The barista in this coffee house is really talented. She drew a kitten in my latte foam that looks like a real kitten!
Via Imgur.
146 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”
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The barista in this coffee house is really talented. She drew a kitten in my latte foam that looks like a real kitten!
Via Imgur.
Comments are closed.
I love how the barista got the kitten ear to stand up over the edge of the cup! Now that’s talent!
Which brings up a fun point: Some latte artists create 3D sculptures in foam.
From http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/latte-art-kazuki-yamamoto/
That is fabulous! I guess it can only be preserved in a photograph. Sigh.
I sent this to my friend, who keeps sending me videos of her cat playing this game.
I will take two, please.
Binge watching outlander season 2. Though I liked season 1’s storyline better the costumes alone make it well worth watching.
Men in kilts?
I liked Season 1 better, too
I want! Haven’t had my coffee yet so said barista can deliver directly to my house. For the first time in about a week, the May Grey in SoCal has lifted and we have some sunshine, yeah!! So running some errands then back to clean house, do laundry. Trying to be productive, let’s see how far I get. When I get done with all that, time for research into the long-promised trip to Hawaii that me and hubby are finally going on this fall. Can’t wait!
Ooo Hawaii. Nice.
I took a personal day from work yesterday, got a massage, did some shopping, and sat at the park to read for a while. Today and tomorrow I need to do chores. But before I start, I need to fix my hot chocolate. BRB!
Also I plan to watch The Adventure of English on DVD, which is due back to the library on Monday.
It is grey outside. So slow morning. Coffee, reading, CNN on in the background. Already ditched doing laundry. Paying bills later.
It’s kinda cloudy but that’s okay since I don’t plan to go anywhere. Yesterday was perfect.
Same here in Pennsyltucky, but did
get to a local village fair for schmoozing
and some fabulous crabcakes, before
the rain started to dribble. Take the
rest of the day off – read, putter.
I have a Masters in Puttering.
The rains have come to NJ. And not a dribble, either. But I kinda like it.
? ☔
Putting the quilt back on the bed tonight.
When I put it away, the temperature drops.
Doesn’t work in July, unfortunately.
Picture perfect day here! Just got back from the farmer’s market where I bought a gorgeous hanging basket of petunias (oh and some veggies, too). Going to get my errands and chores done today so I can have a lazy Sunday!
We were going to go to the states today to do some shopping (Bellis Fair is making a great offer on the Canadian dollar). Saw the border line up. Might go back to bed.
Nexus card. Even if you rarely use it, the first time you skip the 2 hr lineup it’s worth the entire amount you paid for it.
Oh, and I’m boycotting Bellis Fair because they’re essentially discriminating against Americans by offering a different price to Canadians. 😛
A perfect lazy Saturday and feeling guilty for it. ?
Welcome, new commenter! Don’t feel guilty, relax and enjoy the weekend.
I’m waiting on an overdue shipment of mulch that is holding up my garden plans today. Can’t wait to mulch!! And yes, waaaay too much adulting in that sentence.
Mulch is on my list today too! As is weeding and planting some tomatoes.
I’m hosting a book group tomorrow, so I’ll run the hoover over the carpet and make biscuits for strawberry shortcake.
“Bananabreadhead” is making strawberry shortcake? I’m so confused.
😛
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I never even thought of calling myself Strawberryshortcakehead! Opportunity missed!
Please don’t mound the mulch around the base of trees, like so many
of the commercial landscapers do. The tree “thinks” there is soil at its
base and starts growing new roots into the mulch. When the mulch
dries, as it will in summer heat, the tree is stressed. A year or two of
this and young, or already stressed trees can die. Keep the mulch level.
My arborist says the landscapers have pushed this style in order to
sell more mulch.
Yes, I used to work for a landscaping co. – they called those “mulch volcanoes” and cautioned against them.
Thanks very much for that tip — I’m mulching around fruit trees and roses — I’ll keep the mulch level even.
. . .and not deep at the trunk.
Good tip to post, thanks Phred’s Mom! I had actually heard that before, myself. I’m not mulching around any trees myself so my tree friends are safe from Mulch Volcanos. But hopefully my weed enemies cringe in fear when they see me coming. I’d love it to keep down the crop of garlic mustard weed that keeps popping up (a particular problem in my area – it’s not native to Canada but it takes over if you aren’t ultra vigilant – we aren’t really suppose to spray chemicals so I’m hoping mulch helps).
