Watch........ (enter ye not into temptation...)

You may (or there again, you may not….) recall ChickPea’s Timepiece. Of the wristwatch variety. Well – it did it - Yet Again - both Once Too Often AND Too Many Times ( ie.self-selecting ‘menu’ / ‘reset’ / ‘anything-in-the-world-except-the-time’ that is )……

So………

Back to Mr Asda (sorry, Mr Lay Clerk), to peruse the Field Of Options.

Such a field may be amongst the fairest of places to be on a good day, with the sun on your back and the wind on your face, the buttercups around your feet and the skylark ascending……….

However………

This morning it was raining. Well, it was raining by the time ChickPea got halfway to Mr Asda’s most local premises. Luckily, Mr Asda had previously accommodated ChickPea’s wish for an Umbrella. All Was NOT Lost. Just not dry. Not at all dry. Soggy jeans and damp T-shirt notwithstanding, ChickPea furled her brolly upon arrival, girded her lions, and Sallied Forth In To The Field.

Now – what’ve we got here then………..? ……………Digital……. NOooooooooo !!!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of Analogue Alternative Attractions……… blue faces, yellow faces, green faces, sparkly bits, pink bits, straps, bracelets, numbers, no numbers, round ones and square ones, big wans and wee wans………. Oooooh ! What a Field To Fancy……….

Sadly, the Boy’s Own £6.00 Man on the Surfboard (was a fine fellow and companion that one) was not to be found this time (off to the beach, doubtless)…. So, with ‘Interview’ in mind, ChickPea thought she should eschew the ‘pink pussycat’ options and get Something Suitable (TH will be relieved)………. but............. How Boring……….

Time shall again, at the point of fullness, doubtless, Tell All…………

Of Wigits, Wotsits and Learning Curves

Grrrrrrrrr ! Grump ! Gurgh-umpf ! Sigh ! Fiddlesticks and Gross Exasperation !

Who Knows (and isn't telling) - but maybe the intricacies (even basics would do for a start) of Blog layout (ok - 'design') will one day be unravelled by ChickPea…….tho 'Not Yet', you already understand........

Maybe - just maybe - the ‘widgets’, ‘feedjits’, 'whodunnits', ‘howonearthyits’ and ‘wotsits’ will actually, eventually be understood, selected and published as intended (rather than happening as Explorations, appearing On Screen as unequivocal Accidents and Then Becoming Permanent and, like Japanese Knotweed, deep rooted and fixed here till everlasting…….)

Please - PLEASE - tell ChickPea - just HOW does an Ignorant Imbecillic Computer Nobody learn all this jargon, get a handle on what is possible, track down a ‘How The F To Do It’ guidebook and tools – and then…. p’raps…… manage to DO it ?

(By the way - answers do not need a postcard – post a ‘comment’ ……….)

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo........ Which is which ?

Well, as Myna and Moe have not yet arrived (and are hovering in the future as a question mark just now) it reduces the options somewhat !

The 2 fine trail-blazing Ladies have settled in well, taking over the garden whenever they are allowed out of their run.

This is ‘Eena’, who has given us a wee brown egg every day since she arrived on 5th July. As you can see, Eena is a very pale beautiful gold, with paler – almost white - petticoats and a fine ‘lacy’ shawl down her back. She loves slugs and is the bossier and ‘pushier’ of the two, usually being ‘leader’ for new experiences and usually first in snatching anything that looks edible. A favourite exercise is persuading TH to turn things over to find out what is underneath……It May Be Tasty……..

And here (along with Unexpected Space), we have ‘Meena’, who started laying on 16th July, eleven days after arriving. Meena, in contrast to Eena, is a fine brunette, with a classy lacy necklace (tho you can’t see that in this picture). She is the brains of the two - smart, not pushy, not the brave one – she prefers the ‘Number 2’ position, and was first to suss how to get a decent drink out of the water droppers.

“What sort of hens are they ?” Well, since you ask.......... They are both ‘Bovum Goldlines’, which (if ChickPea’s scribbled notes are accurate) is a hybrid hen bred from crossing a ‘Meadowsweet Ranger’ and a ‘Gold Star’…… Characteristically noted to be ‘high yield layers’, inquisitive, friendly and good to handle.

Also found since arrival to have their own comments about everything, eclectic tastes and voracious appetites. (As Kenny explained, “Scottish Episcopalian hens”).

Wow ! Wheeee ! Swing from the rafters !

Here’s a lovely surprise ! Have to share it. ChickPea has an interview next week !

