I am writing a quick post to dislodge the giant cardigan wearing man from Mr Devine’s sideboard. Future readers of this post, and my previous post, may be baffled beyond belief, they may not know of the havoc that a WordPress ‘featured image’ can cause on certain types of Blogger sideboards. Anyhow, this post should clear up the mess.
Meanwhile, I have not been very creative this year. I’m not sure what I’ve been doing. I do waste a bit of time on Apple Arcade games…
Top of the leaderboard!!I am very rarely at the top of the leaderboard – this position was a one off for me!
And I do take long walks looking for moody photo opportunities…
And I am trying to declutter my home, and redecorate – this might be my major time suck, as I do own a lot of rubbish that I really should have thrown out years ago
In all honesty, I really would like to get back into collage and calligraphy. I am back doing the Copperplate Special Interest Group envelope exchange, and for this I made a set of prints of one of my favourite quotes…
I am now contemplating starting my CHRISTMAS cards. Yes, I have used the word: CHRISTMAS! But before all of that I think I will enjoy the Indian Summer – finally some warmth in the UK!
Have a good week!
Wonky Words 
I am enjoying the warmth again (very little direct sunshine on the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers, unfortunately, thanks to other people‘s trees), having a potter around the garden.
It is Giant Spider Season, and they’re far more fascinating to watch than any computer games! Jx
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Giant Spider Season!!! This is why I used to have cats. My goodness though, when I lived in Kent my living room was a spider thoroughfare! My house was wattle and daub so the spiders loved it – a lot more than I did.
I was out this morning, and it was far too hot for walking – be grateful for the shade!!
Sx
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I love watching the huge orb-web spiders in the garden, but even I (and I’ve never had arachnophobia) shudder at seeing those house spiders scuttle across the carpet. A jam-jar and a piece of card slid under it, and they’re out! Jx
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Jon – They make me jump out of my skin when I see them race across the rug – usually towards me! Mr Blue catches them in his hand to take out into the garden, but they sometimes escape, which leads to much screaming and running upstairs on my part.
Sx
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I hope that as well as watching, you are also taking photos of the “huge orb-web spiders in the garden” for the impending Garden Photos Event, Jon?
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Will do – I was too busy feeding all the pots today to take photos, but it’s supposed to be nice all week, so I’m sure the camera will come out one day this week after work… Jx
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Mr D and Jon – I have actually already made my Triffid pictures! I’m quite pleased with them so I’m very much looking forward to the gardening event!
Sx
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Ah, splendid! To both Jon’s “getting the camera out” comment, and Ms Scarlet’s “already in the bag” Triffid photos!
And I’m curious as to who got the medal/trophy for indoor fly fishing – Mitzi or Lucy?
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I’m very pleased that I’ve made a bit of an effort throughout the year – but there maybe some gaps in July/August as rain stopped play!
Sx
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During lockdown, I was so bored I invented a new sport called indoor fly fishing, it involved siting in the living room with the French windows wide open, waiting for a big juicy fly to enter, when one entered I’d shut the windows so it couldn’t escape and used a minimum amount of fly killer on it, when it was on it’s back buzzing it’s last on the window ledge, I picked it up by it’s wing with a pair of tweezers (because you never know where they’ve been) and fed it to Lucy, a common garden spider that made her web outside, on my kitchen window frame, she’d scurry to the centre of the web to greet me, as brazen as you like, her legs would begin to wrap the tasty morsel using her arse silk, it was fascinating to watch and yet slightly disturbing, when they relaxed the rules, the window cleaner came round and Lucy was no more, I miss that spider, we had a rapport.
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Mitzi – Believe it or not I have also fed a spider a fly! I used to have a spider that lived beneath the wooden bath panel – he or she used to pop out and look at me whenever I was on the loo – and I started feeding it out of curiosity. Anyhow, renovations were afoot and a new bathroom was installed, I thought that would be the end of my multi-legged friend – but no, she found a new home under the new bath panel, which was nice, imagine my surprise when there she was peering at me as I was perched on my new loo seat. Spiders – they don’t like moving.
Sx
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Drat! I thought Mitzi’s indoor fly fishing comment was in the previous thread, not the beginning of a new one, so I’ve left the comment in the wrong place.
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Welcome to my confused and befuddled head, Mr Devine! I am feeling poorly today – the heat has driven me to my fainting chaise, so nothing makes much sense at the moment!
Sx
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Ooh! Big orb weavers! I do miss “my” big girls. But the other night, while I had cook’s oily hands, a big huntsman marched down the wall and The Man had to do the big-glass-and-card trick. 15 minutes later, another huntsman, minus a couple of legs appeared and I hollared for the catcher man. Google Huntsman spider https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsman_spider
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In Laos, male giant huntsman spiders (Heteropoda maxima) attain a legspan of 25–30 centimetres (9.8–11.8 in). I think I’d scream, too! Jx
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Oh, our Aussie ones are big ( and quick!), but not dangerous.
