Come for the politics, stay for the snark.
TaMara has been a Balloon Juice writer since 2015.
So ICYMI, I broke the blog. Seemed the cute kitteh photos were the culprit. Watergirl said the only fix was to trash it, then dump the trash. It. Was. That. Bad. LOL
Here is Ben Afquack again. I may try the photos again later to see if I fixed the issue – in a post I can quickly trash if it does it again.
Enjoy!
BTW – it took me weeks to convince Penelope Pearl she was actually a duck.
Open thread
In every scene, you are my star, Michelle Obama! Happy birthday, baby!
Harkening back to a time when the Oval Office wasn’t occupied by a criminal cartel. Happy birthday to one of the best First Ladies ever.
Open thread
Friday Morning Open Thread: The Love Is RealPost + Comments (54)
BREAKING: The White House budget office violated the law when it froze U.S. military aid to Ukraine, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a new report https://t.co/m879aLzki2
— POLITICO (@politico) January 16, 2020
Schiff Statement on GAO Decision that Trump Broke the Law
Washington, DC – Today, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), the lead House Manager for the Senate impeachment trial of President Donald J. Trump, issued the following statement:
“Today’s decision by the Government Accountability Office that President Trump broke the law when he withheld hundreds of millions of dollars of vital military aid to Ukraine demonstrates once again that the President violated his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed as he put his personal and political interests above the interests of the nation and its security.
“President Trump illegally withheld U.S. taxpayer dollars as leverage to get the Ukrainian president to help him win reelection, another indication of the extreme lengths to which the President would go to coerce a foreign power into helping him cheat to win. The President was willing to violate the law in withholding security assistance from an ally at war with Russia, a gross abuse of the powers of his office, acts for which he was impeached.
“In its opinion, GAO states that ‘faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law.’ President Trump’s conduct is all the more egregious because he was not withholding the funds for a policy reason at all, but for the corrupt purpose of seeking foreign help in his reelection campaign.
“As it has with the House, Trump’s State Department and OMB have ‘failed, as of yet, to provide the information’ GAO needs to complete its investigation. As GAO opinion states: ‘All federal officials and employees take an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution and its core tenets, including the congressional power of the purse.’
“Now, the Senate will have the opportunity to act on its oath.”
The usual suspects are talking about how this is no big deal (!!) and the Hannity talking points that GAO contributes to Democrats and Socialists. I cannot make this stuff up, but will not link to that garbage.
It’s time for every journalist to get a microphone in front of every Senator and ask them what they think of the GAO report and get it on the record. I’m sure we’ll get more McSally moments.
Open thread
Open Thread: Have We Discussed That GAO Report Yet?Post + Comments (62)
This is just brutal. From the Lincoln Project.
But true.
It might be time to call our senators to let them know, a trial has witnesses, a coverup doesn’t.
Anyone watching the debate tonight? I have a migraine, so I’m afraid watching it might just do me in. I’ll probably find something junky to watch instead.
Open thread.
Before you say, I can’t…check out this thread.
After a 25 year career laid off! At 55 I trained to be a dog trainer. 11 years later I’m an expert in dog behavior. I’ve helped hundreds of people help their dogs, rescues especially. What’s better than puppies, I teach them every day. pic.twitter.com/XB8R19obOh
— kikimon98 (@kikimon981) January 10, 2020
First film at 48. First Emmy at 52. First Tony at 59!!!!
— Abigail Disney (@abigaildisney) January 8, 2020
all my life I want to be painter…I started to 5 years ego, I'm 65 …and I know I'm one 👇🏻self portrait and my granddaughters portrait pic.twitter.com/dtk0Ev6onS
— Marie Zee (@artsymaria101) January 8, 2020
53 year old who took the stage in 2019 for a 4-week sold-out run of “Mamma Mia,” 10 months post-heart transplant. pic.twitter.com/VnykF4tQAF
— Andrea O (@dfibkitty) January 9, 2020
I’ve been working full time as a commercial illustrator going on 30 yrs but at 49 – I’m making my stride in the world of comics, games and novels. Which has always been my dream 😊👍🏾 pic.twitter.com/hg30FJ9rqR
— Frankie B Washington (@frankiebwash) January 8, 2020
I didn’t publish anything, I’m just a regular human, but I went to Zimbabwe and volunteered at a wildlife refuge at 47, saw Victoria Falls. Life doesn’t just peter out after 30. My friend Elsa is 96 and went on an archaeological dig at 75. I want to be like her. pic.twitter.com/LAu8Pbhe7z
— Kate Grand (@KateGrand) January 8, 2020
The entire thread is full of great stories (click here) Just a little good news to start out the week.
