Cyndi Reports

Hey, Cyndi here.  We'd all like to thank you for your words of comfort on the demise of our non-whistling whistling tea kettle.  We are still in shock and have decided to hold off on replacing it until we have recovered from the shock.  It's just too soon to think about bringing another one into our home.  :(

We had planned a different post for today, but life happens and plans get changed, so today we'll just pass on some snippets.

The CB was going to hold an auction for Baker's medical needs but he passed away Friday, so the auction will be held in his memory to help his littermates and other kitties Mary Anne of Feral Cat Behavior is helping.  Jan redecorated the auction blog and made this graphic for any who would like to put in a post or their blog sidebar.  Stop by Furriends of the CB Auction to check out the items available.  Marg is the auctioneer, so if you would like to donate an item(s), her contact information is in the sidebar of the auction blog.

Last night we read the news that sweet Maggie was helped to the bridge Saturday.  We are sad for Mitch and their humans.  You can visit and leave a message on their blog Maggie and Mitch the Airedales.

 graphic by ML of CB

We were also sad to learn Sarge Charlie passed away.  He and his wife Bee have been an inspiration to us with their positive outlook throughout his long battle with cancer.

Our friend Amber DaWeenie gave us the Pawsome Blogger Award on her and her Odder Brother Max's birthday. How neat, we got a present on their birthday.  Since we already passed it on to 3 bloggers a week ago, we will just say thank you, Amber. 

Melting Pot and Paws

Hey, Cameron here.  Yep, we're still here, despite Jan trying to kill us all.  Yes, we know it wasn't really all her fault, but we are fortunate we're still alive. Here, this is what happened.

We were all lying around snoozing prior to bedtime Thursday night while Jan used the computer, when eyes began to open and heads began to pop up as we furries started to panic.   Sniff, sniff, what's burning? Are we all going to die?  We can't see through the smoke.

**Note from Cotton - There was no smoke!  Cameron got a bit disoriented since he had tucked himself into a white sheet to take a nap. He's just being dramatic.**

Jan jumped to her feet, not knowing where to check first, then headed for the most logical source - the kitchen.  Did she leave something on the stove?

Oh, you bet she did!  She worked on the computer while waiting for water to boil for a cup of hot chocolate.  We think she waited a bit long to check on it cause this is what she found.

Yep, that used to be a tea kettle. A brand new tea kettle.

Actually, this is what is left of Jan's Christmas gift tea kettle.  Jan's new stainless steel  whistling tea kettle.

Does this look like it whistled?  Nope, not a screech or a peep. This whistling tea kettle croaked without so much as a whimper.  And because Jan had only used it a couple of times while she was standing by the stove, she didn't realize the whistle didn't work.

The non-whistling whistling tea kettle had no offspring so it leaves nothing of value behind, just an empty mug and an unused hot chocolate packet on the kitchen table. Sadly, it died far too young.  There will be no funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, you can send cards and donations to the Melted Tea Kettle Revival Fund we've set up in its memory.

** Note from Cotton - I think Cameron means the Melted Tea Kettle Replacement Fund.  He's still a bit rattled from the other night.**


We were very happy we stopped by Rumpydog's blog last night.  He had posted an interview with our PAWS cat shelter volunteer friend, Kevin, aka Meowmeowmans. Stop by Rumpy's to read A Visit with a Shelter Volunteer Pt 1

Part 2 will be posted today and it will be an interview with a PAWS volunteer who works with shelter dogs..  Meowmeowmans' blog is Animal Shelter Volunteer Life.

Well, this was supposed to auto post at 12:30 AM.  Guess Blogger is related to Jan and doesn't remember to read the calendar either.  Aha!  We found the problem.  They have a DIFFERENT calendar!  Their week ends on Sunday instead of Saturday.  This might be why some others have been complaining Blogger doesn't auto post under the new dashboard. 

