Jan has always hated that humans chop, crop, cut, mangle, whatever to make their dogs look "more pleasing to the eye" than God originally created them. We woofies and kitties agree with Jan. And for those who have not yet heard, we have some good news for our 4-pawed brothers and sisters.
"Banfield, The Pet Hospital, the nation's largest network of animal hospitals, has announced it will no longer do tail docking, ear cropping or devocalization on dogs.
"Headquartered in Portland, Ore., Banfield is the nation's largest general veterinary practice, with more than 730 hospitals and 2,000 veterinarians nationwide.
"Tail docking and ear cropping, both quite common, have become more controversial over the past few years. Last year, the American Veterinary Medical Association passed a resolution opposing ear cropping and tail docking of dogs, "when done solely for cosmetic purposes," and encouraging the elimination of ear cropping and tail docking from breed standards."
You can read the rest of the article by Elizabeth Weise in USA TODAY by clicking here.
We furries are naturally against tail docking and ear cropping. Grrrr, the idea of anyone chopping off our ears -- especially Buddy's long, beautiful ones. His ears add such character to his face. Or our tails -- Merci's full, furry one or Sam's wagging weapon of mass destruction.
And we are most certainly against devocalization, a subject we recently posted on, "Say No To Debarking."
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We haven't figured out the problem with leaving comments in Firefox on certain blogs yet. A couple of you have said the same thing happened to you after you updated Firefox but it started working again in a day or two. Ours is still not working. We didn't change anything so we haven't a clue. It was suggested we clear our cache. It was done, done, done, done, done .... No luck. And we're out of ideas. We do not want to switch to IE, as at least one blogger has had to do, so we really need to resolve this.
(PS: Since making this post, we have located the problem and made the appropriate change. Have no idea what happened since all we did was say yes to an update. But we can now leave comments on blogs again.)
We are checking Firefox help and this is prominently displayed. This is not a firefox program, so everyone needs to check their version and update it if necessary.
Security notice: Due to a critical and widely exploited vulnerability in Flash, please install the newest version of Adobe Flash (version 10.0.32.18) from Adobe's download page.
And here is a news article just issued on the problem. There is a link you can use to check whichever browser you are using, not just Firefox, so you can update. If you have more than one browser on your computer, check each one separately.
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This is a chorus making the sound of rain -- without instruments. (It's the video we intended to send our friends recently when we goofed and put in a link to the Devocalization video. ) We think you will enjoy this one. It's very realistic.
Meet the Funny Farmers: (l-r) Marcus, Taylor, angel Cyndi, angel Rusty, Micah, angel Merci & angel Percy.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Ripples and Comments
Sam: Hey, everyone, you'll never guess what we got in the mail today! What? How'd you guess? Oh, the title. Well it's true. We got some more Ripple Treats to try. Remember, we received 2 Ripples last week> (Click on "Ripples Dog Treats" to read our post.) But this time instead of sending 2, they sent 4. One for each of us and an extra for --
Jaaaan, what do you mean, the extra is for Merci? I know she didn't get one last time but .... two? Merci's small. I'm the one with the big appetite.
Buddy: Can you tell which one of us is the most eager to get a treat? I used to be at the head of the line, like Sam is now. But the more I begged, the longer it took Jan to give it to me. So Merci and I are being patient. Sam is drooling on the cat scratcher.
Merci: Can you tell I'm excited? I finally get to try one, a medium mint one. And in a day or so I can have the small chicken flavor one. Thank you, Ripples, for including me this time.
Sam: Since I had mint last time, I get a large chicken flavor this time.
Buddy: And I get a large mint. Oh, no, not again. Jan let go! What's with you? I don't care if you want a photo! I want my treat!
Sam, Buddy & Merci: Nom, nom, munch, munch. Thank you, Good Pet Stuff Company for the Ripples Treats. These are really good! Jan cares about things like Ripples' unique shape and texture helps clean teeth and maintain healthy gums, or Ripples are both low in fat and high in quality protein for optimal energy performance. That information is Jan's responsibility. We don't care whether they are nutritious. We just care if they taste good. Mmmmmm, yummy.
Cotton: Yes, we tried several times to welcome Ariel back yesterday and today. She has a new blog called A Smile A Day. We finally tried Internet Explorer and a comment went through. We went back in Firefox and ... poof! Also, A Kitty Named Reese and Tuffy Tails -- just to name a couple. This is very frustrating. You might not be hearing from us, but we aren't neglecting you.
Cyndi: We had this problem a while back and don't know why it has returned or how to fix it. But it's very frustrating! The Google Reader is helping us keep up better with your blogs, but these evaporating comments are wasting a lot of time. Does any kitty or woofie know how to fix this in Firefox? We assume something was changed when Firefox was updated recently.
Jaaaan, what do you mean, the extra is for Merci? I know she didn't get one last time but .... two? Merci's small. I'm the one with the big appetite.
Buddy: Can you tell which one of us is the most eager to get a treat? I used to be at the head of the line, like Sam is now. But the more I begged, the longer it took Jan to give it to me. So Merci and I are being patient. Sam is drooling on the cat scratcher.
Merci: Can you tell I'm excited? I finally get to try one, a medium mint one. And in a day or so I can have the small chicken flavor one. Thank you, Ripples, for including me this time.
Sam: Since I had mint last time, I get a large chicken flavor this time.
Buddy: And I get a large mint. Oh, no, not again. Jan let go! What's with you? I don't care if you want a photo! I want my treat!
Sam, Buddy & Merci: Nom, nom, munch, munch. Thank you, Good Pet Stuff Company for the Ripples Treats. These are really good! Jan cares about things like Ripples' unique shape and texture helps clean teeth and maintain healthy gums, or Ripples are both low in fat and high in quality protein for optimal energy performance. That information is Jan's responsibility. We don't care whether they are nutritious. We just care if they taste good. Mmmmmm, yummy.
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Crystal: For some reason we are no longer able to leave comments on a lot of blogs. We're not sure exactly when it happened, but it's been 2 days or more. Those whose blogspot blogs use "Comment As: Select Profile", when we select Google ID, our comments go poof!Cotton: Yes, we tried several times to welcome Ariel back yesterday and today. She has a new blog called A Smile A Day. We finally tried Internet Explorer and a comment went through. We went back in Firefox and ... poof! Also, A Kitty Named Reese and Tuffy Tails -- just to name a couple. This is very frustrating. You might not be hearing from us, but we aren't neglecting you.
Cyndi: We had this problem a while back and don't know why it has returned or how to fix it. But it's very frustrating! The Google Reader is helping us keep up better with your blogs, but these evaporating comments are wasting a lot of time. Does any kitty or woofie know how to fix this in Firefox? We assume something was changed when Firefox was updated recently.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
We're Doing the Q
We usually forget about a contest until it ends, but this year we have entered Monty's Doing the Q contest. Do you recognize our entrants? Okay, we'll introduce them.
Cameron does his Full Monty stretch in a too-small basket 2009.
Samaritan does an immodest Full Monty with a side twist 2009. He apologizes for the strategically placed pawprint but this is a g-rated blog. And he can't help it because his coat is thin and see-through.
Here is Modest Maiden Merci doing the Full Monty Tail Cover Side Roll 2009.
This is Monty Q's 3rd annual 'Do the Q/Full Monty' Contest. If you haven't entered or would just like to view the photos entered so far, drop by Doing The Q!.
Cameron does his Full Monty stretch in a too-small basket 2009.
Samaritan does an immodest Full Monty with a side twist 2009. He apologizes for the strategically placed pawprint but this is a g-rated blog. And he can't help it because his coat is thin and see-through.
Here is Modest Maiden Merci doing the Full Monty Tail Cover Side Roll 2009.
This is Monty Q's 3rd annual 'Do the Q/Full Monty' Contest. If you haven't entered or would just like to view the photos entered so far, drop by Doing The Q!.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sleep Without Splinters
Buddy: Yesterday we mentioned Jan bought an area rug so we won't get painful splinters, like she did from the floor. Today she vacuumed, washed the floor and finally opened my new bed.
Buddy: I jumped right on it, had a good scratch and laid down before Jan could change her mind and stuff it back in the package. (As if she could.) Jan kept telling me to get off so she could move it around and smooth out the wrinkles, but what's the problem? Wads and wrinkles give it character.
Sam: Jan was so insistent about Buddy moving, I resolved the problem by adding my weight. Go ahead, Jan, I told her, just try to move it with two of us anchoring it. Know what she did? She broke out the dog biscuits. We moved.
Merci: I like this mat. It's just my size. Notice it still has the tag on it? Jan doesn't trust Wal-mart products any more. (Remember the 3 dog collars she couldn't open? And the wobbly computer stand?)
Sam: Now that Jan has laid out our new bed to her satisfaction, it's time to try it out. Aaaaaa, such relief. Splinterproof.
Buddy: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, snort.
Merci: Zzzzzz.
Sam: Niiii....zzzzzzzzz.
Buddy: I jumped right on it, had a good scratch and laid down before Jan could change her mind and stuff it back in the package. (As if she could.) Jan kept telling me to get off so she could move it around and smooth out the wrinkles, but what's the problem? Wads and wrinkles give it character.
Sam: Jan was so insistent about Buddy moving, I resolved the problem by adding my weight. Go ahead, Jan, I told her, just try to move it with two of us anchoring it. Know what she did? She broke out the dog biscuits. We moved.
Merci: I like this mat. It's just my size. Notice it still has the tag on it? Jan doesn't trust Wal-mart products any more. (Remember the 3 dog collars she couldn't open? And the wobbly computer stand?)
Sam: Now that Jan has laid out our new bed to her satisfaction, it's time to try it out. Aaaaaa, such relief. Splinterproof.
Buddy: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz, snort.
Merci: Zzzzzz.
Sam: Niiii....zzzzzzzzz.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Dr. Buddy On Call
Dr. Buddy: I am pleased to announce that this past weekend I obtained my medical degree from the Brown Hound University of Medical Research. Just in time to be of help to Jan. As many of you are aware, Ms. Nimble Fingers managed to shove 2 wooden floor splinters under one fingernail, only one of which she was able to remove Saturday morning. Because of this, JFF has been posting updates through one-and-a-half pawed Percy, who has been having phantom sympathy paw pain.
Percy: Pssst. Slow down. I'm still typing with one and a half paws.
Dr. Buddy: Okay. One of the reasons I took the accelerated course was so I could be the one to do brain surgery on our Jan.
Cotton: Brain surgery? She had a splinter under a nail.
Dr. Buddy: Yes, I am aware of that, Cotton. But pain affects the human brain, so brain surgery was definitely called for. I was so looking forward to getting a glimpse of how Jan's brain works. Or seeing if it does work.
Sam: Brain surgery was called for? You mean it isn't now?
Dr. Buddy: Yes, thanks to my eagle eyes and tremorless hands, Jan no longer requires brain surgery. At least not for a splinter. This afternoon I deftly removed the splinter with a pair of needlenose pliers.
Crystal: Ahem.
