We’ve opted out of our usual St. Paddy’s day fest with the pipers and all—regretfully. But while the virus isn’t out in town,it is in town, and we’ve just decided the tightly packed pub crowd in that evening is not wise for people of _ahem) – our age.
Hope you all are staying smart and safe. I love my readers and want them healthy.
It seems every time I think i’m getting ahead on the writing, some new emergency pops up, but we are now making progress. It’s tax time in the US and we’ve decided to change accountants, being absolutely out of our minds with the delays, procrastinations and problems of dealing with the ones we’ve used the last several years. We paid a bill, the papers didn’t get filed, the IRS returned what we paid over our objection to our accountants, who said, no, it’s ok, and now the IRS wants it back with interest…arrgh!
So…that’s part of the hassle. Finity—is a handful. Found her atop the range lapping chicken soup (our lunch) out of a pan that had a burner going under it. There is nothing this kitten will not dare in pursuit of food.
It’s supposed to snow Saturday, after a month of 50 degree days. Naturally things are budding out and ready to bloom.
And we’re doing ok in most regards, except the house is a mess, the basement is a mess and we are behind.
Deesha, if you keep having trouble getting necessary supplies, consider ordering online and getting them delivered, Amazon or your other usual local stores. Be sure you can get your mum’s and your prescription medicines, so you have enough through the end of the month, and if needed, again past that, delivery or pickup. Ditto for elder care supplies, cleaning supplies included. — It sounds like you’re going through a version of what I did with my grandmother. Bless you and your mum, it is not easy for you both. Likewise for the meds and supplies for transitioning and maintenance. Take care. It is difficult as it is for someone taking care of an elderly loved one. Doing so under emergency conditions can be extra rough on both of you. So please take care. If neighbors or hired caregivers help you out, you’ve likely thought of how to war that out with them.
This is like hurricane preparedness before and after a hurricane. People will rush the stores, stock up (or hoard), and then repeat after the storm, if their power stays out some time. People tend to overdo it and make mistakes, get too much of one thing, not enough of another, totally miss something essential, whatever it may be.
You may want to check what they recommend for hurricane preparedness kits and supplies, which you can find from local TV stations along the Gulf Coast, and so on.
However, unless there’s an extended outage or heavy storm damage, people tend to stock up, then the panic fizzles out. They have as much as they need, and only need to come back for what they’ve run out of, or for perishables.
Deesha is right in prepping with all the things they use in a week or a month, prescription meds, first aid supplies, elder care and baby supplies, canned foods and dry goods, bottled water, other non-perishables. — For perishables such as refrigerated / frozen foods, breads, all that, you’ll still need to go out or get it delivered in.
Once most people stock up, the supplies should catch up, though. Also, people will ease off on the panicking and begin to think more clearly and plan ahead. For one thing, since people are likely to get exposed, get sick or not, and then be done with it, presumably not getting sick again aside from relapses where they weren’t quite well from the first time, it’s likely this will spread through the population but then pass, like any outbreak, only magnified. Yes, pandemic or epidemic — But even in major plagues in the past, whether the influenza epidemic in the early 1900’s at the start of better health care, or back in medieval times with bubonic plague / the Black Death and so on — Even then, there were people who were exposed but didn’t get sick. Somehow they developed immunity. Or others got sick but survived. — So this could be really bad, but it isn’t likely to wipe out everyone, only some percentage. We’ve got modern medicine, better hygiene, heating and refrigeration, a more educated populace generally. — However, yes, people are still people. We do things instinctively, we get careless or make mistakes, nearly all humans live and work in groups with frequent social contact. It’s how we are as a social species. (As isolated as I am, I still live in an apt. complex where people are still just as socially active as before. Yesterday and today, just as much activity from neighbor kids and adults, including adults out drinking and partying last night.) (Plus, I’ve been out and about way more than usual lately, though still less than most people would be. But I’ve taken cabs several times, different drivers both ways, and that and a couple of restaurant meals are probably my highest likelihoods of exposure. Also, I live in a port city, our ship channel and airports bring in people and cargo every minute.)
I went through Hurricane Ike, without power and most utilities for over a month. So I saw what people do. — Most people got along with each other, put up with lines (queues) and shortages. But yes, there were local police or a county constable, empowered to shoot if necessary, and receipts were checked at large stores, such as for groceries.
So far, I don’t see people going nuts over this, and if they keep from panicking, that’s good. But we’re going to be affected by it, and so far, adequate screening and voluntary or other quarantining hasn’t happened much. But it’s starting to happen as people get more concerned and cases get more frequent.
And here I am, expecting to move in the middle of all this. Oh, wow, is this going to be something! — But well, I made it through Ike, and for me, Harvey wasn’t such a problem, except for food and supplies. (I didn’t get flooded and we didn’t lose power here.) So I figure I can get through this. I can ask those friends, and I expect to have a little better mobility through cabs and mail delivery, once I get moved and things are back in order, such as package and mail.
Please stay well and be safe and happy. All of you here are well regarded, no matter that we don’t agree 100% of the time. That’s quite immaterial; one wishes you all healthy and happy and prosperous. And several of you, though we’ve never met in person, mean a lot to me. You’ve been friends, going out of your way to help in a few cases, including care packages, email, and so on. I haven’t seen a few of our regulars here in a while and hope (and presume) they are doing OK, just busy.
CJ and Jane and Lynn Abbey, Patty Briggs and others who may pop in from time to time, please stay healthy and safe too. Your writing is wonderful. We hope you will be well.
Cats and Kittens Update, Moving Update —
Oh my! Well, no news on closing, which I hope can happen Monday or Tuesday. We’re out of whack on scheduling now. — Since I had called to schedule utilities, expecting everything was ready and closing was only a formality, and since the friend had urged me to start scheduling utilities ASAP after closing, that day even — I had begun scheduling Friday morning. — So now we’re not closed, but electric was going to start up prematurely, that afternoon; water is to start tomorrow, Monday; gas hookup is for Tuesday and I am supposed to be on premises for that, and cable/internet/security is set for Friday, in which I also must be on site. I am way behind on packing, so I won’t have a lot to do but sit and twiddle my thumbs, either day, for an unknown number of hours,. Sigh. But that’s typical, of course. Also, the cats’ vet trip follow-up is due tomorrow afternoon, and I won’t put that off. A delivery of cat food and cat litter is supposed to arrive tomorrow, just to mess with things, and we still have to get packages from the leasing office delivered there by mistake.
Today, I still need to cook some ahead for the week. I know I’ll be here at least through all this week, and now likely into next month, unless I am very lucky, or rather, prepared and moving faster. I still need to get another overnight bag and some basics ready for the new house, bathroom and kitchen and cleanup, and if possible, a set of bedding and some clothes, and some food. After some more thinking, if I move things as I get to them, but divide up kitchen, bath, and bedroom and clothing needs, then I should have things for both places, until the move out of the apartment, then the storage space.
Plus the cats need to be boarded at the vet’s, but that may require paying for vaccinations for all five kittens, including testing beforehand. Yikes. I had hoped to avoid that cost and have future owners pay it. I have never charged before for people to take a kitten, and in fact, I haven’t done that since my teens. But now I’m considering it, to defray the costs a little. — Anyway, I expect I will have to get their shots and tests, so they can be boarded. But I’ll have to be sure of the cost before I do that. Otherwise, they and their mama and therefore Goober too, may have to ride out the move and stay in a bedroom or the bathroom during a major move out and in. Oh, I don’t want to do that. I had to with Goober and Smokey when I moved in here, pressed for time due to a scheduling problem. They did fine, but they were both full-grown.
I lost much of last week in packing, so will have to make up for it, and obviously , large parts of this week are out too, while I’m away to take care of things at the new house. So I will be putting in extra time to get it done. I still want to be out before the end of the month.
Mama Peppercorn was meowing a lot earlier. I don’t know why, whether she was complaining about the letterboxes, or just wanted some me time, love, or if she was wondering where all her kittens were, or why I’m doing odd things, moving things, washing, and so on, prepping to move. Or she’s just bored. Or she could be coming into heat? Yeah, that occurred to me. Wheee…. She has not fully weaned the kittens yet, but has started, I think. I am trying to get them to eat dry, not just the moist food.
“Beige Boy,” who needs a permanent name, was on the bed with me and with Goober again last night, and was back on the bed earlier today. I think I have been adopted without even trying, there.
While Goober was at his bowl for a snack / seconds this morning, I discovered one of the kittens was lying couchant behind him, amiably enough, and he was not bothered. This might be a breakthrough. He may be starting to accept them as part of the household. If Peppercorn would just cool it and she and he could make friends, at least get along without hissing or growling, we’d be good. I still have not tried feeding him around them, for fear of a fight or else Goober getting muscled out of his rightful bowl. But if I see better signs, I may try feeding him at a distance, and then nearing that. I’m going to ask the vet’s advice on it Monday.
So, good there. Once I can get in cat litter so I can refill the other box and get rid of the entirely rejected “Yesterday’s News” brand, that should be back to normal. (I’ve kept it in there for about a week now, and I don’t think any of them have used it even once.)
Also, I need to divide up cat supplies so I can bring half to the new house and have half here, during the changeover.
