Zone Doubt, a.k.a. 'Surreal Я Us'...

Joules, trusted by... dozens... to make a drama out of your crisis...

Other sites:

:: JAT :: WaveWrights :: Publications ::

I live to write. It's not wise to get in my way.

... I'd write my autobiography, but no-one would believe it....


If you come across any words you don't recognise in this blog, take a look at the Taylorspeke Glossary in the left-hand infopane, you'll usually find a definition there.


The Poppy Tales

(Transformers fanfiction!)

Transformers mini-comics here.




Adventures in Orchids

Apparently I am now collecting them...

There's room for one - or maybe two, at a pinch - more on that bedroom windowsill (the only one in the house that's ideal for them). Let's see what I find. Well, that didn't last long...


EO - Everlasting orchid. Phalaenopsis. I've had this orchid since 2007 and it just keeps flowering...







AO - Alien face orchid. Phalaenopsis . Bought 2018 - lovely little flowers, all different patterns!





RO - Rescued orchid photo to come when it flowers. Phalaenopsis. Rescued from a bin up the road in 2019. Classic!






TO - Tiny orchid. Phalaenopsis. Bought at Tesco 21.8.20. It just begged to come home with me. How could I say no?





CO - Crimson orchid. Cambria. Another Tesco find. This one may be going to live in Ken's room once we've redecorated and put up the new shelving; it prefers a cooler, less sunny windowsill. If so, I'll need to find another cambrian to keep it company.






GO - Golden orchid. Phalaenopsis. Saw this one when I bought CO and left it behind - then immediately regretted it as soon as I got home. Never seen one like it before. Ken, bless him, went back over to Tesco in the rain and bought it for me...





DO - Dendrobium Orchid. Smells of wisteria, so beautiful...











RO2 - Rescued orchid no 2. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I rescued from the wall along the road middle of 2021.








PO. Pink orchid. Phalaenopsis. This is the one I bought at Cabury Garden Centre on special, late 2021. It's much happier here!










TWO. Teeny weeny orchid, Phalaenopsis. Rescued from Tesco end 2021 (I think).




















My IMDb ep summaries

(completed)
Arthur of the Britons
Sky
Star Maidens
The Starlost
Space Rangers
The Sentinel (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Swamp Thing (part: season 3)
Gravedale High
Transformers: Armada
Transformers: Energon
Transformers: Cybertron (part)
Misfits of Science (four eps)
Zoo Gang
Zodiac
Jupiter Moon
Transformers: Beast Wars (part: seasons 2 and 3)
Transformers: Beast Machines (part)
Vampire Princess Miyu
Starhyke
Nathan Barley
No Heroics
Undermind (3 eps)
Will Shakespeare (Tim Curry version)
Nightwalker
12 Kingdoms
Trigun (ep 8)
Rayearth
Hyperdrive (season 2 ep 3)
The Café

For later:

Missing Earthian ep
Missing Haibane Renme eps


Silver birch at Eastwood 

Farm

"Autumnal - nothing to do with leaves. It is to do with a certain brownness at the edges of the day... Brown is creeping up on us, take my word for it... Russets and tangerine shades of old gold flushing the very outside edge of the senses... deep shining ochres, burnt umber and parchments of baked earth - reflecting on itself and through itself, filtering the light. At such times, perhaps, coincidentally, the leaves might fall, somewhere..."

(Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead Act 2: Tom Stoppard)

Autumn...

I love this time of year. I love the colours, the sharp slant of sunlight on the trees, mosaics of acid-yellow and harts- blood, velvet and darkness and a haze of mist-grey over the hills. I love its immanence, its mellowness, the tang of frost just around the corner of the year...

Watching the little birds in the goat-willow in my garden, I realised something more.

I love this land with a fierce, possessive love, deep-rooted in two thousand years of history. From the frosted beaches and cloud-brushing peaks of the north to the wind-haunted meanderings of the rivers of the east, from the sensuous rolling patchworked hills of the south to the demanding dark moors of the west, this land seeps into bone and blood and synapse, mother of motley nobility, culture, individual freedoms. It can be known. It can be understood. It can be felt deep inside.

I love its effortless eccentricities, its vigour and vibrancy, its flawed perfections, its silent strength and tenacious resilience, its hard-won tolerances and intense and variable beauty, the profound energy in its sacred mythical landscape.

Home and more-than-home, the forces that shape and protect and bind, in me, as I am in the land. Love returning love in the stillness for those who'll only take the time to listen...

(Joules, Autumn 2004)


All photographs taken by Joules unless otherwise specified. All photographs © Joules A Taylor or other specified individual.


In Memoriam

17.03.09 - Argent

25.07.08 - Raptor

18.12.07 - Quyn

02.12.06 - Ryme


Currently enjoying:
Muse
Transformers - IDW, Prime, Animated, Rescue Bots.

