Monday, November 16, 2009

Thwarting Winter...

Is everyone having weird dreams lately? My are strange and stressed, and I tend to be very glad to wake, tho tired. Changing season's? What's UP with this?

Home for a bit with some very irritated Bengals. Stayed at work last night with the Mads (Always lovely, got to see a Harry Potter movie. Did you all know that Serious Black is a character in this? I just thought it was a really cool name for a cat! Is that Wendy's? Who knew!?!) but anyway, did not come HOME and they were left with ONLY dry food for the night.

I believe they have put in a call to the Animal Police, to report this horrible abuse. Venus won't leave my side. And Magic yowls and pees. Sigh.

As you know, November is the start of the Dreaded Calender Parking here in my town. It has nothing to do with SNOW, November to April, one parks on the opposite side of the street as the house numbers. On even days, one parks on the odd side, and on odd, on the even. It is only in effect from 2AM to 6AM, hence the night before thing.

Get it? I don't much either. Those that plow do not PLOW between 2AM and 6AM, but those that ticket are out in full force.

This year tho, I have thwarted them. My problem is my driveway is too steep to get up in the winter. Doesn't make trash day any fun wither when the snow gets up over a foot. SO I have hired a Personal Plow to come over when it snows and plow the thing for me, on the theory that it will end up costing about the same, what with all those tickets. Might as well support them, rather than the city.

Of course, the way my drive is, my Personal Plower says he needs to remove a bunch of rock, so the middle is not higher than the edges. Winter is not cheap, but I will be able to park in my driveway and get my trash out. (Got to be dead embarrassing by last spring...)

That's my big news. Hoping for a ride today, and a visit with Illicit Affair, but we'll have to see how work pans out.

At any rate it is not snowing.

Love and Winter,
Lorraine

108 Comments:

At 09:38 Blogger Phiala said... #1

Not snowing is good. Here it is ridiculously warm and sunny for the middle of November, and likely to stay that way.

There's no street parking from 2-6am in my neighborhood, regardless of side. Or rather, no parking at all on one side, no overnight parking on the other.

At 09:39 Blogger Dan Guy said... #2

I have been having the absolute weirdest dreams the past few nights. I thought it was just because I was sick, but the changing seasons are playing a part as well...

At 09:42 Blogger One Sock Short said... #3

Weird dreams? Check. Wish I knew what they meant, if anything. Probably not.

One of the advantages of being carless is the ability to be blissfully ignorant of parking rules. Not practical in many places, I know. But eminently practical in Chicago.

At 09:51 Blogger spacedlaw said... #4

It does not snow but they'll still fine you if you are parked on the wrong side of the street...

Plowing your driveway does seem the better way to do this.

And I am with the poor neglected kitties. How could you?

At 09:51 Blogger DataGoddess said... #5

Our old house had a very steep driveway, I so feel your pain. Hiring someone to plow it sounds like an excellent plan.

At 10:03 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #6

Sirius is the dog star, and Sirius Black is the character in Harry Potter. When I got Serious, he was a rescue kitty, and his foster mom named him Sirius Black, probably because he was black and they liked Harry Potter. I renamed him Serious Black, because he looks so serious all the time.

He's sort of like the character, though. He looks all tough and a little scary, but then you get to know him and he turns out to be a fine and loyal friend.

Oh, and I think I have my apartment lined up for New Orleans! I'm sending in my application today!

At 10:09 Blogger Jess said... #7

Plow Guy's one of those pricey things you won't regret, though. Good plan.

Trying to think what the strange were, now: there was one with big black stormclouds, and another with planes flying too low to the ground, like within inches of your head. Not sure whether that was last night or last week, though both images have been turning up in my dreams a lot lately. Dunno if it's the change in seasons or just the usual low-level fretting.

At 10:13 Blogger Marjorie said... #8

Glad it isn't snowing, although the parking thing does sound unecessarily complicated.

At 10:14 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #9

Ah! Sirius. I think Serious is cooler myself.

I am happy about the plowing. If one must spend money, I think this is a good thing to spend it on. No snow yet. Fingers crossed, I am no fan of winter.

