Yesterday, I finally got around to taking all the recycling stuff to the recycling center, and after that I ran to Wal-Mart because I had some clothes to return.
One of these days, I’ll learn that buying clothes without trying them on first is never a good move for me.
So I returned the clothes, and went back to grab a shopping cart. As I approached the area where the greeter stands and the carts are kept, I heard her talking to a man sitting in a wheelchair. It sounded like she was talking about a lightweight wheelchair, one that was easy to fold up and put in the back of a car.
“I’m going to need one of those when I retire,” she said. “I have artificial legs.”
There are people in this world who can hear a sentence like that and NOT go all bug-eyed and whip their head around to get a gander at this woman’s legs. I call these people “not me.” I took a good long look at her legs before I could help myself.
They looked perfectly normal (ie, non-artificial to me), but that could be because she was wearing slaaaaacks, and I couldn’t see her actual legs for myself.
If I had a job where I was around the public all the time, I bet I’d play games where I’d wait ’til an unsuspecting nosy-looking person came close, and then I’d casually slip in a sentence guaranteed to make them turn around and look. I’d make it a game where I awarded myself points for every double-take I could rack up in eight hours.
“He loved his cat so much he married it. It ain’t right, if you ask me.”
(The clothes I returned almost completely paid for two bags of dog food. Yay!)
In case you were wondering how to make your cat yodel:
(Fred sent me that link yesterday, and I made the mistake of taking a drink of water while watching it. Shooting water out your nose = painful.)
I found a kitten who the vet says is about five weeks old. I’ve never had a cat that young. After I fed her, I showed her the litterbox ( I have another cat) and she sniffed around, climbed out, and immediately disappeared into one of the many hidey holes that are in my basement, which is partially finished and totally cluttered. After several hours, we found her and were able to grab her, and I brought her upstairs where she snuggled and purred and played and slept and seemed quite friendly. After she ate again, I brought her down to the litterbox again, and she pulled the disappearing kitty act again. That was last night, and she hasn’t come out since, excpet once to wail for food, but she darted behind the wall where we couldn’t get her. There is food down there, but I’m not sure if at 5 weeks old she’ll know to come out and get it. Can a kitten that age be expected to be able to negotiate a flight of stairs to get to her food and litterbox, or, when I catch her again, should I put her in some kind of cage until she’s older. I want to inculcate good litter box habits early, and all the other kittens i’ve ever had got it if you plopped them in the box right after feeding them, but they were all at least 8 weeks. Do you think I should contineu to give her the run of the house, or is she too little for that?
My recommendation would be to confine the kitten to one or two rooms if it’s possible, or if it’s not, then by all means put her in a cage when you’re not actively playing with or cuddling her. I think she’s probably still a little young to remember where everything’s located – when we get fosters that young, they stay in one room (well, a room and a walk-in closet) for the first couple of weeks, then they gradually get more room to roam. When I got Beulah & Bessie and their brothers, they were about seven weeks old and not really *quite* to the point where they were using the litter box all the time. I think you’re going to want to give your baby a few weeks of having the litter box and food right by her before you give her the run of the house.
I hope that helps, and let me know if you have any questions!
I would trade the banner for the threaded comments anyday but that is not a request just an opinion.
Well, we’re not giving up – Fred thinks there’s a way to make it so we can have this design and threaded comments, but it’ll have to wait ’til he has a change to mess around with it.
You’ve probably seen this but if not:
I had not – but now I’m thinking that next time we have a large litter of kittens, it’d be fun to give that a try! My favorite are the ones who are like “Fuck this, I’m outta here!” and they crawl out and run off. TOO CUTE.
First time commenting, long time reader. DON’T store your homemade bread in the fridge. It dries out faster and gets stale (hard) faster. You’re better off storing it at room temp and using it in 3-4 days or freezing it and taking it out as you need it. I know PITA. You can add lemon juice, bottled it fine, to the dough when you make it (you won’t taste it at all) and that will make the bread stay fresh a couple days longer. Use 2 tsp. per loaf or 1Tbs. for a double loaf batch.
