Kitten Update

Finally sent off a not bad draft of a consulting report I have been working on for months.  Maybe now I can have enough energy at day's end to blog again.  I call it War and Peace though Tanya reminded me W&P is over 1000 pages while my report is only about 140 with over 100 tables and 60 odd charts.  Trend analysis is such fun.  Client is happy so far and already I have thought of a few more revisions to make.  Poems, love affairs and consulting reports are never finished, merely abandoned.

The kittens were a month old yesterday.  The little black kitten figured out how to climb in and out of their bed last Thursday and went exploring every chance she got.  She is littlest, but not from lack of food, as she is as aggressive as any of them.  And smarter and braver.

Black and white kitten climbed out the next day or fell out on his head more like and fell back in again.  So graceful.  By Saturday both of them were jumping in and out.  B&W is quite sturdy and has learned how to run already.

The two tiger (three colour) kittens (is this 'tortoise shell' pattern?) never had the gumption to climb out until Sunday morning.  They looked over the edge lots but wouldn't make the leap. But they loved to run around inside their big bed and wrestle each other.  All four of them are into the wrestling stage now.  Black kitty will tackle both tiger kittens at the same time.

Sunday noon, we moved them from the bedroom to the back room.  It is a 6'x14' room with a door from the kitchen in one wall and one into the garage on one end and the passageway to the out-building at the other. It has several pantry cupboards  and tables and is where the litter box and feeding dishes are located at opposite ends of the room.

Krasotka wasn't pleased but the kittens love it.  Lots of places to explore and if we aren't careful that includes the kitchen.  We wanted them near the food dish so they would learn to eat and near the litter box so they would learn to...never mind.

Tanya fed Krasotka some canned cat food on a saucer and the little black kitten was right in there eating along with her.  She must have figured it was not very good as she has shown no interest in it since.  But they are curious and it won't be long before they all go to investigate what their mother is doing.

Krasotka still goes to the attic every day to "hunt birds and mice" get away from her children.  She sometimes forgets she is a mother with responsibilities and thinks she is just a young cat.  She went out one night at 10:00 pm and wasn't home by midnight.  At 1:00 am she banged on the window to be let in. At least she was sober.

Many Ideas, Many Thanks

My thanks to those who emailed, Face Booked and commented on my last blog post requesting ideas:

I liked several of them...well, OK, all of them...

Outdoor School when the kids were in Grade 7 and 8 was a good time and I have some good pictures if I can find them.  It was predigital in those days.

Cows, or as MayB would say ABC "Another Bloody Cow".  There are lots of interesting things to say about cows and I have pictures from several countries, possibly even Iran.

More on places I have visited c/w pictures - that got a couple of votes and I have several ideas: such as Traditional felt-making in Mongolia

Remembering the Farm - my kids like that.  I am not close enough to BS them in person so blogging is next best.  I can blog about bad winters, bad cows and good horses, for example.

Everyday life in Ukraine (not just Tanya's and mine) got several votes.  Why the roads are bad; dealing with the reality of poverty in the economy; the insanity of traffic laws; traditional foods and food traditions...

Random idea generating - other blogs, dictionary etc.  Worth a try

GMOs.  This is close to getting into the rant area but if I can avoid that, I do have several subjects on which I may have an opinion if pushed hard enough.

More Signs of the Times

Sign over a Gynecologist's Office:

"Dr. Jones, at your cervix."

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In a Podiatrist's office:

"Time wounds all heels."

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On a Septic Tank Truck:

Yesterday's Meals on Wheels

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At an Optometrist's Office:

"If you don't see what you're looking for, you've come to the right place."

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On a Plumber's truck:

"We repair what your husband fixed."

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On another Plumber's truck:

"Don't sleep with a drip. Call your plumber."

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At a Tire Shop

"Invite us to your next blowout."

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At a Towing company:

"We don't charge an arm and a leg. We want tows."

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On an Electrician's truck:

"Let us remove your shorts."

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In a Non-smoking Area:

"If we see smoke, we will assume you are on fire and take appropriate action."

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On ao Maternity Room door:

"Push. Push. Push."

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At a Car Dealership:

"The best way to get back on your feet - miss a car payment."

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Outside a Muffler Shop:

"No appointment necessary.  We hear you coming."

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In a Veterinarian's waiting room:

"Be back in 5 minutes. Sit! Stay!"

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At the Electric Company

"We would be delighted if you send in your payment.

However, if you don't, you will be."

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In a Restaurant window:

"Don't stand there and be hungry; come on in and get fed up."

