Watch the birdie

I saw a heron like this one. But not this one.

Today I did some bird watching and spotted a heron on the roof of the house opposite. I also saw two goldfinches and my grandma's favourite bird, a wren. A good day.

Something for music lovers everywhere

Here's another musical genius. Tony is described by the Weyhill Electronic Organ Society as "One of the most popular players on the electronic organ circuit." They're not kidding. He's responsible for the continuing sales of sequined shirts and Sussex By The Sea, an album of organ classics that was bought in a charity shop for the grand total of zero pence.

Check out Tony in action and witness the audience go wild!

Pardon Me

The wonderful Maxine Swaby

Today I was sent a link to possibly the best music video ever. It's a beautiful thing.

I'm old

Why can't I be cool like PJ Harvey? I bet she doesn't need a bath winch.

That's it. It's three days until my 33rd birthday and I have an old woman's injury. I slipped in the bath and hurt my foot. The shame.

I'm going to put PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins and Kylie on my ipod to see if I can make myself feel young again. If I think "This is just noise!" then it's game over.

I love jazz

This is Jazz. I hope she finds a good home soon.

Wish I'd been less lazy and managed to get to the Mayhew today. I could have been hanging out with beauties like this instead of watching Come Dine With Me for hours on end. What a waste.

Outsider art

Henry Darger

Alexandre P Lobanov

Went to an amazing exhibition of outsider art at The Museum Of Everything. You wander around what feels like an abandoned house, peering into these strange spaces to see pockets of peculiar and totally brilliant art. Most of it done by people who never really cared if we saw it or not.

Two of my favourites were Alexandre P Lobanov - a deaf mute whose photographs and drawings were all self-portraits of him being a hero marksman, and Henry Darger - a hermit who created disturbing, weird worlds with his fairytale-like illustrations. I'm definitely going to investigate them some more.

On a poodle tip

"Why do I have to hang out with this div in the red coat? What a drag."

This poor poodle hates its stupid owner.

What a hairstyle!

I name this dog Glenda

Getting sidetracked by sideboards, again.

Been busy planning a trip to see lots of lovely furniture at the Gordon Russell Museum. Nothing will ever beat getting one of his sideboards for only £35 on Ebay. What a triumph!

This sideboard that's pictured isn't mine, I just found it on Google images and liked it. Especially as there is a framed picture of a poodle on it.

Sad

I can't afford all the things I want to buy, which is a terrible shame. These lovely fold-up chairs are £60 each. I wish it wasn't so.

There's a cat in the kitchen, what am I gonna do?

My good friend Jo has done some lovely drawings of dogs in hats. It made me think of this tin I own. It's from the 1950's - a time when dressing up kittens and making them pose with miniature kitchen equipment was just part of everyday life. Poor little weasels.

But I bet they cooked up a fantastic fruit loaf.

Dust busting

I've just Hoovered the whole house in record time!

Top tip

I would choose a Double Decker.

Romance - it's just up the M1

I fell in love with the film Bright Star last night. It's so beautifully shot - the colours, the light, the sounds and the silence - it's delicate yet still everything seems crisp. It's hard to explain but it felt like lying back on soft grass in Springtime and peeping through your fingers to look high up into the trees. A day when you have time to stop and see and hear all the little details of everything that's around you.

The place where Fanny and Keats fall in love is the spot on earth where I know I'd be happiest - it's peaceful, romantic, breathtakingly beautiful and... hang on a minute, what's this!? It's filmed in Luton!

That's it! I'll have a hobby in disguise

What a nice tin

My yoga cult had me chanting mantras and imagining a beaming light shining out of my head. All this to achieve any New Year goals I might have, and to ease digestion. Well, since then I've decided to not worry about getting a new hobby. And I've had the shits.

But because I still need something to write about, I've decided to make this blog a record of all the lovely things I find or have around me. Things that please the eye (well, mine anyway) plus bits and bobs that make me laugh. In other words, a lovely log that appears without the aid of a mantra for digestion! So that's it. Easy. It's kind of a hobby in disguise.

Snowed in

Having spent all day working on my own, I'm a bit bored now. And everyone's gone out. So maybe I'm not snowed in anymore. This whole thing has been rubbish.

By the way, I need to get a hobby.

More gubbins about Robins

Who'd have thought it - yet another friendly robin news story!

It's freezing. It's official.

Metcheck have issued a severe weather warning. I've been to Sainsburys, so I have enough provisions to live for at least six days, eating rolled oats, Quorn scotch eggs and an avacado that's already on the turn. Oh, and HobNobs.

Anyway, seeing as I spend my life battling the cold, suffering from the cold, moaning about some cold, or if it's summer, just fearing the onset of a bit of cold, I feel moderately prepared for what lies ahead (although that doesn't mean I will feel warm or anything).

The front door has been successfully sealed with a sausage cat I got from Ebay. Poor Miss Marple hates the smell of it. She gave it a good sniff with her mouth open, which made me laugh. So far this is the only good thing to come from the severe weather. Hopefully the second good thing will be getting snowed in so bad that I can't make it into work tomorrow.

A scent addict

Two little imps

Being back at work is horrible. Thank goodness for pictures like this that can cheer me up in seconds. What scamps!

Robin on a slipper

Having birds visit the feast zone in the garden is brilliant, but getting a little robin to flap indoors and sit on my shoe would be amazing. Sadly this isn't my foot. The newspaper story didn't say how the pensioner tempted the bird indoors but I'd hazard a guess that cheese was involved.

Bird heaven

I almost froze my hands off getting it all up there - but just look at the feast! Fingers crossed for Siskins.