Hmm, I need to check all the kittens, to see if I at least have their genders right and may have it straight who’s who, after they got out of their collars the week after their first vet appt. — I think I kept track of who’s who, but we’ll see at the vet’s, or just redo it then. It’s two boys, two girls, and one boy who was delayed, who I hope has caught up by now. I’m fairly sure I have two of the kittens right, and the other three are In question, but possibly, I kept them identified right after all. Hope so.
From their collars, we have Beige Boy, Wizard (stars and moons collar) who may be the delayed boy, Ducky (boy), and Pinky (Digger) (girl), and Unicorn (girl). Digger Pinky and Unicorn are often together, and Beige Boy and Wizard and Ducky divvy up one, two, or three at a time. The kittens alsoo pair up or triple up regardless of gender. Ducky has been by himself at times, and Beige Boy likes to be on the bed with Goober and with me. Unicorn has a loud, frequent purr. One of the kittens keeps wanting to grab my ankle or climb at feeding time, hurry up, human, we’re hungry! I am trying to get acrosss the idea of No, don’t do that, I still love you, but ow, No, don’t do that. Not sure which one, but it’s habitual. Pinky has gotten the name Digger, because she likes digging in the clean litter, though she may be outgrowing that.
Mama Peppercorn has been wanting (and getting) extra attention lately. She’s still spicy, but she has a very affectionate, friendly, motherly side to her.
Goober is still having some trouble feeling overwhelmed, outnumbered, but he may be starting to get used to the kittens, as well as to remind them of their manners, to respect him as the elder male kitty. Mama has, a few times lately, begun objecting to her kittens getting too rough, and has also started weaning them. So possibly she and Goober may find some common ground. Her good side is bound to realize Goober has many fine qualities, a gentlemanly cat, a good ally or friend, or who knows, a good love. One can hope they will reach something, so she no longer fusses at him.
Today, no repeats of the tangle from Friday. I suspect, though, that since I didn’t lose my temper at them all, Peppercorn may have seen I am more trustworthy than she thought, and maybe she saw Goober doesn[t want to make trouble. She has been good with me anyway, aside from wirings or not wanting to be picked up or held much.
All in all, I’d say fostering mama and kittens has gone really well, smoother and easier than I would’ve expected.
I have gotten a huge amount of enjoyment out of them, which has made the work and expense more than worth it.
I couldn’t help but this of Curry yesterday, missing him. How I wish he could’ve had a better life. But I’m more at peace with that now. I just needed to take the time to think of him yesterday.
Yesterday also marked a year since I gave up Smokey. I still regret that; I think I was wrong, but I don’t know how else we could have managed it. I miss him.Experiences with Curry and now with Peppercorn and her kittens have helped put that into perspective and make up for it. With Curry’s outcome, it made me see that even when I want the best, it can’t always happen, and that other life is going to do what it wants anyway. With the kittens and mama, I’ve had a chance to get something better for them and me out of the situation. The trick is going to be to find homes for the kittens.
But it’s looking like Beige Boy may stay, that he’s adopted Goober and me. He was sure giving Goober that hero worship look yesterday. “Oh, you’re a big grownup male kitty, an elder gentleman. I like you. I think I want to learn how to be a big boy kitty from you!” Or something like that, haha.
BTW, I don’t know if Goober likes girls or boys or has any strong interest in that. He was neutered between 6 and 9 months, into adolescence but not yet showing the male cat signs. He’s had a few reactions that show some sort of interest, unclear. More than that, though, he’d shown lively curiosity about Peppercorn and the kittens before they came in. I don’t take that as sexual, though, just, oh, there[s a bunch of cats, I sure want to be with other cats, and they sure look friendly! (His default is to want to make friends. He gets dismayed if any cat doesn’t want to be friends. So his experiences with Curry and Mystic and Peppercorn have been kinda rough on the little guy.) But he and Mystic were getting along well. Now if he and Little Mama will make friends. He seems to be getting past is exasperation with the kittens, a little.
So, all I all, doing well. I’m happy with how the kittens are doing. They are getting older, into more, and I see they will need more about, No, yo u can’t do that or that, but you’re still loved and wanted, and you can do this and this. Learning the rules and boundaries.
Oh, and yes, their eyes are changing color. So far, it looks like they’ll all have yellow or green or olive / hazel eyes, no orange showing up yet. Going to see if I can tell who’s a boy and who’s a girl again, later today.
Gotta cook some and do a bit of packing.
I’m somewhere in Chanur’s Venture now, with Tully back aboard and na Khym starting to work as crew, and they are leaving Meetpoint for elsewhere. 🙂
Wow. even online sources are reporting delays or out of stock on some items. I was getting a couple of boxes ready for the new house, dividing my supplies between the house and apartment, since I expect I’ll be here until just before the end of the month, and maybe into next month if things get delayed too much, me or others.
Both Kroger’s and Amazon say they are out of stock on toilet paper, at least in any number of rolls any sane human might get for one person. I’ve put one roll in to take to the new house and will have two rolls plus what’s on the dispenser here at the apartment. I will keep checking and order a delivery or have my friend pick some up if he can from the dollar store or wherever.
I’m dividing up necessities to move some to the new house. I’ve therefore sen I’m low on a few items and will need to order before the end of the month. But right now, it’s not more than a handful of items, so I may ask my friend to pick these up and pay him, rather than get a delivery, unless I see I need more items.
I hadn’t expected to need some of these because I’d thought I’d be moved sooner. Now I’m trying to plan for contingencies, since it looks like closing may be tomorrow or Tuesday, working around my existing appointments, and utilities won’t all be hooked up until Tuesday and Friday. I don’t have any appliances or furniture ordered yet. I don’t know yet how the first few Amazon, Kroger’s or other groceries, or mail deliveries will go. I don’t yet have the change of address in, so life is going to be interesting for a while. Still hoping that things will go OK, and setting up utilities won’t create problems for me or the other party or otherwise.
So far, so good, except wow, I’m nearly out of toilet paper and may be too low on kitchen trash bags after dividing up.
Packing so far has been dividing up basics for kitchen and bathroom, nothing much yet, more time-consuming than I expected, but I think I will be gaining on it.
…And I swear, I don’t know what Peppercorn is on about. Se’s calling and calling. In heat? Or bored? Or something….
Really hoping things don’t get further messed up, supplies or moving prep or the cats. Or me.
You mean you’re not going to leave a roll for the new tenants?! :O
Just kidding. I’m amused by the Great Toilet Paper War of 2020.
(To be fair, I buy TP every few years, 3 or 4 ×30 from Costco. Love their TP, hate their lines. I have about 40 rolls from normal purchasing. Maybe more, maybe a little less. Plus paper towels, hand towels, shop rags, unwashed T-shirts,….)
Somehow, despite the lack of TP, Civilization was founded five or ten or fifty thousand years ago. Maybe you need cloth. Maybe not: considering apes and every other mammal.
Maybe you just need to wander down by the bayou and have a dirty swim—an organic bidet, that is.
ALL: Many games are on sale on Steam (which is good about moving your games, but not so good on price). One might look at Civ III: $1.[change], a good introduction to Civ games; Civ V is a bit expensive, but you might want to look at the base game before the summer sale discounts expansions. I like Endless Sky, free, though not everyone’s cuppa, and it’s a little squirrelly about having a GPU—OpenGL 3.0. Dota Underlords for a free (whale paid) RPG-ish I-don’t-know-what— watch the videos.
It’s always worth looking for Free To Play, if you’re into video games.
One site I user automagically converts Amazon links to the blogger, or whomever.
___
I find this particular apocalypse an interesting mix of predictable and unexpected. Stories will be written about the Great Plague of 2020. Ready. Set. Start!
I hope for an entry by Jane! Seriously. I think Jane is severely underappreciated by Fandom. Maybe the primary piece in The Great Plague of 2020™, edited by CJ Cherryh (of course), would help?
Yiou forgot to mention the Sears and Roebucks catalog. (Very old-times reference.) 😉
Hah, every once in a while, there are (genuine) reports of gators in the bayou or sewers under the city. Imagine that, wildlife living in the bayous in the middle of a big city! Said bayous being connected to other waterways; said bayous predating the city, pre-1830’s. But one probably does not expect to find that in a modern city.
Heh. I imagine people are going to have mountains of rolls of the stuff, other supplies. (No one’s mentioned Kleenex. I haven’t checked on it because I won’t need it for a while. But for a respiratory infection, which the thing is….) Shhh, I don’t want to set off another panic buying spree. They’re probably already doing that.
—–
Just when you thought the world was going / had gone completely crazy — Yesterday, on my way back from the dumpster, completely out of the blue, a lady calls out me; would I like a bag of Cheerios? — Huh? Oh, er, you’re sure you have extra, you don’t need them? — Did I mention this is a big city? One does not expect anything free, even from one’s approximate neighbors. — She was getting supplies for her family. Did I want the bag? Oh. Um, well, thank you, yes, if you have extra you don’t need. Thank you very much. — Honestly, I was flabbergasted and had no idea how to thank her enough, giving something for free, when I thought if she was feeding her family / extended family, they’d need them. Instead, she was giving the bag away to a random stranger. Maybe we’ve seen each other before and I just didn’t know it? Well, I was still amazed, thanked her sincerely, and went on my way. I am no longer used to that kind of friendly courtesy. She was probably a grandma to a good-sized extended family here in town, a tenant like me, being neighborly to a random white guy. Heh. — I sure hope she and her family do fine and stay well. — That bag will make it to my new house, if and when that happens. Or it’ll be used here.
