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Windsor House. So many beautiful features but I find the grand staircase jarring. That room with the staircase looks so out of proportion. An 'ew' factor for me. The room with the deep blue tiles is beautiful.

When the ability to smell goes away Disturbances in this critical sense are often linked to problems with brain health, researchers are learning https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/health-disease/2026/what-happens-brain-lose-sense-of-smell?ff_exp_var=sep%3Futm_source%3Djoin1440

Checking I find Charmaine is available over here, such a beautiful rich colour for a clematis. I mowed our front lawn at the weekend and left a patch of buttercups they were so lovely.

Bargain. Sounds like a dutch hoe which are great for weeding. On heavy soil, draw hoes are useful too. We had neighbours from Sri Lanka who used a short handled grub hoe for digging & planting vegetables. Only garden tool I ever saw then use!

Inside the Ludicrous, Deadly Serious Plan to Take Over Greenland “We want Greenland,” Trump said. Four men sprang into action to make fantasy a reality. From Atlantic: https://archive.is/1oRqb

I recall simpler versions from long ago. Doubt they did as well as the new version.

Bon Voyage but be good.

@RealPlayer said: hard as heck hammers, harsh tone Yeah, that’s not good. Do you have a timeline for this purchase? @Bernard said: @RealPlayer That's fine... as long as 6 feet ... isn't followed by ... under! P.S. piano drift is the best kind of thread drift.

Since I started making my own, I'm just not interested in store bought. Very difficult to find good store-bought that doesn't break the bank and isn't full of fillers, or air, or excess sweetness. On the other hand I still have a soft spot for soft-serve, a real summer treat. Vanilla. That's what I think ice cream should be. If I want to add the flavor of chocolate: chocolate sauce. Butterscotch? Butterscotch sauce. Strawberry? Strawberries. I don't like cookie pieces or dough in my ice cream and if I did I'd sprinkle cookie chips. I guess when it comes to certain foods, I like mine basic. It's easy enough to jeuje it up at serving time. Not that I'd ever pass up ice cream, no matter what!

Antiquities FTW.

It's times like this that I fantasize about being a Catholic.

They see it (randomly we're told), it's not their land, and it's a nature reserve, so they decide to claim it like Old World conquerers, and do God knows what with it.

@AndyD Well done. Thank you

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Also the plates (and cutlery) used. Pewter was for the landed gentry and proudly listed in Wills if they had any! Silver (& gold?) for royalty. Most folk used crockery of some form, or a wooden trencher.

Noticed something was amiss when I turned into the apartment complex in my student days. Did not realize what was missing until I turned on the evening news. The house on the corner was gone due to a gas leak. No one was home.

Snort