An Update
Critters
I bathed Phantom recently at a pet shop containing a self serve hydro bath for dogs. He hates water and it wasn’t until I tried to get him into the bath that I remembered the dog treats were left at home. He graciously accepted the inevitable. Before leaving we went for a walk to dry off. He walked along with is head held high, mouth open in a happy smile and his hair gleaming in the sunshine, a dog happy to show off his new hairdo. He was even happier when he encountered interesting smells in his pathway.
Phantom, the clean dog
Washed, walked and arrived home happy
Recently I bought Floyd a tray to sit his seed bowl on and hopefully to reduce the amount of rubbish reaching the aviary floor, which of course needs another clean out. A couple of weeks ago he was sitting beside his seed bowl on top of the upturned bucket. If he wants to sit there with more space he should be able to. The tray is made of melamine so hopefully he can’t chew it and hopefully it’s heavy enough to prevent him upturning it, especially as his seed bowl is a fairly heavy pottery one, containing a picture of a cat and the words Our Cat. Seems fitting that the only suitable thing I could find was a tray showing cartoon cats exercising. He is yet to receive it.
Floyd 'putting his feet up"
Addendum
Since that was written he has received and upturned his tray. It seems that a pottery bowl of bird seed and a light tray depicting flexing felines are no match for a bird with a beak and the laws of physics. He now has my largest kitchen plate, which he is yet to upturn, but it lacks the width and lip of the tray.
Seed bowl and tray
Planning his response
Readings
My favourite book among those read recently was Anna Romer’s Lyrebird Hill where she effortlessly melds past and present stories of historical and modern loss into a coherent whole. Simon Winchester’s The Surgeon of Crowthorne where he discusses the genesis and eventual completion of the Oxford English Dictionary, showcases the major players including a mysterious American medical man. It’s a fascinating look at the creation of an English language cultural icon, the development of madness and treatment of a murderer sent to a lunatic asylum, Broadmoor, for life, yet due to his education, intelligence and money was able to make a significant contribution to an important cultural work.
I was reading Bob Carr’s Diary of a Foreign Minister. He constantly talks of fatigue and jet lag along with lots of names as he scoots around the world doing what foreign ministers do in addition to trying to garner votes for Australia’s bid for a position on the Security Council at the UN while also trying to avoid domestic politicking. It’s not a riveting read and while I was happy to read 30-40 pages each night for a couple of nights I finally gave up and returned it to the library along with a Man Booker shortlisted book of a couple of years ago which I also grew disenchanted with. I have some genealogy books on the go and pending.
I did enjoy reading Carol Baxter’s The Peculiar Case of Electric Constable. It’s written by an historian and genealogist and created from historical records surrounding the death of a woman in England, the genesis of the telegraph, which is where the electric constable comes in, the characters involved and the resultant court case. It’s an engaging, colourful depiction of the events of the time linked with issue of transportation, moral behaviour and the need to belong. http://www.btp.police.uk/about_us/our_history/crime_history/murder_of_sarah_hart_1845.aspx
Genealogy
The genealogy has not been progressing with any success. I returned to investigate an English ancestor in the hope she would lead me from a brick wall as I had names of her parents and knew she had siblings. When I really looked at her entry in the baptismal register there was a hiccup. It was recorded almost forty years after her birth and at a time when she was no longer Mary Briggs. I then went searching for a substitute. I did find one; one who was missing an “s” in her name and whose father was also married and baptized without the “s”. Given the variations in spelling in those days and the commonality of area I’m sure they are related but I’m yet to be convinced that she is the required ancestor. Now that I’ve had time to think, I will return to read the troubling baptismal register and try to see if that brings enlightenment of some kind.
I am also doing an online genealogy course based on the genealogy information that can be uncovered by using different Google products. It was a freebie as a result of Family History Month in August although I have ordered the 100+ pages of notes which are yet to arrive. There is a fair bit to read with a need to try out each feature. It’s pretty time consuming and has started to open my eye about what really is available. It continues for a couple of months with a new module each week. However, can’t say I’ve uncovered any useful genealogical information yet.
The marriage certificate for the two Irish great grandparents has arrived and has yet to be the savior I’d hoped. The search for their baptismal certificates is in abeyance while I deal with the online course and try and get the house and garden into some semblance of order. The marriage certificate for the Scottish great grandparents has yet to materialize. I haven’t been charged for it and all lines of communication are dead. It is a long standing family company so I’m guessing something is wrong. As I don’t need it at the moment I will temporarily ignore it before cancelling and going elsewhere.
Phantom and I have taken a few short walks. The following photo is of a patch of lavender located in a short street nearby. The aroma from them was obvious half the street away before they became visible.
Massed lavender