Marty

22 He's received birthday cards and presents from me every year since his 2nd birthday.

Still bitterly cold (for this part of Ireland) outside, with the temperature struggling to get above 0°C/32°F. So I'm in the kitchen starting to prepare the chocolate Victoria sponge sandwich cake for tomorrow's birthday boy. The met office reckons tomorrow will be a lot milder than the past number of days have been. Hopefully the icy snow will all disappear.

Happy Monday, everyone!!! As we come into the last week of January, here's a little thought to cheer you all up...

Hi, bro!

Greetings, young Albert!

Looking on the bright side... United are still top of the Premiere League. And they beat Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup yesterday. (Just saying...)

Whiten the hair, and this is me most mornings...

I suspect they're simply a mirage, Albert... Notice how they appear to be walking towards you, but never actually get any closer?

Greetings, young Albert!

Good afternoon (here), Gary!

Sweet dreams, Albert.

I mentioned last night that more of the stones from the gable wall had fallen down yesterday. Here's a photo taken earlier today showing that gable... Now, when I say they fell, I did give some of them a helping hand (from the other side of the wall, of course). And you can also see the remains of the bit of snow that fell overnight.

That was hardly unexpected, Albert.

I prepared steamed potatoes, swede, and cabbage, and an oven cooked pork loin with onions. Once again, the vegetables were all home grown. As Albert would say: it rocked! (I would just say it was delicious)

Thanks, Geron! I think that's one of the things that the Haiku format is really good for. Taking an idea (or scenario) and distilling it down into three short lines. The mere fact that the writer is restricted to seventeen syllables basically forces that distillation.

Greetings, Page!

Greetings, young Albert! I'm glad to see someone's happy to see the snow. Of course, Drew will expect you to be out in it, building his likeness into a snowman...

You're also welcome to the few cm that are promised overnight for here, clo. ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️ ❄️

Brrrr..... I'm just glad you said in your barn, and not outside it.

Happy Saturday, everybody! We had a slight fall of snow overnight. Not a great deal - around 1.5 inches (4 cm) - but enough to make the world look magical when I first looked out of my bedroom window (before deciding to get back into bed for a couple of hours). It's slowly melting, but the temperature's not managing to rise above 2°C/36°F so I doubt it will be all gone before nightfall. There's also more snow forecast before dark, and overnight, although only small accumulations are predicted. With icy snow on the ground, and the few branches that remain to be cleared from above the sheds having snow on them, I decided not to risk continuing working on that job today. Firstly, the ladder may slip on the ice. And secondly, I might get snow cascading off the branches into my face and/or down my neck. Once the central heating has warmed the house, I intend spending an hour or so sanding down more of the wainscoting around the front door. The Met Office are suggesting that this current wintry spell should come to an end on Tuesday, with a return to "milder and wetter conditions". I hope so, if only because I am hoping the roads will be safe again for me to risk the 15 mile (24 km) drive to deliver the birthday boy his cake. The last few miles of that drive can be really treacherous in wintry conditions.

Hi, bro!

Greetings, Mr Drew!

Just at the moment? Touché, Val!

Anyway... It's way past my bedtime here... Goodnight, all!

True, Albert. And I've even thought about buying a second-hand campervan. But I'll still miss being able to trek in remote areas, and wild camping overnight, without having to worry about having to return to where I parked at the start of the day.