“‘Allo, my dah-leenks, and welcome to the open thread. Maaaah-velous to see you.”
Via Reddit.
Weekend Open Thread
73 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread”
Comments are closed.
“‘Allo, my dah-leenks, and welcome to the open thread. Maaaah-velous to see you.”
Via Reddit.
Comments are closed.
Going to be gone most of the day we have lots of errands to run. My husband has to go renew his drivers permit and his Carte soleil (that’s the Goverment medical insurance card in Quebec). The we have to get cat food and after that we have to go to Home Depot to get stuff to winter proof the house. And finally we have to go do the grocery shopping we should have done on Thursday. See you later folks!
Ooooh such a pretty kitty, reminds me of Duchess from the cartoon Aristocats. So where’s Marie, Toulouse, and Berlioz??
Had an awesome hockey game last night which we won 8-3. I think we were making up for lost goals from the previous few losing games. We face off against the same team tonight and it’s Stars War night, so it should fun. People are encouraged to dress up as their favorite character and the team will be wearing special theme jerseys during warmup that will be auctioned off to raise money for their charity. Hubby is looking to score one of those jerseys.
Not much planned for the weekend, I’m going shopping as hubby had to work today. Celebrating a friend’s birthday by taking him to the game tonight. Then just errands and sometime this weekend have to do cleaning.
Oh we did home some excitement yesterday. A water main broke on the property and there was a river going down the street early AM. When I went for my walk there were several news crews out there videotaping. Then the electric company shut off power for several hours so when we got home I had to reset several clocks. At least we were at work and the game so we didn’t have to sit in the dark, lol.
Happy weekend and Happy early turkey day to everyone.
Isn’t she lovely?
I love that movie, Aristocats. Everybody wants to be a cat! I know I do.
I have already had an interesting day. It looks like some kids set a small fire at the neighborhood park. I was walking my pupper and noticed smoke( just smoke, no blaze, thank goodness) coming from under the play equipment. I called the police department to report it. A fire truck and police car came out. The firemen hosed the area down to make sure it didn’t reignite. The hole left by the fire was about 2ft in diameter.
I know kids do stupid things but why at a place where little children come to play. Just makes no sense to me.
Hi, all – my day looks to be fairly uninteresting. I have to go to the Craft show that my Cragt Guild is having – I’m not in it but I volunteered to be a “Greeter” – someone at the door who sells raffle tickets, takes the entry fee (a new wrinkle this year) and generally schmoozes with people. I’m good at that!?
I have to teach only two more classes ’til I’m no longer in the employ of the Y – but I will continue to go as a participant – I have too many friends there and I need to stay in shape to get done what I need to get done around this house! My class is planning a party for me on Wednesday – since many won’t be able to be there on my last day, Black Friday. That seemed somehow appropriate as a last day.
Have a great day everyone – we’re expecting some wild weather later one. Rain is fine but I could do without the predicted wind event.
PS Gorgeous ZsaZsa kitty!
Kitty’s blue eyes are lethal!
Today I figure out my truffles so I can shop for the last few ingredients. I’ve had 7.5 pounds of luscious fair trade chocolate sitting on my counter for weeks, along with some nuts. Now I have to figure out the rest. This year, I’m going to try some vegan recipes with nut butters and nondairy milks. I’ve also got dinosaur molds to make vegan gummies.
It will be good to relax after a stressful week. I had a photo shoot on Monday and Tuesday, FINALLY talked to my boss on Thursday about my new responsibilities, then yesterday was the last day for the 2 folks who lost their jobs.
Trying a new recipe tonight… Moroccan Meatballs and Giant Couscous with Roasted Vegetables. And I finally used my birthday gift certificate at the Vienna Boesner store (art supplies like Dick Blick). 7 tubes of high quality watercolors, brushes, a combination water pot, brush holder and palette, and a watercolor block.
