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Good evening, Rusty!
I was a tad put out when the Post Office staff informed me that they had no 'Christmas' stamps.
I have had to stick boring plain blue ones on my cards!
Poor service!
The dog and I wandered out this afternoon, and have now posted all the cards.
This is probably the first ever occasion that I have posted my Overseas cards "on time"!
I'm glad to hear that your son's dog is feeling livelier......I hadn't realised that he was refusing to eat and drink.
Everyone will be feeling very relieved, now that he is settling down.
We are fortunate with our animals, as they don't care where they go, just so long as we are with them.
They are great travellers!

Hello, Elle!
Do you mean there are no Christmas stamps this year?
I did not know that.
I get ordinary ones in ASDA.
Yes, the dog was very unsettled, shivering, even.
But they are all back together this evening.
There will be new places for him to go on walks etc.
So, hopefully, he will be back to normal, soon.

A Very Good morning to you, Rusty!
A dry morning so far, but the temperature has dropped considerably, and it is very cold again.
I think that there will be Christmas stamps , Rusty...just not at my post office!
I think they had just run out of the Christmas issue?
I am going to have my hair cut this morning......
I cannot have the dog looking tidier than I do!
A quick coffee .......and then I must be away very shortly.
And then this afternoon, I shall need to be at home, as I have some deliveries coming.
How about you?
Any plans for the day?

Good morning, Elle!
Rainy here.
I was out earlier, but have the rest of the day to myself.
Try your supermarket for your stamps?
My son and family spent their first night in new house.
The dog is much more settled now they are all together again.
He is a bit like myself, old and set in his ways!
I still have four to get in the puzzle and I have been over an hour on it.
It is a doozy today!
Better that way than an easy puzzle.
I'll come back to it later.

Hi, Rusty!
Raining here, too, now.
I think it is programmed to do that whenever I go to the hairdressers!
I am home again now for the duration of the day....no more outings, as I have a parcel coming this afternoon, and a pet shop delivery at about 5 pm.
That is good that your son and family are all back together again under the new roof....and that the dog is now happier!
I am sure you are not considered to be old and set in your ways , Rusty!
I have yet to start my crossword......it sounds as though it will prove very challenging!
Still, nothing ventured...etc.....
I shall make a coffee, and have a decko at the puzzle!

Hello, Elle!
Still a bit rainy here.
Yes, they are back together again!
They have no wi-fi or broadband, though.
Not sure if that is an issue for them.
I found the puzzle a good test, Elle!
Took me ages to nail it.
That's the best way, I think.

Good evening, Rusty!
It is raining quite purposefully here....I do not think it intends to stop anytime soon!
It will probably be quite a while before your family are "straight"......but they have made a lot of good progress in very short time, so far,
I have been paying intermittent attention to the crossword, as I have had various diversions......
A few very chatty phone calls...
And then a couple of friends were round earlier........they are not "crossworders", though, or I might have sought their help!
I especially liked 12a: echelon; 21a: toe ("this little piggy".....!); and 18d: aerobic.
But I could not do two clues......
9d: With such a savings policy present , finish up rich (5-3,6)
?R?N?-END/?O?D?D
end - finish up
13D: Man's diet holding all the answers? (5,2,4)
H?U?E / ?F / ?E?S
"House of Keys" would fit the letters - the government on the IOM? - but I can see no connection with the clue?
This really has me puzzled?
Help, please!

Hello, Elle!
Still rainy here.
The dog is having to learn to negotiate stairs!
They still have a lot of stuff to move in.
9, Is a phrase I have not heard of.
"Front end loaded"
Present is front, finish is end, and rich is loaded.
No idea what it means, though!
13, I think a "diet" is a parliament.
The House of Keys is the parliament on the Isle of Man.
Does it hold all the answers?
Not sure at all on this one.
I said it was a toughie!

Update, Elle!
I wonder if the editor did not like 13d.
Online the clue is different to the one in my paper.
13d, "Book includes something made for opening parliament"

Hi, Rusty!
Uhm...very odd about 13d?
I cannot see the parsing to the clue that John sent to me?
Yes, I think you are right...."diet" is a meeting of the people, with Germanic origin?
So could be a parliament?
I cannot see the rest of the parsing, though, for that clue?
But the alternative clue, "Book includes something made for opening parliament" parses more easily........
"Use of key" - "something made for opening"
Hos - maybe Hosea? a book in the Bible.
I wonder why the change of clue?
I don't understand "front - end loaded", although I can see how you have arrived at the answer.
Pause here, while I look it up.......
"A front-end load is a sales charge or commission that an investor pays "up front"—that is, upon purchase of the asset."
There...so now we know!
There was a question about Sloane Stephens on "Eggheads"!