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In the front yard of a Funeral Home:

"Drive carefully. We'll wait."

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At a Propane Filling Station:

"Thank heaven for little grills."

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At a RADIATOR SHOP:

"Best place in town to take a leak."

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On another Septic Tank Truck:

"Caution - This Truck is full of Political Promises"

from my friend Robert

I need ideas

My brain is running low on ideas to keep this thing running.  Not much happening day to day that can't be handled in one blog a week, mostly of kittens for the time being anyhow.

No rants about the latest stupidity of  (pick a country), please.  If you need some I can give you a list of e-zines and bloggers.

More travel blogs about places I have been and unusual pictures related to it?

More "Remembering the Farm" trying to recall some things about my youth?

I don't do humour.  Except by accident. Though I do steal from the best and have a marvelous collection of (mostly unpublishable) stuff.

Other ideas?

  

Of Paint and Pussycats

Spring yard work is well underway.  Tanya has the front and side flower beds well in hand.  Spring flowers are coming up all over, including places where she thought she had dug up all the bulbs last summer.  A few small blue snowdrops are already blooming.  And violets.  They grow everywhere.  Tough as nails.  Grow out of cracks in the sidewalk even.  Must be a different breed than the ones that grow indoors and just look for an excuse to die.

I raked under the apple trees and hauled the last of the rotten apples to the "compost" pile. Just the back yard left.  Well manicured lawns are not a big thing here as they cost money to maintain while flowers take only work. We bought some grass seed a couple years back and spread it in the back yard.  Slender wheat bunch grass as it turned out.  But better than weeds.

The guy who was supposed to come and work the kitchen garden over may have found his way to a bottle of vodka but he didn't find his way here.  Maybe next week.

Tanya bought 8 litres of light grey paint for $40 and today she grabbed a wallpaper paste brush and painted ALL the masonry trim around the house.  I did it last time, five years ago and it took me a week.  Rome wasn't built in a day but Tanya wasn't in charge.  She may have added some water to the paint as it seemed to go a long way.  I only hope she doesn't have to repaint for all her thinning.  At least this time she didn't spill any down her front so I didn't have to help her make a clean breast of it.

The kittens continue to grow and are becoming a drain on their mother.  We noticed today, she got them to sleep and then she slept outside their bed on the carpet to get away from them.  One little guy has an infected eye so we are treating it with tetracycline ointment.  The first time we took all the kittens to the kitchen and washed their eyes with a disinfectant.  Krasotka just stayed in their bed and waited until we brought them back.  Next time we took only two kittens and she came with us to keep an eye on them.  Today Tanya just brought the one to treat and the cat jumped on the counter, grabbed the kitten out of Tanya's hands and took off for the bedroom with it.

They are getting quite playful, though still a little wobbly on their legs. They will be climbing out of their bed tomorrow I am sure.

Little grey kitty is most brave

B&W kitty climbed back in with help from his mother.

Dumb Things TEApublicans Have Said

Found this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
The first list is from here. The second one from a comment below the article.

1. “People now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things.”  – Chris Collins, New York GOP State Rep.
2. “You would be giving off more CO2 if you are riding a bike than driving in a car.”  – Ed Orcutt, Washington GOP State Rep., stating that bicycles pollute the environment more than cars do.
3. “Oh, no, we’re not going to have any casualties.”  – George W. Bush discussing the Iraq war with Christian Coalition founder Pat Robertson in 2003, as quoted by Robertson.
4. “So Miss Fluke, and the rest of you Feminazis, here’s the deal. If we are going to pay for your contraceptives, and thus pay for you to have sex. We want something for it. We want you post the videos online so we can all watch.”  – Rush Limbaugh
5. “I think the right approach is to accept this horribly created — in the sense of rape — but nevertheless a gift in a very broken way, the gift of human life, and accept what God has given to you… rape victims should make the best of a bad situation.” – Rick Santorum
6. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways of shutting that whole thing down.”  -Todd Akin
7. “When a physician removes a child from a woman, that is the largest organ in a body. That’s a big thing. That’s a big surgery. You don’t have any other organs in your body that are bigger than that.”  – Mary Sue McClurkin, Alabama GOP State Rep.
8. “To redefine marriage is discriminatory towards those who hold the sincerely held religious belief that it is a sacred institution between a man & a woman.”  – Illinois state Sen. Kyle McCarter (R), in response to the state Senate approving same-sex marriage in Illinois.
9. “I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen.”  – Richard Mourdock, Indiana GOP U.S. Senate candidate.
10. “There is no one who doesn't have health care in America. No one. Now, they may end up going to the emergency room. There are better ways to deal with people that need health care than this massive new program.”  – Phil Bryant, Republican governor of Mississippi.
11. ”Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.”-Rush Limbaugh
12. “[America has to import so many workers because] for the last 35 years we have aborted more than a million people who would have been in our workforce.”  – Mike Huckabee
13. ”The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”  – Pat Robertson
14. “He is purple – the gay-pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle – the gay pride symbol.”  – Jerry Falwell’s warning to parents that Tinky Winky of Teletubbies, may be gay.
15. “Some girls, they rape so easy”  – Roger Rivard, Wisconsin GOP State Rep.

