A word from Carl Sagan:

Caturday spirit

The cheers are over, the bunting is down, the mad hysteria is at an end. For another year, anyhow.
Luckily we don't partake in any of these Christmas things. Alas half of the modern world does and there is no escaping it.
Even the Turkish guy in the kebab shop wished us a happy Christmas. Nice try, but it doesn't work for the likes of secular humanists.
I'd rather call it Caturday. 'Have a nice Caturday' would actually sound nicer. And I'd even politely reply: 'Why thank you good Sir, and a very merry Caturday to you and your family'.
Shops and staff are eager to close and scarper off the day before Sandy Claws comes along. I was bundled out of the library on Thursday ten minutes before closing time. One of the librarians standing next to the door to unfasten the heavy iron door securing the valuable collection of manuscripts of the university was incessantly jingling the bunch of keys like a prison warden. They should put up a sign: 'We're closed 10 minutes before closing time'. They've got signs for everything else. I'm sure one more won't do any harm.

Batman & Robin' the garden

Those silly birds. I put out some bread for them but it's been laying there for two days now.
This morning: Success! The two pheasants had a little nibble. I'd only seen one of them about the previous week, I thought the other one had been shot. Game hunters were pretty active the weekend before last.
And a little red robin has been fluttering round the house. Much to the enjoyment of Mouser, who's at the window all hours of the day. Its bird watching activities interrupted with thought-exercises: Not really being able to decide whether to stay indoors or go out.
It usually boils down to the former.
Mouser's been drinking a lot of water lately, methinkst it is because Dr Livingstone has been throwing salt everywhere to keep the stairs from being icy and snow free. Every time Kitteh returns from The Cold Outdoors it licks its paws. I think cat could have raised blood pressure. It certainly is thirsty.

Snow

Portable oven wants you!

Today I received one of the most hilarious emails I've had in a while. The resourcefulness of some spammers really is sidesplittingly funny. Here's a small excerpt:

If you have any old portable wood burning oven and in case you don't use it anymore, we will be very grateful to you if you can donate it to us and organize transport of this oven to our home.
We are located in central part of Russia, 180km from Moscow.

The groupie awakens

Dr Livingstone surprised me with yet another swell present this morning. He got me an OMD t-shirt and had it signed by the band! Andy McCluskey, Paul Humphreys, Mal Holmes and Martin Cooper all decorated it with sharpies.
I can never wash it now!

Praeterita

Dr Livingstone has finally returned from the touring jungle. He brought me some prezzies! I'm looking formward to leafing through Praeterita, John Ruskin's autobiography. It was wrapped in super lovely wrapping paper covered in old 17th and 18th century books form the Bodleian.

Enjoying a pheasant stroll

These Ring-Necked pheasants have been strutting around the garden as of late. The hunters have driven them out of the woods and they're seeking shelter here. Every day around the same time they walk the same stretch and then slip next door for their morning stroll. Their feathers are absolutely gorgeous.

Feline Philistine

I'm studying Italian Renaissance sculpture at the moment. Mouser isn't being very helpful. Kitteh just stood on Andrea del Verrocchio's ensemble of John the Baptist and Thomas and two of Ghiberti's Old Testament scenes from the Baptistry doors in Florence.

Now there's a feline philistine if I've ever seen one.