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I'm stopping by for a walk around to see our rare species of animals and then I'll have a sit down by the fire with a hot toddy...I'll see you all there

Nicola I'll just take off my muddy boots and then I'll give you a hug

I second the hot toddy by the fire. I have my faithful camels Habibi and Aziz here. But I have to park them outside since they may be a bit clumsy.
They can be rather cuddly at times, too. Maybe I will take them for a stroll through Camel Cove right next to Puffin Burrows. )

Does anyone mind if I bring the cats? Always a nice addition to a lap when sitting in front of the fire.
They do, unfortunately get things in the wrong order. They grab and then stash the little birds if they can get their paws on them. However if kept indoors they could amuse themselves at the windows for hours yipping and singing to the birds instead of grabbing & stashing them.

Regards,

Richard.

Cats are particularly welcome, Richard! Nothing like a purring presence on your lap, spreading fur all over your stitching

All pets are always welcome. The atmosphere is such that they play and cuddle together when sleeping on the cozy rug in front of the fireplace. There are also lots of hide and seek games when they wake up from naps or sometimes before napping.

Carole

That's exactly right: all animals treat the Stash & Grab as a sort of prelapsarian Eden. If we had a lion (which we don't; do wildcats count?), it would lie down with that lamb over there. As it is, we have unicorns who enjoy frolicking by the fountains and they have made special friends with Habibi and Aziz. So all the birds are safe, Richard, also the kitties are encouraged to continue singing to them, of course.

Serinde wrote:If we had a lion (which we don't; do wildcats count?)

We don't have a lion? I wondered why I didn't see one....? I'll have to fix that

Since I don't have work today I am going to prop myself over by the bar and drink a Guinness Stout.

I should have said there were no lions here... up the road, there are lions and even polar bears (although not together -- they need such different environments).

I'm a Leo if you're looking for a lion?

There's always one, Sire...

So many animals here now! I love it. Just thought I'd pop in here to say hello and grab a tasty beverage...and then check out the puffin burrows. Life got a little hectic, and while I've managed to check in on people's WIPs, I haven't really been posting. On the plus side, I did manage to keep stitching

Happy Birthday, by the way! Hope you enjoy a piece of your when you get back from the puffins.

Thank you! This is the best place to have a piece of cake--no calories!

I love purring friends!!!!!
IRL we had first one big stray male, who had been born outside. He got neutered. Next we got a domestic cat's kitten. We thought he was a she, but later he turned out to be a he. He got neutered. Then a third cat came along. He was a stray cat again, but very sweet. He stayed intact. No neutering for him.
Then our very first cat died, and a small, domestic cat's male kitten joined the household. He got neutered.
Then an adult female cat joined along. She was definitely a she, and intact.
The intact male & intact female in the household -> sure recipe for tiny purring friends. And that's what happened. 4 little purring friends saw the daylight. 2 males, 2 females.
Unfortunately those 4 made my lungs so sensitive I can't have a purring friend anymore. I can stitch the pictures of purring friends, but I can't own a purring friend.
*cough cough*
Uh oh, that's not a good sign. If I could get potatoes cooked in salt water and béchamel sauce with only salt spicing it, I'd be the happiest woman of the planet. And when the dessert is concerned, I could take one hot chocolate with tiny mount of ginger, I'd be so happy. And maybe some buttermilk cake too. (At least nurses of the hospital know what that cake is.)
I sit in an armchair near the window.

I am in the corner in front of that roaring log fire (it's virtual so smokeless won't harm the atmosphere! )

On Monday our heating boiler packed in! Only 9 months since it was repaired and it's the same darn fault! There's a small sensor device in the flue and it's failed and been replaced twice now! The engineer came on Monday very promptly, but the replacement part had to be ordered. We asked if it would be better to replace the boiler, but for now we are just replacing the faulty part as it'll take longer to get all the work done for total replacement!
Surviving on electric (expensive) radiators dotted about and our log burner in the main room.
Weather not as bad as Chicago thank goodness but it's hovering on 0 C degrees (32F) and very wet and windy.

But in the S&G it's cosy and warm and the House Elves are doing a fantastic job keeping the place tidy and the logs stacked up!

Grumble Over!

Poor Wendy - keep warm and snug! Lots of hot chocolate (or leftover mulled wine ?)

Stay warm. The weather is so goofy right now, isn't it? I would complain about our 32 degree F (0 C) but having experienced what is happening in my home town (Chicago) I don't feel like I can. -26F (-32C) is absurdly cold. It was a -86 (-65.5) Wind Chill (January 1985). So just thinking about it leads me to add another log or two to the fireplace, put my warmest socks on and get a refill of my favorite Irish Coffee. The more the merrier so whoever wants to join us, there is plenty more where that comes from.

Carole
(but know it could be a lot worse)

Have just supervised the delivery of several cords of dry, seasoned wood, which is now split and stacked, ready for use. Golly, it's cold! But the sky is blue! At least here, it is...

Have been keeping up with the Polar Vortex... family in Michigan are Quite Cold and even the dog isn't going out. I remember something similar back in Chicago in the late 70s -- walking to the train was, shall we say, an outing for Nanook of the North!

Serinde wrote:Have been keeping up with the Polar Vortex... family in Michigan are Quite Cold and even the dog isn't going out. I remember something similar back in Chicago in the late 70s -- walking to the train was, shall we say, an outing for Nanook of the North!

They are lighting fires under the tracks of the trains to keep the metal from freezing on the trains. And the crazy part is that tomorrow or the weekend it will be roughly 100 degrees warmer in Chicago. We will be going from the 30's to the low 70's next week. Before the next cold blast.
Right now Laverne asks to have the window open to her catio since it looks like she would have lots of sun to sleep in, sticks her nose out and then gives me a look like "excuse me, but you forgot to heat this room" and then heads to the bedroom to snuggle under the covers.

Carole

he he eh Dear Miss Lavern, now what made you think Carole that she would like to cool her nose off before heading to bed.

Sure sounds like the US nad UK are having crazy weather.

Down here it is crazy too only in the opposite way. we have just gone through the hottest every January on record!!! and we know it.
Up the Top End of Queensland/Northern Territory a monsoon trough has been all but stationary for days and they are having 24 hr rainfall totals in the 400 - 800 mm range. It is now moving south a little ways taking torrential rain, floods and mayhem with it.

Down here in Brisbane we have seen a couple of sprinkles, the 1st sign of anything wet (apart from, swimming pools or the ocean) since early December and then very little. Lawns are brown everywhere. Water restrictions are due any day and water storage tanks are all but empty.

So please send your snow and rain on down here - we would love it.