Open thread
WereBear is back with an update on Bud and Lou and to answer your burning cat questions.
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Bud undercover
New year, new discoveries. Like them or not, we all need to keep developing by acting on our continuing realizations. This goes for cats, too.
I shook up the household by adopting pair-bonded kittens. It didn’t take them long to charm most other beings. Still, even though fall has turned into winter, we still have two Isolationist Cats who refuse to enter Kitten Country.
And that’s okay. As I shared in a recent post:
The kitten brain is like a butterfly house. Beautiful to look at, always in motion.
Lou and Bud with a puzzlebox
Kittens can be disconcerting to cats who are happiest with a sense of orderly scheduling. But there’s also another element, a psychological one. Just as intense contact with children reminds us of our own childhoods, so it is with cats.
The two Isolationist Cats had a rocky beginning, as rescues often do. Olwyn adjusted readily to baby Mithrandir, whose Gamma meekness and ability to self-play kept him unobtrusive.
Bud and Lou are the opposite. They approach other cats and invite play. They will flank with mirror moves like an Impossible Mission Force. They are Alphas, so their friendship is bold and assertive. This makes shy cats like Mithrandir feel pressured. It makes bossy cats like Olwyn feel one-upped.
Lou enjoying his kingdom
So, while Mithrandir will come to the door and ring the temple bells for entry, he has yet to come in. Olwyn is happy spending time in the bedroom with Mr WayofCats, who is still recovering from a serious setback from a year ago.
I’ve often seen how a well-adjusted cat will seem to regress when presented with a kitten. I decided it was more than uncertainty about this new little being. I think it’s also about what the little being helps them remember about their own kittenhood.
While RJ was held as evidence in an abuse case, it hasn’t affected his big muffiny heart, or his social outlook. He adores kittens, and giving him two at once has put him on a kitten-wrangling career high.
Tristan getting some adoration
On the other hand, Olwyn is a tortoiseshell cat with abundant Tortitude. She maintains she was never really a kitten, and arrived ready for World Domination. While Mithy’s feral caution and Gamma shyness keeps him unready to make a decision: and cross a threshold.
At three weeks old, Tristan had several bad hours after his abandoned mother abandoned him. (Three weeks later she abandoned his sister, who also got a home.) But since then, he’s been Prince of the City.
His main problem with the kittens was about being invited to play when he hadn’t studied them yet. We replaced an aging cat tree with a new one, just for him. He can sit on it and watch the kittens work all their toys and race up and down their own cat tree.
Once he had a strategy, he thawed. Now, they gazelle-leap over him on the regular. If he doesn’t feel like playing, he has places to go. Though when I told him I saw him playing with the kittens, I got a press release pointing out they were chasing him, and he was letting them.
Which doesn’t necessarily mean he is actually playing with them. They are, after all, clueless beanheads. My frequent reminders that “they have no sense” soothes Tristan. They are supposed to be puzzling, and after all, he likes puzzles.
As I told him, Bud and Lou will be delightful sidekicks who want to play Cat Tree Games. I got them for him.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.
Discover the Way of Cats: BLOG My book: Way of Cats: How to use their instincts to train, understand, and love them Get the latest kitten pics on Twitter.
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In my cat world, after a year and 2 months, Gabe seems to have finally decided to become his own cat. He demands his place on the bed now, which is often sprawled (how is he sooo long?) from my hip to my shoulders, with a paw touching my cheek. This has sparked a bit of jealously with Zander, who will now take that spot when available. I let that go on for a few minutes with each and then send them on their way because it’s impossible to sleep like that. They are still best friends. Emma tolerates him and Gabe has stopped trying to win her over and is satisfied to know she won’t kill him in his sleep.
