southern42

For those like me who knew not of this... ' morning all from red dragon land. Overcast. Pine cone pundits speak of rain later. Now on volcano watch. They say it is already larger and faster forming than the two previous ones, a year, and two years, ago. There will be a number of people, globally, posting on YouTube but the one I followed from the beginning has started to post already, so I will go with him. There is lot of enjoyment in the background. Things to get done, today. So off to start with that mugadecaf. Take care. Be good. Be adventurous.

' night all and nos da. ....Just picked up a large spider from the kitchen floor, took it to the door and let it go off into the night.

Somebody mentioned fireworks. I have been waiting for some for a few days after seeing the news that an imminent eruption near Reykjavik was likely. I can get my Reykjavik Grapevine volcano Sweatshirt and T-shirt out again! From RÚV The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. "ERUPTION BEGINS. After days of quakes, an eruption has begun." Darren Adam https://www.ruv.is/english/2023-07-05-eruption-begins-387050 RÚV The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service. Eruption area LIVE Time for a mugadecaf while I catch up on the news.

I had been doing it for quite awhile. My guess was the water for the yeast was not hot enough, or too hot even. Everything else was as usual. I agree on the money saving bit and it does eat into time I could be better using for such things as a spot of muddling! The loaves are smaller, too, so I would be doing it more often if I had to make my own to cover the whole week. It may come to it, but maybe when its cold outside and I need warming up!

Got those but the last two loaves I made sank - no idea why. I just have not got round to trying again. I keep saying: <<I must!>>

Heavily fruited and spiced up bread pudding in the oven...

They don't need encouraging here!

Bread story. Tess Coe's stopped making the granary bread which I liked. So, we ordered my preferred bread from our local branch of a Wrexham bakery. Two weekends ago, they closed up shop, our nearest branch now in Llandudno. Now we've ended up getting the bread which is, currently, back in store at Tess Coe's BUT worse than the former loaves - bland, weird smell and taste. Most local bakeries are not making anything other than cakes because they cannot compete with the cheaper prices of the big stores. If they do make bread it is generally for the industry (hotels, cafes, and the like) and not for sale in their shops. Hence the number of cake shops around, here...BUT I want a decent loaf, not cakes, for my marmite on toast. 🥺

Mr Suvvern announced there was a rat in the middle of the garden... though I don't think our hoover will clear this up.

' morning all from red dragon land. Chuckinitdarn - all day reckon the pine cone pundits. ☔ 🙁 Some jobs and tooting on the flute to do. Mugadecaf first, methinks. Take care. Be good. Stay dry. Polly

On the weather front, no thunderstorms and the only drops of water that fell from the sky were not enough to quench the thirst of Chicken Licken, let alone water the plants. And the ground quickly dried up in the sunshine a few minutes later. I only noticed because I happened to be carrying out some household waste to the recycle bin at the time. Although drops of the stuff landed on me, I hardly got wet at all. On the music front, I am identifying some differences within the next lot of twiddly bits for the flute song. With the video slowed down to 1/4 speed (in old money, 0.25 in new), variations within the notes and fingering became a whole lot clearer. What I like best is seeing how both are used to create, bend and blend the notes, then finding I can do it myself. It will take many repetitions to get it all worked out and seamless but I will get there - I keep telling myself. 🤞 🙂 On the shut-eye front, it is night all and nos da.

' morning all from red dragon land. Sunny and breezy. Thunderstorms and showers this afternoon according to the pine cone pundits. Some more jobs on the to do list to do but I am struggling a bit this morning. I blame it on the pollen. A mugadecaf should sort me out, at least the get up and go huffin-n-puffin side of me, anyway. There is always the second half of the flute video to watch...er...slow down! I re-watched the first part of it the other day to check on an earlier 4-note sequence I had altered, thinking I had got it wrong, and found I had got it right the first time - such is the lack of confidence in my own perception, sometimes. Mugadecaf long overdue... Take care. Be good. Make a start...

' evening all from red dragon land. Breezy outside again. Wondering when it will die out so I can get the potted jasmine out to give it a haircut prune - lots of dead leaves and flower heads and untamed new growth. So many things to do, I made a list for today, and got one and a bit of them done, though I did get several others, not on the list, ticked off so, that was a bonus. Pine cone predictors reckon on thunderstorms for tomorrow. So long as they leave the electricity supply alone I should manage to get the rest done, though a few other things need doing, come to think of it! Big courageous step forward this evening. I watched the video showing the next lot of twiddly bits to add to the new flute song. The first few look straight forward enough, it is what comes after that makes the brain cells go doolally but I will give it a go - one note at a time! ...Recovery from blank screen Just had a mugacocoa while the MacBook recharged enough to re log on, meaning it is beddy-byes time. Night all and nos da. Polly

Happy Birthday @petethemole

' morning all from red dragon land. Sunny - and breezy. More washing to go out. Radio 5 Live is on for The Ashes.... Enjoy @Barry O Booing has begun, I hear. Not good. Things to do. Take care. Be good. Make some good choices. Polly

‘ night all and nos da.

We, in these parts, have a very well known loyal doggy protects Master's baby from big bad wolf story. Long ago, and found in other countries, some versions with other animals, the legend and its origins reach out to some fellow ERs including @iL Dottore (look for Switzerland) and @polybear (you will know when you come to it!) in the article below. https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/e6f11332-ae6f-3364-96a4-1af14401369b#:~:text=But%2C sadly%2C the story of,the story is slightly different. Have I been to the story's location? Of course. It is a favourite stop on the Welsh Highland Railway, between Caernarfon and Porthmadog, for lunch, ice-cream and a pleasant walk.

