Ack I overslept! Today’s open thread is a little late, sorry!
Via Imgur. “It’s been almost a year since we took in the neighborhood stray and my son still insists on tucking him in when he naps ‘so he knows that he lives at our house and will come back.'”
You must have needed the rest, Mike. Enjoy your pretzel and coffee.?
It’s raining, so I’m not going to the farmer’s market. Thus, no pretzel. 🙁
You’re no sugar cube, you’re not going to melt (says I who lives in the Pacific Northwest). Get some really great rain gear and get on over to that market! The pretzel will taste that much better, I guarantee it. 😉
Say it isn’t so! You need to bring a few of those home and stick ’em in the freezer for emergencies. Defrost, warm up in a toaster oven and YUM!
I’d do that, but I’m too concerned that the “emergency” would turn out to be “I would really like to eat all the pretzels now.”
Ahhhhh, I see. Hmmmmm…….?
Okay, NTMTOM, that comment got a good guffaw from me, then continued giggles!?
I have those emergencies too, Mike.
Oh, I hear you…there are some things I just can’t have in the house – for me it’s chocolate-covered pretzels (oddly enough, I’m fine with plain chocolate).
For me it’s potato chips.
I have too many to list. I need to just not have junk food in my house. (Not saying I do that, just that I need to.)
I know what I should eat, I just have such a hard time making myself do it, when crap is so much easier.
Also, I need to stop arguing with people on the internet.
Both those things would be very good for my health.
Dark chocolate salted pretzels – a gift to the world from the Pennsylvania food gods. Yum
Don’t feel bad, I wanted to sleep in but bouncy doggy wanted his walk. Not much planned for weekend, hubby had to work today so I guess I’ll clean house then we’ll go out to dinner. Tomorrow will be just running errands and relaxing. Some good news – my nephew got married yesterday!! Haven’t met the girl yet as he’s stationed in S. Korea with the Air Force. He’s supposed to be transferred next year and then we’ll have the big family reception, hopefully another trip to Hawaii!
Wow! Congrats to the nephew and his spouse. Hope “having to go to Hawaii” pans out. 🙂
Lovely news! Yes, hold out for a reception in Hawaii, by all means.
Still working on my kitchen, but we’re nearing the end. Today I install the dishwasher (wish me luck!) and filler stripes. Tomorrow I make Roman shades. The countertop and sink get installed this coming Friday. I can’t believe I’ve been living like this since Memorial Day weekend.
We’ll all come over to your place Labor Day weekend and help you with
the finishing touches. What shall we bring? I’m proud to know you,
as my Mom used to say, for doing so much yourself. – another Rosie
the Riveter
You are a marvel! Good goin’.
I bow to your determination and skill!
Oh, thanks everybody! It’s heartwarming to have Internet friends like you.
Great job, DebG! I’m amazed and impressed by your skills. And yes, we definitely all want an invite for the kitchen-warming party!
I’m going to Princeton, NJ tomorrow to see this:
http://www.nj.com/times-entertainment/index.ssf/2016/08/classical_music_carnivalesque.html
I adore these overgrown music boxes – the sound they generate is from another time – reminds me of “Dandelion Wine”, my fave book.
Oooh fun. Those things are so neat.
That looks really neat. Enjoy!
That’s pretty neat! Have fun!
Are they anything like the street organs that used to be all over the Netherlands?
Wonderful sound. Have fun! and show us images, pls.
They will have the really huge ones that they tote around on a semi trailer and they’ll have some smaller ones more like organ grinders – no monkeys, thank goodness.
I remember the organ grinder with his monkey from my childhood in
NE Philly.
Murray just sent a photo of a carousel organ for me to post here:
Wow ?
Thanks, Mike. I’m surprised at the fuzziness of the image – I sent it as a small file – taken with a camera, not a phone – would it work as medium? I have a lot to figure out about this aspect of posting.