—–
I’m still not closed on the new house. The owner/seller is doing some checking, and so…my friend assures me this will go forward, but I’m concerned. Yet I have to get the cats in the carrier for their vet appointment.
I hope I find out something later today. — Meanwhile, I may have to reschedule at least the natural gas hookup if we don’t reach closing tomorrow morning. Or risk going through with the hookup, on faith. Dang it. Not how I wanted this to happen. I’ve asked him to relay my apologies and explanation, and remind him it was he who wanted me to get things hooked up the day of closing. :-/ Otherwise, I would not have scheduled ahead. And electric got turned on despite asking it to be done later. So….
So I hope I get to close in the next few days and move in by the end of the month. But now it’s looking like it’ll be after month-end. If this doesn’t go through, I am going to be very disappointed. It still doesn’t seem real, though.
Loading cats and kittens for the vet trip. Oh, herding cats….
Cats and Kittens Update —
Whew! What might have been an ordinary follow-up became…most of the afternoon. — But yay! Very good outcome! — Everyone got their follow-up last dose of deworming meds. (Mystic was AWOL.)
(WOL versus AWOL. OK, sidetracked.)
Everyone tasted negative for current parasites, so the follow-up dosage should cinch that. Oh, most welcome if they don’t hav more problems. Peppercorn was FIV-negative in her last test, so we think we’ve got this. Unlikely the kittens have it, since mama does not have it. Whew, good so far.
Sp, if the kittens don’t really need to pricey FIV/FeLV test, per kitten — How much to get the kittens their shots, so they can be boarded when I move? — Well, it adds up, but that’s still better than having all of them cooped up in carriers in one bathroom and then the other, amid all the commotion of a move, and it avoids the danger of getting hurt or lost. Especially for the kittens. So — The kittens got their first shots. They’re due for their booster shots in four weeks. Ideally, we’ll be all moved by then.
They are ready to give away. They are at the “into everything!” stage and their eyes are changing color, showing toward yellow or green or olive/hazel. So far, no one has orange eyes, which I think would look very fine.
I asked to check if Beige Boy might be hearing-impaired or deaf. The vet says the external anatomy looks good. A test with various sounds was inconclusive, so she asked me to keep watch and try various things and see if he reacts well. I said since he’s been sleeping with us for five days, I think I’ve been adopted (and Goober has) and so I’m intending to keep him. But if someone really wanted him and he obviously wanted them, , he’d get to choose.
I said I intend to get Mystic in for treatment and intend to keep him, even though he’s avoiding being in with Peppercorn and kittens. If I have to come back for him and search, that would be worth it. I am still convinced he must have been someone’s cat before. He has manners, like knowing how to as to be let out, or ask for attention.
Tonight, when we got back, Peppercorn waited a few minutes, then popped up beside me to say she was glad to be home, no hard feelings. This clinches it with the vet’s opinion that Peppercorn is not feral. I don’t think she would act that friendly, that soon after a vet trip, if she were feral. This was, no hard feelings, glad to be back home, so glad you still love me, I still love you. Or feline sentiments about like that.
One of the kittens hid after eating, however, and I was glad I knew she was still in, but worried where she was and if se was OK. Finally found her asleep under the chest of drawers. I’d have to poke her to fish her out, r move some things to get her out. But I may need to, to be sure she’s OK.
Peppercorn got up on the bed with Goober for the second time with no fireworks. Er, I’m not sure if she’s trying to make friends or get a date/mate. I forgot to ask if she’s in heat. Goober was nonplussed. She’s been so hostile, she’s got to have to prove she wants to be friends. Or, ah, whatever that might be. But it’s a good start. — She has also been calling a lot for no apparent reason.
All in all, doing fine, very happy about things.
Oh — I got the kittens identified despite them losing their collars before. And the one boy who is delayed, balls not descended — One of them seems to have dropped, but not the other yet; the vet wasn’t sure of it. She said this is not unheard of but is getting behind schedule now. So he may have an issuee there. When it comes time to be neutered, they’d have to search inside for the other one, to avoid risk of problems for him later. Otherwise, everyone’s fine.
Huge sigh of relief. Very glad for them. And I can relax a little. I’ve been so careful.
—–
House Update — still not closed on the house. Maybe tomorrow, we’re awaiting reply from the owner/seller. This means we’ll have to do something about the gas scheduled for hookup Tuesday, to get it turned on or delayed and rescheduled.
But my friend said we’re OK, my money for investment was not yet withdrawn, pending closing, and so I won’t forfeit money if the deal does not close. (This is surely rare; I’ve never heard of it like that before.) So good. If we do close, great. If not, then I’m out the fed paid for utilities, I think. But he’ll look for other properties, closer to me or to where I used to live or where I grew up. Something will work out, he assures me. — So I am still hopeful.
Meanwhile, yes, gas hookup tomorrow is undecided and will have to be dealt with, turned on and transferred, or delayed and rescheduled. Possibly the other utilities, water and electric, will be OK, and then cable/internet/security remain set for Friday, a problem if we’re delayed still by then.
So I don’t know if I’ll be going to the new house tomorrow afternoon or not, and we haven’t closed yet. Oh boy.
I now think it’ll be into next month before I move out of here. That, or it’ll be one big rush. — I still have labeling and packing and dividing to do. — But now at least I can get the cats boarded fine, so no stress on them for a move.
So — well, this is a fine mess, but doesn’t seem too atypical. Maybe it’ll still work out fine If not, we can do something else. Two and a half weeks to go in the month. Hard to believe it’s getting near April.
Alas, I will have no corned beef and cabbage, nor potatoes, nor anything else particularly Irish tomorrow. It’s way too warm for a hoodie now, I will hunt up a green t-shirt or shirt.
Looks like I’ll be packing tomorrow, then maybe a rush to the new place. Or else the seller will handle that and we’ll transfer. Sigh. I could use the time to label, pack, and divide.
My friend, as well as the vet’s staff, reported they too have found that stores are out of stock on toilet paper and other basic supplies, including online stores .Whee,. But if/when they become available, I’ll order what I need and get it delivered. And if it gets delivered to the leasing office… I’ll wave me shelalagh at them. (Hmm, I see I need to look up the spelling, I’m no longer sure of the spelling on that.)
All in all, I’m calling it good. Could be much worse. — The carriers are cleaned up and the mats in them are to be washed tomorrow. Hoping to get some relief packing done if we don’t close and I don’t need to be there for gas hookup. :-/ But good enough.
Really tired, been going all day. Going to relax, snack, listen to some more of Chanur’s Venture, and then hope I fall asleep like a rock. — No, I have no idea how rocks sleep….
Counting it a good day, all in all.
How does a Rock sleep ? Like a Thek ( Silicon Based Life Form @ Anne McCaffrey )
Time to dial Ask-a-Horta!
If you’ve got a rock garden, call their Horta-culturalist Help Line for an Emerald green thumb.
Teehee, y’all are great. 😀
Got some cooking done: It approximates a tuna casserole, but I got the proportions wrong, in too much of a hurry. Hoping it will cook down tonight. — I wonder if I have a casserole dish in storage? Don’t want to buy one and get it caught in between hither and yon. Don’t need a duplicate if I still have one or two. — Haven’t found it in the boxes, but I will likely use a Pyrx / Corningware dish (minus plastic lid) or just reheat on the stovetop.
Expecting to go through kitchen and bath supplies at some point soon. Already see the topmost pantry kitchen shelf…ugh, gods-rotted bugs…again. Will have to stop and clean that out. Just…ugh. Would love to know why they get one place en masse but in others, they never seem to go. — There are times when venting to space could be handy. Or a giant vacuum suction air venting system? (Hey, there’s a plot twist for the old ventilator shaft trope. Hahah.)
I think I need to reread Anne McCaffrey. I hadn’t thought of the Thek, thanks.
—–
Milestone: Peppercorn had briefly gotten on the bed with Goober there a day or two before, but got down. After the vet appt., yesterday evening, she got on the bed again. No argument or fight between them. Instead, she was calling and he was chittering, probably confused that this time, she wasn’t trying to chase him off or start a fight. She also wanted attention from me. Er, including, at one point, her tail slightly up, hips slightly raised, back feet nervous, sort of treading / kneading. So, ah, I’m not sure what was going on there. I’m friendly, I’m male, but there shouldn’t be species cues enough; if anything, I’d think that would be directed only at Goober, if she’s starting into heat (estrous cycle).
Anyway, she stayed on the bed, Goober stayed, all was well. Later, once I’d fished the one kitten (Pinky / Digger) out from under the chest of drawers and brought her over to mama, the kitten nursed and was therefore happy and reassured all was well, and Mama tolerated Goober being within a hand’s breadth, and Goober was curiouss for a second about the nursing and purring going on, then seemed satisfied, and we did fine, enough for me to get in bed and settle for the night. Then during the night, I woke up, hungry, the cats were all hungry so I fed them and me, listened to the audiobook for a bit, and sacked out again. — Oh my! Peppercorn and Goober and the kittens may finally be deciding to get along, to become friends. Maybe. Goober tolerated the kittens playing a little better. Another milestone, when he gave an annoyed, mild hiss and swat toward a kitten to got too close, Peppercorn was unfazed; she’s alternately trying to wean them, yet still encouraging them to nurse and is still cleaning them. — So I take all tis as a sign relating are improving. We just might integrate the little pride after all. Hurray! I’m so glad if this happens. I would love for Goober to feel included and for Peppercorn to see she can have a trustworthy male friend / ally. Or boyfriend. Hey, if the two like each other, good for them. I’m not sure how strongly Goober is interested that way, but he didn’t get aggressive towards her, and seemed to be willing to talk, at least, and be with each other. So, all good, I hope. 😀
—–
Moving: We’re still not closed on the new house, but now I’m getting that the seller is OK with it, but wants to re-evaluate in 6 months for interest rate and because of my prior spending. As I’m buying the house and it’s owner financed, the mortgage ultimately goes to the seller. Thus the concern toward payment, which is justified. But now the word is, we are still going forward on the deal. So, some relief there. I was worried last night we might have to back out, then find another property / house.
