“Hello?” (tap, tap) “Are you awake yet? If you’re not awake yet, that’s OK, but I just wanted to check if you’re awake yet because if you were awake yet then we could have weekend open thread, but if you’re not awake yet then I will go away until you’re awake yet because we can’t have open thread until you’re awake yet.
“So are you awake yet?”
Via Reddit.
I’m awake! I’m awake! Do I get to play with kitteh now? We are having a bit of a snowpocalypse here… This week it’s snowed at least 18 inches. I just cleared an area the size of my apartment of 7 inches and it’s still snowing (I did this a couple of days ago and that was about 5 inches and we may get as much as 4 inches more). I am hoping that my landlord or my neighbor will clear that because I’m DONE!
My cat Mia has been checking every 15 minutes if I was up since 7:00, if you want to sleep late don’t have ?? or I’m told, ?? (I don’t have any of those)
I wish I could stay in bed because I started a cold yesterday and I feel crappy, stuffy nose, headache, sore throat, coughing, the works ?? but unfortunately I will have to go out to get groceries later if I want to eat this week. I wish everyone a good weekend.
Feel better, GiGi – take a look at this kitten twice every four hours and call us in the morning (or sooner if you need to)
That’s how i was woken up this morning, except it wasn’t a little kitten, it was a 14lb ball of white fluff, the occasional “purrrr..meep” and tail to my face.
No snow here which is very unusual! However it means my hubby isn’t out on a plow truck and i can drag him to the Mall for some winter retail therapy, he’s thrilled 😉
Only a dusting of snow forecast for the Philly area, thank goodness, although
being snowed in – as long as the power stays on and the pantry is stocked – can
be enjoyable. No expectations from anyone, peace and quiet, time to snuggle
under. Europe is having some unusually wintry weather, I hear. Hope you
stay safe and comfy, Fritz.
Thanks, Phred’s Mom! My plan for today was writing a test for my students to take on Monday. First I went for a walk in the snow (I love snow! I just don’t like driving in it or shoveling it!) Then I found out my bookshelves were collapsing under the weight of the books, so I had to do some major rearranging. After that I shoveled. Now I’m in for the rest of the weekend (warm, comfort food, the only thing that’s missing is the kitty on this post!)
I love snow, too but we get little these days. I was happy for what we got last week especially because some Christmas lights including ours are still up – it makes me feel like there’s a white Christmas.
This was my 5 a.m. alarm clock every day for 18 years. Do I miss it? Do you have to ask?
I would like the number of Miss Kitty’s makeup artist.
This weekend is all about packing up Christmas and returning it to the basement. I wish holiday lights remained at least through January just to get us through the worst of winter.
For all those in the paths of these winter storms, I hope you weather them well!
I have a friend who collects snowmen and puts none of them out for Christmas. They all come out in January to brighten the winter and stay til time to bring out spring. Always loved that idea!
And yes, my sweet fur baby forgets when it’s mommy’s day off and faithfully makes sure I know it’s 4:30 am so I won’t be late for work. Or, more importantly, her breakfast. But then it’s happy time when after the dish is tended to and mommy goes BACK to bed!
I have a little snowman family in my window. It’s not specifically “Christmas” themed. Maybe I’ll leave it there until spring.
As it gets warmer you could make little puddles around them!?
Tempting. 🙂 I live on the second floor, though, so no one would see it.
You would! I do all my decorating to please myself – since I’m the one who cares about such things – and if someone else gets to see and appreciate, so much the better.
I also leave my snowman collection out all winter; they are such cheery little guys! And I leave a string of Christmas lights up to combat the winter darkness. I do notice, however, that it is staying light a little longer at the end of the day. Yay!
No big weekend plans. I have MLK Day off. Ice is predicted for that day so I will make sure I have everything I need in advance. (food, coffee, wine, a good book, and most important of all…cat treats!)
Yes. Lovely shade of pink on the lips.
I keep my lights up until February. Everything is LED and on timers, so the total cost to operate my lights is about the same as keeping a 40 watt lightbulb on. And because I LOVE Christmas lights, I have the most of anyone in my neighborhood. Mine are the first to go up and the last to come down. I would have more, except that I think it would be borderline “Griswald” Christmas. But, I am seriously tempted to do the side bushes next year. Every year, it takes a lot of restraint to not buy more light up animals for the yard.
At least, I recognize that I might have a problem. They say that is the first step….
Julie, I love people like you. I just love it when I’m driving around well after Christmas and see someone with their lights still on. I secretly bless them. I guess there’s a coterie of folks like us – we should have a Facebook group!? OR group therapy.