This particular organ was the biggest and most beautiful, having been used for Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee. It was really fabulous. The painting and the colors are so wonderfully, garishly, beautiful.
I love the music of those big music machine ❤️
That looks great! But you may want to take some earplugs. Even small calliopes can put out a truly astonishing amount of sound.
I have seen one of these before and as long as you’re outside they sound great. The cool part was getting to walk through one to see the inner workings.
I slept in, too. Unusual for me. Having trouble deciding what to do today. The house needs cleaning, the garden needs attention but I can’t get myself going. I sits. I sighs. Even Merlin won’t play with me. We usually spend Saturday mornings in the kitchen, squeezing squeaky toys and eating a few almonds as a treat but he turned tail on me, flew down the stairs to the rec room where his cage is and I heard him go into his cage and pull the door shut behind him. Huh.
At least he didn’t slam the door!
It’s not you, Birdcage. It’s just today. The lovebird I am watching just wants to stay in his cage and kill his newspaper ball. Even the birds outside aren’t being themselves. Senor Robin let me sleep this morning. I’m tempted to go back to bed myself, except hubby just offered to take me to Guilford Mall to ‘let me play’.
MyMike and I have the same dull, don’t wanna do anything feeling.
Let’s blame it on the heavy humidity here in the East. I have a nice
big fat Stephen King to read this afternoon.
Ok, we’ll do that.
Even tho I’m forty minutes way from the Pacific Ocean…
Any excuse, eh, Duckie?
Yup!
The Lego store at the mall has Doctor Who Lego!
I’ve started my Christmas wish list.
Birdcage, Maybe he’s hung over? This reminds me of a song from early in the last century – I’m pretty sure the 20’s – called “My Canary Has Circles Under His Eyes” – “He used to sing the Prisoner’s Song, Now he does snake hips the whole day long….”
Wow! Grumpy parrot! Life is just too much sometimes!! Good going Merlin, don’t inflict your bad mood on Mommy. ?
I was waiting for the open tread to show this. We went to Canada Aviation and Space Museum on Tuesday and we went on a old 1940’s biplane ride! Let me tell you it was trilling! One more thing I can cross out of my bucket list!
Here’s a link to a 19 sec video, you can see me for a few seconds (my brother didn’t dare film more because the wind almost wrenched his phone out of his hands)
And here is a photo of the plane :
Oh, Gigi! That looks AMAZING! 😀
That looks like a Stearman biplane. Stearman’s hold a special place in our hearts here as it was one of those that took my husband on his very first plane ride when he was 14. He’s now a pilot.
Wow, Gigi! You have much more nerve than I do. Okay, pretty much everybody on the planet passes that test. But still.
Good on you, Gigi. I would love to go up in one of those.
COOL! I have to live vicariously since I’d lose my cookies on one of those things, but it does look like fun!
That’s awesome, Gigi! I’d like to think I’d be brave enough to do that if the opportunity arose!
I commend your bravery.
No heights for me. No planes, bridges, high walkways, etc. I do not like the feeling of my feet off the earth. I only tolerate elevators because I can’t do the stairs anymore.
Oh, how MARVELOUS! That looks like a genuine once-in-a-lifetime experience — I hope it was as amazing as it looks! How long was the flight?
Not very long, about 30 minutes.
I slept late today, too. I’m sure you’re all shocked by that confession.
Happy Saturday!
Love that puppeh!?
Yay puppy!
Hey, how’d you sneak in and get a video of my dog????? LOL, that’s exactly how he was this morning too. Hey, I’m awake, you awake?? Let’s go for a walk!!!!!!!
I’ll never tell. 😉
I sleep late every day. Retired, and a night owl. My car is broken (needs an alternator I think) and can’t get it in the shop until Monday, so I have no plans. The husband will have to do any errands he wants done today. The kitty, who I have named Gracie, is doing great. I never caught any siblings, and my sister has not seen them, I am hoping someone else rescued them.
