I have spent part of the day working on my used parchment business.Things are shaping up nicely and some sales are starting to come in. Elven folk love their scripts,especially self improvement manuals, healthy woodland eating parchments and any historical or magical text. At the moment I spend as much time reading the parchments as I do working with them. Finding new ones to sell is becoming a regular part of my shopping trips,and almost as important as finding foodstuffs for our teatimes. It gives quite a new meaning to the term "foraging".
It was quite difficult to concentrate this morning as the sounds of banging resumed next door at number four. The Forlorn Faery is having some work done both in the garden and inside the toadstool,and it all seems to involve wielding hammer and nails. The front garden grass has finally been cut and I think she intends to keep it short,so Pendragon will have to stop thistle spotting from our front fence. We think the former occupant, Gumble the gnome, perceived it to be a flowering plant, and allowed it to scale the heights. Pendragon was constantly staring at it,secateurs or chopper in hand,willing it to set a leaf across our fence ,in the hope that continually cutting it back,might cause it to finally lose the will to live. No such good fortune,but finally last Friday it bit the dust. The garden goblin who carried out the work, yanked at it for a solid hour till it pulled free from its moorings. I am sure I heard the earth groan behind it. Let's hope no small roots were left in the soil. Today the goblin workmen are back, to dig up the disastrous array of weeds in her backyard,and build a little wooden deck for her to catch sunbeams on. The garden is beginning to look much better for her now ,and I would be lying if I said her neighbours were not much relieved too.The backyard weeds were also starting to make their way beyond the fence and Pendragon had to frequently pull them out before they took root in our sunny patch. The Forlorn Faery has overall made quite a difference to the demeanour of toadstool number four. She sits outside under her front porch - sometimes legs dangling from her blue and white striped seat, taking in the rays,and reading her copy of the local rag,while smoking on a tube of bindweed. We chat quite a lot as I come and go,and I am tempted to counsel her on occasion,as to the perils of inhaling such a plant known for its dangers to her health.But by the time I would have given her any advice, I would also have inhaled some of it myself. So I choose not to linger,and hope that at some point,her little black beady eyes deign to read the crystal clear warnings on the bottom of the packet.
I am on my own tonight,as Pendragon is working late in the Metropolis. I will have a small dinner of last night's leftovers and await his call on the woodland phone. Plenty of time to sift through my ramblings for my column for the Daily Scandal. I always hand them in on Tuesday mornings,which means a short visit to Portamus Cumberpatch's office, and sometimes a chance to extend good tidings to the great man himself. His desk is always covered with the remains of his store bought breakfast,so I carefully place my pristine copy as far away from his supermercantile paninis as I can. Maybe I should offer him a healthy elven eating column as well. At least he would scan the advice,even if he didn't use it. He can be quite charming if he cares to take his head out of the pile of parchments in front of him. At most ,to date, I have had a thank you grunt, and his usual timely warning "remember ,just 100 words". as I sally to the door. An elf of few words and too many paninis,that's Portamus Cumberpatch,the roly poly editor of The Daily Scandal.
In Brigantia tomorrow ,I am to visit the Geldhouse and collect some more paints for Pendragon to finish our shed. It was gleaming in the sunlight this morning when I filled the birdhouse with some rye offcuts. Pendragon will give it a second coat ,and maybe paint the birdhouse as well.Our flying visitors will surely love their five star billet,and all year round restaurant.
Much good tidings to you all, my friends, on this May Holiday Monday. May there be no supermercantile paninis or smoking bindweed in your repertoire today. May good health be yours.
From Amarantha Willow, the Rainbow Faery.