Your story of how you ended up with Pooch is uncannily familiar Meles. It was the same with me back in the 1990s. I cautioned against getting a dog with the usual "a dog isn't just for Christmas" line but Mrs went ahead and got one anyway. And a Golden Retriever pup to boot. A cliche upon a cliche. Yet I ended up becoming the main dog-walker and poop scooper etc and loved every minute of it. It took about a year before the dog realised that she wasn't a human. At first she was petrified of other dogs even to the extent of once jumping onto the lap of a stranger sat on a park bench seeking salvation when another dog was coming along the path. But after she had become properly socialised with other dogs, she then went to the other extreme and would go tearing off at the faintest hint of any other dogs looking for them to say hello to, sniff, and flirt with etc. She was pedigree, however, and developed cancer so we only had her about 5 years.

Later we had a Kerry Blue (also female). A very elegant and ladylike dog whose abiding memory I have, is of her daintily skipping thru the bluebell woods in springtime. She was still being mistaken for a puppy even when 7 years old. It came as something of a surprise to me, therefore, to notice that some other dog-walkers were wary of her with regard to their own dogs. I hadn't realised that they had a reputation for aggression by dint of having been bred as fighting dogs in the past. And I suppose that male Kerry Blues can have impressively muscular haunches and be potentially intimidating for that. But our Meg was a pet lamb and very well behaved. Sadly she too developed cancer and only lived to about 7. If you're wanting a dog which neither malts nor smells, however, then the Kerry Blue is just the breed. The unique oils in the skin acts as a self-cleansing agent and although they occasionally need bathing, they almost never smell as such. Being a terrier, of course, also means that any rats you may have, once they realise who has moved in, will soon be seeking alternative accommodation themselves.

We (my husband and I) have never had a dog, though I was brought up on a farm and we had dogs there. I remember Kenny whose hair I was allowed to cut when the beautiful haircut I gave my sister aged about 9 wasn't fully appreciated by my father and grandmother. And then there was Tess, my dog, whom we got at a sale of farm animals held weekly in Invercargill. The owners saw my soft father and his daughters coming a mile off and would palm all the unwanted animals off onto us. And thus I got Tess. Fortunately she died when my father was in hospital dying of cancer; and at our clearing sale after he died our last dog, whose name I have forgotten, was sold for $5.00 (or was it still pounds in those days?).
Our son and dil and their two sons have just got a female labrador called Piper. We haven't seen her yet, and my husband, who originally fancied having a dog, is saying she will not be allowed inside our house. He has become very houseproud now that I am not able to do much around the house bar the dishes.

Your reference to cutting the dog's hair Caro has made me realise that I wrote 'malts' rather than moults. A dog that could malt would be a real asset to any bakery or brewery. After a spot of ratting in the morning, the hound could wash paws and then, after donning a hair net, start spreading out the barley in the afternoon.

I had always thought that Kerry Blue terriers, as well as working as general farm ratting/herding/guard dogs, were also often deliberately shorn to give a product somewhat like a sheep's fleece. Unlike most dogs but exactly like sheep, their hair grows continually and so they do have to be regularly shorn or at least regularly combed. I'm pretty sure that until the late 19th century in Ireland the hair/fur of Kerry Blues, having been shorn or combed out, was habitually spun into yarn and then eventually woven into cloth - exactly like sheep's wool - only it was of a much finer, more pliable and generally softer texture, such that at times was it was likened to real Cashmere.

Yes - incredibly soft hair. We'd get Meg professionally sheared once a year normally in March. We'd also trim her beard periodically as that could get messy. Once we were talked into clipping off her brow. Although it was great to be able to see her eyes clearly, we sort of thought that she lost her Kerry Blue image as a result. It also took about 2 years for them to grow back.

At last! A prolongued thunderstorm yesterday evening was followed by a night of sustained rain. It was probably very local and it'll need a lot more to make much of a difference, but it's the first real rain we've had in about three months. It was very welcome. 

