Dead tree falling

This tree has been a menace for years, and yesterday Dawg and a friend came and cut it down. Dawg brought his log splitter over and the guys spent a few hours cutting the tree up, splitting wood and hauling it away.

The north side was covered with lichen, moss and tiny shelf mushrooms and was quite beautiful. Queenee let me know and I took a few photos.



Dawg made two more trips in miserable weather this afternoon. The bulk of the usable wood is gone and when the weather clears, PopPop will start the clean-up.

Friday brings a new computer!

You know how things always seem to happen in threes? In our family, three computers died within a few months of each other. Dawg's computer died, then within about a week of each other (or so it seems to me) the P's and KeyDear lost their respective computers. Queenee's died first, about a year ago, so that it too far out to count.

The first replacement is installed. Deacon and the EP picked a nice Dell out at Best Buy a few days ago and I went and did the crapware cleanup and software setup yesterday. It went well, only took about six hours, and so far so good. Next up will be Dawg. His computer is on backorder and with luck will arrive just before Christmas.

That leaves YOU, KeyDear!! Tis the season of cheap(ish) technology, get back on the tubes, we miss you!

I was in Costco a couple weeks ago with Queenee and I always cruise the computer aisle. I had a chance to look at the tiny Acer mini-laptop. It's actually not a bad little, and I do mean little, computer. Acceptable specs (still has XP, no CD/DVD player though), good price. I couldn't use that little keyboard, but for those without mangled hands and arms, it is a decent portable computer. I was most surprised by the screen, a very nice display. Not a bad little computer at all. We shall heretofore refer to this computer as the Charlie Brown computer. For more money you can get a much better computer, but it all depends on what you need a computer for — if all you do is surf and check email, you don't need much juice. Juice is for graphics and gaming.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's hoping everyone enjoys the day.

Lucille is missing

When I went to feed Lucille this morning, her milk crates were knocked off the shelf and she was nowhere to be seen. This has happened a couple other times, so I thought she might just be freaked out and hiding somewhere. It rained hard all day today, so she could have been under the bushes somewhere. But after checking for her a few times during the day, and again tonight when she should have been in her nest, I'm afraid whatever was after her finally got her. There were no obvious tracks and no sign of a struggle, not even one feather, but it's after 6pm and she still isn't in her nest.



This has been a bad year for our pets here.

Roomba!

If you must have a Roomba, you may as well have one that is color-coordinated with your cat.

Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton

I don't know what made me think of this song tonight, but I was glad to find it on YouTube. I remember playing my guitar and singing this as a kid — ok, not quite a kid, in my early 20's — though I could never get anyone to do harmony (back then I could do either part). What a beautiful song, and what a treat to hear these wonderful voices again. I wish I could still sing on key.



I've long thought that Linda Ronstadt is underappreciated. She may not have the strongest voice, but she knows how to sing. She learned a wide ranges of styles, from light opera to folk-rock to big band standards to Mexican mariachi.

Dolly Parton is a unique talent and has written some beautiful and heartbreaking songs. I cry just thinking about her “Coat of Many Colors”.

Queenee and her Arizona brace

It isn't the most beautiful thing in the world, but it does its job perfectly. Queenee saw Dr. Chiodo yesterday morning and he is very pleased with her ability to get around while wearing her Arizona brace. She gets excellent support and can walk without her cane. He thinks she may eventually need surgery, but it can be delayed indefinitely. If and when the brace is not enough support, they'll talk about fusing the ankle, but for at least the foreseeable future, no surgery is needed.

She'll need to start doing her knee exercises again, soon. She's been hobbling around on that bad right ankle for over nine months now and it has taken a toll on her left knee and hip. The knee is especially vulnerable, being that it isn't a real knee to start with. I do my knee exercises twice every day, morning and evening, which is why, imho, my knee is able to bend so much further than those of most folks who have total knee replacement surgery. It's all about the rehab and the exercises. Now that her ankle is fairly stable, it's time to get back to exercising as best she can. In this case, something is better than nothing.

Queenee, PopPop and I went out for dinner last night to a local Asian restaurant, AsianC. I think they are known for sushi and sashimi, which sucks for those of us who pass on the raw fish. Queenee ordered Shanghai duck and a pumpkin martini, and didn't care for either. PopPop had a shrimp and scallop dish called Imperial Couple and a glass of Pinot Noir, and didn't care for either. I traded him my glass of excellent Gewurztraminer for his mediocre Pinot. My Thai garlic-wasabi chicken was good — not spicy, but good. I had Mango Chicken at this restaurant about a year ago and it was excellent. I guess we should have ordered that.

When we got home, DamCat had left a gorgeous cashmere sweater for me! Thank you D's and P's!!

Maru

Need a pick-me-up? How about some awesome Maru?



Check out some of the other Maru videos, he’s a pretty entertaining cat. Maru has a blog. It is in Japanese with some entertaining Engrish translations.

Many Japanese pet owners devote themselves to their pets, cat, dog, bunny, whatever, as much or even more than we do here in the US. Check out this house — now that’s a cat house! They are big on pet blogging. One of my favorites was Oolong, a rabbit with a talent for balancing all manner of things, particularly small pancakes, on his head.

Royal Quiet Deluxe, Chicken Band

I had posted about this back in July, and today I have an update. Jeff Simmermon tells the story of the chicken band Royal Quiet Deluxe on video. Fun.

Cats rule

Ce chat est très intelligent, n'est pas?