Gigi, that looked like it would be fun. I have flown only a few times, twice in a hydroplane an uncle owned (I was 9), once to fly to Maine to visit relatives (including the uncle with the plane), and then to Dover, DE last summer. I was afraid I would have a panic attack, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be.
Glad to hear Gracie, a lovely name btw, is doing well.?
That’s good news about Gracie doing so well. And yes, here’s hoping someone else caught her siblings!
I slept in, too, if you consider 7:00 a.m. sleeping in! (I am up at 5:30 on weekdays.) Beautiful day here and there is a Soul Fest in my town this weekend so I will take that in today
Chores can wait until tomorrow!
I wish I could fit in there amidst the kitteh and the stuffies.
I’m a member of the “slept in today” club too! But I was out late last night at the Summer Art Walk and then having a fabulous date afterwards. Didn’t get home until midnight. So I have a good excuse! 🙂 As far as today goes, no plans really except reading, painting, and hopefully another date with the same guy as last night…
Ooooh, good for you. Have a blast.
Ooo. That plan sounds wonderful. ☺️
Excellent! Hope all goes as hoped.
Yay! Good news I’ll share with the peeps I know it will make as happy as it makes me!
Working at home and hear the dreaded thump from the window. It seems a couple times a summer our windows confuse the birds and they fly into them. A few have not made it. It doesn’t happen all that often and nothing we have done has stopped it. Most rest a bit then fly away. I checked this one and he was just outside the back door. I knew if someone didn’t realize he was there and let Joey out there would be no chance for the bird. I got a paper towel and gently picked him up and took him to the front yard and put him under some nice plants under a shady tree. It is toasty here and when I put him down he was panting. I didn’t know if from fear or hot thirstyness. I went in and got one of my few low crystal bowls (only the best for my little birdie friend!) put water in in and quietly went back to Mr. Bird. I dropped a drip onto the end of his beak he licked up a few drinks then just sat there. I noticed baby bird feathers under his beak. He slowly started shutting his eyes reminding me of baby birds after mamma leaves from feeding them and they need a nap. I left him there to rest a bit. A bit later I went to check on him and he wasn’t there. I reached to pick up his water bowl and he burst out from under the bush, it startled me quite mightily, but I smiled as I watched him fly away to a near by tree. Yay! Thank You!
He looked like this sparrow with baby feathers under his chin beneath his beak.
Very nicely done, HaHa.
You are a good soul, Haha. So glad little birdy recovered.
My cat Mr. Tibbles has hidden somewhere in the house where I can’t find him. Since he’s not been his usual self lately, I’m worried that he’s crawled somewhere to die. Here’s hoping he’s just going to burst out soon, yelling, “Surprise!”
Awww DebG, praying for the surprise, and hoping that if not, everything else happens peacefully.
Keep us posted.
Better naturally at home than at the vet. I hope he has peace.
Oh, please NO! I hope he turns up soon! I just had a moment with our cat – I was cleaning and thought I heard a muffled “meow”. I looked everywhere – her usual hide-holes, inside and out, and finally it turned out she was in the basement, having gone there because I was using the vacuum. It’s nice and cool down there – smart puss-wan.
Yea for birdie rehab!? Maybe he’ll remember your kindness and come back to visit.?
Good job!
Some people on the net have suggested that the greatest threat to song birds et al is a lack of accessible drinking water,so if possible provide a source of drinking for them.I have been doing so for several years,and the number of visiting birds in my neighborhood has noticeably increased.
The sound of running water attracts them best. I put a solar fountain in my bird bath and the birds would line up along the fence taking turns–sorta. During vy hot weather I’d refill the water 2x a day from all they splashed out! Water drew them better than bird seed for sure! I also had a water dish for butterflies and bees, cos they can’t use the deep bowl in the fountain. For a couple years I also had a solar fountain in a low bowl so chipmunks, bunnies and squirrels could use it. ?
That’s an interesting idea. We have enough water around here that I don’t think we need to put any out, fortunately, but I can see how that could make a big difference in dryer climates.