Sure picked an odd place to live, eh?

At 10:14 Blogger anna j said... #10

Personal Plower sounds like a good solution. My roommate has a car, and we are very glad we live in a part of Queens that doesn't have Parking Rules. The unfortunate side of that is that they don't sweep our street, and they don't really plow it, either (the two or three times it snows per winter here).

No weird dreams to speak of over here.

I went away to see AFP Friday and again Saturday, and on Sunday the Sailor-cat would not leave my side like Venus... velcro-kitty.

At 10:21 Blogger fairbetty said... #11

Wow Q, you have GOT to read Harry Potter!

Sirius is a great character.

And I'm so glad I don't live in Madison, WI in the winter anymore... that 'move your car' crap was frustrating beyond belief!

You should move to CA. :)

At 10:22 Blogger vampi said... #12

hi ho hi ho it's off to make some money to pay bills after ticking the box of ticks.

i have been ridiculously unmotivated when am at home.

At 10:30 Blogger fairbetty said... #13

oh, a weird dream story... dreamed I was photoing a wedding (not something I normally do) but couldn't get the camera to stay still to capture a shot... woke up to Gilly kitten kneading the bed under my elbow.

At 11:33 Blogger Na said... #14

I've had extraordinarily weird dreams, too. Last night's involved me standing alone in a damp rock shelter with a string/rope tied to one of my teeth, and a wise woman instructing an entire village of people how to maneuver a large pile of logs and a diverted stream, and more ropes, all to remove said tooth from my head. Lots of crashing, and the logs looked like sequoias. And I could feel the tooth come out veeeery slowly...

No snow here since October, which is nice tho unusually dry. And today it's supposed to get up to 13 C, which is what, 75 F? (kidding - but that's what it feels like) So, no need to plug in the car yet, which is nice, since we don't have a garage now.

At 11:43 Anonymous Anonymous said... #15

Weird dreams AND weird life lately. Change does feel like it's in the air, but I can't shake the suspicion it goes beyond the seasons.

Enjoy the sun today. It's working hard to keep the snow at bay.

At 11:53 Blogger Chantrelle said... #16

Sounds like weird dreams all around. The only one I remember is the Angelina-Jolie-is-an-alien one but I know there were many others. Maybe it's the Leonids meteor showers?

Yay for no snow yet...I don't know how you do it...snow and I do not get along. I was complaining yesterday because it was about 50 deg. out. Me? Wimpy? Yup.

At 12:19 Blogger Precision Grace said... #17

Snow plow situation sounds cumbersome so yay for personal plow service (first time I heard of That)

Weird dreams - check.

Recent one involved me hiding from unknown sinister elements and seeinga yellow lab vomit an entire stream of purest water. That was quite weird even by my standards, plus I can't figure out what it might mean. Any ideas?

At 12:58 Blogger EmilyLady said... #18

Ah, which Harry Potter movie? With Sirius Black ... was it Prisoner of Azkaban? Seeing as methinks Harry Potter is among the great things of the planet, I was curious, and Azkaban is my favorite.

At 13:04 Anonymous kali_licious said... #19

Only one weird dream recently (like a bad horror movie.) I'm pretty much unable to remember any of late, which in itself is weird.


Plowing sounds like a very good solution to the weird parking rules.

It's 53 degrees and rain here, but I'm ever so grateful it's not snow. I am a Snow Weenie. HATE snow. The only snow I like is the kind I can see at a distance, like on a faraway mountain. Is it any wonder I'd like to live in the southwest?;)

At 13:05 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #20

Don't know which Harry Potter it was, but Harry looked older than when I last checked in, so a late one. It had Helena Bonham Carter in it if that helps. And I really strange women who got taken by Centuers.

(Ok, so spellcheck has no clue. Half man/Half horse thing)

At 13:11 Blogger fairbetty said... #21

Number 5... Order of the Phoenix

At 13:13 Blogger fairbetty said... #22

centaur

At 13:49 Blogger EmilyLady said... #23

That would be Order of the Phoenix. I actually really can't stand that particular film ... but the others are brilliant works of art.