Thanks, Murray C!
Agreed.
Oh me too! me too! I love when folks have their lites on in the dark hours of the morning…makes the trek to work a bit more pleasant…cuts into the long winter darkness so nicely.
Good morning,
Coffee?
I’m lying here trying to type one-handed on my tablet because a purring kitty is lying on my other arm, pawing at my shoulder while I scritch her head.
Waiter there’s a froggie in my coffee! I’m not sure I could drink that.
No, but it’s fabulous, isn’t it!
I saw a different version with a caption that said it was an accidental formation, which makes it even cuter. 🙂
The froggie reminds me of the drawings by Allie Brosh who writes (wrote?) Hyperbole and a Half!
It does!
Allein posts the best pictures! That one is no exception – totes cutes.
After about a week of on and off rain, we finally have sunshine again!!! And yes, I know what it’s like to have a little fluff ball wake me up with that poke, pause, poke, poke. You awake?? I had one, sometimes two do that at around 5 am every. dang. morning.
Nothing big planned this weekend but I have a three day weekend since the university where I work closes for Martin Luther King day so YEAH ME! Probably spend the weekend relaxing, maybe some errands and retail therapy.
Stay warm everyone!
No kitty waking us in our house. She’s too fat to jump on the bed so we’ve put a baby gate at the bedroom door (which she can’t jump over either). She gets fed dry crunch right before bed so no need to wake us at 5am and she’s too lazy to bother to meow at us. Sounds ideal for an uninterrupted sleep, yes? Unfortunately, 5am is my wake-up time for work so even on a Saturday, my body is awake and ready to go. Grrrr!
After an extremely unusual six weeks of freezing temperatures and multiple snowfalls, I’m THRILLED to see our usual weather in the forecast for Monday: pouring rain! I’MSOEXCITEDICAN’TWAIT!! This whole snow thing is highly overrated.
I’m off to the hardware store today to buy the final piece to set up my photo backdrops in my condo. I’m a professional photography program graduate and have worked doing weddings, corporate portraits, real estate and more but I’m finally ready to specialize: pet portraits! I’ve secured a domain name and am embarking on a months-long adventure of building my portfolio so I can build my website. While I’m more than happy to photograph dogs and cats (duh, of course), I’m hoping to get some variety too. Hedgehogs, guinea pigs, hammies, snakes, lizards, and–dare I say–tarantulas. (though please don’t make me touch the spider… they give me the uber creeps)
Happy weekend, all! Hope the grocery getting and chores are done and out of the way so you can relax and enjoy. 🙂
Make sure you post your website, etc, so we know where to send potential clients.
Yes. And best of luck.
Mich Patt, that’s so exciting about your new venture – congratulations!
We have a ficus tree with tiny lights all over it. We keep it lit on gloomy days. It helps.
So does staying in bed. Which is why the tree is in the bedroom.
Good idea, Duckie! I think I’ll turn on the lights on my fiddle-leaf fig and see if that improves my mood!
Stay safe all you getting/having snow & ice! I’m south of Philly so we’re supposed to get a mix tonight but nothing big. I’m trying to get caught back up on new semester stuff too that fell behind with all my week & half of kitty drama.
YOU GUYS!!!! Let there be much rejoicing!!! Chronic pancreatitis kitty is settling down after his flair up (yay). And my lovely ginger is partially nekkid from ultrasound & an aspiration (to rule out cancer) and the vet said things looks pretty good so far & it’s “presumably” just IBD. I swear that word “presumably” was the happiest word ever! So we’ll get the all clear next week (hopefully) about the big C, but he’s perked up & is eating & hopefully digestion will return to normal on his new hypoallergenic food.
In fact, he just decided to join me on my desktop with one of his toy mousies. 🙂
I confess that I enjoy fondling the nekkid kitty belleh. Is it just me??? Luckily Malcolm (ginger) doesn’t mind. The gray kitty is having none of my belleh pet attempts.
Such great news, JLA! So happy for you and Malcolm. Yes, nekkid kitty tummies are irresistible.
Thanks!!! And Malcs sends purrs.
I think a naked cat belly is probably similar to a baby’s head which is a rather pleasant thing to pat.
Not to expose myself as a prevert, but is baby butts which I find to be the best rubbings. I liken kitty belly to soft, smooth baby butts that rather than baby heads. Hopefully I won’t now be appearing on the web sites which warn people about bad people who live in the neighborhood.
?Your secret is safe with us, Ms. Can (!) Opener! I just have less opportunity to feel a baby’s butt and the most recent baby I’ve been around it was her head I felt. Also, while baby butts are notoriously praised in song and story, they don’t really have hair on them, do they???