Currently reading:
Various Transformers books and graphic novels.



Currently working on:
Haadri

Currently chuffed with:
My garden

Currently miffed at:
Nestlé, Nonpres Tinyhands Fart, Toadface Farage

Currently maintaining:
BCHS
BCW


Blog Pics
I've gathered some of my pages of photos together: the page of links is here. I'll be adding more as time goes by!




Evil Squid
A Little Glossary of Taylorspeke
(in no particular order)

plit popints - n. Typo for 'plot points' typed on a keyboard with more than half the characters worn off...

[PING] (alt [ping]) - n. A brainwave. The text equivalent of a lightbulb going on blindingly over someone's head. Usually mine. And usually at the most inconvenient of times. [sigh]

TPTB - The Powers That Be.

wulmet - n. A person of little or no talent who somehow inveigles himself into a position where he is in power over other, far more talented people and uses his position to downplay them in order to try to make himself feel superior.

biteable - referring to an anatomical part vb, tasty.

Flatterfed - vb. 27.02.08: my typo for flattered, but since it's so cutely apt I thought it would fit nicely here. Lutra defined it as "the lovely warm feeling of satisfaction resulting from enthusiastic reviews..." (which I've been getting for my MB fics).

Composted - vb, 'compos mentis', mentally capable of working. Contrast with uncomposted or non- composted, not 'compos mentis', not capable of working, hungover...

Cumbles - n, cucumbers.

Kewp - how Ken says 'thank you'. We rather like Lutra's 'nanx', too...

Musekick - noun, music, without which I cannot work.

'feinne - noun, caffeine, essential for correct mental functioning, especially first thing in the morning. I prefer mine in the form of SodaStream Diet Coke. And on that subject...

Skoosh - verb, noun. To skoosh - to add CO2 to a sodastream bottle filled with water to make it fizzy, prior to adding Diet Coke syrup (or just drinking as sparkling water). A skoosh - a bottle of water that has been skooshed. Skooshy - something that has been skooshed, water, or that whipped cream that comes in tins you have to shake then upend and press the nozzle...

Shoogle - verb. To shake gently, for example, of roast potatoes in a roasting tin to ensure they're covered with oil. I have vague memories of this being a real Scottish colloquialism...

Stegasaurus - n, spider of the genus tegenaria. Why? No idea. I just find it easier, that's all...
Edit 08.09.07: Lutra thinks that Brian is a good name for a mini-stegasaurus. From now on, any 'Brian's in the posts may be assumed to be a tegenaria. Except where otherwise specified.

Viterals - noun, vitamins + minerals. Also a pun on victuals.

Splish - verb. A combination of slosh and splash.

Parrots - noun, paracetemol (from the old joke "Why are there no aspirin tablets in the jungle? Because the parrots eat 'em all...")

Maggles - noun, magpies. As opposed to non-magical people.

Flamewings - noun. Swifts. So called because the first time we became aware of them was an early summer evening when they were flying high, the light from the setting sun seemingly turning their wings to flames. Lovely little birds. We always know summer's arrived when we hear their high-pitched squeeing.

Murfs - noun, moths.

Peasant cut - noun, roughly cut up into big chunks, e.g. vegetables chopped in a hurry for a hearty stew or soup. By extension, anything prepared in a hurry - haircut, material, even a first draft of a story...

Giraffe - noun, a carafe (of wine, coffee or water, for example).

Shrumps - noun, mushrooms.

Splings - noun, Kai's spelling homework: by extension, any spelling.

Tyops - noun, typos. var toyps, typso, psyto, psoyt, etc. Usual result of a dose of the fingerials (see next entry).

Fingerials - (pr. fin GEEE ree yalls) noun, fingers that will not type what you want them to.

Haddock - noun, time, of which I never have enough. (Origin of this term here.)

Sleep - noun? vb? a.k.a. sheeeeeeeeep.... I used to know what this word meant...


The Updates Blog

The place to stay notified of WaveWrights' Fiction updates: Zone, Darkside, DarkRealm, Matrix, Vault, Safehouse 13...




my computer gremlin Butch. click the pic to see the larger image

Butch, my computer gremlin. Click the pic for larger version, and read his adventures here...

Butch by the talented 

Sylverthorne

A gift for me! Butch by the very talented Sylverthorne. Click pic for larger image.

Joules' 

Haddock

This is MY haddock. It was caught exclusively for me by Talon. No, you can't have any. I need all the haddock I can get!!



A'lestrel by Valkyrie.

A'lestrel - a gift for me from Valkyrie...



Albino Alsatian Benten (c) MEBird 

2004

Another gorgeous Valkyrie gift for me - Benten the Albino Alsatian! Click thumbnail for larger image.

