Made Mac and Mac, somehow.

Nah. No joy with the boiling. Will wait for the postie to bring me some belts!

I’m impatient. Gonna boil some water in a pan and chuck the old belt in for a while… se if that restores it at all.

The motor did indeed sound cranky when removed and tested in isolation. Dropped some oil in and ran it for a while. Still sounds a little ugly, but certainly better.

Waiting for some belts to arrive tomorrow, then I can see if it’s back to life!

Well, the belt’s knackered for starters. Kinda surprised it’s not a direct-drive motor. Still, not convinced this is entirely the cause of the noise, so I’ll continue to strip it down!

Friday, I’m In Love: You’re never too old for that eyeliner and lippy.

(and now my programmer brain is itching because I didn’t balance my parentheses.

So:

)))

I’m glad you’re a voice I can listen to. It makes my 45 year old self feel less like I fell between two stools and feels fully at home in neither. Thank you.

…(and I mean this in the lightest way possible because these are heavy words) a hero to us who found the curiosity and love in so many things, but Had To Choose because that’s what one does.

(In the best way possible given the weirdness of parasocial interaction… Thank you, Robin. I’m someone caught between potential outcomes. A computer science guy whose first love was words. I did a joint honours of CompSci and Politics because I hedged my bets. You are…

Oh, it was a question that stayed inside my head! About 8:45 this morning I thought, hmmm, that guy looks awfully like Robin Ince. And then I promptly forgot about that until seeing your twee… wait, no… skeet? from Toronto!

Great as always. And answers my question from this morning where I wondered if I’d seen you at Southwark tube station! Enjoy Toronto, ride a streetcar. They’re wonderful.

…deeply troubled and really should speak to a therapist?

I had to check on Gary, my current spider housemate, this morning. He was just sat in the middle of the carpet and didn’t respond when I called his name.

Thought he’d succumbed, but scurried off when I lightly blew in his direction.

Nice one, Gary.

(Gary in happier times pictured)

...but it all feels like a way to say how Chloe and your Leia will stay in our hearts and our minds, and will never, ever leave us.

Because of that dream, I can -- right now -- conjure an image of Chloe clearer than any since I was a kid. The swirls in her fur at the base of her ears and back of her neck. The pattern of brown on her legs. The expressions she'd make.

I apologise if this is all a bit self-indulgent... 5/

those barks.

We lost Chloe 21 years ago. But a few months ago I dreamt of her. I was back in my childhood home, laying on the ground as I often did, playing with Chloe. It was a lovely dream, but it also did something rather magical:

It refreshed my memory of all the tiny details I'd forgotten 4/