I’m a fan of sheet mulching to take care of weeds. You put down a layer of cardboard and then cover it with mulch. This creates an extra barrier to prevent the weeds from popping up.
Weed barrier “fabric” works wonders, but you can use paper bags as a cheaper alternative. Cuts down on how much mulch you need, too. My sister put down the fabric 2 years ago and I swear I haven’t had a weed in that flower bed since!
I’m currently in Oxford, England, here for a family wedding. (Was without wifi for
4 days?) Nobody here mulches – and, Phred’s Mom, if you’ve ever heard Mike McGrath on public radio, “You Bet Your Garden” – he doesn’t recommend wood mulch at all, only shredded leaves. Wood mulch can leach nitrogen from the soil and apparently doesn’t much improve soil tilth and can develop black mold which can attach to your house and is difficult to remove. So, if you do mulch, keep it away from the house or use cedar mulch. I’m looking forward to getting into the garden when I get home. This trip’s timing was a bit awkward as far as being able to get things started, so everything will be late. Everything here is so lush and gorgeous, I am very envious.
I leave (!) Autumn’s leaves on the beds.
Nature’s mulch. Then just tidy up where
the perennials are coming up. I’m not
into the regimented look a lot of folks
create with their black – or Heaven forfend –
that hideous red mulch. Shredded paper
bags sounds good, must add to list.
Good tips too, Murray!!! Clearly I need to do some more reading before undertaking garden projects. My mulch is good quality, composted Canadian cedar bark mulch. It’s away from the foundations of the house in my perimeter beds. Hopefully I’m not at risk of black mold in the house.
Today I’m doing the annual change of clothes from winter to summer but with a twist. Since I’ll only be working until October before I retire I’m packing most of my work clothes and will be bringing them to the charity shop, I haven’t done a real clean-up in years.
At the same time I’m thinning out the summer clothes, whatever I didn’t wear last summer is also being donated, that includes shoes and bags. Right now I have 5 full big green garbage bags to donate and I’m not finished.
What me a pack rat, nooooo…. you think?
Hi GiGi, Congratulations on your soon to be October retirement. I hope you enjoy yourself as much as I am.
Yup, I had to buy more casual clothes and more sneakers. I wore jeans every day the first year of retirement just because I could. Finally bought nicer casual pants. Lol.
You will enjoy retirement, Gigi, once you adjust to
the greater free time you’ll have. It can make you
feel guilty, as if you are shirking some chore somehow.
I still have to tell myself it’s ok to stop and do nothing.
Sounds like everyone is having a good Saturday, whether it’s productive or lazy. I wish mine could be lazy, but alas, I have some work to do over the weekend. The perils of self-employment. At least I get a break later — we’re going out for dinner at a lovely restaurant. Yay for good food!
Melody is taking this therapy dog thing to heart. My husband has been taking her to the dog park every morning, and today there were about 15 people+dogs there. While she played occasionally with the dogs, she really worked the humans for love and attention. She’s clearly figured out that that’s her purpose on this planet, is to let people fuss over her and make them happy! Silly dog!
I haven’t seen our Fierce Lizard in a couple of days. Last I saw, he was sunning himself on the electric box next door. Which, admittedly, is a good place to sun himself — few people or pets ever go into that stretch of yard, so he’s pretty much guaranteed all-day sun with no bother. But I miss his aggressive posturings! There’s something so hilarious about a four-inch lizard trying to scare a human and a 65-lb dog!
All of you who haven’t met Melody should be totally jealous of those who have – I am lucky enough to be family. She really is that awesome.
Meanwhile, I live in a ski town with my long-haired tortie mistress, and it snowed today. Twice. Only for a few minutes each time, but it snowed. Spring is weird up here.
http://www.sadanduseless.com/2016/05/booze-hider/
This will help to make being a new parent a little easier.
That is disturbing on so many levels!?
That site is an evil time-suck! I haven’t even made it through the top ten, and am just sitting here scratching my head at “Squatting Slavs in track suits.” Who *thought* of collecting photos of squatting Slavs in track suits? Why are the Slavs all squatting? My mind is boggling, in the best way. 😀
Famous paintings are better with an added cat!
http://www.sadanduseless.com/2016/04/added-cat/
How have I never seen this site before – it’s awesome! Bookmarked.
