Birthday Loot

I have a time-honored tradition of buying myself birthday (and Christmas) gifts.  Hey, it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

So let's see what I got myself this year, shall we?  Let's see, there's a flying cat:

A flying frog, similar to one I bought myself at the State Fair a few years back:

Here they are, patrolling the living room:

Some miscellaneous goodies:

And the cats surprised me by enlisting a personal shopper to get me an address buoy for the front porch!:

All in all, a very enjoyable birthday.  Here's hoping for many more.

It's my birthday, and I'll post a video if I want to ...

Seems appropriate, give the day ...

Nothin' good happens past two a.m., indeed.

Time for ... the 2016 Thanksgiving Tabby Tail Challenge!

I've been having a little fun with this over on Facebook today, so I thought I'd share it with you guys.

aaaaaand it's here - the 2016 Thanksgiving Tabby Tail Challenge!  Who will win?  It's anyone's guess ...

Sandy would like to make sure you take a good look at HIS gorgeous tabby tail ...

and Punkin Pie would like you to consider HER tail:

Yes, yes, Punkin, we SEE your gorgeous tail!: 

Oh no!  The contestants are rushing the judges!  Watch out, that may be an infraction:

It's going to be a tough call, folks ... at this point it looks like all five Foster Campers are in the running!:

Jughead would like to interrupt this broadcast to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!:

 

And the winner is ... Rosalita!  Without her, none of these kittens would even HAVE tabby tails!  Congratulations, Rosalita, you've won the 2016 Thanksgiving Tabby Tail Challenge!  Yaaaaaay!:

Meanwhile, on Facebook ...

Yeah, I've been pretty busy over on Facebook lately.  (And if anybody wants to friend me there, just shoot me an email (rockycat24 AT yahoo DOT com) and I'll give you my Facebook name.)  And my postings are falling into two categories:  Angry rants about the upcoming administration, and cute pics of the foster campers.

I'm pretty sure you're not interested in that FIRST category, so let's review some of the action from the second, okay?

Sleepy Punkin Pie:

"Hey, dis stuff is pretty good - keep it comin', laydee!":

 

"We're tryin' to watch TV, here.  You go 'way.":

 

"'Scuse me, I gotta go see a guy about a dog.":

 

All five in one shot!  And yes, it is just that chaotic around here:

 

"I claim dese Friskies in the name of India!":

 

and former camper Pete says "Hallelujah!":

 

Have a great Thanksgiving, everybody!  And try not to kill anybody at dinner when talk turns to politics.  That's why *I'm* staying home.  :)

The weekend

Let's see, I spent Saturday morning cleaning at the rescue because they were short-handed, and I've gotta tell you, that is a WORKOUT.  Oh man, I used muscles I haven't used in quite a while, evidently, because they are complaining today. (Some of the containments are at eye level, and some are at ground level, and they've all got to be thoroughly cleaned.  It's a lot of bending and reaching, is what I'm saying.) And I've committed to cleaning every Saturday for the next few months, because I am insane.

Saturday afternoon it was seventy degrees out!  Ponyboy helped me with some raking.  "Finally!  I've found the perfect camouflage!," he said.

Yesterday, it was THIRTY degrees out, and snowing and blowing.  I went out for lunch with a friend and got some errands run, but man, it was NOT NICE out.

And this morning I awoke to this:

*SIGH*

Recently Read

Skip it if you wanna.

1.  The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow - Novel about a backwoods Kentucky family who move to Detroit in World War II so the husband can work in a factory.  Depressing, at times heartbreaking, and one of my absolute favorite books.  You'll become so involved in the life of this family that you won't want the book to end.  Highly recommended.

2.  Max by Howard Fast - Fast-paced novel about film-making in New York at the turn of the (last) century.  Very interesting and just soap-opera-ish to keep it fun.  I enjoyed it!

3.  Claiming Ground by Laura Bell - Subtitled "A Memoir", this is more a series of vignettes of the author's life as a sheep herder in Wyoming in the late seventies.  Did not finish.

4.  Blackbird by Jennifer Lauck.  Memoir.  Young girl's mother gets sick and dies; dad's a real dick.  Dad dies; stepmother is a bigger dick.  The end.

5.  On the Edge of Nowhere by Jim Huntington - One of the best books I've read lately, this memoir by a man who grew up in Alaska in the early 1900s is absolutely mesmerizing.  Very good!

6.  The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry by Kathleen Flinn - Account of the time the author spent at the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris.  I picked this one up because I really enjoyed another book of hers, Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good, but I didn't enjoy this one nearly as much, I guess mainly because I'm not interested in cooking techniques.  Did not finish.

7.  Call the Nurse by Mary J. MacLeod - Memoir of a nurse who practiced on a remote Scottish island in the 1970s.  Interesting and entertaining.