1. “If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of alot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.” ~ George W. Bush
2. ”We need to uptick our image with everyone, including one-armed midgets.” ~ Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele.
3. “When the President does it that means that it’s not illegal.” ~ Richard M. Nixon
4. “Exercise freaks … are the ones putting stress on the health care system.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
5. ”Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
6. “Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” (sic) ~ George W. Bush
7. “Good Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions.” ~ Jerry Falwell
8. “As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens (sic) do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” ~ George W. Bush
9. “Grown men should not be having sex with prostitutes unless they are married to them.” ~ Jerry Falwell
10. “Facts are stupid things.” ~ Ronald Reagan
11. “How did [the Holocaust] happen? Because God allowed it to happen… because God said, ‘My top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.’” ~ Rev. John Hage
12. “Our guys are more macho than their straights.” ~ Ann Coulter, commenting in 2005 on Jeff Gannon, the conservative plant in the White House press corps who turned out to be a male escort
13. “This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” ~ George W. Bush
14. “Trees cause more pollution than automobiles.” ~ Ronald Reagan
15. “[America has to import so many workers because] for the last 35 years we have aborted more than a million people who would have been in our workforce.” ~ Mike Huckabee
16. ”I even accept for the sake of argument that sexual orgies eliminate social tensions and ought to be encouraged.” ~ Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
17. “I would not say that the future is necessarily less predictable than the past. I think the past was not predictable when it started.” ~ Donald Rumsfeld
18. “My grandmother was not a highly educated woman, but she told me as a small child to quit feeding stray animals. You know why? Because they breed. You're facilitating the problem if you give an animal or a person ample food supply. They will reproduce, especially ones that don’t think too much further than that. And so… what youve got to do is you've got to curtail that type of behavior. They don’t know any better.” ~ Andre Bauer
19. ”Well, I learned a lot….I went down to (Latin America) to find out from them and (learn) their views. You’d be surprised. They’re all individual countries.” ~ Ronald Reagan
20. “We have a lot of work to do. It’s a very hard struggle, particularly given the situation on the Iraq-Pakistan border.” ~ John McCain (the countries share no common border)
21. “The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them.” ~ Rush Limbaugh
22. ”Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on you.” ~ Rep. Virginia Foxx
23. “I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” ~ George W. Bush
24. What I don’t know is what the unexpected might be.” ~ John McCain
25. I think gay marriage is something that should be between a man and a woman” — Arnold Schwarzenegger
26. ”The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” ~ Pat Robertson
27. “President Washington, President Lincoln, President Wilson, President Roosevelt have all authorized electronic surveillance on a far broader scale.”~ Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, testifying before Congress
28. “Juarez is reported to be the most dangerous city in America.” ~ Rick Perry
29. “You can always follow me on Tweeter.” ~ Rick Perry
30. “ Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself!” ~ Herman Cain
31. “From time to time there are going to be things that occur that are acts of God that cannot be prevented.” ~ Rick Perry, on the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, in 2010
32. “I had other priorities in the sixties than military service.” ~ Dick Cheney on his five draft deferments
33. “The Holocaust was an obscene period in our nation’s history. I mean in this century’s history. But I didn't live in this century.” ~ Vice President Dan Quayle
34. “The more toppings a man has on his pizza, I believe the more manly he is. A manly man don’t want it piled high with vegetables! He would call that a sissy pizza.” ~ Herman Cain
35. “I will tell you that I had a mother last night come up to me here in Tampa, Florida, after the debate. She told me that her little daughter took that vaccine, that injection, and she suffered from mental retardation thereafter.” ~ Michele Bachmann on the HPV vaccine. (It doesn't cause mental retardation.)
36. “These are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negroes.” ~ President Eisenhower commenting on racial segregation after the Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
37. “This president, I think, has exposed himself over and over again as a guy who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture….I’m not saying he doesn't like white people, I’m saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.” ~ Glenn Beck
