For today’s open thread, reader Georgiana Y. shares these photos of her special neighbors:
Hello everyone, I thought you would enjoy meeting the stray cats I feed. First here is one of the kittens, unfortunately it’s not great because it’s very skittish.
Then there is this tuxedo cat, I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl.
And then there is this orange fellow who is definitely a boy, I saw the proof.
And finally this cheeky imposter!
That first black kitty is SO SMALL! How can s/he be living on its own?
I wish I had neighbours like these, particularly the Orange Exhibitionist!
England has been “enjoying” another heatwave recently so on Tuesday I decided to have a cheap day out in Whitby. The bus had scarcely reached the North Yorkshire Moors before I noticed the smell of burning and a huge plume of smoke – a grass fire was in progress and still hasn’t been completely extinguished. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, when the double-decker bus began to negotiate a very narrow bridge near Goathland Railway Station (featured in the Harry Potter films) a speeding SUV came perilously close to hitting it. There was a tense standoff for a few seconds until the SUV and five cars behind it reversed far enough to let the bus through. You may be asking “Alice, why are double-decker buses even allowed on such a narrow bridge?” To which I would reply “Probably because it’s the nation’s most scenic bus route and we need the tourism money”.
Thank you Mike for putting-up my photos.
Oh Alice, I well remember the narrow roads and bridges of England, I would sometimes close my eyes when we encountered another car because I was sure we would be it, thank goodness my husband is a great driver.
I’m feeling better, finished the antibiotics on Thursday but I’m not 100% back to normal yet, I’m still coughing a bit and feeling exhausted but there is light at the end of the tunnel.
The weather is finally back to seasonal temperature here, mid 20’s during the day and a cool 15 at night.
Hope everyone as a great weekend.
Georgiana, watch out for that orange one – he looks like he has plans! 😉 They are all so cute – even the imposter.
Glad you are feeling better and hope you continue to improve quickly.
Aww, wish I had such cute neighbors. I did see a Frenchie (or possibly a sentient gray potato) when I took out the trash last night. He lives on the street that runs perpendicular to mine.
Not much going on. I’m on vacation next week so I have 9 days to get some $#!/ done around my house. (I was also off yesterday but I did nothing, except some dishes. I have more but the drainer is full.) Coincidentally, there is an email in my inbox this morning with the title “The best way to declutter” so we’ll see if that has anything useful for me. Also might go look for some sneakers to replace my black Vans slip-ons that are getting a little frayed. I want to find something similar in style but with some cushioning, because those things have none and my feet hurt by the end of the day whenever I wear them.
Okay, hear me out; Clown car, but with huskies.
Plus a backup on the couch, and Wally has a frisbed.
I love dogs but that’s definitely too many dogs, especially huskies in one house! Can you imagine when they all start howling 😫
That amount of huskies astonished me! How big is the house?! How can that many large dogs be comfy there? And the *noise*!😳 Maybe it’s a daycare situation? But still…😳
I counted 8 huskies, in case anyone was wondering.
Re: new shoes, the styling isn’t exactly the same, but I used to be a great fan of Merrell’s Jungle Mocs; they’re well put together, have good cushioning and decent arch support, and are pretty good value for the $$$ IMO.
https://www.merrell.com/US/en/jungle-moc-collection/
The only reason I don’t still wear them is that I went to exclusively barefoot shoes 10ish years ago, at roughly the same time I started eating a Paleo-like diet. I now prefer Altra’s zero-drop trail-running shoes for errands and any other activity that makes me walk around on concrete for any amount of time, but they look more like “regular” sneakers–eg, they’re not designed as slip-ons, though I suppose you could make them so after the fact with a pair of elastic Lock Laces. (They’re also a bit more expensive than the Jungle Mocs, though to me the cost is well worth the increased comfort!)
Thanks, I’ll take a look.
I’d recommend for the slip ons trying either Ryka or Easy Spirit. Lots of choices and come in a good range of sizes and widths. What I like with Ryka is they’re made for women with a narrower heel and wider toe box. Some people like the Sketcher slip-ins with the rigid heel so you don’t have to bend over/sit down to put them on. I’ve tried a few styles and didn’t like them but my hubby swears by them.
I have a couple pairs of (old) Sketchers. I’ve never been a big fan of them, though. They’re almost too soft.
I recently bought Skechers shoes on a buy 2 get one free deal. I bought them because they were available in wide widths and I could try them on in a store before buying! Two of them are like sneakers and they are okay. I do like being able to slip them on and off easily. The third pair is a pair of sandals and I’ve been wearing them the most. They have velcro straps and I always use the back strap when putting the shoes on, but I’ve managed to train myself to just slip them off.
I may buy another pair that looks more dressy. I haven’t gone back to look for other styles. I’d like to buy other brands of shoes but if I can’t try them on in person, I won’t buy them.
Yeah, I don’t like to buy things that need to be tried on online unless it’s from a company that has an actual store in my area in case I need to return it. I don’t want to have to deal with shipping things back. I have a pair of shoes that I wear a lot from DSW; I tried them on in the store but the closest they had to my size were a half size too small, so I ordered two pairs (half and one size up) and returned one to the store. I’ve done the same at Famous Footwear in the past.
Such cuties one and all, including the imposter.