Unfortunately I won’t be able to use it all until probably February. This week semester testing begins and I have to prepare tests for all 150 of my students (6 different tests with non-cheatable variations – 80 of my students write two texts to go along with their listening and reading comprehension). According to Austrian law, I should hand back such tests within ONE WEEK after the students take it. Ha, ha, what a joke right!
So I will be lurking for the forseeable future…
I want that recipe, Fritz! Good luck with your grading, I don’t envy you. And you’ll have to show us pics of the pretties you make with those watercolors.
Hi Heather Noelle! Here’s the link http://properfoodie.com/moroccan-meatballs-cous-cous/ My family liked it a lot! I would make it again, especially to wow guests!
I will see if I can update my Flicker with recent works, so you can see where my “talents” lie ?
Enjoy. New art supplies are the best.
Thanks for sending the recipe, N. Fritz – I was going to ask for it, too.
Can you tell me more about Flickr – I’d like to be able to post pics, too, sometimes, without having to bother Mike. (I guess I can do a search,
can’t I?)?
Just go to https://www.flickr.com and you can sign up. There are links at the bottom to help you out.
Also, if you click on any of those links, you’ll see an “Explore” link at the top of the page and you can see all kinds of cool photos. Like this cute birdie. 🙂
Thanks, Allein, I will do that. And that little bird is pretty darned cute!
Hi, all. Sorry I was absent last weekend — had to get my work done so I would have time to go Sunday to the final 2 games of a women’s hockey tournament, the Four Nations cup, leading up to the Olympics. Finland and Sweden played for the bronze medal, then the US and Canada for the gold. We had 3rd row seats on one of the blue lines (!), the ticket prices were so reasonable compared to the NHL price for the same seats.
It was really fun seeing the US team, which is going to be our Olympic team; I’m not sure about the other nations’ teams. Plus we won the gold. ? We can’t begin to afford a trip to South Korea to see the actual Olympics, so this was the next best thing. The US women’s team has been practicing here in the Tampa area; it’s becoming a real hockey town, which is kind of crazy since it’s Florida, after all! But there are youth leagues galore, so the future looks bright. It’s our favorite sport, so yay!
Otherwise, a quiet wrek knitting a blanket for our other niece’s baby, a boy due in February. And we discovered yesterday that our new next-door neighbors are expecting child #3, so I may need to knit a cotton blanket for the baby — I prefer using wool because it’s fireproof, but wool and Florida don’t mix!
And yesterday I ordered my *dream* office chair. Way too expensive, but with my bad back, necessary! So now I wait 2-3 weeks for it to arrive….I want it now, waaah!
Have a great week, everybody!
Happy weekend, everyone.
Going to the West Coast Christmas show today. We’ve been looking forward to it for weeks. I hope my legs cooperate long enough to get around. Although sitting on the floor with both legs spasming COULD be vastly entertaining for some. We went last year, and I tried out an inflatable chair. It took three people to haul me out, and then some idiot asked me to sit and get up again, so he could video it and put it on YouTube. Hubby told him what he could do with himself. Later I said we should have done it, but charged him for it.
I had a dream last night that all of us Cutetropolitans got together for a Christmas party. We didn’t wear name tags with our names, but with our most memorable quotes from Cutetropolis. Whoever correctly guessed the most won a Cutetropolis calendar.
I was out on our deck yesterday, eating an apple and enjoying a few minutes of not raining. A squirrel wandered by, and I said hi. It saw what I was eating and ran to directly below me. Then it reached up with its front paws, begging for the apple! I checked to see that there were no tattlers watching, and then accidentally dropped the apple. The squirrel pounced on the apple and dragged it away before I could get a picture.
I ate the second apple inside so I wouldn’t have to share.
I am beginning to think about starting my Christmas reading list. I don’t want to start too early (like the mall playing Christmas songs), but I do look forward to them each year. I read too fast to drag them out, so I can’t pace myself.
Oop, hubby beckons. We’re off! Have a great day!
