I’m going to do my best to ignore the news/internet today. Like everyone else, the last week has really taken a toll on my psyche. So here is some of what keeps me sane:
Two and a half years and I’ve yet to convince her she’s not a cat. My poor couch.
Here’s Gabe wondering when I’m going to put the clean sheets back on his bed.
Bixby, exhausted after a night of fireworks. Which never bothered him, until this year, but he’s been really out of sorts since I got sick and I am not allowed out of his sight. Ever.
I found these at the store a few weeks ago. Striped peppers. Very pretty, normal orange pepper flavor. One ended up in stir fry, the other in a salad.
And finally, here is Penelope getting her morning scritches.
That’s it – the other ducks and kittehs declined to offer you respite today. Maybe another day…
Notes: I have a Guest Post from Werebear coming up and I’m also gonna need some camera advice real soon, when I can stick around and participate in a thread. Thanks to everyone who gave me great advice on the Chromebook earlier.
That’s it! Respite open thread.
trollhattan
I admire dogs’ ability to get comfortable on whatever hooman furniture they have access to. Also, happy duck is happy. Who doesn’t love ducks?
Major Major Major Major
Ugh, tell me about it. I’m going nuts, need to get out of town for a bit. Go to Montauk or something, I don’t know.
WaterGirl
Gorgeous peppers, gorgeous pups, gorgeous Penelope.
Poor Bixby, mom’s okay, she really is.
EmbraceYourInnerCrone
I think your dog and mine are related! Mine is a 24 pound mutt/rescue Sato dog but he came to the household after the 3 cats and he learned to curl up on the back of the couch or the recliner, and sleep/bark at the deer. SO that is what he does everyday, even after 12 years. My cats like to “help” make the bed. Funny how it takes 3 times as long with all the “help”.
Eunicecycle
Thank goodness! I was getting myself in a dark place thinking about the family separations again. I can’t get it out of my mind, but at least your doggies, kitties, and ducks make me smile.
ETA: Our cat thinks she’s a dog. Runs to the door to greet us, always has to be with us, begs for food.
columbusqueen
Bixby’s muzzle is so silver!
Major Major Major Major
Here’s something cool:
mrmoshpotato
Tired dogs, a lazy cat and a thoughtful duck – oh my!
ETA – who’s ready for a mid-aftrrnoon cool salad in this heat?
Elizabelle
Penelope looks good in blue, as it were.
JEB Stuart Monument was taken down today, in Richmond. Did not head down to see — the removers are getting way speedier, since this was their third in a week — but glad to see it.
Robert E. Lee is only remaining Confederate on Monument Avenue. Master Robert has a court date on July 23.
mrmoshpotato
@Major Major Major Major: “And that’s what happened to my eyebrows.” ?
Major Major Major Major
@mrmoshpotato: Were you really using them though?
Kattails
OMG furry cat belly, are you allowed to put your face in that and make snuffle-y noises? I had one once, it was very stress-reducing. I am so glad for both of you that you took Gabe on. What a wonderful household you have.
Also, Great Danes, I mean, furniture? It doesn’t take Nostradamus… ;-)
not politics, but less than fun: Got a tick bite the other day. I drowned it in vodka, sent it off, and am awaiting test results. So far it was identified as a dog tick, not deer tick, so less prone to disease. However, the site after about 4 days turned red and itchy for about 2″ wide. Advised by medic to be sure to take off and shake out clothing when coming back inside after being out in the yard, as they don’t necessarily attach right away, but if they’re hiding in clothes they can get onto the furniture and then back at you or the pets later. I remember finding one on the turndown of my sheets one night just before bed; and the cat having one although she never, ever goes out. So those of you who live in such areas really do be careful, which I am but even so… yuck!! And also, the basic test is $50, worth it, plus doc visit after it got nasty, plus a month’s worth of doxycycline plus nystatin (will only use a week if test is negative), $40. *sigh
VOR
Our old cat Dale used to follow my late wife around the house. Big frame like a football lineman, major chonk, peaked at 22.5 lbs. He always slept at night where he could see both her and the doorway. He seemed to be convinced his job was guard duty. Sometimes I’d go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and find him sound asleep, laying on his back, all 4 paws in the air. But he would still be in position. When our first son was born, Dale decided this new human needed some guarding too so he volunteered to take naps with our son.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Always love seeing the dogs and Penelope. Poor Bixby. He’s keeping track of you.
Gin & Tonic
@Kattails: If you can get to a doctor or PA within 48 hours, you only need one dose of doxy, 200mg. If you remove the tick within about 24 or so hours after it embeds, you’re at very little risk anyway.
