There was a reason

I stopped having any contact with my mother and her husband.

*re-reads email to make sure she isn't imagining things*    Yeah.... damned good reasons.

Well, you can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family, right?

I think I Have been doing too much

*looks at the heel of left foot*

Yes, my back is a bit twingey, but that's not the problem. Been doing a lot of hauling, weeding , pruning, raking, chucking, sorting, and lots of walking. My left leg is getting tired, but I don't feel it. What happens is my left heel strikes the floor too hard, causing cracks, both across and under the heel, and it doesn't matter if I wear shoes or not.

They're not quite bleeding... yet. *wince*

What two days can mean

The baby birds have fledged, but with one being two days younger than the first hatched, its feathers, especially the tail feathers, aren't quite equal with the nest mate.

I heard the parents screeching blue bloody murder in the back yard, and went out to look. Sure enough, the younger chick was on the ground, and Loki was playing with it. Luckily for the chick it sat still, and Loki didn't use claws. I managed to get the chick away from him, and put it in the 'emergency nest' which is a fiber hanging plant basket. The parents chittered at me, and examined their chick, and proceeded to feed it. It flitted up to a branch/twig just above the basket. The older one was higher up in the tree.

The chick need another day or two for the tail feathers to grow in, for rudder control. Loki and Keito aren't going to be happy confined to the house, but thems the breaks!

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Thanksgiving Lite

Seeing as the bulk of my family is still in the US, spending 8 hrs to cook a full on Thanksgiving feast is rather over the top. So, will still have a mini-celebration here, keeping int he spirit of the holiday. I have much to be thankful for. Family, friends, life in general.

So, tonights dinner is a turkey leg quarter, seasoned with fresh rosemary, sage and thyme from my garden, mashed potatoes, corn, and maybe cornbread or a pumpkin pie.

We "nerd", therefore we are

Today was shopping around for a few things.

Before Aikidomayland left for his trip, he flipped the wrong circuit breaker on and off a few times, totally scragging Alan's hard drive. Joy. Just after he got it all set up.

So we headed out to Disc World (no, no turtles in space, or a wizard named Two-Flower), to get Alan a replacement hard drive, and to get memory upgraded in my Netbook.

Also, my AcerRacer no matter what I tried to do to have it run cool (cooling mat, small fan blowing on it, making sure the vets are clear, running the CPUs at only 80% etc etc), it keeps overheating, and it's just a matter of time before it totally packs it in, so I went shopping.

Never will I get any computer hardware at Harvey Norman (Forever and always known as "Hardly Normal") I spotted a computer (The Aspire Z5610) that would not be replaced because of obsolescence for several years. But at Hardly Normal, the guy quoted me a price. and told me it was exclusive to Hardly Normal. I said I would think about it.

We went back to Disc World, and just for giggles I asked the guy about the same computer that Hardly Normal quoted for me. $700 less. No, that isn't a typo.

Now, I am all for businesses making money, but screwing people over isn't the right way to do it. I will be picking it up next week. I will wait a week to save $700. Exclusive to HN my ass.

Here's hoping that AcerRacer 1 will hold out that long.

The next generation

A few weeks ago, I blogged about a pair of New Holland Honey Eaters had built a nest on the honeysuckle trellis in our back yard, right outside our window.

Now, there are at least 2 chicks, just starting to fledge (sprout feathers)

Mardi Gras themed birthday cake!

Since my birthday is on a Monday, the party is tonight! Wheeeee!

Pedigree Bengals for adoption

Runamok Bengals, the same breeder where we got Ziggy, and the rescue cats Simba and Lucy, have more soon to be retired breeders available for adoption. There are also a couple of sweeties that need to be re-homed (due to no fault of theirs, and not abused, just circumstances)

So, if you live around Perth, Western Australia, and feel up to having a happy healthy active Bengal, go to Runamok website. This isn't 'first come first served', as the breeder doesn't want a repeat of what happened with Lucy and Simba, so there is an interview/screening process.

