For the first open thread of 2018, let’s try to see the world a bit differently.
Via Imgur.
Weekend Open Thread
85 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”
Comments are closed.
For the first open thread of 2018, let’s try to see the world a bit differently.
Via Imgur.
Comments are closed.
Morning All! Kitty’s slightly cross-eyed expression kinda mimics mine– I am off to the dentist in 20 minutes to sit in the chair for 2 hours and it is -23 celcius out without the windshield. See you in a few hours and wish me luck!
FKAWalden, I hope your appointment went well! I haven’t been to the dentist since I moved here in 2013. New Year’s resolution? Make all those appointments that I “haven’t had time for”!
Thank you Fritz, yes, it is something I try to keep on top of, cleanings etc. I had to get a crown shaped and the mould fitted today. It is then formed from porcelain and put in two weeks from now. The good thing about this dentist besides his skill is he prescribes ativan to take during his procedures— I’m rather pleasantly stoned right now. 😀
So, spppt, find a dentist who will prescribe the similar. 😉
I’ve always considered myself lucky to have had occlusals. But I think they missed one tooth that has four fillings. And That tooth has been acting up for a few months now (off and on)
I agree with you FKA, kittie is a little cross-eyed and looks like I feel this morning. You’re off to the dentist and I’m off to the eye doctor this morning. But at least my weather is warmer, your locale is just brrrrrr.
Not too much else planned this weekend, just errands and cleaning plus another hockey game. We won ours last night 5-0 and it was an exciting game – lots of physical play, fights, and amazing skating/passing/checking.
Had a great time last weekend up at the Rose Bowl parade. We didn’t do the parade proper (way too many people!) but went to the post parade viewing of the floats. So neat to see them up close and see all the details like every seed, every flower, etc. The ones I give props to are the people who drive them down the parade route, the area they sit in is tiny!! Not a place for someone with claustrophobia.
Have a great weekend everyone!!!
AJ, hoping you also had a good appointment! The Rose Bowl Parade sounds fabulous even if it’s just to see the floats up close. They do a small scale flower parade in Bad Aussee, Austria in May. It’s called the Narzissenfest and they make barges instead of floats. Instead of roses they use narcissus and daffodils!
A daffodil float sounds simply heavenly! Do they punt the barges? are they motorized? I hope some of them use tulips too.
Heather Noelle, I haven’t seen the Narzissenfest in person, but I think they do use other flowers. And the boats they usually use are flat bottomed punts, but I’d bet they have motorized backups. If you do an image search for Narzissenfest you’ll see some of the marvelous ideas they come up with!
I’s guess because the name is Narzissenfest that daffodils and narcissus are the chief flowers. Sounds gorgeous!
Hey Aj, how about those Golden Knights? I believe Vegas is much closer to your neck of the woods than mine. I find their success to be well, quite amazingly awesome and it kinda cracks me up in a good way.
Well, eye exam went well but I learned a few things today. My eye dr told me my eyes notice very slight details when she does that “is one better …. or two” as she fiddles with eye exam machine thingy that most other people don’t. Plus lens made out of polycarbonate have you viewing the world differently than just plastic lenses. Maybe that’s why my last pair just felt off but the other exam place all thought I was nuts. Lesson learned, I’ll stick with this eye dr instead of tying to save a little money.
And yes the LV Knights FKA are not too far from me but haven’t really been following them, I’m more of a Rangers fan from my days in NYC. Some people say the reason they’re doing so well is they got to cherry pick really good players in the expansion draft. Maybe yes, maybe no but I think the real test is to see how they do next year. And oh yes, another wild game last night but we prevailed again winning 3-2. And both nights our goalies stopped over 40 shots on goal. Yikes! Talk about feeling like you have a target painted on you.
What a beautiful cat! As I said before cross eye kitty have a special place in my heart, but one with tow different colour eyes is even better!!
It’s also -23 celsius here (-9.4 Fahrenheit for our American friends) and with the windchill it’s -38 celsius (-36.4°F) and it will even get colder tonight. I would like to stay home under the cover but I have a diner tonight at my sister’s, with my nephew and his family , thank goodness it’s only 15 minutes away!
I’ve been putting off seriously implementing my New Year resolution to loose weight to get my diabetes under control because of the this last diner, we’ll be having racelette, not exactly diet food ? .
