I guess yesterday was the day they got the tornado sirens fixed, because in the middle of a bright sunny afternoon, the tornado siren sounded for about 30 seconds before abruptly shutting off. A couple of hours later, it happened again. You’d think there’d be a way they could make sure it was working without actually having to run the damn thing and giving everyone in the county a friggin’ heart attack.
If I never hear another tornado siren, it’ll be too soon.
I went and got a few groceries yesterday, and the store was completely out of odd items. First, no Baked Lays at all. Then the Keebler cookies that were buy one, get one free were completely gone, the shelves empty and the “buy one, get one free!” signs wafting mockingly in the breeze.When I went down the baby aisle, there was one lone jar of Gerber Chicken and Gravy baby food. I looked at the other chicken baby food on offer, Chicken Noodle Soup, or something along those lines. But that one had onion powder in it (you can’t feed onions or onion products to cats), so that was no good.
(I’ve been mixing a jar of chicken baby food with a can of kitten food to convince the McMaos that they want solid food. Some of them seem more convinced than others, but of course all babies won’t wean at the same time. I wasn’t out of baby food, but I was getting low on it, and had hoped to stock up.)
I actually guess I understand why all that stuff was out of stock – they’re all shelf stable products (unless you have a partial jar of the baby food), so people probably stocked up on it while their power was out.
And while I’m thinking of it, Huntsville Utilities announced yesterday that 100% of the power has been restored, yay!
So I got the stuff on my list that I could get, and I went to check out. I always carry at least three reusable bags into the store with me, no matter how long my list is, because I figure it’s better to have too many bags than not enough. In addition, I have three more bags in my purse at all times, and when I’m buying a lot of stuff, I say “I have more bags, let me know if you need them.”
SIMPLE ENOUGH, RIGHT?
I’ll be damned, when I got my cart to the end of the line, if I wasn’t greeted with my three reusable bags and two planet-killing plastic bags. I kind of wanted to pluck the bagger’s eyeballs out of her head and kick them down the ice cream aisle. Instead, I pulled a reusable bag out of my purse and repacked the stuff from the two plastic bags into the reusable bag.
(If I were Fred the Over-Explainer, there would have been a 10 minute dissertation on how I prefer not to have plastic bags in my house because I swear to god I CAN LITERALLY HEAR THE PLANET GASPING FOR AIR WHEN I USE THEM, but I just smiled at her.)
(I hate plastic bags. They are my own personal bugaboo AND I AM NOT JUDGING YOU FOR USING THEM SO DON’T GET ALL DEFENSIVE AND UP IN MY SHIT, Mother Earth knows I love her more. (Hee.))
She apologized for forgetting that I’d said I had more bags, and I said it was no problem, and she took the two plastic bags I handed her.
And she threw them in the trash can.
Whereupon I plucked her eyeballs out of her head and kicked them down the ice cream aisle and then I had a stroke.
Did you see the new program that is going to be on Animal Planet? Don’t know the name of it but they are going to follow 3 litters of kittens from birth to 8 weeks of age. I thought about your pictures immediately. Anyone who has followed your blog has seen birth-8 wks. several times! Love it!
I had not heard of that show, but I went looking and found that it’s called Too Cute! Kittens, and it is FOR SURE my kinda show. I’ll be setting up the DVR to catch that, believe me.
Am I alone in this or does Kara look like Wilfred Diabeetus Brimley?
You’re definitely not alone in that – someone mentioned it back in January and I agree!
Do you just get lucky with the pictures or do you take thousands daily?
I take a LOT of pictures. In fact, recently, my favorite camera setting is the one where you just hold down the button and it takes picture after picture. It means I have to spend a lot of time going through pictures, but it’s given me some good ones!
Do you build a separate building for the shelter? Or is it more like reinforcing one room in your house to make it storm proof?
The kind of storm shelter we’re talking about are the ones that look like a big bubble – they’re all one piece – and they dig a hole in the ground and sink the shelter under there. Like this.
