LUCKY CAT?

It is snowing. It's nothing serious, it never gets as far as the ground.

I sent Himself off to borrow this cat. I saw it sitting in a little barn at Livorno Woman's house. She doesn't like it. She said her bis nono, great grandfather, was a mariner and brought it back from China to her nona, grandmother and that her mother kept it in a cabinet. The tiny one is mine. I keep it in the button box.

It's a Maneki Neko, a Japanese lucky cat although they are also made in China. They are from the Edo period, 1603 to 1867. They are still made. There are lots of them on eBay but none looks like this one. They are meant to bring wealth and good fortune. It has not done a lot for Livorno Woman but maybe if she didn't keep it in a barn it would be more effective. I'll just hang onto it for a day or two. You never know. Maybe its appearance on Blip will bring all blippers luck.

I would have blipped a picture of our doctor, but he came too late yesterday to use then. His grandmother was born in our house. He was born in a group of farm workers' buildings which we can see from our house. They are being done up for holiday rentals. Now, he is doctor to everybody in these hills and the valley below. I believe his sport is hill walking.

It is said there are too many doctors in Italy and that each has an average of 200 patients. If this is true, then a quarter of this doctor's patients are in his surgery every morning. I suspect he has rather more than his share of patients. His crowded little surgery is a great place to go if you want to catch a cold or flu. Il dottore.

For the record: +3 C. Snow flurries. Big clear out of foodstuffs past use-by date. Lots off to a friend's chickens.