I love the latte art! I am more one for matcha than coffee, though…
That is adorable! I’m not a green tea fan, so I don’t think I would like matcha, but I have recently(ish) discovered tea lattes at Starbucks. They promoted a gingerbread tea latte around Christmas, and more recently the London Fog (which is Earl Grey, which I don’t love, either). I’ve gotten English Breakfast with vanilla the last couple times; I need to see what other syrup flavors might be good. Somehow I doubt they’ll make me a cat in the foam…
Oh that’s exciting! I’m a pretty devout tea enthusiast so it’s fun to hear you’re dipping your toes into the yummy warm world of teas. 🙂
Tea lattes at Starbucks are a tad pricey for every day. I have a ton of tea at work and home, though. I get most of it from http://www.adagio.com (I keep telling myself I’m not allowed to buy more until I use up what I have…but then I run out of apricot…), though when I’m not in the mood to deal with loose tea I usually go for Twinings Irish Breakfast lately.
And while I was shopping yesterday I picked up a new mug for work.
Hey Mike, is it possible to change the size of the edit box when you edit a comment? It only lets you see about two lines at a time; kind of a pain to find the spot you want to edit in a longer comment.
I agree a bigger edit box would facilitate doing correction to post.
I’ll see what I can do.
Update: I’ve changed the box height so that you can see four lines of text. (Remember that you can continue typing even though the box looks full. Also, many web browsers will let you enlarge text entry boxes by dragging their lower right corner.)
Nikola Tesla’s cat? Super cute!
Mike, I really like the larger Edit box – thank you!
Testing…will edit this comment after posting.
And I just noticed the little lines in the bottom right corner of the comment box here that can enlarge it. Ya’ learn something new every day!
Edit: Awesome!
Nikola Tesla’s cat. Hahahahaha! Sweet!
That’s a lovely new mug! I love collecting mugs, tea cups, & teapots. I find all the accoutrements are as much a part of tea as the beverage itself!
I was debating between the light blue and the gray. Gray won.
Then I looked at the David’s Tea website and saw they have a 16oz. glass mug. I’m really trying to convince myself that I don’t need to spend $23 on another mug, but the tea through glass is so pretty! I do have a glass mug from Adagio at home but it only holds 10 ounces. That’s not nearly enough tea! (Also I have a mason jar mug which I think is 16 ounces. I use one for water at work but I have one at home, too.)
Very pretty mug, rather dainty and subtle.
And I forgot to put it in my bag to bring to work! Along with the container of sugar I set aside to refill my sugar jar (I like Sugar in the Raw and they just have white sugar in the kitchen here; they have raw sugar packets in the cafeteria but I feel weird taking them when I’m not buying tea or anything).
My sugar jar is this, repurposed after using up the hot chocolate mix:
You should visit http://www.ukgoods.com. They sell the best tea I ever had and yes, I drink tea lattes.
David’s Tea just opened a store in the mall near me. Haven’t tried them yet, though.
https://www.davidstea.com/
Can you recommend a roasted black tea with a real punch to it?The global arena opened up and suddenly the former soviet countries and China are devouring all the good teas,and the regular stuff at the stores is like already brewed leftovers.Americans will buy anything so they dump the cruddy harvests on us.
Thanks!
(Also how could anyone resist rubbing that lonely stray ear?)
Not sure how he punches, but try this..
“Thwap!”
Typhoo or Yorkshire Gold. The second is pricey. Find them at ukgoods.com
Thank you both!
They have Typhoo locally,so Ill pick some up!
I love David’s Tea! We have a few in the city where I live. I love the diversity of teas they offer, which I feel makes it a great shop for those who have only a minor interest in tea as well as those who are passionately obsessed!
They are more expensive than Adagio, though. I’ll have to check out the store next time I’m at the mall (whenever that might be…). It didn’t look like I’d be able to go in there without talking to people, and I wasn’t in the mood for people at that time. Hmm…I wonder if they carry that glass mug in the store…
Ooh, they have McVitie’s Dark Chocolate Digestives! Those are my favorite food crack — they’re even better than (gasp) Girl Scout Thin Mints. I’m starting to drool on my keyboard already! Thanks for the link!
McV’s dark digestives are the best
store-bought cookie ever. Must get.
Never got how a ??British cookie? came to be called a “digestive” cos that really makes no sense in ??American!?
They are heavy on the fiber,
like an uber graham cracker.