We actually ended up putting the extra baked rolls in the freezer. We tend not to eat that much bread, so the bread we have sits and sits, so I think it’s better to have it in the freezer and need to thaw it out rather than have it sitting on the counter molding. I’m going to try the lemon juice trick next time, though. Thanks for the suggestion!
Do George and Gracie like to be brushed? My girl Siberian loves to be brushed but I have to brush my boy while he eats his food otherwise I can’t get him to stay still!
Oh boy, DO they like to be brushed! I need to make a movie of Fred brushing them – they LOVE it. They grin and roll around and kick their feet in the air and if they were cats, they’d be purring up a storm!
Hey is it just me or does the Crested Polish chick have a serious “the Donald” comb-over???
Ha – yeah, he kind of does. And I sense a new chicken name!
Hey! So. I just wanted to pass this on. My brother’s girlfriend, visiting from Mexico, says that back home she regularly goes to the market to buy chicken heads for her cats, and they LOVE it and eat it ALL. Can’t remember if you ever mentioned giving the chicken heads to the cats after Fred does the deed, but thought I’d mention it. It’s supposed to be good for them, and they seriously eat the entire head *shiver*
While I actually think it’s somewhat funny to see the pigs running around with chicken legs sticking out of their mouths, I can’t imagine a cat being able to eat an entire chicken head. You’d think they’d choke on the beak! The pigs usually get the leftover chicken parts – and it’s likely that that practice will continue. 🙂
Robyn, Every time I hear your voice it startles me because it sounds exactly like me. Today my son came by before work and I played the first video for him. He gave me a weird look and said, “That sounds like YOU!”. Now I know it was not just my imagination. Hee! We are voice twins!
You have my sympathy. 😉 Maybe next week I’ll make a movie of myself yelling “GO CLEAN YOUR ROOM!!!!” and you can play it for him. Heh. I always wanted a low, husky, whisky voice like Ellyn from Thirtysomething.
Have you had a chance to see the RHNY Reunions and the RHWNJ episodes yet? All I can say is WOW-differnt kind of catfights. Bethany’s blog on Bravo’s website and the comments are interesting too. Great trash/guilty pleasure reality tv. I have lived in NJ for 29 yrs. and have never heard the term buhbees used-boobs,breasts,tits,hooters,tatas even but never buhbees. What are they three years old? Oy!
Yeah, I sure have!
The RHNY reunion: I still love the hell out of Bethenny and Jill, I liked that Luann got down and dirty with Kelly (but she’s SO FULL OF IT when she claimed that the Countess title doesn’t mean that much to her. It means a LOT to her, make no mistake!), Alex really seems to come across as reasonable and thoughtful (hated her makeup at the reunion, though), and Kelly is a freakin’ whackjob. I thought before now that she had to have a serious drug problem, but now I think she lives on her own planet. She just strings words together that make NO SENSE. I can’t stand her! If she’s not back next season, I won’t miss her. Also, I think Jill (was it Jill?) was right when she said she thinks Mario’s trying to get more air time. BINGO.
The NJ Housewives, so far: Jacqueline is a sweetheart but might be a bit of a pushover (not a good thing when she’s got those sisters-in-law!). Dina’s kind of a pain in the ass when she’s in “bitch mode”, but she’s also kind of funny and she looks strikingly like a young Lorraine Bracco to me. Caroline (is that her name? The oldest one?) seems okay, maybe a little overbearing and all up in everyone else’s shit. If I have to hear her sputtering about how she and her family is “thick as thieves” one more time, I might be annoyed into an aneurysm, though. Danielle is UGH. I don’t need to hear about the phone sex she has, I don’t need to see her trying to drag some guy into the bathroom, and if you have to say the words “I’m so bad”, know what? You’re not bad, you’re just trying too hard. Annnnd last of all, Teresa? Honey? Stop carrying that cash around with you. You’re asking to be smacked over the head and mugged. Also, god bless you for thinking your husband is – how did you put it? Juicy and delicious? I will guess that you’re the only woman in the world who thinks so. And no one is fooled when you claim not to be a stage mom.
The NJ cast has to be the looniest cast so far, I swear to god.
