A Silly Post On Cats, Humans, & Odors

May I just point out an observation? Cats and humans don't agree on what smells good/bad. I have noticed that things that smell good to me or perhaps have very little scent but come out of a bottle will send a cat running. Two examples follow.


Both of us like to put on hand lotion before going to bed. It's winter, our skin is dry & chapped and in much need of moisturizer. What better time than right as you're going to bed? Apparently we are SO wrong about that. Our two kitty bed partners wrinkle up their faces, say "WhewEE!" and jump off the bed only to return when the scent has dissipated.




Hand sanitizer works the same way. Thirty minutes before I left the office I rubbed some sanitizer on my hands. As is my habit I next went up to Sherbet's hill to dole out some lovin' and some kibbles. He took one whiff and took off like a coyote was after him. He sat at a distance of 20 yards and just kept blinking and squinting his eyes at me in horror. And he didn't come back either.


But let me have stinky hands from taking out the garbage, or smelly pants from where another kitty sat their little behind down on my lap, or even morning coffee breath and ahhh..... what a bouquet of exquisite fineness.

Kitty yum yum.

(check out Natalie Dee; she's great)

Cleaning Out The Fridge

We need another housewife in this house, someone who can keep up with our endless demands of healthy foods. Sunday I decided to do a thorough cleaning out of our fridge to take charge of the chaos. It felt great!

This monstrosity of produce has to not only fit in the fridge but be organized in such a way that none of it spoils. From left to right we have: 2 lbs. of carrots, lemons, beets, red cabbage, celery, green pepper, orange pepper, Romaine lettuce, apples, one mango, two avocados, fresh ginger, lacinate kale, broccoli, and a tub of 'power greens' which is baby spinach, kale and collards. In the bowl in the back left is an endless supply of clementines. And we're only two people! (or perhaps goats.)

We also have this bag of oranges that I got for free at Earth Fare. They have amazing coupons for free stuff that I feel sets off some of the more expensive items.

Saeed is on a real sweet potato kick. He roasts them and keeps them in the fridge for easy grabbing. I have found that when I pack my lunch it's really easy to throw a few small pieces of sweet potato in there.

What's in our meat drawer? Tofurkey, the ginger you saw earlier, a red onion, vegan cheese, zereshk (Persian barberries), and in the far back right a box of Gaz from Iran. I've since added half an avocado. What a strange assortment of items. 

Ahhh, nice and clean and orderly. Now to start on the items in the door...

Explain To Me The Physics Of A Pile Of Snow

We still have piles of snow despite warm temps and pouring rain. Will it ever melt?

Bulldozed pile in our parking lot at work. It used to be taller but it should be GONE!

Addendum To Previous Post

Lo and behold, look what's all over the news today. Way to go Food Babe!

The Wolf Watching The Henhouse

It's stuff like this that drives me crazy:


Independently I ran across this blog (Food Babe) and am checking it out; she seems to be on the up and up. She is an activist for healthy food and proper labeling. I am still delving into her blog and videos to determine her authenticity and so far feel very good about her information and motives.

I think a big part of the solution is to not buy things in bags and boxes; I believe it's better to eat the actual food as it came out of the earth and not as someone else chose to process it. It means a bit more time in the kitchen but over time you get good at knowing what to fix & how and become more efficient.

Is it not ironic that as I was typing that sentence I was overcome by a desire for salt 'n vinegar potato chips. No problem; if the food babe wouldn't eat neither will I.

Update Day 3

It has stopped snowing and the sun is peeking through the clouds. Heavy clumps of snow on the tree branches are starting to melt and fall. Yipee! We've made it through the worst of it. It'll freeze again tonight so hopefully work tomorrow will be on a delay, but by tomorrow night we should be home free.

Day 3 Winter Storm 2014

This was the view out our bedroom window this morning:

Obviously we still have power but many in the Carolinas don't. Early this morning it was sleeting heavily and then five minutes later it was snowing; Mother Nature can't make up her mind because just now it did the same thing and sometimes it is indeed a "wintery mix" of snowflakes and sleet.

I was very tempted to see if I could visit Sherbet but they are telling people to stay off the roads so stay I did. Instead I took video out the back door:


 And then five minutes later sleeting, but the birds were singing!

 On the deck  my mint is chillin'...

...and the cute little green lizards are absent from my mum plant.

I'm glad we have a treadmill in the sun room. I may be snowed in but I refuse to be a slug. Off I go!

Post 3 On Day 2

I feel like we're on the Titanic and we're going down. It is sleeting as predicted and will continue through the night and then mix with snow at some point. At 6 AM it'll snow till noon and then go back to rain. Aaaaaaaaa, the ship is approaching the iceberg and there's nothing we can do. We're going down! Please please please I don't want to lose power.

I never would've made it on Shackelton's journey.

Post 2 On Day 2

It has snowed all day as predicted which worries me since the next prediction is for sleet and ice.  In fact as I write this I can hear tiny pellets of ice coming down on the dormer next to my window. This is one time I would actually like the forecast to be wrong.

After my AM excursion I swept the back steps. This is what they look like now.

