Weekend Open Thread

Welcome to the weekend! Today’s cat comes from Claire S., who writes: “I have attached a few pictures of my cat, Ella, looking cuddly in hopes that one of them strikes your fancy and she too can grace the virtual pages of Cutetropolis! Ella is a three-year-old Bengal. Most of the time she’s running around being crazy and causing mayhem, so when she does settle in for a cuddle, I have to take advantage of the rare opportunity to take pictures that aren’t just a furry blur!”

Hurry up and take the picture, I feel a case of zoomies coming on.
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41 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread

  1. Not That Mike The Other Mike February 24, 2018 / 10:21 am

    I’m so sorry this was published later than the usual time. As someone guessed in another thread, a system for scheduled publishing failed with this post, and I just published it manually.

    • Dubravkamcvmd February 24, 2018 / 11:20 am

      We worry!

      • debg February 24, 2018 / 11:31 am

        Yes. Yes we do.

  2. allein ? February 24, 2018 / 10:22 am

    Those eyes are looking a little whackadoodle…

    Good morning, all! I am fighting my inner introvert and going to game day at my friend’s house. She’s about an hour away so I won’t be around for the afternoon/evening. Starts at 2; not sure how late I’ll stay. But dammit, I’m going. The deciding factor may or may not have been getting to see her Doxie mix, Smidgen.

    Here’s a couple things I collected over the past week.

    Saw this on facebook a few days ago:

    Life hack I found on tumblr:
    Got something you need to do at a certain time every day (e.g., take meds)? Start giving your cat a treat right before you do it. You may have trouble remembering, but your cat absolutely will not.

    and

    • Faye February 24, 2018 / 1:44 pm

      Doxiemix! That would incentivefy me.

      • allein ? February 25, 2018 / 12:44 am

        She’s so cute. She’s mixed with something that has longer legs, which is probably better for her back. She’s got ears that make her look like the flying nun. And she’s a whackadoodle, but after most people left she finally settled down next to me and I got to pet her for quite a while. Until my friend’s father-in-law got home, at least…then she got all excited again, because she usually spends all day with him while my friend and her husband are at work, and he left before the party started. One of her other friends and I stayed chatting for a while and I got home around midnight.

  3. AJ February 24, 2018 / 11:01 am

    Yay, it’s back!!! Got a little concerned but it was worth the wait. Kitty is Beautiful!!!!!!
    Heading out for breakfast and hubby is hovering so I’ll post more later.

  4. debg February 24, 2018 / 11:19 am

    Ella looks like she can cause serious mayhem! What a gorgeous girl!

    I got worried at the lack of Caturday open thread–especially since I finally remembered to come here FIRST.

    Former students are in town this weekend; we’re spending most of the day together. My freelance article is nearly done. Now if I could just shake this cold! I fought it successfully most of the week, but it defeated me on Thursday—ggrrrrrrr.

    Hope all you Cutetropolitans are healthy and happy, whether you wear skin, fur, feathers, or scales.

  5. Duckie ? February 24, 2018 / 11:43 am

    Duckie is sitting wrapped in a fleece blanket, with a heater at her webbed feet, wondering at the six plus inches of snow outside.
    Nothing much happened this week, but it’s next week that I’m sort of holding my breath over.
    Hubby’s current contract ends on Wednesday, but he hasn’t heard anything about Thursday. New company, new boss, etc. Also, hubby wants to go back to the evening shift if they will let him. I’m not thrilled about the idea.
    We are also sort of expecting his old boss to contact him this coming week, to have him come in for an interview.
    I’m sure there are lots of other things happening, but hubby’s job situation is all I can focus on.
    Oh, yeah, I turn the big 46 on Wednesday.
    Have a great week, everyone.

    • Faye February 24, 2018 / 1:47 pm

      Happy Birthday Duckie!

      Sending good vibes re hubby’s job.

    • dubravkamcvmd February 24, 2018 / 4:24 pm

      46? Child’s play! From my vantage point, literally.

  6. Alice Shortcake February 24, 2018 / 12:11 pm

    Not a lot to report here, other than the fact that for my birthday I treated myself to a Viking Age amulet and am in the process of incorporating it into a necklace.

    Also, in the tradition of “Florida Man”, whose bizarre exploits make us all wonder why he isn’t arrested before he can cause more mayhem, here’s the index entry for “Actress” from the forthcoming “Please Throw Two Carrots at Your Mother.” There are no page numbers yet as it hasn’t been set up for publication.

    ACTRESS: always the same, asked to throw carrots at mother, assaulted with cabbage, baffled by local football club colours, dies as result of freak knitting accident, disgusted by meanness of admirer, escapes from riot, dons male attire to follow unfaithful lover, dress stripped of gold trimmings, floats with corpse-like calmness, gets hopelessly lost in Cheshire, hit by falling ceiling, infatuation with results in theft, lips accidentally glued together, makes husband wash her stockings, mistaken for Governor of New Zealandʼs wife, not a tart, receives insulting note on stage, repays kindness with theft, sends gift of biscuits to Dogʼs Home, skipping-rope dance mishap exaggerated, steals male clothing and attempts to join army, stunned by potato, threatened with horse-whipping after oyster shop row

    I’m surprised she found the time to appear on the stage!

