Kitten update

The little guys are gaining weight and starting to show more characteristic kitten behaviour. There's a certain amount of stalking, pouncing, toe hunting and wrestling going on but they are still quite subdued compared to previous kittens we have had. One of them has taken to sleeping in the litter box.

I get the distinct impression that something happened to these guys when they were really small. The paperwork appears to show them being fostered out and then returned to the shelter which is a bit odd. Certainly one of them was painfully thin when he came here. We'll probably never know what happened. Like lemur_catta said, all we can do is make sure their time here is good.

Someone has been listening to Les Barker

A&E is showing the first four Rocky movies back to back. I would point out the full horror of this but it's already been done better than I ever could in Mr. Barker's immortal Schwarzenegging Song.

Note to tamnonlinear, there's a unique version of Tam Lin sung by Alison Younger on the same album, Gnus and Roses.

And for those who want to get a sample of Mr. Barker's humour might try this:

http://www.compulink.co.uk/~ackroyd/bushmp.mp3

Belated update on "Talk like a pirate day"

We were discussing "talk like a pirate day" last Sunday in the dressing room after the game. Now Kevin B. was there. And Kevin be from Somerset. So he always talks like a pirate. Have you noticed that whenever actors want to convey that they are set in the 17th century they invariably put on a Somerset accent. Personally, I find it quite disturbing when I'm treated to a Wessex Oliver Cromwell but I think that, in fact, we are witnessing a deep seated symmetry. I figure it's that people in Somerset are still mostly in the 17th century and that therefore, according to some sort of law of conservation of something or other, etc etc.

Cuisine and Battery

Today is my cook for the week day. So far I've made lentil soup from the duck stock I had in the fridge and there is now a large pot of spicy lamb shanks sitting simmering on the stove. I was amused, while cooking the lamb, to read the instruction "add the chopped vegetables and sweat until soft". Even with the AC on it's about 30C and humid in the kitchen today so that's exactly what I did.

Tonight we eat simple and fresh though. One of my favourite things is Italian rice served like a pasta. Cook the rice al dente, let it dry out a bit in the oven, add butter and, if appropriate, grated Parmesan then serve with any sauce suitable for pasta. Tonight it will be a sauce of shrimps and pine nuts to be followed by a salad of heirloom tomatoes and basil.