At 14:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #24

HEY! My real estate lady for sold me the Spooky House just wrote and asked did I want a very old, 1892 piano.

YES!

I mean, I have an organ, and I don't actually PLAY, but still, one never knows, now does one?

Adventure coming!

At 14:07 Blogger One Sock Short said... #25

I am confident that anyone who can play a violin with three bows at once can master the piano and organ.

Feeling strangely light-headed today. Don't know why. I had a good lunch.

At 14:16 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #26

I would feel pangs of jealousy about the piano, but I'm about to move to New Orleans!!!! Everything is old there!

And, if you have a piano, you will have to get it tuned and in good working position, because pianos are like magnets at parties.

At 14:19 Blogger EmilyLady said... #27

I hope you feel better, OSS.

At 14:20 Blogger Jess said... #28

Oh, cool! Pictures please when it arrives. :)

At 14:41 Blogger Kate said... #29

Check on crazy dreams. I keep waking up thinking they're real, which makes for interesting morning conversation.

Serious Black, Sirius Black, it's still a descriptive joke name, like most of the HP names are. Severus Snape = "Harsh Rebuke" but you can push it to "Neck Severer" pretty easily. All the baddies have personality defining adjectives in their names.

At 14:56 Blogger ariandalen said... #30

No strange unexplained dreams here. Granted, it's been fair and warm for the past week. Tonight, and tomorrow night, it's supposed to be cold, upper 30s.

I am having a hard time believing that Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas is in only 39 days.
Is it time to panic yet?

At 15:06 Blogger AletaMay said... #31

Oh yeah, odd dreams. The sort I can't really remember but still some how manage to provide the mood for my whole day.

The snow parking rules in St. Paul are so much easier! Even so I wish I had me some off street parking.

Piano! Yay! Maybe my godchild can come out and give you lessons. She pretty much plays by ear even though she does read music.

Ah fiends. I have been so disorganized these past few weeks and it is catching up with me. I do read the comments here but can't really keep up enough to say anything worthy of your time!

I am an unapologetic Harry Potter fan. I love Sirius Black (and I ship Remus/Sirius sort of... in a pansexual sort of way that allows for Remus/Tonks) The movies are fun but it is the books that came into my life at just the right time and brought with them some really unexpected gifts. I think it is safe to say that I would not know any of you had I not fallen down the HP fandom rabbit hole.

Ok. Back to work for me.

At 15:13 Blogger vampi said... #32

i am a mild harry potter fan. i've read the first 4 or so books, and i've only seen a snippet of the movies. i do want to sometime get all 7 books in a row a read. and then watch the movies. alan rickman and gary oldman are yummy.

At 15:25 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #33

I didn't have an odd dream, perse. I dreamt I was in New Orleans with friends. There were some steamy moments with a chap I have an off-again, on-again crush on. He got hit by a car. That's about it for me. Although, it's the first dream I've had in a few days, which is kind of odd, but kind of understandable. I've been exhausted.

At 15:25 Blogger Dragonsally said... #34

Hmmm, is an alien invasion coming, after the human population of planet Earth is unsettled and distracted by weird dreams?

At 15:34 Blogger vampi said... #35

We are of peace. Always.

At 15:45 Blogger Dragonsally said... #36

I was about to wonder whether V really was a science fiction show, and not a reality show. Could be you know...

At 15:59 Blogger Shantra said... #37

I have been having weird dreams too! I didn't know everyone has been having them, in fact, mine are so weird it's hard to describe just HOW weird they are.

Lorraine I don't know if you missed what I said about Cairo cos you didn't comment. Or maybe nothing struck you in which case.. that's ok.

As to the street parking, it reminds me of a great blonde joke I heard.

A blonde hears on the radio she needs to park her car on the left side of the street so she dutifully goes out to move it. The next night they say to park on the right side, so she goes out and moves it. The third night they don't say anything and she complains to her husband.. 'how do I know which side of the street to park on!' And he replies.....

'Why don't you just leave it in the garage'.