    • debg February 24, 2018 / 1:01 pm

      Alice, this is wonderful. “Freak knitting accident” naturally caught my eye!

    • fkaWaldenPond February 24, 2018 / 2:09 pm

      Happy Birthday Alice and I would love to see the amulet!

    • dubravkamcvmd February 24, 2018 / 4:26 pm

      Stunned by potato is the one.

    • Duckie ? February 24, 2018 / 11:32 pm

      “Oyster shop row” sounds like that first date with fish spanking from many moons ago.

      A Fish Tale

      • Alice Shortcake February 25, 2018 / 6:04 am

        I can’t believe I missed that little gem!

      • Smartypants February 25, 2018 / 11:38 am

        Oh, we need to bring back “Dear Spambot” – it’s been ages!

        • allein ? February 25, 2018 / 11:44 am

          Seconded!

    • Murray C February 24, 2018 / 11:51 pm

      I was enchanted by “stunned by a potato”. And Happy Birthday, Alice!

      That is one bee-u-tee-ful kitty! Wow.

      I was out all day today – left at 8:30am to go with a friend to the Baltimore Craft Show at the convention center there. It was a lot of fun – mixed bag as far as quality, but there was much to admire. Have to say, all day on one’s feet, walking slowly, is hard on legs, hips and backs. Happy to get home and melt into a chair. Tomorrow we’re to have torrential rain and I have nowhere I have to be! YAY. Plan to sleep in.

      DEBG, I hope your cold clears up soon – they do tend to linger – make sure you use saline in the nasal passages – and something like Rhinocort is very helpful.

      Allein, I hope your visit with minidoxie is joyful – I’ve been looking at doxie videos recently – they’re such enthusiastic and energetic little dogs. Good for you for getting yourself out into the world even tho’ you may not feel like it. I have some of that in me so I understand how that can be. I often have to launch myself out the door but I’m usually pretty happy that I went.

      Duckie, I’m keeping my fingers crossed about your Hubby’s job.

      I just found out that my water color class will, indeed, take place – I’m supposed to have 8 people minimum, but if I take a pay cut I can still let it happen. I have 7 people, so that’s pretty good. I may get lucky and someone else may sign up before our first class on Wednesday.

      Have a great Sunday, all!

  7. Faye February 24, 2018 / 1:50 pm

    Slow relaxing day. Long shower and manni pedie. Stretching exercises.

    • fkaWaldenPond February 24, 2018 / 2:07 pm

      Nice!

  8. Gigi The cat lady February 24, 2018 / 2:39 pm

    We had to go out to buy a new a deep fryer ours died suddenly this week. Boy are those things getting hard to find, they are either too small or to big and there is not a lot of models to choose from and I refuse to get an Air fryer, when I want french fries and want the real thing!

    My husband also needed to buy some beige pants so we went to Village des valeurs, it a second hand store, he got 3 pairs in great condition for $30.00. Some people wouldn’t be caught dead wearing second hand clothes but I often find great stuff there.

    We also stopped by the hardware stores to have 2 sets of keys made to give to my sisters-in-law who will come and feed the cats when we are away, another thing we can strike off on the list of things to do for the upcoming trip.

    Happy birthday Alice and I second the wish to see the amulet!

  9. murkle46 February 24, 2018 / 3:17 pm

    • dubravkamcvmd February 24, 2018 / 4:27 pm

      I think this might be the story of my life.

      • debg February 25, 2018 / 12:13 pm

        Yeah, me too.

  10. AJ February 24, 2018 / 5:08 pm

    Loving all the comments from everyone. Sends like most people are having fun weekends. Not much going on here. Finger is still sore from procedure but at least I can type with most of two hands.

    Also, sorta got the keys for our new house. When we did walkthrough yesterday, there’s a lot that needs to be re cleaned, re done, etc so I said just keep the keys til everyone gets done. They’re in a lock box and we have the code so we can get into the house if we want. Can’t wait til the move which will be in a few weeks. Have to call the movers Monday. At least most of the stuff is still packed from last time so it shouldn’t be as crazy getting ready.

    Then tomorrow will be errands and cleaning. Might have to gang press hubby to do some of the chores that I can’t do one handed, Have a good rest of the weekend everyone!

  11. Claire February 24, 2018 / 6:21 pm

    Yay! That’s my Ella! She’s the cutest! Glad you all like her too =D

    Sounds like people have lots of good weekend plans. I’m performing in a choral concert tomorrow, which has been a fun experience. I am mostly an instrumentalist, but decided to go out on a limb and join a choir my university invited faculty and staff to join for a performance of one of my favorite pieces – Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. It’s been a great experience, and I’m really looking forward to the performance tomorrow!