Dr. Buddy: Oh, right. I am exaggerating just a tad. But the prognosis is good and my fee will be reasonable.
Cameron: Buddy, you can't charge Jan for taking out the splinter. She removed it herself.
See the little splinter? Ouch!
Dr. Buddy: How am I ever going to get paying patients if you guys are going to be so negative? Remember, Jan just spent a lot of money that was set aside for something else.
Merci: Right. She just bought an area rug and a couple of large mats to try to cover some parts of the floor that splinter so we woofies won't suffer with splinters too.
Rusty: Yeah, so we need to help get Buddy's medical practice off on a positive note.
Cyndi: But Buddy can't exaggerate. That would be lying.
Dr. Buddy: I wouldn't be lying if I say I snoopervised the splinter's removal.
Sam: That's true. You did snoopervise.
Cotton: I thought Buddy slept through the operation?
Percy: He did, at Jan's feet, with one eye open. Now please stop trying to all talk at once!
Dr. Buddy: Well, I think my first medical case has come to a satisfactory conclusion. Now, on to the next. Percy, let me take a look at your injured paw.
Percy: Noooooooo way. It's phantom sympathy pain, Buddy. I only think it hurts. And now that Jan's finger is on the mend, my paw is too.
Dr. Buddy: Well, if you won't let me examine your paw, can I at least operate on your brain?
(s) Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
PS from Jan: Why any landlord in the humid South would rent out a house with unsealed floors is beyond me! These are not the first splinters, but definitely the worst. Several hours after the injury on Saturday, I remembered my mother using a baking soda paste to draw out a bee stinger, so I tried it for a splinter and it did work. The splinter went very deep (I could see the path through the nail) so it took longer, but this afternoon I was relieved to find it had worked out just enough I was able to pull it out using tweezers -- very carefully. Thanks for all the nice messages and for the advice some of you emailed.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Cameron Is 5 & Dr Buddy
Dr. Buddy was going to be our guest today. We hope he will still be practicing tomorrow. If so, Dr. Buddy will return then.
What Jan read on a splinter under a nail was scary, so she requested prayer from a couple of her friends yesterday and shortly after thought of something that might work, She's trying it. This morning she's had two emails from friends suggesting the same thing. We all have crossed paws for it to work, though from the size of the splinter, it might take longer than 24 hours.
We've had a few ask how Jan is doing. Suffice it to say she isn't chewing on her finger so far today??? Seriously, she had teeth imprints (hers, not ours) in her injured finger yesterday.
So please ignore any typos or stranger than normal mistakes. I (Percy rhe typist) still have phantom sympathy paw pain and have to type one-pawed. Yes, I know I have extra paws, but it is impossible to type with one front and one back paw!
The story of Percy's phantom sympathy paw pain can be found here. The cruel practice of devocalizing dogs is discussed in the same post. We had a couple of comments we would like to share.
By email from a dog rescuer: Just jumped my vet's (butt). Why? Cause he does that crap. He said he would start advising people about training instead and the dangers. (Way to go, Mark!)
Our family cat-a-blog: This is the momma talking now and I have something to say! I had a Great Pyrenees Dog years ago. Pyrs bark and bark and bark and bark. I rescued Willow because I didn't want her to end up in a shelter. I didn't know baloney about Great Pyrenees but did research and found out that they are barkers to the max. It was in Willow's nature to bark to keep wolves away from her sheep and those of us inside the house were her sheep.
Did I have her debarked. NO! She was doing what she was bred to do and it was up to me to make the necessary adjustments. Living in the city, she was never allowed to bark unless it was daytime and then once she had had a good time, I made her come back into the house. At night, I'd let her get a few good ones out and then back into the house once she had done her business. Dogs bark to communicate. A dog needs to bark just as we need to talk. (You sound like a good momma for any woofie!)
To breeders, research labs and those-who-shouldn't-have-a-dog because -you don't want him to bark -- would you want your doctor doing the same surgery on you because your mate doesn'r want to listen to you jabber all the time?
And now for our birthday boy! And thanks, Cat Blogoshpere, for reminding us of an occasion again.
Sam: Oh, no, not again! So much has been happening, we forgot about Cameron's birthday today. He was born in the house next door to us 5 years ago. I wasn't born yet, though.
Cotton; We're sorry we neglected your day, Cameron. We really do love you. You're handsome and kind. It doesn't matter that you can't count past your toes.
Happy birthday, tuxie brother!
Love, your furry family -- Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Buddy, Rusty & Sam (and your human Jan)
PS -- Please remember Hansel's auction for Sugar. Sugar was mauled by a pack of dogs and although she had expensive treatment including an oxygen tent, she didn'r make it.
What Jan read on a splinter under a nail was scary, so she requested prayer from a couple of her friends yesterday and shortly after thought of something that might work, She's trying it. This morning she's had two emails from friends suggesting the same thing. We all have crossed paws for it to work, though from the size of the splinter, it might take longer than 24 hours.
We've had a few ask how Jan is doing. Suffice it to say she isn't chewing on her finger so far today??? Seriously, she had teeth imprints (hers, not ours) in her injured finger yesterday.
So please ignore any typos or stranger than normal mistakes. I (Percy rhe typist) still have phantom sympathy paw pain and have to type one-pawed. Yes, I know I have extra paws, but it is impossible to type with one front and one back paw!
The story of Percy's phantom sympathy paw pain can be found here. The cruel practice of devocalizing dogs is discussed in the same post. We had a couple of comments we would like to share.
By email from a dog rescuer: Just jumped my vet's (butt). Why? Cause he does that crap. He said he would start advising people about training instead and the dangers. (Way to go, Mark!)
Our family cat-a-blog: This is the momma talking now and I have something to say! I had a Great Pyrenees Dog years ago. Pyrs bark and bark and bark and bark. I rescued Willow because I didn't want her to end up in a shelter. I didn't know baloney about Great Pyrenees but did research and found out that they are barkers to the max. It was in Willow's nature to bark to keep wolves away from her sheep and those of us inside the house were her sheep.
Did I have her debarked. NO! She was doing what she was bred to do and it was up to me to make the necessary adjustments. Living in the city, she was never allowed to bark unless it was daytime and then once she had had a good time, I made her come back into the house. At night, I'd let her get a few good ones out and then back into the house once she had done her business. Dogs bark to communicate. A dog needs to bark just as we need to talk. (You sound like a good momma for any woofie!)
To breeders, research labs and those-who-shouldn't-have-a-dog because -you don't want him to bark -- would you want your doctor doing the same surgery on you because your mate doesn'r want to listen to you jabber all the time?
And now for our birthday boy! And thanks, Cat Blogoshpere, for reminding us of an occasion again.
Sam: Oh, no, not again! So much has been happening, we forgot about Cameron's birthday today. He was born in the house next door to us 5 years ago. I wasn't born yet, though.
Cotton; We're sorry we neglected your day, Cameron. We really do love you. You're handsome and kind. It doesn't matter that you can't count past your toes.
Happy birthday, tuxie brother!
Love, your furry family -- Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Buddy, Rusty & Sam (and your human Jan)
PS -- Please remember Hansel's auction for Sugar. Sugar was mauled by a pack of dogs and although she had expensive treatment including an oxygen tent, she didn'r make it.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Say No to Debarking!
Buddy::: well, this week has been the week from you know where for jan. we touched on a couple of things in other posts -- such as Merci being frightened by the vet and trying to bite him.
Merci::: if a giant suddenly showed up waving a big needle and then had jan restrain your head while he grabbed you by the tail and yanked and jabbed, it would scare the pee and crap out of you too. at least jan said she is going to change vets so i won't have to go back to him again. he got angry and jan thought it was all her fault, but as someone pointed out, he should have acted like a professional. it's the second time jan has seen him lose his cool with one of us. he scared buddy once too.
Cyndi::: and so many other things have gone wrong this week. but this morning has been the pits.
Cameron::: yeah, she was talking to her friend in Arizona early this morning, when she leaned down to pick up some maps she dropped and got a splinter(s) under her fingernail. Either she broke it off below the nail line or she pulled out one and a second broke off. but it's a long one and very painful. We can see it right through her nail. She's having a problem typing with 9 fingers, so we get the computer today.
Cotton, nose to monitor::: why are you typing in small letters, Cameron? Jan's the one with the injured finger.
Percy::: sympathy pain, Cotton. we've lived with jan so long, we've acquired her bad memory and now i've got a phantom paw injury and can barely type. Talk slow so I can keep up.
Crystal::: she saw Buddy scratching last night and found his allergy/skin problem is back with a vengeance, but no fleas this time. good thing she just ordered something for him, but she had to give him a medicated bath this morning. Too bad it didn't draw out her splinter.
Sam::: Then she turned on the computer to read email and had the strangest message saying the video was eye opening and the sender didn't know what the subject line had to do with the video. Well, jan had forwarded a fun video on to a few friends yesterday, noticed the attachment didn't go with it, found she has thrown the video in the trash, retrieved it and sent it on.
Rusty::: The next message she read was a friend berating her that it was NOT the intended video. She had copied a link to a YouTube video on the dangers of devocalizing dogs with the intention of posting it as cruelty and inadvertently pasted the link into the email she intended to attach the fun video to. Unfortunately, right above the link, she had written, "This is really neat. I would never have thought of such a thing."
Crystal::: Jan was appalled! She hopes those who received that message know she would never call any type of animal cruelty "neat."
Buddy::: We still want to post the video, but we want to make absolutely sure you all understand we do NOT condone this. We knew some research labs use this disgusting surgery, but why would any breeder or owner ever even consider it for their dogs?
Merci::: We found a link to the video posted on Funny End of the Tail blog yesterday, and since blogs don't have all the same readership, we wanted to post it too. It is educational and if you run into anyone considering this type of surgery for a dog, you will be aware of why it should NOT be done.
Sam: It's called "The Unknindest Cut" and if the video doesn't play for you, you can click on the title to watch it on YouTube. And for those of you in MA, please tell your state representative and senator to pass An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, H.344. If you don't know your legislators, call 800-462-8683.
Buddy::: I see you're starting to get the hang of typing with a phantom paw injury, Percy, but you sure are slow and have to make a lot of corrections. Maybe you should take a break and soak your paw in a pan of cold water. It helped Jan for a bit.
Percy::: Good idea, Buddy. I just hope that drawing salve works on Jan's splinter so I can get back to typing as usual. This is too much like WORK!
jff- crystal, cotton, merci, cyndi, percy, cameron, buddy, rusty & Sam
Merci::: if a giant suddenly showed up waving a big needle and then had jan restrain your head while he grabbed you by the tail and yanked and jabbed, it would scare the pee and crap out of you too. at least jan said she is going to change vets so i won't have to go back to him again. he got angry and jan thought it was all her fault, but as someone pointed out, he should have acted like a professional. it's the second time jan has seen him lose his cool with one of us. he scared buddy once too.
Cyndi::: and so many other things have gone wrong this week. but this morning has been the pits.