I know too much about ticks.
Sure Lurkalot
Petless person now thinking maybe I need a pet.
NotMax
Respite music, complete with the artist in an outfit Liberace only dreamed he could get away with.
:)
@Major Major Major Major
Really up for the three hour drive?
mrmoshpotato
@Major Major Major Major: Unbrowed eyes? You! Monster!
CaseyL
Aww, Bixby protecting his Mom :) Has he gone that gray on the muzzle, or is it a trick of the light?
@Gin & Tonic:
Yikes. A lake town in E Washington is on my list of Possible Places to Move To after I retire. It’s a lake town but also a desert town, and I never even thought to ask about ticks.
WaterGirl
@Elizabelle: I can’t remember, was Penelope’s scarf red or blue? I think maybe it was red, which also looked good.
Sab
I want a duck, but I am too old to get one ( birds have long lifespans if they dont migrate?)
Penelope and her sisters help me feel calm.
Do I remember right that ducks like kale?
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: Don’t have a car and rentals are scarce, so it’s either hours on a train or flying somewhere. Hudson Valley is less far but more crowded. idk.
NotMax
Penelope + bed making.
Duck and covers!
lurker dean
okay, this made me chuckle. outkast parody on corona. might as well laugh a little, we’re going to be stuck with this a long time :(
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvp0K_-KvqY&feature=youtu.be&t=69&fbclid=IwAR11X5L0rqSjL7fxI-x-LK28kAKfvoLd3JHY4G-Sq9sFfkY9J-0rn5O4zss
Sab
My dad has graduated out of memory unit to assisted living. He hasn’t gotten better. He has just behaved better than they expected when we broached nursing home to him.
He will get to view the pond. He wanted to be a marine biologist until WWII made him be a doctor. They won’t let him outside. I hope he will like seeing me feed ducks. (Kale not bread scraps?)
Elizabelle
@WaterGirl: Red in DuckCake. She looks fetching in anything.
WaterGirl
@Sab: I’m so glad to hear that! That must be a relief for you, yes?
NotMax
@Major Major Major Major
Plus the LIRR trains which go all the way out are few.
Dunno if it’s currently on hiatus or not but ever ridden the Circle Line around Manhattan? Shouldn’t be too difficult to maintain distancing aboard.
Kattails
@Gin & Tonic: Thanks for the note. I did that once, but was told otherwise, that one dose wasn’t enough; and that it was really best to have them tested. This was from a local very holistic-leaning care center. Wasn’t quite sure how long it had been there, again even though I’m careful. I’d showered in the morning and later spent just a few minutes outside, so hadn’t felt the need to hose off that night, I’m assuming that’s when it snuck on, and I found it during the next day’s shower. Anyway, doing it again, I’d call in for a week’s worth of meds immediately and then send the tick off, probably safest of both paths.
I do think that checking carefully and shaking out or putting the clothes straight in the washer is a good idea. The health care pro I went to when the bite-site got nasty told about women finding them in, er, upper body areas and wondering how it could have gotten there without being noticed. Again, bringing them in on clothes, having them drop off and get you later. Dr. Alexis Chesney, at my local Sojourns Community Clinic, has a free download of her book “Living Tick Free” to Kindle or $2.99 to buy. I haven’t dealt with her personally but the gang there is pretty up to date.
OK, back to our regularly scheduled duck-cat-dog respite.
Kattails
@Sab: That is good news. Take whatever you can get. “Behaved better” would suggest to me a level of mental discipline even in decline, which is a good thing.
Major Major Major Major
@NotMax: I’ve done similar before, it can be very nice.
mrmoshpotato
Whole Plum Tart (FAIL) – Food Wishes
No idea what’s going to happen. Let’s find out together.
HumboldtBlue
Oh nothing, just a puppy driving around a kid…
Kattails
results just in, negative for lyme and rocky mountain. Phew. so it’s just a rash/inflammation. Test is money well spent. Now I’ve got a lot of antibiotics but they’ll hold for a while just in case…
NotMax
TCM’s offerings have been hit and miss for a few weeks now but they’ve pulled out a passel of stops for the late Wednesday/early Thursday line-up (all times Eastern).
8:00 p.m. – Harvey
10:00 p.m. – Bringing Up Baby
Midnight – A Night at the Opera
1:45 a.m. – The Producers
3:30 a.m. – Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
5:30 a.m. – Ninotchka
.
