The Daily Bug

Hi, ho, hello, everyone!

Due to a couple of things going on in the office yesterday, I did not get any of my regular work done. As a result, I'm swamped today!

Sandi, Gus does not seem to be too interested in toys. I've waved yarn in front of him, bought him a couple of cat toys and he is indifferent, for the most part. Once in a while, he'll make a few half hearted attempts at batting them.

He does like his nip, though!

He was back outside again from about dusk to around 9:30. Glued to that century plant. No bodies on the front stoop, though.

Yes, I do worry some about him getting bit but he seemed fine. I couldn't find any wounds or sore spots. I guess he honed his skills during his time on the streets.

Ylee, Hubby was grumbling about, "Now we're going to have dead rats all over the place."

I told him that dead rats on the mat were much better than live rats!

Goodness, Shore. You and I were posting at the same time during my lunch break. I hit post and zoomed over to Dad's. I didn't get back here until after I got home.

I agree with you: when the temps are that hot, it's no time to turn the oven on. I don't fix much of anything that requires oven time until those lovely fall temps arrive. I'm craving casseroles and roast and some of that mac and cheese, too.

Sandi, Gus has his nip (catnip) and I have mine (whisky, cordials, etc.)!

I've tried buying Gus one or two of the catnip scented toys but they still don't hold all that much attraction. You'd think so but...

I put a pinch or two on that sisal doormat at the back door, to encourage him to use it for his claws. He did at first but then switched to the rungs of one of my chairs in the living room. I'm so ticked off with him. He's been going outside a good bit more this past month or two and I'm hoping that his clawing on the river birch will eventually wean him from the chair. I have the doormat and a scratching post inside, both of which he does use. But he added the chair! I've got a squirt bottle handy but I can't ever seem to catch him in the act.

Hi, Gams. Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a "Hatch" to put in my flower bed. Freak out the neighbors a little bit! hehehehehe

Yep, you're almost there. Just a couple more work days/weeks and you'll be entering a new phase of your life. I know you're excited!

Shore, it had crossed my mind to wrap the rungs in aluminum foil. Not that I'd ever heard that as a tip to help them stop clawing. I was just pondering ways to ward him off. Then, I wondered if there were crinkles in the aluminum foil when I wrapped the rungs, if it would not attract him even more.

Since you've seen this as a valid method, I'll go ahead and give it a try. See what happens.

Janet, a live parakeet? That's not your usual present on the front mat, is it? And you wound up having that budgie for a long time. That's something else!

I've been watching Julia and Julie this evening. I'm really enjoying it. I adored Julia Child and watched her cooking shows for years, all the way up until she finally stopped. I also remember reading a short article in Readers Digest by Julie Powell about her challenge to cook all the recipes in The Art Of French Cooking in a year, in that tiny kitchen.

Julie never met Julia. I found out from reading something Norah Ephron wrote, that Julia didn't think much of Julie's project, saying that the recipes had been cooked by many, many people. She couldn't understand why Julie was having trouble with some of them. "She just must not be much of a cook", or words to that effect, were her observation. It's kind of at odds with my perception of Julia but then, I only saw her on TV. I don't know what she was like in real life.

Oh, gosh, yes... It's Friday!

Even though the office was closed Monday, this has been a looooong week. We had four days worth of work Tuesday when we came in. (We get work daily, regardless of weekends, holidays, etc.) I lost a full day Wednesday, due to a special project.

Yesterday was bad. Knock on wood, though... I think I'm seeing some good progress today. I'm still not caught up but I'm getting there.

Sandi, on the whole, I've been lucky with mine, too. Not all of my cats have clawed furniture. It has only been Daisy and Gus.

Even Thor, as bad as he was, didn't claw the furniture. He clawed me and the trees, instead. He was very much an outdoor cat, who would come in at night or during rainy or cold weather. He much preferred to take care of things outside. I never knew him to use the litter box. He wanted OUT.