When we lived in L.A. some years back, we had a birds of paradise plant right outside our back patio door that attracted hummingbirds 9 months out of the year. That was such a source of constant pleasure!
Now we live in an area with such an astonishing abundance of bird life. We have ibises that wander the neighborhood eating from the bugs that live inside the deep grass in yards. We have the sandhill crane family. We have a whole variety of herons, too. I saw a great big blue heron the other day. There are lots of other water birds thanks to the numerous small ponds in our neighborhood. And we have a lot of smaller birds that I need to learn to identify, since I’ve not lived in this part of the country before. The big birds are so beautiful, though! They have such an innate dignity.
Wow, that sounds amazing!
You obviously live in a MUCH different environment than I do!? No big birds near me, no ponds etc. Envious I am!
Believe me, every time I see one of these birds, I get a thrill. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of having a neighborhood family of sandhill cranes!
At my last house in North Jersey, I put a birdbath dish into the surface of
my moss/fern garden. Chipmunks, possums, birds, and even deer would
stop for a tipple. Watchable from my kitchen window. Very nice.
Ah, I slept in for the first time in months. RL a bit of a pill lately. Finally sold my house and moved to an apartment. The joy of not having to mow the lawn is quite significant. 😀
Took 5 months to sell house (not too bad where i am!) but I had to board my kittehs during that time mostly for their own safety – so nobody would let them out by accident during a showing. Had to do some repairs to make the house look nice so there were workers coming in and out of the house. Yikes. Being without my babies for that long was HARD. Kittehs were in a nice safe facility though that boards them in rooms, not cages. They have been back with me for several days now and are getting back in to their routine: naps, noms, nap, nap, noms, nap, stare at ceiling, nap, noms, nap.
Congrats on your move! Selling is *awful,* isn’t it? We went through that last year. You have to get the place in perfect shape. What was different for us was that this time our realtor let us stay at the house during showings! We’ve sold houses several times in the past, and this was the first time that was allowed. Boarding your babies must have been just AWFUL! Although, we’d lost the last of our babies before we put our place on the market, we’ve sold with furry family members. It was easier to just take them with us. Was that not an option for you, to put the kittehs in a carrier and take them out with you for the house showing?
Anyway, I’m glad you’re all safely home. With no lawn mowing! 😀
Hi Laura!
I wish I could have put them in carriers while showings took place. Problem is George is a smart tabby and getting him in a carrier is not always possible. I have had to cancel more than one vet appointment because he escaped to another dimension and could not be found …inside the house, mind you …. to be put in the carrier.
Cats!! 🙂
Been there myself. Spot still has a hiding place I can’t find.
I slept in until 0530 (usually up at 0430), but the Lilymonster wouldn’t let me roll over and sleep in some more – she wanted her breakfast, and she wanted it NOW!
Inspired by this video I built Lily a kitty castle this week. She loves it! (Anything to keep her entertained, right?)
Chillin’ like a villain!
What an awesome castle and Lily is just adorbs!??
I love everything about this. Good job!
What a cool construction project. Love it!
That Lily house is awesome!! I love how it gives her access to the window.
I’ve had/seen a lot of kittens in my time, Lily is particularly lovely. Very happy for you both.
Nicely done! And very clever. She is a cute pie.
This is fantastic, Jan. Lily is a lucky lady.
I love her little leggies! And that castle is very stylish.
Either:
“She’s got legs and she knows how to use them”
or
“Guess what? Kitty butt!”
Classy girl.
Rear view! Cute! Cats are so neat in the back. *
Thanks all 🙂 It was a little more work than I expected, but fun all the same.
I also ordered (thru our gallant host’s affiliate link!) an interactive feeder that just came today. Here’s Herself in action!
Cute!
My friend has something similar to this for his cat.
I saw those too. I got the cheaper option for now, we’ll see how long it holds her attention. Maybe she’ll graduate to the bigger one some day! ?