The Three Droolateers

Hey, Merci, Sam and Buddy, the 3 Droolateers (not Muskateeers - we're non-violent and refuse to carry muskets), for today's tasty post.  Or is that today's tasting post?  Whichever, we're all here.

We were thrilled to be able to volunteer to taste test Canidae's TidNips dog treats.  Jan claims she can't afford to buy us treats, so we're very happy to taste test anything so we don't wither away.

But Jan is more particular.  Does she really expect us to read labels before we beg for something?  Well, we don't.  She does.

The Meatylicious ingredients:  chicken, turkey, potato, lamb, brown rice,oats, salmon, carrots, peas, molasses, potato starch, cranberries, salt, natural smoke flavor, garlic powder, sodium bisulfate, falx seed, sorbic acid, citric acid, mixed tocopherols and rosemary.  The Lamblicious has lamb as the first ingredient. No corn or wheat.  

We didn't know what they were made of.  They smelled good! Jan sat on a back step, opened the package, and this is what she looked up to see.

Yep, Sam had sidled closer and was sticking his tongue out at Jan.

**Sam:  I was not sticking my tongue out at Jan.  I was tasting the scent, preparing to drool but preferring to consume.**

Yeah, sure, if you say so, Sam.  We all did get to consume.  What do we have to say about the TidNips?

Mmmm, mnffff, nom nom, gulp, burp - do we get seconds?

When we went to Canidae.com to get a link to TidNips, we noticed the three Tidnip Dog Flavors and also the Chicken & Rice for Cats have a limited time Buy One/Get One Free offer.  Be sure to read the instructions because if you want to request a BO/GOF coupon for BOTH a cat and a dog package, they must be requested at the same time. Just check both boxes.

Canidae has a commitment to support the local independent stores, so their products are not sold at big chains like Walmart, Petsmart and Petco. You can use the store locator to find where their products are sold near you.

Canidae also has the Responsible pet Ownership blog, which we've been following for a while now.  They cover a variety of dog-related subjects in their posts.

Canidae provided the dog treats for this review but we were not paid or told what to type. Drooling was strictly our own idea/reaction. 

Meowers and Ellen Minus Snap

Hey, Merci here.  The sun has finally come out after days of rain, clouds and even fog.  We woofies were antsy and stiff from spending so much time indoors and walkless.  Is walkless a word?  Well, it tells it like it was.  We were walkless or short-walked.  We were raring to go this morning.

We Funny Farmers would like to thank Meowers from Missouri for their funny post on Jan yesterday.  We were kind of hoping Ed was calling Jan "Foghorn Leghorn" so she doesn't get a swelled head, but, alas, Ed was talking to Igmu. 

We are all astounded that Ellen Degeneres, an animal lover, will be launching vegan pet food.   Although a vegan diet might be healthy for Ellen, dogs and cats are carnivores and require meat protein.  Unfortunately, because of her popularity, many pet owners will buy into this.

UPDATE from Jan:  We're getting comments that Halo, the pet food company Ellen has dealings with, has denied they will be introducing vegan pet food. but this is a post of vegan pet food from the Halo blog.  We totally disagree with the idea!  Just because dogs will eat anything does not mean anything is good for them. 

We mention this because we think the subject is important, but you can do a web search and find lots of information on Ellen's new pet food, so we're going in a different direction.  Facebook.

How do we get from vegan diet to Facebook?  That's easy.  We don't have a GPS so we can wander anywhere we want. 

We don't have a Facebook account.  We share Jan's.  Only Jan won't let us post much personal information.  Or her photo.  Well, she did post the Mexican hat and sunglasses birthday photo, but she hates to have her picture taken, so we can't find any fun ones to post on her.  But the same can't be said for some folks. 