Cameron::: yeah, she was talking to her friend in Arizona early this morning, when she leaned down to pick up some maps she dropped and got a splinter(s) under her fingernail. Either she broke it off below the nail line or she pulled out one and a second broke off. but it's a long one and very painful. We can see it right through her nail. She's having a problem typing with 9 fingers, so we get the computer today.
Cotton, nose to monitor::: why are you typing in small letters, Cameron? Jan's the one with the injured finger.
Percy::: sympathy pain, Cotton. we've lived with jan so long, we've acquired her bad memory and now i've got a phantom paw injury and can barely type. Talk slow so I can keep up.
Crystal::: she saw Buddy scratching last night and found his allergy/skin problem is back with a vengeance, but no fleas this time. good thing she just ordered something for him, but she had to give him a medicated bath this morning. Too bad it didn't draw out her splinter.
Sam::: Then she turned on the computer to read email and had the strangest message saying the video was eye opening and the sender didn't know what the subject line had to do with the video. Well, jan had forwarded a fun video on to a few friends yesterday, noticed the attachment didn't go with it, found she has thrown the video in the trash, retrieved it and sent it on.
Rusty::: The next message she read was a friend berating her that it was NOT the intended video. She had copied a link to a YouTube video on the dangers of devocalizing dogs with the intention of posting it as cruelty and inadvertently pasted the link into the email she intended to attach the fun video to. Unfortunately, right above the link, she had written, "This is really neat. I would never have thought of such a thing."
Crystal::: Jan was appalled! She hopes those who received that message know she would never call any type of animal cruelty "neat."
Buddy::: We still want to post the video, but we want to make absolutely sure you all understand we do NOT condone this. We knew some research labs use this disgusting surgery, but why would any breeder or owner ever even consider it for their dogs?
Merci::: We found a link to the video posted on Funny End of the Tail blog yesterday, and since blogs don't have all the same readership, we wanted to post it too. It is educational and if you run into anyone considering this type of surgery for a dog, you will be aware of why it should NOT be done.
Sam: It's called "The Unknindest Cut" and if the video doesn't play for you, you can click on the title to watch it on YouTube. And for those of you in MA, please tell your state representative and senator to pass An Act Prohibiting Devocalization, H.344. If you don't know your legislators, call 800-462-8683.
Buddy::: I see you're starting to get the hang of typing with a phantom paw injury, Percy, but you sure are slow and have to make a lot of corrections. Maybe you should take a break and soak your paw in a pan of cold water. It helped Jan for a bit.
Percy::: Good idea, Buddy. I just hope that drawing salve works on Jan's splinter so I can get back to typing as usual. This is too much like WORK!
jff- crystal, cotton, merci, cyndi, percy, cameron, buddy, rusty & Sam
Friday, July 24, 2009
Tale of 3 Collars
Buddy: It's been one of those days. Not for us. Our day was good. But Jan -- **sigh**
Sam: Yeah, Jan noticed our collars are looking frayed and she's paranoid about losing even one of us when we walk her. Cause she can't find her own way home.
Merci: So Jan went right out and bought all 3 of us woofies a new collar. Jan wasn't crazy about the designs but they were the right sizes and the colors were much prettier in paw than in the photo.
Merci: Or they were until Jan clipped all the ties, removed our collars --
Sam: And found she couldn't open a one of them. Hehehe! It was funny. She pulled and pulled and brought out the pliers, but they wouldn't budge!
Buddy: So she mumbled some things we couldn't quite hear but we think they were on our no-no list. And she took the made- by- Wal-mart collars back to Wal-mart for a refund. The greeter didn't quite believe it was possible, but she couldn't open one either. The cashier was a young woman and she did manage to finally pull one open with a pop, but she said, "No way, it shouldn't be this hard!"
Sam: Then Jan tried to take photos of us wearing our new collars. The choices are very limited, but this time she managed to find 3 different colors, and she checked Merci's to be sure it could be opened. They didn't have one with the buckle and eye in her size. We were all very cooperative. We circled and rolled so she had to take 2 sets of photos -- with 2 sets of batteries -- but we look pretty spiffy, don't we? Notice how well mine matches the liver color of my coat! And how my eyes match the red of my old collar.
Merci: Speak for yourself, Sam. Can you tell I'm miffed? I have too much hair for my new collar to show, so Jan draped it on my head It's pink and white to go with my red hair.
Buddy: I think blue is my collar, don't you?
Sam: Well, now we'll have dinner and in a little bit we'll walk Jan and break in our new collars.
Buddy: Speaking of dinner, it's late again. We're going to have to replace her if she doesn't get on the ball and start putting meals on the floor on time. Maybe we should join a union.
Merci: I think we each need a job to join a union, Buddy.
Buddy: Oh, well, maybe we'll keep her then.
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
PS - Sorry, we've been heavily spammed, old and new posts, so word verification has been turned on.
Sam: Yeah, Jan noticed our collars are looking frayed and she's paranoid about losing even one of us when we walk her. Cause she can't find her own way home.
Merci: So Jan went right out and bought all 3 of us woofies a new collar. Jan wasn't crazy about the designs but they were the right sizes and the colors were much prettier in paw than in the photo.
Merci: Or they were until Jan clipped all the ties, removed our collars --
Sam: And found she couldn't open a one of them. Hehehe! It was funny. She pulled and pulled and brought out the pliers, but they wouldn't budge!
Buddy: So she mumbled some things we couldn't quite hear but we think they were on our no-no list. And she took the made- by- Wal-mart collars back to Wal-mart for a refund. The greeter didn't quite believe it was possible, but she couldn't open one either. The cashier was a young woman and she did manage to finally pull one open with a pop, but she said, "No way, it shouldn't be this hard!"
Sam: Then Jan tried to take photos of us wearing our new collars. The choices are very limited, but this time she managed to find 3 different colors, and she checked Merci's to be sure it could be opened. They didn't have one with the buckle and eye in her size. We were all very cooperative. We circled and rolled so she had to take 2 sets of photos -- with 2 sets of batteries -- but we look pretty spiffy, don't we? Notice how well mine matches the liver color of my coat! And how my eyes match the red of my old collar.
Merci: Speak for yourself, Sam. Can you tell I'm miffed? I have too much hair for my new collar to show, so Jan draped it on my head It's pink and white to go with my red hair.
Buddy: I think blue is my collar, don't you?
Sam: Well, now we'll have dinner and in a little bit we'll walk Jan and break in our new collars.
Buddy: Speaking of dinner, it's late again. We're going to have to replace her if she doesn't get on the ball and start putting meals on the floor on time. Maybe we should join a union.
Merci: I think we each need a job to join a union, Buddy.
Buddy: Oh, well, maybe we'll keep her then.
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
PS - Sorry, we've been heavily spammed, old and new posts, so word verification has been turned on.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
World's Best Cat Litter
Percy: The woofies got their own post two days in a row. It's about time we kitties get one. Now where did I file that photo of our litter pans?
Cotton: Ewwwww. Don't be gross. You can't post our dirty litter.
Percy: Clean litter, Cotton. I didn't say anything about showing our dirty litter.
Cotton, leaning into Percy's view of the monitor: Oh, okay. You can post that picture. But why?
Crystal: World's Best Cat Litter sent us a couple of 7-pound bags of their natural clumping cat litter made from corn. It arrived just after Jan changed our litter so it has taken us a month to finish our personal test.
Cyndi: She didn't know how we would take to it, so she cleaned both pans -- we have really big, deep pans because one of us likes to stand up and pee -- and put our regular litter in one and WBCL in the other to see if we would use it.
Cameron: And we did. Sort of.
Rusty: Well, Jan loved it. She thought it was terrific.
Cameron: But Jan has her own litterbox room, so why does it matter what she thinks of it?
Cyndi: Think about it, Cameron. Who scoops/changes the litter and cleans the pans?
Cameron: Oh, right. But how did we sort of like it?
Cotton: We sort of used it when our regular litter pan needed scooping. So when Jan opened the 2nd bag of WBCL, she put it in both litter pans. So one of us peed in the bathtub. Didn't he, Rusty?
Rusty: Why are you all pointing a paw at me? Who says that was me? You can't prove it!
Cotton: But you're the only one of us that's been declawed. You don't like litter, to start with. And you don't like to try anything new! So it had to be you.
Percy, looking around at the other felines: Or .... one of us. Whoever it was, Jan switched back to one pan of each litter in a hurry.
Jan here: If I had it to do over again, I would mix some of each together to get the cats used to the new product. But I was thinking regular and clumping don't mix. Did any of you who tried this product try it that way, and was it more successful? It isn't that they wouldn't use the WBCL. Some did, but some of them are slow to adapt to changes in their lifestyle. Overall, I think they did well. I liked that it is 100% natural and didn't give me breathing problems. And it might have masked the odors better if certain kitties remembered to scrach and cover. My biggest hurdle is not whether the cats would use it, but that the price is out of our budget range.
Percy: Thanks for your uninvited opinion, Jan. When you turn into a feline, you can discuss kitty litter. Meanwhile, you're excused. This is our journal.
Crystal: The World's Best Cat Litter is flushable, biodegradable, chemical-free and septic-safe. Or so they say. Jan cleaned our pans the fun way. She didn't try to flush it.
Cameron, shaking his head: And she says we're slow to adapt?
Read about the World's Best Cat Litter here.
JFF kitties -- Crystal, Cotton, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron & Rusty
Cotton: Ewwwww. Don't be gross. You can't post our dirty litter.
Percy: Clean litter, Cotton. I didn't say anything about showing our dirty litter.
Cotton, leaning into Percy's view of the monitor: Oh, okay. You can post that picture. But why?
Crystal: World's Best Cat Litter sent us a couple of 7-pound bags of their natural clumping cat litter made from corn. It arrived just after Jan changed our litter so it has taken us a month to finish our personal test.
Cyndi: She didn't know how we would take to it, so she cleaned both pans -- we have really big, deep pans because one of us likes to stand up and pee -- and put our regular litter in one and WBCL in the other to see if we would use it.
Cameron: And we did. Sort of.
Rusty: Well, Jan loved it. She thought it was terrific.
Cameron: But Jan has her own litterbox room, so why does it matter what she thinks of it?
Cyndi: Think about it, Cameron. Who scoops/changes the litter and cleans the pans?
Cameron: Oh, right. But how did we sort of like it?
Cotton: We sort of used it when our regular litter pan needed scooping. So when Jan opened the 2nd bag of WBCL, she put it in both litter pans. So one of us peed in the bathtub. Didn't he, Rusty?
Rusty: Why are you all pointing a paw at me? Who says that was me? You can't prove it!
Cotton: But you're the only one of us that's been declawed. You don't like litter, to start with. And you don't like to try anything new! So it had to be you.
Percy, looking around at the other felines: Or .... one of us. Whoever it was, Jan switched back to one pan of each litter in a hurry.
Jan here: If I had it to do over again, I would mix some of each together to get the cats used to the new product. But I was thinking regular and clumping don't mix. Did any of you who tried this product try it that way, and was it more successful? It isn't that they wouldn't use the WBCL. Some did, but some of them are slow to adapt to changes in their lifestyle. Overall, I think they did well. I liked that it is 100% natural and didn't give me breathing problems. And it might have masked the odors better if certain kitties remembered to scrach and cover. My biggest hurdle is not whether the cats would use it, but that the price is out of our budget range.