That’s such good news, I’m thrilled for you. May all continue happily on the same path to recovery.
Thank you! I shall pat the kitty belleh on your behalf since he is sitting on me purring at present
I’m with you on fondling nekkid cat skin. Every spring I have to shave my big white long fur cat because he matts like crazy and hates getting brushed. He also hates getting shaved but he loves it after when I rub and kiss him all over.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a nekkid kitty, but Pablo was a short-haired Chihuahua, so his belly was pretty much nekkid, and was one of my favorite spots (just after that super-soft spot where the back of the ear meets the head).
I am making dinner plans with some friends I haven’t seen in a while. One of them asked if we’d be interested in going to a David Bowie skating night at an ice rink in Philly. Thankfully the other one said she didn’t want to skate (after breaking her foot twice in the past few years, she doesn’t want to risk it) so I didn’t have to be the one to say I don’t wanna go ice skating (nor do I want to go to Philly). So we’re going to meet up in Hamilton, which is kind of in the middle of us all, and get dinner and hopefully the weather will be nice to us. Calling for “snow showers” but I can’t find anything suggesting how much we might get. It says starting around 6:00 in my town, which is an hour later than when I first checked the forecast. Hopefully it will move back some more and wait until after we get home.
I spent some time snuggling with Stars, until something scared her off. (Tried to get a picture of her back foot resting on my arm, but she moved when I picked up the phone.) Then I watched her sit in front of the bedroom door for a few minutes. Not sure if she was looking in the mirror or waiting for me to open it and let her out. I wanted to see if she would figure out that it was already partially open and just a little pull would set her free. She did not. She’s not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree but she’s pretty.
Now I need to get showered (in part to get the cat dander off me. I’m not super allergic to them like some folks in my family but when she gets up in my face like that I get all sniffly), then go home and get my friends’ Christmas presents together, and maybe do some cleaning before dinner.
Yes! Back of ears connecting to the head are a wonderful smooching spot on kitties as well 🙂
That is THE SPOT on Millie too! Warm Black Velvet Bliss. I bury my nose in there when she’s sleeping.
I sniff her all over. She lets me kiss her nose and the top of her muzzle. She gives kisses with her paw on my cheek. Being on my chest, as is just one the joy of small dogs, she smells my mouth and likes to look inside! She also has a proclivity of tenderly biting my right ear lobe and snuffling into that ear to get me to play. Irresistible and unrelenting.
We need recent pix, Faye!
Soon. I promise.
Jupiter has neatly bypassed Colorado: we may get some snow tomorrow but then we’re back up in the 40s. I’m relieved, as driving one-handed in the snow would not be fun.
It’s been almost a week since my finger adventure, and there are no signs of infection. Stitches come out on Wednesday. I may also cheat a little today on my bandaging because when I’ve got 2 fingers bound together, knitting is excruciatingly arduous. Typing is pretty good (if error-prone) but knitting, not so much. I’m also planning some time at the spinning wheel to see how that goes. The thought of a 3-day weekend with NO crafting is simply too awful.
Stay safe, everybody dealing with snow and ice. If you have to, order in meals–it’s a tough gig, but somebody has to take one for the team.
This little kitten is just adorable. My oldest boy, Sevi, is a poker too.
saturday morning start suggestion
WOW! Get off that little thing – he may be strong but not THAT strong! (am I over reacting?)
I don’t think you are, miniature ponies were not bread to be ridden by adults or even kids for that matter.
Yeah hope this was just for a photo op.
That saddle looks pretty serious. Hmmmmm.
Did a search of comments.A veterinarian stated that this definitely abuse,and that small horses and ponies should never be ridden,or have weight like this placed on them.
Sorry for posting this. Looked “cute”,but is actually cruelty.
That is; comments on this photo at websites where it was posted.Very much the same tone there as here.
Again sorry.
Don’t be so hard on yourself – if it were a cartoon it would be hilarious! (does that make sense?)
I agree – please don’t worry – it did initially look cute.
Only a light dusting of snow in my part of England so far and the weather today is glorious, so I took my dad out to the local park this afternoon just in case Snowpocalyse hits Yorkshire tonight and we’re trapped in the house for days…
Also, I too want the number of that kitten’s makeup artist. I’m 57 next week and I never got the knack of doing pussycat eyes.
Meteorologists were predicting epic levels of freezing rain this morning. I drove to work wondering how I can get a job where I’m wrong that often and can still collect a paycheck.
Meanwhile, either my cats have given up on me in the middle of the night or I sleep-scritch them.