Are you starting to see where we're going with this?  You guessed it.  Facebook photos from the Ellen Degeneres Show.  Not Facebook photos of Ellen, but embarrassing Facebook photos of a few of the audience.  So we suggest you check your privacy settings and consider whether you'd like to see your photo on national television before you post it.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Oh, if any of you have anything on your blog from snap DOT com (we don't want to advertise them so we're using DOT), you might want to take a closer look at them.  They are not (yet) classed as spyware, but companies can and do change policies.

It opens a little box when you try to click on a link, a photo and even comments.  It wants you to use their search box, to use the link in their box to visit the link in the post, to use them to view the photos on the blog.  And by this they track you and your visitors not only around the site but around the web.

We had never heard of it before yesterday, and it's a long story, but Jan was very unhappy with what she found when she was helping a blogger who used snap DOT com.  The blogger found the program annoying so was happy to be rid of it. You might be too.

Have a good day. 

Smiles, Award and Gracie

 Hey, Cyndi here with our Monday news.

We'd like to thank our readers for the fun comments they left on our Unsolved Mystery entry Friday.  Your comments had Jan smiling most of the weekend.  She was very relieved to know the mystery has been solved -- squirrels came through a black hole and in a conspiracy with the muffin man, a house brownie, Khyra, and human introoders (intruders, for those of you who can't spell) assisted the raisin bran muffin to throw itself off the table before it ran away from home.  Buddy and Sam are relieved to be exonerated, as is Knot Me.  Jan, however, was surprised to find she was ever a suspect.

Oh, by the way, when Cotton wrote in yesterday's post, "Jan ate a bug or something," she didn't mean Jan caught one. She meant Jan was listening to the radio, got a bug in her ear and bribed Cotton into posting for her.  (This is our blog!)  Guess Cotton got her sayings confused.  Don't worry, Jan isn't sick.  She's just very busy trying to remember where she left her memory. 

The other day, Nellie, the Cat from Hell, gave us the  Pawsome Blogger Award.  Thank you, Nellie.

There are so many deserving blogs, but since we have to pick three, we'll pass it along to -

Brian and his lovely sisters.  Brian  does so much to publicize cats and dogs in need of fostering and/or a forever home.  He even has a whole blog dedicated to the homeless, Forever Home Wanted..

Meowmeowmans of Animal Shelter Volunteer Life.  We just love it when they do posts on the adopted cats.

The Op Pack - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning- of Chronicle of Woos give us a lot of smiles.


And we have a video for you about a very special cat.

This is Amazing Grace, otherwise known as Gracie.  In this video, she was about 8 weeks old.  She's now about 5.

If the video doesn't play, click here.

Cotton's Sunday Quote

Hey, Cotton here.  It's a wet, stormy weekend with mild temperatures, so we're just hanging out.  We hope those of you having snow and ice storms are warm and safe. 

We weren't going to post today but Jan ate a bug or something and asked us if we would post something she heard on the radio this morning.  We thought about it.  Wellllllll ....  Oh, do we hear the rattle of the treat bags?  Of course, we'll post something for you Jan.  What do you mean you want us to type first and then we get treats?  Okay, talk fast!

Sunday quote:
 When God blesses us, He has more than us in mind.  (Senior Pastor Benny Tate of Rock Springs Church)

Hmm, we have extra treats.  Maybe  we should share some with less fortunate kitties.  

Honor Among Thieves

Zoolatry has given bloggers a challenge to post on unsolved cat and dog mysteries today.  Our biggest mystery was what we could post on.  Although we have lots of mysteries around here, most of them involve where Jan put something so she wouldn't lose it.

As far as who does what, Jan usually figures that out pretty quickly, even though we don't tattle on one another.  Well, we don't usually tattle.  Yeah, guess we do once in a while.

But we're not tattling on this one.  Probably because it happened when we were all watching Jan preparing our late dinner one night.  Although we missed the deed, there are suspects.

Jan brought a raisin bran muffin home from Bible study one night, set it on the kitchen table, and intended to eat it after she fed us.  This, of course, is not actually the original muffin.  It's a stand-in for the victim.  (Can a bran muffin be a victm?)