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Dinah – Good God. I would need smelling salts if I was approached by one of those.
Sx
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Holy mother of GOD Dinah, that’s not a spider, that’s a small dog! I remember you saying how you could hear them walking around on the walls?! Now I get it – they’re big enough to wear Docs, after all. DAYUM.
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Bloomin’ arachnids, eh? Nothing much doing here, except that Dudley Spotting was up before the assizes for another Act of Gross Oddity the other day … how he’s managed to avoid being defrocked is a mystery, frankly. The villagers of Drench still talk in hushed tones of that time when Charmaine KO’d him with a Sonny Liston special at the harvest festival, by the way. Well, I hardly need remind you, of course. Thank heavens the Silly Season will soon be over.
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Mr Batarde – The problem is that we go from Silly Season to even Sillier Season! I mean, I wanted an Indian Summer, but I didn’t necessarily want it to be a fry up. 21º would have been lovely, but 30º???? At least we have long shadows this time of year.
You can spot a lot in Dudley. Most of it unidentified. You know me, always boxing clever!
Sx
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Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…. (relaxes)
You won?! You WON! Did you get a prize? A medal?? A mention in the papers??? Is there going to be a national holiday in your honour????
Oh, before I start wondering what I’m going to do on the impending national holiday, that’s a beautiful photo, and beautiful quote & envelope, too (the flourishes/curly bits are lovely!).
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I knew you would be relieved, Mr D!
No prizes for being at the top of the SP!NG leaderboard! My eyes nearly fell out of my head though. I am often in the top 20, I count myself very lucky if I make it into the top 10! I sometimes imagine I am playing amongst those in their twenties with swift reflexes, but they may be old codgers such as myself.
Sx
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Congratulations on topping that Hafted Maul and some guy named “Kev” even if only for a short time, Ms. Blue! You’ll have to pull the cardigan back out in October, but maybe not quite so big. I’ve learned to manipulate the “Featured Image” to my preferred level of acceptable annoyance by tossing it in Microsoft image editor first. Hahaha.
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Melanie – I know! Both Hafted, and Kev, are difficult to beat – I had my moment of glory for about 5 hours. It’s enough.
Yes, my iPad does make my photos enormous – hahahaha!!! I usually fiddle with the pixels to make the pictures smaller, but where’s the fun in that?!
Yep, the cardigan, and the thermal vest will return in October.
Sx
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Gorgeous photo!
I’m not being terribly creative at the moment, either, it’s driving me nuts, but I can’t seem to motivate myself to do anything but play Spelling Bee in The New York Times.
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Thank you, Eryl!
I looked at my 2023 calligraphy photo album – it is sparse, I’ve done very little this year other than tidy up around the house.
At least you have written some good blog posts in response to the WordPress prompts. Maybe our lack of motivation is down to the state of the world – too much going wrong to feel motivated to do anything but worry?!
Wordle is a highlight in my day!
Sx
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You may be right, I’m definitely feeling a little nihilistic at the moment. X
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My compadre was in Boots the other day and assumed that the empty shelves meant that it about to become the latest casualty of the death of the British high street, but on enquiring she was told that they are making room for Christmas stuff. Not seen any cards yet but no doubt they’ll be along any minute.
Hope you enjoy the Indian summer. I’m all in favour of it as it means some of the trains conk out so we get sent home early.
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Looby – Unbelievably, a rain shower has just this minute found me! Which has cooled the air, thank goodness. I’m not looking forward to trying to sleep in this.
Yep, the cards will be on sale before Halloween!
Sx
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Holy guacamole. I’ve spent the past four years being dead, but you keep on going. Sisyphus be praised!
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Mr Kinky! I didn’t know you were still on the blogs??! I tidied my blog sideboard the other day – apologies, but I think I put you in the cupboard. If you’re going to make a blogging comeback I will of course put you back on the sideboard!
I think ‘still going’ might be an exaggeration! Limping along would be a more accurate description! Lovely to see you!
Sx
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Cupboard? You are too kind. A cardboard box in the shed would be more appropriate.
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It’s rather impressive how much your readers know about the order Araneae.
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Ms Mistress – If only I could knit, I’d have plenty of customers!
Sorry, I’m feeling a little baffled by everything today – I’m useless with really hot days!
Sx
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“Wordle” is nice, and these row-of-three-games …
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I do it every morning in a competition with my friend – my streak is the longest at the moment, but not that long in the great scheme of things!
Sx
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This must be where it’s at these days, and no wonder! Now that I’ve chased you down I can say HOORAY YOU’RE BACK TO CALLIGRAPHY!! I fervently hope, that is. You are so talented. The photo is dreamy too, the distance, the cut field, all of it. Now please, please stay in one spot so I can find you!
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Ms Nations – Awww… thank you for your encouraging words re the calligraphy! I’ve been meaning to do more all year – I really have been out of sorts during 2023. It’s more a case of building a mojo rather than finding a lost one!
Sx
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