The Captain Becomes Thoughtful

We were driving back from our visit to my bro in law and family in York last Thursday
when I noticed that Captain Butterfly had a very thoughtful profile.  Was he thinking over the question of: Life, the Universe and Everything?  Or maybe even considering buying another camera? That one requires an immense amount of concentrated research.

Suddenly, the profile spoke.

"Jen's crumble was really good. Just the right amount of tartness."

I had to agree it was.   She served it as dessert on Wednesday. And with the right accompaniment - custard.  It was a mixed fruit crumble - possibly from fruit she had foraged herself. I must remember to ask.

The Captain has standards for his favourite dessert. And so far the Fat Cat Apple Crumble and My Own Version of Same have vied for top place. But we may just have been overtaken.

That was a momentous Wednesday.

The Poor Captain is down with a bad cold and not at all the usual dynamo.  And I am not too wonderful myself, my poor battered immune system still can't get rid of old cold, or exactly fight off new Sheffield cold...

But I got to the meeting last night. Driving was awful - windshield freezing as I drove.  But I am so glad i went and reconnected with the most perfect teaching that there is in the world.

I hope to get back out in the field on Saturday, but not if the ground is icy. I cannot afford another fall.

We came back to some very good news.  Linda and John are engaged- and we are going to plan a champagne supper to celebrate!  Some good news to tell Jacks on Saturday.

The Berlin Wall between Cat and Dog

The wall was up again at the bungalow - but a bit different from before, and we had to get used to the new rules, times, and the complicated gate with catflap.

Doris was described by the Shelter as "a dog who will not chase cats".  A sentence accurate in every way if only they had left the word "not" out.

Captain Butterfly and Mrs Captain (myself) arrived back on the South Coast yesterday afternoon.  It took us 5 hours, door to door. So a good journey.  No hold ups, apart from one very brief and unusual one.  There was a sign "SLOW- ANIMALS ON ROAD".    ??   Then Captain B saw a swan, with the RSPCA van there. So we hope for the best for it.

We took our usual sandwiches and flask of tea.

Its strange to be home again after 10 days away, though I am enjoying the comforts  The arthritis and the mechanical bits inside me make it hard to cope with other peoples' houses.    And I don't think I have ever felt so tired.  Even the human dynamo that is the Captain is tired.

I have had a terrible fail in shopping and there was no bread in the freezer when we got back. So we had defrosted veggie soup last night  - and I had to quickly make some rather stodgy dumplings to go with it. And, as neither of us has been able to get ourselves together and shop yet, we will be having the remains of the soup for lunch, and I am making some chapattis to go with it.

The third load of washing has just been done.

ARRIVALS - Jeremy Abrahams

Jeremy Abrahams cycled round to deliver our copies of his book "Arrivals. Making Sheffield Home" in person, and joined Nute, Ken, Keith, the Captain and me for coffee.

The book is a series of masterly photographs of immigrants from all over the world who settled in Sheffield and made it home.

It contains a photograph of our father, as a handsome young man.  Nute is holding his framed photo near to where The Wedding Cake (the Registery Office he designed) used to stand.

And the Captain and I went to the Exhibition in Western Park yesterday afternoon.
http://www.museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/weston-park/exhibitions/current/arrivals-making-sheffield-home

A masterly set of photographs, and well worth a visit.

And it was lovely to see small children everywhere. Yet another generation starting to discover the world through the Weston Park Museum, as we did, such a long time ago.

It is now 2017 and I am so grateful we are all still here. Fireworks last night keeping us awake.  Poor Scooter disappeared, but turned up, starving hungry, at 3 a.m.

Pen was over Friday/Saturday and we had a writing session.  I now have the first page of my next book. But whether it will work or not - time will tell.

What I must do today is catch up with my studying.   I need a good reassuring comforting dose of God's word.  We are in the Book of Isaiah at the moment - which contains, among other things, the promise that when God;s Kingdom is ruling over the earth, nature will no longer be "red in tooth and claw".

Isaiah 11:6-9: "The wolf will reside for a while with the lamb, And with the young goat the leopard will lie down, And the calf and the lion and the fattened animal will all be together; And a little boy will lead them.  The cow and the bear will feed together, And their young will lie down together. The lion will eat straw like the bull.   The nursing child will play over the lair of a cobra, And a weaned child will put his hand over the den of a poisonous snake.   They will not cause any harm Or any ruin in all my holy mountain, Because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah As the waters cover the sea."

