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.