We’re having open thread on the patio today, because reader N. Fritz is introducing us to a new friend who leads a life of danger.
This is Ramses. His human is my bf’s sister. Ramses shows up in our garden sometimes, and now that Mutz (rhymes with “puts”) is no longer a rival, we try to make him feel welcome. Shortly after this photo was taken, a neighbor reported that Ramses darted across the busy street in front of our house and “may” have been hit by a car. We’ve all spent a couple of nervous days until this afternoon, when my bf’s sister reported that Ramses was alive and well. Phew!
Oh Ramses, you handsome boy, stop giving your humans heart failure. Hopefully he stays away from busy roads in the future. Remember you only have nine lives, and may have used one up wth this adventure.
Semi groggy this morning. Since about 4:30ish am, I had a silly bird tweeting constantly outside my window which made sleeping difficult. Now that I’m up, they’ve decided to stop. 🤷🏻♀️🤦♀️ Thanks, I guess?? Time for some tea, to help get me motivated. Breakfast and haircut this morning, then finally a chance to check out the newest library store which is across the street from my stylist. Every time I got my hair cut, I wanted to go but always had something else to do afterwards. And with the store being on the other side of the city from me, it would mean a special trip so I’ve been just waiting. Now the dang bird is back at it. Don’t ya know it’s still dark?! Go back to bed! Tomorrow is who knows, I’ll figure it out after grocery shopping. Oh, if you get a chance to see the movie, Project Hail Mary, go. I was originally skeptical but it turned out to be a pretty decent movie. I won’t spoil things but they made some interesting (in a good way) choices on the alien’s look and speech. I found it less sci fi, but still involving science, and more of a buddy/friendship movie. If anyone remembers the movie Enemy Mine from the 80’s with Lou Gossett Jr as the alien, and Dennis Quaid, it’s similar. Have a good weekend all!
I’ve been getting woken up by something running in my neighbor’s place. Not totally sure but I think it’s the guy below me, who I have never seen, let alone met (the guy who was there mentioned a while ago that he was thinking of selling, and it seems he did a few months ago). Up until a few weeks ago it was very quiet, and other than this noise, which may be a washing machine or something?, it still is (and I’ve never heard this noise before at any time of day). But who does laundry at 5:30 in the morning multiple times a week? Maybe I can spin (no pun intended…okay maybe a little) it into a positive and finally become one of those people who gets up early?
I haven’t seen the movie but I did watch this video recently, which you may find interesting.
I was going to ask if any Cutetropolitans had seen “Project Hail Mary” as I hope to see it next week. I remember “Enemy Mine” very well!
Some good news on the health front: it seems that I no longer need to have blood tests on a regular basis, so the autoimmune hepatitis medication must have been finally sorted out. Hurrah!
The weather is definitely improving so I’m thinking of using my brand-new bus pass for some days out. It’s a bit early for the seaside but there are many picturesque places nearby.
Yeah for good news!!!!! And enjoy your adventures with the bus pass.
Good morning, Ramses. I’m glad you are okay.
I need to clean things. My kitchen counters are starting to look like something out of an episode of Hoarders (without the crusted-on dirt and mold and such). And change the band on my Fitbit. The silicone band is causing a red spot on my wrist, on the outer side where it gets the most pressure when I sleep on my left side (which I normally do). Hopefully the leather band I got is less irritating.
The dogs were…invisible? Stan can guard my stairs any time. (Never mind that I don’t have stairs in my condo. I have an exercise step…he can guard that.)
I can’t stop watching number five!
I luff all these dogs so much. And their hoomins who love them too.
Good morning everyone!
I know how you felt when Ramses didn’t show up for days, I was sure that “The Princess” the cute little cat that I fed must have been hit by a car when she stopped showing up every morning for more than a month, but no she’s fine.
I went to a thrift store on Wednesday and bough some night shirts and even after washing they still had a weird smell, a little like perfume but not and I’m very sensitive to smells.
I read on the internet to soak them in white vinegar and water, and wash them again, I did but they still smelled.
Other remedies were to put the clothes in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer or to hang them outside, I did both at the same time as it’s still below zero here so I hung them outside yesterday morning and left them there all night.
I’ll leave them there today and I hope it works but if not, do you have any other tricks to get odours out of clothes?
Hope everyone has a good weekend.