My houshold water comes from a spring (shared with the neighbours) which has never been known to run dry, at least not in the memories of anyone that has lived here over the past century or so - which is probably why there's been a farm here since at least the middle ages. Nevertheless the spring has greatly diminished this summer: it's currently giving about 5 litres a minute, which is about half the amount from March (the last time I accurately measured it). This isn't a lot but with tanks to store it this is just about enough for the two properties, bearing in mind they have three summer apartments so between us we might have to supply water for twenty people. Thankfully I installed a second 1000 litre tank for my property in June while the neighbours put in an extra 500 litre tank on their side and have built a system to pump water direct from the adjacent river (which I assume they must treat in someway if they use it in the house). Meanwhile two other neighbouring properties have both had their springs run almost completely dry and even the village, which gets its water from several big springs, is starting to get concerned. And of course as we're surrounded by forest there's also fire to be worried about too, although the forest here is mostly broadleaf chestnut and oak rather than pine but it is still tinder dry. But at least this morning with the trees still dripping from the rain, that's not a problem and i can enjoy my Sunday morning cup of tea in peace and savour all those rich earthy smells that you only get just after it has rained onto baked earth.

Mind you, provided you can spare them enough water, it has been a brilliant year for tomatoes, aubergines, peppers and courgettes (it's time to make yet more ratatouille for the freezer). Such a difference from last year when I was struggling to get the tomatoes in particular to set and then ripen. And despite the drought even my potatoes gave a good crop this year, while surprisingly my French beans, which hate it if it's too wet, are struggling a bit and need regular watering (waste water from the dishwasher). But is it too dry to start thinking about planting winter crops such as cabbage, leeks and swede? I'll ponder on that while I have a second cup of tea and inspect the rest of the rather parched garden. Meanwhile it's already over 30°C and heading towards the upper 30s again, with no more rain forecast for today.

We're yet to get that unique smell of fresh rain on dry ground here. It's still hot and dry across much of the British Isles although rain and thunderstorms are predicted for parts of the north and west later today. The drought itself causes some plants to waft aromas which one often forgets about in the course of a normal year. Unlikely candidates such as privet hedges and gooseberry bushes start producing specific sweet smells which immediately take one back to baking-hot childhood summers.  

Talking about gooseberries - then, rather than a plague of ladybirds this heatwave, we've had an explosion in the number of hedgehogs. We've seen not 1 or 2 or 3 but 4 hedgehogs at the same time on some evenings. The other nite there was an awful racket outside which I can only describe as sounding like a magpie being murdered by an owl. But owls don't really attack magpies and corvids aren't even out at nite. So I took a torch to go out and investigate only to discover 2 hedgehogs at it between a couple of large earthenware flower pots. When I shone the torch on them the male took fright and shot off noisily up a gravel path at a rate of knots. I had no idea that they could move so fast. The female, however, just stayed there between the pots hissing angrily at me for having interrupted her pleasure and scaring off her beau. So I retreated back indoors. But the horrific sound made by hedgehogs mating is even worse than that of foxes doing the same if that's even possible.

I went to an outlying clinic today for an appointment for a bladder ultrasound.  I drank the amount of water I was told beforehand (2 litres) but the lady said my bladder wasn't full.  I said I'd followed instructions - she thought I might be dehydrated because of the intense heat we've had recently.  Today was a little cooler but it was still weather for short sleeves.  There was a miniscule amount of rain today  but not enough to make a difference though as Vizzer said thunderstorms are foretold locally.

Two litres of water! I was/am told to drink more, but I barely get through a third of a small bottle of water a day. I do have other drinks, like tea and coffee, 5 times a day. I will drink more water if it has some lemon or other flavouring in it. Sometimes with dinner I have a glass of wine, sometimes a soft drink, usually not fizzy.
Our weather today is getting to 18degrees C, about 66degrees F, if my calculation of doubling it and adding 30 is correct. Much the warmest is has been for several months, and hot enough for me to struggle out and sit in the sun.

I was told to drink that amount prior to the ultrasound, Caro. They need to do the ultrasound on a full bladder.  I don't know what went wrong yesterday so I can only presume the lady who did the test was correct and thought I had sweated the extra water off  or was dehydrated generally.  There are only two  buses (in the morning) past where I live since the bus timetables were re-arranged post-quarantine so if I go into town or the local shopping centre I usually have to walk some/all of the way and I have arrived home with a bright red face and a moist forehead after launderette or shopping outings in the hot spell.  I've been drinking a fair amount anyway with the heat we have had in the UK recently.  There is promise of rain and the sky is somewhat overclouded today (Tuesday 16.8.22) though it is still quite warm. We could do with rain to be honest.