Well, I *thought* I was a master bread baker, but I’ve never frozen bread/roll dough so I’m not sure how it works. I just bake the bread/rolls and as soon as they’re fully cooled, wrap each tightly in a little sheet of foil, place in big plastic freezer bag and freeze. We only thaw what we’re going to eat right now and they retain that just-from-the-oven flavor and texture. Surprisingly, the crispy crusted rolls are still crispy crusted, but soft inside, when I thaw them (I thaw them in the foil wrapper).
Y’know, the only reason I thought you could freeze bread dough is because I’ve seen it in the grocery store. I think this weekend I’ll have to thaw out the dough, let it rise, and bake it to see if it works that way! If it’s a dud, at least I’ll know, right? I’ll report how it goes!
OMG a kitty smaller than Miss Beulah.
Holy cow! Beulah’s already bigger than that little cat!
Now that you have had George and Gracie for awhile – do you like dogs more than you have ever thought you would?
Well, I’ll say that I like George and Gracie a lot more than I expected I would, I don’t know that that would necessarily hold true for all dogs. I still wouldn’t want a dog in the house, but I do like going out to visit with George and Gracie a few times a day. When someone’s that happy to see you coming, well, it’s awfully hard not to like them!
So my question for you and your peeps. We live in a very quiet neighborhood. Nice homes on small ponds. I have the windows open this morning and am being subjected to not one but two sets of neighbor music. It is very upsetting to me as one of the sources is our HOA president (let’s call him Bob okay?). I think the second source is doing a little passive aggressive move on the president. We have listened to Bob’s music for 3 years now and I am tired of being forced to listen to his mood music and for having this lovely quiet setting screwed up with Samfir and Marc Anthony. Not that I don’t like that music, I have the same MA album actually, it is just, as they say, the principal of the thing. Any suggestions on how to get these people to keep their music to themselves. I find this social offense particularly offensive.
I know that if it were Fred and I, we’d passive-aggressively bitch about it to each other and blog about it, but would we say anything to him? I suspect we wouldn’t. Has anyone ever said anything to Bob about the music? And who the hell are these people who feel the need to subject those around them to their music, anyway? Want me to send Mister Boogers up there to kick some ass?
Obviously, I’m no help here – Bitchypoo readers, give Elaine some advice!
When you get your next pigs butchered, you could have the butcher save the fat and make lard, and make your own “suet” cakes! Some butchers will even make the lard for you but I think they are few and far between now. You are so domestically talented, you could figure it out! As long as you don’t have to leave it in the oven to dry out : )
Actually, I will be keeping the fat when our pig is slaughtered in the next few months, and intend to render it to lard so I can make suet! I haven’t done any real research on rendering fat into lard, but I think it might be as simple as melting the fat. Which is something I’ll be doing in a pot on a hotplate OUTSIDE, thank you very much.
Robyn, what do you think about people who are scared of cats? I just don’t understand it. What’s scary about a cat? I don’t get it.
Are there truly people who are frightened of cats? Because all I can guess is that those people suffered some sort of childhood cat-related trauma and they’re still carrying it with them. I can’t imagine being honestly scared of cats.
Does anyone out there know someone who’s scared of cats? Tell me their story! I wanna hear!
I realized yesterday (though I know some of you realized it before I did) that Beulah totally looks like a real cat. A SMALL real cat, but a cat nonetheless. She doesn’t really have the tiny bug-eyed alien look going anymore. Also, she has the softest, silkiest fur on earth.
Yesterday morning at 3:30, Spanky started howling. I’m pretty sure he’s part Siamese (a conclusion I reached years ago, given his chatty ways) and sometimes he just wants to hear his own voice. She he howled and howled and howled. I finally yelled at him to put a sock in it, and I’m not sure whether it was Spanky’s howling that set them off, or hearing my voice, but Bessie and Beulah wanted out of the cat room and they wanted out RIGHT NOW. So I opened the door for them and went back to bed.
Bessie, being a heat-seeking missile, climbed up into bed with me, located my upper arm, and started kneading. She started out gently, not using her claws, but she got happier and happier, and soon enough she was like – as Fred said – the Phantom of the Opera playing the organ, and I had to tuck the comforter between her paws and my arm lest she shred me to bits. She sure is a cute little thing. Well, really – they both are!