But therefore, we had to hurriedly reschedule the gas hookup for the end of next week, and I learned the kitchen appliances (stove/over, refrigerator) agreed to be sold as part of the deal had not yet been put in. So gas hookup couldn’t have gone forward anyway. Hmm, added reason for a delay, there. I have been hand-washing dishes for years now, so a dishwasher, I hadn’t thought to ask about. I asked, and my friend, negotiating, is going to check about it, to be included in the deal, whether there’s even an outlet and plumbing for the hookup. But moving forward there.
My friend is supposed to go by to be sure water and electric were hooked up as scheduled, although that was early. He is supposed to get me by the house on Friday for security and cable/net hookup. Then next week, the plan is to do the dryer or washer and dryer and maybe small deep freeze, and a futon. That will get things ready, except for the apt. move-out and move-in to the house, then the storage unit move thereafter. Nuts, I forgot to ask about the shed and about a screened patio, although I’d asked before.
So sometime between now and the end of next week, closing should happen, and in the middle of it, prep between seller and buyer for utilities, appliances, and changeover. Sheesh, a mess I had wanted to avoid, but OK, we’re in it now.
I woke up late, tired and very sinus-y. Thinking it’s just because yesterday was very involved, busy. Hoping I am not actually getting sick.
Reminded my friend about cat litter (!) and office supplies at the leasing office, to be picked up. He said he’lll get to it within the next couple of days. I said I’ll have to order yet more cat litter so I won’t run out, and hope it gets delivered here instead of the office. Aarrgh.
The kittens this morning discovered they could get into the window under / around the blinds, above my bed. hahaha. (Oh, please don’t ruin the blinds.)
A first: one kitten jumped from the bed to my lap, then onto the keyboard. Had to delete that, because it was backslashes, which are special characters in both OS and several programming languages. But aha, now they will be doing that. So they’ve decided I am safe enough to do that, and the computer is no longer unexplored territory. Mama traipsed across last night. So…as long as they don’t chew through cords, please.
All in all, going fine, a bit bumpy, but overall, OK. I am unsure if the pail of cat litter is due todayy or tomorrow, so I have to check, plus order more, because, with delays, I’m down to one panful left.
I am in the mood for tuna and Mac and cheese, rather than what I’d fixed. With move prep, the sounds like a good idea.
Also some hot tea, because my sinuses are not happy, I am still draggy.
then back to packing, dividing, labeling. — Goal is to label existing boxes today, then move toward unboxed or rebooting items, cleanup and sorting, tomorrow and until done.
Need to remind my friend I want the old dryer and used couch out of here, and they cannot be left for cleaning people to move out The plan is to bring in a cleaning crew for a deep-clean, so there can’t be an objection on that point from mgmt., even though I intend to clean before then. That will, however, leave the blinds that still need replacement and the porch light and the dryer line, still not fixed by mgmt, I maintain it’s their problem, I don’t want to pay for that as damage. Also, the gate latch and one board to the basically decorative, half-height privacy fence to the little porch/patio area of the apt. I know the refrigerator is balky, but they can replace it or leave it as they see fit. same with the readout on the stove.
I think it will be a wonder if I can get moved out by month-end, with the utilities hookup and appliances happening next week at the new place, and still not confirmed for closing.
What a weird thing, to not be closed on it and both sides now working toward getting it ready, without closing done, only mostly agreed to. Not like it should be. (If only I hadn’t listened to my friend urging me to get utilities hooked up the day of closing. Oh, I’d scheduled everything for after, but electric was hooked up that day anyway.) So electric and water are supposed to be hooked up, kitchen appliances are not yet in from the seller anyway, so…whee, it’s a mess, but I hope it’ll work out.
I do now expect it’ll be after month-end for move-in, which means paying a month’s atp. rent and utilities, and storage fees, for another month, and boarding the cats somewhere in this, for the actual move. Mover’s fees, cleanup at the apt., fumigation at the new place, because I expect there will be roaches hiding among the items moved, such as the washer. — I am going to see how much a washer and dryer together would cost, and I may do that, as a way out of transporting whatever bugs might be nesting. inside the danged washing machine. Ugh. Benighted buggy apt….
So — SNAFU, but in the ordinary, solvable sense rather than the irredeemable sense. I fervently hope. — I want into a better and cheaper situation, one where I have hope of a better future and sustainability, stability, and not the fear of having to move in with others, becoming homeless and insolvent, looming ahead. — If this is indeed cheaper than my current living situation, and if the investment works approximately as advertised, and if nothing too major, health-wise or other, is piled on, then I just might come out of this OK. Insurance is still a question, with vision and dental coverage I need.
Also, the prefab desk, still unassembled, I hope is undamaged, so it can be moved in at the new house and assembled. Dang, I need to ask for that.
Nuts, almost forgot, I will need a kitchen / dining table, or will need to do without, use the existing card table. My estimation is that the dining table (from my parents) is too big for the new place, as it was for the apt. The table top needs refinishing, after time in storage in summer heat here. My friend says he doesn’t know someone who does that, because these days, people buy new rather than refinishing furniture or reupholstering. Well, if I could use the dining set, I would like to.
Heh…I think I’m feeling slightly more in control now, but whew, juggling a lot. I have been so out of practice, out of circulation, that something that should be no big deal by now is feeling like a lot of juggling and clashing nonsense.
As long as we get through it and do fine….
@BCS, if the dining table fits, just use it and put a cloth over it. A large tablecloth that covers the whole surface, or a smaller runner or diagonally placed cloth that covers the damage, with a nice pot or vase or plant or lamp on it.
If it doesn’t fit freestanding with chairs all around it, put it against a wall with one or two chairs only on the free side(s).
Once you are settled in and have time free, you can sand it and varnish it if the wood is nice, or paint it if it’s stained beyond repair. If the veneer is bubbling off and you can’t find someone to repair it, you can put a flannel sheet or thin blanket (or layer of newspaper, if you’re bug-free) on top, to even out the bumps, and hide that under a nice tablecloth. If you haven’t got a tablecloth, even a nice bedsheet could do for a while, until you find the box with the tablecloths …
The soft top layer protects the table, and the cloth can be changed and washed regularly. If you need a firmer surface to write on, you can put down a placemat or a board or something like that to work on.
A clever and easy fix!
IIRC, it’s solid wood, but the finish has crackled / bubbled due to summer heat and moisture / condensation. I don’t recall the size, but it’s a large family-size dining table with a drop-in leaf extension, IIRC to seat 6 or 8 with the leaf in. It’s a size that would have been commonly sold in the 1950’s or 1960’s. It’s about my age or older, from around when my parents moved into the house where I grew up.
If it will fit, I’ll keep it and I may try to refinish the top myself.
Looks like we’re going to wait on the screened-in patio until after that 6 months, so Sept. or Oct. of this year, likely.
@chondrite — By any chance, is there a Hawaiian word for black lava sand? Beige Boy needs a permanent name if he’s going to stay here, and LOL, he is not beige, only his collar. IIRC, “Sable” is sand in French, while the English word is from older Norman French for the fur and thus the dark color. I’m not sure Sable fits him, or I’d try that. Hmm, what about the Hawaiian for black or for basalt or other black rock. Would such a name be a good fit for a cat? I’m not sur how the Hawaiian view of things would see a cat getting a name related to that. If it’s appropriate and suitable for a quietly friendly cat, we’re good.
@Hanneke — Is there a good name for a black cat popular in Dutch? I don’t recall the name of the cat from the story you’d mentioned a while back. — I thought to look up “chimney sweep,” and that gives a mouthful: “schoorsteenveger,” if I got the ending part right. If there’s a chimney sweep character or someone (nice, friendly) a heroic man or boy who digs or uses coal, something like that, maybe that would fit him.
Hmm, Deesha, I don’t know if you know Scots Gaelic, but something Scottish for a little black kitten (boy) who’s maybe trying to look up to Goober, a tuxedo black and white cat (male), with the little guy all-black, I’d need a pronunciation guide for a Gaelic word, but I’d be glad to name him, if it seems to fit him.
Likewise for Raesean. — I’m open to any good name that might suit the little guy. He hasn’t yet named himself. Only Digger / Pinky may have named herself, among the kittens, so far.
They are close to outgrowing their kitten-size small collars. Ducky needs a new collar in particular, as his, cute as it is, is already looking shabby and disreputable.
The two traditional Dutch names for black cats are Roetje and Moortje.
Roetje (root- yuh, with the second syllable unstressed) means Sootie – which in itself might be a suitable traditional English name.
Kit might be usable, from “kolenkit” = the coal-bucket kept beside the hearth.
