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Friday 9 February 2018

This Week

It's been a mish-mash of a week here. So here's a mish mash of a post to fill you in.

Have you seen the news about the discovery of extensive ancient Mayan ruins in the jungles of Guatamala? (If not, you can read about it here.)  This appeals to the latent archeologist in me, but it also makes me glad I didn't follow that career - the jungle is probably even worse than the desert in terms of working environment. I'm glad there are people who pursue this line of work even under such adverse conditions. Our world's knowledge base and understanding of our history is much richer for finding lost sites like these.

Also in the news (although it was a few weeks ago, so maybe it should be called "olds"), a research team in Australia has released a paper about raptors intentionally spreading fire in order to flush out prey, something that the team says has been known by indigeneous peoples for more than 40,000 years (so maybe it should actually be called "ancients"?) For the full story, click here.

And in a warmer, fuzzier story from Australia, go here for a YouTube clip from The Kangaroo Sanctuary. If it doesn't melt your heart, check to see that you still have one. If you live nearby, you can even book a sunset tour, meet their kangaroo family and (swoon) HOLD A BABY KANGAROO. Now I have three things that I would do if I were a traveller and won the lottery (two things that unfortunately will never happen, but that doesn't keep me from making a list): (1) visit the giant redwoods in California, (2) visit the tabletop mountains in Newfoundland, and (3) HOLD A BABY KANGAROO.

Closer to (my) home, I am about to be driven batty by a neighbour's dog that barks constantly. About two years ago I undertook to check out this barking dog in case it was a reportable case of animal neglect or cruelty. From my clandestine observations it seemed that the only issue was that the dog liked to bark. And it has probably been driving its owner batty, too. But in the winter I am always thinking that pets (even barky ones) are too cold and my brain can't shut out the sound.

Add to that the fact that one of our cats has become extremely needy, and my head feels like it may explode any day now. Our kitty is only nine but before we got her she had been hit by a car and had a serious leg injury. It has occurred to me more than once that she may have had a brain injury as well. She has always been an extreme meower, as I've mentioned before (here). But the last couple of years, and ramping up the last six months or so, her ability to find her food dish or to realize that there is food in her dish is not a sure thing. Sometimes I have to bring her to her food, or put her dish right under her nose. Her eyesight is fine. Her hearing is fine. She just seems confused. And the resulting meowing is making my eye twitch. That's not true. My eye is twitching because I've been reading too much and sleeping too little, but the meowing is not helping. At least she can still find the litter box, thank goodness.


No, I would never do that!


Speaking of reading too much, I've been having a hard time finding a good book from our collection bought at the second hand sale in the fall. I've started three since the first of January which I've had to give up on partway through. And I've read another three that were only so-so. Is this what comes of my greediness in buying so many? The year before, we had such good luck with our finds. I'm hoping this was just a string of unfortunate picks and that I've now read or dumped all the duds and gotten them out of the way.


And hopefully good to read, too, kitty!




Lately we've been EXTRA lucky here because we are getting both the frozen AND the non-frozen forms of water falling from the sky! Yes, that is sarcasm, the lowest form of humour! Constant temperature swings and the possibility of breaking a hip on the ice or drowning in the puddles will do that to a person!




Good news - we're over our technical difficulties. Our computer problems have been fixed by our son, the computer whiz. Somehow a setting got changed and the wrong DNS (domain name system) was being used whenever we tried to access the internet. We aren't sure how this happened, but it had a clear starting point and when our son changed it back to the original settings it had a clear ending point too. So I've been catching up on a month's worth of internet surfing and, you know what, that might have something to do with my eye twitching too.








 Over and out, people! Hope you have a good weekend.



All funnies gratefully borrowed from icanhas.cheezburger.com


36 comments:

  1. I love the funnies, especially the cat clinging to a leg. I've always thought if I ever got a dog again, I'd try to find a breed that doesn't bark or shed. Turns out the little Maltese Terriers fit the bill. Not that they don't bark at all, but very little and they're lovely little indoors dogs if you can't let them out.
    I'm wondering if perhaps your cat has lost her sense of smell. Is it worth taking her to a vet for a checkup? on second thought, without a sense of smell, she wouldn't still be finding the litter box. I hope something resolves itself with her soon.