8.  The Gin Girl by River Jordan - Murder mystery novel set in Florida. *yawn*  Well, THAT'S a few hours of my life that I won't get back again.

9.  Tending Lives: Nurses on the Medical Front by Echo Heron - True stories from nurses.  Very good.

10.  The Personal History of Rachel DuPree by Ann Weisgarber - Novel about a family of Black homesteaders in South Dakota in the early 1900s.  Good.

And that's what I've been reading.  You?

Letting the cat out of the bag: A story in pictures

First off, I am pleased to be able to say that I will be attending the Women's March on Washington in January to show my support for equal rights for everyone in this country, regardless of gender, skin color, orientation or religion.  Join us! 

Now, a story in pictures:

Kind of startling to see that the kittens are almost as big as Mama, isn't it?  :) 

Another weekend, another adoption event

Yes, it was yet another Saturday at Petco, working to find homes for the rescue's kittens and cats.

Pete:  "What's a guy gotta do to get adopted around here?": 

Just exactly that, Pete!  Within the first hour, a family came in who had been pre-approved for adoption, and they picked Pete and another rescue kitten!  Yaaaaay!

It was a very, very busy day.

Squeegee, who was already at the center, saw that Pete had had success by being very vocal, and gave it his best shot:

And it worked for Squeegee, too!  A family fell in love with Squeeg, and pending application approval, he will be going home this week.  Lady Bernadette, who was also at the center, has already had an approved application and will also be going to her new home.

Two of the kittens at the rescue, chillin' in their hammock.  There was actually a THIRD kitten in there, but he was hanging out in the back of the hammock:

 

India and Pebbles want you to know that they were boooooored: 

There was lots of interest in India, as she is such a good-natured sweetie, but no one has claimed her yet.  Pebbles is now at the center full time, and I'm sure her family will find her soon.

and the best news of all?

Bam Bam, the Foster Camper with a heart murmur, charmed the pants off of one of the rescue's volunteers who specializes in caring for special-needs kitties, and she adopted him!  Bam Bam will spend his life being loved by someone who is expert in caring for kitties who need some extra attention.

So!  A very good day for the Campers, and it felt great to send some happiness out into the world.

Hell, *I'm* not drinking it.

SO!  How about that election, eh?  *SIGH*  Just keep him away from the nukes, fellas.  Just keep him away from the nukes.



A couple of weeks ago, I did a favor for a friend.  Knowing I was a beer drinker, she brought me over a case of beer as payment.

Unfortunately, it was Genny Light.

Genesee beer, for those unfamiliar, is a regional beer with a pretty ... distinctive taste.  I could best describe it as "skunk beer", aka "beer gone bad".

But some people love it!  People do buy it!  It is stocked in every store in the area.  It is fairly popular, although probably because it is usually the lowest-price beer in the store.

I am FAR from a discriminating beer drinker.  My beer of choice is Milwaukee's Best Light, Busch Light, or hell, even Natty Light in a pinch.  But ... Genny?

NOPE.

Thinking, "well, it's been many years since I've had a Genny, maybe they don't taste as bad as I remember," I decided to give it a shot.  And on the theory that all beers taste the same anyway after the first couple, last Sunday afternoon, I drank a couple of Milwaukee's Bests, and then cracked open a Genny.

NOPE.  Nope, no how, no way, I'm sorry, but that stuff tastes like SH*T.  I got about halfway through before I had to pour the rest of the can down the sink.

I put the rest of the Gennys back in the case, taped it up, threw it in the back of the car, and started making inquiries.  I could not find one. single. person  who wanted that case of Genny, which I was willing to gift away for FREE.

Free beer!  And nobody wanted it.  THAT'S how bad Genny is.

So.  In an act of desperation, I brought the case of beer to work, and set it out off a corner of the parking lot that gets a lot of neighborhood foot traffic. 

It's been there for two days now.  I'll let you know if it ever moves on.

I regret that I have but one vote to give ...

... for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

And as for her opponent?  In the words of the great philosopher Clark Griswold,

“I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where’s the Tylenol?”

AMERICA F*CK YEAH!!1!

Ha.

And now for something completely different ...

... a post about something other than cats!  Who'd a thunk it?

After the SNAP run was done on last Saturday, I headed to Salt Springs to get some hiking in.

A lot of the leaves have fallen now, but it was still a pretty day.

Dear person who was TOO LAZY to carry out your snack trash (I somehow managed to put it in my pocket and transport it back to my car with no difficulty whatsoever, IMAGINE THAT):  Screw you.

Penny Rock:

Just married, or newly engaged?  I'm guessing just married:

Here comes Peter Cottontail:

It was kind of odd to be hiking instead of paddling, but it was still a pretty day.