And Suddenly, It's Winter

Yesterday we had a surprising morning weather-wise. It started with rain, but when Dave and I got off the tube to walk toward school, we stepped into a snowstorm! It was wet, clumpy snow that didn't stick around long, but all the kids were exclaiming about it. Some of them whipped out their iPhones to take pictures or videos.

I was mostly worried about our plants -- I'd only taken in a single geranium, and hadn't done anything to protect the others. I did not expect snow! But the temperature was in the 40's (F) and because the snow wasn't lingering I hoped they'd be OK.

By the time I left school around lunchtime to take the capsule endoscopy recording unit and belt back to the hospital, it was merely cold and wet outside. I walked past the war memorial in Upper Grosvenor Gardens, decorated with poppy wreaths for Remembrance Day, and snapped a picture just as two dedicated joggers passed, huffing and puffing like blonde locomotives. (I'm sure they would not appreciate that simile.)

I was glad to be rid of that recorder, but it felt a little weird to drop it off and get nothing in return. "Do I need a receipt?" I asked the receptionist, who assured me I did not. I hope he's right and nobody calls me in a week saying, "Hey, where is that recorder?"

When Dave and I got home last night, we went on a plant protection campaign. We covered the avocado with one of the protective sheets I bought for that purpose, and now it's standing on the patio like a giant ghost. Covering a plant that big turned into a complex affair involving a ladder, a rake and lots of clothespins, but we managed.

I also brought in more stuff: our other three geraniums, the plectranthus and the African daisy. I left the citrus out because it's big and I hadn't yet made room for it in the house, but I'll get it inside this morning. It's supposed to get even colder over the next few nights -- down to 30º F (-1º C). I hope the ol' avocado is up to it.

I was glad to see that one sheet covers the avocado, because we have a second sheet and if the weather gets really cold or snowy, we can give it two layers.

Dave got our first King Charles £20 note the other day. This is the first paper money I've seen bearing his visage -- most of it still features the Queen. But slowly the change is happening.

Speaking of high-profile deaths, I was thinking yesterday about the post I did almost four years ago called "Who's Still Alive?" I mentioned 17 celebrities of a venerable age. Today, of that group, only Gene Hackman (94), Eva Marie Saint (100), June Lockhart (99), Dick van Dyke (98), Mel Brooks (98) and Tina Louise (90) are still with us. The other day I mentioned Tippi Hedren in conversation and I could add her to the list -- she's 94 -- and fellow Hitchcock muse Kim Novak is 91. Tina Louise was even on television a few months ago, doing a promo for a memoir she's written.

Let's hear it for good genes, fitness and modern medicine! I wonder if any of them ever had a capsule endoscopy?