I love smart toys. Lily got the idea right away.
You could and should launch Lily as our own Maru. She is already
developing a following, and has the looks and personality to become
a star! ?
Lol! My house isn’t nearly clean enough!
THAT is a seriously good idea! Go for it, Jan!???
Yes. Whimsical new kitty/cat experiencing her surroundings. Lovely Lily’s view of the world and how she interacts with it. Something good in a tough time for humans.
So cute – I love her occasional spots of color.
Wow, I slept to 2:00 pm after going to sleep early. Sound asleep too, with dreaming.
I was supposed to do bank, gas, haircut. Now my only plans are coffee, food, shower. Errands pushed back to Tuesday.
Why Tuesday you might ask? Because the dog, Black Lab/Pit mix named Bucky Barnes a la Captain America, has learned to open the refrigerator.
After blocking the kitchen with gates (easily pulled out) piling heavy objects in front of refrigerator door, using baby locks, swinging the dining room table over, considering a shock collar (no way) we have decided on a combination of never leaving him alone and drop off at doggie daycare when I have to go out and the house is empty.
So my schedule now revolves around my housemate’s work schedule, her daughter’s camp/school schedule and the break in talents of an insatiably hungry dog.
Now I ask you, why don’t all dogs learn to open the refrigerator? He had a few amazing feasts of BBQ, Chinese food, take out fries, shredded cheese, while knocking down the condiment shelf and pulling out a dozen eggs (upside down, not broken).
Oh, my, Faye. The only thing I can think of is to get him a fridge of his own. Does he close it when he’s done????
Noooooo! Sigh.
Gotta love him though. Best guard dog ever. Big barking, no bite. No one is coming in the house when it is empty or I am home alone. Worth all the trouble and money.
I will send pic to Mike to post. ?
Here is the picture of Bucky Barnes that Faye sent me.
Thank you for the speedy service Mike!
He looks so innocent! NOT.
Amazing how pets always look innocent in pics isn’t it?
😀
So cute! I’ve heard of people putting child locks on fridges. Maybe that would work?
My lab has a Marvel-inspired name, too (Rogue), the same gray face, and the same greed. Thank goodness she’s never learned to open the fridge! I once left the garbage compactor ajar with disastrous results (everything dragged out and rooted through). Labs are fun that way.
Hi AB. He ripped the child locks right off the fridge.
Cute puppeh! I would forgive him for opening refrigerators.
I don’t even have a dog to blame; just a fridge that sometimes doesn’t close all the way. I discovered last week that my freezer was just slightly open… for about 12 hours. Enough to soften my ice cream but not to make it inedible. I also used the frozen strawberries later and they were fine. I think the only thing that will get thrown out is the ziploc bag of spinach defrosted (it was sitting on top of everything else and leaves don’t take long to thaw) and now has a puddle of yellowish-green ice after refreezing. It might be okay for throwing in a smoothie but it looks gross. But I don’t have trash to go out so it’s staying in the freezer until my trash can fills up again.
Next time it’s open I’ll bring Bucky over.
?
Oh, sweetie pie pooch!What a nice face. ?
Thank you!
I love Bucky’s white moustache!
Thank you Gigi! Bucky has beautiful white markings on his chest too.
Some animals are clearly just dangerously smart. Bucky sounds like a doggy rocket scientist for sure!
Top notch glutton. Rocket science, nope.
I’m like Patty, a night owl, although not retired — but hey, my variety of self-employment works just as well as a good excuse. 🙂 I slept late, too, like everybody else. My husband and Melody went off on a therapy visit to a troubled youth group home, where they go once a month, and I guess they were outside walking around the whole time; Melody came home so tired she just flopped over on her side and hasn’t moved since. 😀 A tired puppy is a happy puppy!
I’m spending the day being shallow, watching all the lovely athletes of the Olympics. I don’t much care what sport they’re in, I just enjoy watching them. Their joy at either winning or just doing their best is so infectious!
