Quick early-morning check-in here.
Thanks to all for the kind salutations! I’m very glad to be back home – nothing like sleeping in one’s own bed – and Ollie continues deliriously happy at being reunited with his crate, too. Unfortunately, I’m going to scare him a little bit later on, because we must return to the kennel briefly for his regular nail appointment. His nails grow so fast, I daren’t miss every 3 weeks on the bing. As one of his carers noted, if we didn’t keep them in check, Ollie’s feet would look like a parrot’s.
Just for you, shoe. 
Best wishes for your mom’s surgery. I’m sure all will go well, but I understand her trepidation. Thanks to Bbbooo for her as-usual fine advice!
CatGlove, best of luck re the biopsy and I hope required treatment will be the least painful and worrisome!
Tsk. And here I thought we could be friends. 
I make my own Ciabatta, and it’s fabulous. I’ve been on a bit of a kick with it the last few months, not wanting any other sort of bread. I make lots of bread styles, including a mean French loaf, but right now it’s Ciabatta all the way, baybee!
JtC, thanks for your kind thoughts re my folks and I hope the Chestnut trees catch a break. I’m so sick of the endless, mindless destruction approach to “governance” over the past decade and some. I’d best not get started on that. It’s a delight to watch your progress healing from your shoulder surgery!
Well, you know what they say: If you want something done right… Good luck to Squeaky getting into whichever university he most wants! I’m sure he will.
swampy, I love your RDOS style! I must remember to pick up some moderately priced champagne for… whatever. I, too, remember Dark Shadows, but I never watched more than a snippet. It was more soap opera than anything else, and we kids were not permitted to watch those. My parents considered them low class. They sure looked fascinating, though!
Great kitteh pics, Lily! They are so beautiful and look wonderfully healthy!
Conga-rats on getting your weight back to where you want it, metal mouse!
Happy camera-ing, fly boy!
Nut, I feel your frustration. Tradespeople who don’t keep in touch when the schedule changes is a particular pet peeve of mine. I get why schedules change. I don’t get what is so hard about notifying those of us who are downstream and whose time is being wasted. I hope the next appointment goes more smoothly. And I remember that New Zealand guy! How cool that you got to meet him!
Spoons, well done on the trifecta! 
As you say, nice way to end the season.
BooFae, I enjoyed keeping up with your escapades at music gatherings while I was away! You and 'im indoors are very dedicated, and I am sure always a welcome presence at these events. Hope things settle down at work soon.
Knots, yikes on the fall. They are always scary. I recently suffered one when I tried to mount the stairs at my friends’ place to the landing at their back door. I was carrying a squirming Ollie in his crate, managed to catch my foot under a piece of indoor-outdoor carpeting on the deck and down I went. I somehow managed to twist into a face-up position but still hit my head on the bottom rail of their decorative railing. Being hard-headed has its advantages and I was fine, if a bit rattled over how fast it had happened. I’m glad you are ok, too!
FCM, enjoy lunch with mom and sis! As for the driving, as my late husband used to always say, “Enjoy the scenery!”
Taters, I hope you can get some time on the bikes soon! It sounds like such fun. Meantime, catching up on trash tee vee does sound like a splendid pasttime!
I’m sorry for your BIL’s challenges, wet one. It does sound like trying times are ahead. My best to you.
I am off shortly to take Ollie to his nail appointment, as previously mentioned. Once I get him back home and settled, I need to dash back out to do banking, pick up prescriptions and run deep into town to pick up my guitar. I’m sure some time will be spent when I get home to see if I can still manage a tune or two.
Recent meals have been out of the freezer or based on the rubber chicken I picked up last Friday and not terribly exciting. I think tonight I’ll make braised sirloin tips with onion and peas over noodles, since I polished off the chicken last night.
I dodged a freezer disaster over the weekend – noticed some items had softened and worried the poor old thing (at least 30 years old) had finally given out. But no; I had simply not closed the door firmly, and everything was well. I only use that freezer for smelly trash awaiting permanent disposal, so no harm done when it does give out. But I didn’t really want to have to deal with the attendant rigamarole if it had shit itself in that moment. Our local government has raised trash disposal rates at our trash transfer stations to $25/visit, so I only want to make trash runs when I have a very full load. I can recycle for free, so it will be a few months until I have enough actual trash to make a run worthwhile.
Time to release the hound in advance of his traumatic adventures today.
Why is “bespoke” suddenly the word of the moment? I’m already sick of it!
Have fantastic days, everyone!
yeah, we have a buncha morons on this side of the pond claiming they’re going to relocate an entire ancient woodland so they can extend a quarry, like that’s how anything works[1].