Wed 30 Apr 2008
Posted in Good for a laugh, The Good things in life
at 0:05
I was home for lunch, enjoying Pat’s company and the last of the pizza we got on Sunday.
And Pat said to me, “Do you remember what we were talking about on the phone this morning?”
And I said, “You were going to … you were going to do something.”
And she said, “You said we should look on Amazon.com for something, but do you think I can remember what it was?”
“Ah, that,” I murmured. “What the heck were we talking about, anyway?”
“Something for the house?”
“No, don’t think so. Was it something for the cats?”
“No, not them.” She rested her chin on her hand and gazed toward the ceiling. “Wasn’t it something for Diana?”
“Not from Amazon. You’re thinking of the Spongebob stuff in the Avon catalog.”
For the next few minutes, we batted around ideas and watched them plummet to the floor. Not electronics, not housewares, not books or music.
Eventually, I stood up and said, “All right, I’m going to forget about this for awhile and maybe something will remind me what it was.” I put my glass and plate in the dishwasher, and then opened the refrigerator door, picked up a bottle of water and took a drink.
“A water bottle!” Pat exclaimed. “Something to replace the polycarbonate one. That was it.”
“You got it, all right. Well,” I shrugged, “glad I could help.”
Permalink
Tue 29 Apr 2008
Posted in Cats, Kelly, Nicky, What is a Good Cat?
at 0:05
Nicky wants to jump down from the deck like a Good Cat, but the little black cat hesitates because Kelly keeps getting in his way. (Watch also for cameo appearances from Caitie and Lizzie.)
Permalink
Sun 27 Apr 2008
Posted in Good Food, Good Ideas, Green and Growing, Sandy's View
at 15:16
My sister Sandy in Michigan emailed a rebuttal to yesterday’s post:
I love many of the plants that are thought to be weeds. I learned long ago that weeds are simply plants that are growing where you don’t want them to grow.
Dandelions and plantain may be weeds to gardeners, but I remember reading that they were brought over by the American settlers for their many medical and food uses.
The leaves can be eaten cooked or raw, such as in salads or cooked up like kale or mustard greens as greens or used in soup. You can eat the young leaves raw in salads, but the older leaves should be cooked because they have a bitter taste.
Dandelion flowers can be used to make dandelion wine and jelly. Roasted and ground, the dandelion root is a coffee substitute (the same as chicory root) and is good for “spring tonics. The flowers can also be used to make dyes for fabrics.
The milky fluid that you see when you break the stems can be used as a mosquito repellent or can be applied to warts to get rid of them.
On top of all that, cats like them and they’re pretty!
Permalink
Sat 26 Apr 2008
Posted in Green and Growing
at 8:15
Pretty picture, isn’t it? Bright green grass, bright yellow flowers. I remember being told a long time ago that “If you brush a dandelion on your chin and it turns yellow, it means you like butter.”
Now, I can still feel that they’re pretty and colorful, but also need to have the grown-up reaction that they’re weeds that most all the neighbors consider undesirable.
I looked up information on commerical weed killers, and while they’re effective, they consist of powerful poisonous chemicals, so Diana and our Good Cats shouldn’t be walking around on the lawn after it’s been treated. Besides, the headquarters of Rodale are nearby, and we’ve learned about the drawbacks of the usual herbicides from the publishers of Organic Gardening magazine.
There’s also a combination of vinegar, salt, and Dawn dish soap, but that would kill everything, not just weeds. I’d rather have the yellow flowers than lots and lots and LOTS of brown spots on the lawn.
The kid in me loves the idea of using a flamethrower on the suckers, but what I wound up doing was mowing the lawn and cutting off as many of the yellow heads as possible before they turn into seed factories.
Permalink
Fri 25 Apr 2008
Posted in Caitie, Cats, Friday Cat Blogging
at 0:05
After shamelessly stealing the HTML from Cat Blogosphere, here’s a list of good places to go this weekend for more catly goodness:
Board the Friday Ark at The Modulator (submit your post here)
Weekend Cat Blogging #151 Apr 26-27
Katie and Puddy at A Byootaful Life
(see the week’s& host to enter your WCB post in the comments for the weekend roundup)
Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Pet’s Garden Blog
(submit your post here)
The Carnival of the Cats is going to 4/27/08 #215
Diamond Emerald-Eyes at House Panthers
(submit your post here)
Permalink