Da Dahhh

At 16:03 Blogger EmilyLady said... #38

Blood glucose hates me with a passion and wants me stone-cold dead.

At 16:23 Blogger Marjorie said... #39

Apologies for changing the subject, but I just wanted to say I had a fantastic time at JoCo & Paul&Storm's gig last night and have blogged it all (with youtubage)here

At 16:24 Blogger Uisge said... #40

Yes to weird dreams. I like the idea that the Leonids are involved.

At 16:36 Blogger Kitty Cat said... #41

Gary Oldman, he plays a perfect mister Black.
and i love the thought of it spelled Serious--
we call Batman Serious Black because he looks like he is studying for his SATs most of the time.

as for piano, can make for some funny Bengal-meets- keys videos...

me there Wednesday, am the mostest luckiest and spoiled kitty in the world. next to Luka, who i am planning on hugging.

At 16:37 Blogger Hellie said... #42

My dreams are usually weird, but lately I haven't been remembering many either, but I haven't been too good at sleeping. Lots going on at the moment, life has been a bit up and down, but on the up again now I think.

Hope everyone is well here, haven't been about much lately but life should be calmer again in a week or so. Q, am I hopelessly too late for this round of donate-money-for-kitties-and-have-CD-in-return? And if not can we join in in the UK?

At 16:38 Blogger Jane said... #43

Prisoner of Azkaban is my favorite of the HP movies, too. And I totally enjoyed reading the books.

Thought I might find the same sort of fun in the Twilight series but no. Couldn't even get through the first half of the first one.

Lysandwr - I saw your comment on Dead Like Me - talked to Steve and we can't remember so will have to watch again...

Calvin eating a little more today, after the weekend of looking like he felt bad and not eating anything to speak of, and then throwing up what he did eat...we were feeling quite bad about him. Started perking up last night and eating (I'd hate for people to see how many open cans of cat food I have in the frig)so I feel a bit better. Hoping the chemo is continuing to work....

Warm and sunny in NC!

At 16:44 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #44

HUGGING Luka??? You sure about that one Kitty? I think you should start with the steak toss.

My piano come Wednesday, shortly after you do!

Hellie, never too late!

At 17:02 Blogger One Sock Short said... #45

It's here! It's Here!! IT'S HERE!!!

I haz Lorraine music.

Wallowing in Flash Girls and Folk Underground as I speak, er, type.

Emily, I hope you're feeling better already.

At 17:30 Blogger Chantrelle said... #46

I forgot to say I got my CD too! And I LOVE the insert photos...*meow* you two!

At 18:57 Blogger Beez said... #47

The way the weather is going, maybe we'll just skip right past they snow, right?

.....

Nah, I didn't think so either.

Q, your heart-tug horse is beautiful. Lovely eye, lovely face- looks like a real sweetheart. I'm glad you found each other.

I am v. excited to say- I have weekends off again! Done with the frantic mass cooking at the Big (hairy deal) New Stadium!
Of course, they just announced the first Show Of ROCK there is going to be U2 this summer. I am already..um...agitating to work it. I can't wait to see what the riders in the contract are :D.

Also, one of our chefs left the U. and just became Chef de Cuisine at a very good restaurant 5 blocks from home, so I'm hoping I can bump up my skilz a bit further. They cook locally and seasonally and during the seasons put up all kinds of jams and jellies and confits and such to use. I MUST learn this!

I may go for an internship...aaaaand there would go my weekends again :P

At 19:16 Blogger Jane said... #48

Well, darn...I was waiting to buy tix to Amanda's show in NC until I was sure Calvin would be OK to leave for a while - show being an hour away which is normally no big deal...and it SOLD OUT while I was waiting. ARGH...:-(

Maybe she'll do some Twitter freebies for the show.

I even had the code - what to say at the merchandising table - ready. Guess I shouldn't have waited.

At 20:17 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #49

Serious dictated a LiveJournal post to me earlier, and he made me post a couple pics. If you click on my name in this comment, it will take you to my LJ, if anyone wants to look at some gratuitous kitty pics.