Anyway, as soon as our dinner was finished, Jan grabbed a knife and ....  And .... The muffin was gone!  Not a crumb remained.  Whoever stole the muffin even ate the paper cup it was baked in.  Jan wanted that muffin and was very upset, but mainly because raisins are highly toxic to cats and dogs. Just a few can cause kidney damage and death.  

Jan has two suspects.

1) Buddy likes to counter surf.  He ate 9 dinner rolls from the cookie sheet as they cooled on top of the stove once, not to mention a PBJ on the computer desk, the top slice of bread to a not-yet-toasted cheese sandwich, and a few other things he's managed to snatch in an unguarded moment.

2) Sam has never been a counter surfer but lately he has shown an interest in taking it up. He ate the big-as-a-cat stuffed candy corn toy, various cat toys, and likes to steal tissues from the trash.  Since the paper cup was eaten too, Sam is definitely under suspicion to have committed the crime.

Merci isn't a suspect because she's too short to reach the table.  We cats weren't added to the line-up either.  None of us would have eaten more than a nibble, especially in such a short period of time.

Here are the two suspects.  Which one do you think is guilty - Buddy or Sam?  Neither one will admit or deny. the crime. 

Protect Your Online Rights

We are against any material being copied, stolen, appropriated - whichever you call it.  But we are also against the type of censorship law about to be passed in the US.  This would effect all of us..Yes, you and us - bloggers, tweeters, YouTube video posters, Facebook and other social website users. 

Here is a short video on the proposed legislation from Fight for the Future.


If this video doesn't play, click here.

Yes, bloggers, you might blog for fun, but there is a bill in Congress that will affect your rights on the web and will censor all web sites, blogs, etc.  In a nutshell :

SOPA explicitly states that companies will be liable for everything their users post. Sites like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, or any sites that allow user generated content CANNOT exist under these laws. Immediately after this bill is passed, you will see the media mafia (MPIAA, RIAA, etc) replacing websites like Wikipedia with commercialized encyclopedia software. Mainstream media outlets will not cover this bill because they are the ones lobbying for it.

If you want to know more - Google created a doc to read and inform - SOPA for Dummies.

WRITE YOUR CONGRESSMAN AND STOP THIS BILL FROM PASSING! 

To help you do this stop by Fight the Wall  and connect with your Representative!

There is more on stopping American censorship with SOPA and PIPA on AmericanCensorship.org.

Your Senators need to hear from you now.  Today.  The bill will be passed in just a few days if you don't act. 

If you would like the Stop SOPA and Stop PIPA black banners at the top of our page for your Blogger blog (Wordpress already has a plugin for you), you can get the code here and put it in an HTML/Javascript widget.  

Percy Ignores Frostie

Hey, Percy here again.  It was cold this weekend so most of us did a lot of snoozing in front of the heater. Jan disappeared for hours yesterday and we think she went somewhere warm without us.  So we're rethinking Saturday's post about buying her a new pet bed ... um, mattress bed so she can sleep in front of the heater too.  

A long time ago we posted a couple of videos of Snowball the cockatoo dancing. Today we have Frostie a 20-year-old Bare-eyed Cockatoo doing a lively dance to a musical medley.  She's got more rhythm than our Jan, so feel fortunate we're posting a video of Frostie and not Jan dancing.

I was having a good time enjoying Frostie's dance when .-

Wait, what's with the camera, Jan?  You don't need a picture of a bird when you have this handsome furry mancat to pose for photos.

Fine, take photos of the bird.  I'll just take a bath and ignore you and Frostie both!

Okay, Frostie, I'm finished my bath.  Go ahead and do your thing.  The video is by Karla K. Larsson for Birds of Paradise in California. 


If the video doesn't play, click here. 

Surprise for Jan and CB Auction

 Hey, Percy here with some good news.