I know that New Zealand's weather is topsy-turvy to the UK, so I assume you are edging into early spring now.  We are in the later part of summer though I believe September 21st is the official beginning of autumn.  The leaves are still green here (though some plants have become dry looking in the recent hot spell).

I hope that people living further south in the UK than myself - or in continental Europe - are faring okay if they had heavy rain yesterday.  Some clips of rain in London, Paris and Lyon showed what looked like severe floods.  We had rain in my part of central England yesterday (it was needed) but it didn't seem to come down so ferociously.

Isn't that smell called "petrichor"?

LadyinRetirement wrote:

We are in the later part of summer though I believe September 21st is the official beginning of autumn.

That would be the astronomical Autumn. The calendar Autumn begins on the 1st of September, while for many working in farming and forestry the first day of Autumn can be as early as the second week in August (i.e. the 8th of August). For instance, for some hunters and shooters the 12th of August marks the beginning of the season.

Am just recovering from a replacement job ... and not the first either. In fact, I am gradually being replaced by other materials bits and pieces, all over. Ain't science wonderful. My mouth still works but Arthur Ritus is making claims elsewhere. My garden looked like a bowl of cornflakes last week and one brief shower has done nothing for it. I do not understand why the heaps of my plums  picked for me by a friend should be so very, very good..... and with no liddle maggoty bits inside, either. This bar seems to have gone dry, too.

Uncertain that I ought, nevertheless, I am currently being tempted to have a go at Madeiras - I see even tesco does one of the Dukes? Are there others out there? It might be a change from port, - or so I thought meself.

Opinion here would be helpful.

Sercial and Verdelho - aperitifs, replacing fino / amontillado sherries. Sercial is the drier.
Boal & Malmsey  dessert wines, replacing ports. Do not swim in butts of Malmsey (highest sugar content. Often circulated widdershins to the port at Wardroom dinners).

Any of these are perfectly adapted to getting thoroughly ratarsed but avoid cooking versions - often seasoned with salt & pepper so even G Ramsey will only use in the recipe rather than imbibing.

I was going to mention how this afternoon I noticed a red leaf on the Virginia creeper which hangs down over the ivy which itself sprawls across a wall of the sunken garden. The first red leaf on that creeper is normally our confirmation of the beginning of autumn. It can sometimes start turning red as early as the middle of August, so the 8th of September is relatively late. But the 8th of September 2022 will now go down as more of a change of epochs rather than just a forgotten seasonal marker in the Vizzer household horticultural calendar.

About creepers, someone has allegedly sent me a package and I have been notified via a non-company mail that there's a little fee to be paid.
I haven't ordered anything to be delivered and the only one here who may have my adress is in case the Messages have been hacked.
The third possibility is a bot sending out countless mails to otherwise innocent receivers.

I'm rather irritated over such behavior from - perhaps - wann-be thieves, creeps!

Speaking of autumn, it is now the middle of spring here, and the talk is of kowhai (a NZ native with yellow flowers) - I see it is called our unofficial national flower. Yellow seems to be the colour of spring with daffodils flowering. And pink, the colour of cherry and apple blossoms, which line the streets where we live.

I've just opened a barrel of nepenthe. Help yourself, as needed.

Had a trip into Shropshire today to get some new pullets (our hens are approaching the point of "no more eggs" or even just "no more hen"). Went near a favourite location which I failed to tell Caro about when she was in Salop some years ago - Stokesay Castle (actually a fortified manor). It seems we will all get a chance to see it on the Big Screen - It's been used as the location for the adaptation of a popular historical fiction novel, Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman at Stokesay Castle near Craven Arms. (Actually due for release this month).

