The weather appears to have forgotten that we're in England.

And that it's Wimbledon fortnight. The tube is revolting.

Elderflower beer for me.

Sean, I'm incredibly glad you're having an awesome time!

DCJ, speedy healing vibes to you. Also, that story about the bionic kitty really made me both teary and beamish. We rescued our feral because he had a traumatic amputation of the left hind foot. It would have been wonderful if that treatment had been available for him (and if we could have afforded it, of course). But the possibilities for human amputees are amazing.

Fred, I'm sending all good vibes for Max and his humans.

I'm reading all the oatmeal talk with a head tilt, like the RCA dog. You boil water, add ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, pinch each of sugar and salt, stir in rolled oats, turn burner down to simmer, set timer (MOST important, LOUD timer) and go do your hair or makeup or shine your shoes. When timer goes off you turn off the burner, and sometime in the next twenty minutes you have yummy oatmeal. How hard is that?

Is it texture issues you guys are avoiding with the steel ground and the presoaking and the glayvin? I get that--can't eat pears or cooked squash, here. But to me, at least, the texture is something about oatmeal that I love.

Seska, is England like Ireland in that only plants drink cold tea? If so, I'm impressed.

Sean, it sounds like your trip's going great!

Much Max~ma, Fred.

I had too much Tandoori food for lunch and now I want to nap for the rest of the afternoon.

Jars, why have I not heard of elderflower beer? I love elderflower!

Jars, why have I not heard of elderflower beer? I love elderflower!

Dunno! It's awesome! I make it every summer! This is a decent recipe, although it's called elderflower champagne here -

[link]

The basillica contains the tombs of Galileo galilei and guglielmo Marconi.

This is what passes for a religious experience for me.

Oh, wow. That is indeed truly awesome.

More Em Nerd News:

You know how, in Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, you can find these little build-'em kits? Sometimes they help you get stuff, sometimes they're just for fun...like the ones in Jabba's Palace that play a rocked-out version of the Imperial March.

So, we're playing Star Wars, Em and I, and I build a little radio kit that plays aforementioned rocked-out Imperial March. I giggle and go to move on.

Em stops me. "NO, daddy! Stay here!"

"Why, Punk?"

"I LOVE this music!"

And she dances.

My heart, it is filled with joy.

Miracleman, I experienced the same sense of elation last week when Owen, wearing green, sparkly nail polish watched Labyrinth with me and danced to the David Bowie songs. I really should have gotten that on video.

He also had this exchange with another mother at daycamp:

Owen: Do you have a Twitter account?
Other Mother: No.
Owen: Do you have a Facebook account?
Other Mother: No.
Owen: Gmail??
Other Mother: No.
Owen: How do you talk to people on the internet?????

my sewer line repair is turning into a farce and i'm on the wrong side of the country to keep it fully under tabs. I had a long talk w/ the contractor before leaving about what would be happening while i out of town and he said that they would be either trenching through the basement (less ideal) or getting permission from the crazy cat lady next door to trench outside along that side of the house (dumping dirt in her side yard) and through my front yard. I said ok, you can take out the mini xmas trees but don't get close to touching my blueberry bushes.

I have three people (one person and a couple) feeding my cats while i'm gone....one sent me a photo of my front yard yesterday. I called the contractor first thing this morning to find out how it's going. he said he thought they were going to start digging today. Erm, no, i do not think so. then he called and said they have the inspector coming out today so it's pretty much done, and that digging happened in the side and front yard. then he called back and said that while trenching they "had" to cut through my galvanized steel water line and cut off the water. That they can't repair the damage done because the metal is crumbly and it'll be another $1300 to replace the water line. But they'll do it for just $900. Gah. I can't exactly get other bids right now, not being able onside to see the damage, show it to other contractors/plumbers, or generally deal with the issue except via cell phone. I can't even get a straight answer on the length of the repair involved.

Meanwhile i text my cat sitters to let them know about the lack of water, where bottled water is for the furry guys, and rainwater for dishwashing, etc. Turns out the water was already off yesterday morning, maybe earlier.

I just love how on top of things my contractor is.

eta: all my contact info on plumbers and other contractors is, of course, at home in a notebook there. Not with me. Making trying to get a price estimate from other sources even more difficult.