February 2009

1 Snow and a bitter, biting cold wind and more of the same forecast for the next two or three days.  However, on this day in 1953, violent storms claimed hundreds of lives.  To read more click here for the BBC news article.  Meanwhile, in Australia it is thought that twenty people have already died after three days of temperatures over 40C in the current heatwave, the worst there for 100 years.
Hurrah, the scarf is finished - no more ladder yarn for me for a while.
2 Wow, it's been snowing for several hours.  We ventured out to the gym before it started and came back in a blizzard.  There's at least two inches now and no sign of it abating.

And now for my heathen side:  I've just been reading that "Campaigners have secured the £50m they need to buy a 16th Century painting by Titian for the nation".  I'm afraid I don't think this is a worthwhile way to spend this amount of money when we have abused children, homeless & hungry people and the seriously ill being refused drugs to help them because they are too expensive.  And that's just in Britain!  One MP was reported as having "questioned the logic of spending such large sums during an economic downturn" so he's got my support.
3 This snow is now being reported as the heaviest snowfall for 18 years.  I think we got off pretty lightly here - it's gloriously sunny today and all the white stuff is fast disapppearing.
4 It's Facebook's 5th birthday and it's quoted as having 150 million users and I'm afraid I'm one of them.  Are you?
5 Yesterday evening TV viewers watching the Merseyside derby on ITV were unhappy when an advert for a brand of mint sweet interrupted the game as Everton scored their winning goal against Liverpool.  BBC sports reporter Kevin Gearey came out with this great quote on the ad-blighted football game  "It will be forever remembered as the game dominated not by clever tactics, but by unexpected Tic Tacs".
6 What am I knitting now?  I've decided to try to make two slipovers for the Longfield Triangle treasure.  I've already crocheted two triangle emblems to go on them.
7 On this day in 1964, Beatlemania arrived in the US.  I have to confess that this largely passed me by, being only 6 at the time.
8 A trip to London to meet with the girls for lunch.  Sunday travelling meant a bus replacement service from Ingatestone to Newbury Park to pick up the tube as the railway line was closed from Shenfield to Liverpool Street.  Took longer obviously, but it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be, a delay on the busy roads on the way there but all connections ran very smoothly on the way home.  Absolutely delicious lunch at The Canteen.
9 Yet more relentless rain all day.  Our garden has never been so wet and swamp-like and the forecast is for up to 35mm over the next 24 hours.
In stark contrast, bush fires have been ravishing Victoria, Australia and at least 181 people have perished.
10

full pondWill our pond overflow?  

It's perilously close with the water lapping at the end of the paving stone at the lowest point.
11 Narwhal migrationWhat are these?

They are narwhal during their epic summer migration, as they navigate through cracks in the melting Arctic sea ice.  Narwhal are sometimes called "Arctic unicorns" because of the long, spiral tusk that protrudes from their jaws.  The appendages can reach more than 2m (7ft) in length; scientists believe males use them to attract potential mates.
See more on the TV tonight in the BBC Natural History Unit's new series Nature's Great Events  If you miss it, you can see a clip here.

12 flooded woodWell, our pond did not flood the garden but Chick Wood has a new lake.

It's flooded with over six inches of standing water and this evening we've had more, unexpected I think, snow to add to it.

You can see Crow doesn't like it...
13 It's Friday the 13th but what is the name for the specific phobia of this day of ill portents?
The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia, a word derived from the concatenation of the Greek words Paraskeví (meaning Friday), and dekatreís (meaning thirteen), attached to phobia (meaning fear). This is a specialized form of triskaidekaphobia, a simple fear of the number thirteen, and is also known as friggatriskaidekaphobia. The term triskaidekaphobia was derived in 1911 and first appeared in a mainstream source in 1953.  Bet you're glad you know that now!
14 We had good friends over for dinner yesterday evening and I repeated my Chinese chicken and boozy trifle.  Really enjoyed a good old chat.
And, or course, it's Valentine's Day today and I've received a card and present from my chickens (?!?).  Either they had help or Pepper made a mess on Crow's keyboard when she accessed the internet.
15 In the news:  Having recently enjoyed the new five day serialisation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" I noticed today that Miep Gies, the last surviving member of the group who helped hide Anne and her family, is 100 today.
From the past - on this day in 1971, our current decimal currency was launched.
16 yoe bo & cinema
17 world record swim 78 lengths
18 lemon tree & theatre
19 first spring flowers
20 mum shopping
21 Heard the one about the two nuclear submarines that collided because sophisticated anti-sonar equipment made them undetectable to each other?  Is this funny or scary?
22
23 Steve/Angie here, talked till 01:30
24 Harvest:  2 leeks, cutting celery.
25 out with Chris/Linda
26 I've been having a little break from my knitting to crochet a fancy headband as a birthday present.  Not sure this first attempt is good enough - want to try again with a different wool.
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28 Competed headband number two in a better yarn and I think this one is good to go for Bex.