Miscellaneous

Purple Paws
It's mulberry time and that means purple pawprints throughout the house. 

Our neighbour has a mulberry tree that overhangs our garden shed, and there is always a bountiful crop of mulberries on those branches.  When the berries drop, they provide a feast for our dog, who walks and eats his way through the juicy berries on the ground.  Purple lips and purple paws are the order of the day.  Even though we give his paws a thorough wipe when he comes in, there is always some residue that remains and becomes obvious after he takes a few steps. 

I keep saying I'm going to cut back the overhanging branches before the berries appear each year, but each year I forget until the berries begin to drop, and then it's too late.  I've already made myself a mental note for next year.

Signs of middle age
I was looking for a new crossword puzzle book in the magazine section of our local grocery store.  There weren't many there; it appears that sudoku has taken over as the favourite puzzle.  When I located the only two crossword books on display, I was horrified that they were both large print, and the fact they were in large print was emblazoned across the front cover.  I take it the crossword-solving people are aging and this is supposed to be a selling feature - presumably I wouldn't be straining my eyes or needing my reading glasses to work on these puzzles.

I picked up the two books and tried not to feel like the middle-aged woman I am.  Not only am I old-fashioned enough to be doing crosswords instead of sudoku, but I need all the help I can get to read the clues.  Thanks a lot.