' afternoon all from red dragon land. Sunny. Better than the forecast which gave dark clouds and a bit of the wet stuff. Washing outside. <<BIG GRIN :D >> For a change, I watched "TImeshift" on iPlayer, last night, as it was on the internal combustion engine as ended up in the container ship. Of more interest, also having an interest in things that move on parallel bits of metal, was the appearance of the Deltic and Barrowhill Roundhouse. The clip of the shunting engine at Barrowhill brought back memories of a cab ride I had, which seems like moons ago, in an 08 which was shunting a set of carriages alongside the platform on the Watercress Line. The nice gentleman driver had noticed us from a previous day's visit and asked us aboard. I had been eyeing up the state of it, purely for weathering purposes for its li'l sister back home! Little did I know, then, that I would be shunting carriages, albeit smaller ones, at the Museum a few years later. Still, due care and attention is required, nonetheless. More toot on the flute undergone before I progress onto the next part of the song - preparing myself for the next big leap. Just had two mugsadecaf, fancy another.... I'll be off, then! Take care. Be good. Be ready for a challenge.

' morning all from red dragon land. Raining! Looks like the sun, without showers attached, will not be out until this evening. A good colourful sunset to be expected, maybe. But before that, I was up early so Mr Suvvern could get the car out to the garage for its MOT. Apart from the daily chore jobs, I can look forward to some blasting of the pipe aka toot on the flute. One tricky bit was resolved yesterday evening with umpteen goes at it - co-ordinating the left hand fingers then blending in with the right hand fingers in time with the beat. Putting it like that takes me back to my piano and guitar days. Eternal issue, then. 😂 😇 Early mugadecaf, now, to wake me up. 🥱 Take care. Be good. Keep at it - Dal ati. Polly

' evening all from red dragon land. A lot of tooting on the flute, this afternoon, to this sort of thing : https://youtu.be/yKiaO3OK-xE Just a repeated short rhythmic pattern. All I need. I started with the new song but concentrated on the first two lines with their rapid twiddly bits. Then I tried it out on one of the exercises playing it at different speeds. Double time was ok. Double that needs some work! I tell you one, thing, it sure shows up where your timing is off! Mugadecaf time. Looks like there is nothing on the box that I want to watch tonight so I may get a chance to do some catching up on here. Polly

Popped onto the web to to play the tuning/beat video to hold my hand accompany me while playing the flute, and ended up here instead. OOPs! Back later...

' afternoon all from red dragon land. Dithering day. Probably due to Will it rain? Shall I put washing out? syndrome. So far, the washing is in the porch. At least, it is getting some sun and some of the breeze. I had an early lunch but I have only got as far as reading posts on here, since. If I start with a mugadecaf - 💡that sounds a good idea 💡- maybe, I will get the beat box going and see where it takes me. Then it will be mustering up some enthusiasm for doing the bathroom. 🥴 Take care. Be good. At least, try...

' afternoon (just) all from red dragon land. Do I detect a drying up of the wet stuff? I have washing to get dry. A mid-afternoon appointment in town, yesterday, put the mockers on attending another more friendly affair. <<big sigh>> These things happen, I suppose. <<I'll geroverrit!>> Flute catch up in the evening as TV viewing was not up to much and, anyway, I was restless and needed to do something other than slouch sit on the sofa. Well, I have started something, now... I had two half hour sessions playing the same two lines of the new song, over and over, to the online tabla, breaking it down to get different bits in time with the beat and inserting them back into the whole. Very addictive, very worthwhile... although, this morning some of my fingers were rather lazy and not playing ball. I will have another bash later, today, then get out my beat box, tomorrow, and see what I can do with that. There are umpteen number of beats to choose from but only a few of 8 beats so, it is a matter of choosing the pattern and rhythm that best suits. The simpler, the better, for now. Jobs to get done before C&C groceries this afternoon. Take care. Be good. Know when to stop... Polly.

The tiny screw that held the arm on my specs kept coming out. I was continually putting it back in. Next, the optician put it in. No difference. Then Ray glued it in. It came out. This was ongoing for 18 months! It then dropped onto the kitchen floor and I "lost" it. A week later, I found it, when clearing up some crumbs with the dustpan and brush. Before then it had escaped the suck of the hoover and grasp of cleaning cloth! By the time I found it, I had used needle and thread to "stitch" the arm and lenses together, never expecting to see the screw ever again. No trouble at all, now! New glasses soon... and the screw is in a "safe place"! You never know, I might need it one day. 🤣

' morning all from red dragon land. Sunny but "only" 14C. 22C indoors and no heating on! Another update on my spending spree. Our family visitor, earlier in the week, who has a King size bed, gratefully received my wrongly ordered King Size bedding. As the double set is no longer available I had decided not to buy the sheets and pillowcases separately - way too much - but on looking through the remaining stock, later, I noted there were some discount vouchers to be had. When they totalled up it was roughly the price of the set, so I ordered the colour I wanted. No brainer. There are a few other everyday things that have seen better days, which also need replacing, but which I would probably want to go and have a look at before buying, cutlery, for example. The knives are so badly designed - yes, they look and feel nice - but they fall off the plate all too easily and being quite heavy, they can put a nasty bruise on the big toe when it lands on it. The knives are triangular down the length of the handle but weighted in one direction so they tend to fall/roll to one side or the other, usually onto the floor. Toot on the flute gaining momentum. Before going onto the next bit of the new song, I thought I ought to get the first bit going with some tabla beat. By the time I was running out of steam, I was getting there. I used some online videos at set speeds. This weekend, I will set up my own beat box and try and get more use out of it. I much prefer to play solo - without a backing sound - so going down the cultural route of constant tuning notes and/or beats is hard going. Interestingly, the flute teacher said as much but in the other direction - playing solo did not seem right to him. Time for a mugadecaf. Take care. Be good. Look out for those bargains. Polly