Happy Saturday!

Got my wash going, as it appears that we may have a 30-40% chance of showers and/or T-storms most of the weekend. It's OK out there now and the radar is more or less clear but how long it'll last is debatable. So, an early start was required.

I just had a great laugh. I scanned back through the comments for a second. Sandi says she uses those catnip toys for Blue, until they lose their smell and she buys new ones.

I wondered about a way to 're-scent' them. First, I thought about putting them in zip lock bags with some catnip. Maybe several days storage like that would give them some of their zip back.

Then, I had a flash. You know those essential oils you can get at Body & Bath or at craft stores for potpourri? I asked Uncle Google about catnip oil.

As it turns out, you can buy catnip oil but it's used mostly as an insect repellant. The images that popped into my head right then were what set me to laughing. It might repel the insects but how would you then repel all the local cats? I could just picture someone screaming and running down the street with a whole clowder of cats chasing them!

We've had several showers but no really bad storms.

I did have to grab my things off the line and I'm glad I spotted those clouds when I did. Not 15 munites later, we had a good shower. That last load wasn't quite dry but I have clothes racks I can put things on inside.

Ylee, Sandi is the one that buys replacement catnip toys. I was trying to think of some way she could re-scent them for Blue.

Gus likes his nip but he doesn't seem to show much interest in catnip toys. I bought another one today, that has a pouch closed by velcro. You can replace the catnip inside. He sniffed, batted it a couple of times and walked off.

Pros, so far it's just been showers. The majority of that line to our west seems to be moving mostly to the NE but we might get the tail end of it hitting us. Also, there's some stuff moving up from GA that might hit us later tonight.

So, Shore, you're probably right. We may have some, later on.

Gus does love catnip rubbed on his scratching post. I bought a new bag this afternoon at Target. It's so odd that he won't play with the catnip toys.

I also some more (non-hairball) cat treats. All I have to do is ask him, "Do you want some num-num?" and he starts talking!

I have found that Target and Bi-Lo here carry the hair ball formula Temptations. Food Lion, Publix, Walmart and the Red & White here have quit carrying it. For a while there, I was having to stock up every time I went up to Greenwood to Dad's; the Bi-Lo up there had it.

YIKES... that radar looks freaky. Hope it doesn't get too bad tonight.

I'm looking forward to the temps this coming week. Highs will only reach the mid 80's and lows will sometimes dip into the upper 60's!

Aaaaahhhhhhhh........

As I mentioned to Wab, I'm tired of salads and cold ham. I'm starting to crave winter time foods. Comfort food. Things that require the use of an oven. Which I do not do in the summer. Our little window unit just cannot handle high temps and oven use.

I want soups, stews, casseroles, roast beast, roast pork, smashed taters and, eventually, some macaroni pie.

Hi, ho, happy Sunday, everyone.

We did not get much rain at all yesterday or last night. I just checked my gauge and there was only .15 of an inch.

From the looks of things, we may get some sun later on today. The storms have moved of the coast and the radar looks clear. We're still cloudy.

The NWS has us with an expected high today of 82F and the highs this week will be in the low to mid 80's. Sunny and clear all week. A nice change from the summer heat.

Made my run to Walmart late yesterday. Got gas. The sign said 3.55 a gallon for regular but the price at the pump was 3.47, with my Walmart card. Perhaps they're giving more than 3 cents off on the gallon again, like they did for a while this time last year. I didn't hear anything but it's the only explanation I can come up with.

I picked up some cabbage and potatoes to make a Bowdlerized version of Bubble and Squeak. Cabbage, potatoes, carrots, onion and smoked sausage. Hubby likes it and it's easy to throw together. The recipe I'm now using is more like an New England boiled dinner than the traditional B&S you'll find in England. The only thing the same is the name.

It started off more as a more traditional version. Mama found the recipe in a magazine. It required two pots and a frying pan. Quartered cabbage was cooked in one pot. The potatoes in another. The sausage browned in the frying pan. The potatoes and cabbage were drained and added to the frying pan with the sausage and all reheated together.