Percy: Thanks for your uninvited opinion, Jan. When you turn into a feline, you can discuss kitty litter. Meanwhile, you're excused. This is our journal.
Crystal: The World's Best Cat Litter is flushable, biodegradable, chemical-free and septic-safe. Or so they say. Jan cleaned our pans the fun way. She didn't try to flush it.
Cameron, shaking his head: And she says we're slow to adapt?
Read about the World's Best Cat Litter here.
JFF kitties -- Crystal, Cotton, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron & Rusty
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Merci Is 7 or 8
Buddy: Whap, whap, whap, whap, whap!
Sam: Owwwwwch! Why are you slapping my head?
Buddy: Because you were in charge of checking Jan's calendar and you missed the special day of one of our own.
Sam: I was not in charge of checking Jan's calendar. Jan is in charge of that. Go whap her.
Buddy: Um, I don't think so. What? You think I wouldn't. **sigh** You're right. But I did elbow her in the shin real good the other day when she stepped on my foot. Okay, so it was an accident. Stop staring at me, all of you!
Percy: You and Sammy the Whap Meezer probably have a lot in common, Buddy. But that's right. It's Merci's assigned birthday today. We never heard of a Gotcha Day back then, but this is the day Jan rescued her from the shelter six years ago. The guy said she was about 1 or 2 back then. How could we forget her birthday?
Cotton: Let's post the photo where Merci tried on Jan's pearls and scarf. They were a bit large for her, but ....
If you haven't read it, we posted some of Merci's story last year.
And thanks, Cat Blogosphere, for reminding us today.
Happy Birthday, pretty girl, from all of us,
Sam: Owwwwwch! Why are you slapping my head?
Buddy: Because you were in charge of checking Jan's calendar and you missed the special day of one of our own.
Sam: I was not in charge of checking Jan's calendar. Jan is in charge of that. Go whap her.
Buddy: Um, I don't think so. What? You think I wouldn't. **sigh** You're right. But I did elbow her in the shin real good the other day when she stepped on my foot. Okay, so it was an accident. Stop staring at me, all of you!
Percy: You and Sammy the Whap Meezer probably have a lot in common, Buddy. But that's right. It's Merci's assigned birthday today. We never heard of a Gotcha Day back then, but this is the day Jan rescued her from the shelter six years ago. The guy said she was about 1 or 2 back then. How could we forget her birthday?
Cotton: Let's post the photo where Merci tried on Jan's pearls and scarf. They were a bit large for her, but ....
If you haven't read it, we posted some of Merci's story last year.
And thanks, Cat Blogosphere, for reminding us today.
Happy Birthday, pretty girl, from all of us,
JFF -- Crystal, Cotton, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
PS -- Merci is in biiiiiiig trouble with Jan! She growled and tried to bite the vet and his assistant when they came out with the needle. Plus she peed and crapped all over herself and the floor. Jan has never seen her act like that before. (Merci hates Little Hitler from the shelter, but he isn't there.) She had to hold Merci's head and neck while Merci got jabbed. Merci is timid, but growling and trying to bite? This really embarrassed and scared Jan!
PPS -- This is Jan. While I was in Wal-mart spreading litter all around (hole in the bottom of the bag), it dawned on me it was my fault Merci freaked out and tried to bite the vet. Always before she has been on the exam table or in my lap, as she was 3 years ago when she got a rabies shot, but this time I didn't pick her up. And when a tall man came around the corner carrying a needle, it scared little Merci. And a scared, cornered dog will growl and try to bite.
PS -- Merci is in biiiiiiig trouble with Jan! She growled and tried to bite the vet and his assistant when they came out with the needle. Plus she peed and crapped all over herself and the floor. Jan has never seen her act like that before. (Merci hates Little Hitler from the shelter, but he isn't there.) She had to hold Merci's head and neck while Merci got jabbed. Merci is timid, but growling and trying to bite? This really embarrassed and scared Jan!
PPS -- This is Jan. While I was in Wal-mart spreading litter all around (hole in the bottom of the bag), it dawned on me it was my fault Merci freaked out and tried to bite the vet. Always before she has been on the exam table or in my lap, as she was 3 years ago when she got a rabies shot, but this time I didn't pick her up. And when a tall man came around the corner carrying a needle, it scared little Merci. And a scared, cornered dog will growl and try to bite.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
K9 Klearup
Buddy: I am allergic to flea bites so May and June were a nightmare. We woofies had to walk Jan several times a day, and since we don't attract fleas, this had to be all her fault. A friend sent Jan a spot on flea control for us but it didn't work and the directions said not to use another spot flea product for 30 days. So Jan was counting down the days! Meanwhile, she flea combed 9 animals, vacuumed and cleaned -- daily! She bathed me weekly and wouldn't let me dry off by rolling in the grass. Bummer! She searched the stores and the internet for flea extermination ideas. But the extreme heat and humidity made my skin worse. I was miserable!!!!!
Sam: So when the email arrived one Monday in June asking would she like to try something natural that "helps clear up conditions like hotspots, cuts, scratches, bug bites, minor burns, ear infections, swelling and inflammation - especially chronic ones," she responded, yes, my dog has hot spots! She meant allergy, but, hey, Buddy didn't care what it was called. he just wanted relief! She was told to take before and after pictures. She took "before" pix, but Buddy said she can't post photos of his butt.
Merci: That Saturday's snail mail brought the sample that was supposed to heal Buddy's skin condition. Jan opened it, read the instructions, and got that someone-is-on-my-kitty-litter-list look on her face.
Sam: The sample was in a very small case and there was only a thin layer of it. The instructions said to pick one specific area to use this sample on, clean it, and apply a thin coat of K9K 3-5 times daily -- for up to 7 days. Why would someone say he's sending a sample to clear up a skin problem and only send enough product for a pimple?
Merci: I think it might be expensive to send out product samples. Do you think the nice man who contacted Jan either didn't know how much sample is sent out or he didn't have a clue about allergies, skin conditions, hot spots or how quickly they can spread and become infected?
Buddy: Well, Jan told him, politely but bluntly that they had goofed and she wasn't messing around with a pimple-size sample on her favorite hound dog's much-larger-than-a-pimple body! ( I know, I know, I'm her only hound dog.)
Merci: But, meanwhile, Sam started chewing on his leg and Jan used a tiny dab of K9 Klearup on the sore spots a few times. Since she was busy with Buddy, she can't remember how many, but it was neither 3 - 5 times a day nor for 7 days. So it healed quickly.
Sam: It's too bad K9 Klearup didn't send a larger sample since Jan specified one of her dogs has a skin problem. If they had and their product is as good as claimed, they could be getting a howling testimonial from Buddy. What interested us in the product is that it uses natural ingredients. We don't know how long the shelf life is, but if we had an allowance, we would order some for all of us woofies to have on hand, but especially for Buddy and his chronic allergies.
Merci: You think one day Jan will give us an allowance so we'll have our own spending money?
Sam: Yep, when fat pigs fly and she gets a new computer!
Buddy: You can read about the product at K9Klearup.com.
Merci: Oh, maybe we should let you know, Jan stopped bringing home fleas when we walk her and we've all been doing okay these past weeks. Buddy is fine, except he looks a bit strange with bald patches on his butt. See, K9Klear, if we'd had enough product we could have tested it to see if it really does help hair grow back after an" injury."
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
Sam: So when the email arrived one Monday in June asking would she like to try something natural that "helps clear up conditions like hotspots, cuts, scratches, bug bites, minor burns, ear infections, swelling and inflammation - especially chronic ones," she responded, yes, my dog has hot spots! She meant allergy, but, hey, Buddy didn't care what it was called. he just wanted relief! She was told to take before and after pictures. She took "before" pix, but Buddy said she can't post photos of his butt.
Merci: That Saturday's snail mail brought the sample that was supposed to heal Buddy's skin condition. Jan opened it, read the instructions, and got that someone-is-on-my-kitty-litter-list look on her face.
Sam: The sample was in a very small case and there was only a thin layer of it. The instructions said to pick one specific area to use this sample on, clean it, and apply a thin coat of K9K 3-5 times daily -- for up to 7 days. Why would someone say he's sending a sample to clear up a skin problem and only send enough product for a pimple?
Merci: I think it might be expensive to send out product samples. Do you think the nice man who contacted Jan either didn't know how much sample is sent out or he didn't have a clue about allergies, skin conditions, hot spots or how quickly they can spread and become infected?
Buddy: Well, Jan told him, politely but bluntly that they had goofed and she wasn't messing around with a pimple-size sample on her favorite hound dog's much-larger-than-a-pimple body! ( I know, I know, I'm her only hound dog.)
Merci: But, meanwhile, Sam started chewing on his leg and Jan used a tiny dab of K9 Klearup on the sore spots a few times. Since she was busy with Buddy, she can't remember how many, but it was neither 3 - 5 times a day nor for 7 days. So it healed quickly.
Sam: It's too bad K9 Klearup didn't send a larger sample since Jan specified one of her dogs has a skin problem. If they had and their product is as good as claimed, they could be getting a howling testimonial from Buddy. What interested us in the product is that it uses natural ingredients. We don't know how long the shelf life is, but if we had an allowance, we would order some for all of us woofies to have on hand, but especially for Buddy and his chronic allergies.
Merci: You think one day Jan will give us an allowance so we'll have our own spending money?
Sam: Yep, when fat pigs fly and she gets a new computer!
Buddy: You can read about the product at K9Klearup.com.
Merci: Oh, maybe we should let you know, Jan stopped bringing home fleas when we walk her and we've all been doing okay these past weeks. Buddy is fine, except he looks a bit strange with bald patches on his butt. See, K9Klear, if we'd had enough product we could have tested it to see if it really does help hair grow back after an" injury."
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
Monday, July 20, 2009
Ripples Dog Treats
We -- Buddy, Merci & Sam -- have been waiting a month to try Ripples Dog Treats. We were getting very impatient and the living room floor was beginning to splinter from all our anticipatory drooling. Today the treats arrived and we couldn't wait until Jan opened the package (Sam tried to open it for her) so we could eat them.
But wait! Do you see anything wrong with this picture?
Look closely. And count to three.
Yes, there are 3 dogs and only 2 Ripples. So one of us is not going to get one.
Sam: Oh, good, I get the larger mint flavor treat. Probably because I'm the largest woofie.
Buddy: Jan, what's with you? You say, Here, Buddy, but you won't let go! Forget about a picture. LET GO of my chicken flavor treat!
Merci: I'm very disappointed! Jan smeared a little peanut butter on a plain rawhide stick to try to give it a little taste, but .... sigh ... I'm trying to be a good sport.
Sam: Yum. This is tasty.
Buddy: Now that Jan has let go of my treat, I can finally taste it. Pretty good.
