"It's Still There" - Emiel Van Egdom, 1989

For those of you who have been dying for an update to an earlier story, here you go!

Following quite a few days of disappointment, I spotted the blue sock again this morning. Yes, it's out of the tree and is now on the path, resting on a plastic shopping bag.




Did somebody take it off the tree limb, carry it off, and then reject it -- throwing both it and its carrier bag back down on the path? Or did the sock make its own way over to the discarded bag, hoping against hope that somebody would take pity on them both and take them home?

I shall, of course, keep you posted!

Janet

"Sitting on Top of the World" - Mississippi Sheiks, 1930

Regular Lord Celery readers might remember that some time ago I took a photo of a ladybird/ladybug I found in our house, eyeing our jelly beans.

Well, this evening, when I was watering some of the plants in our back garden, I spotted more of them. They were perched on top of some cornflower-blue-flowering plants that were already planted in the flower bed when we moved into the house...sorry, I don't remember what kind of plant they are.

So I grabbed the camera to take a few photos. They are so beautiful, and I love how they are sitting near the highest point of each plant!

And if you'll look at the third photo closely, you'll see that there's a third little colorful girl/fellow on top of the bud as well!

Janet

"Getting Older Every Day" - Big Bill Broonzy, 1940

For many reasons, I'm really starting to feel my age these days. As a result, I seem to be paying more attention to all that "You Know You're Getting Older If..." stuff.

I heard a really funny one on BBC Radio 2 the other day. I'm pretty sure it was on Ken Bruce's morning show.

Somebody suggested that you know you're getting old if, when you listen to the Beatles' song "She's Leaving Home", you realize that you are identifying more with the parents than with the daughter!

"Bye, bye..."

Meanwhile, I seem to have developed a craving for BBC Radio 4 on weekday mornings. And I no longer subscribe to "Rolling Stone".

Yikes. I'm turning into a grownup!

Janet

"Cherry Pink (and Apple Blossom White)" - Perez Prado, 1955

One of my favorite signs of spring has just happened. The dwarf apple tree that we planted in our garden four years ago, when we first moved into our home, has started to bloom. Despite our dreadful weather in December, it looks great...unlike the Russian sage plant in front of the house, which has well and truly croaked.

Life is getting better. There's light at the end of the tunnel after all!

Janet

"I Lost a Sock" - D Lang/M Gordon/J Wolfe, 2001

Several weeks ago, I noticed something lying next to the sidewalk ("pavement", as they would say here) near John's office. It was a single bright blue sock. A sock. How do you lose one sock? A jacket, maybe. Perhaps even your shirt, if you took if off on a warm day and hung it on a fence or wall. But a sock? How do you lose a sock and still walk around? Here's what I saw that day...


(You can click on any photo for a full-sized version.)

A few days later, the sock disappeared. I figured that somebody clearing the debris off the sidewalk probably picked it up.

BUT...then this morning, here's what I spotted, only a few yards from the original location...

So the mystery - and the workings of my imagination - continues. Is this the same sock? If so, how did it get there? Did it muster up its own energy and fling itself into the tree, or was it placed there by some do-gooder?

OR...is it actually the sock for the other foot?

Janet

"The Weight" - The Band, 1968

While John was getting ready for work this morning, I switched on the TV in our bedroom. As it was not yet 6am, ITV1 was broadcasting Nightscreen, a collection of still photos and brief descriptions of upcoming ITV programs. One of the items caught my eye.

I'm not entirely sure which program was being previewed - it might have been one hosted by Ant and Dec - but it had to do with a family game show.

And apparently, on the next broadcast of this program, the families are competing for a "250,000-pound prize". That's exactly how it was written.

That's a lot of weight, so I began wondering what the prize might be. A quick Google came up with the following possibilities...items weighing 250,000 pounds:

> a NASA space shuttle, when on Earth

> the amount of weight of a steam locomotive that's carried on its driving wheels

> the huge LED Walgreen's sign on the One Times Square building in New York City

> the portion of the Statue of Liberty that is made of steel

Janet

PS This is not an April Fool's joke, either!