Well, it's Shrove Tuesday today, and it's taken me by surprise once again as it's just not part of my consciousness.  To be perfectly honest, it's hard to understand why it continues in a time when we don't all give up butter and eggs and milk for the following forty days. So we don't need to use up those perishables, and we don't need to enjoy a rich fatty blowout before log weeks of abstinence. 

However, just in case people are playing the game, and are thinking of making pancakes today -- and why not? They're delicious and versatile any day of the year -- may I take this opportunity to mention my rather nice recipe if you're happy with the lighter, baking-powder-risen American version. 

Do let me know if you have any favourite variations or ways of using them. 

And if you'd like to know about new recipes as they're created, please do sign up to my rather infrequent newsletter over there at the right.   ==> ==> ==> ==> ==>

So there was this thing called Hourly Comic Day on 1st February.  In February last year, I had yet to have drawn even one single comic, but this time I heard about it somehow and thought I'd have a go.  The idea, as far as I understand, is simple: one draws something about one's real life for every hour of being awake on the day.  Lots of people post these hourlies on twitter throughout the day.  I didn't as I was mostly playing catch-up, for obvious reasons, but I'm not even sure if this is "allowed" or should we be completing each hour within the actual hour...?

Anyway, given that the Day in question was a Sunday, and therefore included a non-negotiable long run (six weeks from the end of marathon training), three of the hours were all about running, and the ones before that were about getting ready for the run, and a few after that were about recovering from said run.  So not the most interesting of days, and not the most drawable on the spot, either!  

And I'm afraid I simply ran out of time and/or out of energy in the evening.... still inking earlier hours, trying to catch up... so it all ends abruptly after 8pm.  But what a fun idea!  It seems to take place on 1 Feb every year, so could be any day of the week; next year that date falls on a Monday which should be a day with more variety in it!

It's easier to see the whole lot over on tumblr  

Note: 17-year-old son wishes to make it clear that the brussels sprouts at 7pm were in fact peeled and cut by him, not by me as he thinks this implies.