Sunday 28th March - Today there will be no interruptions!

'allo, 'allo, 'allo - what's going on here then?  Right outside our conservatory door?  Frogs or toads?  There is a way to tell but I don't know what it is.  Anyway, one is obviously very very tired and is being given a ride home by the other one.  I hope they don't live far.  They're toads I think - they look very green.  Frogs are more sort of brown aren't they?

We have other kind creatures in our garden too.  Well, on our roof actually.  There's a couple of pigeons and they play at chase for hours.  There they go, sidestepping along the ridge tiles and - guess what?  One of them always gets worn out and has to have 5 minutes and the other one is always kind enough to lend her back like a feathery sofa.

We had one of these the other day.  Now I know it doesn't look much in the photo so you'll probably just have to take my word for it that it is, in fact, a young kestrel hawk.  Well, it was next doors who thought that.  Keith's seen it before and thought it was a baby eagle (snigger snigger) and I must say I've often seen something flying around that I thought was some sort of hawk but then I though "Naw naw, not round here"

It looks as if it's having a breather from flying doesn't it?  Maybe it can catch a lift home too............

Since last I wrote here Keith has been busy, busy, busy.  For goodness sake he's supposed to have retired!  Our bedroom and the dining room have been redecorated, the outside walls of the entire house have been re-rendered and painted and now - AND NOW FOLKS - it's the turn of the back yard.  He's jack-hammering up the 9" thick solid concrete so he can block pave it (you know, sort of like bricks that you make posh driveways with ).   I tell you, this constant drilling is giving me a right headache;  Heaven knows how it is for him, he's right on top of it!  He has to get it done today though because the jack hammer has to go back tomorrow.  Oh, and sure enough he already found a complication:  there's a collapsed drain that has to be dealt with .  It never rains but it pours!

Above you can see his ever growing mountain of rubble.  this is what our back yard is being reduced to! And it's free to a good home.  To any home at all.

Me, I shall inflict myself on my sister tomorrow.  She has got a nice house where they don't have noise and there's a big kitchen where I hope she might even feed me.



After 25 years - maybe 26 - I have finally decided I need a new food processor.  It hasn't conked out.  That's part of the problem:  I don't think it ever will!  It just looks so thoroughly disreputable now.  It never looks clean and I'm afraid some of the 'nooks and crannies' stuff that won't come out might actually get in the food.  Is it a record to run a food processor that old?  Just for the record it's Braun Multipractic and it owes me not one penny.  And Braun may now send me some freebies if it wants to!


Our Sally hasn't been too well this month.  For those who don't know, Sally is our dog and she's 16, of indeterminate breed and beautiful.  I can't show you a photo of her because she is very camera-shy.  I thought we might get a photo with the new camcorder but she had that one figure out before I got the battery charged!  Anyhow, she's not her usual ebbulient self.  She sleeps most of her time, drinks gallons and her coat is a mess.  But she still has the sparkle in her eye that says she's glad to see us and she still spends a few minutes each day acting the goat so life is still good for her.

Watch out, Chester - Marie from Oak Cottage will be there soon (you lucky people).  I expect this will be a bitter-sweet week for Marie and her husband Todd, a week of 'last times' to do things before they start the new chapter in their lives later on this week.  Pay her blog a visit and leave her a cheery word of encouragement to keep her going until she gets there.  This past few weeks has been a real time of testing for them both and I hope they'll be gloriously happy in their new home.

Do you know, I haven't heard that jack hammer for - oooh - it must be 10 minutes now.  He'd better not be slacking!