The above are a few of the currently available for adoption adults.

There will also be other retired queens and toms in the future.

More progress

Lucy and Simba taking an indoor, out from under furniture nap. Lucy saw me coming with the camera and didn't run and hide! :D

Aw dang

Edward Woodward dies

Edward Woodward, the star of films including Breaker Morant and The Wicker Man, has died aged 79.

Woodward, who starred as The Equalizer on television, died in a hospital in Cornwall after an illness, said Janet Glass of the Eric Glass Ltd agency in London.

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Photos: The many faces of Edward Woodward

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He won an Emmy Award in 1990 for Remembering World War II and a Golden Globe in 1987 for The Equalizer, which ran for 88 episodes from 1985 to 1989 on the US network CBS.

In a career that began in 1946 in a regional production of A Kiss for Cinderella, Woodward played roles in productions ranging from the popular British soap opera Eastenders to productions of Shakespeare, and at least 40 films for theatre or television.

His last film appearances were in Hot Fuzz in 2007 and Congregation of Ghosts, now in post-production.

He also recorded several albums including "Love is the Key" in 1977 and "The Jewel that was Ours" in 1994.

"I think I've probably more television than any actor living," Woodward said in a 1987 interview with The Associated Press. "I've done over 2,000, could be 3,000 now, television productions.

"I suppose there is also the feeling that it is the largest medium by far for information, education and above all, entertainment," he added. "And after all, that's what an actor's life is all about. Getting work and entertaining people."

At the time, Woodward was promoting a US television film of Uncle Tom's Cabin, in which he played the wicked slave owner, Simon Legree. He found the role strangely refreshing.

"If you are a British actor, you do lots of Shakespeare and lots of classical work. There is always a great actor who has just played your character," he said.

"Lucky for me, Simon Legree has not been done very often," he added.

Woodward is survived by his second wife, actress Michele Dotrice, their daughter, and two sons and a daughter from his first marriage, which ended in divorce.

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

AP

Lucy is coming along nicely

Not only is Lucy coming into the house all on her own, and not flinching so much, but she now is interacting with us, playing and demanding attention.

Both Lucy and Simba are improving in appearance and health. Still eating a lot more then normal, but it's slowed considerably compared to what they were doing when they first realised food was available. From 5 or more feeds a day to 2 or 3.

And for a special treat, an animated gif of Aikidomayland playing 'catch' with Lucy.

Too long of a day

Got up early, after not getting to sleep until after 1am last night. Mostly because we are trying to make sure that the fosters are calming down, and not repeating bad behavior. It's not their fault, as they were mistreated, but with kind firmness and redirecting them, we are hoping over time (a short amount we really hope) they will be centered and happy.

Aikidomayland is cooking dinner tonight. It's nice to have a night off once in a while, or once a week.

No archery tomorrow, as Aikidomayland has gaming session with Daggles and a few other buddies. I don't mind not getting up at OMIGOD thirty on a Sunday for once.

Pillaging: all I can say is there are certain things we get on a regular basis, so I know how much the prices have gone up. And eating healthy food is a helluva lot more expensive than eating the cheap stuff. *sigh*

Loki sayz

"No more jello shots...EVER! BLARGH!

We seem to have solved the problem

Simba spreads out.

After talking to Alison about Simba, we got some great ideas.

It seems like his biggest problem is he is stressed out. It didn't help when Ziggy leapt from the top of the lorikeets cage behind him after he had walked past. He needed to so something to destress. Might not have liked his choice, but it's easy to work around.

This is what we did.

We found out he was allowed to roam free outside at his old place of captivity. So he was used to digging in soil and sand. We rigged up a plastic bag lined cardboard box with some dirt from the back yard. After feeding he was kept in the enclosure for at least 40 minutes. That seems to have worked with the messing where he shouldn't have.

They have also slowed down even more on food intake, so I am guessing they are getting enough to eat now, and will soon be happy healthy kitties.