I thought we might have been to Stokesay Castle anyway, but there is nothing under My Documents that says anything about either Stokesay or Craven. So we can't have. It looks like the sort of place we would have liked - Malcolm likes castles and I love cemeteries, working out family relationships, and enjoying the names, and then wondering what they might have died of. One of the cemeteries in NZ that I visited once had a whole family who had died of TB or some other infectious illness - it was very sad to see all the children on the headstone. (As a PS my grandmother used to tell my sister and me not to tell any boyfriends there was TB in our family. As if they would have cared, or even realised what a scourge it was in earlier days.)

I hope it's okay to post this here - I do have my cup of "decaf" tea to hand.  I've been reading (and hearing people chat) about air-fryers being economical (economic?) to run.  My understanding is that they function something like an undersized convection heater.  I met up with some friends on Sunday and one lady said that because many people and their Great Aunt Maud (okay I'm paraphrasing) are investing in air fryers there is something of a delay in acquiring one.  I haven't asked about one personally but I've considered doing so because of the increase in electricity prices.  I wondered about the origin of the air fryer.  I found an online article which states that the basic idea of the air fryer has been about since the early 1900s, then in the 1940s a man called William L Maxson invented a machine called the Maxon Whirlwind Oven.  The article doesn't actually mention when the commercially viable air fryers in use today put in an appearance but I think it's relatively recently.  If anyone has more knowledge feel free to educate me.  https://www.familyguidecentral.com/who-invented-the-air-fryer-history-timeline-and-the-interesting-facts/

Incidentally I looked at the Technology and Human Invention sub-section of the site to see if there was anywhere I could mention the air fryer but none of the titles seemed to fit and I wasn't convinced the subject needed its own thread.

I'm not familiar with air-fryers LiR but (as part of an energy-saving drive) Jamie Oliver has started presenting a television cookery program which includes recipes using only a microwave oven. Apparently he prepared a vegetable curry that way. With autumn now beginning to feel like autumn (temperature-wise), Mrs V yesterday prepared a seasonal chilli con carne (using fatty ground beef) cooked on the hob and served with jacket potatoes which had been baked in the convection oven for 2 hours. No doubt they'll be a reckoning and we'll have to pay for this extravagance in due course.

Vizzer, you and Mrs V can cook and eat what you like and enjoy.  I'm a survivor of power cuts/strikes in the early 1970s so I'm thinking of the worst possible scenario.  I'm more worried not being able to cook at all than about the cost (though I do have to think about being cost-effective).  I'll probably collect some winter salad ingredients to have on standby - very boring I know.

Some are suggesting that 2023 could be as bad or even worse than 1973. That said – we had a power cut one evening about 15 years ago which lasted around 30-45 minutes. Even at that time (before smartphones and tablets etc) we were still suddenly at quite a loss despite the relatively short time of the outage. We had plenty of candles and battery-powered torches and lamps etc but simply no way of, say, boiling an electric kettle. One thing that episode did spur us onto doing was investing in a battery-operated radio.

For a winter salad we have plenty of parsley piert and wild garlic shoots. Indeed, the mild weather has meant that both are currently out in abundance as weeds. Another sign of the times, perhaps, is that the questions ‘can you eat raw turnips?’ and even ‘can you eat turnip leaves?’ have seen significant hits on search engines of late. 

Talking of mild weather, the cool spell of a fortnite ago now seems like a distant memory. No baked potatoes for us this week. This morning we even breakfasted outdoors. It’s Remembrance Sunday in mid-November yet the temperatures are more like August.

It's not too bad for the time of year regarding temperature here in mid-Staffs but not eating outdoors sort of weather.  In fact this morning (Mon 14 Nov) is overcast and a bit foggy.  I'm not very good at foraging and knowing what is safe and what isn't.  There has been some fungi growing on the lawn.  The chap who bought the next-door house at auction and did it up cleared the weeds and overgrown trees from the next-door garden and spread some topsoil over it, so I wonder if there were some spores in it.  Anyway, they could have been mushrooms or they could have been toadstools but I decided to play safe and assume they were toadstools and try and get rid of them - definitely not eat them.  There were some sunny periods yesterday and Saturday - I put a few washed clothes on the line but they didn't dry much even though there was a breeze.

Regarding Vizzer's power cuts I am very concerned that we might have a power cut in the evening. I am very reliant for light to do the little walking I can with a stick. I walk to the bedroom, but if it was dark I would be lost. Probably my husband would wheel me in my chair carrying a torch, but even so going to the toilet and getting into bed would be difficult.

Oh, I'm sorry about that, Caro.  I suppose if it is your spring you aren't getting the very long summer nights yet.  In the UK when we have British Summer Time in June it stays light till nearly 10 o'clock pm but I suppose the days where you are, although lighter than winter aren't really long yet.  It's quite topsy-turvy to New Zealand here now that it's mid-November.  It was still quite dark at a bit after 7 a.m. today because although it was technically daylight there was quite a heavy shower and of course it's cloudy.

I've bought a terracotta appliance.  You are supposed to be able to light tea-lights under it and it will give off some heat.  Of course one would have to be careful about safety - put a tin tray or something under it in case the tea-lights burn right down.  There is somewhere to stand the tea-lights but I'd want to be extra careful.


Edit: 'stays light' instead of 'stays late' and 'really long' instead of 'really light' and of course in summer it's daylight which is longer rather than night.

For many years abroad - over 20, anyway, power breaks with/without warning were a constant feature of our hottest days and nights when A/C's were all on the go. We had several plug in lamp like torches that came on when the power went off and  which recharged when power came on. I've not seen any about here - a gap in the market for someone - and of course a real boon. I even had a couple of fancier ones that had  a fan, a radio and midge killer incorporated. Wish I had brought them here now!

And while I am site, just a word to say how interesting it is to look over old topics filled with such interesting stuff.... the maps for instance. So thank you, the last of the few, for bringing them to life again.

Common feature of computer rooms, torches like that. The computers are typically connected to UPS  (uniterruptible power supply) batteries, but not the lights. Regular tests need to be run or in accordance with Murphy's Lemma, the equipment will not fail but the "failsafe" arrangements will do so. The only time I actually  needed to use the standby torch, someone had switched the socket off and the internal batteries were,as only to be expected, flat.

addendum : Just about managed with the light on my mobile phone

We have a camping gaz stove and a hibachi, which, coupled with our camping kettle and mess tins, could insulate us from short-term power cut starvation.

re turnip tops :

While shepherds watched their turnip tops
All boilin' in the pot
A lump of soot came tumblin dahn
And spoilt the blinkin' lot

Alternately : "An angel of the Lord came down
and scoffed the blooming lot"

I've only heard the version:-

"While shepherds washed their socks by night
All seated round the tub
The angel of the Lord came down
And gave them all a rub"

My late mother was a primary school teacher and had once had a boy in her class who she was convinced thought that the shepherds washing socks was the authentic version of the hymn.

Further alternative for that
"While shepherds washed their socks by night
All seated on the ground
A bar of Sunlight soap came down
And soapsuds flew around"

Still further alternative

Subject: Re: The Tumbleweed Suite   Today at 10:02 am
Further alternative for that "While shepherds washed their socks by night And watched the ITV The angel of the Lord came down and switched to BBC"

Nielsen, one of the primary schools in my hometown had alternative words to the theme tune of the 1950s 'Robin Hood' children's series.

The original was:-

"Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the glen
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, with his band of men
Feared by the bad
Loved by the good
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.".

The children's version was:-

"Robin Hood, Robin Hood, riding through the house,
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, on his clockwork mouse,
Loved by the ITV
Feared by the BBC
Robin Hood, Robin Hood, Robin Hood.".

When I was in my early to mid-teens in the heyday of the Beatles there were some skits on Christmas carols involving the Beatles though I've forgotten most of them.  There was one based on "God rest ye merry, Gentlemen", which opened "God rest ye merry, Merseymen" but that's all I can remember.

There was a parody of "We Three Kings" which went:-

"We four Beatles of Liverpool are,
John in a taxi, Paul in a car,
George on a scooter, papping his hooter,
Following Ringo Starr.".

I envy you your hibachi GG. The oriental equivalent of the Rayburn. But please do say that you intend using it (or the camping stove) outdoors or at least in a garden room. Gas risk!