I made it that way for a number of years. I got lazy one night and just threw everything into one pot, added water and let it rip. I eventually added carrots and onions to the mix. Started chopping up the cabbage so it would cook faster. I serve it with cornbread or Texas toast.

Oh, thanks, Rob. I'll go take a look.

Supper is in the pot, on the stove and starting to put out some nice aromas. My tum is growling.

I was a bit late getting it started. I like to have Sunday supper ready by 4:30, since Hubby goes to bed around 6:00. It's really not good to eat a big meal and go straight to bed. He will get at least two platefuls.

A peahen? Not your average avian visitor, that's for sure. That's like looking out your kitchen window and seeing an elephant or something.

When I was young, I had a schoolfriend that I'd occasionally have sleepovers with. This was back when the area I lived in at the time still had a lot of rather rural sections. Someone that lived down the road from my friend had some peahens and a peacock. I was warned before going to bed that they'd make some ungodly noise so that I wouldn't wake up in the night and freak out.

I really don't know if it's the hen or the cock that does the hollering, to tell the truth. It is bloodcurdling, though.

Oh, boy, was it chilly outside this morning! It was warmer inside the house with the A/C going.

A very nice change from the sweltering summer heat. I'll bet it is very nice out there now. Makes me wish I was home and pottering in the yard.

I did pot up some small mums yesterday. I have a big white ceramic pot by the front steps. I had some petunias in it but they'd gotten very scraggly looking. Replaced them with three little mums: yellow, rust and purple.

Sandi, I can just picture that! Kinda makes you wonder if that peacok knew exactly what he was doing. LOL

Pros, I know that feeling well. I hope you have better luck than I usually do. It seems I have good intentions of getting out of my ruts but they never seem to last long.

Janet, is your husband related to mine? Put a weedeater in his hands and he's like Tim 'The Tool Man' Taylor running amuck outside.

I love spider lilies. It's not the type of thing you see at Walmart, Lowe's or Home Depot. You pretty much have to know someone with them that will share.

Maybe Stray Kitty does live locally and has just been making the rounds. Do you think?

Last fall and winter I was spotting what I thought was a new stray outside at night. It didn't look like it had been on the streets for long but it was long haired and I really couldn't tell if it was skinny or not. I finally spied a collar on it one night and then I saw it one morning as I drove through the neighborhood on my way to work. It was in a yard about 2 blocks from us and seemed pretty much at home.

Ylee, I certainly hope the kiddies weren't IN the pool at the time!

Janet, isn't this cooler weather lovely? I'm glad I don't have a window at my desk on these beautiful days. I'm having a hard enough time being at work, as it is. I'm hearing the siren call of the garden centre's fall bedding plants, though I don't know if they really have much in yet. Still, I'd like to be out there; NOT inside here.

Hubby understands. He probably doesn't work the same 'shift' you do but by the time most people are getting up, his work 'day' is almost halfway over.

I used to be able to sit up until 12 or 1 at night and go to work the next morning with no problem. Can't do it now. Even sitting up to 11 to catch the news/weather has me dragging.

Speaking of time, it's time for me to shut down and get some beauty sleep.

TTYL

Again, Sandi? You had a night or two like that last week, when you woke up in the wee hours. It's a good thing you're retired, so if you flag later in the day, it's not as much of a problem.

Hi, Rob. It seems like the storms this year are giving us a miss, swinging up your way and thence on to Sandi.

We had system problems at work yesterday, so today has been busy. Plus, I had a unit staff meeting this morning. We have our office wide staff meeting once a month and my individual unit has a monthly meeting.

Various teams here at work are participating in a Heart Walk next month. To raise money, one of the things my office's team has been doing is having a weekly raffle. I bought 5 ticket for $20. I won a drawing last month, and picked out a necklace. (They put out a selection and you can pick the one you prefer.)