Foster cats update

Lucy and Simba's condition keeps improving every day. Lucy will still run out of the house into the pet enclosure if you try to pet her, but will roll over and mew when you pet or brush her outside in the enclosure.

Lucy (l) and Simba (r) come inside for a bit of play time. You can see the 'collar grooves' left by collars that were too small, and the furless patches on Simba's shoulder. He hasn't lost any more clumps, and the dermatitis is easing. So is the inhaling of food. They both have gotten past the OMIGODIMSTARVING stage, and are down to 3 serves of soft food a day, down from 5.

Simba, nose to nose with his mother, Ziggy.

It all hasn't been sweetness and light, however.

Simba pooped on our new sofa.
Aikidomayland
cold busted him. Poor cat looked scared, he expected to be beaten.
Aikidomayland
softly said "Bad kitty", sighed, and then got me up to let me know what Simba did.

Got the upholstery cleaner, cleaned and deodorized the soft, vacuumed it dry, and put a cover over it to prevent a recurrence. During the cleaning, all you could see was a tip of a nose and whiskers. When he realised there was no yelling or hitting, he did come out. With luck he will realise there is no need to act out in the fashion, and he will stop, as did Ziggy (she did this a few times on a small rug. We tossed the rug, and put in an extra litter box. Problem solved)

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Gallery

*holds hat in hand with most beseeching look*

Simba playing on the cat tower

(click on pic, it's an animated gif)

His eyes are much better, only his right eye has a bit of milky tearing.  

Both he and Lucy spent the night in the house, but we kept the screen door to the cat enclosure prepped so they could go out if the felt more secure in the small kennel out there.

Will be brushing them out again soon, once they get their 2nd breakfast. Oh yeah, they prefer to have fish for 1st breakfast, red meat for 2nd breakfast, and whatever for their 3rd.  But today, they aren't begging for the 2nd breakfast yet, so they might be over the OMIGODIMSTARVING.

After a careful examinations

We have more reason to despise that previous owner of Simba and Lucy.

Simba is at least 30% under what his body mass should be, and has folds of skin hanging. He is the first cat I have ever seen that has split ends on his fur. And it's so coarse and rough. He has dermatitis, probably due to piss poor diet and no grooming, and allergy affected eyes. Luckily we have the medicated eye ointment to treat them. After one treatment, his eyes stopped weeping. Will get dosed twice a day for a week.

Lucy: that poor little muffin must have been slapped or hit, because when you go to pet or brush her, she squints her eyes down, flattens her ears to the sides, and ducks. She does relax once she realises that it's pats she is getting.

The both of them are protein starved, and eat 5 serves of meat, fish, or quality canned food a day. Lucy eats a bit less of it than Simba, as she isn't as underweight as Simba is (probably was at least catching mice when she got out) but he will finish what she leaves. After just 3 days of proper feeding, and twice a day gentle grooming, Simba is showing a few patches of the gold glint on his fur. Lucy's fur is also getting softer in patches.

They both are starting to come into the house. Simba has made himself more at home indoors than Lucy. Probably because her ex humans used to keep her locked in the attic of their house. It's all good. She comes in a bit further every time.

Lucy soaking up some afternoon sun.

Simba lounging in the lounge!

Not bad for less than 12 hrs

Simba (l) and Lucy (r) enjoy their new digs. We couldn't coax Lucy out of the box last night, so we just made sure there was food, water, sand box and Simba in the enclosure with her. We left the door slightly open so our crew could sniff and be sniffed but no fighting. Made for a noisy night, but not too bad. Gave them each a box of their own, and a scratch post.

Was very pleased to see Lucy out and about this morning.

Simba is watching some wattlebirds, and Lucy is listening to the neighbors chickens.

Lucy, not as timid as last night





Simba, watching the birds and bugs on the other side of the enclosure





Seating for two. It was go great to see them snugged up together, as they were Stress hissing and growling at each other last night. I guess that's over now.