Sticking with the orient, then if anyone doesn't fancy eating raw turnips this winter then now (end of November) is the time to start prepping kimchi. LiR if you're going to make a batch then please could you spare a jar for the Tumbleweed Suite. The pickled gannets are running low. The winter of 2022-3 could well go down in history as being the 'beer and pickles winter'. Gas risk!

Vizzer, re yours "..,The winter of 2022-3 could well go down in history as being the 'beer and pickles winter,' ..." 
In this neck of the woods I've observed a person occasionally wearing a t-shirt with the words, 'I fart'. 
In Danish - of course - this mean someone referring to himself as moving at some speed, here relevant as he is the user of a mobility scooter. 
I shouldn't dream of suggesting that the wearer of this garment, is aware of any possible double entendre.
If possible I shall attempt to get a picture of this elderly man, and edit it in here as a splendid example of someone showing a meaning of the newish Danish word 'samfundssind'.

MM, the pickled olives I have aren't diy - I bought them in a supermarket.  I have watched a couple of videos about making vinegar (quite a few preppers on YouTube it seems). I've thought about having a go at making a vinegar with some of the surplus apples from the tree in the back garden this summer.  Most of them I have cooked and frozen but there are a few still that I need to find a use for.  Whether I will make any (or should I say will attempt) vinegar remains to be seen.

LadyinRetirement wrote:

I bought them in a supermarket.

Mrs V reports that Waitrose and Marks & Spencer etc are retailing ‘raw kimchi’ and ‘raw garlic and dill sauerkraut’. I’m not sure what the difference is between raw fermented cabbage and just fermented cabbage, but these products are being sold from chilled cabinets – i.e. refrigerate before opening. This strikes me as defeating the whole point of preserving ingredients by fermenting or pickling them. That said, the products of the Vadasz family from Kent (originally coming to Britain from Hungary following the uprising of 1956) come highly recommended:

How one refugee family put pickles into our palates

Vadasz pickles and ferments

I like the sound of the simple pickle made from lettuce, lemon juice, sugar and salt which his grandmother made. And the dill pickle sounds like it would just be perfect with Cheddar or Cheshire.

The only pickling I've done in my life is slicing onions and marinating them in sugar and vinegar.  Done that way they are meant to be eaten fairly soon after making. I maybe could make some proper (long-term) pickles if I put my mind to it (and followed the recipe).

Anyway, I seem to remember Temperance saying that she watched The Crown. I had a card today from one of my cousins saying that her son had had a part as an extra in said series.  He plays a Canadian soldier but has his back to the camera so won't be becoming famous from that show.  I didn't even know he had a sideline as an extra.  Mind you they live in Yorkshire so I don't see them all that often.

Well there might be terrible cold and snow storms in North America and Japan, but here I've been surprised at how mild it's been of late. Yesterday the caterpillers of the pine processionary moth were already coming out of their winter nests high up in the trees and forming up in the characteristic nose-to-tail lines as they go in search of fresh pine trees to munch on ... they usually do this in late March or April. The trouble is, if all the caterpillars are emerging now, what are the tits and other birds going to feed their young in Spring?



There were also lizards about on the south-facing wall of the house, including an old friend, Stumpy, who lost most of his tail in an altercation with one of the cats back in 2021 when he was a lot smaller. He lives in a hole in the wall and I regularly see him in summer, but it's late December!



Meanwhile I've a rhododendron bush coming into bloom and there are violets flowering but surprisingly no sign yet of any daffodils or even snowdrops. Truly the seasons are mixed up.

Just popping on the site to wish everyone a happy new year for 2023.  MM, seeing as you have been having a mild spell weatherwise, it's mild here at present and a bit of sun is peeping through though I don't know if it will last.  Yesterday was very rainy.  I went out first thing to go to the launderette and got soaked and had to change pretty well my entire outfit when I got back home.

It's certainly mixed-up, topsy-turvy weather. We've gone from -2°C in the week before Christmas to 12°C this first week of January. Warm evening winds which feel more like the 12th of May than Twelfth Night. Consequently it was difficult to know what to drink but a bottle of Pinot Grigio won out in the end.