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    1. I wondered about the sense of smell too, but as you said, she finds the litter box without any problem (thankfully). Oh dear, I hope that doesn't become a problem! Maybe the meowing doesn't seem so bad when I consider the other possibilities! Good to know about Maltese Terriers being quiet and non-shedding. Many small dogs aren't quiet at all, quite the opposite.

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  2. Hey dear Jenny loved reading your sharing!

    hope your hip pain is more relief now my friend!

    news you shared are terrible and striking particularly about forest fires ,yes i have heart and it never leaves me without thinking about humans and other species who are having hard times when i am feeling blessed and this seems horrible sometime to bear the pressure of such over sensitive heart

    it hurt me when you said"it will never happen" please always think positive no matter how hard times you have experienced but telling you from personal experience that when we stay positive and do not let our faith shake things turn into our favour miraculously and i swear to God these are not just words my whole life is filled with such miracles dear friend!

    keep making list but just add your strong faith along with it so you will see that you will be hugging the baby kangaroo and visit to all your fav places :)

    here lives a very rich man near us who has dogs who never stop barking though their barking did not work and he been robbed few weeks back so badly

    i think your eyes react same as mine they always find reason for twitching.

    loved these fun stuffs ,you are so amazing when it come to spread smiles
    love to you and tight hug!

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    1. Love and hugs back to you, dear baili! You are always so encouraging and full of empathy - the same empathy that makes your heart hurt when you hear of sad things. But there are always good things that help to balance out the sad, aren't there? The world has plenty of the good, too :)

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  3. Hey Jenny, they are some nice pictures of kittens. I think the internet is so addictive now, that just using it is a health hazard. If only it was the 1970s again. It was a time when we didn’t text every 5 minutes or spend our time watching YouTube videos for hours on end. society has gone mad and taken us with it.

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    1. You're so right about the addictiveness of the internet. Some days I use it far too much. Eek.

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  4. A kitty with dementia? Poor little thing. Poor you as well. I just love all the cute little cat/dog pictures you post.

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    1. I love that people share their pictures so I can look at them all to pick some to post! It's one of my favourite blogging "jobs" :)

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  5. The memes are hilarious! Between the barking, meowing, and the weather, you are ready for spring and the chance to get outdoors too by the sound of it, Jenny.

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    1. You've got that right! But it won't be happening any time soon here, will it? :)

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  6. That is a whole lotta money for a cat! ;-)

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  7. I love all the constant archaeological news. I'd work on this half of the continent, though.

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    1. All the best stuff is in the warm places, though! Actually, I don't know if that's true. Need to do more research :)

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  8. It's sad when animals start losing their senses, especially from a previous injury. Hopefully she will maintain her meowing and not get any worse.

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    1. Yikes - it never occurred to me that it could still get worse but you're right, hopefully it won't! Luckily she seems to be all right when she is able to sit beside or on (preferably on) me.

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  9. Just don't let your cat drink any almond milk. It gives them the runs.
    I once worked with a guy named Stuart who did his master's degree work in southern Mexico and Guatemala, and got to go down into the temple at Palenque. He made it sound fascinating.
    Our neighbors have a dog named Buddy and he's taken to barking at nothing for long stretches these days.
    And the redwoods are really easy to visit. There's an exit on highway 101 called "The Avenue of the Giants" (several,actually) and you can just drive through groves of giant redwoods on SR254, which used to be highway 1, and there are places to picnic, swim in the Eel River, and walk among the big trees. There's also some touristy stuff, and some small towns along the river, one of which is Pepperwood, where in the late summer and early fall, you used to be able to get what I believe to be the beat corn and tomatoes on the planet right from the folks who grow them. After the rains start, you can't get to those farms, though, as they are on the other side of s temporary bridge that they move as soon as the waters start to rise.
    I know it's a long way from where you live, but once you get there, it's easy as pie.

