Friday, 15 November 2013

Sad music to go with a cold, rainy day (Renamed)

I had called this post "Sunny music to brighten up a cold, rainy day." Mrsgunka pointed out that the music was too sad. I listened to it again and have to agree...

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Birthday party!

Today is Ripley's birthday. Happy birthday, dear friend! I collected some photos especially for this occasion.







We also need some humour. This photo was sent to me by a friend and I'm sure Ripley will appreciate it.

Has anybody seen the cat?

We can't have a party without a cake! I couldn't find one that looked exactly like Foofy, so this one will have to do...


Have a great day, Ripley!

Monday, 11 November 2013

Ubuntu

I saw this on Facebook and I think it's quite inspiring.


An anthropologist devised ​​a game for some children of an African tribe. He put a basket full of fruit next to a tree and told the children that the first who came to the tree would win all the fruit. Given the signal, all the kids came out at the same time and holding hands! Then they sat down together to enjoy the reward. When the anthropologist asked why they had acted that way, knowing that one of them could have all the fruit for themselves, they replied: Ubuntu, how could one of us be happy if all the others were sad?

UBUNTU in the Xhosa culture means "I am because we are"

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Why I love this blog

I designed this blog and had the first post ready in June 2011. Then I waited and waited for our friend from the north to make some kind of announcement that would release me from her clutches. It came in October and I could finally launch this gentle blog on October 15, 2011.

I love this blog when people share their experiences, I love it when we send good vibes to somebody going through a bad patch, I love the birthday parties and the very funny shenanigans that ensue. I love it when you pull each others legs, the gentle ribbing when the sports season gets going. I love receiving contributions in my inbox and the links to fun sites that appear in the comments.

A few days ago, View sent me a video, saying: "this is 'what time is o'clock' is for me" --- View

When the video was nearing the end, I had a lump in my throat. This is "What Time is Clock" is for me too. And I'm very, very grateful to enjoy the company of some amazing people everyday.

Saturday, 9 November 2013

Things going bump in the night

We have a phantom cat who's a regular visitor on most evenings. We first noticed something strange when Pirouette was fast asleep upstairs, there was a noise of a cat coming through the catflap, but Pirate didn't come upstairs. We tried to investigate, but all we could see from the top of the stairs was a dark cat making a quick exit. So, it wasn't Pirate and we couldn't really identify the intruder.

I googled a phantom cat lookalike

Our cats never leave their bowls sparkling clean, but the phantom cat never leaves a single scrap...

A few weeks ago, on returning from a friend's birthday party, I came through the door first and caught a dark grey cat in the middle of the kitchen. He didn't know which way to go, hesitated for a few seconds, then made a mad dash to the front door, ran past Peter and disappeared into the night.

Sometimes we hear him coming in to polish the bowls and, as Pirouette hardly reacts to the intrusion, we leave him to it.

Last night things were a bit different. Both Pirate and Pirouette were asleep upstairs when we went to bed. Peter heard a commotion and decided to investigate. He found Pirouette on top of the door, various adornments, remote controls and other things scattered on the floor, and Pirate on the stairs. This morning, Pirate was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs looking at the catflap very intently.

Pirouette on top of the door on another occasion

Phantom cat is getting very cheeky!

We fitted a magnetic catflap a couple of years ago, when a different (and aggressive) cat used to come in. It worked very well until Pirate lost the magnet on his collar. We didn't have a spare, so we went to a large pet store in Brive to look for one. We found it, but it wasn't the same make as the original and soon after that the magnet on the catflap stopped working. We decided to take the collars off and treat the catflap as an ordinary one.

If things continue to go bump in the night on account of this uninvited cat and one of ours gets hurt, we may have to fit another magnetic flap. Then we'll have to worry about Pirate or Pirouette getting snagged somewhere and choking because of their collars.

What to do...?


Friday, 8 November 2013

Thursday, 7 November 2013

Have cake, will travel

Here's something absolutely fabulous for the woman who loves to travel.

Happy birthday, CC! Love and kisses to you, dahhling.


Amy sent this lovely gift of roses:


Wednesday, 6 November 2013

A bunch of funnies to make you smile

Mrsgunka sent us some really funny cartoons and pictures. Thank you, MrsG.


GrannyJ will dig this one:








I think this one is for Amy:


Monday, 4 November 2013

The blonde gets even

View sent us this joke. Thank you, View.

A trucker came into a Truck Stop Cafe' and placed his order.

He said "I want three flat tires, a pair of headlights and a pair of running boards."


The brand new blonde waitress, not wanting to appear stupid, went to the kitchen and said to the cook, "This guy out there just ordered three flat tires, a pair of headlights and a pair of running boards. What does he think this place is, an auto parts store?"

"No," the cook said. "Three flat tires... mean three pancakes; a pair of headlights... is two eggs sunny side up; and a pair of running boards... are 2 slices of crisp bacon!"

"Oh... OK!" said the blonde. She thought about it for a moment and then spooned up a bowl of beans and gave it to the customer.


The trucker asked, "What are the beans for, Blondie?"

She replied, "I thought while you were waiting for the flat tires, headlights and running boards, you might as well gas up!"

Sunday, 3 November 2013

Sharing is good!

One of the many reasons I love this blog is the readers' ability to find and share some amazing things.

Yesterday's post had photos of the Dallas Arboretum, where a strange structure could be seen. 1smartcanerican was puzzled by it and asked what it was. Sleuth (what's in a name?), came up with the answer: "It's a glass art piece by Dale Chihuly. The Arboretum is hosting an exhibit of his work. At night, the pieces light up."


Amy, who's another sleuth extraordinaire, posted a picture of one of Chihuly's ceilings, followed by the link to an image search, which has countless magnificent examples of his work.


Sleuth suggested a post about Chihuly (hint, hint!) and I'm glad to oblige. I didn't know him or his work, but now I'm hooked. Learning from each other is one of the nicest things about this modest blog. A big thank you to all.

Here are some examples of Dale Chihuly's works, including some very early examples, shown in the first picture:



















The artist at work:


Further photos HERE.