Their overall condition is fair. Their fur and skin are very dry and in need of proper diet and brushing. Poor Simba has a few patches of fur missing due to allergy to the food he was being fed. Lucy isn't quite as bad, but her coat should be so much softer and shinier. We will get them set to rights.

Fun part is gonna be getting them and our three (Keito, Ziggy and Loki) together without it being Feline Smack Down.

Simba and Lucy will be here tonight

They have been rescued from the jerk who thought they were decorations, and are being comforted by Alison. She said they are reasonably good shape, but shy, and if anyone knows now Bengals are, that is not normal. I'm sure with enough patience and care, they will return to their usual rambunctious selves.

For your viewing pleasure:

Ziggy turns out to be a bit on the kinky side. It seems she likes having her butt spanked, and her fur roughed up. I zoomed in close, twice, and you can hear her purring so hard, she might rattle her bones apart!

Ziggy, a most kinky Bengal

Holy moly, I won!

When I ordered Season 1 of Sanctuary, I decided to enter the contest that EzyDVD was having. The prize was a signed by Amanda Tapping copy of Season 1. We had to describe in 25 words or less, what creature would you like to see on Sanctuary and why.

I'll be honest, I don't remember what I typed out, but it must have been good, because I won! Just got the confirmation call, and verified my address. This makes up for the 'neutered' version that the studios sold to Aussies!

One to watch, one to have girlish squee time.

Not too thrilled by this... but needed to be done

The continuing Tai Chi class. Not a good thing for me.

The instructor was a bit, shall we say, militant about the Don yus (exercises) and even though I have listed my peculiar problem with nerve damage, and spinal problems. She just kept cajoling and bullying me until I did them with "Oh just try! Your leg will get stronger." not realising that muscle strength isn't the problem! I have the muscles of a figure skater in my legs from physiotherapy, but they don't get nerve 'messages'. Because of this, I can do exercises, and not feel any pain, but later on, I am a immovable heap of humanity, usually with a badly spasming back. Legs are just fine, but the back.. not so much.

And it also felt as if she was demonstrating how well she could do everything, rather than instruct. She also made it appear that I couldn't opt out and just sit it out, even though our beginners instructors had told us we could certainly abstain from anything that would cause pain. She had no empathy for those not 'able bodied'.

Maybe the problem is they need an intermediary class, rather than tossing freshly graduated from beginners into the continuing sessions.

I have discussed this with someone else who used to go to the tai chi sessions, but ended up quitting for the same reasons I have listed here.

Right now, Wing is at the Tai Chi center.. having a few words with them, and delivering a letter. Ever the accountant, it has to be in writing or it didn't happen.

Fostering Bengals

After a desperate plea on the website Ziggy's breeder, we have volunteered to foster two adult rescue Bengals. They are bonded, and not to be separated. One of them is Ziggy's son.

Simba

and Lucy.

They are also traumatized by their inhuman keeper. I guess it's fortuitous of us to have built the enclosure, as it will give the new ones a nice bolt hole.

Why do people adopt high maintenance cats, and then neglect or abuse them when they behave as expected? Grrrrrr.

The price of being a home owner

Aikidomayland is, for want of a better word, crabby about the house repair and more to the point, the cost. He has been living here for over 15 yrs (almost 10 yrs here for me) and had done little to nothing in maintaining the property.

Well, that has come home to roost. The gate, doors, light fixtures, power outlets, screens, dead trees, the pergola (that still needs fixing), the roof (needs to have some tiles replaced and resealed), paint water stained ceiling. Houses don't heal, they wear down. There is nothing really wrong with the house, but it does need upkeep, and that is what I have been doing. Playing catch up on years of neglect. And as much as it costs to get it fixed, it would be a helluva lot pricier than if we ignored the problems.

Zzzzzzzzzz

Food coma in progress. Homemade Strawberry Shortcake, with French Vanilla Bean whipped cream for desert brought it on.