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Hello, Elle!
Murray is on a good run just now, so maybe...
Cold here.
Stovies were very tasty!
I found Linda's book, "Simple Dreams".
It gets good reviews.
Think I shall purchase it.
She is a tricky singer to pigeon hole.
Sings rock, country, Mexican mariachi, and Puccini!
No skiing tomorrow, but the curling is on.
I'll follow Eve Muirhead, she lives not too far away from me.
And I discovered something I never knew today.
I watched Dwight Yoakam singing at Buck Owen's funeral and Dwight always performs wearing his Stetson hat.
But he took his hat off,...and he is bald!
I never suspected that!

Hi, Rusty!
I had (temporarily) forgotten that you were having stovies....I am glad you enjoyed it!
I googled it...and found umpteen recipes......all varying as to ingredients!
Quite a number contained vegetables! especially carrots.
(I can see why, to a stalwart Scot, the ingredients of the dish could well be a bone of contention!)
But I am sure that any variant would be appetising!
Did you know that Dwight Yoakum was in a film called "Panic Room"?
Do you think his co-star was Serena Williams??!!!
I was just sitting quietly on the sofa, reading, when my attention was caught by a sudden movement........
A very tiny mouse ran along in front of the skirting board and disappeared behind a set of bookshelves!
Perhaps he "came in from the cold"?
The cat just sat washing himself and didn't appear to notice!
For one who has kept - and bred - gerbils for many years, I was a bit disconcerted!
Mice /gerbils/ hamsters are fine in their cages....but I have come to the conclusion that I am not so happy if a "wild" mouse might run over my toes!

Hello, Elle!
Poor wee mouse.
I hope you treat him kindly?
They don't eat much, you know.
I only have seen Dwight in one picture.
I think it was about "the Roswell incident".
May have been called "Roswell"?
Serena was not in that one!
It is only the fogies who moan about stovies.
No harm at all in adding in different stuff.
Do you remember the Clampett family well, from Beverley Hills?
They used to eat something called "grits".
I used to wonder what grits were?
I never did find out!
I think you should leave out a wee supper for Mr Jingles, the mouse.
Make him feel welcome on this wintry night!

Hi, Rusty!
If I should catch the mouse, I promise I will return him to the wild!
He was small and black so must have been a field mouse?
I haven't seen him again as yet.......
The last time one of the cats brought in a mouse , he/ she lived with us for several days - dashing behind bookshelves or the piano - before we eventually were able to evacuate him/her!
We got rather tired with all the furniture shifting in our efforts to catch the little rascal!
I do not know the Clampetts, Rusty?
Who were they?
But I have looked up "grits" .........Chambers tells me grits are "coarsely ground grain, especially oats or hominy; a boiled dish of this".
Btw, "hominy" is apparently an American term for maize!
It doesn't sound particularly appetising?

Hello, Elle,
Be kind to Mr Jingles, anyway.
The Clampetts were characters in a TV programme called, "The Beverley Hillbillies".
They were poor folks who struck oil, "Texas tea", and moved to Beverley Hills.
No, they can keep their grits, I'll stick to stovies!
Now, Elle, have you ever come across a singing group called First Aid Kit?
I only did, half an hour ago.
They are excellent, to my taste!
They are two Swedish sisters.
I found them on YouTube.
Type, "Emmylou Harris moved to tears by First Aid Kit", into YouTube.
The song is a tribute to Emmylou and Gram, and it is beautiful.
The other one is a tribute to Emmylou and is a song she sang many years ago. Type "First Aid Kit, Red Dirt Girl".
Lovely singers, beautiful songs, and the clincher for me is the taller girl is helluva like one of my granddaughters!

Hey, Rusty!
"Mr Jingles"?
Another reference I don't know......
No, I never watched "The Beverley Hillbillies"!
I have just watched /listened to your Swedish sisters...yes, lovely songs.
Emmylou was very emotional.
She was moved to tears by the tributes......she had to wipe behind her glasses!
I knew the second song "Red Dirt Girl" - I have heard Emmylou herself singing it.
The young girls are very attractive, especially the taller of the two.
Your granddaughter - which one? - must be a very pretty girl if she resembles the taller of the two singers!
I have come to the spot in "Hawaii" where the two lots of characters intertwine.
Dr John Whipple - ex missionary - has appeared to take three hundred of the Chinese - Punti and Hakka - to work in the sugar fields as plantation hands.
Among the three hundred are some of the newly introduced individuals.
I am making good progress with the story!

Hello, Elle!
In the film, "The Green Mile", the mouse was called Mr Jingles.
The sisters were smashing.
They do another song, and I think it was filmed at Joshua Tree, where Gram died.
The taller sister is La Bamba's double!
And their English is perfect.
i watched Emmylou's induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
And guess who she took with her?
Her mother!
That's good you are getting into Hawaii.
They are really long books.
I have started the biography.
He has just met Aggie Grey!
Now he is heading for Bora Bora.

Good morning, Rusty!
It is a beautiful day here! The sky is bright blue and the sun is shining.
It is bitterly cold, but no matter - we can wrap up!
A most enjoyable and invigorating walk!
I even remembered to buy the paper!
Did you say you were going to watch the Curling today?
I have tennis this afternoon....the semi-finals of the ATP Tour.
The final is tomorrow.
Provided that are no unexpected "upsets", that should be between Novak and Andy.
I shall set the recorder in case we are out.
Doesn't your book start with James Michener as a baby/ child?
or did he meet Aggie whilst very young?

Good day, Elle!
Great day here, too, and hard white frost!
I have missed the curling!
But the final is next Saturday, so...!
No, Michener being the man he is, has started the first chapter with his US Navy service!
I am sure he will get around to his childhood eventually, but at present he is heading for Bora Bora!
He first met Aggie as a young lieutenant in the Navy, but he had heard of her, previously.
Aggie's mother was named "Pele".
Pele is the Hawaiian Goddess of Fire.
Just as an aside, you know how he has lived in many different places?
His favourite place to live was Afghanistan.
He lived there when researching for "Caravans".
Seems to be an unusual method of scoring in the tennis tournament?

Hi, Rusty!
Yes , we had frost too...but only on the pavements, roofs and cars.
The grass - and mud - remained soft and unaffected ...... we had a very dirty dog on our return home!
However did you come to miss the curling? You had mentioned yesterday that you intended to watch it?
What do you mean about the tennis scoring? Are you referring to the Round Robin system?
I think the principle is that it gives all contestants the same opportunities and prevents one bad game from eliminating a player (especially early on)
With the Round Robin, a player could lose a first round match......and yet still win the tournament.
Novak is keen for the system to be applied to other tournaments - such as the Olympics and the Davis cup.
Right....I think I shall go now and heat up some (home-made) soup for our lunch......
We have some lovely fresh crispy rolls, too!