Okay, I’m taking the girlies off to the pet store in a little while. Send some happy adopting thoughts in the direction of North Alabama, won’t you? It’s going to be awfully quiet around here without them!
“Hello, good-looking!”
Bessie in the sun.
Bessie does her daily kitten yoga.
Gigglin’ Beulah.
“Made in China, you say?”
Lookin’ smug.
Oh, how she LOVES her sleep.
“WOMAN, do NOT come over here and sniff my harbl again, I’m warning you!”
Previously
2008: This machine keeps beeping, and it’s harshing my buzz, man.
2007: I am so old.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: More proof – not that you need it – that I am the ruler of the Kingdom of Dumbassery.
2002: What’s worse, an asshole, or an asshole who won’t stand behind what he says?
2001: We dropped Jeff off at his office, and it was then that I found out – to my relief – that the long, low farting sound I’d heard was the scary door opening by itself.
2000: The moral of the story is, don’t even think about fucking with me, or I’ll give you a really mean look.
I knew a lady once who was afraid of cats* – terrified of them – and when I asked her she said they reminded her of snakes. I thought she was nuts, then I read this story/vignette by Tanith Lee: http://www.phil.unt.edu/~hargrove/tail.html and realized she’s actually kind of right.
But that’s all missing the point that a phobia, by definition, is irrational. Being reasonably scared of heights, spiders, open water – those are all perfectly logical fears based on the survival instinct. A reasonable fear of cats and dogs, no matter how small or cuddly, could also be quite logical and survival based – they can, after all, eat humans in their non-domesticated varieties. When those fears become extreme and interfere with one’s ability to function in normal life, then they’re phobias because they’re irrational and limiting. A fear of the color yellow, of sandwich meat touching one’s feet (thanks Mimi Smartypants), or wearing socks is pretty much irrational to start with, so it counts as a phobia whether or not it’s messing up a person’s life. (<–All according to two of my former shrinks.)
*I’ve known several people who were scared of cats, actually, but most of them either couldn’t put a name to it, or it was down to an early traumatic experience that had gotten inflated in their memory, or they’d picked up the terror from their family and were scared of cats (or dogs, including teeny tiny teacup size sleeping puppies) because mom was.
Personally, I was attacked by a GShep when I was 16, and spent almost a week in the hospital with several surgeries and nearly lost my right index and middle fingers, but I didn’t develop a phobia about it – still love dogs, including GSheps. There’s a certain amount of personal inclination involved, but I think it also comes down to whether a bad experience with a particular animal is among one’s earliest experiences.
Ha, in the last photo I thought Suggs was telling YOU not to sniff his HRBL and I was all like what!!! Then I realized you ment him to be talking to Kara, it is Kara on the left, right?
When I was growing up one of my best friends D and her Mother M were afraid of cats. I think there was some childhood trauma with M then passed on to D. As a newlywed D came to visit me with 2 other girlfriends. My cat Sylvester took a liking to D and followed her around, laid in the lounge chair with her etc. D tolerated it. About 10 yrs ago D’s boyfriend convinced her to take in a stray cat. D. is now one of the most ardent cat lovers I know. She and her now huband always have atleast three cats. They also had one grouchy kitty who fought with everyone else and M. took him in for the rest of his life. D. and M. were afraid of water and took swimming lessons at the local Y. D. went on to become a certified lifeguard. M. is 81 yrs old and an amazing kick ass kind of lady. She spent 10 yrs caregiving her Mom and husband. Her Mom passed about 8yrs ago at 97 and her husband just passed in March. She’s in Hawaii visiting her first great granchild and then she’s going to Gremany with a senior travel group. Amazing person.
I work with several people who claim to be afraid of cats, but their reasons are very general: cats are sneaky, you can never tell what they’re thinking, they jump up on furniture, they have their own lives (this one makes NO sense to me)….I actually dated a guy who would circle far around to the other side of the room to avoid walking near my 2 cats, he was so frightened of them. Needless to say we didn’t date long, since obviously HE was the real pussy in the house, haha. None of these people said that they’d had a traumatic experience with a cat, they just thought they were scary little animals. Freaks. I still don’t get what they’re talking about.