With the wind chill it is -4F in midtown Manhattan. I haven’t left my building in days. I will go out later because I need bread for me and my 86 year old neighbor. I will spend the weekend dealing with STUFF piled up in my apartment. My mother died in April 2016 and my sister and I have been dealing with everything left in the house she lived in since 1965. I invest objects with emotion so now I have piles of STUFF in my apartment. Next week the furniture and larger objects will start being delivered and I’ve got to make room.
I remember doing that Dubra with my Mom’s furniture, belongings and I invest objects with emotion too. I cleared out, threw out a lot of stuff and along with them ’emotional stuff’ these past 10 years. I aim to do much more this year– I have one more storage closet that requires a skeleton or two to be shooed away.
I feel better hearing someone else took years to deal with the emotionally resonant objects. When my sister and I started out (she also invests objects with emotion), we found my mother’s pile of old Food & Wine magazines and could not immediately throw them out “Oh, she kept these!” We got over that one quickly. My sister advises taking the resonant object home and then, not infrequently, you find ( after a while) you can throw it out.
Ahhh too funny as my Mom had a pile of old Gourmet magazines which I still remember not wanting to throw out. 🙂
Just finished doing that with my Mom’s things too Dubra and FKA but I went to the other extreme. If it wasn’t useful or could be passed on to the grandkids or another family member off it went to goodwill or sold. My mom had just way too much stuff, she was borderline between packrat and hoarder. When she moved from their house to the retirement community she “downsized” her sewing and embroidery stash but I still filled 10 black trash bags with material and supplies. And that wasn’t even counting the embroidery kits in the dresser drawers. Some stuff I had no idea why she kept but she must have had a good reason at the time. After doing all that, I’m now very ruthless when it comes to my own things and I purge regularly. I just don’t want my niece or someone going thru that same experience.
Y’all are making me feel positively tropical – it’s a high of -21 degrees Celsius, two whole degrees warmer than some of you!!! I think I will stay in all day. Maybe gather up a few of the Christmas decorations (but not the tree – I think I still want one more day of my pretty tree lights).
I also have been slow to implement some new healthy habits for the new year. It’s hard when I’m still using up some of the holiday treats that were in the house.
Merlin has found his way to the bowl of nuts-still-in-their-shells that I bought for use with my nut cracker this Christmas. I love sitting here having my morning coffee while listening to him dig around among the pecans (which he can’t open) to find the almonds (which he can).
Back in Austria after spending the 12 days of Christmas in Iowa. It was cold! – 28°C. I did manage to get my lino cut New Year’s cards finished and it’s appropriate to mention them today since they depict a romantic custom held in Alpine villages on January 5. It’s called the Glöcklerlauf or Bell Run. Participants dress in white jumpsuits, hang giant jingle bells from their belts and carry enormous lanterns on their heads. Then they run through the villages in the evening and the jingling is supposed to scare off the spirits of winter – a nice pagan ritual before the seriousness of Epiphany. I will send Mike photos of the finished product (two versions) to post (if you’ll be so kind, NTMTOM!) but in the meantime here’s a link to the sights and sounds of this magical tradition!
We could use a little scaring off the spirits of winter at the moment in the north-east of the U.S. and Canada LOL!!
The lanterns are beautiful.
I LOVE festivals like that – the sounds are so wonderful – I don’t have time to watch it all now but will later.
I’m working like a madwoman to get ready for many guests this evening – I don’t expect as many as last time – 2 years ago we had 135 – but there will be a crowd. The house looks pretty nice if I do say so – still bedecked for Christmas in every nook and cranny – I do keep finding dusty bits but at night they won’t be so noticeable! Got some cooking to do, some cleaning, sequestering of bunnies. I just hope I remember that I have to take a shower and get dressed – that part often gets short shrift. I doubt I’ll be back here today – have fun whatever you’re up to and I’ll see you back here tomorrow!
PS GORgeous kitty.
Oh, my, that video is so cool! I’m with Murray- I love traditions like that. It gives people a chance to liven up and do things in the dark of winter. I suppose they “lighten” things up, too! (runs off and hides after the bad pun)
Here is the image of N. Fritz’s new years cards. I’m sorry that I took so long to get to this, but please enjoy! They look great!
Great Lino cut!
Thanks, Faye! That means a lot to me!
?
These are really great-looking!
Thanks, Dubravka! At first I hand colored the lanterns (left) but that wasn’t entirely satisfactory. So I went with the three color wash (right) before printing. I do lino cuts on average once every 15 years so I need to work on technique! But I am inspired by woodcuts of Betsy Bowen and Claudia McGehee, both fabulous artists!