Today, they drew my name not once, but twice. In the first drawing, I picked out a box with two sets of earrings. I didn't realize that it included another box with two pins, both of which featured lions. I no sooner got back to my desk, when they grabbed me again. I picked out a necklace with matching earring.

Since the lion pins were not quite my style and they ARE a coworker's style, I gifted them to her. It was good timing. She has reached her 10 year employment with us and will be going to the Service Awards ceremony on Thursday. Now, she has a little gift to go with her 10 year Service Award.

Hi, ho, everyone.

I stopped by the library on the way home last night. After supper, I got involved in William D. Montalbano's novel, Basilica. It's pretty good; murder in the Vatican, ex-cop turned monk, drug lords out for revenge.

I was a bit tired, though, so headed to bed fairly early.

Janet, my luck apparently does not extend to the lottery or the office pool would have hit the big one by now.

Sandi, I've had my name drawn three times! Once last month and then twice yesterday. Not bad; not bad at all. I think, though, the number of tickets in the hat has dropped a good bit and mine are the ones left!

Ah, so you have one of those, too, Sandi? Some nights, those gears just start turning and I can't seem to turn them off. It never happens on Friday night or Saturday nights, when I could sleep in the next morning or take a nap later in the day. It's always on worknights.

Hi, everyone! It's Friday! Yippee!

Janet, it's pretty good. It's not one of those books that I can't put down, though. I've just been reading it the past two nights, as there's be nothing much on TV.

In fact, I nodded off last night in my recliner. I woke up about 9:30, with a horrible crick in my neck and the library book had slid off to the floor. the last thing I remember was some Mack Sennett movie on TCM, while I was reading. I must have closed my eyes for minute. That's about all it takes, lately!

I just hope I don't wind up being one of those elderlies that nod off mid-sentence. I'm beginning to wonder! LOL

Well, I've finally gotten around to logging on this weekend.

Yesterday, I got up, read the paper and got started on laundry. Did some picking up, dusting and some other misc chores, then opened a book. That's all it took.

I was reading "Paul of Dune" by Frank Herbert's son, Brian and Kevin Anderson. "Dune" is a complicated series and I've never managed to read the books in order. I would get SO lost. This one is a prequel and the plotlines are easier to follow.

It's interesting how so much of the Dune mythology has an Islamic fundamentalist theme. Almost as if Herbert could see into the future. It was written in 1965 but is startlingly like what has been going on worldwide in recent years.

Ylee, I get sleepiest at work right after lunch. I used to have filing I could do, something that would keep me moving. Now, everything is on the computer and I ge SO sleepy some days.

Shore, it must be nice to crawl into bed and slip right off to sleep. Most night, I can do it. Sometimes, though, those gears just start going and it can be very hard to turn them off.

Your balcony ceiling is about to collapse? Oh, dear. I suppose that's not an unusual situation. Comes under the heading of exterior maintenance, which is an ongoing proposition!

Hallo, Ylee!

We're shorthanded here today and I've been trying to lend a hand. I had to learn a new function and I am SO slow at it. I spend as much time redoing things as I am doing it the first time around!

Hi, Ylee.

Oh, those folks that spend all their time in meetings! lol

I like being kept in the loop but I've usually got so much work waiting on me that I fidget all the way through our staff meetings and find it hard to concentrate on anything being discussed. My mind is miles away, organizing, prioritizing and trying to figure out how to shovel everything off my desk! Or out of my computer.

Sandi, I managed to catch that this morning on The Weather Channel before getting showered and dressed for work.

I wonder how long it will be before little Kiara outgrows "Mum"? I'll bet Mum will still keep her in line.

Things are going from bad to worse here at work. Management has resorted to approving... Are you sitting down?.....

Overtime.

The good news is that they've filled the two vacant positions in my area. It will be a couple of weeks before they actually start. Then there's the training. But there's light at the end of the tunnel.

YAY!