We Funny Farmers held a meeting and decided we all feel a twinge of guilt because we couldn't afford to get Jan a present for Christmas, and although we tried - we really tried to be good for just that one day, we didn't quite manage to.

We wanted to do something nice for her but we were stumped until my nimble paws found the perfect belated gift for Jan. She's always complaining Sam and Buddy "killed" her mattress and it's so uncomfortable for her to sleep on it any more. We find it very comfortable, but if it's a problem for her, we decided we'll see what we can do to make her happy.

While I was window shopping on the internet yesterday, I found some neat beds.

Merci and Cameron thought a nice round one would do but Cotton pointed out that we'd have to buy at least 3 or 4 for Jan since she's much taller than any of us, except Sam when he stands on his hind legs, and her bones creak when she tries to curl up in a ball like we often do when we sleep. Well, actually, it's more like they creak when she tries to uncurl from a ball.

Cyndi and Rusty suggested we get her a long mattress and bed in one. The longest is only 5' long, though. Her feet would hang over. We considered buying one long and one small but we're not sure how we're going to pay for one, so two is definitely out of the question. She could always wear a couple extra pairs of socks in the winter.

Getting Jan a new mattress bed would be the perfect solution for all of us. Jan could sleep on her new bed in the living room in front of the gas space heater and Sam, Buddy, me and whatever furries wanted to could squeeze onto her old bed.

Jan is going to be so excited when the new pet bed .... um, the new mattress bed arrives. We can order it just as soon as we figure out how to pay for it. Wonder if Jan has any money in her wallet yet? Excuse us, we need to go check.

The Furriends of The Cat Blogosphere Auction to help Mom Paula with Truffle's lady surgery has started.   If you'd like to help spread the word, grab the graphic above or from our sidebar.  Truffle blogs at Sweet Purrfections. 

Jan redecorated our blog recently and she redecorated the auction blog yesterday.  She's available to help redecorate your blog  - header and/or background - or make a graphic such as this one for Truffle for a donation to our Food & Fitness Fund.

Cyndi Flexes Claws, Purrs and Orlando

Hey, Cyndi here with today's post.     Do I look like I need calming?  I think I look all sweet and docile.  And I am ... sometimes. Just don't try to mess with my claws! 

Jan accepted an offer for us to review Pet Naturals of Vermont Calming chews for cats but we haven't been under any extra stress lately so we haven't had need of calming. 

Tonight Jan thought she'd try one on me to see if she could clip my nails. I scarfed it down.  And she gave me a second chewy for good measure.

About ten minutes later she tried to cut my nails.  Oh, I was lovey, purring and climbing her shoulder to groom her hair, but every time she tried to see my nails, I blocked her view with my head and voiced my displeasure. She tried again a little while later.  And again.  And again.  And guess what?  All but two of my long, razor-sharp claws are still intact.   

Jan has had a couple of serious bites  (not from any of us).  One ripped a vein, she lost a lot of blood and nearly ended up in the hospital with an infected hand, so when we're uncooperative, she's chicken mush.  Perhaps she needs to give me more calming chews at a time?  Or on a daily basis for a while prior to approaching with the clippers again? Okay by me!  They taste good.  (The calming chews, not the clippers.)
Or maybe she needs to try a handful of the calming chews herself. 

The reason she was interested in trying them on us is because they're made from natural ingredients.  They contain brewers yeast (which she gives us anyway) lecithin, colostrum and L-theanine (an amino acid found in green tea and known to be a natural stress reliever).

A few days ago Jan opened the package and gave Cotton a calming chew.  Cotton wasn't upset but she's the oldest, so Jan wondered how she would react to something new.

Uh-oh, Jan put it down for Cotton and look who's trying to beat Cotton to it?  (Yes, it's me.) 

Cotton beat me to it.  **Crunch, crunch, mmmmm.**

Cotton searched for seconds, or at least leftover crumbs.