They’re both beautiful but the three color wash is really vivid. I vote for that technique.
Thanks Mike!!!
Great job, N. Fritz!
Such pretty cards!!! And such a talented person making them.
Aww, thanks AJ!
It’s 44F and raining here in the great Pacific Northwest; typical winter weather! Supposedly it will let up later in the morning, so I plan to go on a short hike. The trail is below snow level for now, which is good as I don’t know that I want to trust my knee on snow yet. I walked in the snow on Christmas, but stuck to paved roads where I could trust the surface underneath.
Everyone have a good weekend and stay warm out there!
Morning, all. It’s a balmy 10 degrees here in central New Jersey, “feels like” -7 (F). I don’t plan to feel it at all, at least not until tomorrow. Yesterday when I got home and checked the mail, I had to shovel snow out of the box with a piece of junk mail. As a testament to how cold it is, the paper barely even got wet.
I, too, have decided to wait until next week to implement any healthy new years resolutions. For one thing, I still have one more holiday lunch with friends tomorrow. We’re going to a Mexican restaurant with an Irish name. Fajitas! (At least they’re one of the relatively healthy options on a menu covered in cheese.) Also, with a short week (made even shorter by a snow day) which is also the first week of the fiscal month, I knew the gym was not going to happen.
I could stare at this gorgeous kitty’s eyes all day. Alas, I have laundry and dishes to do.
A wonky and unsettling start to 2018 – just happily celebrated my grandmother’s 100th birthday at huge family reunion in India… 2 days later, my 78 year old mother’s in ICU with influenza. Hoping for a good outcome – keeping spirits up by looking at Cute Creatures That Give Hope.
That’s a scary situation. But she’s being taken care of and 78 is not so old anymore (says the 67 year old). Good luck.
Keeping you all in my thoughts (and the cats are crossing their paws).
Best wishes for a speedy recovery for you mother, Sowmya!
Happy birthday to your grandmother and hoping your mom is feeling better soon!
I’m so sorry – though situation all round – how wonderful for your ?Grandmother to reach 100 but so awful that your Mom is so sick – I do hope she does well. So easy to forget how dangerous the flu can be.
I am sending strength to your Mom!
I hope your Mother gets well. 100 year old grandma is awesome.
Supportive hugs to you.
Sending thoughts and prayers for you and your mom! It’s so hard to just have to “wait” while someone is in the ICU.
Sending healing thoughts to your mother and best wishes to your grandmother.
Best wishes for your mother’s speedy recovery! And congrats on your grandmother’s centennial.
Good Morning All! Cold but sunny in Philadelphia. All the sunny window sills are occupied with cats soaking up the warms. I have a list a mile long of things I want to do and another list a mile long of things I need to do. Isn’t that always the way? I try to alternate and do a boring one, and then a fun one. Had two snow days (Thursday and Friday) goofing off, so I really should be strict with myself today and get the boring tediums done today. Then more goofing of tomorrow.
Stay warm everyone!!! 🙂
Brrr, -23 degrees C…I don’t want to know what is feels like ? The lowest temp I have experienced was around -15 in 2002 in Germany. Here in Budapest some people blame the American weather for our mild +10 degrees ?.
Once there was -32 Celsius in Debrecen in February 2003 and then 2 days with -29 C.
Those days even I was cold 🙂
What gorgeous eyes! I’ve seen the blue + brown combo before, on cats and people, but never blue + green.
We’ll hit the high 40s here in Colorado–seems like a summer day compared to most of you! I’m staying inside, though, as I’ve got a freelance project on a tight deadline.
Also my beautiful Ursula kitty isn’t well. We visit the vet on Monday morning and, given her age and symptoms, I may have to say good bye to my darling.
Her skull has an odd shape between her ears, like there’s something pressing on it from underneath. She doesn’t seem to be in pain, and she responds when I talk to her and pet her. Since I was out all day yesterday, I’m selfishly putting off the vet visit so I can spend more time with her.
🙁
Oh DebG, That’s distressing to hear. Sending you hugs and strength for Monday. Enjoy the time you have together this weekend!
Aw, poor Ursula! Glad she’s not suffering – sorry you are, DEBG!
🙁
So sorry to hear the news about Ursula 🙁
I hope you are OK and will be also on Monday.
So sorry about Ursula. Maybe it will go better than you fear.
Oh my. Poor kitty. Hold her close.
Best wishes for Ursula’s health and for your peace of mind, from us and Dmitri Purrshkavich (my Siberian Forest Cat overseer)!
We’re here for you.
Ditto what everyone else said; I am glad you are able to take some extra time to spend with Ursula now. Hugs and sympathy to you and your kitty.
Sorry to hear about Ursula, sending love.
Holding the best of thoughts for you and Ursula, DebG. If your sweet kitty is not in pain, and is still interested in what’s going on around her, then I don’t think you’re being selfish at all. I’m sure that working together with your vet you will make the right choice—at the right time. Meanwhile, enjoy your time with Ursula today. If she’s enjoying your petting, that’s a good thing.
I’m so sorry about your kitty, Deb. ?
I love seeing people joining in from all over the world! I’m so glad to see everyone — please keep speaking up, it’s so nice that way!
Here in Tampa, it’s been chilly and raining or just damp, a very unpleasant combination. I’d rather have cold, to be honest! And it’s been getting down to freezing at night; the citrus farmers are worried. Today my husband and the dogs are at a fundraiser for the therapy group for a few hours, so I’m here all by myself. It’s so quiet, lno doggy snoring! I have no plans but folding laundry and cleaning my office, which really needs doing.
Everyone have a great week, and try to stay warm!
Happy First Open Thread of 2018!
I have made a minor resolution to myself to try to be a little more positive in my thinking. For example, I will not hate hubby’s job, just his schedule. Thus, I can be grateful that he has a job. Seems odd, but it does help me.
One not-negative thing about the new schedule: since hubby works 3-11pm, we now have our big meal at lunch. I stepped on the scale this morning, and noticed a loss of at least five pounds! Believe me, I can afford to lose a lot more!
My cold from last year has decided to settle in my left ear. I feel like a fish in an aquarium. I can’t hear outside noises, but the inside-my-head noises are LOUD.
Our town seems full of wood chippers these days. So many broken branches to clean up. I know it’s necessary, but the noise, even with one “deaf” ear, is driving me nuts!
I’ve whittled my list of wanted Funky Friends Factory patterns down to four. I want the wombat, Guinea pig and hedgehog definitely, but I also want the cockatoo. I want to see if I can adapt it to other birds, so I can make copies of my friends’ birds. I think it would be cool to make them stuffed animal versions of their feathered friends.
It seems like we have a few new people commenting recently. If you are new, you are very welcome. It’s a small world here, but we love and support each other. And the insanity factor isn’t bad, either.
Bleen-grue kitty eyes are gorgeous.
I get your thinking about hubby’s job. Dividing up that thought process is excellent.
I agree. And I applaud your willingness to embrace the good along with the bad. Duckie, you’re one smart bird!
And I am glad it is working for you! 🙂 Sometimes I can do that, and other times I just start a debate in my own head (ick).
I’m busy this weekend making giant pots of homemade chicken soup from scratch. I had to google around to actually remember my mother’s recipe. Proud to say I nailed it. I had planned to make it way before storm, timing worked out perfect. The first 10 portions are in our stomachs. The next 10 are cooling. I plan to freeze most of it after chilling overnight. And the cook! gets to chew the bones while taking the meat off.
My way of eating has changed big time! Leaning toward a combo of Mediterranean/Paleo Diets. Basically much more veggies, moderate meats, and way less carbs. I’m allergic to fish so trying to focus on chicken and turkey over beef. And less meat overall. No dairy! We shall see.
Reading a lot of psychology. And I may have found a book group so one fiction per month.
Cozy in my room with curtains drawn to keep in the heat. 10 degrees F wind chill -10 last night on Long Island, NY. Millie slept right up my tooshie under the covers!
I am lucky enough to be in the relatively warm Northwest, but I am thinking of all of you in the cold! I hope that everyone and their fur babies stay warm and safe!
Today my son and I are going to finally see the new Star Wars movie- I work weekdays and he works nights with no regular “weekend”, so we are going to try and squeak in the movie at noon today before his shift starts. Hopefully the crowds have died down a little bit.
Oh gosh, what did you think of the movie! I loved it! Especially all the humor, which sometimes gets forgotten when people get “serious” about their fandoms. I’m very curious what they’ll do about General Organa for the next one, maybe reuse some footage they already had? I was very impressed with Mark Hamill’s performance. Of course, in the originals he was young and the material was pulp-y, so it wasn’t necessarily the best acting. But he handled the maturity and the inner conflict so incredibly well. Of course, Adam Driver didn’t do too bad either, and Daisy Riddley was phenomenal as expected.