Radittsu, an oekaki for my birthday 04 

by 

Onna

Oekai by Bakayaro Onna - Radittsu at his sexiest...



The Zone Plant from
The Zone 

blog 

plant

OrganicHTML (which alas no longer seems to exist...)
[::..My Regular Reads..::]
:: Astronomical Pic of the Day [>]
:: What is Space... [>]
:: Dark Roasted Blend [>]
:: BLDG [>]
:: Watchismo Times [>]
[::..Fun Places..::]
::HubbleSite
Stunning...
::PALEOMAP Project
Absolutely fascinating.
:: Skymap
Check out the night sky where you are!
[::..Useful Sites..::]
:: GreenNet
First stop for environmental matters
:: The Forest of Avon
Our local community forest and places to visit
:: The Guardian
Online Guardian Newspaper.
:: Symbols
Exactly what it says
:: World Timeserver
For checking the current time around this world
:: Universal Currency Converter
Actually it's just a terran-global currency converter, not universal, but it's still useful...

So what is it with the haddock? Am I some kind of fish freak?

I'll leave that to others to decide.

The tale (or tail if you prefer) harks back to October 2000, when my GoodTwin and I, ably assisted by Sue, ran the first UK Professionals convention...
It's common knowledge that I never have enough time, and I was determined not to bewail the fact that weekend: hence I promised not to use the 'T' word...
Of course, that didn't really work (if nothing else I had to let the trainees know what times things were supposed to be happening!) so we decided a substitute word would be employed instead. There were several suggestions. Banana came very close to being chosen. However, I eventually decided that 'haddock' fitted the bill nicely. Ever since, haddock=time. Hence the title of my forthcoming autobiography,
My Half-Life in the Haddock Space Continuum....


Normally I wouldn't, but these were just irresistible...

How could I resist?

Just too adorable...

and to complete the rainbow...

These Too-Kawaii Kitties
were adopted from
Ghost's Anime Page (which appears to have disappeared, alas...)

[::..Anime/Manga..::]
Useful sites:

BBTS -
Fabulous anime figures

Anime Lyrics
A huge selection... evil popups

Anime still needed to complete series' I'm collecting... Many thanks to everyone who has helped me acquire the collection!
Ai no Kusabi

Owned:
   DVD
   Dj: June Special
   CD: Ambivalence

Cyber City Oedo 808

Owned:
   DVD
   All 3 eps on Video, dubbed
   Dj: Cyberage 1-3
   Illustrated Book 2 (Benten's) in Japanese

From Eroica with Love

Owned:
   Manga Vols 1, 9, 11

Mirage of Blaze

Owned:
   DVD Vol 1 (eps 1-4)

R.G. Veda

Owned:
   English Manga: Vol 1
   Japanese Manga: Vol 1-7 complete
   Tarot Pack
   R.G.Veda video

Twelve Kingdoms

Owned:
   Anime Vol 1-12: complete

Under the Glass Moon

Owned:
   Manga Vol 1, 2
Vol 3 needed

Vampire Hunter D - Bloodlust

Owned:
   DVD

   Vampire Hunter D Book 1



New Vampire Miyu

Owned:
   (Studio Ironcat) Manga Vols 1 -5 (complete)


Yami no Matsuei

Owned:
   Viz Manga: English translation, Vols 1 - 11 (complete: I believe vol 12 is only available online)
   Japanese 3-DVD set
   Central Park Media: Descendants of Darkness Vol. 1, English/Japanese subbed.
   Sketchbook


[::..Joules SP fied..::]


... this is Terra? How the hell'd I end up here...?

(Thanks, Lutra, for the quote!)