Our front porch is concrete, and I think it would be ideal to have a storm shelter dug under there, with a doorway to it in the floor of the front room, but I think that would be prohibitively expensive. Which is too bad, ’cause it would be so much easier to run tornado drills with the cats if they didn’t have to go outside to get to the shelter. 🙂
I live in Oklahoma (tornado alley) and there are very few houses with basements here. I’ve heard it’s because the clay is so hard to dig through to build one…don’t know about that. Most people have storm shelters (fraidy holes).
I cannot wait to have our own storm shelter so I can refer to it repeatedly as a fraidy hole! (Also, “Fraidy” would be an excellent kitten name.)
I love the quilt that Elwood and Corbie are on. Is that hand made by someone? I used to make quilts like that.
No, I got it at Kohl’s. Quilting is one of the things I’d like to take up, but it’s toward the bottom of a very long list of stuff I’d like to do!
Robyn – I don’t know if you’ve seen this but I thought it did a bang-up job of explaining cat colorations and patterns.
Not only have I seen it, I liked it so much, I ordered the poster and it’s hanging on the foster wall right now!
Has anyone ever mentioned to you that “mao”, when said in a flat* tone, is the word for CAT in Mandarin Chinese?
* This is the 1st of four tones, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th being up, down/up, down
No one had mentioned it to me – but knowing that makes the McMao name that much more perfect for them, doesn’t it?
Wait — Miz Poo has issues beyond the most obvious one, her name? Sorry to hear that.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE NAME “MIZ POO,” I’ll have you know. It’s a perfectly fine family name that was passed down for generations!
(Okay, maybe not. I don’t have a clue where the name “Miz Poo” came from, but if it makes you feel any better her “legal” name is Scrappy.)
Miz Poo is our money pit cat – there’s always something going on with her, and it’s never anything cheap. She has issues with rodent ulcers in her upper lip, she’s got dandruff, she’s neurotic and licks constantly, several years ago she had a blockage in her intestines and we had to cancel a Florida vacation to pay for it (and because I didn’t want to be away from her, truth be told). About two years ago, she had a cyst by her tail that burst (we didn’t even know it was there!) and she had to be knocked out so they could clean it out and stitch her up. When she was little, she had problems with her eyes. It’s always something, she’s always needing to go to the vet, and it’s truly a miracle that she’s the sweet lovebug that she is. I’ve told her she has to live to be 30 (she’s 11 1/2) to repay us for having spent so much on her.
She’s worth every penny.
But if they stayed this little, Robyn, you’d miss them climbing your legs stage and the resulting, most attractive AAA road map look for your gams! ;-D
I tell you what, I don’t wear shorts in that room, EVER. Even if it’s a warm day out, I put on a pair of jeans before I go in there. Those little claws are SHARP!
I wish you’d relax a little, Dorothy!
What the pictures don’t show you of Dorothy is that she’s got this tiny little stubby tail. It’s not cut off or in any way shortened, it’s just not as long as you’d expect it to be. It certainly adds to her charm!
If you look closely at Rufus, you’ll see that a patch of fur on his back got wet and then dried. As if someone drooled on his back (JAKE) while they were curled up asleep on the shelf in the upper left of the picture.
Ciara on the scratcher.
“Guys! Seriously, guys! It’s amazing!” (Cillian)
Fergus Simon in my lap, peeking up to see what’s going on.
“Tell it to the paw, bro.”
Fergus Simon fell asleep while I was holding him. And then I died from the cute.
Macushla. He’s totally my favorite.
“Guys, come on over! The climbin’ is fine!”
These little monsters sure are lucky their mama is so patient. The look she gives me at about 30 seconds cracks me UP. Like she’s saying “This is all YOUR fault!”
Gorgeous Corbs, I love you so.
Previously
2010: AS MUCH AS I LOVE THESE KITTENS, I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN
2009: If you ever thought of mother chickens as being sweet and maternal, get that thought right out of your head!
2008: I choose to believe it recovered and took flight.
