on figuring out what to name it ... unsurprisingly, it'll be called exactly the same name that it's been referred to all along) ... and don't even get me started on the next salary rise that this little shower will gift themselves when the next budget is announced. (Oh, and a quick nod to the 700K spent on a bike shelter.)

I'm blinking lots at this point and very carefully easing myself off the soapbox. Can't monopolize that little box too much, or any short arse celebrities currently on the Emerald Isle will be shouting out that I'm holding up their filming schedule. ;-)

Things just occasionally steam my cockles and I feel the need to let everyone (including the shellfish intolerant) know what's going on in me noggin. Perhaps I should take a leaf out of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's recent book?

Time to get some noms ... stomach is rumbling pretty hard at this point. I'll leave this page with a final ponderance ........ I'm thinking about the people whose life scribblings end up being discovered in a skip ... could this be what will happen to my many handwritten journals? Will someone decide to skip surf and plod all over me profundities? After all, a posthumous recognition is better than no recognition at all ... isn't it? (ponders further) ... or maybe me little books will just prove useful for propping up someone's delightfully over-painted and wobbly table ;-D ...

[weepingfoxfury]

Saturday, Saturday, Saturday ...

I've often wondered where those little spiky seeds came from. Every time the cats have appeared with a wealth of them layered through their fur ... every time I have patiently sat and picked all those little hooked seeds out ... all that looking around the garden to no avail ... and, finally, now I know. Not that I'm any the wiser as to what the plant's name is, but at least I now know what it looks like. :-)

Edit: apparently the plant is Geum Urbanum. Thank you @amphibium for letting me know :-)

Today's weather is wet and muggy. Sweaty and sticky the order of the day. I'm sitting here with my morning banana ... the radio is wending its (seemingly interminable) way through a wealth of adverts ... and I am gazing happily up at the aerial wire that now dangles from the ceiling. For ages that little wire was curled around the usual dust laden objects on the shelves and the reception was good ... and then, something changed. Soooo much static creeping through and obliterating each programme. So ... as you do ... I took hold of the aerial wire and stood on a step ladder in various positions in the kitchen. Then ... having worked out the perfect spot ... I attached some thread to the wire and, with the aid of a drawing pin, secured the thread to the ceiling sweet spot. Oh the bliss of being able to listen to the radio again without it sounding as though there were a million and one munch monsters rampaging through, eating all the words/music.

I shall eventually head up the road to get the usual Groundhog Day TV Guide and cat litter newspaper. But this trip will not be just your average there and back. This trip is also to test out a temporary repair that my friend kindly did yesterday, because the cable for the fuel pressure regulator had decided to give up the ghost and disconnect itself. All manner of things will be kept crossed (which should make driving interesting) that the repair will hold and I'll be able to get to the garage during next week to see if the nice mechanics can do a proper repair.

Ach well ... the world still turns and burns and my breakfast is calling. That and, of course, I've got to set up the bed for smallest dog. Wow is she moulting!?! Unbelievable!!! I've got one of those swishy things (naturally I cannot for the life of me remember the proper name for it) that you run across the material and it picks up all the fluff and, by the time I've done the smallest of areas, it looks like some kind of less than palatable candyfloss. (ponders) ... hmmmmm ... there must be some kind of market for that kind of thing. Pre-filled material fluff picky uppy swishy things, saves you the job and looks real purty from the get go. Yes? No? Answers on a postcard? Or back to the drawing board? ;-) ...