But you do at least come in fun shapes and in bright colours.

I would spend far too long watching them. Nothing would get done.

They really are!

Surprise of the day: the two young ones have started chanting WH Auden.

Yes, there’s a rhyming chant in my house, about a train delivering postal communications. Don’t you worry, people in the shop on the corner (and the girl next door), because the kids have got your back.

Jetskitug? Tugski? Jetugski?

Oh yikes, the fools. But you were there to experience and notice it! Tugski! (Tugskiboat?)

Wait! What do you mean? Was the jet ski a tugboat?

If you were to ask me, ‘what boat would you be?’ There would be no hesitation at all. I would be a tugboat.

(I don’t like how filthy that sounds. Tugboats are great! They help the big boats get into harbour!)

Even that sounds rude. I have been on the Internet too long. Save me.

Arty narration: Woodcut of lounging hippopotami, in a muddy pool. Circa 1968.

That is so lovely. I’m just going to enjoy your photo even if it didn’t appear over here. 🥰

Oh no! I missed it! Although I am completely baffled as to how you had sky, because over in East London it was raining. Grey, wall to wall.

I am starting to believe that you have a large hanger and you are painting beautiful backdrops for movies and pretending that they are real.

gradient.horse Draw a horse, watch it run!

omg everybody go draw a horse this is what the internet was made for

gradient.horse

Bluesky, the online shop, the bank, the government, my mother, I mean really, I literally don’t know any of my own passwords. I have so many scraps of paper that none of them mean anything. I’m in a whirlwind of insecure security. Save me.

Our back window looks across the back gardens of terraced houses, so while we don’t have a huge amount of horizon, we do have a fair bit of sky.

This said, you’re probably right that it’s something to do with how much view we have. I’m going to persevere though.

This is crazy! We literally got no colour at all! What time are you catching these-ish?

Illustration of a frog in black and white. The frog looks unimpressed. The artwork is ‘Frog’ from a larger set of works called Meika gafu; the artist is Matsumoto Hoji.

Monday.

Send me some! I have checked so many days, sat facing the window!

I think a lot of us are in the same boat. The constant commentary on how awful things are and how much worse they are going to get, is difficult, especially when we are also struggling with our own (albeit smaller scale) difficulties.

They really do. And poached eggs should be eaten in every possible way. As often as possible.

I made a resolution for the year, to notice sunsets each day. The beauty of the light changing, colours and so on.

I have discovered that sunsets where I am, are white/grey skies going blue, followed by darkness. Not a red, yellow, orange or pink to be seen.

This is why resolutions are a bad idea.

Four frames of a Moomin cartoon. Moomin (a soft of gentle white hippo-ish fellow) is looking down at his reflection in a pool in the first image, and says “ooh, is that me?”. The second panel shows him, looking up at the top of his head and saying “look at my nice ears”. The third panel, he stands with his hands on his hips and says to himself “and I’m so soft and round, no sharp edges anywhere”. He is not wrong. The final panel, he stands with his arms outstretched and one leg kicked forward, there is more energy here - and he says to himself “I think I look wonderful. Even if my legs are a little short.”

Evenin’

It’s good to have a hobby.

Nine sneezes and counting #goodmorning

I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I found some new jelly babies.

Hold on a minute, did you press a button you shouldn’t have done? Is that why everything is going to shit? Please be more careful with your button pressing…

I enjoyed the celebrity one. I did watch the beginning of the first series of us regular people, but honestly, I found it exhausting. I like the detachment of the celebrity version. Although I was surprised that it definitely changed my opinion of certain celebrities.

Ooh, I know.

It was close. But the leg pick was Ura’s. The ongoing active aggressive move was Ura’s. I’m so cross for him. I do love Onosato, but he is not invincible yet. It is clear that he can be beaten and these fake victories undermine him. Maybe one is chance, but two in two tournaments is troublesome.

Laughing though, at the magic of Ura’s incredible gravity defying bottom. The man just hovers sometimes.

I was so cross for Ura! We have only just got by the November photos of the top of Ono’s foot on the clay against Aonishki, and then this happens. I love Onosato, but come on - acknowledge the man loses sometimes… it undermines him to constantly be said as ‘winning’ when he has lost.