A Pufferfish, a Firefly, an undomestic goddess walk into a zen garden.

ART
At the bottom of the seas off Japan an intricate seven foot pattern was found in 1995 by divers. Curiosity got the better of them and eventually they discovered it was the little male Pufferfish. He didn't do this to decorate the ocean floor, oh no, it was in fact to attract a female. The more intricate and tidy the pattern the more likely he was to have his own little Pufferfish swimming around.
Amazing sometimes what the natural world creates. Here's the clip to watch the Pufferfish in action.

Something Different - DryJanuary
Firefly - Lemon Lime and Ginger
Fizzy lemony limey ginger smells pop out off the bottle with a waff of something else. But it's not a fizzy drink. The first sip was so refreshing, before I had time to ponder over the drink I took a big swig and then the ginger heat hit! Let me reassure you, it's not that much of a heat, any “normal” person wouldn't think anything of it, but I've only just started experimenting with chillies and curries so I felt it. I'm sure there is a Dandelion and Burdock taste too behind that ginger, but, it's confusing as this beverage is not a typical Dandelion and Burdock colour. This is my first drink with nettles in too!

It certainly is a revitalising drink. After a 5am start at the Brewery and cycling home in the wind and rain I definitely needed it. Just the drink to make me feel like I could go out and do it again – but maybe I'll leave it till tomorrow.

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Harry and Marcus created the company out of a want for a refreshing drink that doesn't have “more chemicals in it that a plastics factory” or drinks that “should be served by Mary Poppins with a spoonful of sugar”. In August 2003 Harvey Nichols exclusively sold their delightful new drinks. Shopkeepers, café owners and delicatessens in over 40 countries now demand to have Firefly products adorning their shelves.

To find out more about Firefly here is their website link. You can follow them on Twitter too. And, here's the best bit you can have a chance of winning a small stash of their delicious drinks by sending them a photo. Here's the link.

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COVERED IN WEEDS
My brother has a Japanese Garden or “zen” garden as it's known, and when he's not in I like to create things on his little gravel area. One year after a garden party I placed an empty bottle on it the morning after. Last year I raided the toy chest. We were on our way to the Isle of Wight and used Stoke as a midway point to stop off at. The brother and sister-in-law where at work and I got to work creating my masterpiece. Luckily he had a sense of humour!
Do you have a “zen” part in your garden you like to rake and keep looking pristine? Perhaps you could create a small patch in your garden – or even in the home to help you focus the mind.

This does not belong to my Brother. This Zen garden is for indoor.

As the Minions line up to fight the Terracotta army, Barbie and her friends look on. Bob comes along to try and fix it.

MUSINGS – A book in time
A few decades ago my bookshelf would have consisted of a few art books, quite a few nature books, lots of James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell novels, the odd Christian Jacq's, Hanif Kureshi and a couple of classics such as 1984. These days it's expanded a lot more in more ways than I would have thought way back then. You'd have thought that was diverse enough, but it's not (compared to now). Back then I also liked the “beat em up” films not a bit of pink entered any rapporteur. I have lots more now, admittedly there is still a lot that needs reading, but, Salman Rushdie, Matthew Reilly, Marcus Zusak are prominent on the shelf too.
Here's the shocker, the pink thing happened. Whilst I “scrub up alright” on a night out, I was always mainly in tracksuit and trainers either because I was competing or later in my 20's/30's coaching young children throughout the week. Fed up of wearing dark stuff and maybe wanting to look a little like a girl on a weekend I purchased a new magazine called Glamour, during this short period of handing over my hard earned cash (two years of the same crap) they gave out a freebie book.

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Sophie Kinsella – The Undomestic Goddess
This was the free book. My first book that didn't have a murder in it, doom and gloom or something laddish about it. This book (looking back on it) was about to change me into a girl that knew the difference between a skirt and a dress. Although strapless tops still do posse a risk to this day (but that is a whole new blog).
I think it was the title that actually compelled me to read this girlie (apologises to those who don't like that terminology) novel. I mean I was no goddess in the Kitchen or with a hoover and iron.

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Samantha the heroine of the story is a lawyer that's about to be given a huge promotion, but, Samantha makes a big mistake and in a haze walks out of her office, catches a train to the middle of nowhere where she ends up lost on the doorstep of a couple who have advertised for a housemaid. And that is where this funny page turner starts.

I do admit though I did not keep the book, I sold it at a car boot sale, hey the cover of it was Pink! I would read it again. But, thanks to Sophie Kinsella she showed me that it's OK to read this type of genre every now and then. Now I also have Lindsey Kelk and Jenny Colgan on my shelves. Sophie is here in Twitter land and also has her own website.

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As we are still in TryJanuary step out of your book/author comfort zone and try someone new to you.
I have reviewed two books
The Book Thief – Markus Zusak "It's all a bit Macabre" and
Chocolate – Joanne Harris "A book of chocolate and a glass of nectar"

Tunes of the week
Just the one this week. I'm looking forward to his album coming out.
Tiggs Da Author - Run ft. Lady Leshurr
Enjoy your weekend and week peeps. See you next week.