Welcome to the Weekend Open Thread, where today Penny is waiting for your belleh rubs. “Penny might have been a dog in a previous life,” says reader Muppet2171. “Most cats only tolerate belly rubs. One is lucky to get 8.7 seconds before teeth and/or claws are employed. Penny would be happy with 8.7 hours.”
So gorgeous as usual and looks to be in bliss from the tummy rubs. Interrupting the cute for a very important announcement – the bank approved the mortgage and we close on our house on Monday!! Now time to pick paint colors and start organizing for the move. The owner also told us that there was wood floors under the carpet we’re ripping out so can’t wait to see what shape that’s in and hopefully no need to replace the flooring.
Rest of the weekend will be spent running errands and hitting the farmer’s market for my weekly fruit and veg. Also need to go to Whole Foods as that’s the only place I can find the yogurt I like. Have a fantastic weekend everyone!
Congratulations!! 🎊 🎈 🥂
Congratulations! Good news is very welcome nowadays. You must feel a bit like Penny
So happy for you, AJ! Congrats on the new place!
Congratulation!
Mazel tov!
In honor of your new house:
Exactly Allein! And I have 2 that will love to talk to the telemarketer.
That’s wonderful! Also glad that you were able to get a winning bid in this day and age.
Great news AJ…now the fun begins!
I love Penny’s little peek-a-boo toe beans. 💕😸
Penny is gorgeous and I will probably be like her all day, minus the belly rubs, laid out on my sofa. Got the booster last night so didn’t sleep well, and so far have a painful arm, body aches, headache, and overall yuckiness. Not complaining. Lots of hot tea today, an eye pillow and blankets….
Hopefully it goes away soon Dana! 💐
Sounds like you’re taking care of yourself, Dana. Hope you feel better soon.
Which one did you get? I got Pfizer originally and the hospital where I got it has walk-in events next week for Pfizer boosters so I’m going to go on Wednesday since I work from home that day (I’ve had no luck finding appointments at places like CVS so far). It’s 8-12 and 1-5; I go to lunch at 12:30 normally, so I’m hoping the wait won’t be too long and I can get done without going too far past my hour (but if not so be it; my boss is pretty flexible with stuff like that and I can make up time at the end of the day if necessary). I got my initial doses there and they were pretty well-organized. Hoping I don’t have too bad side effects; the second dose was a lot better than the first, and I work from home Thursday, too, so at least I won’t have to go out.
I got Moderna. Luckily I made this appt about a month ago, before Omnicron came to town, cause it was pretty easy to get and I hear it’s definitely harder to get one now. I got it at Rite Aid, not the same place I got the first 2. A few people tried to do walk-ins while I waited but they were turned away. Second shot leveled me for 24 hours, then I was fine. So far the booster isn’t as bad as that, but I still feel awful and haven’t left my apt. Thank goodness for the Qte and a comfy bed.
Always suggest lots of liquids and sleeping whatever this is off like a hangover. Sounds like you definitely have the right setting.
Every cat I’ve owned turned into a sabre-toothed tiger at the merest suggestion of belly rubs…
Last Monday, at my dad’s insistence, I had a day out in Haworth. I made him a casserole and some sandwiches, told him to always keep the phone to hand in case of emergency, and promised to ring him at least three times during the day, planning to be home by 7.30pm at the latest. The idea was to enjoy a leisurely train/ bus journey to Haworth, have a gargantuan all-day breakfast at my favourite tea shop, generally look round with a view to moving there when circumstances permit, and take some photos of my 4xgreat-grandparents’ grave in the wildly overcrowded cemetary.
The reality was something of a comedy of errors. I haven’t been on a train for nearly two years and struggled to cope with the ticket machine, then discovered that half the trains in Yorkshire had either broken down or been delayed due to severe weather in Scotland or “slippery rails”. At Leeds I found out that I’d forgotten my phone. At Keighley I realised that there had been quite heavy snowfall which York had been spared, and at Haworth I was horrified to discover that the teashop was not serving hot meals! So I bought some cakes and ate them as I had a wander round in the (admittedly picturesque) snow. Then – inspiration struck! Why not sit in the church for a while? Alas, the main door was locked and the side door was only accessible by a narrow path so lethally icy I couldn’t climb it. By now I was starving, but just as I was about to buy upmarket fish and chips at a pub I remembered that I’d promised Dad to get fish and chips for both of us on the way home. At this point I admitted defeat and returned two hours earlier than expected.
Still, it got me out of the house for a day and that’s all that matters…although it was a shame that the local fish and chip shop was also closed!
Oh my goodness Alice. Yes, you did get out of the house but at what cost?? 😁 Give it another try though!!
Alice, I’m sorry things didn’t work out as planned. But you did get out for a little while, which is good.
I’ve been to some of the towns you mentioned, years back. Wow I miss York! And there’s a fantastic Indian restaurant in Leeds that I still remember fondly.
The best Chinese food I ever had was in Leeds. (The worst was in Holyhead.)
Don’t give up on taking a day off, I’m sure It’ll be better next time.
Do try again, Alice, it will be worth it, I’m sure. (But take your phone—and make sure it’s charged.)