Jan said she'd sure love to try some of the dog calming chews on Buddy because of his separation anxiety. He has taught Sam and Merci to cry while he howls if Jan is on the opposite side of the door from him.

Pet Naturals of Vermont will send a free trial size of Calming for Cats and a coupon to the first 500 cat lovers that sign up on their website.  Those signing up after the 500 limit is reached will receive a first-time discount coupon.  Stop by calmingforpets.com to sign up.

We were given a sample of the calming chews to try but were not paid for this review. This is our experience with the product.

Graphic by Zoolatry

Milo and Alfie's dad has a very important appointment with a specialist today (Thursday) to save his failing eyesight. Please remember him in your prayers. 

 Graphic by KC of CB

And Orlando from Diva Kitty & Fiona's blog has gone to the bridge.  We send comforting purrs and woofs to his family.

Old Dogs, Google and Lautrec Updated

Hey, Merci here.  Just a quick post and I'll be back to napping.

I am the oldest dog here, and if this is how we'd know we're old, Buddy, Sam and I are far from there!  


If the video doesn't play, click here.

We are really disheartened with Google/Blogger.  Our last post addressed the problem of Google deleting blogs and forcing bloggers to give them a cell phone number - ANYONE"S cell phone number! - in order to contact them to get their Google Account (gmail, Blogger, Picasa & any other Google apps being used) reinstated with a text messaged code.  We consider it on a par with Google telling users to ask a friend to let the user give Google their friend's credit card number.

Just yesterday another blogger we know had their blog deleted and were forced to come up with a cell phone # in order to contact Google to get it reinstated. 

We were asked to remind folks how to back up their blogs and we just tried to walk through the steps with the new interface and we were shocked to find how much is missing from this new dashboard setup.  We googled for directions and did find the new place to back up the template.

But when we followed the directions to find the import/export/delete tool, it isn't there. Not for a single one of our own blogs. So where did this and other tools and information disappear?  Check your new Blogger dashboard .  Do you have import/export/delete in your new interface Settings/Basic?  You need to be able to export to save a copy of your blog posts.

You might want to find out, even if you aren't using the new interface yet. You will be when everyone is switched to it, so now is the time to learn it. Our settings options have been greatly reduced in the new one.  But to not be able to import, export or even delete our own blog(s)?

UPDATE:  Fuzzy Tales sent us a screen shot of where import/export/delete is located in the new interface.  How strange that it is in the first place we looked last night - Settings/Other - and it wasn't there.  Not on JFF and not on any of our other blogs.  So we googled Blogger Help and they sent us to Settings/Basic. We looked through every settings tab on each of our blogs and it was not to be found.

So where was it hiding?  We have no clue!  But it is there today at the top of Settings/Other.

We are grateful to Google for making so many things available to us for free over the years.  We have enjoyed using Blogger, gmail and Picasa, and we hope to be able to continue for a long time.  But we do believe they need to revise their policy on cell phones and find a more reasonable way to verify non-spamming accounts.

We are sad that Lautrec had to leave suddenly for the bridge Sunday.  His family is greatly missing him.  His mom would appreciate a word of encouragement, if you haven't already been by.  His blog is Wees Da Bad Cats & Da Meen Doawgs.

Noms Exercise and Google

Hey, Cyndi here.  Happy Caturday.  We have a funny video for you today, a puppy demonstrating the art of eating and exercising at the same time.  We figure the idea is to burn off the calories as eaten to keep the lean puppy figure.  Watching this not only made us hungry, but tired!


If the video doesn't play, click here.

 Now, we (all us Funny Farmers) would like to get serious for a moment.  Many of you are aware that for some time Blogger blogs have been suddenly deleted for no reason - supposedly for suspicious activity (spam) - and the blog owner has had to request a review and hope the blog reappears soon, even though not in violation of any TOS (terms of service). 