Reeeeeeallly? So they could be considered a slightly less guilty pleasure? Must. Get. Chocolate. Digestives.
I watch a lot of British TV, and read a lot of books taking place in England, and the desirability of The Digestive Biscuit has has always eluded me. Thanks for the enlightening info, Phred’s Mom! ?
I dislike graham crackers but I love McVities, even w/o chocolate.
I just learned that Wegmans near me carries them (but only plain; no chocolate).
A late addition to last week’s open thread; Home from England now – on the way to the airport I saw a McVitie’s semi hauling – you guessed it! A whole bleedin’ SEMI full of cookies! On the flip side, I also saw a whole semi full of Red Darling Brussels Sprouts. I like Brussels Sprouts, but they’re not everybody’s cup o’.
Productive day here… 3 hours in the garden this morning, 4 hours grading tests at the coffee shop, then an hour walk followed by a light dinner at my favorite Greek restaurant. Sigh… why can’t every day be Caturday?!
I don’t do that much in one week. I’m impressed.
Faye, that’s my scaled-back weekend schedule! Another 7 weeks til school ends “and miles to go before I sleep…”
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SUMMER!
Can’t come soon enough for me! But this weekend has been a dream… sun, 70s, and another long hike (up a tiny mountain, the one in the foreground here, picture courtesy of http://www.ennstalwiki.at).
Totally beautiful. May I ask where that is?
Austria. Practically the geographical center, The Romans thought the mountain in the background (The Grimming) was the highest mountain in the world. It makes an appearance in the Clint Eastwood film “Where Eagles Dare”.
Can I come visit? That is the most beautiful, quaint, peaceful landscape! To be able to see that every day! ?*sigh*
Thank you N. Fritz. Exquisite. Just seeing your picture is pleasing.
Danke, Fritz.
Sehr schoen.
Forgive bad German, bitte.
German is perfect, Phred’s Mom!
Dreamy! And you get to live there – so jealous. ?Or is it envious? Who cares, I’m covetous!?
LIke I teach my English students: always know more than one word for the same thing… you’ll score higher on the “spectrum of language” band on standardized tests!
Allow me to take a nap for you!?
Perhaps NTMTOM international meeting is in order!
Would you, 6Rabbits? That’s the nicest offer I’ve had all semester!
?
My cats gone missing ?
House cat, made a dash between my legs when I thought I was blocking her way. Done some flyers and gone out calling for her.
Thats terrible.Hopefully she will show up,waiting for you at your door,after you return from searching!
Good luck, Scoobie, hope she’s back home by now.
That is so distressing.
Hope she gets home soon safely!
You might also try calling the nearest vet/shelter/SPCA in case she shows up there.
If you have some litter that your cat has used– yes, USED litter with a lot of urine and ideally poop, put it out near your door.
That is so distressing! I hope she’s back home now.
Litter tray put outside now. Flyers up. Posters up. A neighbour in the next estate thinks he may have seen her this morning. He described her size correctly, but I know from experience one cat looks like another from a distance.
Keeping fingers crossed that you are reunited soon!
Keep your hopes up. We lost a cat who took a ride in the under carriage in our car when I was a kid. Months later the cat ran to my mother at the last place she remembered seeing us. People had been trying to rehome her and she kept coming back.
Toms are known to like to take off for around 3 days,for cat-walkabouts,if they are given access to the outdoors.Then they return again.Hope your cat is only sampling the fresh spring scents,and returns home soon.
Thought I heard my cat meow in my sleep. Wasn’t sure if it was a dream though.
Noticed her food had gone
Then I went out at dawn this morning calling for her, came back to find her sitting in the hallway!?
Yay! ?
What a relief! 🙂
weee!!!
What a relief. and I really needed some good news today..!!
Awwwsome. Kitty came home!!
So happy for you. Yay!
Big kisses for her, I bet.
Good news, Scoobie.
Reunited and it feels so good!
The cat came back! It just couldn’t stay away!
This is FABULOUS!!!
Great news!
So happy for you – have dealt with an occasional wanderer so I grok.
Yea! But I’m confused…how did she get back into the house?
Or was she in the house the whole time?!??! ?
Cats are sneaky, though. My boy went missing one night and we thought he slipped out when my parents walked visiting friends out to their car. He turned up after 15 minutes of searching (and my cat-“hating” father freaking out) in a rarely-opened closet. My mom had gone in there earlier to get something and he snuck in unnoticed, found himself trapped, and took a nap.