We are expecting an ice storm. The city is well prepared for this one, salting the streets, trimming trees near power lines, people are stocking up on wood (if they have fireplaces or wood burning stoves) and groceries. We may all be a little paranoid after the ice storm in ’07 knocked out power for weeks in some areas. Mine was out for 5 days, the bird had to go stay at my daughter’s house that week, we couch surfed for most of that time, all the motels were full. The cats (I had 4 at the time) were snuggled together in blankets on the couch, even Muffy, who hated all other living creatures besides me. Anyway, I have no intentions on going anywhere during the winter storm warning time line. I already informed everyone that I would not attempt driving on ice, and if they had an emergency they should dial 911. If an “emergency” doesn’t require 911, then it can wait a few days until the ice melts.
My bronchitis is much better, there is hardly any coughing, but it seems to have morphed into laryngitis, as I woke up yesterday with no voice. The foster baby thinks great aunt Patty’s new voice is hilarious, as he went into giggles when I said “Hey little man, what ya up to?” I sound like I inhaled helium. Speaking of the foster situation, it seems they are back on track, bio dad has tested negative on 2 UAs, and while he was serving his 5 day sanction for his probation violation, they allowed the baby to stay with mom overnight.
My grandkids, when I asked them what they want to name their new baby brother (due in March) said, “Kevin!” their mother tells me they are obsessed with Minions, and one of them is Kevin.
At this very moment, Sophie is snuggled under the back of my robe (not dressed and it’s after noon, bad me.), and the kitten is behind me, attacking the lump under the robe.
Hi All!
Well Millie and I had a frustrating day yesterday. She wouldn’t come when called and got very bighty and aggressive when we played. If I admonished her she snarled or barked.
Today was totally different. I played less rough and flatted and stilled my hands if she went for them. She got a new rope bally and learned to fetch in two minutes!
She is fully pad trained too! So we will begin with wearing her harness and once that is familiar she will be on a leash to learn sit, come, stay.
I’m totally convinced that she is mostly Mini Dachshund. I read up
On Dachshund personality and it describes her exactly. Boy oh boy they are opinionated stubborn smart rabble rousers. I need to give her lots of stimulation. So I get to buy a million toys and plan to get her a long tube to run through.
When I was in college there was a professor who could sometimes be seen around campus with his two mini-doxies following him around (no leashes or anything; they stayed right with him). I guess they hung out in his office while he was in class. The boy was friendly but the girl was very snippy and didn’t like to be petted by strangers.
I’ve only known one Dachshund. When I was 10-14 yrs old. Very well trained by super dog people.
My dad is partial to Doxies. He had one when he was a kid. He has a story about one time there was a storm (hurricane, possibly) and the dog basically got blown down the street and he had to go get her.
Sounds like you and Millie are doing well! You both adjusted. Teamwork!
I never had to train a puppy. Ricky is my first dog, and he was already a senior rescue when I adopted him. (Apologies if I’ve already said this.) He had clearly had some training, but it appeared to be oddly selective. He clearly had never learned the “sit” command, or as I put it: “You don’t know Sit!” 🙂 Well, I was able to teach him that, with the help of a trainer, but getting to Sit-Stay proved impossible. On the other hand, he sort of understood “Wait,” and would stay put on the curb (not sitting) instead of heading out into the street. Now he still remembers Sit, even if he gives me attitude sometimes, but Wait is completely gone. (He’s been deaf for the last couple of years, that doesn’t help). I keep him on a short leash at corners.
Anyway, the real point of all this is that I’m very impressed with you and Millie, and also you can’t post enough pix of Millie for me. She’s a cutie!
Thank you! I want to do my best to keep Millie well adjusted.
Today she learned to use a foot stool to get up in the bed in one try. Must move my beside desk out of reach. She’s going to walk right onto it very soon.
Well, I know it’s good therapy to have a dog. Millie is going to keep me sharp trying to stay ahead of her mentally and physically.
rawr.
Yay! Roar, little guy, roar!
Heart-meltingly cute. The video immediately following it is incredible, too. I love when he puts his paw in front of his face – pretty big paws!
No rain or snow here, just more freezing temps… 23°F when I went to the pool this morning. We’re supposed to warm up next week. I’ll believe it when I see it! Cold temps at this time of year are accompanied by sunshine thankfully, so here’s a bit of Lily in the sun. (Linked so you can see a bigger image than I can upload here.)
WOW what a great image! She’s so pretty.
I’ve spent the day cleaning the kitchen floor and the bookshelves in the kitchen, cleaning out cook books I haven’t used in a long while – or never used. Am pooped. Took a nap, made dinner, cleaned up – now I’m here for a little R&R.