The earth will be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters cover the sea.  Paradise will be restored, and all creation will be at peace as it was in the beginning.  Then the dead can be woken from the dreamless sleep of death.

And what a wonderful awakening it will be.

I like Scooter, and I like her tail...

... but which is best?

The question wasn't settled in the early hours of Wednesday, when Scooter and her tail fell out.  There was some tiny growling, the tail lashed about like a propeller, making Scooter even madder, then I must have gone back to sleep.    The trouble is when they do decide to settle the question by a FIGHT, it is always a painful draw.   Scooter bites her tail savagely and finds that the tail has an equally savage bite.

Its a bit like me and Geometry.  I could never get the hang of it.

Captain Butterfly was off chasing the Waxwing herds at Crosspool - and I am reasonably up to date with my studying - which has helped me no end.

Jen gave us all a lovely lunch - and Captain B fell on the ice!!!   Just what I have been terrified of, but he is OK, thank God.  

Jen's garden, like Bea's, is looking lovely even at this bleak time of year.  They both put a lot of thought, planning and hard work into their gardens, and it shows.

Across the Snake

We drove across the Snake Pass today to visit Bea.  And what a lovely day it was, cold, clear and sunny, with a numinous Winter light.

En route we looked for the tree with the Waxwings. This is Sheffield - trees galore - although apparently the local council has taken to chopping a lot of them down recently(?!) - but no problem identifying THE tree - a group of twitchers were twitching away underneath it.

Captain B and camera will be along there first thing tomorrow hoping that the birds are still there and that the light is still as lovely.

Great day at Bea's - and Simon and family and some in-laws came over to say hello and have a cup of coffee.

How many times in my life have I driven across the Snake?   I remember those drives from my early childhood, and here I am, still doing them.  And grateful to be here too.

Lovely sunset - and the Captain stopped at the Snake top and then in Ranmoor to try and capture it.

To Jen's tomorrow, picking up Kathyrn en route.

Foghorn Doris

I had the experience of hearing Doris see a squirrel this morning...   How to describe it?     I was reminded of that Dorothy L.Sayers book "The Nine Taylors", in which - spoiler alert! - someone is killed by noise.

Yes.   We did all survive. But it was touch and go.  And I hope there are no foxes or badgers in the garden, because I'm not sure we will make it through a larger mammal sighting.

Journey up yesterday was fine - no problems - and it was such a beautiful winter day.  Once again the layers upon layers of memory associated with my Northern hometown are so strange and powerful. Memories of my parents as young marrieds - of me and Captain Butterfly as young marrieds - of me hearing the truth here when I was nearly forty. And that is such a long time ago now.

We shopped this morning, including the turkey, and the Captain is off photographing - fungi and dippers.   I am sticking close to home - the horror of my fall last year being a powerful and troubling memory just at the moment.

I must note that I got postcards and have sent to:  Aunt Jo, Ursula, and Elizabeth.

Aunt Jo and Elizabeth are part of the memory tapestry of course. Aunt Jo as the glamorous visiting London aunt, and Elizabeth who I first met at school, when I was five.

A Confusion of Jeans and Sues

We - Jean and me - really managed to get ourselves in a muddle today, what with missing keys, me having to do a 500 point turn to get out of Jean's carpark, and various other confusions  We kept asking Jehovah for help - and finally got out on a few calls.  Only three - but two were unexpected and we hope good.

One was a long term call of Jean's who she had more or less given up on (and it takes a lot for her to give up).  He rang and asked why he hadn't seen her for ages.  So we drove straight round there - well after all the key confusion - and found him in (loud music playing, lights on), but not answering the door. Which in many ways is why Jean had stopped calling. Anyway, Jean wrote him a little note and popped some information about the Kingdom through his letterbox.   We hope he was pleased and surprised to get it so soon after his call.

Then I did a couple of return visits - first one not at home, but the second, gleaned when I was working on the intercom in a big block of flats, actually opened the door.  Non-one has ever asked me into those flats before. The flat turned out to be right at the top - no lift - so after what felt like hours Jean and I made it to the door, rather breathless. And a very sweet and tattooed young mum took a magazine.  

The return visit next month is a bit daunting, but at least I can say it will be next year.

Then I had a call on the lady in the next block this afternoon. We had a long chat and she gave me some money for the magazines - which is nice of her - very few people do.  And we are always glad for donations, though we never ask, as we do finance ourselves, relying on Jehovah always.

Its funny how different the view of the Channel is from her flat - its more green and less busy than ours.