Yesterday "Old Kitty" and Charlie's blog was suddenly deleted.  Now you can't get any more innocuous content than they post.  There is nothing untoward or spammy about their blog.  It has been restored, but what we learned yesterday deeply disturbs us. 

You see, for some reason they could only request a review by giving a mobile (cell) phone number.  When they tried to use the drop down box for their landline number, they were told the number didn't fit the mobile format.  In other words, the only way they could communicate with Google/Blogger was to receive a text message on the cell phone they don't have. 

For months Jan was pestered by Google to give a home phone or cell phone number for 2 step protection, to retrieve her password, for blog identity protection or whatever.  She ignored the requests until she got disgusted and gave them her home LANDLINE phone number.  She didn't think any more about it until yesterday.

She started checking the settings in her two Google accounts.  Not blogs, Google accounts, there's a difference - your blog is part of a Google account but the Google account covers gmail, Blogger, Picasa (and yes, if you have a Google account, you DO have a Picasa account!) and all the other Google-related  applications.  From our understanding and reading, if Google closes your blog, it closes everything related to that Google account.

Jan was shocked to find a reference to her account using text verification, but she doesn't have a cell phone!  So she started digging around in settings and found Google had taken her LANDLINE phone # and marked it as a mobile number to receive text messages. There was no option for a landline, mobile only!  So if something happened to our blog, we would have been in the same boat Old Kitty and Charlie were in yesterday,.  No way to contact Google.  Jan deleted the phone #  and hopes if something happened to her account, Google would use her recovery address. 

Some of you are no more tech-oriented than our Jan, so we're going to explain how to check your settings to be sure you won't have this problem. We don't know whether you are using the old or new dashboard, but there is a means from each to access your settings.  In the new dashboard, just click on the name of your blog in the upper right and click on Account Settings in the drop down menu.  That will take you to Google accounts.

Click on Recovering Your Password.

Email: check your email address.  Do you have a recovery address in case you are using gmail and the gmail has been deleted?  You need a non-gmail address. 

SMS:  This is where your cell # goes if you have one so they can text you a password reset code if necessary. 

Security question: If you haven't set up a security question, this would be a good time to.

If you made changes, click SAVE, if none, click CANCEL to return to your personal settings. 

Now for the part that really upset Jan.  She read a lot of information yesterday that says to open a gmail account now you have to give a cell phone # for verification.  This sound innocent.  Especially when they say it is to cut down on spammers opening blogs and a mobile phone is more reliable than an email address because you keep your phone with you.   But they add, if you don't have a mobile phone, ask a friend to use their cell number to get your verification code. 

Jan read that and said if Google closes her account and tries to blackmail her into doing that, her blog and email will remain deleted.  Because she neither knows anyone who would let her give Google their cell number, nor would she ask anyone to do so. This could cause problems down the road.  We know that once that number went into Google's records, it would be associated with Jan's personal information and never be deleted from Google's files.

We found an interesting article on Gmail SMS verification details and reasons, 

Have a great weekend!  Oh, in case you didn't notice, we asked Jan to give our blog a makeover.  We hope you like it. 

Peeps are Flakes

 Hey, Cotton here.  This is my first post of 2012.  We had a nice Christmas and holiday season.  Hope 2012 entered peacefully for you and will be a good year for all of us. 
 
2012 entered quietly around here, but Monday, the 2nd, turned into one of those what else could go wrong days? By evening, Jan was so frustrated she nearly threw our tv out the door.cause she had reached the "if it doesn't work, it's trash" limit.  She did finally get it working again so we do have a tv.  Sort of.  We only get one major channel, one oldies channel and PBS (Public Broadcasing).  But that's all we got before Jan "fixed" it, so we figure we came out even on that.

The problem was a cable had disconnected and Jan couldn't figure out where it went, not even with the directions (diagrams) to the tv and to the converter.  The threat to throw the tv out the door came after she tripped over the cord to the light she was using while trying to reach the magnifying glass and went sailing across the living room  Ouch! When she finally got the cable hooked up, she realized the reason she couldn't find the cables in the converter diagram was because they belonged to the antenna, a totally separate piece of equipment.  