Moortje is unusable; not only does it sound like death in French or Spanish (which seems like a bad idea in your city), it means little Moor (as in black-a-moor), from the Moroccan invasion of Spain in the middle ages, so it’s starting to be considered discriminatory, even as a traditional black cat’s name.
The Moorish occupation of Spain gave a lot of Europeans in the middle ages their idea and name for any darkskinned people from Africa, as mercenaries from the northern countries fought against the Moors in Spain and came home to talk about them. It became preserved in the Dutch language and culture in little things like cat’s names, and names for delicious pastry puffs with cream filling and chocolate coating (moorkop = Moor’s head).
The “moorkop” is starting to be rebranded as something else, but that hasn’t caught on yet the way it has for some other cookies and sweets with traditional names that people now consider discriminatory, like “Jodenkoeken” (Jew’s cookies, made from a recipe that was considered traditionally Jewish, now halfway through the rebranding) and “negerzoenen” (negro’s kisses, sort of a sweet marshmallow fluff with chocolate coating on a thin wafer), which you won’t find under that name anymore. They’ve been renamed since 2005, but the new name hasn’t stabilized yet: kisses, choco-kisses, fluffy-kisses are all being used, while in Austria they are (confusingly) called Moor’s heads or Swedish bombs…
I don’t quite get that a word associated with something nice can still be discriminatory – it started out as just a descriptor (Moor = darkskinned, dark on the outside), used that way in the naming of nice things; nobody calls black people Moors anymore, and hasn’t done so for at least a century, so it’s not a pejorative; so why can’t the pastries keep their traditional names?
“Dubhan” pronounced “Doov-anh” is Scots Gaelic for “Small, Black One”… or, rather, is the diminutive form of “Dubh,” meaning “Black-haired” ( generally male) One. Coincidentally, it is also pretty much the name of CJ’s protagonist, Dubhain, in her book, Fairy Moon.
By any chance, is that also related to James Doohan’s family name?
Dubhan might fit Beige Boy. I’ll try that out and see if I get any reaction, a few times.
One’ā and something like Roetje or Koolkit are still in the running.
Little Mama Peppercorn and her five not-so-little-anymore babies are all doing fine, and the kittens are very sweet. As I wrote before, two have some boundary learning to do, but that’s probably solvable. They are so used to showing up ready for meal times that I’m not sure they get what calling “kitty-kitty-kitty” really means yet.
Heh, and when I got up just now, discouraged because things are so behind and so iffy — Alll the kittens and mama had to congregate around to greet and meet and get attention. It looks like mama’s ready to forgive and forget about the sock and nipping incident earlier.
I’m sure enjoying them, but whew, the food and litter costs.
Beige Boy doesn’t seem (yet) to have a very pookah-ish side, but possibly he’s being, you know, quiet about it. 😉
There are two types of lava in Hawaii: pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy), the smooth, ropy variety, or a’a (ah-ah), the cindery lumpy kind. Black lava sand is one’a (oh-ne-ah), with a macron over the a.
I saw a’a while driving through the Gallup area on I-40. It was in the center divider, most noticeably.
A’a might work as a kitten name, especially as you will probably be frequently saying “Ah-ah, don’t do that!” 😀
Over at File770 we’re having fun with Concellation 2020. There’s a huge party in the ballroom (all 8000 or so members so far), but don’t go through the Shoggoth room if you can avoid it. (If you must, take lots of pulp novels, and walk in circles.)
Didja hear about the kif they tossed in the pool? He was with them through sfik and sfin!
Oh, sorry, I think I strainedOr something….
Or was that the air filters and the Dinner? Do hope the crew got them all out of the air ducts. That would be…a difficulty.
(I would love to see another Chanur or Compact story. I also wonder how Ker CJ would do a story from a mahen viewpoint. OK, so that would be two stories, likely. — I’m really enjoying rereading Chanur’s Venture. The narration still doesn’t always fit my pronunciation, either for the English or the alien words. It doesn’t always match how I’ve always read the emotional tones in the delivery of the dialogue. But even so, I’m enjoying the listen quite a lot. It’s making me take a fresh look at the story. Such good stuff.)
no, but there’s a small wormhole wandering around on 14, by the ice machine.
the page for Concellation (it’s an open group):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/concellation/
Comment Saw this comment about file770, and had no idea what that was. So I went a Googling, and found a website, interesting read and starting reading about the death of SF fanclubs. Quite an interesting analysis, though I noticed that it was dated, well not very recently. And yet everything that was said could reflect my own experience with a self help group for trans folk in Kent, in England. For me personally however, I’ve never been a member of an SF Group, never even Seen one. So I read the books I did because I liked them, I would brouse a bookshop first going to my favourite authors looking for new material. Then I would go back looking for sub genries, dragons, or telepathic, I never had much money to spare for book’s, but I bought the ones I liked, when I could afford to. My early experience of the public library at my home town, I devoured every book in there I could, most of them were collections of short stories, from a mixture if authors. Names are all forgotten now, only one I still recall, I will fear no evil by Robert Heinlein. I’m trans, how could I not fall in love with a story that transplanted a mind from one body into another. ok got to go to work soon.
Obsidian is volcanic. East of the Sierra Nevada—one of the many: the one in California—four small volcanoes are a park in the desert, or almost-desert. How small? You can easily climb one, but your shoes will be shredded. When I went, it was legal to take small amounts of rocks. The most interesting were white pumice, which is pretty soft and floats, interlaced with black obsidian, which is knife edged volcanic glass.
Chordite, here you go: Ā = Ā ā = ā and so forth, I think. So one’ā. And I did that with the & codes. [Edit: but it didn’t work. But the link will still give you the characters if you want the trouble of cutting and pasting.] Here’s a reference I keep in my computer bookmarks folder:
https://dev.w3.org/html5/html-author/charref
Friends have been into furniture refinishing. Not me. Still, you might consider using clear acrylic lacquer on the table. If you can get it right for just long enough to put on the lacquer, it’s frozen.
The local health authorities just went all out, though we don’t *yet* have a serious problem here in Orange County (CA), under 30 cases in 3M. Essential activities only. In theory, I think, even if I want to meet with a friend at 10m distance, it’s illegal.
But the problem is what I might call silent spreaders, pretty much anyone under 20, maybe 30; and the very limited number of ICU beds, which eventually may be triaged—a hard to find number. ‘According to WHO, “data to date suggest that 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical infections, requiring ventilation.”‘ The 64,000 life question is, “How can you funnel people through limited ICU beds given the total population?” And, “How long will it take?” The US has under a million hospital beds.
If I were a writer, I think I’d find a novel in the above. It’s somewhat like the zombie apocalypse, which US CDC ironically used as a public health theme not too long ago. Predictably and unfortunately, gun and ammo sales are up in…some areas of the US.
I am behind schedule, but it looks like everything else is getting behind schedule too. — So maybe I’ll be caught up by the time others do. Yeah, it’s a nice thought. 😀
I missed the postal carrier today, so I missed a package or letter and will have to go pick it up. I tried to call the post office, waited 20 minutes, decided I’d call tomorrow and may try that local office. But it looks like I’ll be going by anyway.
This afternoon, Peppercorn got a couple of claws in my sock. Oh, that was not a good idea. She pulled, wouldn’t dislodge. I tried moving my foot, she was getting agitated, I put my hand down twice to try to get her claws loose, and…bang, got nipped for my troubles, but did get her claws freed. She is fine. She napped afterward. Heh.
I washed my hands with anti-bacterial hand/dish soap, then daubed it with rubbing alcohol, and will keep treating it until it’s healed up. I called the vet to double-check, and they said yes, what I was doing was fine, plus put Neosporin on it if I have it. (Still have to look at the rest of my supplies and divide up for the move.) I ordered some, 2 tubes.
I have a slight puncture on my index finger and three on the heel of my hand. The worst two aren’t too deep, but she got me good. (Dang, she goes all out when she does. If I ever get in a fight, I want her on my side Ouch.) I will be watching the punctures to be sure they do OK. Meanwhile, I also still have to look for a general family doctor near me. These may be less severe than I first thought. I’m still mindful of what Joe said about his hand.
I was going to get rubbing alcohol, to have one at the new place. Nope, everybody’s out, and still out of toilet paper. I’m going to be down to one spare roll before the end of the move, or less, unless I get some.
I learned from my friend, schools are closed until mid-April, and so his daughter went from Spring Break to no return to classes. Parents do not yet know if the kids will have classes in the summer to make up for about a month or more of lost school time. Home schooling is being looked into. Unlike the smart, sensible Netherlanders and Australians, who are screening kids at all school levels, uni too, and remote schooling or regular classes. — Lots of businesses of all types hare closed and grocery stores are on limited hours. That was why I wanted to check to see about post office hours and service.
We are still not closed on the new house, it’s still a go as far as we know. But my friend is supposed to find out tomorrow what we’re doing I may have to postpone the cable/internet and security hookup for next week, rather than Friday. Not sure about movers yet, if they’ll be available, due to the pandemic. Soooo… playing it by ear, and what will be will be. I personally expect this means I’ll still be in the apartment at month-end, therefore paying rent, utilities, and storage space fees another month, and moving in April, unless we really get lucky.
I still have to look at appliances and furniture online to see what items I want, and my friend is going to see about his contractor discount to help me with pricing. That is a huge help and may make it affordable for the few things I want/need. But as it is now, everything’s being delayed, plus the iffy health crisis on top of that. Sooo… OK, just have to roll with it.
