ink marks on a blank page Sat Dec 13th

Saturday rolls from the tongue easier than, dies Saturni ("Saturn's Day"), or even as wiki will have us know from the Old English as Sæternesdæg. Imagine saying that after a few hearty ones on a fast Sæternesdæg's night. Not that I do these days, have hearty ones, I mean. Which is a good thing really as I cannot even say it in the fullness of my sobriety. That sort of reels in my grump for the week, hard drinking or as the pollies will call it 'binge drinking'. As a young chap in the fullness of my 'nothing can harm me mode' I was prone to the imbibing of far to much alcohol in a single sitting than was good for me or anyone else. That I eventually saw the error of my ways and now do not partake at all is one of the very best things I have ever done, not just for me, but those closest and dearest to me. If the individual can handle drinking and not have drink handle them, that's fine go right ahead,I'll even step up to the bar and buy you some. Once anyone starts to drink just for the sake of getting out of control, then STOP. End of the don't overdo it lecture, just enjoy yourselves this season.

What I did want to babble on about is the lizard that lives under the flat rock in my front garden. This is a large lizard (Blue tongue) that is native to this area and normally you will see one or two of these in just about every garden. Blue tongues are lovely things and live under rocks and logs in the garden and forage for snails and insects . At home here we are blessed with the one you see pictured (Stumpy) and also one out in the back garden that lives in our garden shed. Stumpy has been here for some years as before this house was built 7+ years ago we owned another house on this block for many years and there was always a blue tongue living under a small shrub, so I guess it is the same lizard as they are quite territorial and prefer the same locale. We hadn't ever lived here before building this place but had seen the lizard whilst visiting.
We call her Stumpy as one day at breakfast I looked out of the window and saw her dragging past sans the best part of her tail.She managed to struggle under her rock to I thought, perhaps die, so rather than just let her pass away we decided to see if she would take food and in doing so she might 'rest and recuperate'. The lizard man at our museum told me that they loved eating strawberries and grapes so I got some grapes and put them in front of her little cave. Wonder of wonders the grapes started to go and one Sunday morn we saw her eating one. That was four years ago and she has had a litter of young each year.This last year though I have been worried about her as she has taken to living in a drain pipe that opens onto the road and several times I have had to fetch her off the road and put her back under her normal rock.I get worried that we might come out to get the letters one am and find that some loony has squashed her . Today she crept out and was sunning herself so I decided to feed her some strawberries and then a few grapes, to my surprise she took the grapes from my fingers and then gobbled up the strawberries before returning to her cave. She looked a little fat around the midriff area so hopefully she will have another litter, this is normally the month they give birth.They are reptiles but birth live young.

Yes I know Hortense, a little mawkish and sentimental but I am a Pisces and we are like that.
That was one time when I did know just what I was talking about Horty, you are right, but I cannot take full credit in the knowing,.That lovely reptile man at the museum told me what to feed it and also that the tail would never grow back to a point, would always be a stump.
I should get back to muttering about things I know ought about, a lot less vomit making and mushy? Well what about this then Hortense, talk about things that live under flat rocks. What about that Mugabe bloke eh? just what rock does he crawl out from under. No Cholera in Zimbabwe ! gee , I really don't know if he actually lives in the real world that chap, and ugh, his name is Robert for goodness sake. Best I get into something else Horty, I can't talk about Sunday gelato now can I? not after all those news pics of the poor little buggers over there.