At 20:33 Blogger Martha W. said... #50

Thanks for explaining about the winter parking rule. It's the first time anyone has explained it, and I have lived here over 37 years. I always worry about parking on the street, especially when Garbage Night is involved. Congratulations on your Personal Plowperson.

At 21:02 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #51

Beez, that's really cool! You go!

Wendy, I must read Serious Black...

Yes, Martha, I have cracked the parking code! Only solution tho is a Personal Plow Person...Until I get a garage.

So tired. Watching cool TV with MaddyG and waiting for the Boss, who will be pretty late tonight...

At 21:18 Blogger Siri said... #52

Emily? Are you well? Linda? Did you improve?

Kitty in the midwest for thanksgiving? How cool is that.

At 23:26 Blogger Na said... #53

Oh yes, Harry Potter! Love love love. Stories that make me grateful to be alive here, now.

Also totally tickled, got Dr Who Series 3 for $50 new on amazon, arrived this afternoon. The monsters and I have been waiting to watch Runaway Bride for ages. More love.

Thank you universe, for wonderful stories.

'Night, Q and fiends. Safe travels next week, Kitty.

At 23:27 Blogger Na said... #54

Oh, hullo, ticky box, what do you there?

At 23:34 Blogger Chantrelle said... #55

I've been soooo sleepy lately. Must ben the cold i'm fighting. Early to bed for me.

Hope you had a lovely evening w/ Maddy, Lorraine! Tell boss welcome home :)

At 03:28 Blogger Marjorie said... #56

I'm sleepy too. I think I must be geting old, I can't take this staying up 'til 1 a.m. for gigs any more...

Hope you are sucessful in fighting off your cold, Chantrelle.

Jane - will kep fingers crossed that AFP does a giveaway and that you're picked.

And today we have a Law Society audit-style visit. Wish me luck...

At 05:08 Blogger Hellie said... #57

Good Luck Marjorie! I'm in the middle of an internal audit at work so I can empathise!

At 05:31 Blogger Marjorie said... #58

Good luck to you too, Hellie.

I just had my interview. 2 crosses in boxes that should be ticks :-(

Hopefully these are only 'minor non-compliances' not major ones...

At 05:55 Blogger Beez said... #59

((((sends out minor non-compliance vibes))))

At 06:27 Blogger Jess said... #60

I'm always up for some minor non-compliance! \o/

At 07:15 Blogger EmilyLady said... #61

Oh my. Speaking of weird dreams. Seriously. Involved pink worms and penguinsicles.

At 07:54 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #62

Morning all. Early. Weird waking at work again, I mean, you are right THERE...Too late to go home last night tho, and early interviews are coming....

Going to be a pretty crazed week into weekend. Really glad Kitty is coming tomorrow. New hair tomorrow too. MIGHT be no purple...And I bought all real hair this time. WAY $$ but so much nicer...

At 08:01 Blogger spacedlaw said... #63

Poor abandoned kitties!
You will definitely get denounced to the authorities for neglect.

At 08:16 Blogger One Sock Short said... #64

With Kitty coming, there will be pics of new hair, yes?

Loved spending yesterday evening with your music. Flash Girls and Folk UnderGround are good company. I ended up with two copies of FG though. Shall I send it to you so you have it for the next rescue?

Hi Siri! I'm still a walking mess of tired all the time. But at least walking. How's you? Things are still stressful at work, I imagine, with all the cut-backs. It was like that here this time last year. No word yet on what this coming year will bring, but the Board of Trustees is making less dire noises, so the rest of us are cautiously optimistic. I hope things settle down for you too.

At 08:34 Blogger ariandalen said... #65

Ariane has what she calls "cuckoo dreams." These are different from scary dreams. They bother her enough to mention, but not enough to tell us the dreams. ::shrug:: I don't worry about my weird dreams. When they are too real/realistic, then I worry.

Hope your bg numbers level out, Eminent Emily!

Our television turned itself off, then back on, this morning.

At 08:40 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #66

Last night was strange. I fell asleep at my computer at 11 p.m., then I woke up after 1 and had to make sure my laundry was dry. Somehow I was up until after 2 a.m., but it felt like I was up for about two minutes and fell back asleep.