The cutest thing, I believe he has a crush on Scout. I often find him lying next to her on the bed (brave, because Danes are not known for their spatial awareness) and wherever she is, he is close by.
I have a few BJ pet pix to post this week, and I’m happy to post yours. Send them my way.
How are everyone else’s critters doing?
Respite open thread
Guest Post: WereBear Updates on Bud and LouPost + Comments (74)
This is a thing of beauty.
I went ALLL the way off on #WokeAF Daily yesterday about the #IvotedforHillaryClinton. Listen and Subscribe: https://t.co/C3Nnzc6JcD pic.twitter.com/IkE5mmE9Zo
— DanielleMoodie-Mills (@DeeTwoCents) January 9, 2020
Open thread
I made a half batch, plenty for two
I just found out about a taste treat called Japanese Souffle Pancakes. I put the recipe on my list to try soon. They are a little complicated and I knew I wouldn’t have time for a while. Then my cousin chimed in and told me about Rice Cooker Pancakes, a simple pancake recipe you make in your rice cooker. They looked amazing.
One problem. I don’t have a rice cooker.
But I do have a Multi-Pot (a type of Instant Pot) and I figured there must be an equivalent recipe. There were several. So I had to give it a try. The results were yummy.
First, the pancakes:
Perfect Pancakes:
Bowl, whisk
*you can substitute milk. Or you can add 2 tsp lemon juice to milk and let sit for 3 minutes to create a buttermilk equivalent.
Whisk together dry ingredients, then add wet ingredients and mix until everything is combined. The batter should still be lumpy, you don’t want to overmix.
Breakfast for Dinner: Instant Pot Pancakes – Light, Fluffy and FunPost + Comments (65)
Hey, who is this strange woman writing a Saturday morning post? I am here, mostly lurking because it’s tax-time and I am house-hunting, so I’m a little busy. I’ll probably be scarce for a while longer.
Wow, what a year this week has been, amirite? Thought we could use a bit of a respite and people have been sending me respite items and I’m waaay behind using them.
Let’s start with an update from Sister Rail Gun with lots of photos of Loki, Maysie and family:
Maysie and Loki watching “Cat Tv”
We’ve had a bit of a problem with getting photos since the kittens were allowed the run of the house: most photos we’ve taken look a lot like this.
But we have caught a few good ones.
Maysie and Max helping with the laundry. Max decided she needed grooming.
Maysie and Miles
Loki and Miles
Maysie and Loki helping with the holiday baking
Maysie and what’s left of a toy
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Thanks for all the cute kittie pictures. It’s so nice to catch up with our Balloon-Juice rescues. This community is the best.
Speaking of the best, commenter CarolPW sent me an early Christmas present (or should I say, she sent the CATS an early gift).
She had recently lost her beloved kitties and had adopted a new puppy, so a new kitty was not in her near future and she thought my tribe could benefit from a fountain. It took them about a week, but now they drink exclusively from it and are healthier for it, I’m sure. Especially Gabe who is prone to urinary tract crystals.
Not only did she lose her kittens, Hek and Mouse, but also her beautiful pup, Puck, in a span of seven months.
But as it is with those of us who love a house full of pets, the heart wants what it wants, so here is her newest rescue, Bisket:
I’m sure in a little while, when her puppy-brain calms down, she’ll have a kitty companion. Because some of us cannot help ourselves. Who rescued whom indeed.
I’m on my way to go look at an incredible piece of Art Deco furniture that showed up on a neighborhood sale page. If I buy it, I’ll share pictures. If it’s as nice in person as it is in the photo, I’ll snap it up.
Open thread.
To continue Betty’s theme.
This article this morning by Jay Rosen was a scathing rebuke of Chuck Todd and the inside-the-beltway media crap:
‘Round midnight on Christmas eve, Rolling Stone posted a short interview with Chuck Todd, host of “the longest running show on television,” NBC’s Meet the Press.
Its contents were explosive, embarrassing, enraging, and just plain weird.
