A tiny flare of encouragement from nature, and the one and only Olive and Mabel

This morning, when I think both Mrs. Moon and I were asleep at the switch, since the sun completely failed to rise, instead, pitch dark and slashing rain everywhere, all the houselights on, I trudged gloomily to the kitchen to put on the kettle and found the primula had done this

That cheered up my face considerably.

 And, speaking of cheering up,  if you are among the few dozen people on the planet who have not yet met Olive and Mabel, I think you should correct that asap

They're the labrador pets of Andrew Cotter, who was apparently a famous sports broadcaster before the pandemic halted the sports world. Not being a sports fan, I'd never heard of this witty and  literate Scot who, desperate for an alternative pastime since he was essentially out of work, thought of doing  a commentary on his dogs' daily lives.

Game of Bones was the first one I caught, and I instantly looked for the others.  It's full of funny bits you just have to quote.

What resulted has gone viral, and many of Olive and Mabel's fans are completely unaware of the previous fame of their commentator and scriptwriter.  He has now come out with a book of Olive and Mabel, which, I have been alerted, is on its way to my house.  I ordered this weeks and weeks ago, before its American publication date, through an outfit which supports independent booksellers, yay, and avoiding the dreaded Amazon.  I ordered before the paw printed bookplates became available, but oh well.

And here, for anyone who has done a Zoom meeting, is the Company Meeting.  Olive is the older, more sober and responsible dog, for a lab, anyway, on the left, Mabel the flaky youngster on the right.

So they're coming to my house, in book form, as my Christmas gift to moi.  Meanwhile, do go to YouTube and find them.  There's also a Twitter presence. You'll thank them and me!