The thrill of the hunt

I returned to the point of my earlier crocodile hunt the other day and to my delight I was successful in the capture of a couple of very nice specimens.

I was only going to catch a ring. But... I turned out I had to wrestle with a bracelet as well... sorry Mr Bank Man - but it had to be done.

And of course thank you Mr Kieselstein-Cord - I like your style!

Better late than never

I have been lucky enough over the last few months to have had a few visits from a little kitchen fairy bearing food parcels (for the sad and suffering - if I may say so myself!).

Jane has turned up several times with such delights as veggie lasagna, sweet potato soup, vodka sauce and pasta, apple crumble etc. But the Piece De Resistance would have to have been the rhubarb crumble. And I hope that makes it worthwhile having spent $10 on rhubarb! It was mighty fine and I'd come again if I knew it were on the menu - although a little warning may be needed.

(Belated) thanks very much kitchen fairy - come visiting in London any time you need a new kitchen to work in!

Time to smell the roses

I've just arrived in Toronto and made it to Pam's place. She is not here and I have the place to myself until her flatmate gets home. I am listening to Leonard Cohen and playing on my computer, the doors are open and there is a light breeze. It's overcast and cooler then NY.

AND A CAT JUST WANDERED BY ME AND STARTED EATING FROM A BOWL UNDER THE TABLE!!!!

It doesn't get too much better then this! Pam and Isaac have a new cat and I'm already in love with him. I am guessing he is a he as he is enormous and looks like a boy cat.

But I feel more relaxed and ready to enjoy a wind down after 12 weeks of madness. I have absolutely loved being in the same city as Jane. It is so different being in the same place for 3 months rather then our usual 1-2 week intensive visits. This way we could chill out and not feel like we ought to be doing something all the time or of course we could do something if we felt so inclined.

It's been very nice and was very sad to say goodbye this morning...

I want one of those!!

I wish I could have one in my kitchen...

One heck of a gator-crasher
ITN - Wednesday, April 23 02:25 pm

A Florida woman got the fright of her life when she found an eight-foot alligator in her kitchen.

Sandra Frosti, 69, came across the uninvited guest at her home in Oldsmar, just north of Tampa.

She said: "I heard a noise from the kitchen, and was much too loud to have been my cat, so I went to check it out. Much to my surprise, a very large alligator was in my kitchen."

Ms Frosti phoned the police, who called in a wildlife expert to remove the 200 pound reptile.

It's thought the gator came from a nearby pond, and across Ms Frosti's back lawn before breaking in through a screen door.

"He looked awfully well fed. The police seem to think he was checking out my cat," Ms Frosti said.

Crocodile hunting in New York

Today I went croc hunting and found more crocs then you can poke a stick at!

I found a shop called Kieselstein-Cord which seems to specialise in things crocodilian. Although the nice man in the shop seemed to think they were alligators.

I was in a state of absolute bliss - almost too excited actually - I was sweating and doing very quick calculations of my credit card and then my mortgage after finding out the price of one piece...

But I was able to plan a small purchase - I must remember to go back on Wednesday to pick it up...