Three years after Kellyanne Conway introduced the doctrine of “alternative facts” on his own program, a light went on for Chuck Todd. Republican strategy, he now realized, was to make stuff up, spread it on social media, repeat it in your answers to journalists — even when you know it’s a lie with crumbs of truth mixed in — and then convert whatever controversy arises into go-get-em points with the base, while pocketing for the party a juicy dividend: additional mistrust of the news media to help insulate President Trump among loyalists when his increasingly brazen actions are reported as news.
I honestly didn’t even know what to highlight for you. It’s all damning. Click here to read the entire piece at PressThink.org
— Andrea Jones (@itsanicholle) December 19, 2019
I hope your day is going well. I’m off to walk the dogs on this warm, sunny Mile-high day.
Open thread
Aloha Open Thread: The Best President Ever and a BabyPost + Comments (39)
Before I get back to cleaning, I thought I’d post this. Of course, my robot vacuum decided to die today (Carson is his name and he needs new batteries). So horrors of horrors, I have to do my own vacuuming.
This is one of my favorite nights of the year. Friends come over for Christmas Eve dinner and then we watch a movie. Tonight: Strictly Ballroom, a quirky Australian treat by Baz Luhrman.
This year I had a request to make Spinach Lasagna again, I haven’t made it for a few years. I really like it because I can prep it ahead and the night of the party I’m not stuck in the kitchen.
On the board:
This recipe takes about an hour to prepare and another hour to cook. It easily serves 6 – 8. I made it on Sunday and refrigerated. It will need additional cooking time to bring the center up to temperature.
Spinach Lasagna
Sauce:
Saucepan
Recipe Exchange: Christmas Eve Dinner PartyPost + Comments (47)
I can’t think of a better way to finish up before the holiday season, than with some ducks for you. (Although, I may have a Christmas Eve Menu for you later today, depending on how the house cleaning goes).
The weather has been beautiful the last few days, so I’ve left the patio door open so the cats could spend some time in the backyard. Meanwhile, I’m trying to work. But an open patio door leads to these constant interruptions:
Ducks are not quiet…and there are always duck rumblings in my backyard.
A friend and I are going to start a dedicated Youtube channel for the ducks. She wants to do some graphic art with the ducks. so there may be merchandise, Just waiting for my GoPro to arrive. Because they HATE cameras and my only chance of catching their antics is via stealth.
Here they are, complaining, after 22 inches of snow was dumped on us Thanksgiving week.
That was after they had to spend a full day literally cooped up, until it was warm enough for them to venture out. And yes, I had to shovel a path and a roosting spot for them. Otherwise, all you’d see would be the little tops of their heads as they scooted through the duck-deep snow.
Bonus Christmas Kitteh:
It’s his favorite spot this holiday.
I have all my cooking done and have vowed not to venture out again after seeing my clients today and picking up a forgotten item at the grocery store. Had a sweet surprise this morning, one of my oldest clients, who I have worked with since long before Bixby, bought me a nice gift, BUT also went to a boutique pet store and bought beautiful leather toys, and baked goods for the pups. He laughed as he handed the bag to me and said, “I realized as I walked through the store, I had no idea what to buy dogs.” I thought, Great Danes are even tougher to buy for, but he did great and Bixby and Scout love them.
It was the sweetest thing. Buying my pets presents will always win me over.
How are you coping with the holidays? I know it can be a tough time. Last year was the worst for me, but this year, I’m feeling more hopeful. Maybe it’s that nice gift Congress got me.
Check-in in the comments, we’re all in this together.
Otherwise, open thread
Respite Open Thread: You Deserve Some DucksPost + Comments (139)
I love antiques and furniture with a story. Every piece in my living room is older than me (couch the exception, LOL) and my room divider bookcase was made by my brother when he was in high school. There are old pieces in every room. Nothing Roadshow worthy, but I enjoy them. Recently commenter StringOnAStick shared this story and I wanted to see photos. A beautiful antique, with dragons. What’s not to love? I’m happy to share and give us a respite on this Sunday morning:
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Here is the repaired table as it sits in our dining room now.
