Today I've mostly bin...

[Bunnylump]

I do tell my friends that I do puzzles. I even tried taking the Shakespeare issue into work - they all looked at me as if I was bonkers. One of the teachers asked me if I would like to run a quiz night, because she knew I liked writing and doing puzzles. I TRIED to explain "it's not THAT sort of puzzle," but then if I try to explain it that just makes it worse...

[giraffe]

I was out with a friend the other day and she said that she loved puzzles of all sorts, but I really can't see coping with ours!

Perhaps we should put together a collection of the easiest ones with explanations to introduce people to them. I have another bunch of online friends who know about my puzzling, and they very patiently listen to me blathering on about them, and sometimes I ask them for help with bits, but they never ask to join in. They say they aren't bored by my wittering about puzzles and are interested, but say they wouldn't know where to start.

[Bunnylump]

Yeah, the problem is that 9 times out of 10 I don't know where to start, either!

[LAT]

Well quite. How does that mark your friends as any different from the rest of us Giraffe?

[giraffe]

They don't try to start!

[Bunnylump]

Came across a strange thing when wandering in the woods today! Apparently Benedict Cumberbatch will be there filming next week. Might have to stalk...

[LAT]

How odd!

[Bunnylump]

They are ALWAYS filming around here!

[giraffe]

....driving. To Durham and back. Only one offspring still resident here.

[LAT]

At least you've got one! Mine are both thousands of miles away. (and in opposite directions )

Time for the dancing elephant to come more to the fore?

[Bunnylump]

I've got one who's about 30 miles away and might as well live 3000 miles away if you take into account the number of times he remembers to ring his Mum!

[giraffe]

My dear daughter didn't ring at all last year, and only texted or emailed when I contacted her to ask if she was still alive.

[Bunnylump]

Playing...

[LAT]

aah, she's gorgeous.

I've survived five weeks at work since my colleague left. Still trying to work out how to do most of what I need to do - and managing very little of my own work - but I'm alive! - And still employed!

[Bunnylump]

Of course you are. You're worth your weight in gold!

[LAT]

gosh - that could be quite a lot these days!

[Laura]

I think there could be a scientific link there somewhere. Put someone under enough pressure and if they genuinely are worth their weight in gold, their weight will continue to increase as the amount of pressure increases and the amount of cake and chocolate consumed in order to survive the pressure increases.

[Bunnylump]

Loving the hypothesis there, Laura!

[LAT]

Yes, there could definitely be something in that. I seem to be oscillating between eating too much because of stress (especially of the wrong sort of food) and hardly eating anything due to lack of time or feeling too sick from stress.
However in five weeks' time I will be on holiday. That 12 hour flight with nothing I need to do is looking very attractive at the moment.

[giraffe]

That holiday will be a well deserved break.