At 08:53 Blogger EmilyLady said... #67

Thanks, Ariandalen. They should. We'll see if we can come to some sort of agree-to-disagreement. You hate me, I hate you, but we have to live with each other, so let's be courteous at the very least.

I am most interesting in the new hair, Quiche ...

At 08:54 Blogger EmilyLady said... #68

I mean, interested. Not interesting.

At 08:55 Blogger One Sock Short said... #69

But you are also interesting, of course.

At 09:24 Anonymous Anonymous said... #70

Looking forward to pictures of new hair!

At 11:29 Anonymous Lysandwr said... #71

Too much of something.....math exam this afternoon?

Anyway, I kept reading "Personal Plower" as "Personal Power"....which made complete sense as giving you the ability to thwart the evil snow parking gremlins.

Not sure if you remember...and can't remember myself if it was your car or Linda Smith's...
but my first week in Mpls (mayhap first NIGHT, e'en!) we were at the Loring Cafe.....and the car we came in was towed due to evil snow parking laws whilst we were enjoying lovely music....Not that it was snowing in the slightest.

A scarring experience, my introduction to the Twin Cities' draconian parking enforcement. Never even *thought* about owning a car after that!

Yellow post its.....thank you, Jane. Keep me, er, well, posted...if you would :)

Be well thoughts to Chantrelle and especially Emily

At 11:34 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #72

I remember that Lys, I think it was Linda Smiths car that got taken away. They don't tow here, just give you a $25 ticket, snow or not.

Came home to feed bengals, cooked steaks and got a call and forgot them. Venus and Mim took them ALL and ran with them, Mim growling like she hadn't been fed in tears. (They had already had the wet food.)

Got the little steaks back, and cooked the second pack for Luka, Mab and Magic.

I only want steak for Xmas.

At 11:37 Blogger One Sock Short said... #73

You got them back?! Are all your fingers intact?

At 11:38 Blogger Na said... #74

Maybe it's time to start raising cattle? Or get a serious deep freeze to store entire sides of beef?

At 11:43 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #75

I sent a book for an auction today to help raise money for someone who had lost 40 cows in a fire.

We could have made a deal, and the meat already cooked.

Back to work now...

At 11:53 Blogger Chantrelle said... #76

2010 Magnetic Fields tour! Oakland, Feb 27th...sweet!

At 12:04 Blogger Chantrelle said... #77

For those of you not on twitter, I'll ask here too...
Who knew cymbals cost so much?!?! I'm looking for *cheap* hi-hat cymbals for Ben for xmas. Have some to get rid of? He's rocking in his lessons, I want to get the hi-hat in there too. I have the stand, just need the cymbals.

At 12:41 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #78

Totally unrelated to anything, except maybe what Chantrelle just posted in a roundabout manner:

For New Year's, I think I'm going to have a Twitter party. I am going to be moving that day. It might be fun!

At 13:30 Blogger dabbler said... #79

Hm.. Chantrelle, try ebay, craigslist, or freecycle. Especially freecycle, as cymbals might be one of those things bought and then not used....

Weird dreams here, as well, but can't remember them.

Want to ask good thoughts for my DS who is in the throes of his Senior project at college, and has identified that there is no way he wants to be a physicist, but feels he must act as-if he did to get through his comp. Sometimes insight strikes at such difficult moments.

As for me, I'm starting to work on my list of things I want to do/experience/explore/accomplish in my 60th year, which begins on Christmas Day. Oh. I guess it's really my 61st year. I'm late already. I wasn't born at one year old, was I.

Wendy, read Serious Black's post, and some of yours. Good luck with the Praxis test!

At 13:42 Blogger One Sock Short said... #80

Stand on the desk and scream or crawl under it and cry?

A rhetorical question. I just needed to say it somewhere, before I did either. No specific reason.

(/vent)

At 13:45 Blogger Phiala said... #81

No particular reason, OSS?

I hate days like that.

At 13:50 Blogger vampi said... #82

you know, i'm right there with you oss. i try like hell to be a good boss, and the kids just don't appreciate it. i'm doing the opposite thing that every bad boss has ever done to me, yet they still don't like it. GAH!