OMG the kitty yodeling!!!!! HILARIOUS!
My mother-in-law is afraid of cats and has a severe dislike of them. So much so that she refuses to spend the night in a house that has one. When she visits my brother-in-law and his family, who have 3 cats, she stays in a hotel. She lives close to us, and when she comes to visit she always seems to be on the lookout for our cat. Before going into our bathroom she’ll ask if the cat is in there – because of course we constantly check the bathroom. She has also declared our cat to be the ugliest cat she has ever seen – our cat is a long-haired calico that is beautiful, IMHO. I don’t think she’s got any traumatic story – she just seems to dislike most living things, including a fair number that walk on two legs. She dislikes most dogs as well, but has come to like our large dog. She has been on the verge of saying something unkind about our smaller dog when I think she realized that to do so would cause the overprotective mama in me to come out. Her dislike of cats (and most animals) has now become an inside joke among my husband’s siblings. They just lump it into the “mom is a little crazy” category.
What is a harbl?
I have a coworker who literally shivers at the thought of a cat. No trauma, just thinks they’re sneaky. Well, YAH, they’re hunters and that’s how they hunt.
There was a video of an owl getting its head scritched on cuteoverload. Sent the video to coworkers in my immediate area, and one gasped in horror when the video came up. “I hate owls!” she almost yelled.
We all have our peculiarities, I supposed. For some people it’s a type of animal. For others, it’s cheese on a burger or salad… 😉
I was never truly scared of cats but for years and years I was leery and very uncomfortable around them because as a kid we had a cat that was unpredictable and frequently mean. He attacked me as I walked by him a couple of times and left bite marks and scratches that scarred. Eventually I met enough sweet natured cats to restore my trust though.
The New Jersey version of Real Housewives is going to be a train wreck worse than Atlanta, I can just tell. I’m anxious to see the episode where the table gets flung over. That’s a classy move right there! I already miss the NYC group. They seem more authentic than the other casts. I think they would be doing most of what they do on the show whether the cameras were there or not. I love Jill and Bethenny but Alex doesn’t get enough credit for being smart, articulate and genuine. She and Simon definitely have their own drummer, but I think there’s more to them than what the show wants to portray.
Sending lots of good adopting thoughts for the cutest kitties and some comfort for you too Robyn – I know you’ll miss them. Have a happy & safe holiday weekend!
I could see being afraid of a lion or panther, you know, a BIG WILD cat. But being afraid of a domestic cat? That seems strange to me.
To Elaine re: your neighbors…you could just attend the next HOA board meeting and ask the board how you should handle the situation. It would certainly be interesting to hear what the president advises you to do. And get a copy of those meeting minutes, for sure.
One thing that probably WON’T work is asking them politely to turn down the music. If these people were reasonable, good neighbors you wouldn’t be in this situation to begin with. You’re likely gonna have to get “official” with letters to the HOA and/or police. Good luck!
I have a friend who is from India and she is frightened of cats. I don’t know that it was a trauma but rather a cultural/family thing. She told me that in India they don’t have animals in the house so a housecat (or dog I suppose) is hard for her to get used to and a little frightening. And why is it that our furbablies ALWAYS go directly to the one person in the room who is not simpatico. There can be 5 laps just waiting for a kitty and my furbots go right to the one with alergies or is nervous. Contrary little critters.
Devil: Thanks for the neighbor advice. Unfortunately we have HOA meetings once a year and we get the minutes the week before the next meeting, sigh. We just had the meeting in April and it did not even occur to me to broach the subject. I might need to do the letter to the management company although I hate to do that. I will probably just keep driving myself and husband insane bitching about it. Kind ruins the sipping wine on the deck experience if I have to listen to Zamfir one more freakin’ time.
that video scared me. that little cat had “little man syndrome” He reminded me of this tiny guy I work with.
I haven’t met anyone afraid of cats (dogs, yes but they were victims of dog bites) but what is more amazing to me is people who actually say cats are dumb and/or dumber than dogs. Excuse me? WTF??? I know there are dumb cats, I’ve met a few (a cat named Shitferbrains who jumped into a hot oven comes to mind) but in my verse they are few and far between. Most cats I’ve had the pleasure to know are smart and cunning. Just watching my two boys work together to open a door is amazing.
