Ou sont les neiges d’antan? Well they have gone for at least a while and for the first time in ten days we have action on the solar panels and people are moving about outside.
A1 is rereading Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre. A2 is rereading The Mind’s Eye by Hakan Nesser.
Tag: admin2 reading
Considered Trifle
A post-birthday pudding after our family lunch of curry, rice and naans which has left us bursting out of our trousers. We scored 10 on the GSQ, later upgraded to 11 when we checked that the four Chinese gentlemen flowers were also the four flowers in mah jong like we said.
A2 is reading Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin. Third book in a row in which the hero hangs out in a library.
Frost
Happy birthday Faye.
Icy cylinders on the dustbin lid. One day the snow will go.
A2 is reading Gliff by Ali Smith.
Still Snowy
It is still freezing cold, ice everywhere, lethally slippery pavements. A1 had to go to work in the horrible conditions and said it was like walking over crisps. A2 only went as far as the dustbin, wearing crampons and holding onto the wall, and noticed that the snowperson population had increased.
A1 is reading I will Find the Key* by Alex Ahndoril. A2 is reading The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami (thx A1).
Wood Nymph
I looked out the window and what did I see?
A hole in a tree and a face looking out at me!
A1 is reading Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin. A2 is reading The Traitor by Jorn Lier Horst. For a change, Wisting’s daughter doesn’t get kidnapped. His granddaughter gets kidnapped instead.
New Year New Moon
On her way home A2 spotted this delicate crescent moon hanging in the darkening sky with Venus floating above.
Here is A1’s effort, taken with crater accuracy.
A1 is reading The Traitor by Jorn Lier Horst. A2 is reading City of Destruction by Vaseem Khan.
First Light
A2, woken by Mars glaring at her through the window, got up to look for Mercury. Did not see it (it was probably behind a tree) but was enchanted by the colours of the sky.
A2 is reading The Enigma Girl by Henry Porter.
Critter of the Day: Turdus merula
Not a very pretty name for this handsome blackbird.
We had pasta, parkin and delicious Ethiopian coffee for our family lunch and scored 11.5 for the last quiz of the year, bringing our average to 10.2268518518519, a step down from last year’s 10.2756346153846.
A1 is reading Nobody’s Hero by MW Craven, another violent and thrilling outing for Ben Koenig; thanks, A2! — who is reading Orbital by Samantha Harvey (thx A1); 24 hours on the International Space Station watching the drama of the cosmorama, incorporating 16 days of the sun burnishing the oceans and 16 nights of lights fringing the coastlines while the astro/cosmonauts on board divulge a bit of backstory and have high-flown thoughts about the geography and meteorology of their home planet and a typhoon winds up over the Philippines. A short but engaging read.
So This Is Christmas
The tree is lit and the presents are unwrapped. Lots of books and art stuff for A2, even more books and a computer (Pi500) for A1, coffee, a new wok and films to watch for us all. And here is our traditional Christmas dinner: potatoes, sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, stuffing balls, gravy and enough roast pork to last us into the New Year.
A2 is about to read Absolution by Jeff Vandermeer (thx A1). We are watching Slow Horses Season 4.
Return of the Sun
After the solstice, a brighter dawn, with Mercury somewhere behind the clouds.
A1 is rereading Mercy by Jussi Adler-Olsen, his first Department Q novel from 2007. This was prompted by reading his recent novel Locked In, which finally resolves the mysteries posed in Mercy and ends with the start of that book.
A2 is rereading The Strangler’s Honeymoon by Hakan Nesser.
Windy Solstice
Today was unconscionably blustery; bins blowing everywhere. A2 had to keep stopping and planting herself foursquare (legs, stick and shopping trolley) to avoid being blown off course. But she emerged from a ginnel like a wind tunnel to the sight of this evanescent rainbow. Then the sun went away and the wind blew on.
A2, inspired by a list of Christmas crime novels in the newspaper, is rereading Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton, which starts with Christmas and ends with a crime but is really a story of a man remorselessly exploited by a woman.
Night Lights
Random Christmas lights around the shops reflected in the rainy pavements.
A1 is reading Locked In* by Jussi Adler Olsen. It’s OK A1, A2 is reading I Will Find the Key* by Alex Ahndoril.
What’s the Point…
.
.. of alcohol-free gin? And it’s not much cheaper than ordinary gin.
A1 is rereading The Mercy Chair by MW Craven.
A2 is reading The Red Notebook* by Michel Bussi; malfeasance to and from migrants in Marseilles, with a terrific twist.
Fish Egg
A poached egg on a piece of ham that looks a bit like a fish.
A1 is reading The Last Devil to Die* by Richard Osman. A2 is rereading The Accordionist* by Fred Vargas.
Lickety Spit
The cats being friendly, for a change. It’s the Geminids tonight, but in keeping with the rest of the year we’ve had unrelieved gloom. Tomorrow night looks like it might be better, but there’ll be a nearly full moon.
A2 is reading Locked In* by Jussi Adler Olsen. Department Q’s lead detective is jailed and beset by assassins on all sides for fearsomely complicated reasons.
Bird in a Bush
A blackbird eyeing us through the window on a misty morning.
A2 is rereading The Chalk Circle Man* by Fred Vargas.
Get well soon Gez.
Bottoms Up
Storm Darragh is raging outside but our rain gauge is blocked and serving as a useful drinking source for the birds.
The family braved the storm for our family dinner of stroggers and sticky toffee pudding and we scored 11.5 on the GSQ. Yay us!
A2 is rereading The Readymade Thief* by Augustus Rose.
Hallo Halo
A halo and contrails, while we’re waiting for Storm Darragh.
A2 is reading The Last Devil to Die* by Richard Osman. We are watching Black Doves.
Leaf Pattern
The many colours of leaves in a puddle.
A1 is rereading Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson (his 1500th book; A1 not Neal). A2 is rereading A Memory for Murder by Anne Holt.
Brioche, Banana, Blueberry and Booze Bread and Butter Bake Again
Another iteration of this cheap, simple and tasty pudding which followed our family dinner of pork in cider with carrots and peas with pizza, salad and chips for the youngsters. We were ill last week so we had 2 quizzes to do and scored 9.5 on one and 13 on the other.
November was below averagely rainy and sunny and our second coldest November of all time.
A1 is rereading The Readymade Thief* by Augustus Rose. A2 is rereading Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas.
Good Morning, Good Morning
Our webcam caught a colourful sunrise this morning:
A1 is reading Leave No Trace* by Jo Callaghan. A2 is rereading The Three Evangelists by Fred Vargas.
Pigeon
When there is nothing else to look at the pigeons are always there, watching everything.
A1 is reading Death on the Thames* by Alan Johnson, which was relentlessly average. A2 is reading Elaine* by Will Self; Will’s memoir of his mum as a furious, frustrated, flirtatious fifties housewife (oh God, let’s never go back to those days!).
The Rainbow Wraps Up the Rain
A2 went out in the morning sunshine feeling happy and healthy and was caught in an unpredicted biting squally rainstorm. By the time she got home she had been infected with A1’s miserable sniffly headachy cold and is feeling full of snot and self-pity. Meanwhile she is rereading Dog Will Have His Day by Fred Vargas.
Storm Bert
We woke to a blanket of snow and subzero temperatures; now at 11pm it’s 14.1°C and steadily rising. In between we’ve had 25.8 mm of rain and, thanks to the snow and subsequent gloom, a grand total of zero watt hours on the solar panels. Weather: exciting innit?
A2 is rereading This Poison Will Remain by the inestimable Fred Vargas.