And here's the back yard where yesterday you could see the cement.

 

And this is what's going on indoors in front of the fire place. 

Please excuse the tighty whities. :-)

Early this afternoon:


We are charging everything that can be charged in case the electricity goes out with downed power lines. Thank God (and Saeed who installed them) for our gas logs; we'll be warm no matter what happens. I'll update as long as we have power. If my blogs goes silent you'll know we're playing tic tac toe in front of the fire place.

Day 2 Of Winter Storm 2014

The morning started off OK. The streets, miraculously, were dry and not at all icy at 28 degrees. I poured a cup of coffee and scooted out the door to visit Sherbet one more time in case the predicted storm materialized. He came running out of his little house when he heard me and we schmoozled for a good long time, him nestled on my lap and inside my coat against my chest.

An hour after I got home it started to snow an icy snow and the wind started up. I went out to protect my car even further so it'll be easier unearthing it next time I need it. I intended to go back in the house but the weather was so exhilarating that before I knew it my feet were taking me on a walk around the neighborhood. I also got a text: the office will not open today. Whee!!

From the top of the driveway you can hear the wind and the icy snow hitting objects:

Everyone in our neighborhood with steep driveways parks at street level.

I've learned that if I put multiple small things on my car it's easier to pull them off when they get stuck. I used to put one long towel but that was actually harder to remove. I've also tucked some things into the door handles as they often get frozen shut. Looks like a hobo car!

At least one dog owner had already taken a walk. The next time I came around the block these tracks were all but covered over with fresh snow.

Doesn't look like SC.

The dreaded two hills that are my only way out of our subdivision. The first one going down once caused a school bus to slide into the second yard on the left. Going back up there at the end is pretty scary when it's icy. Beautiful though.

Since it's still snowing and hasn't stopped I imagine there will be more than this snowman in Devonshire.

An ecstatic snow worshiper about to go out. As I'm typing this I can hear some teenage boys outside pulling each other on sleds with a small snowmobile. Wish I were with them!

Day 1 Of Winter "Storm" 2014

We'll see if it turns into something worthy of the label "storm."

Today it snowed non-stop for 12 hours. It accumulated on some things but melted on the streets and sidewalks. Life was normal. Patients showed up. No big deal.

Tomorrow may be another matter. The forecast predicts more snow, then ice, then snow, then ice lasting into Thursday afternoon. We cancelled Wednesday morning patients hoping that we could open by 1 pm, but if the forecast proves to be accurate the Carolinas will be locked down. I just hope we don't lose our power.

In preparation for my next drive (not sure when that will be) I've backed the car into our front gravel walkway. I explained to Sherbet that he might not see me for a while and left him several bowls of dry food; canned food freezes. He'll need to stay in his little house and hibernate like a bear for a couple of days!

Continued From Yesterday

I got my reward this morning!

Inside Gladys' box...

... was a gorgeous pale brown egg.

I'm ashamed to say I don't know the kitties' names.

The black kitty is very schmoozley and loves to go outside.

The ragdoll kitty keeps her distance but does let you pet her.

My fun discovery!


Poor Gladys has the proverbial toilet paper stuck to her shoe.

Saturday Of Superbowl Weekend

Since this is Superbowl weekend the plan is to get stuff done so we can lounge in front of the violent entertainment that is the NFL. Also, our neighbors are out of town and we are "chicken sitting."

We found out our neighbor's name is Gladys. This is a great name for her as our human neighbors explained she is named for the character in the old TV series "Bewitched" that was the snoopy lady that lived across the street, Gladys Kravitz. Both Gladyses have a tendency to crane their heads around to look in the window to see what's going on inside the house. Having the name Gladys also means we will have to clarify in our conversations whether we are talking about Gladys the chicken or Gladys the lady who come to clean our house. Hopefully the context will be enough. "Hey Saeed, did Gladys poop on our sidewalk?" really shouldn't be confusing.

Thursday evening we went over to Kelly and Mark's house to receive our chicken training session. I admit to being slightly nervous since she is my first chicken experience. Saeed took the Friday night shift and I took the Saturday morning shift; so far so good and we will continue to care for her till Monday night. We also get to schmoozle with their two kitties who perform tricks for treats. They make our cats look really bad.

One of the AM chicken chores is to remove the egg that may be in her nest although I did not find an egg this morning. After feeding her I walked back to our driveway and began cleaning out my car. Gladys is very friendly and likes to hang out with people. She followed me over, singing to herself in that slightly warbley chicken way, and promptly hopped inside my car to check it out. She found nothing of interest in there and hopped back out while giving me the stink eye. Sorry Gladys. Let's go to the house so I can find something to redeem myself.

Saeed is on a sweet potato kick so I cut a piece off his supply and voilà! Pay dirt.



I will let you know if we find an egg one of these mornings. Meanwhile I will clean up and do laundry till Gladys needs us again.

Addendum: Gladys puts herself to bed. When sunset approaches she goes into her wired enclosure where her hutch is and sits on her nest. No worries that we have to catch her and put her in there. How cute is that?