OK, is it just my cats who are totally offended by closed doors? That goes hand-in-hand with not being able to use the bathroom unescorted. It’s amusing to close a door just to see their lil furry paws reach under it like they’re gonna touch something (OK, that’s not too smart, but I’ll give them A for effort.) Serious trauma if we close our bedroom door. There’s something about the way they slam their bodies against the door over and over makes it a difficult to sleep. They are single-minded in their intensity. That whole lack of attention span goes out the door when they encounter a closed door, at least for a good long while. Smart little critters. I can’t imagine not being owned by a cat or ten.
My future mother-in-law is afraid of cats. She believes that “cat sucks baby’s soul out” old wives tale. This from a registered nurse, a woman of facts and science. Bah.
My grandmother was afraid of cats. Reminded her of snakes.
First, The name of the phobia of cats is Ailurophobia. When I was little, the older lady across the street had it bad. She could spot a cat half a block away and would cross the street to avoid one. I remember one time that the cat was playing with her and, while keeping his distance, would keep crossing the street to stay on her side. It was real funny to watch.
Second, I agree with Devil: take the noise issue up at the next HOA meeting. It’s important, with summer coming on and all, to get a ruling on the subject of annoyances like this.
Third, advanced cat yodeling: too, too funny. Sorry about the water spew, though.
And, Last, It really is okay to remove those tags from items once you decide to keep them. None of that “Do not remove under penalty of law crap.” Besides, who would turn you in? Nance? Just sayin’.
Oh, one more thing – It didn’t take Beulah long to grow into herself, did it?
The cat yodeling guys have numerous videos on youtube including “The Engineers Guide to Cats.” They are hilarious.
Good luck to the babies getting adopted!
for elaine: we had neighbors who played rap so loud it rattled the dishes in the cabinets! when my husband asked him to turn it down, he accused my husband of being racist and not appreciating his culture. so my husband, who is of american indian/italian mixed heritage, put that ’70s song “indian reservation” (you know, the horrible “cherokee people, cherokee tribe” song)on the cd player and pointed the speakers out the window toward the rappers house. it played 37 times before the rapper came over and asked him to please,for the love of god, turn it off. afterwards, no more dish-rattling rap! goof thing, the next song on deck for repeated play was “that’s amore” (the “moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie” song)by dean martin.
Actually I think the Polish crested looks like a TV evangelist. White suit and all.
Actually I think the Polish crested looks like a TV evangelist. White suit and all.
My hairdresser is afraid of cats. She said it stems from seeing some horror movie when she was a kid. There was a scene in which an old woman in a wheel chair was parked in her yard at the top of a long, steep hill, just enjoying the view. Then her cat came up behind her and released the wheel lock and the old woman rolled to her death.
My sister’s ex was afraid of her cat, but at least in that case, I can’t really blame him. Pushie was pure evil. He hated everyone except my sister (who loved him) and my father (who hated him). He would attack with no provocation, he’d growl if you simply looked at him, and he was the only cat I know who would hiss while just casually walking around. It was like his default: trot while hissing. He was very very entertaining, but my sister was the only one who could ever even think of touching him, and even she had daily scratches and bite marks. Evil, man.
Neighbor music: say something to the guy. Believe me, I hate doing things like that but if you don’t, the annoyance will just take over your life. I speak from experience. My suggestion is to do it when the music is NOT playing, because then you are more likely to go over there in a better, more reasonable mood. When I have had to have this kind of talk with someone while the music was actually playing, I would try my hardest to be calm and “normal” but a little tiny bit of shrill always leaked out, and shrill never helps your case. You could even bring cookies! Everyone likes cookies. Cookies smooth everything over 😉 But seriously, just walk over when you’re in a pleasant enough mood, talk to the guy in a very reasonable, apologetic-yet-firm sort of manner and explain how you feel about his music. Even if you can manage to get him to limit it to certain times or days would be good.
Cat yodeling. Oh lord, that was my ab workout for the day. So.Funny.