[::..archive..::]
07/01/2002 - 07/31/2002
08/01/2002 - 08/31/2002
09/01/2002 - 09/30/2002
10/01/2002 - 10/31/2002
11/01/2002 - 11/30/2002
12/01/2002 - 12/31/2002
01/01/2003 - 01/31/2003
02/01/2003 - 02/28/2003
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02/01/2004 - 02/29/2004
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06/01/2004 - 06/30/2004
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10/01/2004 - 10/31/2004
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12/01/2004 - 12/31/2004
01/01/2005 - 01/31/2005
02/01/2005 - 02/28/2005
03/01/2005 - 03/31/2005
04/01/2005 - 04/30/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/31/2005
06/01/2005 - 06/30/2005
07/01/2005 - 07/31/2005
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09/01/2005 - 09/30/2005
10/01/2005 - 10/31/2005
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03/01/2006 - 03/31/2006
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10/01/2006 - 10/31/2006
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02/01/2007 - 02/28/2007
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01/01/2017 - 31/01/2017
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01/12/2018 - 31/12/2018
01/01/2019 - 31/01/2019
01/02/2019 - 28/02/2019
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01/11/2019 - 30/11/2019
01/12/2019 - 31/12/2019
01/01/2020 - 31/01/2020
01/02/2020 - 29/02/2020
01/03/2020 - 31/03/2020
01/04/2020 - 31/04/2020
01/05/2020 - 31/05/2020
01/06/2020 - 31/06/2020
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01/09/2020 - 30/09/2020
01/10/2020 - 31/10/2020
01/11/2020 - 30/11/2020
01/12/2020 - 31/12/2020
01/01/2021 - 31/01/2021
01/02/2021 - 28/02/2021
01/03/2021 - 31/03/2021
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01/05/2021 - 31/05/2021
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01/08/2021 - 31/08/2021
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01/10/2021 - 31/10/2021
01/11/2021 - 30/11/2021
01/12/2021 - 31/12/2021
01/01/2022 - 31/01/2022
01/02/2022 - 28/02/2022
01/03/2022 - 31/03/2022
01/04/2022 - 30/04/2022
01/05/2022 - 30/05/2022
01/06/2022 - 31/06/2022
01/07/2022 - 31/07/2022
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01/10/2022 - 31/10/2022
01/11/2021 - 31/11/2021
01/12/2022 - 31/12/2022
01/01/2023 - 31/01/2023
01/02/2023 - 28/02/2023
01/03/2023 - 31/03/2023
01/04/2023 - 30/04/2023
01/08/2023 - 31/08/2023
01/11/2023 - 31/11/2023

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Started the day by watching the DVD I picked up at a charity shop - the Official DVD of the 2011 Yeovilton Air Show. 80 mins of breathtaking power and majesty. Wonderful! The high point for me was the Sea Vixen and Vulcan part, of course - just magnificent...

Been a day of clearing up - de-limescaling the kettle, cleaning and scrubbing the birdtable, sorting out a few more DVDs... Starting next Poppy later.

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0 Comments:



Wednesday, January 30, 2013

So, Wednesday...

Well, I finally got 'round to watching Memoirs of a Geisha, which I've had sitting in the 'to watch' pile for at least a year. It's very good, but I can't see it becoming a favourite. Not enough starships.

Bussed up to Broadwalk in the afternoon. Found Cyberverse Topspin and Crankcase for £2.99 each in the cheapie shop (so I now have all the Wreckers and one of the Dreads from DotM). Came back via Tesco, who had some more of the wasabi covered peanuts. Yum.

Feather was out of the hide (and mostly under the half log) this evening, so I took her out for a cuddle and then we fed her (she really went for the toasty warm weaner so I guess she was hungry after the stress of shedding).

And that was pretty much today...

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

I missed Monday again, didn't I?

But there's really not a lot happening at the moment. No client stuff, no books on the horizon, it's cold, dull and rainy - quite depressing actually. Even the previews of the Tf; Prime season 3 figures aren't exactly pretty...

On the plus side, I'm revisiting a couple of old fiction ideas to see if they can be reworked into something that might sell. More if it happens.

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Tuesday is the new Monday... :)

11:46 pm  



Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Poppy Tales 

Second part of New World 2 - Safe - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Kai wanted a break, and so did I, and the weather was nice. So off we went to Clevedon!

And I forgot to take my camera, but there are lots of pics of Clevedon scattered around the blog: I'm sure you all know what it looks like by now. We went along to the pier and out to the end, and had a truly delicious coffee and a cake in the little Pagoda coffee shop there.

We didn't stay long - sun was out but it's still cold - and got back as it was beginning to get dark. Lovely day out, came back all relaxed and refreshed.

Weather is now abysmal - rain and some rather nasty winds.

This made me chuckle.

Poppy calling...

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Friday, January 25, 2013

And Thursday got lost in the snow...

Actually it was beautifully sunny - if bloody cold - and Bodiecat spent quite a lot of it outside for once. And our fox was back last night - heard it making the warbly noise again. I bought some cheap dog food and left it outside in one of Quyn's old bowls: it was half empty this morning. No, it's not encouraging the beastie to come here, it already does nearly every night, and if I can stop it digging holes in my veg bed in search of insects by providing it with something tastier and easier to get hold of it'll be worth the £2.99 every couple of weeks.

I watched Daybreakers yesterday (another one of the cheapies I bought at Broadwalk) - it's rather good. Probably a bit more gore than Repo!, but nothing gratuitous. I think K&K may enjoy it - interesting plot, good characters, nice acting.

Today has been mostly next!Poppy: should be able to post over the weekend. Determined to post a chapter a week.

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Wednesday, January 23, 2013

So, the exam went OK, it seems. It snowed while I was out shopping this morning - not heavy, but it did start to settle: apparently at John Cabot (which is, admittedly, a lot higher than here) it was heavy enough to cover the roads and they were talking about closing the school.

