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Good afternoon, Elle!
All's well up here!
Been wild, though!
Lots of trees down, bridges closed to traffic etc.
The flagpole at Edinburgh's Castle has snapped in the gale!
The winds have eased now.
And...the last patch of snow on Braeriach has melted!
I gave ASDA a miss today, and visited Lidl's.
Was quite good I thought, and decent prices.
I noticed the crow still seems to be getting food at the Loch nest.
Has your daughter reached home safely?

Hi, Rusty!
I am glad to hear that all is well at your end.
I have been reading that pedestrians have been asked to stay off the Tay Road Bridge, and the Central Walkway has been closed, because of the danger from high winds.
Cars only being allowed to cross.
It has taken that last bit of snow on Braeriach a long time to melt!
Any news on Miss Daisy's car?
Yes, my daughter has reached home safely..........she phoned me about ten minutes ago!
I haven't even had the time to do today's crossword yet.........I seem to have been caught up first in one thing.........then another!
I think a coffee might prove beneficial......

Hello, Elle!
With the wind easing, it is only double decked buses that are forbidden to cross the bridge.
Walkway is open now (though it will be quite blowy!)
The Braeriach snow has been there since 2006.
Think it is only the 6th time in the last 100 years that the snow has melted.
Miss Daisy will have a new door seal fitted to her buggy on Thursday.
Her Dad is collecting her tonight.
I am on duty on Wednesday.
That's good your daughter has landed safely!
I have finished the puzzle.
There was one I would have quibbled with the setter about, but Chambers agrees with him/her, so I shall shoosht!

Hi, Rusty!
Did the earlier closure of the bridge affect any of your family in getting to work this morning?
I don't whether any of them need to cross the bridge on a regular basis?
I remember your saying that the alternative route added about 45 minutes to the journey.
It is good that your granddaughter's car has finally received a "diagnosis"!
And that "treatment" will be completed on Thursday!
But I expect you will miss your little trips ferrying her about!
I made a start on the puzzle...but have put it aside (for now anyway)...
It is much too difficult for me!!
Another book from Amazon arrived today!

Hello, Elle,
My oldest son crosses the bridge each day but he drives a car to do so, and it is not so often that cars cannot cross.
The alternate route is to go by Perth which is twenty miles upriver, then twenty miles back down the river on the Fife side.
A pain!
Ah, yes, Miss La Bamba and me get on fine.
She is a very good driver, the pick of the young ones!
The puzzle is not difficult, I don't think, Elle?
There is a Greek poet (a woman) as an answer, to 19d, (I had vaguely heard the name before) and 14a, is a word I did not know what it meant, but it was an anagram, so not so hard.
You are doing well with your Amazon books!

Good evening, Rusty!
Maybe I just gave up too quickly with the crossword?
Perhaps because I didn't start it till late in the day?
My brain seems to work best first thing in the morning!
I do better when I attempt the crosswords immediately following my return from my early morning walk, when drinking coffee and eating my apple and cheese!
Whatever the reason, today I could not get to grips with the clues!
How is your weather doing now?
We have light rain here........no wind though...that has completely died down.

Hello, Elle!
I find I have to concentrate on my puzzle.
If I have something on my mind I can not do it.
But, it is a long, long, time since I could not finish one.
Maybe your mind was occupied?
Speaking of apples, I was reading about Granny Smith.
Her name was Maria, and she created her apple in Australia.
Still a bit windy here.
Now a wee help.
The word I did not know what it meant was 14a.
"Valetudinary", it's an anagram.
The one that the setter and Chambers agree on is, 5d.
"Gunslinger" for "cowboy", which I did not like!

Hi, Rusty!
Uhmm.... I do have "gunslinger" for 5d.
I arrived at the answer from the parsing...but I didn't check out whether it strictly meant "cowboy"...
Normally, I would never let something like that slip by me, were I unsure , but my heart wasn't in this today........
I have been thinking of other things.
But I have looked this up now.....and Chambers gives "gunslinger" as "gunfighter"...and also one of the definitions of "cowboy" as "gunfighter"....so I guess there can be no argument with the compiler.
More usually though, "cowboy" surely applies to one who works on a ranch?
I have set the crossword aside - no more attempts!
I shall hope to do better with tomorrow's puzzle.
Granny Smiths are the only apples I eat!

Hello, Elle!
Maria Smith was an English lady who emigrated to Australia from Beckley, East Sussex, with her husband, and it was there that she created her famous apple.
I think she must have been a nice person when everyone called her Granny Smith!
I have read a lot about the American ranches and the vast majority of the cowboys did not have guns.
This is a Hollywood myth I think.
But Chambers agrees with the setter, so...!
Yes, put you your puzzle away.
You will probably sail through tomorrow's!

Hello, Elle!
Just hearing that Tom Petty has died.
He had a cardiac arrest.