Maybe it’ll give me time to get caught up and all packed. But I was going through and dividing up so I’d have supplies at the new home and here, then get everything moved. Now it might be a one-jump move. Oh well.
Heck, at least the kittens are vaccinated, so everyone can be boarded (Dang it, I wish I could be boarded and avoid all the hassle. LOL.)
Ordered bubble wrap and two boxes which should be bigger than the file storage boxes. Discovered there’s not necessarily a savings between cardboard banker’s file boxes and plastic. — And asked yesterday about getting the new place fumigated after the move-in, to blast any bugs that make it from the apartment or storage to the new home. Because the apartment is buggy, so I don’t trust that I won’t somehow transport some of the little horrors when I move.
Nothing else too surprising. The city and nation are getting panicky about the risks and shutting down for.a while, basically. Right while I am trying to prep to move and discover what I need for basic first aid and so on. Oh well, it’ll get done somehow. — I may be using Kleenex or are towels for toilet paper soon. Had no expectation of a shortage, and I don’t buy it in bulk. Shrugs.
Things are mostly OK. I wish I had gotten more groceries, as now I will be out or low, and I want comfort foods with the move and all. Heh. Nutty. While needing to use up things so I don’t ave to transport a lot.
— Cat names — “One’ā” does sort of appeal to me, but I’m not sure it fits him. (I may put an é acute accent over the E, just to make the pronunciation clearer. I doubt the pet ID tags can handle accent marks, being US made and so basic. But I may try just to test it.
“Sooty” — is a good name. I once had a black cat named Sooty, the thin brother of “Boots,” who was a stocky grey and white boy, orange eyed and fun-loving. Those two were all too temporary back in my early teens. I might reuse the name. I like Roetje and Koolkit, though most Americans will mispronounce those. I will try out names on him. Maybe he’ll name himself soon.
I did check on Peppercorn, and I think we are still good, no permanent harm to our relationship. But dang, she went all out, instead of being calmer and gentler about it. Little cat, please learn some self-control and perspective. I am not out to get you, I promise. And.I still like her and don’t want to give her away. But wow, this sure has given me a red flag. She didn’t nip until she was very, very agitated, scared and angry about it. She also could have bitten down much harder or kept teeth and claws n action. So maybe I got off light. But this felt like an overreaction compared to how other cats I’ve had react to similar problems. So now I’m forewarned in how she acts.
Doing OK otherwise. I am in Chapter 10 of Chanur’s Venture, and didn’t absorb all of the key scene before or after, so I will re-listen tonight to be sure I get it.
Neighbors are still socializing like normal and the kids are still playing together, so I’m not convinced self-quarantine helps here yet.
Month-end Amazon Pantry delivery of cat supplies and human supplies may be a mess due to the virus. Looks like I’ll be here to find out, rather than switching the delivery address this time. Hoping to avoid a problem with that or any other items during move and prep. Have not yet done the change of address, since we’re not yet moved and not yet closed.
So far, m hand feels OK,stung, slightly sore, but normal.
If things are delayed Friday and it looks to me like they may be, I will have a mini-celebration anyway, just for getting through the week, ahah.
Sure hope I can get the next grocery delivery without a hitch. No telling at this point. It looks like things are going to get more nutty before it all gets back to normal. They really, really need to get their act together, federal, state, and local, to deal with this. The response this time has been abysmal so far. I hope that develop some sense and do the right thing before things get worse.
But doing OK personally, otherwise. This move has been fraught with one step forward and one step back this time, and I’m not sure it’s a consolation that it isn’t just me, it’s the whole situation.
Take care, everyone. One prefers you all in your optimal and desired configurations. Heh.
D’oh. I just spent an hour or so with no results, looking for furniture and appliances. I’ll have to call in the morning. I’m pretty sure I need electric washer and dryer rather than gas, unlike the stovetop/oven being provided with the home on purchase. Why I didn’t think to ask for a reminder, I don’t know. I can’t tell a thing about any controls from their pictures, but I have an idea what I’d like; to-loading washer, front-loading dryer, controls I can see easily, a lint catcher that is a sensible design, unlike the current dryer. The previous dryer was fine for that point.
I looked about a futon from Ikea. Public retail prices have two $100 dollar price point increases, depending on the options you want. But oops, you can’t get what I want online, and their in-store locations are closed for public shopping due to the pandemic, their website says, all over the USA. Oh, boy! (Sure, I could get a black or charcoal grey cheap futon. My cats are mostly all-black, with two exceptions. So I might not want black as my first pick for a futon. Never mind I also have bad eyesight, so black is not my favorite for appliances and furniture.) I wanted beige, not dark grey. So I’m not committing yet.
Ikea has two styles of round dining tables similar to the oak dining / breakfast table my parents had, which somehow managed to split without air conditioning. (Moisture and heat expansion, I’d guess.) I don’t recall the diameter, but I’d guess 36 to 48 inches. Ikea has stark white or black, no natural wood finish in any color. Their rectangular dining tables are all very, very plain, almost mission-style or pastor-style. I want a nice wood finish, rather than absolute white. Aw, come on, almond or ivory/cream or beige, natural, oak, pine, something? Nope, no sale. And whew, sticker shock for a table and four chairs. I don’t know what discount my contractor friend can get, but if I can use the dining table I’ve got, it would save the trouble and cost. But I’d like a round table in the wood I want. Another store must have that for a reasonable price. I hope.
I can get a futon frame, mattress, cover through Amazon, but that would be full price, around $200 to $250 seems to be the range, unless you want to spend a bunch. I don’t want/need a second bed, but I want something in case guests are over, or if I just want to sleep in the living room or if a cat has an accident, as has happened before. I want a sofa.couch. So a futon is not a great solution, but it’s cheap and gets both needs in a small space; a two bedroom, one bath home with kitchen and utility rooms and the dining/living room area is combined, so not quite large enough for a big table. I haven’t had anyone over in forever, but I still want something besides the card table and folding conference / utility table currently.
The owner / seller is supposed to put in a refrigerator as well. We’re supposed to be asking about a dishwasher, but I won’t be upset if it’s not there. I do, however, want the plugins in case I or a future owner want to put one in.
I didn’t check about a small deep freeze or a bookcase or desk. (I thin the prefab desk is still OK, but the box may have come open. It never got put together.)
So…tonight’s goal and milestone, to have choices ready so my friend can see how much they’d be with his discount, was not reached. So I’m still behind there too.
It’s around 9:00pm. I am going to take a break and try not to get in another fight with my all-in cat. (Goober would not do that. Peppercorn did, with gusto. Jirl would be good in a bar fight on the dockside rows, eh? Heh. Just as long as she’s on my side. Whew. And that’s a cat, never mind if she were hani-sized. Hani are approximately between human-sized or a bit smaller and leonine-sized. The bite a hani (or real great cat) must have, even a nip, must be formidable indeed.
I think Peppercorn isn’t carrying a grudge or a predilection to strike again if she feels threatened. I will be wary for a while, but I also feel the best policy is not to be afraid, to treat it as if bygones are bygones, and only be prudently cautious, wary. I think we’ll be fine. But dang, if she ever gets a claw caught in my sock again…I do hope she figured out I wasn’t trying to hurt her, and maybe she might be smart enough to realize, if she hadn’t panicked, I could have helped free her with no problem. But the scale of her reaction might not allow her to put all that together. So, caution in future.
She is not a lady of half-steps, is our Peppercorn. She makes a commitment, she’s in with all four feet. And claws. And teeth. And attitude far bigger than her size. Well, I suppose a girl’s gotta take care of herself. Whew. No hard feelings, but please let’s not do that again, shall we? My hand is doing fine so far, and may heal faster than I think. The previous ding did fine. Just…wow. She might make a fine hani crewman, security or ship’s arms or some such. Nothing bland or non-committal about this girl.
Her kittens are all mild, so far, except the one does have to learn not to grab my ankle or ry to climb. Gotta learn the word No, kitty. But also, that it doesn’t make us mortal or permanent enemies, just a point of good behavior among friends.
Oh — One problem — At least one kitten has conquered the climb to get onto the counter, and I was shocked to find him/her on the stovetop. Thank heavens nothing was on, and the controls are such that I don’t think a cat could manage to turn anything on. (The burners are dials with a click when passing each setting. The oven controls are a keypad, but spaced widely and not easy to activate at random.) — But I will have to teach that kitten and others that the counter and stovetop are No-No’s, dangerous, bad for kitties, hurt-baby, etc. — Very glad nothing happened so he/she did not get hurt. (I think it was Ducky, the 2nd boy.)
So they are now old enough to get to everything potentially, and being cats they will absolutely explore everything, because, cats, it’s their nature. And a mark of intelligence…if they do’t do something from ignorance and get hurt.
So…lost more time today. I am going to relax some, try to wind down for bed, and get more done tomorrow. I want to get a chapter or two of Chaunr’s Venture listened to. (Jim is aboard the Pride to talk to Pyanfar before going out. Pyanfar is still putting together just what kind o f mess she’s in and how big, how far it is. Chur’s been wounded and Tully and Hilly have been captured, at this point in the story, Chapter 10.) One fine tale.
Somehow, it didn’t connect until later, that the mahen traders, Goldtooth and Jik, are something like privateers, working both as traders or pirates and as government agents, not quite the navy, more undercover, likely with letters of marque to act as privateers. Or a similar arrangement. A viewing of Master and Commander plus an older movie with privateers and others finally got me to see that’s what they are.
