The orange/satsuma/clementine at
the bottom of the Christmas stocking!!

Close up of flowers, with sun shining on them, bright blue sky behind. The flowers are deep orange and deepest red-pink.

Flowers in Paris this August

Ah, bollocks....the racist roundabout epidemic has infected my little corner of the world....(also racist zebra crossings apparently)... dickheads

<<squawk of happiness>>
This was SO good! Thoughtful, empowering, informed, witty, snarky and funny. Gah! Had a tear in my eye at the start, a raised fist in the middle and a contented, wry smile by the end! 'Mazin (speaking of ... Theseus/Ariadne on list?)

In UK so not overly familiar ....does he ever actually finish a sentence..? Every thought kind of segues into another one before it's done. Trump does this too, but all his thoughts are evil/batshit/evil batshit. These ones they're going somew...can you imagine if they went some...cos these guys....

I think I might have owned this jumper....in 1980-something???

It’s a cold, dank, grey day in London, but there are moments of joy. I love these little drops of water clinging to the moss, each one holding the light from the sky.

Aaaaah! It was, I'm pretty sure, "Mel" by Liz Berry! www.amazon.co.uk/Mel-Liz-Berr...

Oh, the relief! That's that brainworm silenced!

That's a good one. Tomorrow's another day etc. just cos your kid has had a tricky day, doesn't mean you're a rubbish parent (or that teacher thinks you are...)

Dislike: When I'm spoken to as if I'm also a 13yo who has done something wrong - appreciate it if teacher has taken a second or 2 to switch modes a bit

Like: When offered hope/options for actions. Helps steady my anxious brain which starts swirling as soon as I see school is calling.

Been wracking brain and Google for name of a book I read as a tween/teen in late 80s/early 90s with no luck. Girls mum is ill/dead. Girl sorts out and decorates house, with free stuff. Poss dodgy r'ship with a teacher, but not sure on that...
??

Chickens got into a tizzy, made a fuss and did some shouting but were ultimately unclear on their motivation....yep 😁

Chicken #2 is doing the tell-all voiceover

Between Ian Dunt's sort-your-shit-out New Years substack and Quiet Riot's latest pod with the concept of "preferred futures"... it's all getting a bit inspirational!
bsky.app/profile/quie...

He has made some chamomile tea....

FINALLY watching Star Trek:Picard over the last few weeks and the knuckle-biting "squeeee" level just reached "Worf appears wielding a bat'leth" levels 😬

“What about Sunday?”
“You've already had it.”
“We've had one, yes. What about second Sunday?”

Does that chap have a cephalopod on his head? Or is it a jaunty cap?

Hurrah!

Wondering if there is a @mooseallain.bsky.social advent colouring thing this year...cos I remember them existing in the past

OK, let's do some MORE hot #buyastrangerabook action.

It's #buyastrangerabook day.

And @voiceinthetent.bsky.social is offering to buy someone the book of their choice, up to £20!

Any book, not just the books on my website.

So, if you're based in the UK & there's a book you'd like, get in touch!

More Lidl gyozas
than anyone needs (or likes)

Good point! 💪

It's not as bad as could be.You can still get into the garden and see the terraces, the lawn etc. Couple of the trees look more bindweed/bramble than tree...but that's just loopy stems I can cathartically hack at 😁

I did get on top of the bindweed once. Spent all year pulling every single tiny bindweedlet i saw, and fishing for snapped roots etc. But tune your back for a minute and it's back with a vengeance!!

Thanks. Was wondering if I'd just be getting cold and muddy only to have to do it all again in Spring anyway.1 terrace at a time sounds sensible! Thick gloves +woolly hat+ hot coffee...the next not-bucketing-down weekend.

Poorly phrased sorry! 1 level has slates (instead of gravel)....we don't have broken slates all over a lawn!

Soil is...loamy. Def not clay or chalk.
It's terraced with stone retaining walls (snails and slugs galore) and steps. 4 levels. 1 level is a deck, 2 lawns, 1 covered in broken slates. Width varies but roughly 8m? 3 levels maybe 2.5-3m deep, smallest is about 1.5m.

Tiny, white, paper houses arranged on a black mantlepiece shelf with small white Christmas lights amongst them. The house each have a small black number on them. They are all different styles, some have doors that fold open, some have windows cut out. There are 2 or 3 green papers trees dotted about too.

Made this little paper house advent for my son back in 2016. One or two houses appeared each night until Christmas eve. I loved this particular rod for my own back!

Aaaand now it's been added to a wish list.... It's only a matter of time before I give in 😁