Buddy & Sam: Well, they didn't last long around here. They were good, though. Thanks, Ripples, for letting us sample them. But how come you didn't send a sample for Merci?
You can find healthy product benefit information on Ripples Dog Treats at Good Pet Stuff.
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
But wait! Do you see anything wrong with this picture?
Look closely. And count to three.
Yes, there are 3 dogs and only 2 Ripples. So one of us is not going to get one.
Sam: Oh, good, I get the larger mint flavor treat. Probably because I'm the largest woofie.
Buddy: Jan, what's with you? You say, Here, Buddy, but you won't let go! Forget about a picture. LET GO of my chicken flavor treat!
Merci: I'm very disappointed! Jan smeared a little peanut butter on a plain rawhide stick to try to give it a little taste, but .... sigh ... I'm trying to be a good sport.
Sam: Yum. This is tasty.
Buddy: Now that Jan has let go of my treat, I can finally taste it. Pretty good.
Buddy & Sam: Well, they didn't last long around here. They were good, though. Thanks, Ripples, for letting us sample them. But how come you didn't send a sample for Merci?
You can find healthy product benefit information on Ripples Dog Treats at Good Pet Stuff.
(s) Buddy, Merci & Sam
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Lost Blog and Cameron's Tongue
Okay, we've lost a blog. It was there the other day. There was a photo of a German Shepherd and a deer in a police car and pet bloggers were supposed to write a short story on the picture. But after 2 mind-numbing days of setting up Google Reader and re-sorting our blogging links, we can't remember which blog it was on. It was so intriguing we'd like to read the stories and find out who won.
(Eric & Flynn emailed us the blog: The Meowers from Missouri. And Perfectly Parker won the nip cigar.)
Cameron didn't win the stick out your tongue contest over at Rocky Creek Scotties & Java, but he did get a badge for participation. You're a good sport, Cameron, for having the courage to let the world see this picture!
Congratulations to DUHGALL of Sweet Cottage Dreams, the winner. And to the runnerup Bailey.
Oh, and stop by The Creek Cats tomorrow. Maggie May will be posting a short video tomorrow. And we guess they'll be announcing the winner of their giveaway contest?
Oh, almost forgot. We found today, on Blogger's dashboard, if you scroll down there is a list of google services. We hate having to go the long way around, so we decided to see if something would work. It does. We left clicked on "Google Reader" in the list and dragged it up to the firefox browser bookmark bar, next the "subscribe." (Yep, after doing it all by copy and paste yesterday, we finally found the subscribe button to add to the bar. ) And we dragged "Picasa Web Albums" up next to it. Now if we want to go to Google Reader or Picasa online, we can just click on them.
(Eric & Flynn emailed us the blog: The Meowers from Missouri. And Perfectly Parker won the nip cigar.)
Cameron didn't win the stick out your tongue contest over at Rocky Creek Scotties & Java, but he did get a badge for participation. You're a good sport, Cameron, for having the courage to let the world see this picture!
Congratulations to DUHGALL of Sweet Cottage Dreams, the winner. And to the runnerup Bailey.
Oh, and stop by The Creek Cats tomorrow. Maggie May will be posting a short video tomorrow. And we guess they'll be announcing the winner of their giveaway contest?
Oh, almost forgot. We found today, on Blogger's dashboard, if you scroll down there is a list of google services. We hate having to go the long way around, so we decided to see if something would work. It does. We left clicked on "Google Reader" in the list and dragged it up to the firefox browser bookmark bar, next the "subscribe." (Yep, after doing it all by copy and paste yesterday, we finally found the subscribe button to add to the bar. ) And we dragged "Picasa Web Albums" up next to it. Now if we want to go to Google Reader or Picasa online, we can just click on them.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Percy's Bugging Eyes
Merci: Hey, Percy, shouldn't that be bulging eyes instead of bugging?
Percy: No, I meant what I typed. My eyes are so tired they're really bugging me.
We -- uh, Percy is going blind trying to put our blog links in Google Reader so we can keep up better -- we hope! Khyra helped us with information and a link to videos of how to use a GR. (If the link has timed out, just google "how to use google reader.")
And this afternoon, in a second folder of blog links, we reached A Cat Called Freya and she has a post on how to read a ton of blogs with a reader.
So we've read blogs, watched videos, and sent Percy nearly to the brink of blindness scrolling, copying, pasting, losing his place and starting over. Last night he got a rhythm going and bingo! Our internet went out and we had to stop for the night. This morning, same thing happened. Percy's nimble fingers were typing away and the internet went bonkers. But this time it came back before Jan could call tech support. So we've had a busy couple of days.
Percy: What do you mean, we? I've done all the typing. I mean, look at me! My eyes are swollen. They won't close.
Most of you already know how to set up and use Google Reader or any other one of your choice. But in case even one of you doesn't, perhaps this information will save you from looking like Percy after 2 days of staring at blogs and links.
Buddy: Percy, you can stop typing now. We've finished our post. Percy... Percy??
Percy: ZZZZZZZZZ. Snort, snort.
Cameron: Isn't Percy supposed to close his eyes before he starts snoring?
Percy: No, I meant what I typed. My eyes are so tired they're really bugging me.
We -- uh, Percy is going blind trying to put our blog links in Google Reader so we can keep up better -- we hope! Khyra helped us with information and a link to videos of how to use a GR. (If the link has timed out, just google "how to use google reader.")
And this afternoon, in a second folder of blog links, we reached A Cat Called Freya and she has a post on how to read a ton of blogs with a reader.
So we've read blogs, watched videos, and sent Percy nearly to the brink of blindness scrolling, copying, pasting, losing his place and starting over. Last night he got a rhythm going and bingo! Our internet went out and we had to stop for the night. This morning, same thing happened. Percy's nimble fingers were typing away and the internet went bonkers. But this time it came back before Jan could call tech support. So we've had a busy couple of days.
Percy: What do you mean, we? I've done all the typing. I mean, look at me! My eyes are swollen. They won't close.
Most of you already know how to set up and use Google Reader or any other one of your choice. But in case even one of you doesn't, perhaps this information will save you from looking like Percy after 2 days of staring at blogs and links.
Buddy: Percy, you can stop typing now. We've finished our post. Percy... Percy??
Percy: ZZZZZZZZZ. Snort, snort.
Cameron: Isn't Percy supposed to close his eyes before he starts snoring?
Friday, July 17, 2009
Is Your Sidebar A Sock Drawer
Before we do our post, we want to mention a couple of things.
Katie and da Katz has asked us to mention the Katiez Furr-e-bay auction, which will run through next Thursday, July 23. Katie has generously offered to donate 10% of the video auction proceeds to JFF. But we want to encourage you to drop by either auction there because, as many of you know, Katie has been having a rough time for a while now and she has a sick mother and a number of furry bellies to fill, including several young kittens. We know times are tough for all of you in one way or another, but we hope you will check out her auction items. There just might be something you need.
And Miss Peach's Mommy Karla surprised us by opening an auction for a beautiful carnelian agate bracelet she purchased in Alaska last year.
Karla, ML, Auntie Deb and Katie, you are all so sweet. We appreciate your kind thoughts and deeds, as well as those who have been sending us information and leads to check out. Bloggers are a great group!
And now to back to the post we were working on --
While doing an internet search today, we came across what we think is a neat video, and we'd like to share it with you. We worked on cleaning up our sidebar recently, trying to make JFF a little less cluttered than it was, but we had no idea we were actually cleaning out our sock drawer. Well, it must be Jan's sock drawer. None of us wear socks.
We hope you enjoy this video. We did. But don't any blogger take offense, please. We are not pointing a paw at any specific site or sites. We are just throwing the information out there for educational purposes. And if the sock fits .... and you get an urge .... or not.
Katie and da Katz has asked us to mention the Katiez Furr-e-bay auction, which will run through next Thursday, July 23. Katie has generously offered to donate 10% of the video auction proceeds to JFF. But we want to encourage you to drop by either auction there because, as many of you know, Katie has been having a rough time for a while now and she has a sick mother and a number of furry bellies to fill, including several young kittens. We know times are tough for all of you in one way or another, but we hope you will check out her auction items. There just might be something you need.
And Miss Peach's Mommy Karla surprised us by opening an auction for a beautiful carnelian agate bracelet she purchased in Alaska last year.
Karla, ML, Auntie Deb and Katie, you are all so sweet. We appreciate your kind thoughts and deeds, as well as those who have been sending us information and leads to check out. Bloggers are a great group!
And now to back to the post we were working on --
While doing an internet search today, we came across what we think is a neat video, and we'd like to share it with you. We worked on cleaning up our sidebar recently, trying to make JFF a little less cluttered than it was, but we had no idea we were actually cleaning out our sock drawer. Well, it must be Jan's sock drawer. None of us wear socks.
We hope you enjoy this video. We did. But don't any blogger take offense, please. We are not pointing a paw at any specific site or sites. We are just throwing the information out there for educational purposes. And if the sock fits .... and you get an urge .... or not.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
AC Broke EF's Heart and updates
Anderson Cooper, you broke Elsie Fallulah's heart. And you almost cheated The Best Little Cathouse in Pennsylvania out of the $500 she was going to donate if she heard from you. For shame, AC! You couldn't spare a few moments of your time?
As Elsie said in her post yesterday, "The real reason, though, we want to reach out to your Anderson Cooper is to call attention to all the overlooked homeless animals...the throw-away cats that suffer every day. So, I hope through Operation Birthday Wish we might cause others to think twice when they see a stray cat or dog...maybe they will try to help it and meet the best friend of their life."
And Anderson Cooper, Elsie has a bigger heart than you have shown. She is going to donate the $500 to the rescue anyway. This is the cat sanctuary that took in an FIV positive feral kitty Elsie's mom rescued.
Elsie Fallulah Graves of the Whiskers & Purrs Gang, we are sorry your Anderson Cooper let you down, despite all the messages he must have received from pet bloggers around the world. But Elsie, we think you are a celebrity in your own category. A generous, gutsy little furry with a passion to help homeless animals.
We all give you the Clawed Paw Salute. Except Rusty, who has no front claws, but he does a right smart Paw Salute with those huge feet.
Despite AC breaking your heart, we hope you had a nice birthday. Don't binge on Fancy Feast and Temptations too hard today or you'll be sick tomorrow.
A quick update on the tan and white Chihuahua. He was last seen on June 27 -- 3 weeks ago -- leaving the mill property and heading into the bushes. From there, he probably headed into the woods. As the crew boss said today, he was looking pretty bad. He was dumped, his companion "deserted" him (was picked up by Animal Control), he was without food and possibly water for a week and he had no hunting experience. Everything was against him. So, whoever threw him away to die like that, you deserve a taste of your own abuse.
And we'd like to thank ML and Auntie Deb for each doing an auction to help JFF through a rough patch. We didn't know it, but they plotted this for several weeks. We have some ideas we need to work on for income. We figured out how to obtain a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 so we can learn to do some neat things to help out, but Jan says we can't put it on this computer because it doesn't meet all the requirements for the software. So we're trying to figure out something else we can do. (No, we're not downloading Gimp or Paint.net. We already tried that and it uses a program we don't have and it won't install for us. Our computer hasn't been the same since our second hard drive died back in November.)