At 13:50 Blogger One Sock Short said... #83

Well, none in particular, or too many to count... Same difference in many ways.

Just venting. Because this is one of the few places I can.

Thanks.

At 14:01 Blogger ariandalen said... #84

Chantrelle, you might also check the local pawn shops. Heck, you might even try your local thrift store(s). You never know, and you could ask if they can check their other locations in the case of Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul, and Salvation Army.

At 14:04 Blogger ariandalen said... #85

Need to brag a bit. Ariane casually mentioned about a week ago that she was her school's UIL Creative Writing team. She isn't sure whether she's the lead or the alternate, but she made the team. :)

Who knew there were UIL competitions for elementary schools?

At 14:38 Anonymous Wendy Withers said... #86

Dabbler: Thanks! That was the most stressful test I've ever taken. The test proctor told us we had more questions than we actually did, so I panicked during the last 40 or so questions then had a terrible headache the rest of the day.

At 16:31 Blogger dabbler said... #87

Great example of what NOT to do as a teacher!

At 16:38 Blogger Dragonsally said... #88

Health, calm and luck to all who need them.

Quiche, do you ever manage to get to eat steak before the Bengals steal it?

At 17:58 Blogger Chantrelle said... #89

Just made tea w/ insane amounts of honey...actually...no tea, just honey and hot water. The bees will chase away my snot!

Decided today, being a brainless cold-filled day, was a good day to start the holiday calendar present. The grandparents get a calendar full o' ben every year. Pictures from each month of this year in it. So it 's a bit iPhoto scroll-through and choose game for me.

At 18:05 Blogger Precision Grace said... #90

Hey, what does it mean when a horse you don't know (i.e. you are next to the fence and the horse puts it's head as far over to your side as it can) sniffs you all over (hands, head, jacket, other bits of me she could reach). I did have a bucket of apples next to me to be fair and she did get one tiny one at the end because I just felt mean not giving in although I understand horses should not be fed by hand as it encourages nipping.

But before that she was poking me with her head and letting me pat her a bit and then raising her head high above me as if to intimidate me into surrendering apples. The other two (ponies) looked at me but didn't come over.

She is very pushy horsey and I told her so (and she did step back to her side of the fence and face me sideways when I complained).

I just can't work out if she is being friendly or trying to intimidate me. I was in the paddock once with their owner and she wanted to come close then too but I didn't feel comfortable with that and stayed away.

Anyway, sorry for this long post but as I know there are people who know about horses here, I figured maybe someone can give me some tips.

(these horses live close to me and I can visit often if I want to)

At 19:51 Blogger Phiala said... #91

All of the cooking gear has been in storage for the past year. I just washed a good chunk of it.

It takes a lot of pots and pans to cook for 100!

At 19:53 Blogger Siri said... #92

Linda - thanks for asking. Right now, those who are covered by the AFSCME union are waiting for the union to vote to see if we have 5 furough days, or if they lay people off. To me, it's a no brainer - take the days, save the jobs, but I'm not sure what the voters are going to do. There are about 9,000 members who will decide the fate of 20,000 employees. So, the drama continues.

The union that covers other people in my department walked away from the negotiation table - they were offered the same deal, so their employees will be laid off.

Happy Holiday season to all, and to all a good night.

At 19:58 Blogger Shantra said... #93

She was trying to bully you into giving her apples. You will also get a head throw as a 'jerk back' if you throw your hands up.. that one is a startle.

Try visiting without any treats at all. She might still check you over to see if you have anything. Best introduction I have found is to hold your hand out palm flat for her to smell and then softly reach up and stroke her neck. Keep your movements nice and gentle and slow and talk to her.. tell her what a pretty girl she is.

For me that has always worked really well.

At 20:03 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #94

You can feed her apples, and should, just make her mind her manners, keep your hand flat. Visiting without treats is good, just be gentle and move slow, and don't let her do anything you don't want..

Tonight I am SLEEPING. In my bed. Coconut is a dear cat but he really puts his back into his all night cuddling sessions.

