Oddments

[poliphilo]

I'd have guessed ecru was a shade of blue. No very good reason except that it sounds that way. Ailz is back doing cross-stitch and the pattern she's working on calls for certain little twirly bits to be done in ecru. Anyway I looked it up and it's a cousin of beige- only more yellowy. Beige sounds like beige but ecru doesn't sound like ecru- if you see what I mean- which is why I'm unlikely to put the word in a poem any time soon.

I think the rat was in the kitchen again early this morning. The evidence is suggestive rather than conclusive- noises, a spice jar knocked into the rubbish bin, a meaty piece of string dragged to the middle of the floor. Since s/he keeps coming back I think s/he needs a more than generic name. The rabbits are Tish and Tosh. The rat can be Trash. Ailz suggests getting a cat to complete- or deplete- the menage.

We took my father in law to the doctor's last night and then to fill a prescription. I was the fittest of the party and got to do all the leg work. The nearest out-of-hours pharmacy was in Sainsbury's. I still find it slightly weird that prescription medicines are being dispensed in supermarkets. One of the guys in the pharmacy queue was also buying carrots - and the white coated assistant put them through the till for him.

Comments

[huskyteer.livejournal.com]

I also only know what ecru is through cross stitch. It crops up a lot in patterns I do, as I mostly stitch wolves, dogs and other critters (my thread palette is big on greys and browns).

'Trash the rat' - I love it!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I think it's nice that a shade which is almost-but-not-quite-beige should have a name of its own.

[veronica-milvus.livejournal.com]

my favourite is "taupe" which is French for "mole coloured" as you will no doubt know, and is sort of dark beigey greyish...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Taupe sounds like it ought to be some sort of soup.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

I learned what colour ecru was from cross stitch and other embroidery also when I was a child. I love the name. It sounds old-fashioned to me.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm guessing it comes from the French. That's what it sounds like, anyway.

[sorenr.livejournal.com]

"Ecru describes the shade greyish-pale yellow or a light greyish-yellowish brown. It is often used to describe such fabrics as silk and linen in their unbleached state. Ecru comes from the French word écru, which means literally 'raw' or 'unbleached'."

-According to Wikipedia, and to me it sounds quite convincing since the modern word for "raw" is "cru".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

To me it suggests "ecu" which suggests a gold coin which suggests gold fleur de lys on a royal blue background. Yes, I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's how my mind works.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I suppose ecru sounds ecru to me because it also sounds like emu, which are sort of a dusty brownish color. -_-

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can see that.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I know ecru from buying stationery, in the olden days.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. That rings a very faint bell.

I have a cat...

[jubal51394.livejournal.com]

And tons of mice! I have a perennial mouse trap on my kitchen counter.

Connor thinks those little "squiggly" things in the kitchen are living cat toys. He plays with them and when they run under the refrigerator he waits there for hours hoping they will come back to play again.

"They" say that if you need a "mouser" you need a female cat since they are the hunters. Just a "word to the wise" before you take on another mouth to feed. *wink*

Re: I have a cat...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I'm considerably less sold on the idea of getting a cat than Ailz is- and so long as we have the rabbits I just don't think it's on.

Re: I have a cat...

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

I dont think the rabbits will have a bad time with a cat. If anything, it could turn out the other way around. My oldest friend's father used to raise rabbits. Every so often rats would get into the rabbit's hutch and eat an entire litter of bunnies, which was ugly. As for the four family cats -- they ignored the rabbits and kept the house rodent-free.
If you have not already guessed, I am a cat-lover. I agree with jubal that (as with lions) the female cat is the greater hunter.

Re: I have a cat...

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I've heard of rabbits who stood up to cats and made them back down. Rabbits can be quite fierce- and their claws are formidable weapons.

[carl9whalley.livejournal.com]

I could loan you 1 of my three cats we'll 2 rolo is very very lazy he would just watch. Sox and rosie are female so they would have a go.Rosie is the fastest cat ive ever seen ....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks, but no thanks.....If Ailz gets a cat in the house she may not want to let go.