And then it stopped, and everything went back to normal. We may be lucky and that's the end of it here...

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So far so good. The snow missed Bristol and Kai went off this morning just fine.

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1 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Thank goodness. We had to cancel a cats meeting last night just in case we had lots down (we had heavy sleet early on). Then tonight we've had the same.

5:59 pm  



Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Woke up early (6.30 again) so got up early and settled down to watch my Yule pressie Repo! The Genetic Opera...

It's BRILLIANT! Yes, I know the gore, disembowelment and general weirdness would put a lot of people off but I loved it! The atmosphere's a weird hybrid of Rocky Horror and Re-animator with a dollop of Matrix thrown in, the songs are terrific, and the plot distinctly Shakespearian in scope. Excellent stuff. Many thanks!

Feather has shed her skin overnight! We must be doing something right...

And my birthday present arrived.

Vector Prime

It's the Takara Vector Prime transformer from the Unicron Trilogy 3, Cybertron (the clockwork one of the original 13, the controller of space and time. Found him on ebay from a Korean seller). Dead chuffed.

Keeping an anxious eye on the weather. While everything's good right now (much of the snow has melted) the forecast is for more snow tonight. Kai has a maths A Level at 9 in the morning and if the roads are dangerous he has no way to get in. Other than slogging several miles uphill in the snow. Steep hill too. Though if they can keep the roads clear he would be able to use FirstBus. Fingers crossed.

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Monday, January 21, 2013

The Poppy Tales 

First part of New World 2 - Homecoming - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above).

Enjoy!

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

Low clouds and reflected city light - taken at around 8 pm (sunset is around 4.30 pm) - untweaked in any way, taken with Ken's camera.

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

ooh, lovely. Not sure ours looks that good...

11:42 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

That is lovely. Very atmospheric.

8:22 pm  



Saturday, January 19, 2013

Cold...

Photos from yesterday.

Along the Bath Road just before the one-way system.

The old railway track, almost opposite the first pic.

Anyone know what made these? They were in the front garden yesterday, from just under the cherry tree to the wall at the side.

Fox




And tonight the fox paid us an early leisurely visit (half an hour ago) Ken did the best he could but we weren't set up for it. He was nomming jetsam from the birdtable.










Fox









Quite large and well-grown. He was making a strange quiet yelpy-warbley sound - don't know what that was all about, but it wasn't distressed or anything like that...





Page all set up for the next Poppy 'book' - New World 2 - and the first part is under way.

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6 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

What made those? Kangaroo, clearly. [sage nod]

10:07 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Yes, Kai said the same thing. Only thing is, we have no wild kangaroos here.
At least, I don't think so...

10:08 pm  
Blogger Lutra said...

None that you've seen... and this is *your* place, after all. :)

10:09 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

That's... a good point.
Will have to set up surveillance.

10:19 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I'm sure I heard somewhere that some wobberlies - sorry, wallabies - had escaped from a petting zoo and were living wild. Maybe they've moved in... :)

11:23 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Oh great - that's all we need!

11:36 pm  



Friday, January 18, 2013

Well, the forecast was right. I got to bed somewhere between 2.30 and 3 am, and although it was cloudy, there was no sign of snow. I was woken up at 10 by the sound of scraping and that odd quiet you get after a snowfall, and was confronted by this:

snow back garden
snow front garden

Intrepid Bodiecat was intrepid (well, he went as far as just past the birdtable and then came charging back, ate breakfast and has spent most of the day asleep on the bed).

Snowcat


snow smile



The snow made a smiley on the fencepost!

I had to get around to the Post Office (well, no, I could just have gone to the post box but I get a proof of posting for everything these days) so Kai and I dressed up warm, bunged on the yaktrax and headed off.

It was actually rather a nice walk. We came back via Wick Rd, Eagle Rd and the Bath Rd (I took some photos but none of the batteries have enough charge to download them so will have to do it later after I've charged some up). The X39 was running, but apparently all the city centre buses were off this morning, which could be a problem. Kai's computing A Level is on Monday morning and if they and the school buses are off (they were today) we don't know how he's going to get in. Though he says he could resit the exam in the summer if necessary. We'll have to see how it goes.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

[bg] Brave Bodiecat!
The snow not only made a smiley on the fence it gave it a somewhat Seargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in Yellow Submarine 'do. (Well, it was the first thing I thought of when I saw it :)

10:33 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... blimey, so it has!

10:39 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

We got about 5" in total, in the end. Bella ventured out a couple of times but Sophie had to be pushed out eventually because she kept fussing to go then changing her mind.
All the bird feeders kept filling up with snow; I've just been out to clear them properly this morning.

