My little menagerie

What did I do when the sun made a brief appearance?

Why naturally I arranged my lead animals

on the side of the bath

and took some pictures of them.

R.I.P January.

We are going to hear Mozart's Requiem tonight.

I already have tuba mirum on the brain.

Unconfined

At last. 

Blue skies, the sun

(and the wind) at our backs,

and tramping about all day 
in the wide open spaces.

It's very hard to see,

but if you look carefully, bottom left in silhouette,

you will see the quiff of a pink cheeked cockatiel,

perhaps regretting its bid for freedom.

Sleep lovely sleep

She slept till very late the next morning -

a lovely sleep, all the time she felt as if

she was sliding between glass and water.

The Rising Tide Molly Keane

Here's hoping.

A Winter's Morning

A sky like a dirty old slate. Trees untidy,

lead-coloured brushes against it. 

The air full of snow and rain and the hour full of

the absurd necessity of going out hunting.

At such a moment there is one thing impossible

and that is to see a summer's day.

White flowers in the evening seem the only terms

in which it can become remotely visible.

Say, stephanotis in darkness.

I stare at the garden and will myself to think
of strolling out there in sandals to sit on the swing seat,
(its canopy now sagging with snow),
to shelter from a blistering sun,
and worry a little about a hose pipe ban.
I cannot even picture the flowering tulips and alliums
which I know I have planted.
It isn't possible that this winter will ever end.

But every season is the same. Immutable.
I would not be able to see a winter's day
from my hammock under the apple tree.
Impossible to think of being inside 
with curtains drawn at 4 p.m.
 Molly Keane knew that too 
and that makes it seem more bearable.

The Rising Tide 1937

Blues

I'm looking forward to having 

some colour back again.

 Seems I've got freezing fog on the brain.

Need to get the blood flowing in my veins.

Snow trio

We came across this quite impressive

group of snow men and women

on a short foray out into the blue white evening.
They stood sentinel in a triangle
in an otherwise deserted field.

A walk on the beach

A walk on the beach is never dull. 

You never know what is going to show up. 

 This was a bit different. 

A coastguard helicopter

close enough to blow your hat off.

It was the annual training exercise 

for Lifeboat and Flight crews.

Even on a calm day

you could see how perilous this was

as they lowered crew members into the tiny lifeboat

and winched them back up again.

And in the bitter cold,

I felt profoundly grateful to the volunteers

who gave up their Sunday

to train to save lives at sea.

If You Are Subject To Brain Fag

Headaches

Insomnia

Nervous Exhaustion

Rheumatism

Anaemia

Stomach trouble

Kidney trouble

Acidosis

Heart Diseases

Chilblains

Eczema

Debility

Skin Diseases

After the most weakening Winter on record,

are you feeling generally run down?

If only we could all benefit from Soovy Health broth.

We could be fit and ready for Spring

by taking a delicious cup daily.

The impressive list of 15 vegetables has given me an idea.

Carrot, tomato, barley, pimento, spinach

garlic, watercress, orange, chilli, Irish moss,

(may have to ask Mise to send)

 onion, parsley, celery leaves, okra.

We can all make our own Savoury Soovy.

Let me know when you've tried it.

From Housewife 1940

Tax avoidance scheme 3

I'm knitting a cowl.

110 stitches in a honeycomb pattern

in the round.

It should look like this,

but I'm using the wrong sort of wool

because I don't have a very extensive stash

(one ball actually).

I also don't have stitch markers 

so the pattern already looks a bit skew

 and it's giving me a stiff neck.

But very cold weather is forecast 

and I need to be ready.

Floorentina

What shall we have for lunch?

Let's have pizza.

We could add some wilted spinach and an egg to a bought Margherita

and turn it into a nutritious Fiorentina.

Mmm. That's a brilliant idea.

And then if we're lucky the egg will fall 

through the middle of the pizza.

Yes, and while you scrape it off the floor of the oven

I will helpfully move the pizza closer to you

and flip it deftly onto the lino.

Pizza Floorentina.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil

and enjoy.

Displacement activity

Show me a woman washing candles

and I'll show you a woman

with a tax return to do.

Quiet time

Not from the garden of course, but I couldn't wait.

Delighted to see that my new knives make the perfect

fish scale impressions in mashed potato.

It might be Japanese,

or it might be YouTube.

Dim

The dimmer switch in the kitchen has broken.

The low energy light bulb was so feeble,

I have reverted to candle power.

Dazzling by comparison

and a very good use

for our shot glass

collection.

How not to look after a poinsettia

I received two Poinsettias this Christmas.

I think they may be having a comeback.

They are not the easiest plants to care for

and can quickly start to drop their leaves.

They require a draught-free position 

but window sills are often too draughty,

especially if the plant ends up behind the curtains at night.

Avoid temperatures under 55F. 

They require good light,

but must be kept away from direct sunlight. 

Overwatering quickly kills the plant

but if the surface of the soil dries out they should be 

watered thoroughly.

Stand the pot on pebbles and keep humid.

Trying to keep the plant from year to year usually results in failure.

Chucking it out onto a beach guarantees it.