Wonderful! What a huge relief for you!
Fingers crossed and prayers for kitty’s safe return.
Oh, Scoobie! I am so sorry! Please keep us posted! Hope kitty returns soon. 🙁
Oh Scoobie: Same thing happened to me last December. Spot ran out the front door in a freak thunderstorm. It was exactly three weeks later than one of my several posting/lost kitty efforts bore fruit and I got him back. Don’t give up. A very helpful person told me that cats really don’t go far from home. Mine was less than four blocks away when I got him back. On the internet are hints as to what various cats will do in this situation depending upon whether they are strictly inside, inside/outside or plain outside cats. Keep us up to date. MCO
http://www.missingpetpartnership.org/recovery-tips/lost-cat-behavior/
My boy got out once and my parents had to stop looking when it got too dark. They opened the garage door enough for him to be able get in there if he came back and went to bed. My dad looked out around 5 the next morning and Stripes was on the front porch with a little cat friend he’d made, but they ran off when he opened the door. A few hours later my dad opened the door to the garage and Stripes came running in and ran for the food bowl. He stayed away from the doors all together for quite a while after that.
You know you are a true introvert when your Sunday plans get canceled and your anxiety level is reduced by 95%.
Major summer clothes closet organizing shall commence.
Hear, hear!
Thank you. Thank you, Allein.
Due to cancelled plans! I’m in slow putter mode: tv on in background, remove the 100 items piled up in horrendous corner, vacuum and dust horrendous corner, lay down and check in at NTMTOM, sort items from H.C. into empty Amazon boxes, find alternate locations for items in the empty horrendous bedroom being used for storage, find stuff you bought more of because you couldn’t find the original ones you already purchased, lay down etc. All as a prelude to moving Summer clothing that was blocked in by stuff in horrendous corner.
And I’m not a hoarder, really.
Of course not, Faye.
Me too.
I agree completely! My plans did not get canceled, but got shifted an hour and a half. So much for getting work done today…
Thank you, Faye! That is me EXACTLY. Friends will say they get so annoyed when plans fall thru, whereas MY psyche breaks out in a happy dance!??
(Once agreed to go to an after-school, end-of-the-year teacher party, and my social friend was waiting patiently outside my class room for me to finally be ready to leave, and I heard another teacher stop to talk to her and she loudly said “Well, we’re late; let’s just go and we’ll save her a seat,” and my friend quietly answered, “If I leave she won’t come, she’ll just go home.” And she was soooooo right!?)
Yup! exactly 6Rabbits. It took me years to understand myself and realize I had been living with extroverts who thought I was afraid to go places. Sigh.
I had a roommate who was more of an extrovert and would talk all the time. Sometimes I had to hide in my room. (Sometimes that didn’t work.)
I worked with a person like that. Constant stream of consciousness with barely a breath. I would be trapped with her for a four hour shift on the Reference Desk at night. I’d pretend to get a phone call, tell her I had to find a book, walk away and hide in the Children’s Room on the second floor for at least a half hour.
My summer clothes are in the current season closet and my winter clothes are in the off season closet. But now I have days of work to reorganize the contents of the horrendous corner. But I will count that as a win.
The woman who sits behind me is like that. She drive me nuts, even when she’s not talking to me. Also, the perfume. I love her but omg staaahp!!.
I can sooo relate to this, Faye! As a teacher, I use up all my “sociable-ness” during the school day. It is very difficult to be social at nights or on the weekends cos I have to ⚡️Recharge⚡️
Yes, at the Library I would talk to a couple of hundred people plus staff in any given day. Quiet nights were needed for recharging.
I tend to go both ways, needing lots of alone time, which is why I worked for myself, and wildly social, always up for a party especially if music is involved – and the last to leave! Go figure.
On Saturday, I attended the Vancouver Comic Arts Festival (http://www.vancaf.com/) Lynn Johnston (creator of For Better or For Worse) was there. I attended the event she was in and then got a book autographed afterwards.
After that I checked out the other talented cartoonists/ illustrators/ writers. There were plenty of cat-related items to see.
Today and tomorrow are going to be lazy days, although I might try to get some decluttering done in my apartment.
I love Lynn Johnston and was so sad that our paper no longer carried her. Did she call it a day and decide she’d done what she needed to do or is she still working? I remember when Farley died saving April. ?
That was a sad day. ??