10:26 am  



Thursday, January 17, 2013

[phew] I think we are all now ready for the forecast snow - 12 inches over the Mendips and 5 - 7 inches elsewhere. Freezer is full (though it usually is, so that's not new - I pick up special as often as I can), the main waterbutt is lagged with an old downie and a tarpaulin over the top, the greenhouse one is in the greenhouse, we did the garden loo earlier, and the bird feeders are all cleaned and filled. Kai only has maths tomorrow, so he's staying home and revising here: he has an exam Monday and another Wednesday. (He had psychology and physics A Levels yesterday: came home fairly confident, even about the psy, and he's pretty good at gauging how he's done.)

And of course we have the yaktrax. I think we'll manage.

[g] We had a bottle of Tesco's Blue Lagoon left over from the Yule before last, and when I looked at it it had a best before end Nov 2012. Ooops. So I thought I'd use it up. It tasted OK, but it was the colour that got me - it looks like energon.

So I did a comic.

G1 Starscream is going to feel fragging awful in the morning...

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4 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

Adrian did the weekly shop as usual today and just as well he went early - it was bedlam. We had to pop back in when he picked me up and the shelves had been cleared like a plague of locusts had been through. Anyone would think we're in for weeks of snow rather than a few days.

11:09 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Oh dear... Some people do overreact a little. I just bought a few extra things for lunches in case they're needed.
It'll be fun to see what Tyjer makes of it. Usually he takes about ten steps out, then turns and retraced his pawprints and goes and watches it from Ken's window...

11:16 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

We should be OK for food - my main concern is not getting enough veg for the wabbits.

Tyjer is a very sensible cat. Who'd go out if they didn't have to?

11:43 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Quite!
It's a pity you can't grow some of your own. I can recommend Swiss chard, we still have plenty of it doing well at the top of the garden regardless of the weather!

11:56 pm  



Wednesday, January 16, 2013

The Poppy Tales 

Thirtieth and final part of New World - Saved - now posted over at The Poppy Tales (link above). The story continues in New World 2.

Enjoy!

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Monday, January 14, 2013

Well, I got a few things done, some client stuff, held a small, quick APAG meeting about the mini-marathon in May (must post that tomorrow), and grumped about something - presumably the fox - breaking the lid of my cold frame (I think it's salvagable but will wait til the weather isn't cold enough to turn the fingertips blue).

And on that subject, something is making strange noises out there right now...

I forgot to say we watched Blandings on Sunday. To start with we weren't too impressed, but we stuck with it and as it went on it got funnier and funnier until Kai and I were roaring and Ken even smiled! Wonderful stuff - looking forward to the next one.

Poppy tomorrow. Absolutely. I must. This is getting silly.

But for now I'm having an early night. It's cold and miserable and I'm knackered.

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Sunday, January 13, 2013

Well, we got the shopping done, and Feather's habitat sorted (looks great now, with hummocks of the Aspen substrate, the silk fern in the front corner, the waterdish against the side wall instead of at the front, and the half log at the back.

She loved it. She spent an hour exploring very happily and is now curled up in the hide.

Feather

Photo courtesy of Ken. Can't use the flash, so please excuse the darkness...

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

aww, happy snake is happy... :)

11:46 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

She truly is! Nice, relaxed, calm exploration, tongue flickering slowly and rhythmically to check everything - I really think I'm learning to understand her now.

2:02 am  



Saturday, January 12, 2013

I have really not accomplished anything today. Well, Kai and I got the tayberry and raspberry plants into their big pots, so they can settle ready for the spring, he went to get his hair cut, and Ken went to Glastonbury (using his season ticket), and I suppose I did some client stuff. But other than that...

I had so much planned too. Will have to get a move on with it tomorrow.

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Friday, January 11, 2013

Well that was a day!

Cold, but gloriously sunny. Kim drove us first to the recycling centre, where I was able to drop off the old kitchen stuff I've just replaced, the shell of the old lawnmower, and the metal frame of the old sunlounger. YAY! Cleared patio and hall.

And then we headed off to Almondsbury garden centre - a relatively quick and easy trip. Usually. Except that Kim, in a moment of distraction, managed to get into the wrong lane of the motorway and came off just past Easton.

'Not to worry' she says. 'We'll go the scenic route.'

And then we got lost in Bradley Stoke.

BRADLEY STOKE!!

There are no signposts in Bradley Stoke except to places in Bradley Stoke... and lots of spookily identical roundabouts.

It was scary.

But we did finally manage to escape, by veering off onto a road Kim thought she recognised...

Then we missed the Almondsbury turn... (though to be fair it was a narrow country lane and you couldn't see the signpost until you'd actually driven past it...)