After laughing at Jan's frantic phone messages, her brother came by the next day and set up the DVD player he gave her.  We think he was protecting it from flying out the door since the instructions were a diagram but Jan had no idea how to decode it.  It ended up plugged into the front of the tv and it works by pressing "GAME" for the tv and getting a separate screen.  Jan admits she wouldn't have figured that out.  She didn't even know "GAME" was on the remote.

What inspired us to write this was reading about the My Peep Is A Flake Contest going on in Blogville right now.  This story isn't entered, but believe us, our peep is a flake too! (We mean this in a most loving way, of course, because Jan rarely does anything flaky!  **wink, wink**) We've written enough stories about her mishaps.


We stopped by Sarge's blog and read why his dad is a flake and .. well, you have got to read it.  Percy almost rolled off the desk from laughing. 

And yesterday we read why Puddles Mum Is A Flake. Her story reminded us of the time Jan's keys got hooked on what she loaded into the back of the station wagon and she ended up locked out.  Fortunately, she had forgotten to lock the driver's door earlier, so she was able to crawl over the seats to reach her keys. Puddle's story is funnier.

We're going to nap until Jan is ready to clean closets or something equally dangerous.  (There isn't much work space.)  She did manage to dig out her winter clothes yesterday.  (Didn't winter start last month?)  We'll see what entertainment she provides today. 


Have a fun day. 

PS - Oh, and be sure to read Sparkle's post on Desperate Situation at PurrEver Ranch Sanctuary! These folks and the cats at the sanctuary have become a target for cat-hating neighbors.  Some have been killed by dogs or shot on their own property.  They are in desperate need of an immediate place to move the cats. Even if you can't help, you can pass on the link because someone somewhere can help.  Thanks.

PPS -  We were very sorry to learn Stryder of Kellykat's Korner was helped to the bridge yesterday.  We were sad that Kelly stopped blogging after Sugar died, but sometimes humans lose heart after a loss.  Even though she isn't blogging anymore, a message can be left on her blog. 

Sam is Waiting on Apology

Hey, Sam here. I am waiting on my apology. 

Jan said Buddy and Sam (that's me) tore up Merci's new dog bed in 9 days.  You can read Buddy and Sam in Doghouse if you missed it.  Sam (that's me) does NOT tear up dog beds because I do not dig in my bedding. I admit I helped stretch Merci's bed but I dig holes in the lawn, not bedding.  Buddy and Merci dig in their bedding.  Merci is too small to be destructive and she never got to sleep in her new bed anyway, so she didn't tear up the bed.  Who does that leave as the true, one and only culprit?  You guessed it.  Not me!

Don't believe a word Buddy writes.  He's not sorry he tore up the bed or got me into trouble.  He's only sorry Jan threw out the bed after he made it just perfect to sleep on.  Perfect for him anyway.  The rest of us like lots of padding between us and the cold floor.  And Jan prefers the floor not be littered with stuffing.

He's my brother.  I love him.  And I'll forgive him.  Eventually.  But I want to set the record straight.  I was not guilty as charged!

We saw this on Loldogs and it seems appropriate today.  Jan was too upset to take a picture of what was left of Merci's bed, but you get the idea. 

http://dogs.icanhascheezburger.com/2012/01/02/funny-dog-pictures-i-pleed-teh-fiff/

AttieCattie's boyfriend Lautrec is very ill and his mom is worried about the possibility of losing him.  Please send prayers, purrs and woofs for him and his mom. 

Our friend Mr. Pip is also ill with hearth problems and K has cancer of the bone and Parker and Ginger Jasper and  .... There is such a long list of cat and dog bloggers with serious illnesses that we can't even list them all.  But our thoughts and prayers are with each one's family.