28 June 2020 – Amusements

“What’s your father’s occupation?” asked the school secretary on the first day of the new academic year.

“He’s a magician, ma’am” said Little Johnny.

“How interesting. What’s his favourite trick?”

“He saws people in half.”

“Wow! Now, next question. Any brothers or sisters?”

“One half brother and two half-sisters.” Continue reading “28 June 2020 – Amusements”

21 June 2020

Lockdown week 15. A week much like all the others, you will be surprised to hear. A fairly overcast and breezy week with some rain and some sunshine – what are the chances of that? It rained all day Thursday and much of Friday which was excellent. And, it was exactly the sort of rain the garden needed – persistent and consistent without the torrential deluge which has been a characteristic of recent weeks. Continue reading “21 June 2020”

14 June 2020

Lockdown week 14. Same old, same old . . .

This week we have been mainly enjoying cloudy, overcast, blustery and showery days. We’re not yet regretting our request for rain – the water butts are full but the garden could still do with more. But, I think we could do without the torrential downpours – on Saturday last week we had an astonishing deluge with hailstones the size of baseballs. OK, I exaggerate a bit but they were still the size of marbles. Continue reading “14 June 2020”

7 June 2020

Lockdown Week 13. Hard to believe it’s now more than three months since we started isolating ourselves (two or three weeks before the UK government belatedly came round to the idea). Of course, as I’ve said before, I’ve been practising for self-isolation all my life and I’ve found, to my delight, that I’m quite good at it. Penny, on the other hand, longs for some decent company and intellectual discussions – sadly, she’s stuck with me. Continue reading “7 June 2020”

7 June 2020 – Amusements

I was nervous the night my husband and I brought our three young sons to an upscale restaurant for the first time. My husband ordered a bottle of wine with the meal. When the waitress brought it, our children became quiet as she began the ritual uncorking.

She poured a small amount for me to taste, and then our six- year-old piped up, “Mom usually drinks a lot more than that!” Continue reading “7 June 2020 – Amusements”

31 May 2020

Lockdown week 12 and it’s been another fine week. Scorcio, in fact. Pleasantly warm bordering on hot at times, sunny with bright blue skies. Still no rain though which is beginning to be a bit of a concern. The garden is looking positively splendid at the moment but the lawns, borders and vegetables are gasping for some water. And, there’s no sign of any rain on the horizon. Continue reading “31 May 2020”

31 May 2020 – Amusements

Today is payday. I just did a little budget to see how much spending cash I’m going to have left over after I pay my bills.

And since I can’t go out to eat, I can’t go shopping for anything except groceries, I can’t get a haircut, I can’t go see a movie, I can’t go to a casino and I can’t travel anywhere, it looks like my beer budget just went up by 1200 percent. Continue reading “31 May 2020 – Amusements”