Heh, I still love hani swagger and mahen cleverness/guile, and stsho scheming, but that psychological twist and biological incongruence; and the kif psyche, which is so prone to being, well, rat-like is probably not quite it, nor weasels, either. Tough, though, and hard to figure. And the descriptions of the ken, t’ca, and chi from the previous chapter. Ah, such a good series. Tully as a character not directly in the action, but mostly swept along by the actions of others, without his control, yet showing how important to things his situation still is. Hilfy starting to develop as a character. Khym and Pyanfar’s changing ideas on males’ place. Very good stuff.
Black names, is it? Jet (Cowboy Bebop), midnight, sable (heraldry), Stygian and Cimmerian (ERB), ebony.
Cowboy Bebop is one of my favorite anime. Not sure why I didn’t think of Jet. Hmm… so we have some good options going….
—–
In the “It’s a small world” department:
Had occasion to look up “bluebonnet” (the Texas flower) to find the Spanish translation. I will need to check my old in-print dictionary. I checked four online sources and all of them came up with different names, one that seemed very unlikely and way too literal.
So I tried Wikipedia, and lo, two very fun coincidences popped up.
(1) It seems “Blue Bonnets O’er The Border” is the regimental march song of His/Her Royal Majesty’s Own Scottish Borderers. (Or something close to that; it was rather involved.) — While the Texas Bluebonnet is named for pioneer women’s blue pioneer bonnets, there were also a good number of Scottish folks involved in Texas and Oklahoma, and particularly in Cherokee history, both Eastern and Western bands.
(2) Oh, but it seems Lupinus havardii, one species of bluebonnet (there are many in Texas and North America) — is called the Chisos Bluebonnet. — And since I’m listening to the Chanur Saga again, I couldn’t help but think of mahen chiso, their lingua franca among all mahendo’sat. — I don’t know the meaning of the (surely Spanish) word Chisos, so I’ll want to look it up. But the coincidence was just too good not to share.
Words as possible Spanish translations included el altramuz (azul), el capo de azul (I doubt that one, it’s just “blue cap/hat”), el aciano, and los conejos / el conejo, (rabbit, coney) because the white tip at the top resembles a bunny cottontail. So I will need to check my in-print dictionary, which may or may not have it.
@BCS, my steps for finding plant names in other languages:
1) first find the Latin name (by searching on the known common name, looking at pictures, then clicking on the wikipedia entry or other result with the scientific name);
2) search for the latin name plus the name of the language you want. Looking for Lupinus havardii en espagnol led me to the Spanish wikipedia article on lupines, but that didn’t mention this specific species. Maybe further clicking on sources could lead to results.
Most English articles I saw called it the Big Bend lupine.
@Deesha, if you want to stick a link in here like I did above, you have to put special a-tags around the link word(s).
I’ll explain, in case someone here doesn’t yet know how to do so.
These tags all need to be enclosed in triangular brackets, i.e. the ‘smaller than’ and ‘bigger than’ signs. To show how these tags look, I’ll replace ‘smaller than’ with [, and ‘bigger than’ with ].
[a href=”https://websitename.com”]word that you want to use as a link[/a].
Don’t forget the /a endtag, or all the following text gets underlined. The quotation marks around the URL are also necessary.
If you want to make text bold or italic, use [b]word[/b] or [i]word[/i] in the same way, with the ‘triangular brackets’ instead of the angular ones I put in for demonstration purposes.
There, now you have almost the sum total of my http knowledge 🙂
Also in the anime department, don’t forget the master thief, Lupin the Third. Are any of the kitties particularly prone to sneaking off with things?
And in Hawaiian, ‘ele’ele is black, and popoki is cat. A’a also has a lot of pointy bits, not unlike a cat 😀
Note: In American English, and in British English I’ve heard from UK-born profs over here, those symbols are called:
angle brackets OR greater-than ≤ ≥ (less than or equal to, greater than or equal to);
[ ] square brackets
{ } curly braces
Square and Curly are added to be extra sure the distinguishing characteristics are carried along; brackets and braces are the shorter but correct terms. But everyone in practice tends to add the square, curly, or angle to be sure. And yes, triangular would work fine there too.
( ) plain old parentheses; you’d think they’d call them round braces or brackets.
To be extra picky, there are actually separate symbols for angle-brackets in higher math typesetting, which are narrower, so the angle is wider but the horizontal width of the symbol is narrower. I’d have to hunt up the Unicode characters; they’re more obscure.
—–
That popoki has possibilities. ‘ele’ele might. — So far, none of the kittens seems prone to nabbing toys / small items, but give them time…. (Very curiously, I did find a pair of shorts had been dropped or picked up from the laundry and carried elsewhere, as it was very unlikely to have landed there by falling from the load going to or coming from the washer.)
Peppercorn and I had a near repeat of the sock indecent, but with my sweatpants this morning. Thankfully, we got untangled without me getting bitten again, and without her getting quite as scared and angry. But we’ve been circling around each other since, and she has been grouchy with her own kittens about them bothering her, pouncing on her tail, or possibly about trying to nurse. She isn’t trying hard to wean them and is letting them nurse still, while at other times, she’s tired of it or sore and is getting up and walking away. I am about as jumpy and wary as she is, but she’s also come around for attention, and I’ve told her it’s OK. Heck, it wasn’t my fault. Blame the clothing. LOL. But gee, kitty, calm down the reaction there. (Maybe she should’ve been the one to get the lava name. )
— I haven’t seen Lupin the Third, but I recognized the name.
Deesha talked about a King of Cats. Huh, Smokey had a bit of white fur on his chest from where he’d been too close to an engine as a kitten. I’m pretty sure it’s not good to snub the fey / faerie folk. Never seems to work out well in the old tales.
Bagheera — he’d have a long way to go before he is the sleek, big hunter that Bagheera was. He’s more like the baby Mowgli, haha. (Currently still les than half Goober’s size, Goober being the long and lean or slinky sort of cat, while Peppercorn is petite and filling out now that she’s living’ the life of domestic bliss. Her kittens are growing fast now.
* The English Wiki article on Bluebonnets gives the several common species in Texas and North America. — Note: “Big Bend” is an area in Texas, so that’s why the one species is named for it.
There also used to be a legend about how the Indian paintbrush, another wildflower often seen in Texas around bluebonnets in their season, got its name. There’s a story about how the Poinsettia became what it is. Exactly how far back these go isn’t sure, but sometime around Anglo settlement in Texas, or Mexican contact and stories borrowed into Anglo settlers’ lore.
Tomie de Paola wrote some childrens’ stories about the Indian paintbrush and the Bluebonnet and the pointsettia.
So I tried a Google on the phrase Black Cat Gaelic and another adding in the word Scottish. Found a couple of pet name sites that were neither here nor there. Cat Sith ( Scottish ) & Cat Sidhe ( Irish ) are two different names for essentially the same Fey Creature. He’s the King of the Cats, and is described as Black with a small white mark on his chest.
Of more interest however, might be the name Bagheera / ( there’s other spelling versions for Hindi or Urdu, but my Keyboard doesn’t have letters with – I’m going to call them accents ? ) In any event, I’m sure you must recall that Bagheera was the Black Panther Guardian of Mowgli in Rudyard Kipling`s Jungle Book.
Insidently, Black in Scots Gaelic is Dubh, and Cat ( perversely ) is Cat. Of course you could also use Scaredy Cat, Big Cat, etc, etc, or their Gaelic translations. try the translation website WordHippo.Com ( No I didn’t use a hyperlink, you’ll need to type it ).
Comment – Incidentally, I realize that “insidently” is a misspelling, but I wrote that when I should have been sleeping after my nightshift.
Comment – I’m sorry but this post is really not very appropriate here, but I’m afraid I couldn’t not share it.
While looking through my Facebook newsfeed I came across a post that my Niece’s Partner shared. Now I don’t know where it originated from originally, though he got it from someone else.
It shows a picture of President Donald Trump, looking all Smarmy. The picture has text superimposed on it to one side of him. It says “People are dying who have. never died before” followed by – Donald J. Trump, March 18, 2020
Lord Knows I don’t have a Good Opinion of him ( Trump ) at any time, but WTF ?
Progress / No Progress Dept. — Still no word on closing on the house. Tomorrow is a week since the originally expected closing date. I’m old the seller’s company usually has a team of 13 in the office, and that is down to one helper, due to the virus, voluntary quarantines.
I haven’t gotten word back yet, but I expect to have to hastily reschedule the cable / net / sec hookup to next week, and hope.
I’m delayed, they’re delayed, and with everything going on, it’s hard to lay blame at anyone. But oh, I’m behind in packing and labeling. I’m tired when I shouldn’t be. I’m also not sleeping well, not getting much real sleep.
This afternoon, I lay down on the bed with Goober and Beige Boy (Dubhan?) (Hah, spellchecker thinks I meant to type Dublin.) Rested about 15 minutes. It helped, and it was nice to see Goober didn’t object to the little one getting closer to him. Goober is not yet enthusiastic about the kittens. So either Peppercorn really wore out his patience, or he’s simply not in the mood still for kittenish rowdy, everyone-busy play.
