Sleep deprived solstice

We celebrated the summer solstice by being woken up by our downstairs neighbour deciding to practising his bongo playing at 3am. He was very decent about stopping when Madame went down to complain but he might have just been stunned into silence by the sight of her Bride of Frankenstein hair and pink frilly bloomers. Or maybe not since he was working a 1980s Italian knitwear model look. Apparently.

Sleep would have been nice. We are both knackered. Lots of busy. All the usual stuff and getting ready for our holiday next month. We're going Up North and then Over There.

The computer has been playing up which hasn't helped. I probably shouldn't mention this - it is very huffy. Oops - right in the middle of typing - eek - Listen Again decided to shut down. Honestly. A diva with a modem attached.

Our computer knowledge is a bit limited. I'm very good at pressing the big ON button. Madame presses the smaller buttons and wibbles the mouse. But if anything goes wrong mostly we panic and she cries and I get soggy. And then she starts having fantasies about going back to wind-up gramophones and crystal sets.

Except. All the stuff we would miss. No more

Nemu*Nemu

Savages Chickens

Bear & Kitten

Boing Boing

or the chance to see this again ...

Happy Birthday. Snuggly fruit. Gardening in the dark.

It could be argued that it doesn't take much to distract me from my sulky strop. But this is marvelous. Wondrous. I am going to authorise the use of a "squeeeeeeee!" here. This is also completely silly, frivolous, and probably totally unnecessary. I could be wrong. There are possibly good reasons for keeping your apples and pears all snuggly and warm and wrapped up in pretty colours. Ta da! Woolly jumpers for fruit!

Another fine recommendation from Fabulist!

Hope this makes up for the earlier gloom. Madame says I can play with her new black feather fan while she learns more about In The Night Garden. Hum. All aboard the Ninky Nonk. Quite.

Oh, and ... Unkle S ...

just this

big city rat, Mr Herzog and fear

Some stuff for Friday - it is Friday, yes?

Better than a visit from Arthur Scargill and a bus load of flying pickets - it's the inflatable labour dispute rodent.

The A.V. Club have a short but interesting interview with Mr Werner Herzog.

And finally - spotted on Journalista - how to master fear and impress bears.

Idzigs

Another image from Uncle S. - she's had this on her LibraryThing profile and is allowing me to use it in return for not having her put down.

I think she's starting to recover from her cold - the death bed scenes are getting to be less Little Women and more Norma Desmond. My head is still loose but I'm not complaining.

Nearly forgot - idzigs = like a bear with a sore head - in Latvian, allegedly. See also: dusmigs ka velns (cross as a bear) and laca saplosits (mauled by a bear). Latvia. It's going to be fun, fun, fun.

Pierre the Naughty Pirate Bear

This is beyond brilliant. Uncle S. did it. He's in the Starry Wisdom Cult.

In other news, she is still has a cold.