Then we got stuck behind... well, I'm not quite sure what it was. Bigger than a tractor, and even slower moving. But he seemed to know where he was going, so we followed him while Kim entertained us both with her tale of how they and some friends drove down to Weymouth in the summer, in the rain and floods, and how her friend in the other car was having panic-attacks over getting trapped in flood water and how she freaked when a guy in a canoe paddled down the other lane of the road they were on...

So it was definitely a bit of an unguided tour, but we got to the garden centre in the end and it was all good. Feather now has three bags of Aspen substrate, a log she can hide under or sprawl over, depending on how she's feeling, and a fake fern (more for our benefit than hers, as it will make the viv look prettier. Although the assistant I spoke to did say snakes like variety, and new things in their habitats, or even just moving things around: it stimulates them and they enjoy exploring...)

Also picked up a pack of rat weaners for Feather and a pack of crickets for Rosa (but not chicks. Apparently there's very little nutritional value in chicks, along the lines of 5 chicks = 1 rat weaner). Three 50 litre bags of peat free organic compost (on a 3 for 2 offer) finished the shopping. I need to get the raspberries moved into the Very Big Tubs before the bad weather starts. Hopefully tomorrow if everywhere hasn't frozen.

After Kim had left after coffee Ken and I sorted out the garden loo - turned off the water, turned on the taps, drained the cistern and put salt in. Should keep everything OK til March.

We'll change Feather's viv on Sunday. There may be photos, if I remember!

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9 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

I know my sense of geography is a bit wonky but Sth Gloucestershire sounds a long way from Bristol...
Excellent day! Getting rid of stuff ftw!

10:55 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

hmm... Sounds oddly like the last time we all went off to the garden centre. You know that weird thing you do to wristwatches? You don't think you have the same effect on drivers, do you...? :)

12:00 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Of course! Explains everything [g]

12:06 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

... ummm... Well, if I do, it's only when going to Almondsbuty, and not all the time...

Lutra, Bristol nestles up to Sth Glos. In fact, I think Kingswood, where John Cabot Academy is, is actually in the county.

12:33 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

Well, there you go. The UK, in my mind, is bigger than it actually is. Probably a side effect of living in a country that takes a week to drive across.

12:35 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Whereas you can drive from one end of the UK to the other in a matter of hours. We're - what? 800 miles? long? Well, OK, you could do it in a day, though you wouldn't have time to enjoy it.

12:38 am  
Blogger Lutra said...

How long would it take to drive leisurely around the UK? The main bits of it, at least.

1:01 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

GoodTwin would be better answering this than me, I think.

4:11 pm  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

I really have no idea - I think it would entirely depend on what you might call the main bits, and how long you wanted to spend looking at them. :)

2:24 pm  



Thursday, January 10, 2013

A weird day. I think I sleepwalked through most of it. Now trying to have a genuine early night as I'm off out with Kim tomorrow (Almondsbury garden centre). Will try to remember to take camera.

Edit: [headdesk] There are frogs doing its mating song up at Roeg's pool. It's too early, and they're forecasting snow next week...

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Wednesday, January 09, 2013

It's always so dull in the early part of January. The nights are still long, the TV's pretty dire, it's too cold to do much in the garden and too early to start planting things, although I was going to get some cold-resistant toms on the go this year... need compost first though.

So, mostly more client stuff. Have I said yet this year how much I hate Wordpress? Did a little shopping too. Weather is supposed to get cold tomorrow and we have below zero temperatures forecast for the weekend so better get the garden loo drained, salted, and the water turned off. Oh joy...

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2 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

January can be fairly depressing. I have a cold and a very poorly wabbit atm; the forecast cold snap is really not appreciated...

11:20 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

Oh symps...
Hope the rabbit is OK.

2:04 am  



Tuesday, January 08, 2013

SQUID!!!

And lots and lots of client stuff.

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Monday, January 07, 2013

I'm sure there was a Sunday somewhere. Where'd it go?

I suppose much of it was taken up with continuing with the proposal. And shopping. And a little more tidying up. We found an electric mixer, half price at Sainsbug's, and since my old one (about the same age as the old food processor and also gave me electric shocks when switching it on) was really ready for retirement picked it up. Not that I use it all that often, but I'd rather not be without.

This morning I had the luxury of an uninterrupted lie-in in a silent house: K&K both off first thing to college and work. It was very nice. But not to be indulged in too often.

Finished the proposal and emailed it off to agent - now keeping fingers tightly crossed.

Since it's due to turn cold again this week I thought I'd feed Feather (she gets very sluggish when it's cold. I've taken to cuddling her against me every day or so, which she seems to like (given how much heat I give off I'm not surprised!)Rat weaner - Feather's dinner

How is it that even rats can look cute when they're babies? (Feather's dinner - still frozen at this stage).