Exciting week here at chez AJ. After weeks of highly anticipated baby watch, my co-worker’s daughter finally had it. It’s a little girl making her debut in the middle of the night Wed, coming in at a teeny 6 lbs 2 oz, 19 in long (approx 3 kg, 48 cm). Everyone is doing well, and home from the hospital. Valkyrie went back to vet and according to them, her eye is better and she’s off the meds. They recommended keeping her in the cone for a few more days, which we do when we’re out of the house and can’t watch her to make sure she’s not scratching it.
Weekend will be busy, Lego meeting today and crafty workshop at the museum tomorrow. Somewhere over the next 2 days, I also need to do some gardening to get the weeds under control, grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. Thankfully it’s been somewhat cool so I won’t melt when I’m out weeding. Hopefully everyone’s weekend stays cool-ish and enjoy.
What’s this, uh…what is this?
😂😂😂
So much fun, as always.
It’s the weekend, and it’s been raining for over 24 hours!
Georgiana, I think the cutest cat was the imposter!
Duckie is feeling better. Moult and egg time over for now, and her coughing has decreased. She’s still a little wheezy, but I don’t want to stress her by taking her to a vet.
Starting my fall sewing this week. Flannel jammies, fleece vests, Christmas presents, that sort of stuff. Will let my neighbours know in case they have anything needing sewing.
Hubby did “housekeeping” for a Hallmark movie film set on Thursday, and they asked him if he had a security license. He does, and they gave him the contact info for their hiring person. If he could get into this, it would be two days a week, sixteen hour days, and he’d be off the rest of the time. The wages are !!!
My dad sent me a link for a castle and property for sale on Vancouver Island. It was definitely in our price range, as there were serious conditions attached for the cost, and he said the entire family could live there. I asked him what “entire” meant to him, and he said himself, mom, me, hubby and my two sisters. I asked about sisters’ children, and he supposed they could come, too, if they… he stopped, and with an absolutely sour tone of voice, finished that he guessed my sisters’ husbands would have to be included, oh, never mind.
I’m off to play with piles of fabric and yarn and batting and trims and oooooooooo, so much fun.
Have a fantastic weekend, everyone.
Crossing my fingers your husband gets the job!!🤞🏽
“I’m off to play with piles of fabric and yarn and batting and trims and oooooooooo, so much fun.” – hope you are having a marvelous time!
Sounds like my day! Have fun!
Awoo.
(The second slide is a video.)
Awwww. And an awhoooo back to Bruce. Hopefully he finds his (indoor) voice, sometimes when dogs find their voice they don’t stop.
Rescued Maine Coon gets a bath.
I am head over heels in love with Toeby. What a doll.
Beautiful cat!
Love how you love your neighbors, Georgiana. They’re adorable, even (especially?) the imposter. Are you going to try TNR with the kitties?
It sounds like everybody’s situations have improved since last weekend. That’s wonderful! Keep up the progress!
I’m late today because I went straight out to do errands this morning, instead of spending hours sitting in front of the computer trying to get my day jumpstarted. Most of the projects from last weekend’s list never got finished. Now I’m happy to report that the gift sweater is done done done! When I finish the recipient’s hat, hopefully today, I’ll be able to send off the package! Other nearly finished projects are now ready for the final hand sewing, after sitting around for weeks or months waiting for machine-stitching or ironing. This feeling of accomplishment feels wonderful. Plus my studio is more organized–I had to clear it out before I could start sewing today.
Hugs to you all.
Having things in order always makes me feel better☺️
Hi All and Happy Caturday!
Georgiana you have some wonderful visitors. Thanks for sharing them with us.
I’ve been up since 6am worrying about my Dad who is in the hospital again, this time with an air embolism. He fell earlier this week and because he is on blood thinners, he seems fine initially and 24 hours later the problems start. They went in yesterday and the ER was a circus. Turns out they can’t perform the procedure he needs so they’ve been looking for another place for him while waiting for insurance approval. The first two choices (USC and UCLA) rejected him – would not give a reason why. So now he has to go to Riverside which will be over an hour away. I held out until 6am their time before texting and my sister ended up calling and filling me in. sigh. I know it’s hard for the people who are there, going through things in real time, but it’s also hard for family that isn’t/can’t be there. One feels so helpless.
On a lighter note (speaking of So Cal distances) my extremely Philly mechanic will be in So Cal next week for the first time. I told him about the Petersen Museum (of cars) and his eyes lit up. Then I said “you rented a car right?” and he said, “oh we’re just going to Uber it”. I said, “do you know about So Cal distances?!” It was clear he didn’t. 🤣 His #1 goal is to eat a real taco from a food truck. Then I told him about In-n-Out, which is now #2 goal. He is a very kind man and I hope they have fun there, distances not withstanding.
Okay – gotta get my tuchus moving, I have a nice big watermelon and I’m going to make watermelon pickles, I have to make stuffed peppers and deal with eggplant and zucchini. I might just grill the lot. I’ve learned how to make the best baba ganouj – char the entire eggplant all around. Then wrap it in foil and let it cook on the side of the grill. I just leave it until the coal go out. It’s the perfect smokey flavor.
Tara, keep us posted about your dad. Yes, it’s awful to be so far away when medical things get dramatic. We’re sending you lots of healing purrs.