Yes, there were times when I felt EXACTLY like that! I’d also forgotten how hilly Haworth is, but my legs reminded me the next day. It didn’t help that there were times when I had to walk like a penguin to avoid the ice.
Oh well.
Glad that you got out of the house definitely and got a fresh(ly snowy) picturesque day away from the typical routine.
Congrats, AJ.
I’d gladly take a shift giving Penny belly rubs.
I learned yesterday that some NYC subway trains sing “Somewhere” from West Side Story.
The Times explained at the time that the sound is a fluke: “Newer trains run on alternating current, but the third rail delivers direct current; inverters chop it into frequencies that can be used by the alternating current motors, said Jeff Hakner, a professor of electrical engineering at Cooper Union. The frequencies excite the steel, he said, which — in the case of the R142 subway cars — responds by singing ‘Somewhere.’ Inverters on other trains run at different frequencies and thus are not gifted with such a recognizable song.”
As Gothamist previously reported way back in 2004, the three notes are minor sevenths, an exact match of the Maria and Tony duet.
https://gothamist.com/arts-entertainment/west-side-story-somewhere-subway-noise
And I’ve seen this ad a few times this week. I don’t use DoorDash but I love it.
I remember hearing those first few notes of “Somewhere” on the 1 line years ago; so many years ago that I think it may still have been the 1 and 9. Haven’t heard it in a while, and I miss it!
That pup is so beloved! And so energetic for a basset!
I want to know how he turns on the treadmill…
Some Austrian trains also make music (first few seconds of this video):
Sounds like it’s practicing its scales.
Here’s my other favorite new commercial (for a hospital in the Bronx, NYC).
(I read that the doctors are real employees of the hospital.)
That was almost unbearably cute.
I love the little oxygen mask and the x-rays.
Ok. It’s the weekend. This week is almost over.
Too much happened, so I’ll do this in point form.
-Waiting for results of anti-vaxxer dad’s Covid test.
-Foot healed enough for me to do own care with weekly checks.
-Hubby’s dad failing rapidly but aggressively resistant to hospital or home care nurse.
-It’s snowing.
-Condo levy.
-Sister who had Covid being called in for more testing.
-Some feeling returning to numb areas of foot.
-Little Duckie discovered Premium Plus crackers yesterday and is now smitten.
-Hubby facing burnout.
-Allein, there were subliminal onions in that commercial.
-Penny, come on over here. I’m willing to rub your tummy all day, with brief pauses for chin scritches and head bonks.
Have a good weekend, everyone, if you can.
-Condo levy.
Fun…I just got the association fee payment booklet in the mail (which I don’t use since I pay it online) and my fee went up $20. I shouldn’t complain too much since it didn’t go up at last year, but still.
Glad your medical news is positive. Maybe little Duckie will share some crackers with you.
I bet Little Duckie’s adorable with those crackers.
Glad that you’re legs are well, feeling.
Stay warm!
It’s good to relax with you all–and Penny’s tumtum–on this lovely Caturday. Penny, you and my cats have the same opinions about belly rubs. I would happily spend all day with kitty bellies.
What a week! My company doesn’t sell a lot of stuff through our website, but we’d promoted our annual special shuttle for release on Cyber Monday, and the phones were ringing off the hook because people didn’t read the release time on the email. Then the site crashed and was down all day–our web server company Go Daddy went through a horrible hack recently and didn’t put everything back together correctly (we think). The site is still really touchy, so we’re reluctant to encourage hordes of people to visit it. As I keep telling my bosses, “Best Cyber Monday ever!”
I’d planned to get my COVID booster this morning, so I set up simple crafting plans that I could do on my couch. Then it turned out I needed an appointment, which threw everything out of whack. Plus two of my projects are troublesome: my handwoven towels need to have many rows unwoven and redone, and the sleeve on my super-cabled cardigan will be too short. I have to finish the sleeve to figure out how to fix it, but I don’t want to knit, knowing that I’ll just have to rip it out again! Woe is me (she said with dramatic hand gestures).
At least my new Apple Watch–the SE, not the newest model–is living up to my expectations.
Hugs to you all.
Hello All –
Penny, you lovely, trusting, kitty with the belly luvs. The only one of mine who “tolerates” the belly rubs is my ex-feral Butch. But I think its because he’ll let me do just about anything to him, he’s so grateful to be inside.
AJ and Dana, I am feelin’ you! got my booster Thursday night (moderna) and spent yesterday on the couch. I’m glad I got it, I’m flying to California for the holidays and just want to be safe for all of them. But I hope we don’t have to do this every 6 months. It’s really miserable. Hang in there – this too shall pass.
Alice, what an adventure! Comedy of errors indeed. Isn’t that always the way?
Duckie, glad the foot is healing and hoping the best for your family.
Allein, thanks for the laughs and the tears – as always. 😂
I spent the day in a wood engraving workshop. What I learned? Wow – this takes even more skill than I thought. Workshop was with alumnae from grad school and current students of same program, so it was a nice reunion/get to know you. Will spend all day tomorrow – with magnifying glasses – continuing to carve my block and hope to print.
Hoping everyone else is well and having a lovely weekend!