test please delete

[NickFitz]

Busy lunchtime down on the lawn with a couple of squirrels, a crow, some pigeons, and a magpie all putting in an appearance. Much excitement when an elderly couple who live in block B stopped on their way out to scatter some kind of foodstuffs from a Tupperware container across the corner of the lawn; possibly bread, possibly nuts - it was hard to tell from up here. Anyway, one of the squirrels rapidly got stuck in, with the magpie flying over shortly after to check it out and the pigeons also getting a look in. The crow left for some reason though.

Then the two lurchers that live in the block across the lawn came back from wherever it is they go in their cars two or three times a day - they have two cars, with a male and a female chauffeur, and seem to go for a drive most mornings, lunchtimes, and evenings. They were being driven by the male today, and the white one in particular seemed intrigued or even fascinated by the squirrels as they were being led back to their flat, though it was too well behaved to do anything so unseemly as tug at its leash and try to chase them

[NickFitz]

Lunch: freshly-baked sausage rolls. Very nice

After this morning's round of Monkey Life it looks like the rest of the day will be filled with stuff that gets repeated every three weeks or so. So I'm going to have a traditional Sunday afternoon watching The Cruel Sea (1953)

[NickFitz]

That's The Cruel Sea watched for the umpteenth time. No idea how many times I've seen it over the last fifty years or so

After that, I found time to deal with the pile of takeaway containers which I've finally accepted will never "come in handy"; so they're all packed up ready for a trip to the recycling bins.

Then I got around to assembling the new spice rack I got off Amazon a few weeks ago because the one I've already got has long since overflowed, resulting in innumerable small jars sprawling all over the bit of the worktop near the cooker where they live. At some point I intend to go through them as I know there are a fair few duplicates, due to thinking "Better get some paprika/cumin/star anise etc. just in case I'm running low" whilst shopping. As the new one rotates, I can literally rotate my stock to keep things under control and make sure they get used in the correct order

The old one will still be in use as the reserve storage area for duplicates, and can also keep the less frequently used ones where they'll be handy but not getting in the way

[NickFitz]

Oh, and I put a tea towel wash on too

[NickFitz]

Tea has been sapporo miso, being the last of the ramen kits from Matsudai

They were all very nice, so I reckon I'll be ordering from them again

This was accompanied by an old, though not very old, episode of 24 Hours in A&E

[NickFitz]

Tonight's major festive motion pictures have been those Christmas classics Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990) in both of which lots of stuff happens

Monday tomorrow, but no work. It's a winning combination

Goodnight all

[WTFH]

Morning all
Very light drizzle earlier on our 6.5km walk, now the sky is clearing.

eBay notification just in... coffee machine descaling liquid has been posted. Turns out the new coffee machine tells you when it needs descaling, and only gives you 30 coffees from the fist warning until it shuts down. Hoping the liquid arrives before I fall asleep.

[ladymuck]

Morning all

Dull and overcast again. Dry. Currently 10 degrees ('feels like' 8) with a high of 11 expected. Slight chance of rain early evening. Barometer up to 1031 mBar.

My coffee machine this morning told me it needed cleaning. What's really annoying about said notification is that it comes after puck forming thingumajig is in its working position so you can't remove it to clean it and you can't use the machine. You have to flick the proper power switch on the back off and on again, which clears the message and allows you to use the machine. You then have to turn off the machine using the standby power button on the front so that the puck thingy moves into position for it to be removed and thus cleaned. All very tedious.

For now, I have put a post-it on the machine saying "clean me" and I'll do that once I'm done with my morning coffee requirements and/or am looking for a procrastination task this afternoon.

I have a stash of descaling liquid that I bulk bought when I first got the machine about 15+ years ago but it very rarely demands that treatment. I also have water hardness testing strips that inform how you set up the machine but every place I've lived always gives the same result, so I don't know if they actually work.

[sadkingbilly]

geez. - I have a kettle.
It boils water.
hot water = tea/coffee/mocha/whatever I like.
not a fairy hipster in sight.

[NickFitz]

Morning denizens

Fairly sunny day out, though with quite a few clouds scattered hither and yon for decorative purposes. It's a warm 9°C and aiming for a positively baking 10° with the barometers up rather at 1017/1025mB

The Apple HomePods have just been delivered! After such a hectic weekend (one social event, one corner of the kitchen tidied up slightly) I'd forgotten they were coming, but they're here now. I've also been notified that my new recliner will be delivered a week from today. Some sorting out of the living room needs to happen before that arrives, so the pods will have to stay in their boxes for now