Wine. Don't generally drink beer.

Coffee or tea with dessert?

Quote by verbal
My daughter is going to have a major operation in about a week, and I am caretaking for a couple months as I help her out

Vibes to both daughter and dad. Hope all goes well.

I'm on a bit of a death watch right now. My aunt (father's sister) is in palliative care. She is in her late 80s and had a rough ride with long COVID a few years back, not to mention other outstanding health issues. My brother is keeping in touch with her family and relaying news as it comes.

Good morning!! New day, new week, new government. Well, sort of. Canada is having an election but the present governing party, the Liberals, seems likely to win. However, they have a new leader who has shifted their direction a bit.

Coffee is a dark roast from Costa Rica. We've got Yorkshire Gold and Assam teas. Kettle is hot for those needing other hot beverages. Fresh lemonade and iced tea are mixed up and in the fridge. Soda stock lookin' good. And here's cookies.

Good morning!! It's Friday, week is ending. But ape has a headache. groans

So I'm keeping it simple. Coffee is McCafe, teas are Tetley's and Earl Grey. Kettle is on for other fine bevvies. Cold drinks are there if you need 'em (we actually got there yesterday, with 27C and a bit humid).

And there's brownies if you're a mite peckish.

Depends on the pie. Some go better a la mode than others (e.g. pumpkin goes better with whipped cream). But generally a la mode.

Fruity teas (lemon, Earl Grey) or spice/savoury teas (chais and related)?

Ditto (answering my own since Meagananne didn't add a question)

Cake or pie?

Just water for now. Make some tea later once I have too much blood in my caffeine. 😀

Finnish bassist and vocalist Marko Hietala is a bit of a journeyman musician nowadays. He has his solo career, he guests with other bands, he has been touring a lot with his former bandmate Tarja and reliving some of their Nightwish glory days. And he has become the lead vocalist of Bearwood, a new Finnish hard rock band whose founder and guitarist is another Marko; Marko Karhu. Both Markos are fantastic musicians so, needless to say, I am really loving this new project of theirs. Here's the latest video.

Hey good morning, all. How's things where you are? I am single for a couple days so my wife can help out with a math competition at a university out of town. I am surviving.

Coffee du jour is Tobermory Grotto. Teas are Assam and Sunday Tea (vanilla). Kettle is ready for other hot bevvies. Fridge is stocked with lemonade, iced tea, and sundry sodas.

Hope all have a good day.

Later, alligators.

Blackbriar is considered symphonic metal rather than goth metal but, dang, their videos are often dark as all hell. Gothic symphonic metal or maybe symphonic gothic metal? Anyhow, "The Fossilized Bride" (yeah, you can see where this is going already, right?) is classic Blackbriar with the guys as a band of ghost hunters or urban explorers and lead singer Zora Cock as the mysterious titular character. And who is that weird guy in the old clothes? The widow's lost love?

Quote by verbal

Talia's birthday today! Wish her well!

Hope she's keeping well. Have not seen her around in a while.

Yorkshire tea (not Gold, the original).

Lotso goodies left from yesterday. Dig in!

Coffee is a Nicaraguan Dark Roast from Las Chicas. Teas are Scottish Breakfast and Assam. Cold drinks are all looking good.

What's up?

She's amazing. It's great how many old classic artists are still hanging in and sounding pretty good into their seventies and even eighties. John Lodge, ex-Moody Blues, dropped a pretty good new EP a couple months ago and he's turning 82 this year and wrote at least one of the songs while recovering from a stroke.

New Evanesence and it's pretty good. Apparently it's from the soundtrack of Netflix's live action remake of the anime Devil May Cry.

Twilight (rushes off to rinse mouth out)

Crazy Train - Ozzy Osbourne

Everyone should choose their favourite.

Care - Core

Red Rose with a twist of lime for me, but I drink Tetley's at work since that's what's in the lunchroom cupboard.

One wonders if bobcats glare at us and go "It's Robert Cat, you fools." 😊

Apparently someone wanted to use plastic eggs at the White House but the orange-haired one said no. The egg producers backed him up, too, not surprisingly. The number of eggs used is apparently a pittance relative to what is eaten in the US every day. The article I read gave the figure of 9 million eggs a day, which actually feels low to me for a country with well over 300 million people where eggs are widely used either directly or in things like baking.

Love Dido. There's some newer singer-songwriter I was listening to recently who had a bit of her vibe but I forget who now. My brain is saying beebadoobee but her sound is a bit different, really, so it is probably someone else. Here's beebadoobee (real name: Beatrice Laus) anyway. Good young singer-songwriter born in the Philippines and raised and schooled in the UK. Hot off the presses from Coachella 2025.

And for those not inclined to cake, here's cookies and pie.

I have heard rumours of a special badge being awarded. Something about Writergirl being prolific (as a writer, that is)? Congratulations. WG is a real asset to this site and being prolific is only part of that. Her stuff, at least what I have read, is also pretty dang good generally.

So, to celebrate,

And to go with that, we've got Fire Roasted St. Drogo coffee on. The teapots are filled to the tippy top with English Breakfast and Duke of Earl tea. Kettle is ready for other hot beverages. Pitchers are washed and filled with fresh lemonade and iced tea. Sodas are stocked up.

Yorkshire Gold tea at the moment. My breakfast tea of choice right now.

Been mostly reading e-books for their better portability and the ability to adjust the font size to accomodate my crappy up close vision but going back to paper is tempting me. Tabs offer too many distractions. Maybe a dedicated e-reader?

Big birthday coming up: Make a big deal of it or celebrate quietly?

A mystery starting with a death. Gee, that never happens. 🤣 I am focusing on something for another site right now but have a story on the go that would probably end up here if I ever actually finish. Kind of a romantasy (I actually hate that portmonteau but it fits this one so I'll wear it) about a merchant's niece and a young prince both seeking to escape their lives, or at least find ways to make them better.

Quote by gillianleeza
Taxes and every other government agency are all broken here now. They weren't very efficient before, but now you can't even get the information you need in anything approaching a timely fashion. Or any info at all, since most agencies aren't answering their phones. Grrrrr!

Ours isn't great but at least we don't have DOGE messing things up even more than they are already messed up. My sympathies to my American friends.

Have a great trip. I was in Germany a couple days on my Baltic cruise last year. Visited Warnemunde, Kiel, and Lubeck. And I've been to Berlin once, too (wife had a conference there just after our wedding so it became part of the honeymoon). Still more there I want to see, though.

I've put on fresh coffee and tea. Here's some Easter goodies for those seeking a chocolate fix.

I've had good meals in both, but "mom and pop" are usually good for Asian fare like we usually have.

Chinese food or Indian food?

Yorkshire Gold is my usual morning tea. Haven't decided about my midday tea yet. Bit early for that. Just water for now.

Just water for now, but will probably make another tea soon. Not sure what, yet. Maybe Red Rose with lime.