At 21:44 Blogger Beez said... #95

Yay for sleeping in your own bed.

OSS....(((better days))))

Robyn, I see a bunch listed on Craigslist here. What price range are you looking for? "Cheap" is such a relative term around here.

At 22:06 Blogger Chantrelle said... #96

Well, i was thinking hi-hats for about $30. The ones around here are $80+.

At 01:15 Anonymous Anonymous said... #97

My son had a dream that his alarm snooze button was the button on LOST.
I think that's the funniest thing i've heard in a long time.
In other news, DEAR CAT SMART FIENDS!!
Doc said my cat has dreaded crystals.
Told me to buy her food. She said to watch the ash content in food. My food has zero ash. Hers has some. She couldn't tell me WHY her food is better, only that it is. Now I DO trust Doc, but -
What should i be feeding my feline friend? What contributes to crystals? Can i mix the two foods to make it last longer?

At 01:15 Anonymous Anonymous said... #98

This comment has been removed by the author.

At 06:40 Blogger Dan Guy said... #99

Lori has taken to recording the things I say in my sleep by IMing them to me. This morning when I woke up I had received the following:

12:24 AM Lori: And so scotland yard may remain mwahahahhahaa

At 06:42 Blogger spacedlaw said... #100

Snorfle!
Weird dream indeed, Dan. Sounds like it might have been nice and eventful though.
:)

At 08:05 Blogger Marjorie said... #101

::snort:: I'm glad you decided to spare Scotland Yard. We're quite attached to it. Although they Never Give Up, so if you are planning any world domination in the near future, you should probably try to get them on your side first.

At 08:06 Blogger Marjorie said... #102

BTW, Dan, did you manage to find a piano? If not, maybe you could clone Q's?

At 08:10 Blogger FabulousLorraine said... #103

HEY! New post s up! AT 8:00am! Am I lighting the world on fire today or WHAT?????

At 08:25 Blogger anna j said... #104

bobina, wet food helps keep crystals away in my experience. Go with one that is mostly meat with very little to no grain if you can.

At 09:21 Blogger Chantrelle said... #105

Bobina - our cat had crystals because of too much magnesium...not sure if that's the ash-relation though.

At 10:06 Blogger Phiala said... #106

Oh, I missed the cat questions. Morgan had crystals once. Since then I've fed him a low-ash, low-magnesium kibble and daily canned food. You're going for two things: low mineral content and high moisture.

Ash doesn't have anything to do with ash in the food. Instead, if you take a sample of anything and put it in a very hot furnace, the organic material will burn off, leaving the mineral content. So low-ash foods mostly burn off, leaving little behind. Low magnesium is another measure of mineral content.

The other problem is water consumption. A lot of cats don't drink enough, and that may be the biggest source of urinary tract problems. Anything you can do to encourage drinking - let the cat play in the sink, or get a fountain, or put out more bowls of water, if any of those appeal to your cat. Mine's a Maine Coon, and loves to play in the water, so I can encourage that since he drinks some. That's where the wet food is important since it's mostly water. You could also try adding water to a little bit of kibble - some cats like soggy food, and again, more water consumption. Just don't let it sit very long - icky!

The third possible factor is urine pH. The only way to manipulate that is through diet. (In humans you drink more cranberry juice, but good luck getting a cat to drink that!). A urinary tract food formulation should also help lower the urine pH. If it's more acidic, the minerals will dissolve rather than crystalize, just like acid rain eating away marble statues.

My cat's been healthy ever since, and that's been probably 9 years. And actually, all older cats should probably get some wet food just to make sure they consume enough water. Not all wet food, though, as it's better for their teeth to have kibble to crunch on.

At 10:24 Blogger Precision Grace said... #107

Oh thank you for advice!

I can also attest that wet food keeps crystals at bay (as does drinking lots of water)

At 10:30 Blogger Na said... #108

I fed my kitty a dry food that included cranberries! It was a natural-ish one from a local pet store (not available at the vet nor the grocery), sorry I don't recall the name but there are surely others out there, if needed.

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