southern42

Stables, donkey diets and clear starry night skies aside, there's more than one way of capturing heavenly objects.

You can tell it is that time of year - stable diet indeed! Corrected on original post!

Bubble and squeak is a stable staple diet for us o'er C*tide. The sprouts here have been getting smaller...and smaller so removing the outside leaves may take me awhile... and that in the foreground is a small teaspoon. Ideal for lunch boxes! On my laptop screen, the sprouts are approx. full size. Some tidying up to do - after 3 o'clockses, that is.

One cake iced and decorated. Now to sort out the groceries.

' morning all from red dragon land. Wet, drying up - supposedly. 8.4C. *C* cake marzipanned. It will be treated to some icing this morning if I get my skates on - metaphorically speaking, you understand! Another long process of whisking 6 egg whites, blending in 2lbs of icing sugar and spreading it artistically patiently on top and around the cake. I maybe some time! 😜 Then it will be making room for the C&C groceries arriving this afternoon and storing it all. But first, <<Yes you've guessed it!>> a mugadecaf. Take care all. Be good. Be on top of it.

' night all and nos da.

*C* cake made, fruit having soaked overnight in my usual spiced ginger and blackcurrant & blueberry tea mix, the remnant juice diluted with boiling water to make a (nicely fruit sweetened) fruit tea for me and Mr Suvvern after the cake went into the oven. The process. The tin was first lined inside with greaseproof baking paper and outside with brown wrapping paper. Then, a long spell creaming the dark brown sugar and butter. That done, after two mugsadecaf made and drunk, another long spell mixing half a dozen eggs little by little (a third of an egg at time) into the mixture. Then, after two more mugsadecaf made and drunk, there followed the mixing in of half the flour and half the fruit, then the other half of flour and fruit. The oven was warming while I filled up the cake tin. 4 1/4 hours later (10pm) the cake was out looking good. The best bit? The fruity spicy smell wafting from the oven during the last couple of hours, getting stronger all the time. Tomorrow, all being well, it will be covered in marzipan. And I even managed a 20 minute toot on the flute while it was cooking. A long day, but worth it.

aarrrrghhhhhhh... get the brollies out ☔

' morning all from red dragon land. All quiet on the western front, now. Cloudy and damp. Quick 'ello n g'bye as I have yet to do my breakfast due to lots of oddsnends to tackle first and I got sidetracked by catching up on here. Take care. Be good. Gedonwivit. Polly

How? 🤣

Love the way the flute plays itself!

' night all and nos da from red dragon land. 😴

You can have it in camouflage colours, too!

' morning all from red dragon land. An email arrived in my inbox 23:10 last night from the Reykjavik Grapevine magazine. https://grapevine.is/news/2023/12/18/eruption-has-begun-at-sundhnukagigar/ At the same time utoob was filling up with Icelandic eruption videos. Close up view of the eruption near Grindavik in Iceland. Back later, loadsastuff to geronwiv

Have a look at these two videos. The second is a bit more wordy, but demonstrates it in more detail. Don't give up on it. It is a lovely flute to play especially when you can play in a variety of different keys: Theme to Judge John Deed in F minor for instance, as well as C and F major and A minor. There are quite a few Yamaha fife videos out there but most of the ones I came across were pretty awful but don't let that put you off. It will be as good as you want it to be. 10 minutes a day. Play it 4 times, 2 times, 1 time - repeat as necessary (this process keeps me learning and achieving). Tip - Keep the flute firm against the chin though, not loose, and keep working at it. Find a good flute player as I did (the one I posted) and it helps no end. Hope this helps. Using the head of a keyed flute - but the principal is the same. Using a fife.

I love this time of year but I must say I am struggling this year. The days are going faster than I can manage and things lurking in the background are trying to pull me down! But I have enjoyed making my own - <<ahem>> time consuming! - gift tags revamping last year's template mostly using: https://clipart-library.com. Last year's design Gift Card Christmas 2023 Template.pdf This year's design triggered by someone going off to the far north! Gift Card Christmas 2023 Template 1.pdf Wrapping the presents has been a bit beyond - wrapping paper too easy to tear (bought last year but I'll still use it up) and the sellotape sticking to itself before it is anywhere near the paper are just a couple of things that have been winding me up! And, the constant drumming of the wet stuff outside and having to work in artificial light...need I go on. What happened to the dry December sunshine? Also, albeit less time on it, together with me being less demanding, my daily toot on the flute helps cheer me up. A bit of TV at the end of the day enables me to relax and...er...more often than not...doze off! So MrPolybear let's turn it around and have a bit of fun. So...something to cheer us up - how my little plastic fife sounds in greater hands... and something really beautiful to comfort the darkness.

' morning all from red dragon land. Sunny, breezy, 9.1C. Running a bit late, today, having got a couple of small parcels ready for posting. The battery in the newish scales had gone so I got my old balance type out and googled the ounces into grams on the 'phone. A pile of *C* cards to start writing out, now. Maybe, I shall put the box on and listen to some TV / video music at the same time, depending on what I can find. It will be a mugadecaf and early lunch, first, then I should not need to be interrupted. Take care. Be good. Don't panic! Polly

You noticed, then! But don't complain - itzafreeby carpark! It looks like a waste disposal thing: <<Gotta bitta tar left? Go filla pot hole!>> This happened frequently on our "High Street", with the consequence of even more and deeper pot holes appearing showing multiple layers of variable tar, until we got onto the council having found out that they had not done a programmed resurfacing 10 years earlier - it had never been resurfaced in our lifetime here (over 45 years) - and, way hay, it got done. After a few years it is still OK. So, not all bad.