We've had some good suggestions from some of you. We'll be checking them out. Thank you all.
As Elsie said in her post yesterday, "The real reason, though, we want to reach out to your Anderson Cooper is to call attention to all the overlooked homeless animals...the throw-away cats that suffer every day. So, I hope through Operation Birthday Wish we might cause others to think twice when they see a stray cat or dog...maybe they will try to help it and meet the best friend of their life."
And Anderson Cooper, Elsie has a bigger heart than you have shown. She is going to donate the $500 to the rescue anyway. This is the cat sanctuary that took in an FIV positive feral kitty Elsie's mom rescued.
Elsie Fallulah Graves of the Whiskers & Purrs Gang, we are sorry your Anderson Cooper let you down, despite all the messages he must have received from pet bloggers around the world. But Elsie, we think you are a celebrity in your own category. A generous, gutsy little furry with a passion to help homeless animals.
We all give you the Clawed Paw Salute. Except Rusty, who has no front claws, but he does a right smart Paw Salute with those huge feet.
Despite AC breaking your heart, we hope you had a nice birthday. Don't binge on Fancy Feast and Temptations too hard today or you'll be sick tomorrow.
A quick update on the tan and white Chihuahua. He was last seen on June 27 -- 3 weeks ago -- leaving the mill property and heading into the bushes. From there, he probably headed into the woods. As the crew boss said today, he was looking pretty bad. He was dumped, his companion "deserted" him (was picked up by Animal Control), he was without food and possibly water for a week and he had no hunting experience. Everything was against him. So, whoever threw him away to die like that, you deserve a taste of your own abuse.
And we'd like to thank ML and Auntie Deb for each doing an auction to help JFF through a rough patch. We didn't know it, but they plotted this for several weeks. We have some ideas we need to work on for income. We figured out how to obtain a copy of Photoshop Elements 7 so we can learn to do some neat things to help out, but Jan says we can't put it on this computer because it doesn't meet all the requirements for the software. So we're trying to figure out something else we can do. (No, we're not downloading Gimp or Paint.net. We already tried that and it uses a program we don't have and it won't install for us. Our computer hasn't been the same since our second hard drive died back in November.)
We've had some good suggestions from some of you. We'll be checking them out. Thank you all.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Happy BD Sassy's Moth
The Happy Birthday, Merci greetings we received went right over our heads today. And suddenly they whapped Buddy right in the middle of a yawn. So we rushed right over to the Cat Blogosphere and sure enough, there is Merci listed among the birthday celebrators.
We hate to say this, especially since Jan is so bad about remembering our special dates, but Merci's official birthday (and Gotcha Day) is next Wednesday, July 23.
But today is a special day for someone. And we almost missed it. Please drop by Sassy's blog -- you all know Sassy of CCSI -- and wish her Moth (mother of the house) a happy birthday! She is...
Percy: OWWWWWWWW. You stepped on my paw, Sam! I was typing. Why would you step on my paw? Ever? You're at least 100 times my size.
Sam: You were about to tell a lady's age. Guys aren't supposed to do that! And I am not 100 times your size. Maybe ninety -- tops.
Percy: And besides, I was not about to give away her age. I was about to say she's on a break, but sooner or later she'll be back to read her email.
Sam: Oh, in that case, I'm sorry I stomped your paw while you were typing.
To get back to the subject before my paw swells and I have to limp to bed for the remainder of the week, today is Sassy's Moth's birthday. Please stop by Sassy's blog to wish her Moth a happy day. We miss Sassy.
And thanks to all of you who have sent green paper info. And to ML and Aunti Deb for the auctions they've posted. The Cat Blogosphere is full of surprises and kindness.
We hate to say this, especially since Jan is so bad about remembering our special dates, but Merci's official birthday (and Gotcha Day) is next Wednesday, July 23.
But today is a special day for someone. And we almost missed it. Please drop by Sassy's blog -- you all know Sassy of CCSI -- and wish her Moth (mother of the house) a happy birthday! She is...
Percy: OWWWWWWWW. You stepped on my paw, Sam! I was typing. Why would you step on my paw? Ever? You're at least 100 times my size.
Sam: You were about to tell a lady's age. Guys aren't supposed to do that! And I am not 100 times your size. Maybe ninety -- tops.
Percy: And besides, I was not about to give away her age. I was about to say she's on a break, but sooner or later she'll be back to read her email.
Sam: Oh, in that case, I'm sorry I stomped your paw while you were typing.
To get back to the subject before my paw swells and I have to limp to bed for the remainder of the week, today is Sassy's Moth's birthday. Please stop by Sassy's blog to wish her Moth a happy day. We miss Sassy.
And thanks to all of you who have sent green paper info. And to ML and Aunti Deb for the auctions they've posted. The Cat Blogosphere is full of surprises and kindness.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Making Green Papers
We are grateful some of you are looking forward to the JFF Band Bluemobile coming to your town sometime in the future -- according to our budget, in the faaaaar future. But we're working on our harmonizing and looking for some cans full of background music so we can stock up. We've even had some offers to join the band. We can always use extra band members for emergencies -- like concerts scheduled against our will during our naps. But don't worry, we will still be stopping by to sing for your special days -- birthdays, Gotcha Days, anniversaries, alien blurpy arrivals .....
Meanwhile, we are still looking for some means of obtaining green papers so we can remain on the Funny Farm. We have some design ideas and are thinking of opening one of those online stores that sell things like notepaper, t-shirts, toys, mugs, etc., but Jan lost all our source information. We'd trade her in for a human who actually has a memory, but she needs us and the utilities are in her name -- not to mention we have to walk her daily.
The cat and dog blogging community knows "everything" on just about any subject. Any kitty, woofie, hammie, bun or .... who has any knowledge on how to make green papers online and wouldn't mind sharing it can leave a comment or email us at jansfunnyfarm @ gmail .com (put it together). We would be grateful for the information!
Meanwhile, we are still looking for some means of obtaining green papers so we can remain on the Funny Farm. We have some design ideas and are thinking of opening one of those online stores that sell things like notepaper, t-shirts, toys, mugs, etc., but Jan lost all our source information. We'd trade her in for a human who actually has a memory, but she needs us and the utilities are in her name -- not to mention we have to walk her daily.
The cat and dog blogging community knows "everything" on just about any subject. Any kitty, woofie, hammie, bun or .... who has any knowledge on how to make green papers online and wouldn't mind sharing it can leave a comment or email us at jansfunnyfarm @ gmail .com (put it together). We would be grateful for the information!
Happy BD, Mom Robyn
Even if her kitties are telling her age -- about elebenty seven -- she isn't as old as she sounds. Her kitties keep her young at heart. (This is only one of the advantages of a houseful of furries. At least, that's what we keep telling Jan!)
Now we have to sing. Gotta practive for our future concerts, you know.
Happy birthday to you-ooo.
Happy birthday to you-ooo.
Happy birthday, Mom Robyn -ooo.
Happy birthday to you-ooo.
Sorry about the loud howling but Buddy is a hound.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Operation Anderson Cooper
Elsie Fallulah Graves of the Whiskers and Purrs Gang is having her 6th birthday this coming Wednesday, July 15. The only present she wants is a birthday greeting from Anderson Cooper.
She loves, loves, loves, love, loves him. No, she doesn't want to marry him. She just wishes she was his cat. Why we don't know. He would never be home to feed her. She'd undoubtedly be relegated to the outdoors, trying to survive on catfish from his swimming pool. She'd be lonely and miss her mom Jenny and her 11 brothers and sisters. But there's just no accounting for taste. We like Elsie Fallulah, so we hope she will get her wish.
Are you listening Anderson? The Cat Blogosphere and its woofie and hammie and bunny friends are woofing, meowing, chirping, burping and -- whatever it takes-- to get your attention!
We felt so sorry for Elsie Fallulah pining away over Anderson Cooper that we sent him an email via CNN a few months ago, explaining she is his most ardent and dedicated fan, even giving him her blog address to prove it. Of course, if he ever received the message from CNN staff, he probably thought we were a little balmy in the belfry, but this time there will be a host of furries passing on the message. So clean out your ears, Anderson Cooper! Make Elsie Fallulah Grave's birthday special. Send her a birthday greeting! Hey, make it extra special -- send her 3 greetings: Facebook, Twitter and blog!
So for any of you furries (or humans -- you can help too) who haven't yet heard the news or don't know how to contact Anderson Cooper:
And speaking of birthdays, our friend KC finally got to read her email about Percy's birthday and Sam's Gotcha Day on Thursday, July 9, so she sent them a lovely, belated card. (Are you paying attention, Anderson Cooper? Cards are nice on a birthday.)
She loves, loves, loves, love, loves him. No, she doesn't want to marry him. She just wishes she was his cat. Why we don't know. He would never be home to feed her. She'd undoubtedly be relegated to the outdoors, trying to survive on catfish from his swimming pool. She'd be lonely and miss her mom Jenny and her 11 brothers and sisters. But there's just no accounting for taste. We like Elsie Fallulah, so we hope she will get her wish.
Are you listening Anderson? The Cat Blogosphere and its woofie and hammie and bunny friends are woofing, meowing, chirping, burping and -- whatever it takes-- to get your attention!
We felt so sorry for Elsie Fallulah pining away over Anderson Cooper that we sent him an email via CNN a few months ago, explaining she is his most ardent and dedicated fan, even giving him her blog address to prove it. Of course, if he ever received the message from CNN staff, he probably thought we were a little balmy in the belfry, but this time there will be a host of furries passing on the message. So clean out your ears, Anderson Cooper! Make Elsie Fallulah Grave's birthday special. Send her a birthday greeting! Hey, make it extra special -- send her 3 greetings: Facebook, Twitter and blog!
So for any of you furries (or humans -- you can help too) who haven't yet heard the news or don't know how to contact Anderson Cooper:
Facebook: Anderson Cooper 360
Twitter: andersoncooper
Blog: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/
We don't facebook or twitter, but many of you do. Ask him in your message to send her a Happy Birthday note at any of these places:
Facebook: The Whiskers and Purrs Gang
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ElsieFallulah
Twitter: http://twitter.com/thekids
Blog: www.whiskersandpurrs.com
And speaking of birthdays, our friend KC finally got to read her email about Percy's birthday and Sam's Gotcha Day on Thursday, July 9, so she sent them a lovely, belated card. (Are you paying attention, Anderson Cooper? Cards are nice on a birthday.)
Friday, July 10, 2009
Percy was 5 and Sam was Gotcha'd
Yes, you read the title correctly. Percy was 5 ... yesterday! And guess who forgot!
A belated Happy Birthday, Percy!
Well, someone is going to get the cat shoulder of disdain for forgetting all about Percy's birthday!!! (Are you listening, Jan? Why bother to mark your calendar if you don't check it?)
