Otter beard

Recent posts have featured Son-blog in a number of pictures sporting his facial fur. Until now I had thought that he had followed the movement towards "lumbersexual" and was eschewing the teenage look of One Direction. This look involves growing an excessively long beard in an attempt to look like a cross between a lumberjack and a metrosexual man.

I then discovered this link and when I followed I realised that Son-blog has in fact been working unpaid for an american animal rescue charity. More to the point his beard has a life of its own, swims and drinks milk!

http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/this-is-what-it-takes-to-teach-a-baby-otter-to-be-an-otter--lkEn1X7Hve

Happy New Year to both my readers!!

Work outs

Following the festive blow-out I decided to lead by example and head to the gym.

Son and daughter blog came along and daughter-blog took the lead with son-blog offering to teach him what she has learned since starting at "Cross Fit". (Not sure which sense the word Cross is used in).

So I expected to see son-blog doing this...

Or perhaps this...

So it was a surprise to turn around and see this...

The true meaning of Christmas

Just back from Church where our Polish priest gave a sermon on the message of the gospel. "Trust and Pensions". I was suddenly alert when I would normally be nodding off. Being in financial services I am aware of the seismic changes to our pension rules coming in to force next year and I wondered if there was some divine angle that I needed to be aware of. Added to that I have been promoting the advantages of trusts for over twenty five years. This could be the most personally relevant sermon of my entire life!

I listened intently, but there was not one single reference to annuities, retirement age or beneficiaries. Then I realised it was about "Trust and Patience".

Drink problems

Earlier today Daughter-blog and I were at the bottle bank doing our civic duty and disposing of a generous number of empty bottles. Just after we pulled up Gordon arrived and did the same.

"We had more bottles than he did!" said Daughter-blog proudly

"I know," said I, shame-faced, "But he runs a thirty-six room hotel!!"

(PS George-blog is off the hook!)

Geographical Challenges

Nephew-George-Blog (of the Sussex-Blogs) has been touring South America and keeping us all up to date with his own blog. Entitled "The other idiot abroad" - there is a link on the right hand side of the page, scroll down till you get there - it is more amusing than this load of drivel.

So - he has had a free plug from me, you might think he is at the very least reading my posts, but no!

By the miracles of blogger I can see where in the world my readers are, this month includes China, Russia, US, UK, Japan and Ukraine. Argentina? Uruguay? Not a sniff! 

Kids Home

The festive season has seen the blog-kids return home which means ample opportunities for blog material between now and the New Year.

Son-blog did not disappoint - on his first evening home he brushed his hair forward over his bearded face...

Knife hazards

Many times I have warned Mrs Blog about eh dangers of handling sharp knives. At the forefront of my mind was the risk of injury, especially the sudden loss of body parts.

So when Mrs Blog called out that she had done something with the sharpest knife we own and needed my help, I was ready to leap up with a bandage and bucket of ice, whilst simultaneously dialling 999 on the phone. No need for panic, it was embedded in a butternut squash...

Non-festive handwash

Mrs Blog has been shopping and, as his her wont, she purchased a natty looking handwash. Decorated in silver it looks pretty expensive, visitors are sure to be impressed!

Sadly, if the visitors are to stay impressed, they will need to make sure they don't actually use it!! I did and my hands smelled like Heinz Baked Beans for an hour!

Custard is a bullied bully

Custard, the eldest of our chickens, has been suffering from a bit of bullying for the last couple of months . The culprits are a pair of crows who fly in to the coop area and eat any bread they find. Custard has been pretending not to notice, almost certainly because she is scared of a fight, despite the fact that the crows are half her size and none too fast.

This week I saw her fighting back, not against the crows but a...blue tit! Custard has a way of running that makes her look like a toddler with a dirty nappy and the sight of her running back and forth across the garden, trying to out pace a flighted bird has made my week!