@Soror I've been having problems regulating my intake. I'm hoping it's just the cold weather and it will resolve itself. If you are missing your normal amount of exercise, you might be lacking some happy hormones that reduce your need for fullness.

I don't know in general. I have a POA for my mother, but as she still has capacity to make decisions, it is up to her, not me or a doctor. She sat with a nurse, they talked through the question, and my mum decided to sign.

They are much too bright for anyone else's good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1FTqKs15k https://phys.org/news/2009-05-necessity-mother-clever-birds-wvideos.html

You don't speak corvid? Rooks, crows, jays, magpies, jackdaws and the ravens at the Tower of London https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jan/14/tower-of-london-raven-missing-feared-dead

Yes, they are corvids. They seem to be in league with the jackdaws too. The compromise is that I have four bird feeders hanging from the apple trees, so if they knock one down, there's still food for the little birds. And the ground-feeding birds get a treat from the rooks' work for a bit until I regroup. ETA - I'm not sure the rooks actually eat that much of what they knock down. It's the challenge

We bought two storey, but I insisted on all essentials on the ground floor - bedroom, sitting room, shower room, kitchen/diner, utility, sunroom. If we become unable to use the stairs, the upstairs becomes the guest suite, or we can rent it out.

Interesting outcome of the pandemic BBC News - Covid-19: Record number of students apply for nursing https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56111379

I'm waging a war with our - native - rooks. They fly full speed at the feeders trying to knock them out of the tree, cause them to unscrew, or simply break apart. The current arrangement has lasted two weeks, but the rooks are canny, so I'm not declaring victory

The Romans still haven't rounded up the rabbits they introduced to the UK. Or was it the Normans? I've heard both.

Red squirrels are really cute and also endangered. Think Squirrel Nutkin. Because they are smaller they can't forage when it's too cold. The grey squirrels get to the newly-fallen seeds first. The greys also infect the reds with squirrelpox. https://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/

It's interesting - I rarely see starlings at bird feeders here. They are around in the fields, just not on feeders. This year when I did the bird count for the RSPB was the first time that there were starlings in my garden to be included. I wonder what the difference is there.

I have half a drawer full of bags of stewed apple in the freezer from last autumn. I have it for breakfast with porridge and yoghurt.

Please come and get your grey squirrels in return. They out-compete the British red squirrels.

My Garmin is patronising me! The last two runs, Garmin has said, 'Room to Grow'. Because I had a gap in my 5K training due to injury and weather, I've been running really slowly. Garmin is not impressed. I have a shorter run scheduled for tomorrow (just one mile) to I'll pick up speed a bit. Today: walk and yoga. My chest/armpit strain seems to have resolved, so I'm going to try my first downward dog today.

Yes. We had a wood stove in our last house and inherited an open fire in this. If you stand right by the fire it's a bit warm, but it doesn't radiate heat like the wood stove. We are considering a fake wood stove for this house: the indoor particulate levels for fires/stoves are alarming. Unlike at our previous house, we have piped gas to power it. I am a bit wary of losing that sole non-grid heating source, however.

Returning to my point in another thread, investing in decent insulation can be a lot cheaper than the equivalent emissions reduction through clean generation. FWIW, we have moved into a new house that has a good south-facing roof suitable for solar panels; we are a long way north, so get light something like 20 hours a day during the sunniest months. In the renovation that we are planning (once the pandemic gods allow us to welcome tradespeople into the house) we are planning to spend money on interior insulation of the stone walls and renovation of existing solid wooden shutters. We'll see if solar is in the budget after that.

The Queen at least eats frugally - I don't know about Prince Philip - and they both have exercised all their lives and done a job of work into old age.

I heard an explanation of this. Most smells are made up of many elements that on their own don't necessarily smell good. When you lose the ability to smell some of the elements, the residue may be unpleasant.

England is really keen on easy access, it seems. My brother has now been offered vaccination appointment times by his GP, the large vaccination hub at the football stadium and ...some other facility. All first shots. All because he turned 65 on his NHS record. They are enthusiastic but not entirely coordinated.

We don't have anything set in summer - its a temperate climate Normally somewhere around 17 degrees C in winter, so about 63 degrees F. We switch off the heat at night.

Sorry - two different courses. Light first course, then...... pancakes!

Sunny, windy weather. I came back sweating from a brisk walk, having worn too many clothes. Yoga later before pancakes. Running tomorrow.

Counting down: about four hours from now. Pan-fried haddock with green veg; lots of pancakes with lemon and sugar.

I think I grew up with granular sugar but now I prefer icing sugar, which is powdery.

Yes. Lemon juice and sugar. But our pancakes are crepes, so you put the topping on then roll them up. I'll be doing that for Shrove Tuesday today. Eta I think that it's the whole of the UK