Your squirrel story reminds me, Duckie. There’s a lovely family across the street whose 18-year-old daughter (who’s our dogsitter) found a newborn baby squirrel on the ground after Irma. She brought it home to raise — and although I’ve always heard baby squirrels are very difficult to keep alive, she succeedec amazingly well. The squirrel is nearly full-grown now, lives in the big tree in their front yard, and comes down for milk regularly! She’s now become the neighborhood squirrel rehabilitator, and I bet she would do wonderfully with all kinds of wild animal rehabilitation. She’s a terrific young woman with a huge heart!
Laura. Guide your friend to Tintin The Squirrel on YouTube and FB. Amazing man in Denmark rescued a red squirrel.
Duckie, how I wish that dream could become reality! Wouldn’t that be fabulous!
Maybe someday we can organize a get-together, or at least regional get-togethers. I’ve done that in the past with other internet friends; it’s fun to see if one’s ideas of what a person looks and sounds like match reality! It’s not beyond the range of possibility.
Much better than the dream I had this morning (after I had woken up and fallen back to sleep) which involved an eyeball that was my sister’s (I don’t actually have a sister, at least, or I might be a little freaked out) in a little doll-sized strapless dress (the eyeball was tucked into the top part). Apparently my non-existent sister has blue eyes. Or had blue eyes, I guess. 😉
It’s rare that I remember dreams, but when I do…. ?
I was thinking about Christmas earlier and how it’ll be weird. It’s always at my uncle’s house, so it’s especially noticeable that his wife has been gone the past five years, and this year we will be missing my cousin (their elder son) as well. (He’s the one who died in May.)
Speaking of books, I just finished one about cannibalism and next up is one about the physics of everyday life. I have, shall we say, an eclectic reading list…
That book about the physics of everyday life sounds interesting, Allein. What’s the title? My reading list is also eclectic, obviously, to find such a topic fascinating (especially when I’ve never taken a physics course in my life!).
Storm in a Teacup: The Physics of Everyday Life by Helen Czerski. She was on the Inquiring Minds podcast a while back (episode 160, and was also a panelist on an episode of The Infinite Monkey Cage.
I think about it sometimes when I pour milk into my tea and watch the “clouds” form.
Ack! Unclosed parenthesis!!!
Oh, NO – a black mark against you at Mensa!
I gotta remember to read before the edit time runs out!
)
I don’t think a dangling parenthesis makes up for your transgression!?
I had to close it!
OK, but just this once!
Laura. Guide your friend to Tintin The Squirrel on YouTube and FB. Amazing man in Denmark rescued a red squirrel.
I like that dream! I draw a lot of eyeballs. An eyeball in a black dress is a very tempting idea.
It was pink with flowers on it. 😛
You have very remarkable dreams it would seem, Allein! Tho’ two little eyeballs may seem more, well. balanced. I do like the idea that if a woman is being visually scanned in that particular area she could give someone what for by gazing back. Hey, it’s a concept.
Ha!
I don’t know, I don’t usually remember. It seems when I do it’s when I’ve dozed off and woken up in the middle of it. Sometimes I’ll remember when I first wake up and within a few minutes it starts to fade and later I might remember I had a dream about X but I won’t remember the details at all.
I could do without disembodied eyeballs in my dreams, though.
Love that dream! I don’t have any happy dreams like that. Don’t remember dreams much unless I wake up and fall back to sleep, which happened this morning. All I remember were huge ugly birds splashing around in mud at the house I grew up in – I think they were a cross between turkey vultures and something prehistoric.
Good morning!
I found a project for all you knitters…sweaters for city buses!!
(This is by an artist named Magda Sayeg; I heard about it on a TED Radio Hour podcast episode, How Art Changes Us.)
Google image search “yarn bombing” for more pictures.
I love yarn bombing. There’s a whole bridge in Scotland that has yarn bombing covering one entire railing. People put up stuff on trees, on all kinds of crazy places — one woman even shapes knitting to fit into holes in roads and sidewalks! Knitters be crazy. ?
I like the bunny heads on the poles
and the rainbow splatter from the pipe.
That one reminds me of David Zinn’s work. He does amazing (and adorable) chalk art.
San Francisco
Yarn bombing is a wonderful thing. It brightens up the bomb site and uses up lots of that indestructible acrylic yarn!
The Knitter.
A new comic book supervillian!
https://www.dailydot.com/culture/the-knitter-tumblr-fanart-cosplay/
It’s the “indestructible” part that worries me – perhaps not the most environmentally friendly thing. tho’ I guess they remove it and dispose of it properly when it starts to look ratty? I can’t help it, I’m of a practical turn of mind.
So nice hearing about the fun things (and good luck with all the hard things & grading – ugh!) everyone’s up to!
All the yarn bombing makes me think of Obvious Plant and his hilarious fake ads and signs. 🙂
And agreed this kitty is gorgeous and makes me think of Duchess as well.
Please send happy thoughts & prayers for my kitty Malcolm. Remember us? His IBD is much more stable, but his knees, particularly one back one, is SO much worse that he’s going in for knee repair surgery on Monday. Poor lil’ guy! The recovery is awful because he can’t jump for 4-6 weeks which means I’m assembling a big play pen with a plywood top (basically) to stop the jumps. He will not be pleased, but he should feel MUCH better! He’s only just 7 – not an old guy yet. 🙂 I’m putting the pen in the back of my main family room where I spend most of my time at home so the other kitty and I can visit easily with Malc during his confinement
Aw, good luck! Hope he recovers quickly!
And I love Obvious Plant. One of my favorites is the library book drop signs. I just dropped off my Cannibalism book last night on my way home but there were no fun signs. 🙁
http://obviousplant.com/post/131628769233/bonus-library-drop-box-sign-on-instagram
Good luck! That is tough surgery on humans!Hope it’s easier on a cat.
Holding good thoughts for Malcolm and his hoomin/kitty family.
Thanks, everyone! He’s pretty spunky and went through this before as a very young cat, but like many surgeries with soft tissue, things stretch over time. And the previous vet didn’t do a pin in his knee even though we knew it was a genetic problem (don’t get me started). So yeah, with a better surgeon and a pin, he should get many years outta this repair. I’m sure hoping because this is expensive! I’d do a go-fund-me but it feels weird…. But you can’t ignore a fur baby in pain that you could help, right??? Ugh. He wants to win the “most expensive rescue pet ever” methinks.
I can’t say no to this face
Awww! Pretty kitty!
He is a very handsome boy indeed! And of course I’m sending him all the best wishes! Having been through the similar human surgery, I’m glad to hear his recovery will be much faster. Here’s hoping it gives him fleetness of foot for the rest of his (long, I’m sure) life!
He has a beautiful and expressive face.
Nobody could! Sending you all many hugs and good wishes.
Thanks! And malc sends grateful purrs (he’s annoyingly aware of the affects on hoomins his gingery cuteness has)
Awwww. Sweet big red boy! Good luck.
Ohhh such cutie pie. Good luck with the surgery and sending healing hugs for both of you. Looks similar to my Charlie Cat who’s waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. I think Charlie could compete with him for most expensive rescue cat ever. Charlie had digestive issues and we had to regularly bring him in to be ah hem “unblocked”. But sweetest boy ever.
Poor Malcolm – best wishes for a speedy recovery, Malcolm. Don’t you wish you could explain to him that the payback for his time in rehab will be great.
Those yarn bombs are really cute – not sure I understand doing a tree – a bus I sort of get – but always seemed like a waste of yarn to me. I’d be more like to want to paint a bus. Imagine all that soggy yarn going through puddles after a rain.
PS just saw his pic and he is a handsome fellow with a winning countenance!
Thanks! I wish I could explain to him too that he’s going to feel much better when I don’t have to pop his knee back in place a couple times every day.