2007: “GodDAMN I’m good-looking. Why am I taking orders from this old hag? Am I making enough money to put up with this over-polite shit*? I think NOT. GodDAMN I’m good-looking.”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: Questions answered, and a meme.
2003: Once again, pot-kettle-black.
2002: You can imagine the temper tantrum that followed.
2001: I would have preferred a candy bar, but unfortunately, we don’t got none o’ them ’round these parts.
2000: No entry.
I picked Macushla for my wallpaper today. What a beauty!
I agree, I think he is absolutely gorgeous. 🙂
The pictures of Dorothy appear to show that she has a long, luxuriously fluffy, red tail. I don’t know what you’re talking about when you say stubby!
That’s her toupee! Tail-pee! (Okay, that doesn’t look right. Tail-pay?)
They test the tornado sirens the first Friday of every month at noon. Even though I know they are testing them, my heart still sinks and it scares me to pieces. Everyone around here has the same problem. We all know people who lost everything and/or were injured or killed last June. Thanks for reminding me! They will be going off in a couple of hours and I have time to take some ‘chill the hell out’ meds.
Oh, this is the best age of kittens! Before they are able to cause true terror, still little drunkards stumbling around. Cute is a sad sad word that doesn’t remotely capture the awesomeness of tiny kittens!
I don’t want to make your head explode, but I have a question. 🙂 If you don’t bring those plastic bags home – what do you scoop the litter boxes into? If there is a better method, I’m all for it.
I buy biodegradable “dog waste” bags off eBay. Probably I’m just being a dumbass and the store plastic bags disintegrate faster or something, but I feel like it makes a difference. 🙂 I always had a problem with the store bags having a hole poked in the bottom, and not realizing it ’til I’d spilled litter all over the house!
I have the same problem sometimes – which basically means I double them up. ::facepalm:: I will have to check out the biodegradable ones.
Here they test the sirens every Wednesday at noon. Even if there happens to be a violent thunderstorm happening at noon on a Wednesday, which happened once last summer.
Wouldn’t you think they could test them in a way that they don’t sound like the regular sirens? Like, run them for 10 seconds, stop, then another minute so that anyone listening knows for sure it’s a test?
Oh my head, we watched “Too Cute! Kittens” last night and about died of the cuteness! The oohing and awwing in our living room was hilarious. I wanted to reach through the screen and squosh all the bebbehs!
I think Dorothy needs to be a permanent resident!!! pleeeeease???
Maggie deserves a day away at the spa for Mother’s Day. Her job looks exhausting!
Maggie is a truly good mama because just look how those babies WALK on her.
I remember thinking what a pretty quilt that was, too. I MUST get back in my sewing room before I kill someone.
Plastic grocery bags are still free here in Southern California (for now) and I still get them all the time. BUT! There’s a bin at the entrance of the market where I return all of them every third visit, or so. Wal-Mart plastic bags I keep and use as trash bags because they’re sturdier than the grocery store’s.
See, Robyn, you made me feel that I needed to explain myself! 🙂
You know, I feel like I’ve seen, somewhere, reusable bags made out of plastic bags. Which is kind of neat!
But yeah, I assume that most everyone recycles their plastic bags or uses them as trash bags because all MY readers are responsible and love their Mother (Earth) 🙂
I just bought Ziploc baggies that are made of recycled materials. They had a sign up that you can recycle baggies in the same bin as the plastic grocery bags. Rinsing them out may be tedious though.
I think Pioneer Woman showed a reusable bag made of plastic grocery bags woven together. It was actually very cute and looked quite sturdy. If I forget to take my bags when I shop, I do like devil and recycle them in the bins at Publix.
And your story reminded me of the time Fred tried to refuse a bag for a purchase at Best Buy. I miss being able to look up funny stories on his archives!
Correction: it was a purse. Still cute,though, and I’m sure the concept could be used to make a grocery/shopping bag.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2011/03/name-that-material/
Not to get all recycley snotty on you, but Robert recycles even the plastic bags from foodstuffs and newspapers. Everything goes back to the bin at Publix. (I hope they want it, ’cause they *get* it.)
