Vermilion Sands
An occasional journal
Two for Joy
Mar 29th 2019
Magpie sweetiepies.
Today was our sunniest March day ever: 8.39kWh.
Admin1 is reading Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves.
Sunset
Mar 28th 2019
Admin1 is reading White Nights by Ann Cleeves. Admin2 is reading The Drowning Man by Michael Robotham. We both tried to read Hunted by Arne Dahl but neither of us could finish it.
A Boring Person
Mar 26th 2019
Drilling on the petrol station forecourt.
Admin2 is reading The Whisperer by Karin Fossum.
Einstein on the Beach
Mar 24th 2019
These clever narcissi are named after Albert Einstein.
Admin1 is reading The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda (very poor).
We scored 10.5 on the GWQ.
Low Halo
Mar 23rd 2019
Admin1 is reading The Whisperer by Karin Fossum. Admin2 is reading Newcomer by Keigo Higashino; a relaxing mystery based in an old-fashioned Tokyo shopping district, featuring a detective with no baggage except the little treats he buys for everybody he questions.
Critter of the Day: Starling
Mar 20th 2019
An iridescent bird for the vernal equinox on the day of the Super Worm Moon. It was also the warmest day of the year so far at 22.4 °C and our warmest March day for seven years.
Admin1 is reading Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham. Admin2 is reading Female of the Species by Lionel Shriver; anthropologists in love.
The Shape of Plums to Come
Mar 17th 2019
We should have shedloads of fruit this year.
Admin1 is reading Nobody Walks by Mick Herron. Admin2 is reading Splitting by Fay Weldon; split personalities nobody can weld on.
We scored 12 on the GWQ. Yay!
Critter of the Day: Robin
Mar 16th 2019
We had more rain today than we had in the whole of February.
Admin1 is reading Bombproof by Michael Robotham. Admin2 is reading Real World by Natsuo Kirino.
Pie Day
Mar 14th 2019
It’s Pi Day again. How I need a drink, alcoholic of course, after the heavy proofing involving Puzzler Wordsearch.
Admin2 is reading Nobody Walks by Mick Herron.
Storm Gareth
Mar 12th 2019
A blustery day.
Admin1 is reading Say You’re Sorry by Michael Robotham. Admin2 is reading Into the Water by Paula Hawkins. Not worth dipping into.
Rain, Hail, Graupel, Sleet, Snow, High Winds and Sunshine
Mar 10th 2019
AKA a normal day in the UK.
Admin1 is reading The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler. Admin2 is reading The Silent Dead by Tetsuya Honda.
We scored 10 on the GWQ.
Crowd of the Day: International Women’s Day
Mar 8th 2019
Admin2 is reading The 50/50 Killer by Steve Mosby.
We scored 9 on the GWQ
Pancake Day
Mar 5th 2019
(We also had pineapple upside-down cake. It wasn’t meant to be upside down but it fell out of the oven.)
Admin1 is reading Shatter by Michael Robotham — involving, and very good. But also very harrowing. Admin2 is reading The Dark Flood Rises by Margaret Drabble; various aged intellectuals potter around and eventually push up daisies, with scenic tours of the flood plains of England and the geology of the Canary Islands.
Weather of the Day: Gloomy
Mar 3rd 2019
It’s been grey, overcast and drizzly all day, and Storm Freya is expected tonight (update: it was just a bit breezy).
Admin2 is reading The Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler; a terrifying book about an old-school spree killer.
St David’s Day Daffodils
Mar 1st 2019
We had Welsh rarebit for lunch in honour of Admin1′s Cymraeg heritage.
Admin1 is reading Ruin Beach by Kate Rhodes. Admin2 watched Made in Dagenham.
Pussy Willow
Feb 28th 2019
The weather is back to normal for the time of year: 12.3 °C as opposed to 21.3 °C yesterday. February has been our hottest ever, with four 20°+ days in the past week, but the solar panels have only produced average kWh, probably because they work better with scattered clouds when the sun is low.
Admin2 is reading Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino; prostitution, crime, squalor and sleaze among former high-flyers at a posh school.
Froggy Froggy Duo
Feb 26th 2019
Today was extra super warm for the time of year: 21.7 °C, a record in the country and in our garden which is filled with birdsong, the scent of flowers and the croaks of amorous amphibians (oh and a hell of a lot of banging and drilling from the renderers working next door).
Today is also booktally day. In the last 6 years we have read 1536 books between us, 256 since last year, which by a strange coincidence is also our exact average number.
It Might as Well Be Spring
Feb 25th 2019
Today was the hottest ever February day in this country, but not here where the temperature topped at 16.3 °C after a morning of dense fog that left everything sparkling and our little plum tree suddenly covered with trembling dewy blossoms.
Pudding of the Day: Rhubarb tart
Feb 24th 2019
This pie was enjoyed by us, Gez, Dave, Audrey, Bob and Lena.
Admin1 is reading Broken Ground and Admin2 is reading Insidious Intent (a book with a stupid ending and a postcript not to spoiler it by revealing the stupid ending), both by Val McDermid. We scored 11 on the GWQ.
Sunny Afternoon
Feb 22nd 2019
Yesterday was our warmest February day of all time: 20.5 °C. If not for yesterday today would have been an equally record-breaking 20.0 °C. Admin1 is reading The House at Sea’s End by Elly Griffiths. Admin2 is reading After Dark by Haruki Murakami, a night in the life of a bunch of insomniacs while another character sleeps for weeks on end.