Marty

G'day, Albert

Merci beaucoup, mon ami!

Hi all Apologies for my recent quietness. Been busy elsewhere; mainly cleaning out the new, old house. Did manage to get a few photos whilst outside, though. Here's one of last night's sunset...

Hi, Higgy!

Good evening, young Albert! Actually it's 11:38 pm here, so maybe that should be 'Good night' ...

Hey B! Just don't run yourself into the ground.

No worries, Page!

Speak for yourself! (And none of us are getting any younger.)

Yea. And I thought I made it clear in the original comment that that's what I decided to do...

A bit of a late reply, but the weekend went well, thanks! I trust yours did, as well...

Which just goes to show.... Perfection takes time!

Contemplative musings, indeed! You may be a man in darkness, but you certainly manage to shine a light around yourself! And I love the sentiment in the puddles haiku!

Well, it's certainly quiet in here tonight... And, in other news, I finally got the oil-fired central heating in my new (old) house inspected today. Turns out the boiler is banjaxed (that's an Irishism, meaning, in this case, that it's broken). The plumber told me he could order parts for it and hope to get it working again, but that the cost of the parts alone would be almost as much as buying a replacement boiler. So that's the plan. He hopes to do it this Saturday. Boiler around €250. Hopefully labour charge won't double that. And this plumber reminds me of just how long I have been living around these parts. I remember his dad, back in Easter 1987, telling me the wife was expecting a baby in a few weeks. Who'd a thought that baby would now be my plumber? (Or should I call him my central heating technician?)

Good evening, all This evening I am making homemade applesauce from Bramley apples. I intend bottling (canning) it in screw top Kilner jars (I think the common variant is Mason jars across the Pond) to give to some friends for the Christmas. Wish me luck. I've never tried this before.

Hey, young Albert

Good afternoon, Gary

I'll give him two pieces! Along with a cup of tea.

Hey, duggie

Cheers, B! There's actually another cake in the red tin on the right of that photograph...

Your wish is my (royal?) command, my liege! (Mental note to self: Try not to forget on the day)

And now, ladies and gentlemen... [Insert drum roll here] For the first time ever to be seen in public... [Continuing drum roll] Brought to you by the Royal Command of none other than Prince Albert, himself! I bring you.....

Hey, Gary! And did Albert call me a fruitcake a comment or three back? 😮 Or was he asking for a photo of the Xmas cake I baked? (Just in case it was the latter, I'd better see what I can do....) Hi, Page

Hi, everyone!

The cake mixture has rum in it, strangely enough. But the cakes will be fed with a dessert spoonful of Irish whiskey each every week now until they're marzipanned about a week before christmas day.