38. “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this Oval Office.” ~ George W.Bush
39. “I feel the best way to ensure Americans’ freedom is to tighten restrictions on that freedom in any way possible. Only through wiretaps, illegal searches and seizures, unfettered government intrusion, a controlled media and a complete crackdown on free speech can we ensure the liberties of all people.” ~ Attorney General John Ashcroft
40. “What a terrible thing to have lost one’s mind. Or not to have a mind at all. How true that is.” ~ Vice President Dan Quayle
41. “Michele Bachmann… I'm not going to say it. I’m not going to say it…. Tutti-frutti. I know I'm going to get in trouble!” ~ Herman Cain on the different flavors of ice cream to which he'd compare his primary competitors.
42. “When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.” ~ Glenn Beck
43. ”I find it interesting that it was back in the 1970s that the swine flu broke out under another, then under another Democrat president, Jimmy Carter. I’m not blaming this on President Obama, I just think it’s an interesting coincidence.” ~ Rep. Michele Bachmann
44. “I love California; I practically grew up in Phoenix.” ~ Dan Quayle
45. “He is purple – the gay-pride color, and his antenna is shaped like a triangle – the gay pride symbol.” ~ Jerry Falwell’s warning to parents that “Tinky Winky of Teletubbies, may be gay
46. “The greatest threat to America is not necessarily a recession or even another terrorist attack. The greatest threat to America is a liberal media bias.” ~ Rep. Lamar Smith
47. “Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn't even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” ~ Rep. Michele Bachmann
48. “If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be turning over in his grave. ~ Gerald Ford (on Nixon and Watergate)
49. “ Isn't that the ultimate homeland security, standing up and defending marriage?” ~ Rick Santorum
50. “I should tell my story. I'm also unemployed.” ~ Mitt Romney
51. “I saw the young man over there with eggs Benedict, with hollandaise sauce. And I was going to suggest to you that you serve your eggs with hollandaise sauce in hubcaps. Because there’s no plates like chrome for the hollandaise.” ~ Mitt Romney
52. “I’m ready for the ‘gotcha’ questions and they’re already starting to come. And when they ask me who is the president of Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan I’m going to say, you know, I don’t know. Do you know?” ~ Herman Cain
53. “They [China] have indicated that they’re trying to develop nuclear capability and they want to develop more aircraft carriers like we have. So yes, we have to consider them a military threat.” ~ Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain, warning that China could develop nuclear weapons. (They developed them in 1964.)
54. “If you've seen one city slum, you've seen them all.” ~ Spiro Agnew
55. “Capital punishment is our way of demonstrating the sanctity of life.”” ~ Orrin Hatch
56. “I went to a number of women’s groups and said: ‘Can you help us find folks,’ and they brought us whole binders full of women.” ~ Mitt Romney
57. “We have a president, who I think is a nice guy, but he spent too much time at Harvard, perhaps.” ~ Mitt Romney
58. “We need a leader, not a reader.” ~ Herman Cain
59. “How do you say ‘delicious’ in Cuban?” ~ Herman Cain
60. ”A poet once said, ‘Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, but it’s never easy when there’s so much on the line.’” ~ Herman Cain, using the theme song of the Pokemon movie in the closing statement of the first GOP debate in 2012

Krasotka's Kittens

Krasotka (Babe) was Roman's cat.  She came to live with us January 2nd, much to the delight of Kuchma who never met a female cat he didn't like.  Two weeks later she was pregnant and her four kittens are two weeks old today.

She likes to look out the window in my office

We made a bed for her in the closet under the stairs

Four kittens: two tiger, one black and white and one black and grey

Here they are at six days old

Today we put them on the floor for a few minutes to crawl around

Their legs are not very strong yet but they were interested in their surroundings

Krasotka watches from their bed box

The Hunter

When the babies are asleep and she needs a break, Krasotka will often come upstairs.  We have a large attic over the garage which both cats enjoy exploring because there are mice there once in awhile, so I let her in if she asks.   The roof/ceiling needs repairs as there are two holes under the corrugated panelling through which about once or twice a year a small bird will enter and need to be rescued.  Krasotka will sit motionless on that ledge by those holes for an hour or more, listening to the birds hopping and chirping on the roof just above her head. She is certain that if she waits, a bird will enter through the hole.  When I get tired of waiting for her I grab her and haul her out of there growling at me for ruining her hunting.