But KC over at the Cat Blogosphere remembered. And thanks to all of you who came by to leave a word for Percy, Jan suddenly remembered too. She said she would let us do a post later in the day, but instead she ran off to have a steak dinner with friends. She didn't even bring any of us home a nibble.
And Jan forgot something else of importance yesterday. It was also Sam's Gotcha Day. Yep, 3 years ago yesterday Sam joined JFF. The baby of the family is our largest 4-legged resident.
A belated Happy Gotcha Day, Sam!
So yesterday was a really big day around here. Or it should have been. Jan is really in trouble!
Percy and Sam, we love you guys and we're glad you're part of the family! (Jan we're not so sure about at the moment.)
To change the subject, we're glad you enjoyed our post on Jan's lost-the-highway trip to see the Beach Boys perform. (Click here if you missed it.) And we've had some interesting comments. Many thanks to all of you who mentioned you will be buying tickets and coming to our performances. We can't wait. This is all so exciting. Well, it will be when Jan stocks up on canned music. Anyone know where these cans are sold?
Khyra: If only she had khalled woo! Woo khould have told her how to get home, eh? Oh, you can bet on that, Khyra! If she had called us we would have directed her home by way of your house in Pawsylvania.
The Creek Cats: Oh no, this makes us worry! Our mom and dad are traveling to VA from NC on Friday. They better not get lost! Don't worry, Creek Cats, not all humans are like Jan. Some have a sense of direction, can read a map, or travel with a GPS.
Reese: Don't let her out after dark again. We did restrict her, but last night she heard the word steak and leaped right over all of us trying to set up a roadblock to keep her home.
The Bumpass Hounds: Dad wants to know where Mr. Love's (be respectful to the elders) cane and wheel chair were parked? We were wondering the same thing. He's older than Jan and she creaks and groans when moves. Maybe Mr. Love has a special oil for his creaky joints?
Agatha & Archie: Do you need any back up?? I can sing and howl and Archie does drums. Hey, A&A, thanks for offering. Every band needs back-up musicians for emergencies. We'd be happy to make you part of the regular band but the JFF Band Bluemobile has limited seating.
Tracey and Huffle: The car is cool but maybe don't let Jan do the driving. Don't worry! We intend to do our own driving. And we've had experience. Click here to read about our past driving history.
A belated Happy Birthday, Percy!
Well, someone is going to get the cat shoulder of disdain for forgetting all about Percy's birthday!!! (Are you listening, Jan? Why bother to mark your calendar if you don't check it?)
But KC over at the Cat Blogosphere remembered. And thanks to all of you who came by to leave a word for Percy, Jan suddenly remembered too. She said she would let us do a post later in the day, but instead she ran off to have a steak dinner with friends. She didn't even bring any of us home a nibble.
And Jan forgot something else of importance yesterday. It was also Sam's Gotcha Day. Yep, 3 years ago yesterday Sam joined JFF. The baby of the family is our largest 4-legged resident.
A belated Happy Gotcha Day, Sam!
So yesterday was a really big day around here. Or it should have been. Jan is really in trouble!
Percy and Sam, we love you guys and we're glad you're part of the family! (Jan we're not so sure about at the moment.)
To change the subject, we're glad you enjoyed our post on Jan's lost-the-highway trip to see the Beach Boys perform. (Click here if you missed it.) And we've had some interesting comments. Many thanks to all of you who mentioned you will be buying tickets and coming to our performances. We can't wait. This is all so exciting. Well, it will be when Jan stocks up on canned music. Anyone know where these cans are sold?
Khyra: If only she had khalled woo! Woo khould have told her how to get home, eh? Oh, you can bet on that, Khyra! If she had called us we would have directed her home by way of your house in Pawsylvania.
The Creek Cats: Oh no, this makes us worry! Our mom and dad are traveling to VA from NC on Friday. They better not get lost! Don't worry, Creek Cats, not all humans are like Jan. Some have a sense of direction, can read a map, or travel with a GPS.
Reese: Don't let her out after dark again. We did restrict her, but last night she heard the word steak and leaped right over all of us trying to set up a roadblock to keep her home.
The Bumpass Hounds: Dad wants to know where Mr. Love's (be respectful to the elders) cane and wheel chair were parked? We were wondering the same thing. He's older than Jan and she creaks and groans when moves. Maybe Mr. Love has a special oil for his creaky joints?
Agatha & Archie: Do you need any back up?? I can sing and howl and Archie does drums. Hey, A&A, thanks for offering. Every band needs back-up musicians for emergencies. We'd be happy to make you part of the regular band but the JFF Band Bluemobile has limited seating.
Tracey and Huffle: The car is cool but maybe don't let Jan do the driving. Don't worry! We intend to do our own driving. And we've had experience. Click here to read about our past driving history.
(s) JFF -- Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
The JFF Band Bluemobile
A couple of weeks ago Jan was creaking to the Oldies.
It all started when her friend -- we'll call her P -- phoned and asked if Jan would like to go to a concert. Her neighbors had purchased 2 nonrefundable tickets but the wife was sick and they couldn't go. Well, Jan didn't think twice. She dumped us!
This is their evening, the way Jan tells it.
They left at 6 and arrived at 7:15, after watching the turns and road signs carefully, because they were directed via back roads and neither of them had been that way before. The concert started about 8:15. They were way up from the stage, but they had no problem hearing the music.
These are photos of the Beach Boys in concert. That's Mike Love, one of the founding members, in the long-sleeved striped shirt. He owns the rights to the Beach Boys name now. And long time -- real long time -- member Bruce Johnson is on the keyboard.
Sorry, the pix are so small.
Okay, we know you can't see them very well in these little pictures and many of you undoubtedly never saw them before. But the old folks -- oops, we mean the older kids know who they are. The seats were filled with older kids and younger kids who knew the words to the songs. And they'd all stand up and tap their toes or sway to the music. Jan spent so much time tapping her toes -- wait, Jan's backwards, she taps her heel -- to the music, she has had trouble standing or walking on that ankle ever since. But she had a great time.
As the concert ended, Jan and P took off at a fast trot for the parking lot -- way out in the parking lot. Jan did the math and knew they would be home by midnight. (Jan was correct, but there is always the unexpected.)
They made it out of the parking lot pretty quickly, then went straight through the light instead of turning left. They had to pull into a parking lot so P could review the directions and then they reversed direction and turned right. There was little traffic and they made good time. In fact, such good time that Jan was surprised when P suddenly turned right, explaining she almost missed the sign for some tiny little town she remembered from the trip to the concert.
Miles later they suddenly entered the little town. Only they hadn't come through it earlier, they had gone around it. The town was dark and deserted. Worse, there were no signs to tell them how to find the highway. The main road turned left and turned right and finally they reached a stop sign. But they couldn't figure out where they were, so they turned around and went back through the deserted town, turned around again and finally spied other humans. A young man and two young women.
P stopped and called out, Do you know how to get to .....?
One of the girls asked, Do you want the Interstate or the old route?
The Interstate, P said confidently. Jan couldn't remember being on the Interstate. In fact, if memory served her, it was on the other side of the city. But she wasn't driving, hadn't read the map....
A girl started giving directions. Go (back to the stop sign where they'd turned around) and turn right. Keep going for 10, 15, maybe 20 miles. It's a long way. The guy said to P, Don't worry, mama, you'll get there. As they drove away, P heard one of them ask, What are they doing out?
Back to the stop sign. P turned right. Jan suggested they go left since that was the general direction they were originally headed. After a little way, P turned around and headed back to the stop sign. A spit and a holler past the stop sign, they found their turnoff. The rest of the way would be a piece of cake.
Many, many miles later there was a huge car dealership. I don't remember seeing this before, Jan said. And sure enough, they'd missed their turn -- way back there somewhere. They wandered from here to there, pulled over to read the map, and turned around a couple or few times. There was virtually no traffic, not even a patrolling deputy they could stop, and not a single gas station.
They were relieved when they finally recognized the name of their town on a sign. Jan got out of P's car and wobbled across the lawn at 1:10 AM.
She had been gone for 7 hours and 10 minutes. This set us to thinking. Jan says things are not going well financially and we should find a job so we don't have to go to the shelter where -- well, we won't even think about that! But since humans are willing to go to that much trouble to spend time and money on entertainment, perhaps we should start giving concerts of our own. We're much younger and better looking than the Beach Boys!
We don't know how to play any instruments, but isn't that what canned music is for? Jan can stock up on cans, Buddy can howl, Merci can sing soprano, Sam can throw in his woofs and squeaks, and the JFF felines can sing harmony and backup.
Oh, and we have a picture of just the car to tour in. Can't you just see us rolling down the Interstate in the JFF Bluemobile, Buddy's ears flapping in the breeze!
We can't wait. Watch for us. We might be coming to your town. Not soon, though. Jan says we'll have to save us for cans and gas. Oh, and food. Singing must work up quite an appetite.
It all started when her friend -- we'll call her P -- phoned and asked if Jan would like to go to a concert. Her neighbors had purchased 2 nonrefundable tickets but the wife was sick and they couldn't go. Well, Jan didn't think twice. She dumped us!
This is their evening, the way Jan tells it.
They left at 6 and arrived at 7:15, after watching the turns and road signs carefully, because they were directed via back roads and neither of them had been that way before. The concert started about 8:15. They were way up from the stage, but they had no problem hearing the music.
These are photos of the Beach Boys in concert. That's Mike Love, one of the founding members, in the long-sleeved striped shirt. He owns the rights to the Beach Boys name now. And long time -- real long time -- member Bruce Johnson is on the keyboard.
Sorry, the pix are so small.
Okay, we know you can't see them very well in these little pictures and many of you undoubtedly never saw them before. But the old folks -- oops, we mean the older kids know who they are. The seats were filled with older kids and younger kids who knew the words to the songs. And they'd all stand up and tap their toes or sway to the music. Jan spent so much time tapping her toes -- wait, Jan's backwards, she taps her heel -- to the music, she has had trouble standing or walking on that ankle ever since. But she had a great time.
As the concert ended, Jan and P took off at a fast trot for the parking lot -- way out in the parking lot. Jan did the math and knew they would be home by midnight. (Jan was correct, but there is always the unexpected.)
They made it out of the parking lot pretty quickly, then went straight through the light instead of turning left. They had to pull into a parking lot so P could review the directions and then they reversed direction and turned right. There was little traffic and they made good time. In fact, such good time that Jan was surprised when P suddenly turned right, explaining she almost missed the sign for some tiny little town she remembered from the trip to the concert.
Miles later they suddenly entered the little town. Only they hadn't come through it earlier, they had gone around it. The town was dark and deserted. Worse, there were no signs to tell them how to find the highway. The main road turned left and turned right and finally they reached a stop sign. But they couldn't figure out where they were, so they turned around and went back through the deserted town, turned around again and finally spied other humans. A young man and two young women.
P stopped and called out, Do you know how to get to .....?
One of the girls asked, Do you want the Interstate or the old route?
The Interstate, P said confidently. Jan couldn't remember being on the Interstate. In fact, if memory served her, it was on the other side of the city. But she wasn't driving, hadn't read the map....