    -Doug in Oakland

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    1. It does sound pretty straightforward. Maybe some day I'll actually get there. It's not looking good right now, though - I don't buy lottery tickets!

      Good to know about the almond milk, and I've read that cow's milk can do that, too.

      I bet your former co-worker had some great stories. I hadn't heard of Palenque but after Googling it I'm so glad you mentioned it. What a beautiful place - and only a small area has been excavated to date, apparently.

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  10. Hehehe...the funnies... Can we ever have enough of those? I don't think so. And I'm totally with you on the weather. Up and down and rain and snow and on and on... It's making me lose my mind.

    *squee* The baby kangaroos! Oh my gosh are they ever cute. I would LOVE to hold own.

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    1. Wouldn't that be a thrill??

      Enough funnies? Never :)

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  11. Glad everything is squared away with the computer. Hope the kitty calms down a bit and the weather decides it's time to be nice. The baby 'roos are pretty amazing. I am glad they have some folks looking out for them. Have a good weekend as well!!

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  12. That cat in the burrito picture was originally on Flickr -- I remember favoriting it years and years ago. I had no idea it had gone viral! (Complete with caption!)

    I hope you do get to hold a kangaroo someday. I would love that experience, too. I wonder if there's a zoo or animal rehab center in Canada that could make that wish come true?

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    1. Well, now, you made me wonder (I had assumed there would not be kangaroos even in a zoo here) and found that there is a place in BC that has them. As you probably know, though, that's nearly as far from Nova Scotia as Australia is!

      I wonder how many other pictures on those meme websites are "antiques" now??

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  13. My daughter sat for a barking dog. He was a lovely happy guy but he just loved to bark. In an apartment, it was a problem and the neighbors reported the incessant barking and she was visited by security. You may live next door to such a dog. Somehow, I am glad your needy cat has you. You are kind. But I do hope you get restoring rest soon.

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    1. In an apartment I'm sure a barking dog would create even more headaches for the neighbours. Your poor daughter! Thanks for the good thoughts, Angella.

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  14. I have just been researching The Tablelands in Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park. Until you mentioned this area I had never heard of it. It looks as if it would be a wonderful place to visit in the summertime and is there a reason why you may not go there? Surely, it is an achievable dream.

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    1. You may have missed my statement that I am not a traveller. The cons outweigh the pros, in my view. I wish someone would hurry up and invent an instant transport device.

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    2. I did note that point but I just thought - hey, for you, Newfoundland is just next door - a six hour ferry ride.

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    3. "Just a six hour ferry ride" - HAH! Have I mentioned how much I don't like being on or in the water? And don't forget the hours of driving before and after the ferry ride. They'd have to pry me out of the car with a crowbar.

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  15. I did smile Jenny. I am becoming more and more an 'armchair traveller'. There are so many lovely places in the world but in truth I have no inclination to visit any of them. Three hour wait at the airport.. and that is if there are no delays.. I think I will stick to visiting lovely places in my own neck of the woods. As for books. I won't waste time reading a rubbish (to me) book. Life's too short.

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    1. "Armchair traveller" describes me, too, Cherie! And I fully agree on the books. I kept thinking it was just that I couldn't concentrate, but eventually I blamed it on the books :)

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  16. I’d worry about a constantly barking dog, too. Totally get that. Did you read Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman? If you did and you liked it, she recently published a prequel to that book called, The Rules of Magic, and it is soooo good.

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    1. No, I haven't read either one, but I'll be looking for them now - thanks for the tip. If you enjoyed them I probably will, too - our preferences seem to align!

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  17. The baby kangaroos are SO CUTE! And I laughed and laughed at the cat avoiding the snow - I've seen that exact disgruntled expression on many feline faces over the years when they encounter snow for the first time.

    Hope your precipitation sorts itself out soon - stay safe out there!

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    1. The baby roos just look so laid back and mellow! And, yep, cats are not big fans of snow, are they? Not like dogs, who seem to love it!

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