I do tell him frequently that he’s lucky he’s so darn cute 😉
My weekend got off to a dramatic start. I live in a small terraced house, one of many built c. 1906 for workers at the nearby Rowntrees chocolate factory, in which the two upstairs rooms open straight off a narrow staircase. I’ve got into the habit of leaping, gazelle-like, from one room to another, but this morning I misjudged the distance and landed in an undignified heap at the foot of the stairs, banging my head on my dad’s wheelchair into the bargain. For some reason I immediately thought of the recent “clumsy pandas” video and how much less cute my own mishap would have looked…
*rubs head ruefully*
Oh, ouch, Alice S. I hope you’re OK. That reminds me of a New Yorker cartoon from eons ago – one gazelle is on its back at the bottom of a gully with the other one gazing down saying “Y’know, for a gazelle, you’re a real klutz”. I think of that cartoon often in reference to myself when I perform some immensely ungraceful feat.
Okay, I went to see if I could find that, and I could not, but in searching I found this and I think we’d all beg to differ…
Oh my Cute is definitely a proper defense!
How many words of the novel can I get written today? I’m going to aim for 1k. I’ll be going to a writing retreat in early December where hopefully I’ll be finishing up my draft. The writing program I’m in is fantastic – I get paired with a professional writer/editor and we’ll spend the winter quarter going over my draft. But that means I have to finish! Also working on a couple of baby sweaters for friends with little ones.
Heather Noelle, are you doing NaNoWriMo???
Not officially – I’ve been working on this novel via a writing program for two years and it’s the final stretch.
Good for you! Let us be your cheering section! Woo hoo!
Yes, we’re all at the finish line frantically waiting to catch a glimpse of you rounding the bend – flags are waving, we’re all screaming in anticipation, jumping up and down, and then…………… (yours to finish!?)
Happy weekend everyone.
A miracle happened. I felt like exercising. I have lost 18 pounds but got stuck. So a little voice told me to finally get on the exercise bike that I purchased three years ago.
I did. Despite all my aches and pains I got on the thing and surprised myself. I went one mile. I went slow. I decided to go by distance rather than speed. I got on a second day and said just go a bit further. Don’t push it. I did 1.3 Miles.
So here is the plan: every day just go further than the previous day. That’s it.
The goal: losing weight and being able to walk with Millie in a doggie stroller by Spring.
Yeah for you Faye!! Slow and steady always wins the race. I’ve been trying to go for a walk in the morning now since I no longer have puppers to walk and usually manage one at lunch. I was going to the gym for a little while to lift weights but my hand began acting up so that stopped. If and when it gets better then I’ll go back to the weights. Good luck with the weight loss.
Excellent, Faye – that’s definitely the way to go. And after a while you’ll try to challenge yourself a bit more and a bit more – and there will be plateaus (-eaux?) And you’d be amazed what lifting even small weights can do for your upper body as well. When you feel up to it you could add 1 or 2 ib. weights while you’re biking. It helps improve balance as well because you’re not holding on to the handle bars. But take baby steps – and maybe get a book or go online for tutorials. Boy, am I a big believer in tutorials.
Thank you AJ and Murray! Will update.
Haven’t heard anything from Jan for a bit, have we? I hope you’re doing OK, Jan, wherever you are! We need pics of Lily! Hope the knee is getting better.
I hope everyone’s weekend weather is as nice as mine is. Not shirt sleeve weather, but not freezing either. It was a good day for the annual toy run. Hundreds of motorcycles riding down my street with riders with santa hats and loaded with toys, escorted by a police officer on his department issued Harley. It’s the sound of Christmas coming.
Yesterday was rainy and windy. I was going to do errands and then I heard it pouring outside, and decided to wait. I’m about to leave now; it’s partly cloudy and 49 degrees at the moment.
I saw a guy on a motorbike the other day who had a Santa hat attached to his helmet. I could have done without him and/or his friend revving their engines repeatedly while waiting for the red light to change, but the hat was amusing.