A girl started giving directions. Go (back to the stop sign where they'd turned around) and turn right. Keep going for 10, 15, maybe 20 miles. It's a long way. The guy said to P, Don't worry, mama, you'll get there. As they drove away, P heard one of them ask, What are they doing out?
Back to the stop sign. P turned right. Jan suggested they go left since that was the general direction they were originally headed. After a little way, P turned around and headed back to the stop sign. A spit and a holler past the stop sign, they found their turnoff. The rest of the way would be a piece of cake.
Many, many miles later there was a huge car dealership. I don't remember seeing this before, Jan said. And sure enough, they'd missed their turn -- way back there somewhere. They wandered from here to there, pulled over to read the map, and turned around a couple or few times. There was virtually no traffic, not even a patrolling deputy they could stop, and not a single gas station.
They were relieved when they finally recognized the name of their town on a sign. Jan got out of P's car and wobbled across the lawn at 1:10 AM.
She had been gone for 7 hours and 10 minutes. This set us to thinking. Jan says things are not going well financially and we should find a job so we don't have to go to the shelter where -- well, we won't even think about that! But since humans are willing to go to that much trouble to spend time and money on entertainment, perhaps we should start giving concerts of our own. We're much younger and better looking than the Beach Boys!
We don't know how to play any instruments, but isn't that what canned music is for? Jan can stock up on cans, Buddy can howl, Merci can sing soprano, Sam can throw in his woofs and squeaks, and the JFF felines can sing harmony and backup.
Oh, and we have a picture of just the car to tour in. Can't you just see us rolling down the Interstate in the JFF Bluemobile, Buddy's ears flapping in the breeze!
We can't wait. Watch for us. We might be coming to your town. Not soon, though. Jan says we'll have to save us for cans and gas. Oh, and food. Singing must work up quite an appetite.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Belated 4th of July
We didn't get a 4th of July post up this year, but we'd like to do a belated one. (Thanks, Mary, for the link.)
Staff Sgt. John Beale was one of 3 Georgia National Guardsmen killed in action in Afghanistan when their convoy hit a bomb. SSgt. Beale's body was returned home, arriving at Falcon Field in Peachtree City, south of Atlanta, on June 11. From there, the Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough. Thousands lined the streest along the route to honor this fallen American hero. Every soldier who gives his or her life in service to country deserves the same honor from the community.
The link below is for a short video of the final leg of SSgt. Beale's journey home. It was taken by someone riding in the procession, so it might waver and wander, but all the flags made us think again about the 4th of July and how dearly many pay for freedom.
A Hero's Salute to Staff Sgt. John Beale.
Staff Sgt. John Beale was one of 3 Georgia National Guardsmen killed in action in Afghanistan when their convoy hit a bomb. SSgt. Beale's body was returned home, arriving at Falcon Field in Peachtree City, south of Atlanta, on June 11. From there, the Henry County Police Department escorted the procession to the funeral home in McDonough. Thousands lined the streest along the route to honor this fallen American hero. Every soldier who gives his or her life in service to country deserves the same honor from the community.
The link below is for a short video of the final leg of SSgt. Beale's journey home. It was taken by someone riding in the procession, so it might waver and wander, but all the flags made us think again about the 4th of July and how dearly many pay for freedom.
A Hero's Salute to Staff Sgt. John Beale.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Crappy Cart and Contented Cows
Well, Jan just dismantled her new computer cart for a variety of reasons, including it wobbled, and she needs to stretch her legs and put her feet up or her legs spasm. And she couldn't stand trying to type on one level and stretch to use the mouse on the desktop. She says it made her bad shoulder scream. Maybe she should have screamed back at it, like she yells at us when we're bad. Not that we listen. (Usually she yells because she hears a crash in another room. Sometimes in the middle of the night.)
When she turned the desk over, she found the short screws holding the top on were already working their way out. So now she's back to her old setup typing on the desk with no pullout for the keyboard. She's going to return the cart for a refund. Rather than listen to her grumbling, we decided to post something happy.
With all of the cruelty in the news about farmers, it is refreshing to watch this video of an amazing dairy farm. And it invites visitors to tour and watch how farming can be done. Hmmmm, are you listening HSUS? Some farmers actually care about their livestock and treat them kindly. Too bad more of them just see living creatures as a commodity.
Enjoy the video. And thanks, Bill, for sending the link,
When she turned the desk over, she found the short screws holding the top on were already working their way out. So now she's back to her old setup typing on the desk with no pullout for the keyboard. She's going to return the cart for a refund. Rather than listen to her grumbling, we decided to post something happy.
With all of the cruelty in the news about farmers, it is refreshing to watch this video of an amazing dairy farm. And it invites visitors to tour and watch how farming can be done. Hmmmm, are you listening HSUS? Some farmers actually care about their livestock and treat them kindly. Too bad more of them just see living creatures as a commodity.
Enjoy the video. And thanks, Bill, for sending the link,
Sunday, July 05, 2009
What a Relief, Asta is Staying
As most of you know, Asta was going to stop blogging. And for those who understand what happened, we can just picture her shock when she learned she'd lost 83% of the photos she's posted in the last 2 years. She posts beautiful photos, funny graphics, so her panic and discouragement was understandable.
We don't think her mom needed to apologize and she's not a dunce. She is a very caring, intelligent lady who lost hope for a moment but had the courage to return and try to help others learn from what happened to her. We all make mistakes! So this is a good opportunity for other Blogger users to learn something invaluable. You can read about what happened at Asta's blog.
On this subject, we received an email from Mom Robyn of HotMBC (House of the mostly black cats) today, reminding everyone to back up their blog. This is very good advice!!!! We tried but we couldn't install a necessary program so until we get a new computer (yeah, right -- when fat pigs fly!), we can't.
However, Asta's problem was not in losing her blog posts, but in being new to Picasa and not understanding that any photos deleted in Picasa online would be deleted in her blogs. Once the pictures are deleted, the links are gone and like Asta's mom said, she would have to go back and put in every single photo from her hard drive again. Readers can still pick up the humor, but they'll have to imagine the photos in the older posts.
Since we have never done a backup or an upload from a backup, we don't know enough about blog backups to understand whether backing up Asta's would have helped her in this situation. Our question is whether uploading a backup would have also uploaded the photos to Picasa, but if it would, it sure would be worth it. (Will fat pigs be flying any time soon? We'd sure like to backup ours.)
And Mom Robyn (of HotMBC), we apologize for responding to your email in a post but for some reason we were unable to reply to your email. The message just refuses to "leave home." But perhaps you can answer the question of whether a backup would replace your blog photos in Picasa.
We don't think her mom needed to apologize and she's not a dunce. She is a very caring, intelligent lady who lost hope for a moment but had the courage to return and try to help others learn from what happened to her. We all make mistakes! So this is a good opportunity for other Blogger users to learn something invaluable. You can read about what happened at Asta's blog.
On this subject, we received an email from Mom Robyn of HotMBC (House of the mostly black cats) today, reminding everyone to back up their blog. This is very good advice!!!! We tried but we couldn't install a necessary program so until we get a new computer (yeah, right -- when fat pigs fly!), we can't.
However, Asta's problem was not in losing her blog posts, but in being new to Picasa and not understanding that any photos deleted in Picasa online would be deleted in her blogs. Once the pictures are deleted, the links are gone and like Asta's mom said, she would have to go back and put in every single photo from her hard drive again. Readers can still pick up the humor, but they'll have to imagine the photos in the older posts.
Since we have never done a backup or an upload from a backup, we don't know enough about blog backups to understand whether backing up Asta's would have helped her in this situation. Our question is whether uploading a backup would have also uploaded the photos to Picasa, but if it would, it sure would be worth it. (Will fat pigs be flying any time soon? We'd sure like to backup ours.)
And Mom Robyn (of HotMBC), we apologize for responding to your email in a post but for some reason we were unable to reply to your email. The message just refuses to "leave home." But perhaps you can answer the question of whether a backup would replace your blog photos in Picasa.
For those of you that use blogger your pix are not stored with your Blogger posts, but they are stored in Picasa. You get about 1 gigabyte of free storage space. If you don't have the Picasa program on your computer, you don't need to download the program for blogger to store your photos there online.
If you haven't visited Picasa before, log onto your blog (ID and password). Blogger only! Then, either open another tab or window or use the same one, but type picasa.google.com in the bar. It should take you to picasa download, but what you want to do is to click on "and go to Picasa Web Albums to share and explore photos." It should open up your Picasa/blogger photo file for you. Anything you delete in there will be deleted from your blogger posts! So don't delete unless you intend to. But for anyone who is using blogger that didn't know that, you might want to check it out. Better to learn this now than when you receive a notice from Blogger that you are approaching your 1 gb storage and you panic.
Sorry we didn't do a 4th of July post. Jan was busy rearranging the furniture so she could use her new computer cart with the pull out for the keyboard (but no room for the mouse. Hehehe) See Friday's post. And then she took off and left us alone; didn't even bring us any leftovers from dinner.
This is Jan's new workspace. Sorry about the blue lines at the bottom of the screen but Jan said we can't post her scribbles. She scribbles a lot! And loses them a lot! So she tapes notes to her monitor.
So since Jan kept us offline most of yesterday, it serves her right that she worked up such a sweat today (really, she was dripping all over the electrical cords) trying to untangle all the cords behind the computer so she could move the monitor onto the cart. Guess that was our day's entertainment. We should have taped it.
And she says we're messy? She put the little dog there to guard the cords. (Really to keep us kitties away from the cords, but ....)
Hope you all had a fun 4th!
(s) Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
If you haven't visited Picasa before, log onto your blog (ID and password). Blogger only! Then, either open another tab or window or use the same one, but type picasa.google.com in the bar. It should take you to picasa download, but what you want to do is to click on "and go to Picasa Web Albums to share and explore photos." It should open up your Picasa/blogger photo file for you. Anything you delete in there will be deleted from your blogger posts! So don't delete unless you intend to. But for anyone who is using blogger that didn't know that, you might want to check it out. Better to learn this now than when you receive a notice from Blogger that you are approaching your 1 gb storage and you panic.
Sorry we didn't do a 4th of July post. Jan was busy rearranging the furniture so she could use her new computer cart with the pull out for the keyboard (but no room for the mouse. Hehehe) See Friday's post. And then she took off and left us alone; didn't even bring us any leftovers from dinner.
This is Jan's new workspace. Sorry about the blue lines at the bottom of the screen but Jan said we can't post her scribbles. She scribbles a lot! And loses them a lot! So she tapes notes to her monitor.
So since Jan kept us offline most of yesterday, it serves her right that she worked up such a sweat today (really, she was dripping all over the electrical cords) trying to untangle all the cords behind the computer so she could move the monitor onto the cart. Guess that was our day's entertainment. We should have taped it.
And she says we're messy? She put the little dog there to guard the cords. (Really to keep us kitties away from the cords, but ....)
Hope you all had a fun 4th!
(s) Crystal, Cotton, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Buddy, Rusty & Sam
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