Minor victory: I checked for the appliances I want. Couldn’t tell much, but I picked, and have given a list to my friend to see if he can get a contractor discount. The small deep freeze wasn’t too bad, but I gave a second option and asked him t look at both, Amana or Frigidaire. — The house would have to get some rewiring done to go with an electric stove and oven, so for now, we’re going with the gas the seller was to have put in (and hasn’t yet).
I didn’t like the futon or table and chairs offered by one store, but had better luck at the other, and one is a great deal: unfinished, raw wood, ready to stain or paint. This says several hundred from the retail price, and makes the table and chairs maybe affordable. We just need to get them assembled and then finished (stained and varnished / lacquered). There were two futons that I thought were OK, and asked him to look at.
The earliest delivery date is the 24th. By the time my friend looks things over and gets back to me, I think it’ll be a day or two further for delivery. I really think my friend is being overly optimistic for before the end of this month, by now.My onwn guess now is a week or two after.
But OK, still going mostly OK, I guess.
Hah, still no toilet paper available. Or rubbing alcohol or disposable gloves for cleaning, etc. I ordered the thick dishwashing globes, reusable, but they won’t be in for a couple of days. — I may be down to paper towels or napkins, if they don’t get toilet paper in stock soon. Whee!
Everything’s up in the air, weird, and clashing scheduling. I guess that’s typical for moving. I spent way more time to look at furnishings than I thought it’d take, but at least that wasn’t spread over days of going from store to store, which I couldn’t do anyway, due to stores being shut down.
Dang it, I keep trying to go to sleep while typing. Guess I’m going to nap. I think I am going to seed. Need to catch up on rest, then get very busy again.
I want to know how things are proceeding at the new house, and if we are as behind as I think. So maybe it’s OK I’m behind too. But wow, I thought I’d be the only one lagging.
Pinky, aka Digger, because she still likes playing, digging in the (clean) litter — Once again has shown she wants to be Atevi Guild, or perhaps hani ship security. Once before, with the temp. medical bracelet collar, she had gotten her arm through so she was wearing it like a shoulder holster. Her first kitten collar was pink and grey, but she got it off twice. So I replaced it, since she was close to outgrowing it anyway. Tonight, she had it shoulder holster style again, so I’ve adjusted its size back down, so hopefully she won’t do that.
But I think she’s good at getting free of restraints like collars, and she likes that shoulder holster style. This girl is definitely good security officer material.
—–
No word on the appt. tomorrow, so I am going to reschedule it for next week, same day as the internet / cable / security hookup. And dang it, I hope we either close on this or find out we don’t have a deal, and come up with something else. I mostly like it, so I’m hoping it is indeed the good deal I want and that it can work out after all, if so. If not, then I’d like to be free of it so we can do something else.
—–
I’d posted above about the unfinished table and chairs, and the need to refinish the old dining table plus my old bedroom suit. — How much stain and varnish or lacquer would I need for each project, what materials? I know I need stripping fluid, sanding blocks and sandpaper, or an electric sander for larger sections, stain, varnish and/or lacquer, or maybe polyurethane. Or paint suited to paint and seal raw wood. — I think the old furniture is solid wood rather than veneer, circa late 1950’s / early to mid 1960’s. If I get the new round dining table and chairs, those are said to be solid hardwood too. — I’m hoping my friend can find someone who’s good at this to do a pro job. I could try a smaller piece if I had something, as practice, before tackling something larger. I don’t immediately care about a coffee table, but that may be a future item. Ideally, it’d be finished, but wow, the savings to buy raw / unfinished and DIY sure is something to think about.
I like the old finish on the “blond” bedroom suit. It’s some sort of “pickled” painted and sealed finish over the wood underneath, but with wear while using the triple dresser as a makeshift desk, and with other dings acquired over the years and during the last move, it needs refinishing. I might paint it for simplicity. but I like the look of wood if it’s good underneath.
For the new round dining table, if we do that, I’d like a natural or a light oak finish, something not too dark and toward golden or reddish brown or a middle-of-the road brown, translucent to show off the wood.
For the old dining table, it was in a basic brown over the wood, I don’t know the specific color. The style is a heavy-sh Spanish style, nice detailing but not too fussy, which was probably avail. through a dept. store (Sears? Montgomery Wards?) whenever they bought it, dining table with a drop-in leaf extension, at least 6 chairs, It’s been so long since I’ve seen it from storage, it may have 8 chairs, plus a matching china cabinet. Very nice. My mom reupholstered the chairs herself when we moved from the house I grew up in to the house from late high school through when they’d passed away. I believe the finish is fine except for the tabletop, which crackled or bubbled under heat and moisture without a/c and in storage. So I’d want it to be refinished to match, or else strip them all and match that way. I want to see it, measure it, and see if I could still use it But really, the round table is a great deal. I intend to keep the china cabinet.
No word yet on what kind of pace my friend can get at a contractor rate.
Oh, I got a dose of sticker shock when I sw the cost of the appliances and furniture together, but I was also surprised it wasn’t a lot more, given I hadn’t tried to add it up in my head until then. So if my friend can get a good discount and save me from spending that much, oh, it’d sure help, maybe half or more of a house payment, I don’t know.
At this out, I think it’ll be a huge rush or a miracle if I can get out of the apt. before month-end and paying another month’s rent and storage fees. Wit everything else going on with the pandemic scare, I just don’t see it happening before month-end. Our schedule is collectively, on both sides more than a week off from the original. (Tomorrow will be a week from the originally planned closing date)
I feel like a bae in t the woods, but making it though.
I don’t want to pack overnight tonight but I may try over the weekend. Peppercorn and the kittens are into things, “helping” and exploring and playing, when I do anything , underfoot. I don’t mind, but it slows it. I don’t want to get any of us hurt. — Peppercorn and I are still a little leery of each other following the one major sock and claw catch incident and the other nearly-had incident. — I am fervently hoping both that she will avoid doing that again, getting the idea that gets her into a scary, dangerous situation, and/or that she might see that if she’d let me help her instead of panicking, that both times, I have helped her out of it instead of hurting her. But from her viewpoint, she might not be able to see it that way. It may seem like some kind of incomprehensible rap and attack to her, even though she’s seen she gets free, unhurt, just scared badly.
Uh, and it has made me wary of her losing her cool and her temper. She goes all out, no half measures, when she feels threatened.
To her credit, she has since come around for petting with a somewhat slightly apologetic or confused aspect, and I’ve petted her and told her it’s OK. But oh, I’m still wary. This and Curry’s reactions have reminded me that at least some cats are wild enough at heart to be dangerous if they feel attacked. I have been so fortunate with most of my cats, not to have had major blow-ups. But Peppercorn, Mystic, and Curry, have all been outside enough to be prone to defend themselves full-on if they think they need to. So I’m feeling wary and odd about this. — I don’t want to have to stay worried that she might really nip me sometime. This seems less severe than I thought it was at first. I know she didn’t use full force like she could have. — But it’s a consideration. She is good with her milder, trusting side. But whoa, she sure got me. — I am going she will learn better, so we might not have a severe problem again, but I think I’m being too optimistic there. She’s a cat, she can’t see it how we’d see it. — I still like and love her, I’ll get past this. — But it’s made me wonder if I’d be better off finding her a home, whereas before, I have been acting on the principle that, she trusted me so much that she kept bringing her kittens to stay here, and she wanted in and chose to stay in, when she could have left and insisted on taking her kittens with her. That kind of need and trust and loyalty…. I’m not really built to ignore that and not become attached. She was so starved when she showed up, since she was eating for her kittens and had parasites. Then to bring her kittens repeatedly to my door and stay…. I can’t help but be moved by that. — I am getting attached to the kittens, but with the exception of Beige Boy (Dubhan hasn’t quite stuck as his name yet), I know the other kittens need good homes. — Got to get that done, with other things going on. — So I am trying to determine whether Peppercorn belongs here with me, or whether I and she are better off if I find a home for her. And yet, I also want her here and want to believe she’s a good risk to keep her. She is a good cat. It’s the nature of a cat, and in her place, we’d defend ourselves too, so it’s hard to fault her. It’s just the degree of her response was so much more than I’m used to.
I also don’t know what’s up with me. Is my judgement just off? I don’t get it. Maybe it’s from not having taken in a truly stray or semi0-feral cat in so long. Yet I think unlike Curry, that Peppercorn and Mystic have had some time as pets in loving homes. Mystic, I think more so than Peppercorn. But she’s overall good too. — And I see I’ve been very spoiled by how mild and trusting and gentle Goober and many of my previous cats have been. — So I’m trying to make sense of this and decide what to do. — I am telling myself also to give it time and not rush into a decision based on high emotions, since that happened only one or two days ago now. Because I don’t ever want to regret my decision like I have about Smokey. — I still wish I hadn’t had to decide like I did about Curry, but I don’t see how I could have chosen otherwise, so I’m still trying to make peace with that.
Yeah, I have trouble letting go, trouble second-guessing myself sometimes. More so the past few years. I think I might have recovered a little equilibrium, given that I’m not all tied up in knots over the house and move. It’s that, or else it still feels so unreal. But about it, I think I’m doing really well. So maybe I’m regaining my perspective or equilibrium to some degree.
Nuts, decisions. Well, I’m giving it some time. I want to be sure I do right by Peppercorn and by me, and that I don’t later think I misjudged out of heated or wary feelings. I need to do right for her and for me. And dang it, she’s a cat, she’s not perfect, and I am sure not as perfect as I would like to be. So. Decisions.