Steeplejack
Did you get a Chromebook, and, if so, which one?
Steeplejack
@trollhattan:
“Who doesn’t love ducks?” Nice.
“Who doesn’t love duck?” Sinister.
AJ
What did you decide about the Chromebook ultimately?
opiejeanne
Dear TaMara, thank you for duck and kitty and doggie pictures.
Does Gabe help you when you put the clean sheets onto the bed?
TaMara (HFG)
@Sab: Domestic ducks only live about 8 years. And yes, like kale, lettuce of all kinds and cabbage.
zhena gogolia
@Kattails:
Good news! Lyme is no fun.
TaMara (HFG)
@Steeplejack:
@AJ:
I did get a Chromebook for them, but they didn’t like it. Returned, no problem. Now I’m going to attempt a computer fix for them. I’ll let you know how that goes.
TaMara (HFG)
@opiejeanne: No, that’s when Zander takes over, LOL
Brachiator
@Steeplejack:
Just wanted to note that there have been some spectacularly good values in recently released Chromebooks, with more models coming soon. A good resource for reviews is the site Chromebook Unboxed, or their YouTube videos.
The other great thing is that many of these Chromebooks are well constructed and good values.
It’s also insane that the very well reviewed tablet, the Lenovo Chromebook Duet, is hard to find and often sold out, because of limited supplies.
ETA. My local preferred eatery set up more tables outside. Taking a break from work, I am in heaven. Little things count these days.
AJ
@TaMara (HFG): ok, wishing you good luck and a good outcome!
TaMara (HFG)
@HumboldtBlue: That deserves an embed. And with that, I have to get back to work.
Brachiator
@TaMara (HFG):
That’s very interesting. What didn’t they like? Were they using a Windows device previously?
opiejeanne
@mrmoshpotato: I’ve been watching this guy and laughing, digging through years of his videos and shouting CAYENNE! at some point during most of his savory recipes. And then laughing.
Have you tried making any of his recipes? I made the potato roses on Saturday for our socially distanced barbecue and they were delicious, even if they didn’t look much like roses.
I’ve made a couple of other things from his recipe, including the Italian white bean and sausage soup/stew. I modified it slightly by adding 3 cans of cannellini beans and a fifth sausage because it was soupier than I wanted. I also added baby spinach to the soup bowls before pouring the soup over them, because we weren’t going to eat the whole pot at once and they cooked perfectly by the soup in the bowl.
*We have enough space that we could keep at least 6 feet apart, and everyone was masked except when eating, at more than six feet apart. Just the kids and their spouses and my niece and her spouse, so 8 of us and her husband is the only one not working from home now.
JeanneT
My pet advice for the day: when setting up to bathe a long-coated dog, check your bottle of conditioner BEFORE you get the dog in the tub and soaked down. I put my löwchen Raleigh into the tub, soaped him down, rinsed him off and poured on the conditioner. It came out in lumps. Turns out that conditioner can spoil, at which point you have this dog with a thick wet hair coat that has to be slowly detangled before being able to brush him out.
He does look fabulous now, but both of us are grumpy and exhausted.
catclub
@Sure Lurkalot:
The NPR pet story was suggesting Bumblebee Millipedes. I was not convinced.
WereBear
Good news/bad news. We had to rehome one of our cats.
Mithrandir is shy but a sweetheart and seemed to do fine until we began expanding our space, created a studio in it, starting a place to paint for Mr WereBear, then rescued two kittens. He seemed to get steadily more stressed and the more we tried to change his environment the worse it got.
So soon after the vet opened up again (we stay in the parking lot, masked, while masked staff come out to get them) the visit indicated he does have a tender spot on his back they will investigate. Even so, he was a sweetheart with the staff. Of course if he was in pain we want that taken care of, but when the vet said, “Would you be interested in rehoming him as an Only Cat,” I thought of the months we’d tried to make him happy and I said, “Yes.”
As much as we love him, he wasn’t happy. And so, we weren’t happy.
J R in WV
@Kattails:
i would take the antibiotics, regardless of the test results of the test of the tick. I took a week long course of Doxycylcine after finding several ticks on me one morning. Some were tiny “nymphs” bur most were full grown Lone Star ticks.
Better to take more antibiotics than needed than to not take enough!! Tick borne diseases are terrible!!
Mai naem mobile
When I was scrolling on this post I got the ended up in salad above Penelope’s pic and didn’t see the pepper pic.
Greenergood
More pics of Gabe pls! I haz a crush …
rikyrah
Penelope Pearl is still ADORABLE :)