I'm not always the sharpest stick in the bundle

Item 1. I know the difference between male and female mallards, male and female cardinals, male and female peacocks. But since forever I've been trying to figure out what the type of sparrows are that gang around with the house sparrows here. After several years of searching fruitlessly, I finally realised that, duh, they're *female* house sparrows.

Item 2. Though I imagine it was very clear on the materials I got when I purchased it, I only just realised that my DVD player can quite easily play CDs. So I can easily listen to CDs in the living room without blasting them across the flat from the dining room. Which begs the question why the stereo is in the dining room, other than in here. Maybe things are a little too much organised here by what fits where easily rather than what's convenient.

Other observations that don't necessarily have anything to do with my being dim:

I love Noel Coward, though I vastly prefer his comedic songs (like "Imagine the Duchess's Feelings" or "Could You Oblige Us With a Bren Gun?" or "Mrs Worthington") to his crooning/love songs. His talent for wordplay is matchless and a thing of beauty to me.

The grrls were over yesterday for the football (Melissa has declined to be a sports widow and has clearly learned a good bit about the game, despite not being interested :-). They kindly helped me hang a number of pieces I got framed earlier in the year; it's nice to have them up where I can see them. They include a copy of Visscher's view of London that Dad had rolled up and stored for decades, an elevation of the the Royal Mile in Edinburgh that I got in a wonderful print and book shop there, and two prints by Avril Paton. I need to get my other of hers framed, along with the Napoleonic hussar print I got secondhand a while back. I have a couple of pieces of my mother's that I should frame too, if I can find some readymade frames for them (and a nice group portrait she did that which should get the full treatment).

Ouch! Poor Engerland. Time to trot out the old joke (Excited German: "Ha! Again ve haff beaten you at your national sport!" Tightlipped Englishman: "That's all right, old chap, we've beaten you at yours twice now.")

OK, time to finish the last writing assignments for my class, have some lunch, and watch Argentina v. Mexico. Come on, CONCACAF brothers!

ETA: I Meant to say, I really resent it when the day outside my window *looks* so nice (sunny, breezy) but when I actually open the door proves to be so beastly (humid, stifling, oven-like). If I wanted to be baked, I'd live in Greece. I want to be somewhere where summer is *enjoyable*.

speaking of Noel Coward...

Here's a song for my all my England-supporting friends...

There are bad times just around the corner,
There are dark clouds hurtling through the sky
And it's no good whining
About a silver lining
For we know from experience that they won't roll by,
With a scowl and a frown
We'll keep our peckers down
And prepare for depression and doom and dread,
We're going to unpack our troubles from our old kit bag
And wait until we drop down dead.

eugh

I am *so* out of shape.

I went out for a walk after lunch. I didn't go far (~2 miles), and I'm not exhausted by any means, but I am certainly tired and a few parts of me ache after what shouldn't be that tiring a walk. Even gentle upslopes had me breathing extra. I clearly need to do this sort of thing much more (not that I didn't know that already).

And boy, is it hot! The BIRDS are all going about with their mouths open!

Speaking of birds, I saw the usual suspects (American robins, mourning doves, European starlings, our summer visitors the catbirds, house sparrows--both male and female :-) plus a few not usually spotted. Someone who might have been a goldfinch, but tiny. Someone who might have been a young blackbird (pre-redwing)--like a grackle, but without the speckly and the iridescence. And one or two someones who might have been a northern flicker.

I saw recently but not today a real proper crow (along our stream) and a red-winged blackbird (in the fields out in the country near Bryan's mum's, when I went up there for Neta's soccer party).