three little words. “In one American survey, women were asked what were the three words they would most like to hear from a male partner. The most common answer was not, as expected, "I love you", but "You've lost weight"...
From a guide to flirting (via Presurfer) ). Boynton’s always been a guidebook sceptic. If you need to read the manual, don't fancy your chances. Luckily flirting is subversive enough to survive the guidebooks and their dreaded methodology.

and at the end of valentine's day, a couple of photos of blacklabs. (Even though he's 13 and a half years on, there's enough of a touch of doug in them to make boynton melt) From a gallery of pups (via the Presurfer)

As always boynton finds herself somewhere in the middle on a day like this. Between the unfortunate subscribers to the so-called corporate love day, poor couples who are compelled to publicly exchange soft toys, and the cynics inc. who, as time goes by, may miss smelling the roses. Here is a link about the lottery of it all, another about the perils of the broken hearted, and finally a bit of corny old sergio to go.

Croquet chez Boynton....It all began when Boynton’s father, out on his rounds, saw this and from a sudden surge of sentiment and nostalgia, brought home the new addition to the family. Maybe it was an imaginary memory of his forefathers indulging in the pastime. This is a rare glimpse of Boynton and siblings enjoying the pre-match calm – though with hindsight there is an ominous sign of things ahead in the playful pose affected by her two oldest sisters. The game began well enough, novelty displacing any latent rivalry bubbling away. Boynton, as the youngest , was mostly overlooked,and took up her role as observer. She would watch the strange mating rituals of her older sisters. When this became dull, she would anthropomorphise again (in the great tradition.) Meanwhile, that genetic competitive streak was kicking in...
Alas, after some legal consultation the story is censored here to protect the names and identities of the characters involved… Suffice to say, the game unwound somewhat. But while it never quite devolved to this extreme, perhaps it can be disclosed that a couple of mallets ended up looking like this...In a fictitious world, this would of course, be the postscript.

Yesterday Boynton could still hear the crackers celebrating Tet - and the Year of the Goat. But then again, everything may be a goat. (via The Presurfer)

missboynton was recently confessing to friends her family's tendency to mispronounce common garden nouns. This made her unsure if the R (family) P of the game of croquet had wider currency. Luckily J walk blog has pointed her to a site that should settle the score. Here also is the correct pronunciation of missboynton's best friend, the infamous terrier, and even yours truly

A recent visitor came to Boynton after searching in Google for Sgt. Pepper's Futons. As you do. Boynton was not familiar with the song... Perhaps it was a case of misheard lyrics (" a world where it’s ok to sing:The girl with colitis goes by ") – where Billy Shears becomes “Give me Cheese” – or "pinking shears”. As far as she knew no futon features in Sgt. Peppers Lonely Heart Band nor, oddly, in Sgt. Rutter's Only Darts Club Band.
Even though 8 percent of people will be indifferent, boynton thought she should cover the bases as it were and sprinkle some Sgt peppery futon content for the next stray google-searcher. These lines are from two different google poems

Lonely Futon
something had to be done, slid off
over my feet in an attempt rise off

futon-maybe I'll save up for a double
a quilt Is like crying in the rubble

05:07 Lonely dbl/queen futon matress
combination couch/futon in a dress

Nuriko: *grins* When he doesn't sneak
it’s because I am lonely. I forgot.

Finally for the ultimate in Futon lyrics Boynton can only direct searchers to Futon Life The Song... (Another searcher came looking for Symbolic Literary Canine - but we won't even touch that one)

Meanwhile on the career front Penny Marsh got lucky...This is from a wonderful collection of Nurse books at Tiny Pineapple. (via Quiddity). And while Ann Foster's job looks exciting, Boynton is intrigued by The Difficult Patient:
…the mysterious young man who seemed reluctant to give up his crutch. If only she knew the full truth about him!
Also on Tiny Pineapple – an obscure Sylvia Plath lyric. (NB. "My Heart Belongs To You, Don't Put It In A Ball Jar,"? Boynton had always thought she wrote “My Heart belongs to Daddy”)

"The one million-hectare fire area in Victoria has been “a holocaust for animals”. This includes endangered species.
It is estimated that two-thirds of the world's 3000 spotted tree-frogs were burnt in the north-eastern Victoria and Kosciuszko national park fires. When rains finally come they are likely to wash ash, sediment, silt and toxins (used in firefighting) into the rivers and streams where the frogs breed.