I have the same problem with clothes from thrift stores. Sometimes it takes a few washes and hanging out in sunshine before the smell dissipates. I’ve also had success when washing with sprinkling a couple scoops of borax (or even baking soda) directly in the wash cycle plus vinegar in the rinse, and doing an extra rinse. Also wash in as hot a water temp as the type of fabric allows. Another trick from professional costumers is to spray vodka diluted with a little water directly on the clothes and let air dry. I haven’t tried that but I have used unscented Febreeze or generic fabric refresher to help get that scent out. Good luck!
Thanks I heard about the vodka thing but I would have to buy some to try it, I will if I have to.
Just FYI, you can use the cheap stuff if you decide to go this route; it doesn’t have to be GOOD vodka. LOL I had to do this once with a couple of shirts gifted to me by someone who smoked, and the fabric absolutely REEKED. Regular laundering made very little difference, and even a vinegar soak (my usual go-to for stinky clothing) only helped somewhat. The big issue with cigarette smell is that it’s oily, down at a molecular level, so it really soaks into fabric fibers and clings, and many man-made scents are loaded up with chemicals called pthalates which are specifically designed to make them stick to surfaces and linger. Which presents similar problems in terms of cleaning, not to mention a whole host of environmental and health issues (but that’s kind of a whole other discussion…)
Anyway, sometimes you have to attack the problem from a chemical perspective, and especially for certain types of “clingy” scents, alcohol may be able to dissolve what water and detergent can’t. In my case, I ended up buying a bottle of the very cheapest vodka the store had on the shelf, diluting the entire thing with roughly an equal volume of water in a bucket, and actually soaking the shirts in that mixture for about 15 minutes, with a bit of agitation by hand to really move it through. Then I rinsed the shirts out well with plain water and immediately ran them through the laundry again. It didn’t seem to damage the color or the printed designs at all (these were black t-shirts) and while it didn’t quite erase the odor completely, it did help more than anything else–took it down to where I had to get my nose pretty close to the fabric to notice the lingering smell, at least, rather than being able to pick it up from clear across a room. I wouldn’t necessarily try it on anything delicate, but for common fabrics–basic cottons or cotton-poly blends–it’s probably worth a shot if nothing else gets the job done.
Theatre wardrobe runners know from stinky clothes. Cheap vodka beats Febreze by a lot. I must say, you have more patience than I do!
If you’ve got clothing that is dry clean only, try Dryel. The system includes a big zipper bag that holds the garments and a cleaner sheet; everything goes in the dryer for 30 minutes. Much cheaper and much more environmentally friendly than the dry cleaner.
Thanks I tried Dryel before on a winter coat and it worked but I never buy dry clean only clothes anymore, too much trouble.
Ramses, I wish you could live the protected life of an indoor kitty. You’re such a handsome fella!
I too am headed out for a haircut. My hair is so short, it needs a new cut every 6 weeks or I feel like the Shaggy Dog. The visit before last, I dreamt that my hairdresser somehow worked magic and I walked out with *longer* hair. We’re still laughing about that one.
Was supposed to go to No Kings but I have to kick this bronchitis before my trip to Arizona, so I’ll stay in this weekend. If you’re protesting today, have fun and stay safe.
It sounds like people are feeling better and living with better weather. Good! Keep it up! Hugs to you all.
This is why I keep my hair long. I haven’t had it cut since last July…I’m too lazy to have short hair.
Ah, but morning hair prep is so easy! I don’t even blow dry mine–just run a brush through it and go.
Hello all and happy Caturday! We were all so relieved about Ramses (his sister, Isis, fell fate to that same busy street years ago). We miss Mutz, but are always happy to have Ramses visit and share some kitty love.
We miss Mutz too. I’m glad you’ve got a new friend.
Good morning, all. And especially to you, Ramses.
Things are looking up, now that the weather is better. I’m managing to get out every day for a walk, and am definitely feeling much better. The atmospheric river has finally decided to go away, and any rain we get now is gentle.
Did my taxes yesterday, and REALLY messed up. Apparently I owe almost $200 on no income! I am looking forward to seeing how they clean things up.
I’ve begun spring cleaning, and am surprised at how many little feathers I keep finding. I swear, the tiny blue menace has flown back from the Rainbow Bridge just to moult here.
Speaking of feathered creatures, I’m illegally feeding the wild birds here, and am continuously charmed by the phoebe birds chirping on my deck.
Lots happening in the next few months here, much of it potentially good.
Hope everyone has a great weekend.
I once found a bit of Pablo’s fur poking out of my office chair at work. It was months after he died and he’d never been in my office.
We carry them with us wherever we go. Duckie, I hope the feathers carry happy memories.
Yes.