j4
@jaffa.bsky.social
Mostly badger, occasionally mermaid. Terminally online.
The cat did find one of the mice in the house today, but seemed quite reluctant to do anything except watch it. I booted both cat and mouse out of the front door & let nature take its course (mouse hid behind a thing, cat wandered off). I wonder if she'd tell me about her day if she could.
November 27, 2025 at 10:25 AM
The cat did find one of the mice in the house today, but seemed quite reluctant to do anything except watch it. I booted both cat and mouse out of the front door & let nature take its course (mouse hid behind a thing, cat wandered off). I wonder if she'd tell me about her day if she could.
The internet: "the mere presence of a cat in the house should deter mice"
The cat:
The cat:
November 24, 2025 at 4:23 PM
The internet: "the mere presence of a cat in the house should deter mice"
The cat:
The cat:
Well this looks realistic and convincing and definitely not like something from Ghostbusters
November 24, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Well this looks realistic and convincing and definitely not like something from Ghostbusters
But the 12 times table is fun, apparently
November 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
But the 12 times table is fun, apparently
So steamy it's steamed up one side of my glasses! Oo-er!
November 23, 2025 at 5:21 PM
So steamy it's steamed up one side of my glasses! Oo-er!
Here goes six hours of steaming! (Also let it be recorded that for the first time ever I have managed to start the six hours at a time which will not involve me staying up ridiculously late, AND I've set alarms reminding me to check the water levels!) #StirUpSunday
November 23, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Here goes six hours of steaming! (Also let it be recorded that for the first time ever I have managed to start the six hours at a time which will not involve me staying up ridiculously late, AND I've set alarms reminding me to check the water levels!) #StirUpSunday
Thank you past-me for answering all the questions present-me might have about this recipe!
![Small post-it note on a recipe book, filled with writing in various directions as extra bits have been added in: "PUDDING NOTES. Total fruit: 1lb 2oz (exc cherries / nuts). Double quantities fills all 3 of my plastic pudding basins [1 big, 2 small]. Boil at 7-8 on hob. 200g suet = not enough!"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f5raocwf2qj5icv7syegrcav/bafkreibwx3vyy3w4tshq5vtnpumxdwrvqm3lncc2kcznwbisaoiw67fnrq@jpeg)
November 19, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Thank you past-me for answering all the questions present-me might have about this recipe!
Like most magic, the Magic Sock is just sleight-of-hand -- it allows schools to make that bit of their responsbility for kids' safety & mental health seem to disappear. "Well I never!" I say to myself, shaking my head in wonderment & disbelief, as I discover that responsibility in my own pocket
![Screenshot of bsky post from @iammrj.bsky.social [Nov 10, 2025 at 7:21pm]: "Like, you do understand that Big Bad Phone will be the same when it comes out of the Magic Sock right? and consequently putting Big Bad Phone in the Magic Sock will have done literally nothing to the purported effects of Big Bad Phone?"](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:f5raocwf2qj5icv7syegrcav/bafkreihzvbyxeedr5vfdw5guz27sehkty7thkrcq4x22tzt6iykpwgw7im@jpeg)
November 13, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Like most magic, the Magic Sock is just sleight-of-hand -- it allows schools to make that bit of their responsbility for kids' safety & mental health seem to disappear. "Well I never!" I say to myself, shaking my head in wonderment & disbelief, as I discover that responsibility in my own pocket
Trying to clear stuff out of the loft. Got my running rucksack out & there was still stuff in it from last time I went for a run with it.
November 9, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Trying to clear stuff out of the loft. Got my running rucksack out & there was still stuff in it from last time I went for a run with it.
My cat is very interested in this.
November 2, 2025 at 9:55 AM
My cat is very interested in this.
Your Hallowe'en soundtrack notes just reminded me of these tapes I had when I was small (and, er, obviously still have now) of "Music for Witches, Fairies and Magic". :-)
October 31, 2025 at 8:52 PM
Your Hallowe'en soundtrack notes just reminded me of these tapes I had when I was small (and, er, obviously still have now) of "Music for Witches, Fairies and Magic". :-)
IT EVEN HAD A LIL BOWTIE. Grudging respect for anybody who's that well-dressed at 8:15am.
October 30, 2025 at 10:15 AM
IT EVEN HAD A LIL BOWTIE. Grudging respect for anybody who's that well-dressed at 8:15am.
My reward for going out early in the cold to take my bike to the bike shop: seeing this excellent floof intently watching the birds.
October 30, 2025 at 10:12 AM
My reward for going out early in the cold to take my bike to the bike shop: seeing this excellent floof intently watching the birds.
OK, am I the last person to find out that there's a secret basement secondhand bookshop under Common Ground on Little Clarendon Street??
October 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
OK, am I the last person to find out that there's a secret basement secondhand bookshop under Common Ground on Little Clarendon Street??
Also, I shouldn't have gone down this rabbit hole, because I now learn that I could get a Clarina 12 for less money www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39700585... (& the description for this one is much more useful, telling me that it is clean and 14" long, which sounds great to me).
October 28, 2025 at 5:58 PM
Also, I shouldn't have gone down this rabbit hole, because I now learn that I could get a Clarina 12 for less money www.ebay.co.uk/itm/39700585... (& the description for this one is much more useful, telling me that it is clean and 14" long, which sounds great to me).
This is the Hohner Clarina 8. It's basically a toy melodica (anyone saying a melodica _is_ a toy will get a Look from me), but if you don't know that, there are still things you could say about it! Does it make a sound? Do all the keys work? Is the instrument itself scratched, dented, etc?
October 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
This is the Hohner Clarina 8. It's basically a toy melodica (anyone saying a melodica _is_ a toy will get a Look from me), but if you don't know that, there are still things you could say about it! Does it make a sound? Do all the keys work? Is the instrument itself scratched, dented, etc?
If you are selling a musical instrument you don't know anything about on eBay, I am BEGGING YOU, do not just generate a paragraph of slop for the description. The Clarina is not a "high-quality harmonica" or a "vintage clarinet". This description tells me ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the instrument.
October 28, 2025 at 5:43 PM
If you are selling a musical instrument you don't know anything about on eBay, I am BEGGING YOU, do not just generate a paragraph of slop for the description. The Clarina is not a "high-quality harmonica" or a "vintage clarinet". This description tells me ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the instrument.
A casual observer might think i was a big meanie for forcing this child to do maths over half term, but she has been literally begging me for more multiplication sums non-stop since she got up this morning.
October 27, 2025 at 1:13 PM
A casual observer might think i was a big meanie for forcing this child to do maths over half term, but she has been literally begging me for more multiplication sums non-stop since she got up this morning.
H (age 9): "that looks very Instagrammable"
October 27, 2025 at 10:35 AM
H (age 9): "that looks very Instagrammable"
who's been sleeping in MY bed
October 23, 2025 at 11:13 PM
who's been sleeping in MY bed
I was going to do tidying but it turns out I have to do neck-scritching. So it goes
October 20, 2025 at 10:36 PM
I was going to do tidying but it turns out I have to do neck-scritching. So it goes
No, not those digital skills
October 20, 2025 at 2:59 PM
No, not those digital skills