And I also greatly enjoyed seeing the four women in the Saudi delegation at the opening ceremony — even if they had to be invited by the IOC because the Saudis make no provision for female athletes — and amazingly, they were allowed to walk in front of the men this time, unlike London, when they had to walk behind. (Is there a “rolling my eyes” emoji?) But I love the beautiful clothing worn by so many in the opening ceremony, and the music was so infectious! And that beautiful rotating sculpture around the cauldron — so creatively beautiful!
And today the events begin. (Although, to be fair, the soccer/football tournament started a couple of days ago.) I’ll be glued to one sport or another the whole time the Olympics are on, I’m sure. I just like everything. What can I say?
I didn’t watch the opening ceremonies, but I have the TV on mute. I just looked up and saw New Zealand win a rowing race (US came in second), but I can’t say I’m really paying attention. It says there’s men’s gymnastics on tonight; I’ll actually watch that. Also looking forward to women’s gymnastics. One of the US team members lives a couple towns away (where I lived for four years before I moved to my condo), so I’ll be rooting for her. About to go take a shower and run to the store, since I’m almost out of milk. I don’t know if they’re still predicting storms here; it seems pretty sunny. Hopefully I don’t get caught in any bad weather.
Oh, now they’re back to cycling.
Edit: Make that men’s beach volleyball…
You missed the oiled-up shirtless Tongan carrying his country’s flag? The whole stadium said, “Ooooh!” in unison, and the announcers were positively drooling. A stunning specimen of a man. 😀 (He does taekwondo.) He definitely put his country on the map!
That’s what google is for. 😉
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/olympics/2016/08/06/tonga-flag-bearer-may-break-the-internet/
Thank you, Allein – I somehow missed him. ‘E looks very slippery,
don’t ‘e??
Yeah, I don’t know that I’d actually want to touch him, but he’s nice to look at…
And it rained while I was in the shower. Hopefully it’s safe to go out. Seems to be clearing up but that can be deceptive.
And Mr. Tibbles is not going to jump out. I found him under the daybed, all stiff. Now I’ve got 6 cats instead of 7.
I’m sorry. 🙁
{hugs}
Aww, so sorry 🙁
Oh dear. 🙁 I’m so very sorry!
I’m so sorry. Deeply upsetting.
Oh DebG, I’m so sorry for your loss! Sending lots of hugs and comforting thoughts to you.
Oh, that’s terrible. 🙁 So very sorry for your loss.
Thanks, all. Mike can still make me laugh, even through my tears, but there’s going to be big hole in my life.
Condolences on the loss of Mr.Tibbles, DebG. I have no doubt you gave him a good life
Take comfort in your 6 remaining kitties.
I can’t stand it! There have been too many pussycat passings recently! One of the places my cat loves to hide out is under a day bed in my husband’s office – one of the first places I looked for her this afternoon, She was fine, as I mentioned. I’m so sorry about Mr. Tribbles.
So sorry. He will be missed, I’m sure.
Oh I am sorry Debg; kinda sounds he went peacefully. Regardless, big hurting. *hug*
I’m so sorry, DebG. {{hugs}}
The couple of times buns passed without me being there to hold them were especially hard for me. Sending warm thoughts your way.
Oh no! Sorry for your loss. R.I.P. Mr. Tibbles.
Oh dear, I’m so sorry. RIP Mr. Tibbles.
So sorry to hear that! I checked back so hoping he would be ok.
My sympathy on the loss of that beloved fur baby.
So sorry, it’s always hard to lose one of you furbabies.
Oh crap! I was out I just read of your loss, I”m so sorry ((hugs))
Sorry to hear of your loss.
Debg I am so sorry about your loss 🙁
Sending you a virtual hug.
Just saw this on PostSecret…
Having just re-read all of these comments, the something that cheers my heart despite the lost of Mr. Tibbles is that there are two new kittens among us – Lily and Gracie. There goes that cycle of life thing again. G’night Gracie ? And Lily. And all.