I dragged myself home like a wounded animal

I had to go to the Apotheke to get some stuff and I was just about there when the sole of my boot fell off almost completely.

This rendered my boot inoperative. If I lifted the boot up the sole fell on the ground with a loud flapping noise.

I could walk only by dragging my left leg and shuffling my left foot along the ground. This I did to get the 50 metres to the Apotheke.

There were few people on the streets as it was snowing quite heavily - so my embarrassment was minimised.

In the Apotheke I shuffled to the counter and – after had been served – waited until the person went into the back of the place before leaving.

I then dragged myself home like a wounded animal - leaving a long scraping trail in the snow.

I went down Salesianergasse - there are fewer pedestrians there - and whenever someone came near me I stopped and examined the snow covered cars so that they wouldn’t stare at me.

I cracked in the last 100 metres and started to try to walk normally – sort of. This caused a great deal of commotion and people looked around to see if there was a horse galloping through Landstrasse (this does happen).

David sent me a link to the best website I have ever seen. And it is all about me!

http://badger.enix.org/

Cate has a new computer. They rescued the hard drive from the old one and threw the remains in the rubbish. She didn’t tell the IT people that she emptied a glass of wine on it.

Cate is making inroads into the 2007 Loibner Gruner Veltliner so I was sent on a mission of mercy to Wein and Co. They rustled up 24 by raiding the stocks at another store and they will be delivered on Monday. I don’t know what we do then. I may contact the vineyard and make an offer for this year’s vintage.

I went to see another Doctor today to get my blood pressure checked. When I left I found that one of my gloves was missing. I went back to the Doctor’s office and they looked everywhere for it – including in the Doctor’s room where I had been having tests.

We eventually found it under my beanie – which I was wearing (groan!). Is there no end to this humiliation.

Anna has sent me details of something called the ‘Litter Robot’.

The blurb says “The Litter-Robot frees you from the chore of litter box scooping. You can be confident that your cats have a litter box that is cleaned automatically and reliably, again and again.

The large waste drawer holds several days' worth of waste, giving you the time and freedom to do the things you enjoy. You can take that weekend trip or leave town for a short business trip without having to worry about your cat's litter box.

Cleaning the litter box is now as simple as changing a kitchen garbage bag every few days. If you have several cats, the Litter-Robot drawer may still need to be emptied daily, but you'll never again have to scoop a dirty litter box by hand!”

I must say that cleaning the existing litter box has never deprived me of ‘the time and freedom to do things I enjoy’ - but I understand the sentiment.

For those of you who find the litter box an overwhelming task – and need to get away for weekends without worrying about it – details are at http://www.litter-robot.eu/

Sorry – can’t talk about the ducks today – too much to do. Apart from the Doctor I have had to go and buy Cate’s Safari Suit and Pith Helmet (I am sure she will get Pithed at least oneth).

For Anna – an Igel is a Hedgehog.

Also - both my grandchildren survived the heat and are well.

Also for Anna for Oscar Night - My predictions for Academy Awards:

Leading Actor: Mickey Rourke
Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger
Leading Actress: Kate Winslet
Supporting Actress: Taraji P Henson
Director: Ron Howard
Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire