58 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread

  1. AJ February 10, 2018 / 8:37 am

    Ooooh, me first, me first. Why should you go first, Because I’m a lady, that’s why. Ha, you’re nothing but a sister.

    Love Penny, such beautiful coloring and the haughtiness of a true Siamese.

    Hope everyone in the storm areas are staying warm & dry. We’re supposed to get some rain tomorrow. Can’t believe I’m saying this but fingers crossed it does happen because we’ve had no significant rain so far this year and we might be back in a drought situation.

    But in the meantime, I’m going out on a boat today for a test drive. Hubby and me are thinking of buying one but have no clue really of what we want besides no sails, must be a motor boat. There’s just so many choices – length, engine size, style of boat. The list goes on and on.

    Other than that, need to go shopping for work clothes. Some new meds that I’m on have pushed my weight up and while I’m trying to bring it back down, I need pants that fit for work. My office would really frown on me coming in wearing sweat pants, lol.

    And of I think I’ve found Mike’s twin or he’s been moonlighting as a writer for Trader Joe’s. I was looking up some product info and scrolling down I found this gem at the bottom:

    NOTE: Since posting, the details of this item may have changed due to fluctuating market prices, federal regulations, currency rates, drought, pestilence, bandits, rush hour traffic, filibusters, clowns, zombie apocalypse, punctilious product developers… Contact our Crew for current price and availability.

    When reading, I thought the first few options were reasonable but then I saw the word fillibusters and my brain went WHOAAA!!! What the hell is this???? I proceeded to giggle for the rest of the afternoon. Doesn’t this have all the hallmarks of a classic Mike post?? Pull you in with something normal, then BAM! insert the outrageously comical and nonsensical.

    Have a good weekend everyone!

  2. Alice Shortcake February 10, 2018 / 9:12 am

    It’s all quiet on the York front today, but things will liven up next week when the Viking Festival starts – re-enactments, a Viking camp in the marketplace, banquets, etc. Last year I was coming out of Marks and Spencers when a large bearded Viking accidentally bumped into me and sent my purchases flying, but he very kindly picked them up for me!

    Here’s a little animal-related snippet from from “The Era” of 8th June, 1889, taken from my forthcoming book “Please Throw Two Carrots at Your Mother.” Brandon Thomas was an actor best remembered for writing the evergreen play “Charley’s Aunt”:

    MR BRANDON THOMAS, proceeding along the Embankment to Terryʼs for the matinee of “Sweet Lavender” the other day, saw a lot of little urchins crying on the steps of Cleopatraʼs Needle. The cause of their sorrow was a poor little dog which was drowning. Mr Thomas instantly threw off his coat, dived into the water, and brought the little animal safe to land. Taking a cab he rode to the theatre, and, divesting himself of his wet clothes, proceeded to act the stern old father in Mr Pineroʼs play, and happily was none the worse after his ducking for a dog.

    • dubravkamcvmd February 10, 2018 / 10:00 am

      Oh, you went with”Please Throw Two Carrots at Your Mother – great! And the saving the pup story is lovely, though i thought all dogs could swim?

      • Alice Shortcake February 10, 2018 / 10:02 am

        I assumed that the dog was too exhausted to hold its head above water. And I hope Mr Thomas was able to have a bath before he went on stage, as the Thames was heavily polluted in those days!

      • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 11:12 am

        Our mini schnauzer we had when I was a kid couldn’t swim. She’d paddle paddle paddle and sink sink sink. Thankfully our pool was above ground so there was no danger of her winding up in it without a hoomin with her (which we didn’t do very often). She liked to swim but someone had to keep a hand under her belly to keep her head above the water.

        Not sure if Pablo could swim. The biggest body of water he ever went in was the bathtub.

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:30 am

      My kind of guy! And I’m happy you chose that title!

      Penny is a gorgeous puss – and appropriately regal.

  3. allein ? February 10, 2018 / 11:14 am

    Penny’s so pretty.

    No real plans today. My shopping trip yesterday was fruitless. I have a 30% off at Kohls so maybe I’ll take a ride up there…see if they have anything new. Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain.

  4. N. Fritz February 10, 2018 / 11:28 am

    My fever has returned. Haven’t done anything more stressful than change the bedclothes. Finished a Cork O’Corcoran novel (highly recommended series by William Kent Krueger). This is the third year in a row I’ve gotten ill in the second to the last week of the semester. At least I’m consistent ??

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:34 am

      Egad, Fritz, that sounds like flu – be careful, keep those fluids up. I’m still suffering some ill effects from whatever it was I had – can’t say it was flu, but it felt like a mild case. I have to sing next week and I don’t have much of a voice and it’s been weeks! Give yourself every opportunity to rest and baby yourself.

      • N. Fritz February 10, 2018 / 11:46 am

        Thanks Murray C, will do! Got soup and tea and juice and vitamins and kleenex and coughdrops at the ready. And cross stitch and doodling and journaling and DVDs to keep me entertained when I’m not zonked out!

  5. Faye February 10, 2018 / 12:06 pm

    Hi All! Hope those down for the count feel better soon.

    Such huge ptsd improvement lately that I had to stop drawing to take it all in. Two drawings waiting to be finished and one in my head. Will begin again tomorrow.

    I am finally ready to bring up bins from the basement five years and five months after Hurricane Sandy. Looking forward to letting my housemate sell most of it on eBay and use the money on household upkeep. However, there are art supplies, my entire shell collection and the few books I took with me. Like an archeological expedition into my own past.

    Millie has learned to catch her little squeaky fish toy in her mouth and then chuck it back right to me! We have begun to play catch for a good ten minutes at a time. She will fetch by putting the toy in my hand. But she knows the word “throw”.

    Millie has been medicine for my heart, soul and ptsd brain. My other dogs, while I loved them dearly, came with some sadness attached. Millie has helped me to focus on reality and being in the present moment. When I look at her I see the newness and nowness of her and I feel so much better. Thank goodness.

  6. SoccerSue February 10, 2018 / 12:10 pm

    We’re participating in our little town’s chocolate stroll this morning- you pay $15 for a ticket (proceeds to charity) and then walk around to all the businesses in town collecting chocolate. Basically, it’s trick-or-treating for adults. 😛 We get chocolate (and a nice long walk to work some of it off), and the businesses get people in their doors. Win-win!

    It even looks like the weather’s going to cooperate today!

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 2:29 pm

      Wowzah – a chocolate stroll? How cool is that! I love small towns and events like that. I live in a place where there’s no central town square or unifying space, but a bunch of neighborhoods that just grew, I guess. it’s not walking friendly, we have more bars and nail salons – oh, and pizza places – than anything else. I long to live in a village sort of a place. I grew up in that sort of town.

      Faye, great going all round – give that Millie a big ol’ smooch and a hug from me – hey, and while your at it, give yourself a smooch and hug, too!?

      • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:40 pm

        Kiss kiss. Hug hug. Thanks Murray!

  7. debg February 10, 2018 / 1:43 pm

    Except for N. Fritz’s ailment, it sounds like folks are doing wonderful happy things today. Let’s hear it for chocolate walks! N. Fritz, sending you healing vibes from me and kitties.

    I just got back from errands and now get to settle in for an afternoon of cooking, chores, and my first-ever tapestry weaving. I’m saving freelance work for tomorrow because I need a break: this past week, I did a lot of brain-intense plotting for my big projects. It was all great and exhilarating, but my brains are now tired.

    Next week, I hit the 30-day mark at work. My efforts to become indispensable are really starting to pay off–I think my boss really appreciates what I can do for the company. The new responsibilities are fun and interesting, and I’ve gotten used to my weird schedule. So all is well!

    How are sick pets and grieving humans doing? I would like an update on Clementine, T-Two, and anybody else who’s been going through rough times.

    • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 2:09 pm

      I took a much-needed vacation day yesterday. Then woke up this morning thinking it was Sunday. 😛

      • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 2:39 pm

        ?I’ll never tell!

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 2:33 pm

      DEBG! You have more than one brain? How convenient and useful!

      Thanks for asking about critters – Clementine is doing really well, her eye socket area is no longer grotesquely swollen. When the fur grows back she won’t look all that unusual. She was already blind in the eye, so navigating isn’t really any different and I think maybe she’s more comfortable. And a boon for me is I won’t have to remember to give her drops twice a day!

      Congrats on all the good work – it doesn’t surprise me that you should so soon be considered a valuable addition to your company. Smart boss to recognize it.

    • Gigi The cat lady February 10, 2018 / 3:21 pm

      Thanks for asking GEBG, T-Two is back to normal, the abscess in his mouth is gone for now. We are taking him to the vet on Tuesday night, she’ll do a blood test to see if he’s fit to be put under for the tooth to be removed.

    • fkaWaldenPond February 10, 2018 / 6:49 pm

      Hi all, Penny is lovely, thank you for sharing her habits Muppet. Debg, I don’t want to be a debbie-downer but I am having a hard day. I am anxious and unsettled, blanking out on things like passwords and then after being locked out of microsoft remembering and then again forgetting. I picked up Pie’s ashes today at the vet– first time I ever had the cremation remains returned; I dunno, it felt necessary. I put his water fountain back in its box and stored it in the closet. Did three loads of laundry and vacuumed, cleaned the bathroom, had a big breakfast. I guess, just all the process of grieving. I’ll get there, just not yet, especially today.

      • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 7:40 pm

        • fkaWaldenPond February 10, 2018 / 9:53 pm

          Hi Allein, read you took the day off yesterday, you deserved it– and your old friend’s grief of losing her husband, heart breaking. I pulled up Fossil’s site and they do have lovely bags there– but I don’t think the outlets carry the same stock. Hence your lack of success(?) Thank you for the hug and your pups clearly had the best Mom ever.

          • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 10:15 pm

            Yeah, I didn’t see any of the ones I was looking at on the website, I don’t think. There used to be a regular Fossil store in the mall; I just looked at the mall directory and it seems to be gone. 🙁

      • dubravkamcvmd February 10, 2018 / 8:43 pm

        Early days. I have Minkette and Wacket’s ashes and I find them soothing. It’s something.

        • fkaWaldenPond February 10, 2018 / 9:49 pm

          Hi Dubra, I so appreciated your earlier responses and my heart goes out to you too. Thank you– I think of you down in that big city and carrying your Pye to the vet for subq fluids– you did well, strong woman. Thank you so much for your support.

      • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:20 pm

        FKAWALDENPOND, I’m so sorry you’re going through all this but as you say, it’s the way of grief. You’re good to do all those mundane chores – I think they help center you. May you come out the other side soon with happy memories being formost in your thoughts about your dear one. And hugs from me, too.

      • Faye February 11, 2018 / 9:26 am

        So sorry. Please give yourself time.

        • fkaWaldenPond February 11, 2018 / 6:09 pm

          Thank you Murray C and Faye; yes, I find routine, ritual etc is grounding. I may not feel like doing it but if all else seems chaotic that aspect is the grounding same. I know people who go to church just for this reason alone.

  8. Alice Shortcake February 10, 2018 / 2:26 pm

    JI made another family tree discovery this morning – an entry from the 1903 admissions book of a reformatory school relating to my great-uncle Fred Hainsworth. He was caught with two “bad lads” after stealing buns, cigars and chocolate from a shop. There’s even a photo, and young Fred looks exactly like my Dad (and quite a lot like me) at the same age. Apparently my great-great-grandfather earned a fairly good wage for a fitter “but spends much money on drink and holidays”!

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 2:37 pm

      Wow, a criminal in your family tree!? Reform school for pilfering those items seems a bit harsh but life was harsh all round then. Chances are that all of us had a bad seed somewhere along the line.

      • Alice Shortcake February 10, 2018 / 3:10 pm

        He was sentenced to three years but I don’t know if he served the full term. It’s a sad story, really – he was obviously mentally unstable to begin with, survived being blown up by a malfunctioning field gun in WW1 and spent over thirty years in a psychiatric hospital. Yep, those were the good old days…

        • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 4:37 pm

          Wow. I had an uncle that I never met who was “shell-shocked” as they called ptsd then. I really know nothing about him but he did live with my mother’s family for a time and it is rumored he died from syphilis! That was a shock, being from a rather strict Catholic family – I guess that’s why I didn’t hear about it ’til I was in my 40’s.

          I had an uncle on my father’s side who didn’t get in trouble with the law but had a tragic passing. He was in his late 20’s and it was during prohibition – he had joined the Coast Guard when they were chasing rum runners. His ship was docked in Boston Harbor and when it was time to set sail he was nowhere to be found. A letter was sent home declaring him AWOL. When the ship finally did set sail the propeller of the boat dredged up his body. I don’t think they ever discovered exactly what had happened to him but they ruled out foul play. My grandmother, the sweetest human being on the face of the earth, was devastated which, given her very strong faith, was unusual for her. Then one day my (future) dad came down to the kitchen and she was fine, her old self. She told him that she’d had a dream that Tom came to her and said, “It’s OK, Mom, I sleep-walked off that ship”. It was then she remembered an incident earlier in his youth – she woke from a sound sleep and went into his room where she found him with one leg out the 2nd story bedroom window. Now it was possible for her to accept his death as a tragic accident related to his sleep walking. I still have the newspapers with the story and I have his photo, the one they sent to the newspaper – it’s marked up on the back with the size it was to be printed, etc.

          • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:50 pm

            I believe he came to her. Lovely story.

            • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 4:53 pm

              ☺️

    • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 2:55 pm

      You reminded me of a story from when my cousin’s son was around 10 (he’s 25 now). Someone found a picture of my grandfather (who died when I was 5 and I don’t remember at all) at about the same age, and my cousin’s son looked just like him, to the point that when he saw the picture, he asked “when did I ever wear that outfit?”

      • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:48 pm

        Wow wow and wow on family stories. I have absolutely no knowledge of my family on my father’s side except a few details of his own experiences. On my mother’s side I know some stories of my grandmother and how my great grandfather courted my great grandmother. Sigh. It makes me feel as if I am in the universe.

        • dubravkamcvmd February 10, 2018 / 5:34 pm

          I don’t know much family history either. My parents were refugees after WWII and brought me here when I was three months old. My maternal grandfather died before the war and the other three grandparents died in the ’50s. My parents couldn’t go back because of politics (the country became Communist) and no money, so I never met the grandparents. I met some cousins years later.

  9. Gigi The cat lady February 10, 2018 / 3:34 pm

    It’s a slow weekend here, my husband has been sick all week with a bad cold and of course I caught it, so we are staying in. I hope I won’t have it as bad as he did because I have a busy week coming. On top of all the regular stuff, on Tuesday I go to the orthopedist to get an injection for my trigger finger and Thursday we take T-Two to the vet.

    Yes I know I said Tuesday on DERG’s tread, I always get those two mixed-up.

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 4:25 pm

      Hmmmmm, injection for trigger finger. Is it itchy? (sorry I’m being such a little pain today)
      (I hope it works to ease whatever ails you – see, I can be nice?)

      • Gigi The cat lady February 10, 2018 / 5:24 pm

        “Trigger finger is a painful condition that causes the fingers or thumb to catch or lock when bent.”
        In my case it’s the middle finger of the left hand, see ?
        ? ? ? LOL!!

        • Annimator February 10, 2018 / 8:14 pm

          I had trigger thumb some years ago. If the injection doesn’t work–it didn’t for me–don’t hesitate to have the (minor) surgery to release your trigger finger. It totally solves the problem.

        • AJ February 10, 2018 / 8:15 pm

          Oh me and you have something similar going on!!! I have tenosynovitis in the middle finger of my right hand. Basically the sheath around the tendon is inflamed, and has been for about 7 months. And I was making the rounds the whole time trying to figure out what it was – rheumatologist who said it was arthritis, then I inisisted on being tested for Lyme disease and sent to an infectious disease doctor who finally figured it out after an MRI, who then sent me to a hand surgeon to do a biopsy to see what’s causing it so they can (hopefully) fix it.

          Sorry to be so long winded. But I go next week for the biopsy , wish me luck! And it’s so much fun telling people what finger hurts, lol.

          • Gigi The cat lady February 10, 2018 / 10:22 pm

            Good luck with the biopsy AJ, let us know how it goes.

            ANNIMATOR, I had a trigger finger on my right hand last year and the injection worked, so I do hope it will this time as well.

          • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:43 pm

            Wishing you both, AJ and GiGi, good results with your issues – keep us in the loop how you’re doing.

        • Faye February 11, 2018 / 9:38 am

          Oh my. I am having trouble with my middle finger on my right hand. It locks up. But it has been improving lately due to changes I made in my diet to cut back on inflammation. Overall, all my joints and muscles feel better. I was waking up with serious pain, stiffness and being fatigued during the day. 90% better. Waking up pain free.

  10. DebG February 10, 2018 / 3:49 pm

    Such good news about PTSD recovery, pets, books, and family research (thoush Alice Shortcake’s poor great uncle went through a lot of misery). You all share such interesting stuff on Saturdays. It’s a joy to celebrate and an honor to commiserate with you all—no matter what the day holds!

    • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:51 pm

      Thank you Debg.

  11. Duckie ? February 10, 2018 / 3:55 pm

    Little depressed this weekend, and not sure why.
    Getting ready for seed planting. Going to try cukes this year. My deck seems like the perfect place for them.
    Going to put up a hummingbird feeder. People across the back have one, and are visited by close to twenty hummies everyday.
    Saw a silver, not grey, squirrel this week.
    194 lbs.

    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 4:23 pm

      That’s a d***ed big squirrel.

      • allein ? February 10, 2018 / 5:18 pm

        lol…I knew I couldn’t be the only one whose brain went there.

      • Duckie ? February 10, 2018 / 5:59 pm

        Thanks, Murray. I desperately needed that unexpected laugh.

        • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:45 pm

          ?

    • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:54 pm

      I read 194lb squirrel too. But good going Duckie. I got below 190 and I feel so much better. Keep at it. I’m happy if I lose 1-2 lbs per month. But I do plan to start walking in the spring.

    • Faye February 10, 2018 / 4:57 pm

      oh cucumbers! Grow like weeds. And humming birds… the neighbor has a wall of yellow trumpet flowers that I see out my window. Humming birds, cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, napping squirrel once. Curled up in the heat of the day and napped in the foliage.

  12. murkle46 February 10, 2018 / 7:47 pm

    CAT CURLING!




    • Murray C February 10, 2018 / 11:47 pm

      ?

      • Alice Shortcake February 11, 2018 / 4:39 am

        This is one of the few things that would make me want to watch sport, and it’s no sillier than some real Olympic events!

    • Faye February 11, 2018 / 9:41 am

      One of my all time favorite videos. Perfect editing.

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