Robyn, the next time you have nothing to do (ha!), may I suggest cat yodeling with your crew?
My best friend was afraid of cats. She was scratched by one when she was a child.
Oh, and may I add that Lisa’s husband is my new hero? 😀
Ha! Good for Lisa’s husband! I was trying to think what *I* would have to play in response to the racist comment, and all I can come up with is “Danny Boy.” I bet it wouldn’t get to 37 repetitions… 😀
My friend Tonya is terrified of cats. But then she’s terrified of all animals. She can barely get herself to walk past our cat when he’s lying on the porch. She has this irrational fear that he’s going to jump and attack her. She has absolutely no recollection of any bad experiences with animals, she just doesn’t trust them or like them. I think it’s pretty sad.
I wasn’t “Afraid” of cats, but I didn’t trust them until I adopted one that “Came with our house” in England. Marmalade wasn’t a particularly friendly cat, but she liked me just fine.
When I was in high school I would spend the night with my bff, and they had a psycho cat. He’d do the whole “Oh! Hey! It’s three in the morning I’m going to race around and knock things over like my ass in on fire” and he’d actually race around the room using MY FACE as a launching pad. Argh.
Later I cat sat for a couple and their cat attacked me three times – actually ripping through my jeans on one occasion – and I have three sets of scars on my legs from “Shady.” Perfect name for that damn cat.
I have the best, most perfect cat now, who adopted us last year. She followed my son home from the mailbox, and she’s been here ever since. I got her spayed and vaccinated and she’s been great with us. She wakes me if my sugars fall too low during the night, even!
I still say I’m “Not a cat person” but there’s no denying that our Morgan is “My cat.”
When I was 4 I got bit by a german shepard, bad enough that I needed stitches. To this day I’m not fond of german sheps, but I’m not scared of them or dogs in general.
About freezing bread dough. Next time shape it before you freeze it, then all you have to do is remove it and put in your sprayed pan, cover w/plastic, thaw and rise, bake. If you shape into rolls, put them on a sprayed cookie sheet and put that into freezer. Bag when frozen.
Wow, your kitty pics are really popping up this week. First CO then a really cute pic of Beulah made the upcoming pages of ICHC!
My cultural heritage would be bagpipes. That would have solved the problem pretty quick but I don’t know how many repetitions I’d be able to take.
Lisa is so right about speaking up but doing it in a diplomatic way. Her husband’s answer to the cultural comment was brilliant. I like Dean Martin and could’ve listened to THAT a lot easier than “Cherokee People”. Our neighborhood has changed-older people died off, younger families moving in. It is a lot noiser this time of year. I don’t bitch though-I live in a glass house. My dogs bark at times and ask to go out late sometimes-neigbors have been cool about it. I don’t let them stay out and bark incessantly and I check from time to time w/neighbors to make sure it’s okay. I also love wind chimes and have 3 sets. Neighbors don’t seem to mind. Shrill screaming kids annoy me but I think if they can tolerate my dogs and windchimes….Musically there is no rap THANK YOU GOD-just some rock and a little country. I LOVE Barry Mannilow but know a lot of people don’t-my very funny younger brother told me it should be used in prison as torture for unruly inmates. I only occasionaly blast Barry in my car or house- at reasonable times of the day.
Hi!! As always, I love your posts!
Just thought I would send you this link: http://razorfamilyfarms.com/crafts/finally-a-good-use-for-fat/ to my tutorial on rendering fat into tallow/lard.
I sure hope it helps. Bookmark it and let me know if you have any questions.
Blessings,
Lacy
Oh my god, how in the HELL did that guy keep a straight face in that video??? I just laughed until I wheezed!!!
Hey Robyn, I have to comment since I have been baking professionally for so many years and I have experimented with so many different ways to bake, yes you can freeze dough. You can also refrigerate it to slow down the fermentation until you have the time to pull it out, bring it back up to temp and proceed. With frozen dough just pull it, thaw it, shape it if you didn’t prior to freezing, and let it rise before baking.
King Arthur Flour has some great recipes for different types of dough on their site. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes2008/
I actually think that “Whack a Kitty” is mean! 🙁