The Mole Has Been Stolen!

No Proof - But Conrad Knows ....
     Today Darling Daughter returned to her old 6th Form to retrieve her art work from the two years she spent there being arty and crafty.  Not that she isn't still arty, and she most certainly is crafty, nowadays she focusses more on single subjects.
     What did we want to see returned to the Mansion?   The mole sculpture!
     What couldn't the school technicians find?  The mole sculpture!
     Some unutterable swine has made off with it.  Just wait.  When I track them down ...
     Here's a horrendously huge pot that Sal did bring back:

A bit big for drinking from.

     What an imagination, hmm?  But it isn't the mole!

A First At Work
     No!  Not zip-wiring across the atrium in a bare* bear suit.
     Rather more sedentarily, Conrad, Sophie and Anna all ventured outside onto the terrace and ate outdoors under a baking sun at mid-day.
     I realise that "Conrad scoffs outdoors" is not really news, but given our English weather this may be the first and last time for 2014, so you see it is news of a sort.  Imagine those poor souls who live in countries where hot, bright, sunny weather is a consistent phenomenon.  How boring that must be!

The camera was angled, Anna isn't really tipping the table over

The Bread-Cum-Cake
     Conrad had to let it cool last night, so no putting a glaze on it.  That came tonight, with sugar and lemon juice and a judicial drop of food colouring:

Banana and lemon - two of your five a day!

     I did not expect it to set so instantaneously as it did, hence the somewhat - shall we say "unrefined" appearance of the glaze.

Against The Day
     Conrad has now reached Page 447, which isn't bad - circa 44% - thanks to taking it on the bus to read, although it does make my bag bulge in a fearful way, looking as if about to give birth.

Bags are dull.  Here's a artic tyre exploding instead.

     As ever, Mr Pynchon manages to throw in words that Conrad has never come across before:  "phatic", for example, is spoken language used as a social facilitator, rather than to communicate.  "Bonzoline" is a form of plastic once used to make billiard balls.  "Lignum vitae" is a variety of wood, "Packfong" is a type of Chinese alloy, and heaven only knows what "hypopsammotic" means because the internet gave up on that. If you happen to know, explain in a Comment, thanks.

Make Haste!
     For the pub quiz is in but 33 minutes, so I can't hang around too long.  I have had some tea and made my lunch for tomorrow and checked my bank account, so Conrad has not been idle.  And once again we are down to three members - Sally has absconded to be with Tom, so our edge in identifying photographs has vanished.  Vanished I tell you!
     Like the mole.  Speaking of whom:

Sob.  Missing in action

Finally
     A Chicken club sandwich a la Gary Rhodes.

Why?  Because I can!

*  Please don't dwell on this image, it'll put you off your food.