I’m going down to our Publix now; I’ll look for bebbeh fud. 🙂
Hey Robyn, they canceled our tornado siren tests this week – usually they go off at 10:00 AM every Wednesday (or first Weds., but I think it’s every).
Regarding all the stuff the store is out of, not only are those staples that folks stock up on, but those are items which are desperately needed in areas around you that were destroyed by them thar tornados. You can’t find that stuff within 20 miles of many of the hard-hit areas, so folks like me are going to OUR local stores, stocking up, and bringing/sending it to Cordova, Hackleburg, Tuscaloosa, etc. I’m guessing that may be what’s going on anyway.
Ooooh them are some cuuuute beh behs! And you got lots of aigs. I may call you about an egg-buying kitten-skritching visit!
By the way, Reacher is doing AWE. SOME. He has turned into a total love bug. I posted pics on my flickr of him taunting the dogs! Just haven’t gotten them posted on a blog yet, will do soon (maybe?). x0x0x0x
I’ve been looking at the last few entries and it occurred to me that Tiny Alice isn’t really so tiny any more!
Is she catching up now, do you think? (yay!) Or is it that Rufus is tiny as well?
Up here in Illinois, they test the tornado sirens the first tuesday of every month at 10 AM, but if the weather is “less than sunny”, they don’t do it. The first weekend in April, we had a ton of bad storms and it seemed the sirens were going off every ten minutes. Then, the following tuesday at 10 AM sharp, they tested the sirens. I believe I said something about how they had been tested extensively just a few days prior….
I love that look that she gives you! She really can talk to you with her eyes can’t she. I love that about animals, they may not be able to speak, but they sure can make their point be heard.
So glad to see you, Fred & the kittehs survived the tornado. I’m in Cullman, one block from my house was utterly destroyed. I’m sure you’ve probably seen the devastation. I had damage to my house, but am okay otherwise. Posting from sister’s house; still NO internet via cable that I have. Maybe by tomorrow, I hope.
Those kittens are REALLY growing!
Re: the empty shelves at the grocery store. I find it telling that some of the items missing (chips and cookies) fit into the “comfort food” category. I live in SoCal, about 30 miles from Northridge. The quake in ’94 badly rattled my area of town, but did little physical damage. However, for the next week or two, there were two categories of groceries that were thin on the shelves: emergency supplies (water, batteries, etc) and comfort food (cookies/chips/snacks.) Clearly, more than just our homes were rattled. Maybe that is what’s happening in your neck of the woods!
They’re comforting, but I’d think it’s more that they don’t need any preparation (or dishes/utensils) to be eaten and they don’t need special storage containers for leftovers, and they won’t spoil as quickly. I’m sure that they ARE comforting, but I’m thinking in the panicked rush of grabbing water, batteries, and toilet paper, shoppers are thinking more along the lines of, “What can we eat that we can keep in a paper bag, doesn’t need to be cooked, and doesn’t require a plate or fork?”
I’m trying to think of anything that would fit that definition and off the top of my head, all I’m getting is snack food and bread products – and bread won’t keep for long in the summer humidity. Fruit, but that’ll also spoil pretty quick, AND attract (more) bugs. Meat and dairy products are out, as is anything in a box or a can without a flip-top lid (and even with the fliptop lid, as much as I love Beefaroni – don’t judge me – I’d have to be falling down from starvation before I’d eat it cold). Not much left, really.
Which makes me wonder: Maybe it’s the other way around, a bit.. maybe chips and cookies ARE comfort food because we remember a time when the power was out and we got to eat junk for dinner and mom and dad tried to make out like it was a big adventure to make sure we didn’t get scared – so now, as adults, we remember those foods as comforting? I know that all MY “comfort foods” (for emotional comfort) require extensive preparation and lots of kitchenware; we never went through anything more “disastrous” than a bad thunderstorm when I was a kid, and bad weather (snowed in, heavy rains) meant mom had nothing much else to do but cook and bake.
Happy Mother’s Day! tell all your furry kids to lavish extra love on you today.