I have been mostly eating pig. And dumplings.

This weekend, Miffy took us to Prague, where we ate pig-and-dumplings, and drank beer.

But first we stopped at Cologne, for a little practice at the whole "drinking beer" and "eating pork-based-produce" thing.

Somebody's just crop-sprayed the vicar. Again.

Spring is here! As the sunlight plays across the trees, and the farmers begin to plough the fields, I am reminded of my previous career in horticulture, and the regular theological altercations which would take place between the tractor drivers and the vicar. 

The vicar was of the opinion that, despite the vicarage backing on to some of our fields, he really oughtn't be doused in agricultural chemicals on a regular basis. The tractor drivers' (rather persuasive) argument was that their job was to spray the crops, and the vicar's job was to pray. The tractor drivers were just doing their job. If God hadn't wanted the vicar to be crop-sprayed, God would have made sure that the vicar hadn't been in the vicarage garden at that precise moment. Since that wasn't the case, it was quite clear to the tractor drivers that the vicar hadn't been doing his job of praying properly, and it was no fault of theirs. The vicar was generally not amused.

Ah, happy days. There's times I miss that job.

Classic teen Eldritch romance

Last year, or possibly the year before, I was passing through a local Waterstone's (this was long enough ago that it still had the apostrophe). In celebration of the literary master-work that is Twilight, an entire section was devoted to "vampire romance", and the centrepiece of the display was the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft. Well, romance, lovecraft, same difference, right?

I merely mention this because it amused me at the time. What has brought it back to my mind is the following link: http://cthulhuchick.com/free-complete-lovecraft-ebook-nook-kindle/. Yup, that's right. The complete works of H. P. Lovecraft in electronic format, because one's Kindle can never have too many words. Especially words like "eldritch", "gibbous" and "sussurrus". And if that wasn't enough, there's also a crochet pattern to make one's very own woolly Cthulhu! linky*

Anyway, it has inspired me to fish out my crochet hook and have a go. Depending on how well it goes, I may also make Cute Cuddly Cthulhu a teeny-tiny non-euclidean blankie embroidered with "That is not dead which can eternal lie, yet with stranger aeons, even Death may die." 


A project: I haz one!

*(Important note: the crochet pattern above is American. American crochet uses the terms "single crochet" ("sc") and "double crochet" ("dc") to mean what those of us on this side of the pond call "double" and "triple". Ta to my mum for that tip.)

That Emily Chappell: I don't know how she does it!

I'm really quite jealous of my friend Emily. It's not the fact that she's given up her worldly goods and is off cycling around the world. I mean, as my friend Not-so-big-Dave* says "Sometimes I think I could happily pack it all in, sell everything I own, and make a living as a back-packing snowboard instructor. And then I look around my house and realise that actually, I quite like all my Stuff, and I'd miss it." And yes, whilst I'd love cycling solo around the world (it'd have to be solo - if I went with Tim we'd probably end up getting divorced by the fifth puncture), I'd really miss the ferrets, the cats, my books, my boxed set of Buffy, Doctor Who, I Can Has Cheezburger, shoe-shopping...

No, what I'm most envious of is her ability to write entertainingly about the everyday matters. Her posts on packing and paperwork and punctures are just as interesting as the ones about travelling through foreign parts. I find it really hard to to think of things to say - not least because my life seems to be a never-ending routine of mopping up puddles, vacuuming up gibbley bits (if any of the neighbours are reading this, and are in possession of a pond with an ever-diminishing frog population, I can only apologise), re-typing things that have been deleted because a ferret has just tap-danced across the keyboard, mopping up more puddles (four so far this evening), trying to work out whether mice go in "recycling" or "food waste", and so forth. But that aside, by the time I eventually get to my laptop I'll often just sit at the keyboard and stare blankly (and I'm not just talking about at work), wondering where to look for inspiration. And yet Emily's posts are all readable, whether she's talking about cake or surfing in the centre of Munich.

I don't know how she does it.

*He used to be known as "Big Dave", but lost some weight.

More macro prettiness

Following on from this post, Charlotte has pointed out this delightful gadgetmabob to me. The two photos taken with that set up are really quite impressive. Even if the fly is obviously quite groggy (look at the legs!) from having been chilled to prevent movement.

And that reminds me: amazingly beautiful shots of water here: http://www.lightstalking.com/water-drops Especially this one:

Photo (c) 2009 Mike Keeling (graftedno1) (Creative Commons licence)

Wow: beautiful macro photography!

I thought some of my insect photography (above and below) was reasonable, but these are amazing - especially the ladybird!

Time to get a spray bottle of water and go and practice...

Spring is here!

Well, I suppose they decided to keep it close to hand in case one of them wanted a snack in the night...

It would appear that the Spring Offensive against all things that go SQUEAK *crunch* has begun. Time to buy some more carpet cleaner.