"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"- Klaatu, 1976

Here's what we can see from our back door this evening...


(Click on the image for a full-sized version.)

So the neighbors are either communicating with extraterrestrials with one of the world's largest home dishes, or a huge gust of wind got hold of their trampoline!

Janet

"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" - Michael Jackson, 1979

I guess Michael got enough. His heart stopped at the young age of 50.

RIP to an incredibly talented but troubled man. I prefer to remember him like this.

Janet

"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" - Aerosmith, 1987

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has had more than his share of political scandals. Besides his business and political problems, his wife is divorcing him.

As a result of everything going on in his life right now - and judging from what I saw on the BBC this afternoon - Berlusconi must have decided that a make-over would be good for his image...

Janet

"Get What's Coming to You" - Get Set Go, 2007

I overheard a little snippet of conversation in Oxford today, as I walked by the court house on the way back to the office after a lunchtime errand.

Picture this: Two 20-something males. Smoking. Posture suggested that something wasn't going well. And they weren't the type of blokes you'd want to meet in a dark alley either. I was glad it was daylight.

One of them said to the other....

"Mate, you know what I did to the flat. Well, I wouldn't have done it if I'd known he'd sue me."

Janet

PS My clock is still running! And I still haven't touched it.

"U Can't Touch This" - MC Hammer, 1990

I moved a couple of really charming striking clocks over to England with me six and a half years ago. One of them made the trip just fine. The other didn't fare so well. It hasn't run since it was unpacked in April 2003.

I just haven't gotten around to having the clock serviced. Well, actually, I haven't found any recommended clock repairers yet. And I just can't bear to turn the clock over to just anybody.

Over the years, I kept thinking that perhaps it was wound too tightly before the move. Certainly, there's no way the key will turn any farther to wind the main clock mechanism. So off and on, I've opened up the back and tried to manually get it to run, just to loosen it up. But nothing has worked.

I really don't know why, but I tried again this afternoon. Lo and behold, it started running on its own! But I couldn't leave well enough alone. I started moving the hands to reset the time. It stopped again. Damn.

Undaunted, though, I played with one of the little wheels in the mechanism for about 20 more minutes before it restarted itself. And this time, it kept running.

So John told me to not touch it...to not even think about moving it or touching it for a day or so. And of course he was right, no matter how tempted I've been to make the time correct.

The clock is still on the dining room table, where I was messing with it. And every time I walk past the door, MC Hammer's famous single becomes the soundtrack in my head.

But I refrain from dancing. I'm an awful dancer.

Janet

"Two of Us" - Beatles, 1970

One of the great joys of our North Oxfordshire home is the assortment of birds that visit our various feeders, all year round. Among my favorites this time of year are the elusive Great Spotted Woodpeckers. They are just gorgeous. But they don't like people very much. Even the slightest movement by John or by me in a window of the house will send any of the woodpeckers flying back toward the trees.

But a few days ago, I noticed a "Woody" feeding on our nut feeder. I moved toward the back door to get a better look. Rather than hiding on back side of the feeder - as they often do - this one was feeding where he/she could clearly see me in the window. And it wasn't bothered. I wondered if it might be a youngster who doesn't know better (yet). Thanks to the RSPB's website, I identified the red-headed bird as a juvenile Great Spotted. So sure enough, he/she is still a little naive and not yet as skittish as an adult woodpecker would be.

Then, to my amazement, a second woodpecker (with a dark head...meaning it's an adult) flew onto the feeder as well. Incredibly, I had the chance to take this shot...

(Click on the photo for a full-sized image.)

Beautiful, aren't they?

Janet

"A Bone to Pick" - Those Poor Bastards, 2005

Have you missed me?

Sorry for the silence. I don't have any one excuse for the lack of motivation to write here. There are a lot of reasons. I won't bore you with them.

But now it's time for a fresh start.

A few nights ago, my mother-in-law told me, during a phone conversation, that she had a bone to pick with me. She missed my Lord Celery entries. And I guess her comment was just what I needed to start writing again....oh, that and the fact that one my my friends in Texas has just entered the world of blogging. (Give her new blog a try at Tunes 'n Twine. She's such an exceptional writer - and human being - and I'm sure she'll have interesting things to say.)

So I'm back. Hopefully, I'll once again get into the flow of sharing the contents of my strange brain with the outside world.

Janet