' evening all from red dragon land. I recollect it was sunny this morning, turning to rain when Mr Suvvern went to collect the C&C groceries this afternoon. Yesterday afternoon, we went for a mugadecaf down at the beach pavilion cafe, upstairs at the table by the window in Llanfairfechan to check out their *C* decorations. I spent awhile gazing out at the tide creeping its way in, then out at the turn of the tide. I am always amazed at how fast those waves come in. Looking West down the Menai Strait, Ynys Môn (Isle of Anglesey) in the distance. The kitchen is now in the extension below the window. About face towards the East. It was quite full downstairs being lunchtime. Views out of the windows to the horizon (left) and towards the mountains (right) can be seen from the high tables. These days we usually sit outside! A day of getting things ready for posting tomorrow so early to bed tonight. Take care. Be good. Find time to enjoy something. Polly

' morning all from red dragon land. Lots of drumming of the wet stuff on the windows. Maybe I should toot on the flute tuit and try and keep rhythm!* *See below. I have only managed a wee bit of catching up one here over the last few days and it may remain so for a few more as I progress with the *C* word. I eventually got the online photo projects finished and ordered - fingers crossed they print off alright. I bought a load of non-*C* greetings cards at the garden centre, yesterday and, today, will be spent getting other things ready for the postman to collect. While Ray was waiting for me, ready to pick me up at the garden centre, he had a look round at the *C* garden lighting on display and gawped at the prices! Just as well we do not face a road and be subject to "competing" with other front gardens and the like. Needless to say, I do, usually, put up a wee tree (small artificial pot plant) in the porch and drape a string of lights around it and continue the string around the adjacent window. At least it brightens it up for the postman! Toot on the flute was short yesterday having spent a great couple of hours at a local garden centre putting the world to right over a mugadecaf and a snack. We even discussed the latest appearance of the TV doctor discovering we were both fans - of the better series, anyway. https://www.doctorwho.tv However, my toot on the flute threw up a problem on Sunday when I progressed to Line 4 of the song. It did not fit the beat! So, just having 20 minutes to spare yesterday evening, I managed to get it sorted by going back to the basic tune and rebuilding the twiddly bits. Whatever I did seemed to have worked...I just wonder if I will get it right, later today! Mugadecaf calling. Take care. Be good. Plod on and keep it going. Polly

'afternoon all from red dragon land. Windy. 8.8C I had another dose of winterinfrontoft'fireonthematwiththebeatbox for my toot on the flute, this afternoon. A few days ago, Line 1 of the song was doing alright and was good to warm up on. After several attempts, I eventually got to the point where I could continuously repeat line 2 in time with the beat, so it was beginning to look good. Another session, yesterday and this afternoon with beatbox still set at 29 beats per minute and 8 (slow) beats to the line, I managed to keep going with both lines continuously 7 times, each line played twice equalling 4 lines a go. So that is 32 slow beats x 7. That length of play should get me towards the end of the song in stamina at least so it was quite reassuring. On this basis, if (a big IF, possibly) I keep this up, I should be able to get the first 6 lines up to speed by the end of the month - I won't say, 'year' cos that sounds so far away! 🤞 ION I mentioned, a little while ago, about going round in circles, on the phone, between different parties. The outcome, at last, looks to be to my advantage and should be finalised shortly. So well done to all the ppl on the end of the phone lines getting to the bottom of it and getting the relevant parties to respond. I have been wotzapped by li'l sis which reminded me I had forgotten about one of her presies she wanted me to order online! It will be done later... together with another item she now wants. She was pleased with the last lot so that is good. On my count, I have completed this year's family calendar which is ready to check through and order. *C* cards next on the list and a few birthdays to sort out. It feels I am just about coming up for some air...but a mugadecaf will suffice before getting dinner. Take care. Be good. Don't let life runaway with you! Polly

One place I worked in, our tea room drink ingredients (milk, tea bags, instant coffee, sugar) were bought by a volunteer who collected a small amount of cash from us once a month (£1 iirc) to pay for it, keeping a list of our names. We were left to make our own preferred drinks. In another, by the time you got to the tearoom down several flights of stairs and/or via long corridors, and allowed enough time to get back to the office, you barely had enough time to make your drink let alone drink it, especially if someone had just emptied the kettle and you had to wait for the next lot of water to boil. Happy days.

You can bury and glue the bottom 0.7mm in/below the grass.

' morning all from red dragon land. Cold 3C. Wet. Yesterday's online jobbie for lil sis done with one minute on keyboard, another on wotsapp exchanging information. I had two square-but-not-quite-square photos to put on two square items with a warning that the image going over the inside dotted lines may not print. So I messed around with a smaller non square image on top of the same image zoomed out to the edges of the placement square thus giving a border. It took awhile but I got them done. It meant messing around using a 2-photo image option rather than a 1-photo option but being used to using multi images helped immensely. This morning was my third winter's-sit-on-the-floor-in-front-of-the-fire toot on the flute session. Beginning with a drag-Henry-around-the-floor routine, and getting things into place before I start, plus the warmth from the fire, helps get me in the mood - so far, anyway. The key to these sessions is the beat box. One intention - be able to play along with it! Not as fast as on the tutor's video, I started at 27 beats per minute on Saturday but have settled more comfortably at 29 bpm (4 notes to a beat). I was quite very pleased to play the first line in three rounds of continuously playing it 7 times. After a while of trying to get it right, I finished playing the second line when I completed one continuous round of playing 7 times. At that point, confirming I am on the right track, at last, and making me feel optimistic about the next four lines, and on a high after I had done it, I decided to stop and put everything away. This afternoon, I shall be working on my own online project... but mugadecaf first, eh? Take care. Be good. Keep nice and warm/cool (select appropriate option). Polly

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