If you’d like some real history related to the locations in this film, I highly highly recommend the podcast “Stuff You Missed in History Class” with this episode: https://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/skellig-michael.htm
It’s an excellent podcast, and learning about the real-life location just enhances the film (for me).
It was a cold week in central Kansas. Probably not colder than normal this time of year, but with mild temps all winter, suddenly the negative temps seem really bad. It has warmed up a bit, actually hitting the 30s the last couple of days.
Unfortunately, I have been sick. Turns out I have bronchitis, a sinus infection, and an ear infection. I’m on antibiotics and am starting to feel better. My sister is sick too, and wanted me to bring her food and meds (she has no car, no driver’s license, but adult kids who should be able to help her out). My disabled brother was tired of eating hamburger and wanted me to take him to the store. My daughter’s husband was out of town and she needed someone to take the kids to school (she doesn’t drive). I was too dizzy to feel comfortable driving, but I got my other daughters to take my siblings food, and to drive the grandkids to school. I was a little perturbed at these adults who need someone else to figure out how to tend to them. My brother is my older brother, and while I know he is disabled, and is bi-polar, he could sympathize and not whine about paying $2 to ride a bus to the store, or eat what he has on hand. Sister is younger, and her kids are jerks, so I can understand her needing help. Daughter needs an alternate solution to me helping out when her husband goes out of town to work, in case I am too sick or broken to help out.
Patty, I was thinking of you during the week when some of my perfectly healthy family members decided they are not able to do anything more difficult than breathing in and out unaided. I think the highlight of the week was when my 18-year old niece asked me (with tearful eyes and shaking voice) : “would you expect me to use google alone?”
An 18 yr old ought to know how to Google better than you. They use the internet and computers in school nowadays, and anyone with a cell phone has the internet.
I’m afraid the older I get, the less tolerant I am of people who won’t help themselves. I want to tell them, “You know I won’t always be here to do stuff for you”
I am my mother’s daughter, considering on her death bed, my (now ex) BIL sat on her bed and wailed, “If mom dies, how am I going to make my house and van payments?” Fact is, less than a year later, he had lost the house to foreclosure and the van was repossessed. There is also a niece who has not been able to support herself in the 12 yrs since mom passed.
In Florida it’s the time of the year when they have to rake the iguanas off their lawns.Or put them back on the lawn.Either or.
http://launch.newsinc.com/share.html?trackingGroup=93075&siteSection=inform_oembed&videoId=33399892
…and put their sea turtles in baby pools – https://www.facebook.com/nps.pais/
Rough week to be a reptile.
The first week of 2018 was truly terrible. I have always thought I can cope with stress quite well, after this week I am not that sure any more.
One day I will win the lottery and buy myself a desert island with a good internet connection 🙂
Hang in there, EMS! I hope that next week is better! I have the same lottery dreams. 🙂
EMS, don’t let the vicissitudes of life drag you down! Take time for yourself and you know you can count on Cutetropolitans for support!
Thank you, Maia and N.Fritz.
Maia, maybe we could buy neighbouring islands, and I would invite you for … well not sure I would have tea there, but maybe berries every now and then 🙂
Hello everyone – I hope the extreme temperatures are not too bad for everybody, including your fur friends!
I’ve been furiously drafting scenes from my novel, and a draft is due to my editor TOMORROW. Thankfully, she understands and doesn’t expect a complete thing from beginning to end. I’m ridiculously happy to have been paired with her through my writing program; it couldn’t have turned out better.
Soon I’ll be moving in with some friends of mine, which is delightful! But moving is always horrendous, so I guess it’s a wash.
It’s hard to have fur friends as a renter in the SF Bay Area, so right now I have a fish tank. I’ll definitely keep the tank up, but I’m also thinking about getting a snake. Specifically, a corn snake. Do any of you lovely people have experience with corn snakes, or other danger noodles?
Even though I haven’t posted in a few weeks, Cutetropolis has definitely been a refuge from the crazy holidays. <3
Hi Heather not much experience with corn snakes but hubby had a Burmese python some years back. Key with snakes is make sure they have a warm enough habitat but at the same time they need a slightly cooler area so they don’t overheat. That can be done with having a heat lamp on one end and nothing at the other end. Plus keep them out of drafts and find a really good exotic animals vet, most regular vets don’t have too much experience with snakes. Good luck.