About ten years ago my late mom passed a Chinese wooden and brass smoking table to me after the wooden portion had been broken; she figured I might be able to fix it. At the time all I knew was that it had been in our family ever since I could remember it (and I needed a few stitches in my scalp as a 5 year old from falling into it, so the table has a long history with me!). I looked it over but decided the repairs needed were beyond my skill level and just let it sit in the basement until last month when I decided to have a closer look. The brass was badly stained so I polished it to see if it would return to the level of beauty I remembered, and as I did so I realized it was a lot older than I had thought it was. I asked my dad about it, and that’s when I found out his father had bought it in China in 1922, when he was a young lieutenant in the U.S. Navy assigned to patrol the Yangtze River for “pirates and Chinese communists” according to the orders my dad had seen as a teen; I thought it was from the 1950’s. Unfortunately my dad’s mom destroyed all the old orders when her husband didn’t make it to Admiral because she was angry with the Navy over his being passed by.
Once I knew how old it was, I searched for someone who specialized in repair of antiques, who did a lovely job putting it all back together. He only had to replace the two enlongated “biscuits” that are critical to the hinges that allowed the rather fragile wooden frame to be folded for transport. I took care of restoring the brass to it’s original luster, and it is now back to it’s former glory and brightening up our dining room, though we won’t be putting any cigarettes in the wooden-lined brass box since no one smokes in our family. My dad told me that there used to be brass coasters that went with it as well but those have long since been lost.
A friend told me that I really should take it to Antiques Roadshow if I ever got the chance. Just a week after that conversation an Antiques Roadshow event was announced for Estes Park, Colorado, about 50 miles from where we live so I’ve entered the drawing for tickets.
That is my elderly dad’s favorite TV show, so if I could get the table on that program while he is still around to see his father’s table being appraised, he’d be thrilled (he might be a bitter right winger but he’s still my dad and we’ve agreed to never discuss politics now). After talking to him about Antiques Roadshow coming to Colorado, he started telling me about all these other family heirlooms that I knew nothing about, such as a British Merchant Marine cutlass that was given to my great grandfather by an elderly British retired Merchant Marine around the turn of the prior century. Or his father’s 100 year old fly fishing rig, or the even older than that rifles and shotguns, or a compass carried by a great, great grandfather on the plains of the U.S. during the hunt for Chief Joseph.
That last one is fraught for me since I know full well the sad history of how Native Americans were treated and robbed of their lands here. My dad’s side of the family were military officers for at least the 4 generations prior to his father, so there are bound to be some stories there that when looked back on from this time aren’t very happy to contemplate. I do hope to take some of these items to Estes Park if I am lucky enough to win a pair of tickets, and I really want to see that cutlass since I have no memory of it at all, probably because my folks realized that young kids and cutlasses don’t mix!
The first photo is of the wooden portion before it was repaired.
The second is of the brass parts after I polished them; I should have done some “before” photos of them.
The third photo shows a bit of the etched surface detail on the brass platters. It is very hard to get a photo that shows this well since the surface is so reflective, but trust me, it is complex and beautiful.
The fourth photo is a close up of the carved dragon heads on the wooden stand; I like how the upper brass platter is supported by the lower jaws of the 4 carved dragon heads.
I have more respite material. I’ve been a bit underwater with Christmas prep, travel and work. Maybe this week I can get to the backlog of cute pets people have sent me.
Meanwhile here are Santa’s Danedeer, minus their antlers, because SOMEONE (looking at you Scout) broke theirs in their enthusiasm to remove them.
Oh, and that bookcase is the one my brother made for me in high school. It’s even more beautiful in person.
Respite open thread.
Respite Open Thread: Restoring A Family HeirloomPost + Comments (89)
Getting my parents Christmas gifts is impossible. They really don’t want more stuff and if I give them cash, they give it back. ?
This year, since I was traveling home last week, I decided the best thing I could do was cook for them. So that’s what I did. I made twelve meals for two.
This included:
Spinach Tomato Soup (recipe here)
Spinach Lasagna (recipe here)
Chicken Tortilla Soup (recipe here)
Shredded Chicken – I shredded two pounds of chicken that I cooked with garlic, sage, rosemary and basil in the Multi-Pot/Instant Pot. They can then use it for chicken salad or BBQ chicken.
Chicken Noodle Soup