    • Murray C February 24, 2018 / 11:55 pm

      Hey, very good, Claire – break a leg, as we say!

  12. Laura February 24, 2018 / 7:06 pm

    Hi, all. I’m feeling like I’ve just done something major — for the first time in I don’t know how many years, I just submitted our federal income taxes. In February. I don’t think I’ve gotten them done before April 14th in at least 20 years! So even if I do nothing else, I feel very pleased with myself over that one.

    Melody’s spot on her behind is improving slowly but surely. It’s now completely scabbed over, so it should be in good enough shape that we can take the onesie off her within the next week or so. Yay! She’ll still have to wear the Cone of Shame until both that spot and the spot on her front leg are healed to the point where her licking them does no damage, so it may be a while yet, but she definitely is finally and visibly on the mend. Whew! I was beginning to wonder! I guess greyhounds’ skin is SO difficult to heal because it’s so thin — they have about .0002% body fat, so directly below the skin is muscle, no layer of fat. They have such a specialized physiology — even their blood work has different values than any other dog!

    I’ve had a quiet week, just watching Olympics and doing the taxes and knitting on the blanket for our new great-nephew. The only thing I’ve done that’s even remotely different is stay up to watch the whole gold medal curling game last night. Every time I’d think it was time to go to bed and watch the rest in the morning, they’d tie it up, or do something spectacular, that would keep me glued to the TV. So I ended up watching all the way through the medals presentation! I won’t spoil it in case there’s actually a person around interested in curling who hasn’t heard the result, but it was a terrific game, I must say. I’ve become quite the curling fan thanks to the last few Olympics! It’s a fun sport to watch, so much strategy goes into it, and I *love* the good sportsmanship they still display, unlike so many other sports any more. Wonderful!

    And last but definitely not least, Alice, do you have ANY idea how that actress managed to “die as result of freak knitting accident”? The mind boggles!

    And Ella is a beautiful kitty! Bengals are just about the prettiest around, I believe! I love her harness, too — so flattering AND useful!

  13. Alice Shortcake February 25, 2018 / 5:40 am

    Here’s a photo of my little (as in “the size of a thumbnail”) amulet, known as a lunula because of its crescent moon shape.

    • Alice Shortcake February 25, 2018 / 5:50 am

      Dammit! I didn’t have time to add that it dates from between the 9th and 11th centuries and was found at a Norse settlement in what is now Russia. I’ve decided to put it on a choker-length necklace with a mixture of green, blue, and brown beads.

      As for that bizarre accident – from “The Era” of 2nd March, 1889:

      “WE regret to report the death, by a very sudden and painful accident, of Miss Helen Daly, wife of Mr. Frank OʼGrady. Whilst knitting in her dressing-room during the performance of ‘Eviction’ at Macclesfield on Monday last, she stooped to reach an article out of a basket, and the end of one of her needles caught on the edge of the table. The other end penetrated her chest, entering her lung, and causing her death shortly afterwards.”

      Incredibly, the poor woman actually managed to go on stage and give her performance as usual but died the next morning. She was only 34.

      • N. Fritz February 25, 2018 / 6:08 am

        Oooh Alice! I am really really really interested in your amulet. I have been doing research off and on for the past several years on the symbolism of lunulae in different contexts!

        • Alice Shortcake February 25, 2018 / 6:24 am

          They seem to have been popular in many cultures and usually worn by women, perhaps because of the link between the moon shape and fertility. Every time I look at mine I think about the woman who once wore it, if she bought it herself or received it as a gift, and how it came to get lost. There’s something very special about wearing an item that has spent around a thousand years in the earth.

      • Murray C February 25, 2018 / 12:31 pm

        Gadzooks, what a way to go! Let that be a lesson to all knitters! Crochet may be safer.

        Your amulet is lovely, Alice, and it is a source of wonder and speculation as to the original wearer and how it arrived in the place it was found.

    • fkaWaldenPond February 26, 2018 / 9:26 am

      I love this amulet! Big magic. 🙂

  14. allein ? February 25, 2018 / 11:44 am

    Just seen on buzzfeed..

    and

    • Murray C February 25, 2018 / 12:32 pm

      Oh, my how dear!

      • Alice Shortcake February 26, 2018 / 7:16 am

        Potential foster parents. “I want the little white one!”

  15. Smartypants February 25, 2018 / 11:49 am

    Allein, was it you who mentioned mandalas and grown-up coloring books a few days ago? I found this nifty site: justcolor.net

    They’ve got about a million free printable mandalas, plus other subjects to color – everything from Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’ to the movie poster for ‘Some Like It Hot’ – in French!

    • allein ? February 25, 2018 / 12:00 pm

      Um…I might have? Haven’t seen this site…will check it out! Thanks!

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