Hester

Welcome home, Arthur. Nice to meet you. Kind of you to stand us drinks. I'll definitely have a pitcher, but fill mine with Pimm's & lemonade please, with lots of ice, and a pretty paper parasol for my glass.

The Rifles .... all I want is a little "Peace & Quiet"! http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseacti...eoid=1301219441

Is papaya supposed to smell like this?

^ I guess there's no more old souls among us, since no one seems willing to reveal their past lives. < Out of mock lobster. Bugger! What am I supposed to have for lunch now? V Have you ever attended a school reunion?

A few chunks of suspicious papaya Hesperis in bloom Claire Jennifer (we need one more for quorum!)

I just finished seeding and peeling a large papaya. It's been in the fridge awhile and is quite ripe, but still firm. I don't eat papaya very often, and I'm not sure if I've ever prepared one myself before. This one has a faintly musky scent to it that isn't terribly appealing. I'm not sure if that means it's gone off, or if that's the way it's supposed to smell and that's why I don't usually eat papaya. Perhaps instead of eating it, I'll just throw it in the blender and make a facial mask out of it. (Hmmm... enough to coat my whole body, I think!) I also have some mangoes in the fridge that should be used up. I really like the small yellow Ataulfo mangoes. They're very sweet, and the flesh isn't as stringy as the bigger red mangoes. Also, the Ataulfo mangoes have a very thin central core, so you get a lot of flesh off them for their size. The local grocery store sells fresh coconut -- but I'm not sure how to open one. Is it difficult? Do I need a machete? And the same grocery store also carries plantains. How do I prepare those? Do they need to be cooked? I understand they're starchy, rather than sweet like bananas.

Under siege! In addition to the City ripping up the sidewalk in front of the house immediately to the south of me, the next door neighbours on my north side have contractors on ladders drilling holes in the 2nd storey of their house for some reason. Installing an awning, maybe? Retrofitting for earthquakes? My house is desperate for me to finish the spring cleaning (but I don't want to). Friends have decided at the last minute that we should attend the anniversary event at our old high school this weekend (in another town and I don't drive) so we've been e-mailing madly trying to make the arrangements. Need to buy a baby gift. Haven't sent my m-i-l's Mother's Day gift yet, or my s-i-l's belated birthday gift. Need to buy two Father's Day gifts. Need to buy dance slippers for the ball next Friday. Need to give up eating entirely, so that I can look slim for the "surprise" high school reunion this weekend and fit into my Regency ballgown the following week. My sister phoned yesterday, to whine about how whiney our elderly mom is. Phoned my mom to check on her, and yes, she's particularly whiney at the moment. Need to visit her this weekend. Have to finalize our summer holiday schedule and notify those concerned. Have to book a flight for August, and arrange an anniversary party via very long distance. Hmmm... wonder if it's too early in the day to start drinking Pimm's? Perhaps just one glass with my lunch. If I time it right, I might be able to use my back deck while the construction crews are on lunch.

Nothing yet Earth-moving equipment out my front window Jean (after all these years!) Joan (hey, wild-woman, where are you?)

Masonry saws and jackhammers ripping out the sidewalk in front of the neighbour's house. It's the City's 8 am wake-up call to me. It's so close and loud, my walls are vibrating. I hope to hell this doesn't go on all summer. It's a lovely day out there, but I can't even open the windows, between the noise and the concrete dust. To try to cover the de-construction racket, I'm playing: Dogs, Turn Against this Land ... really loud. Not what I'd normally choose for a breakfast serenade. Bugger!

Hi, Captain Midnight (and anyone else who's curious): For "educational purposes only", I've uploaded the MP3 of ELP's "Pirates" to YouSendIt: http://www.yousendit.com/download/UVJnek9q...qQ0NTSUEwTVE9PQ It will be available for download for 7 days, or 100 hits, whichever comes first. The file is large (over 12 meg), so it will take awhile to download. The song is from ELP's double album, Works, Vol. 1, which is still in print. So, if you decide you like their music after listening to the song, you might consider buying the album. Cheers, Hester

Polka-ing Pandas

No, I didn't remember it from 1977. (I was a young teenager into punk back then, and considered anything "prog" to be anathema -- i.e. boring ancient dinosaur rock.) But, I discovered the song a couple years ago while Googling for pirate music. I agree that the lyrics are excellent. The prog-rock music still isn't really my cuppa, but I can now at least appreciate the song's epic soundtrack qualities.

Mending me black lace petticoat. Tore it last time I was dancing with those bloody Scots. What a rowdy crew! Gonna wear it dancing with the English tonight. (They're a much tamer lot than the Scots.)

Pimm's & smoked oysters!

Yesterday: Pineapple curry fried rice with shrimp Joel Plaskett Emergency Band Tina (how unexpected!) Donna

One-eared elephant

Skunk Ape! http://www.stompshoutscream.com/trailers.html

Satanic Mechanic

" ________ Jane" by Kim Barlow: http://www.caribourecords.com/artists/barlow/humminah/ (Oops. Jacky beat me to it. That was a reply to Rumba) So, to reply to Jacky: Manic

(Trust Jenny to be a 'Mats fan! Sounds like a live boot even.) Right now, I'm listening to Peter Elkas -- tonight's opening act: http://www.myspace.com/peterelkas His band, the wonderfully named Elkaholics, are pretty intrepid. They've been video-blogging their whirlwind cross-Canada tour: http://www.peterelkas.com/

Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) I wish the 1975 TV version starring Tim Curry were available on DVD!

Not a holiday weekend here. But, we're going to a concert tonight: http://www.joelplaskett.com/ Have to rest up, because it's one of those stand-all-night venues. Dancing class tomorrow.

St. George's Day (April 23rd, the day after Earth Day.) http://www.ilkcam.com/2005/050424/St%20Geo...39;s%20Day.html http://www.ukstudentlife.com/Ideas/Album/S...tGeorgesDay.htm

Plantain chips Goth girl in woolen leg warmers. (It's over 80 degrees F today.) Lovely woman at the liquor store who helped me find the Pimm's. Dickhead neighbour who has an auto shop in his parents' garage as a hobby. [He's over 40 and still lives with his parents!] I hope he cuts his hand off with those freaking power tools and bleeds to death! I'm playing the Fratellis at earbleed levels to try to drown out the incessant whine of his sander. Dickhead!

Peppermint Patty