I’m laughing at how your various cats wake you up. Our cat – who I say is going through her Lauren Bacall stage – comes padding toward the bedroom meowing in the most aggravating, ear piercing way and keeps at it until you lift her onto the bed. But sometimes she wants to go out (at 3 am) and runs away from you so you give up and go back to bed. A little while later – there’s that VOICE again! It’s no wonder I’m tired during the day.
Wow, all you poor guys with the snow and ice — we were out in shorts and sandals today at a big dog event at a nearby huge public garden. There were just enough clouds, plus lots of water bowls and people handing out treats, for the pups to have fun. And I was shocked to discover that the garden (Bok Tower Garden) is built on a real *hill.* Taller than Maru’s Mt. Amazon! It was really pretty, but I didn’t realize there was an actual hill within 150 miles of us! Florida is very flat!
The dogs got worn out from meeting every variety of dog imaginable and some you never thought of — like a “Bernadoodle,” a Bernese/poodle cross. It was large, cute, fuzzy, and very funny looking! But with probably at least 200 dogs there, there wasn’t a single bicker and I only heard one dog bark one time! It was a very happy event.
A photographer who shoots pics of random dogs she sells to calendar companies took some great shots of Melody, too, and said she’s sending us copies. So I’ll share one with you guys since it will probably be 2 or 3 years before she turns up in a calendar. We weren’t at all surprised she picked Melody since I can confidently say that she was the prettiest girl there. ☺
That sounds like a real blast – I’ll bet it’s good for everybody. (dogs included) An event that fills you with joy and keeps your face in a continual smile does one’s heart and soul good.
Just got back a bit ago from dinner. The food was okay and the company was great. The snow shower turned to a drizzle while we were there.
Where’d you go for dinner? I love reading restaurant menus. (Glad to read the company surpassed the quality of food!)
Rossi’s Bar & Grill in Hamilton, NJ.
I had a burger and sweet potato fries. It was okay but the burger was too thick for my tastes (I only managed to eat about half, which is probably just as well). And I ordered cherry cheesecake for dessert but they were out of the cherry topping, so I had them top it with chocolate sauce, instead. But I really kinda wanted cherry.
I hear your frustration re no cherries on the advertised cherry cheese cake… and I shouldn’t have looked at the menu just before bed. Oh well! Perhaps I will dream of eating!
It was still good. Though I thought I tasted mint in the first few bites. I don’t know if that was just my imagination because I had also been eyeing the mint chocolate chip ice cream on the menu, or maybe it picked up the flavor from the ice cream (I’m assuming the cheesecake was originally frozen) or some other item it was stored near.
My friends had the Nutella cheesecake. Which is why my one friend suggested the place (she was just googling for restaurants in the area, since we were going for something kind of in the middle of us all; she lives about 20 minutes west of me, but the other one lives an hour south, so we picked a town first, then looked for a restaurant). She saw Nutella and said, hey, how ’bout this place?
Oh, and I gave them their Christmas presents; my one friend recently got a dog (a dachshund mix named Smidgen, who I have not met yet) so I got her a toy. It’s an “unstuffed” giraffe with a squeaker in it that claimed to only be audible to the dog (all we heard was air). Shortly after I got home she posted a video on facebook of her giving the toy to the dog. She had her sit, and then squeezed the squeaker. The dog definitely heard something we didn’t. Then she gave it to her and within ten minutes she had torn the squeaker out (tearing her toys apart seems to be her favorite thing to do).
Ice coats our car and railings, but not much else. Nice bright sun here.
Inventoried my pantry shelves. If this isn’t done, sometimes I end up
buying something I couldn’t find, and then, voila ! there’s the other one
hiding at the back of the shelf. I have a lifetime (I’m old) supply of ketchup
and Murphy’s cleaners as a result of this. Also, I’m looking for ideas on
how to use, recycle, donate, whatever, lipsticks, etc., that I don’t use.
Many of them looked super in the store and now don’t, or were freebies
that I tried for a while and gave up on. I hate to throw them out. What
can be done with them? Any ideas?
Hmmm…re lipsticks – if unopened, maybe offer to a local women’s shelter or theater group? I think they can’t legally accept opened product (I used to work for a cosmetics company, and we donated our ‘trade-outs’).
I’m like you, I have to watch a tendency to over-buy b/c I’m a black belt bargain shopper. I have a hundred-year supply of fabric softener sheets, LOL.
My lifetime supply of odds and ends is because I sold my
house, moved into my mom’s house. She had a good supply
of many of the same things I had. Two houses worth of
Murphy’s! Not a bad thing.