She can take a bit of tempting to get her to feed, so Ken and I take it in turns trailing the defrosted and warm rat in front of her with its tail held in long tongs - don't want her mistaking our fingers for food!): Ken's usually the lucky one. Today she was right out in the open and he was able to watch her lunge then coil around it and swallow slowly... Ken worrying the whole time that it was too big for her, that she wasn't going to be able to swallow it, etc etc... was rather sweet actually. I explained that as long as it was no bigger than the biggest part of her body - which the weaners aren't - she'd be fine. Don't think he believed me, though, until it was a good four inches into her gut and she was meandering around finding a comfy place to lie and digest....

Such a pretty snake! I really must try to get some more photos of her.

Now settling in to get some more next!Poppy done (coming slowly as I'm still not quite over this blasted lurgy and I'm tired). I think this will have to be the last chapter of Bk 6 though - it's now 30 chapters long!

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2 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

Aww, puir wee ratty baby. I used to have a couple of black hoods just like that one.
Yeah, I know a snake's gotta eat, but still...

9:30 am  
Blogger GoodTwin said...

That's the main reason I couldn't have a snake - I'd get too upset by what I'd have to feed it.

10:57 pm  



Saturday, January 05, 2013

And I was reminded of a proposal I was supposed to have written before xmas and hadn't done, so that was my day organised (it's not yet finished but should be ready to email off on Monday). And we took down the decorations, and managed to watch Religulous this evening. (I enjoyed it, though there were times I cringed in embarrassment for the human species...)

It feels like Sunday. That's going to make tomorrow interesting...

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Friday, January 04, 2013

OK, at first I was all "BLOODY HELL this is scary..." But after half a minute or so I was like "Ye gods this is GOOD."

Edit: - Kai found this one!

Still waiting for things to get back to normal...

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3 Comments:

Blogger Lutra said...

What is this 'normal' of which you speak?

12:24 am  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

My point exactly.

12:35 am  
Blogger Sue said...

That was actually really interesting.

7:30 pm  



Thursday, January 03, 2013

So off Kai and I went to watch The Hobbit...

Beautifully made - well, it's Peter Jackson, you wouldn't expect anything less - and while it's very long it didn't feel it or drag. Very enjoyable. My only problem - not enough elves. (And too much underground. Set my claustrophobia flaring it did!)

Looking forwards to part 2 now.

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Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Back before Yule we got a new modem and set-top box, upgrades from VirginMedia, but we delayed installing them because something nearly always goes wrong and we didn't want to be without TV or toobs over the holiday period. But today was an excellent day to get everything organised, and for me to clean out my stack and install the new keyboard as well.

So, stack first. [rolls eyes] There was a cobweb inside. And a ton of dust, which explains why my fan's been whining like a tired brat for the last few months. A thorough dusting and blasts of compressed air later and it's running almost silently. Perhaps I ought to clean it more often...

Next was installing the new modem. Well, I say modem, but actually it's a snazzy super-hub with four ethernet sockets, meaning we no longer need to use the router! (It's now in storage. In case.) We followed the instructions to the letter - and nothing happened. So Ken rang and was told the first troubleshooting step (turn off, leave off for two minutes, then turn back on, wait two minutes and then boot up computer): half way through the phone went.

It was a very helpful woman asking if we'd installed the set-top box OK as we hadn't yet rung to have the service initialised.

Wait, what?

So I explained we hadn't even taken it out of the box yet, we were installing the modem first as that was more important. At which she offered profuse apologies and said somehow they'd got their signals crossed and had initialised the TV service instead of the modem. Which was why we had no connectivity...

[sigh] So she talked us through yet another broadband set up and this time it worked. It's a little faster than the old one too, which is nice.

Then it was the TV box... I left Ken and Kai to get that done. Took an hour, and another 20 minutes to download all the settings (during which time my net connectivity was a bit patchy), but we now have access to several HD channels, and Kai took some time to fiddle about with cables - we can now copy from video to DVD! First up are Kai's childhood movies, then the Sentinel series. Going to take months...

So it's taken most of the day, but we're done. This is great!

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3 Comments:

Blogger GoodTwin said...

uh, yes, I know that dust-in-computer noise very well...

Glad it all went reasonably well, anyway. Set up and installations can be such a nightmare.

11:33 pm  
Blogger Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor said...

*g* Now it's all sorted we're very happy. I'm particularly pleased as now we don't have to replace the router if anything goes wrong: Virgin will just send us another modem. BIG savings!

11:48 pm  
Blogger Sue said...

Ohh I could sing many songs about all the copying I'm going to do.... :)

7:09 pm  



Tuesday, January 01, 2013

Wishing you Health and Happiness
for 2013

*snerk*...

And this one's even better! (Thanks Lin.)

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