(Well – she also has one tomorrow, Part II re ‘Jobseeker’s Allowance’ or whatever it is that they now call the former ‘Unemployment Benefit', but we’ll forget that one, because if it’s anything like the Part I phone-referral that she made yesterday, then I’m sure she’ll be wanting to forget it ASAP – filling in such an insensitive form yourself is one thing ........ ‘Are you looking for work ?' - yes.... 'Are you able to take up work ?' - yes.......... 'Have you any disability ?' - No........ 'Do you have any injury that would stop you working ?' - WHAT ? - NO .....'Are you waiting on any disability claims ?' - NO...... 'What have you been doing’ – fulltime carer for DJ who has just died’……’Have you been receiving any benefits ?’ – yes, Carer’s Allowance which has now stopped….. ‘Why are you claiming this benefit ?’ – because my Carer’s Allowance has now stopped…’Why have you stopped your previous allowance ?’ – because DJ has just died.…’How did you know about this benefit ?’ – because I’d previously been working for the last 25-odd years and paying my state contributions on the offchance that there just might be a time when I wasn’t working and needed to claim unemployment benefit….’When are you claiming from ?’ – well, DJ died on the 13th, and I’m told that my allowance stopped straight away, so I guess I’m claiming from the 14th…..’When did you start looking for a job ?’ – well, from about the 16th when I contacted DHSS to notify them of DJ’s death and heard that my allowance had therefore stopped 2 days before…....‘WHY were you not looking for a job sooner ?’ – because I was looking after DJ who has just died…… SCREAMS….. quietly….. being asked exactly the same unwieldy insensitive no-brainer questions over a poor phone link, in a very fast indistinct voice with a strong indiscernible accent is really no joke……).

But there – I guess it wasn’t really her fault………

So, we’ll forget the hoops of tomorrow, and today we’ll swing from the rafters with joy in readiness for next week………… this was the very first application………. even if one of the other 10 (probably) candidates gets it, it’s still a boost for ChickPea’s morale to get called for interview so soon…………

Re-Invention Roundabout

Travelling along Your Own Road, you too may well encounter this Obstacle To Forward Progress. Re-Invention Roundabout. Tends to occur just after A Life-Changing Event, but may equally unexpectedly crop up anywhere along your way.

If you are fortunate enough to have to encounter this Travellers’ Obstacle on a sunny day, you may be able to stop and take advantage of the tables, chairs and parasols which occupy the centre, to put your feet up and rest awhile, Considering Your Options. You may find others there too. Some may be lucky enough to possess the map which identifies aspects of the locality sufficient to assist Route Planning. Some may even have a SatNav to guide them onwards………

ChickPea is currently experiencing brief interludes of sunshine plus showers. So the parasols are useful. And, having the present luxury of no strict itinerary to set a timescale, there is, just now, time to pause and draw breath…. ( ie. she is unable to find a useful map, unable to work the SatNav ….can’t find the ‘on’ switch …….. dunno where the compass is either…… and now the sun has gone again…….)

Aye, it’s good there’s parasols……….

Perhaps there’ll be Light Refreshment too………

(But we’ll try and stop her pitching a tent……………)

Hello !

Ponderings In The Park

ChickPea and Mr Mutt took TH to his work one morning recently, then they found a cheeky (and slightly illegal, we have to confess) parking place so that they could head off to the park for an hour before Morning Prayer (which might, perchance, offset the ‘illegal’ thing a little)……

The weather was dry, the sun was out – it was A Good Place To Be. A good place to buffer the body with a little exercise and buffer the spirit with Time Out.

They galloped a very little, ‘power walked’ a small little, walked fairly fast a lot. Stopped by to watch the ducks ….. including the very tall long-leggedy grey ‘duck’ with a very long pointy beak who was clearly really pretending not to be a heron (“Herons eat fish” he said when ChickPea asked him – “I’m eating bread, and I’m in a DUCK pond, so I must be a duck”)….. And then it was time to find a seat and cool down a little. Well, 2 seats as it transpired…..

The first seat was by the pond. In their wisdom, Those Who Did It positioned the seat to face the path and some bushes, ie. with back to the pond…(nuhr…) …so no chance of comfortable distraction and oblivion by watching the ducks then…….

So there they were, Mr Mutt and ChickPea, watching the world whiz by, variously on 2 feet, 4 feet and 2 wheels…. Distracting really……. Most distracting………. Increasingly and irritatingly distracting. Hence The Other Seat.

Now the Second Seat was a wee bit away from the beaten track, slightly up a slope, overlooking the river, and the university, and The Ways Of The World. Here, several paths converged – or diverged. Dependent upon your perspective. So, from Here you could see where these paths led – well, the first bit of the path anyway. So you could choose your way forward with a little enlightenment. Unlike the challenge of trying to identify Potentially Possible Paths in th’ ol’ “Life” context. ChickPea and Mr Mutt sat in the sunshine and Pondered………

Yesterday ChickPea and Mr Mutt kindof did much the same. Tho the day wasn’t. Maybe it was because yesterday was the Feast Day designated to Mary Magdalene. (That was a nice surprise).

But yesterday there was atmospheric dampness. The park was quiet. Mr Heron was pretending to be a garden statue. And there wasn’t a lot of pondering. In fact, ChickPea’s Head was remarkably quiet. Settled even. It seems like some of the re-filing has happened, some of the initial angst is maybe past, and some of The Dilemma isn’t anymore. Time Will Tell (but there, Time never could keep a secret).

But - tell me – this question remains - is something still a “choice” if you don’t see it or recognize it as such ? …… ChickPea can look back from this far distance to when she left school, and ponder the choices she made then….. and re-evaluate ... and Wonder Why she didn’t see the other options that were also there… that now seem so obvious, and maybe would have been attractive to choose….

But, if something is unrecognised / unidentified as An Option at that time, maybe it isn’t An Option at all …… What thoughts, blogreader ?

(C’mon – I dare you - have a ponder an’ share it with us – live Life On The Edge………)