Warm enough here to have had the veg plot dug over and composted - to grow what I have no idea. Being used to tropical gardening as I am it is of no use really because one does not actually grow much veg in the hot weather apart from things that look and taste like loofahs - and probably are loofahs come to that. I my Christmas stocking someone had put many seed pkts for some reason...must have bee on discount somewhere. I mean do I look like some one who grows fields of cauliflowers? No one is owning up to this character assassination

I have some seeds that I could pot indoors for starters - salad veg and some cat mint (in separate packets obviously).  I also have some seeds that are supposed to be bee-friendly.

I'm a bit limited as to what I can do at present.  I jarred my back last month bringing my elderly cat home from the vet's and have to be careful with bending and stooping. Thank goodness that Tesco offers to deliver groceries.   The neglected  housework will still be there when (hopefully) my back rights itself.  At the moment I'm taking a few minutes to have a cup of hot chocolate and spend a few minutes on Res Historica.

Renewal and signs of spring. ... Ah!In the tropics I missed spring flowers - grew all else and managed to get it all on flower by Feb24th. That was the date of the local Flower and garden shows - to the day yep! And the entire range of flowering stuff on full bloom - but not  spring bulbs. So I have somewhat over done it in those. Last summer's drought and health circumstances ment much was dried out and did not survive but have been delighted to see that although late snowdrops coming through. 
Seeing the first one was enough to wash away all the miseries that would beset one if  allowed. Other stuff is coming through... it is really all about survival - everything.... even just to recorded the fleeting moment in all forms of the arts.... survival... continuation....repeat. And that includes grandsons dodging the hard graft just as I once did....mm.... ain't life interesting.

I'm certainly feeling renewed. Just back from a surprise trip Mrs V booked to a delightful spa hotel looking out across the sea to the Hebrides. The Malin meteorological sea area was cold but bright and there were exhilarating walks taken in the bracing air beside the crashing surf. It was also lovely to look out across the waves at night and see the various lighthouses winking in the distance while we were warm and cosy indoors with wine and spirits. We're still embracing the Winter but certainly ready for Spring.

I need renewal, Vizzer, though my back is a bit better than yesterday though still not 100%.

I'm not sure if this was the thread where we were discussing preserving fruits etc.  I'm thinking about having a go at making fruit (still have a few apples left that I didn't preserve) vinegar but the instructions said to use dechlorinated water.  My scientific fellow Res Historians - will just boiling tap water get rid of the chlorine or would I need one of those filters you can buy? I could collect rain water I suppose but that will probably still need filtering.

Well, I've just treated myself to a gin and orange (though to be fair I put some water in it also).  I've finished the gin bottle (which was a small size) now.  I managed to get my cat groomed on Saturday but the fur on her back had become matted and tangled and had to be shaved so she looks a bit like she has the 'lion cut' now. When I asked the lady who does the grooming what would be sensible intervals to keep on top of the cat's problems (she's  (the cat that is) got feline arthritis it transpires so difficult for her to groom part of her back) she suggested 8 - 10 weeks.  The fur will grow back of course.  Did I say I lost my walking stick?  I've found it again, thank goodness.

I have some crocuses (croci?) coming through now - and some dandelions!!!

I had a go at doing some 'Bosnian crochet' (crochet using the slip stitch) but I would say I made a pig's breakfast of it only that would be insulting to members of the swine family.  I was using yarn that had been knitted and then unwound so I need to get some fresh wool (fresh yarn of some type anyhow).  I managed to knit a dishcloth so I'm feeling slightly less useless than I did after the Bosnian crochet debacle.  I know dishcloths are boring but at least they can be used in a practical way.

The meteorologists are saying there might be snow next week.  Mind you a little while ago they were saying THIS week might see snow in the UK. Still the week isn't over.  I'm not going to dismiss what the meteorologists say and will try to be cautious.  A few years ago we had the 'Beast From the East' in March (I remember because it was around St Patrick's Day which is my birthday) so it can be wintry in March; indeed Antonia White wrote about Frost in May.

Well since crocus is a greek word (krokos), originally, I suspect the original plural was krokous. The Latin most likely should be crocoses. Bit like octopuses/octopi/octopedes, best treat it as an english word imo.