Weekend Open Thread

Happy Caturday! Cats are notorious productivity killers; some days they won’t even let you go to work, as reader Tara O. relates:

This is Butch giving zero Efs that I needed to get dressed to go work. But we discussed it and he decided that, why yes, yes, he would like me to go to work to bring home the bacon. He likes the bacon.

A tuxedo cat with black fur and White markings on its chest and muzzle stands on a piece of striped cloth while a human hand attempts to pull that cloth away
Not sure why you need this to get bacon, though.
You already voted!

23 thoughts on “Weekend Open Thread

  1. Dubravkamcvmd June 28, 2025 / 8:05 am

    I believe you’re trying his patience,

  2. Georgiana June 28, 2025 / 8:54 am

    Butch is thinking “you’re going to wear that blouse with that skirt? Not on my watch you silly human!” πŸ˜‚

  3. allein 🐾 June 28, 2025 / 9:26 am

    Butch says “Just pick a different outfit already.”

    The heat ended and it was actually pretty cool yesterday. I went for a walk after work and it was only in the upper 60s. Finally done with audit, and I have a three-day week this week (closed for July 4th and I took the 3rd as my makeup day for the night we were there really late back in April), and my boss is on vacation so it should be pretty quiet. Made an appointment to get my hair cut next weekend; according to my calendar my last haircut was just over a year ago. Gonna try to get some chores done today.

    The dogs were good; You’ll cheer for Radley.

    • 6Rabbits June 28, 2025 / 10:05 am

      Yay Radly!! You fought the stairs and YOU won!😁

    • DEBG June 28, 2025 / 11:49 am

      I have a similar reaction to stairs. Huzzah for Radley!

      Also that corgi smile at the beginning made my day.

  4. allein 🐾 June 28, 2025 / 10:14 am

    • Georgiana June 28, 2025 / 11:26 am

      πŸ˜‚πŸ€£πŸ˜‚πŸ€£

  5. Tara June 28, 2025 / 11:30 am

    Haha! You are all correct in reading annoyed look on Butch’s face. He was quite peeved with me because I wouldn’t let him out this week. First because it was so darn hot! And second because there was a fledgling starling hopping around who couldn’t quite get up off the ground. I got an earful yesterday morning. But I promised he could go out when I got home. No starling to be seen, so I hope the little guy made it.
    Jacques and I went back to the vet this week. The vet was picking at the claw again and this time the whole thing came off and left a bloody stump. Jacques was understandably not pleased about this. He got a heavy dose of antibiotics and another super expensive blood etc. test to see if he’ll be able to handle anesthesia for an Xray. The “claw” is still sensitive, but less swollen. The vet is baffled. I’m watching and checking to see how the sensitivity is, because if that clears up, then we won’t do anything else. Jacques has forgiven me after some serious scolding when we got home and a nice big bowl of tuna and greenies.
    The heat has broken here – thank goodness. I have laundry and cleaning to accomplish and I might try to sew myself a summer dress. I could use something new.
    Hope you all have something fun planned for the weeked!

    • DEBG June 28, 2025 / 11:39 am

      I hope Jacques is finally on the road to recovery, poor baby!

    • Ricky & Bibi's Mom June 28, 2025 / 12:47 pm

      Oh, gosh! Poor Jacques, and poor you! I do hope the vet is able to figure it out and help more.

    • Georgiana June 28, 2025 / 6:34 pm

      Poor Jacques I hope the worst is over and he heals now.

  6. Duckie πŸ₯ June 28, 2025 / 11:42 am

    Butch looks understandably displeased. I wonder if I might borrow him to do the same on hubby.
    Bad week. Duckie sick. Hubby injured. I’m sick. Best part of this week has been the rain.

    • Georgiana June 28, 2025 / 6:36 pm

      Sorry I’m late but sending hugs (migraine)

  7. DEBG June 28, 2025 / 11:44 am

    At least Butch responds to logic! What a cutie. I have had similar discussions with my own beasties, and they simply cannot compute “mom leaving” = “more food.”

