Thursday, January 12, 2023

Arthritic Archie.

The wind is howling like a banshee this morning. It hits the leeward side of the chimney stack with a sound not unlike someone slapping a large freshly caught salmon against it. Tharump - tharump- tharump. The PONette, who is usually keen to get the day started, doesn't hear me as I come down the stairs. She is enjoying a tail wagging dream in which her derring-do saves the world from tyrant C-A-T-S. 

I open the fridge door . The promise of a yogurt pot  has her bounding into the kitchen.


Dog and master watch the sun rise. Apart from the skittish oyster catchers and a flock of  starlings we are the only living things about. 


Half a mile down the track and imagine our surprise when we discover that the farmer has brought a herd of sheep down to a pen on the foreshore.


Our progress comes to a standstill. Sophie is transfixed. Something deep and elemental within her psyche tells her she and sheep are bound, inextricably, together in some cosmic symbiosis. Sophie ponders this insight but finally decides that  sheep = trouble. We move on. Sophie opts to leave cosmic karma and the mundanity of  herding to any passing Shelties - she has dead fish to find and a pain au raisin to share.

We find a mobile phone and a set of Audi car keys in the sand on the beach. There's a  solitary woman slowly walking a very ancient black labrador a couple of hundred yards away. We chase after her. The black labrador is very arthritic but greets Sophie's arrival with a tail wag. The woman is very grateful. To be locked out of your car with an old dog and no means of communication would not make for a good start to a blustery day.  Sophie now has a new friend - arthritic Archie. 


Yesterday the family diva had  a beard and jowl trim. This morning either a) the hair has grown again or b) there is so much fur that 'trims' simply don't make any difference.


The joiner has been, the planning people are set to give the green light to the conservatory, the garden room designer has been sent away to think again and the kitchen suppliers have promised a firm price on the kitchen units and the Wolf cooker. The new year brings with it some progress. Now, if only the electrician and the plumber would answer their phones.....


How unusual. Everyone is wearing masks  :https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B13h7nRBT0&t=141s


This restaurant is closing. The chef has sensibly decided that he can make more money cooking for private clients once or twice a week rather than slave away until two or three or four every morning. More money, less stress.  :https://noma.dk/




8 comments:

Yamini MacLean said...

Hari OM
eeerrrmmmm...

"Is noma closing?

Serving guests will always be a part of who we are, but being a restaurant will no longer define us. From 2025, our restaurant will no longer exist in its current form. Instead, we will pop up in different parts of the world—including Copenhagen—while focusing more time on innovation and product development.

We are by no means closing; on the contrary, we will share our innovations and ideas more widely than ever before.
(see nomathreepointzero at noma(dot)dk

...and I think to myself, how the dickens does one not miss a mobile phone and set of keys from one's person??? Did she put them down to play with Archie and just walk away forgetting?

I think I may have woken up on the critical side this morning. Hey ho. YAM xx

Coppa's girl said...

I'm glad Sophie has made a new friend, the arthritic Archie sounds an ideal companion. Sadly I have found it's all too easy to lose keys, though I rarely carry a phone.
Somewhat confusing messages from noma. Some years ago we walked past their Copenhagen restaurant, but no real inclination to go in and book a table.

Travel said...

Sheep, you can always post more photos of sheep. If I had a farm, I would have a flock of black-sheep. Thanks for a great morning walk, I needed that.

EAS said...

Angus and Sophie to the rescue! Now if Sophie had not been dreaming you may have left earlier and not there at the needed time to notice the phone and keys. My guess is with the wind howling like a banshee she did not hear when the phone and keys popped out of a pocket perhaps when bending down for a little clean-up or when reaching in a pocket for a clean-up bag or gloves. Excellent news on the planning approval and house updates. A Wolf and not an AGA for the Font. Any insight you can share?

Jake of Florida said...

Reading the Noma message made me think of the dark gourmet food industry satire movie we just watched: The Menu with Ralph Fiennes.

rottrover said...

Sophie, you look adorable this morning! I saw a video yesterday of a cattle dog puppy who was terrified of cows! Sophie, you're not alone!

Melinda from Ontario said...

I felt a wave of relief when you found that stressed woman's phone and keys. I feel like I've walked in her shoes many times. Locked out of my car, a missing or uncharged phone, somewhere I need to be; I've been there.

Gemma's person said...

While driving the back road to our house the other day we came across sheep wandering down the road and in the small fields along it. They had breeched their fence and were out for a stroll. My husband said I should tell you about it ..being it is a usual sight there , but very unusual here. :)