Gadgets

Welcome El Gato to my little band of followers. I am glad you identified yourself to me privately. I would never have recognised you from your Avatar!! Perhaps you will inspire others, who I know follow my blog regularly, to sign up as well. It hasn't got a lot of point except that you can post a comment if you want to, but I get quite excited when I see a new name on my list.

Now for gadgets. Most of you will know that, like Mum was, I am a sucker for kitchen gadgets, and I know when folk visit me they are often amazed, and somewhat amused, by some of the equipment I use. So I was rather envious when Jo told me she was taking Jim to 'The Gadget Show Live' at NEC Birmingham, for an Easter surprise. I haven't heard yet how they got on, but I am sure Jim came home with a list of gadgets he'd like to try. It runs in the family! Of course, although Dad wasn't a real gadget collector, he would have loved all the new techno ideas that are around now, and my two new 'toys' fall into that category rather than the kitchenware. First of all, I now have a very good webcam, so when I phone family and friends on Skype they can see me while we chat. Of course, if they also have a webcam, I can see them too. So I am looking forward to seeing the grandchildren on it. They grow up so fast, and it is a good way to keep up with them. Secondly I also have a skype phone. Originally I used a huge pair of headphones with a microphone attached to make skype calls. When they broke I turned to a hands-free kit that went with my mobile phone. It has worked OK but every time I get a call I fumble around plugging it in, and fitting the ear-buds so I am often too late by the time I am ready. But Chris promised me that, when we were settled, I could have a USB phone, and today he bought me one. It's very neat as it actually works as a mouse as well. So when I get a call I just flip open the mouse and use it as a phone. Clever !!

I couldn't do a blog without putting in a picture so here is another of my garden surprises. I was talking to Jean about a plant in one of my patio tubs, that looks a bit like a straggly hydrangea. Last week, when I was watering everything, I noticed that at the tip of each branch there were several buds forming, and this morning when I went out there was a lovely deep red Hibiscus flower. I had to take a picture of it. You might be seeing it again, because if lots of the buds open together it will be a real sight worth photographing.

When I sat down to do this I had another look at the photos I took out the back here yesterday afternoon. I zoomed in on a corner of one and look what I found. Complete with swallow-tail, this is definitely a house martin. I knew they had to be there somewhere. Hasta luego mis amigos. I'll be back soon.