    Quiet weekend here, as usual: chores, farmers market tomorrow, and making stuff. Work is having a “make it” contest for this year’s summer party, and it would be good to enter something just to show off. We haven’t suffered through the heat wave in the rest of the country, thank goodness, so I plan to walk around at least one of the reservoirs tomorrow.

    Hugs to you all.

  8. Alice Shortcake June 28, 2025 / 12:38 pm

    It’s been a quiet week at the Shortcakery, but at least York hasn’t been as badly affected by extreme heat as other parts of England.

    I went for a check-up on my recent eye surgery last Wednesday, and it was judged to be a resounding success. The left corner of the eye still looks a bit alarming but should be back to normal in a few weeks.

    In other news, I’m reading a book about accidental death in Tudor England. The combination of the author’s earnest style and the bizarre nature of some of the deaths makes for some tragi-comic moments. Imagine becoming entangled in a huge wet sheet as you try to hang it over a hedge to dry, then staggering helplessly into a stream and drowning like a lower-class Ophelia; napping by the fire and being fatally clobbered by four flitches of bacon falling from the rafters; or sitting as close as possible to the pulpit only to be hit on the head by a weighty theological tome accidentally knocked off a ledge. My favourite so far involves football, in those days a notoriously brutal, rules-free sport often played by rival villages. The coroner’s report even preserves the victim’s last words, uttered as he hurled himself into a sea of mud and writhing bodies – “Let us make some work for the surgeons!”

    • DEBG June 28, 2025 / 1:28 pm

      Great news on your eye surgery!

      Autopsy/inquest/accident reports can yield a wealth of those moments. A great historian of medieval England (IIRC) named Barbara Hanawalt surveyed medieval inquest records to get a clearer look at everyday life, which hadn’t been studied extensively. She found that many peasants died because they were walking drunk, tripped, and fell into a pool or public well. Sadly, there was a typo in the book that referred to pubic wells. It’s a typo you never forget.

      • allein 🐾 June 28, 2025 / 6:15 pm

        My library has it in their Extension, which I recently learned is the basement storage at the headquarters (which is the branch I usually go to). You have to put a hold on it and they’ll bring it up. Maybe I’ll check it out when I’m done with the one I just got the other day.

    • Duckie πŸ₯ June 28, 2025 / 2:56 pm

      What’s the title of the book?

      • DEBG June 28, 2025 / 4:09 pm

        The Ties That Bind. It’s pretty accessible even for non-specialists.

        • Duckie πŸ₯ June 28, 2025 / 4:43 pm

          Except at my library.
          Thanks.

          • Ricky & Bibi's Mom June 28, 2025 / 5:40 pm

            Does your library participate in interlibrary loans?

            • Duckie πŸ₯ June 28, 2025 / 5:59 pm

              Yes, but I’ve used my limit for the year.

  9. AJ June 28, 2025 / 6:31 pm

    Oh so late to the party today. Only good about that is reading everyone else’s news. Oh Butch, everyone just has to be a critic. He’s as handsome as ever.

    Been busy running errands and trying to clean house as my niece and her family are coming out to San Diego and I’m throwing a pool party one day. Plus been fighting a flea infestation with my two babies. So second weekend in a row that they had to be bathed, their blankets and beds cleaned, and the house sprayed. I have no idea how they got fleas because they’re on flea meds. Thankfully they go to the vet Monday, so I’ll see what other options they recommend. Poor Thor is the worst off, and I’m wondering if getting him shaved might help. Would give those nasty buggers no place to hide. Make everyone laugh – since I get so wet or have to hold them, I found the best way to bathe them is in my swim suit. Now if you excuse, I now need a shower, I feel like I got the critters crawling on me.

Leave a Reply to Georgiana Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *