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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Make the republican party small enough to drown in a bathtub.

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There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

You are so fucked. Still, I wish you the best of luck.

The lights are all blinking red.

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Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

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Impressively dumb. Congratulations.

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And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Respite Open Thread: You Deserve Some Ducks

Respite Open Thread: You Deserve Some Ducks

by TaMara|  December 23, 20193:40 pm| 139 Comments

This post is in: Cat Blogging, Duck Blogging, Nature & Respite, Open Threads, Assholes

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I can’t think of a better way to finish up before the holiday season, than with some ducks for you. (Although, I may have a Christmas Eve Menu for you later today, depending on how the house cleaning goes).

The weather has been beautiful the last few days, so I’ve left the patio door open so the cats could spend some time in the backyard. Meanwhile, I’m trying to work. But an open patio door leads to these constant interruptions:

Ducks are not quiet…and there are always duck rumblings in my backyard.

A friend and I are going to start a dedicated Youtube channel for the ducks. She wants to do some graphic art with the ducks. so there may be merchandise, Just waiting for my GoPro to arrive. Because they HATE cameras and my only chance of catching their antics is via stealth.

Here they are, complaining,  after 22 inches of snow was dumped on us Thanksgiving week.

Respite Open Thread: 1

That was after they had to spend a full day literally cooped up, until it was warm enough for them to venture out. And yes, I had to shovel a path and a roosting spot for them. Otherwise, all you’d see would be the little tops of their heads as they scooted through the duck-deep snow.

Respite Open Thread: 2

Bonus Christmas Kitteh:

Respite Open Thread:

It’s his favorite spot this holiday.

I have all my cooking done and have vowed not to venture out again after seeing my clients today and picking up a forgotten item at the grocery store. Had a sweet surprise this morning, one of my oldest clients, who I have worked with since long before Bixby, bought me a nice gift, BUT also went to a boutique pet store and bought beautiful leather toys, and baked goods for the pups. He laughed as he handed the bag to me and said, “I realized as I walked through the store, I had no idea what to buy dogs.” I thought, Great Danes are even tougher to buy for, but he did great and Bixby and Scout love them.

It was the sweetest thing. Buying my pets presents will always win me over.

How are you coping with the holidays? I know it can be a tough time. Last year was the worst for me, but this year, I’m feeling more hopeful. Maybe it’s that nice gift Congress got me.

Check-in in the comments, we’re all in this together.

Otherwise, open thread

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Next Post: Young Idiots & Their Enablers Open Thread: Circle Gaming »

Reader Interactions

139Comments

  1. 1.

    trollhattan

    December 23, 2019 at 3:44 pm

    Ducks!

    Objectively pro-duck, I am. I hope they get to thaw out, they look a bit grumpy. :-)

    First sunny day here in awhile. Time to go…shopping, something I did not get to yesterday, because rain.

  2. 2.

    satby

    December 23, 2019 at 3:48 pm

    I’m listening to my bad little rescue boy climb into the 20 lb bag of cat chow upstairs, but I’m too exhausted to do more than yell at him to stop. Which has no effect at all of course. He’s loving being an inside cat. He teases the other cats with his worldly experience.

    I should be getting ready for the last market day before the holiday, but I just want to sit for a minute. The last few days have been gonzo.

  3. 3.

    ET

    December 23, 2019 at 3:51 pm

    Do you Twitter follow @caenhillcc? You get geese, ducks, chickens, some cats, and other assorted critters. Of course Cuthbert is the star.

  4. 4.

    Betty Cracker

    December 23, 2019 at 3:55 pm

    Does anyone else watch “Fleabag”?

  5. 5.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    I finished all 5 batches of cookiedough yesterday. Didn’t have the energy to roll and bake them today. Tomorrow.

    I am a luddite so cannot link, but somebody (Dorothy A Winsour possibly) in a thread within the last 24 hours linked to a UPS drivers Book of Faces page with photos of dogs on their routes. Many dogs. Surprisingly many goats. Only one cat. No ducks, but one sheep, one alpaca and one emu. Many of them climbing into or out of the truck.

  6. 6.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 3:56 pm

    @satby: You sound exhausted. Let the cat have a party. You can straighten things out later.

  7. 7.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    I just showed that to my husband and he said, “She sounds like a nice person.” So true.

  8. 8.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 3:57 pm

    @sab:

    Here it is again. It made me smile. Dogs can obviously be bought by a treat.

  9. 9.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 3:58 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Maybe I will the next time my husband goes on a trip and leaves me here. It’s too “edgy” for him.

  10. 10.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 3:59 pm

    @satby: Better that he is in the food bag than the litter bag.  Food bag he just over-eats.

  11. 11.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    So f–in cute.

  12. 12.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:00 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: So sorry I misspelled your name.

  13. 13.

    bemused

    December 23, 2019 at 4:01 pm

    Ducks are hilarious.

    I’m still debating with myself if I should try to spatchcock an 18 lb turkey Christmas day. I like doing that with whole chickens but a big turkey might be more trouble than it’s worth to save time even with a large roasting pan that fills the oven.

  14. 14.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 4:02 pm

    @sab:

    Lots of people misspell it by adding a d in the middle. You were creative!

  15. 15.

    LivingInExile

    December 23, 2019 at 4:04 pm

    @satby: Is your dog alright?

  16. 16.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:05 pm

    Kind of tired and sad because I started my day with a funeral. Watched by video feed because I’m unable to be there. Really weird to do that first thing in the morning and then it’s done and you’re alone and there’s no one to share your grief with. Oh well.

    I’ve given up on this holiday season. It has been terrible since before Thanksgiving when the stomach virus hit and hasn’t got much better. Funeral two days before Christmas is rough.

  17. 17.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    That’s an impressive duck coop. They are lucky ducks.

  18. 18.

    BruceFromOhio

    December 23, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    Ducks! They certainly have a lot to say! Thank you for sharing.

  19. 19.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Ah, Yarrow, I’m sorry. Watch a good movie or something. I liked Ford v Ferrari.

  20. 20.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:06 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: You remind me of Michelle Obama. You can put a positive spin on anything.

  21. 21.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:07 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:  I wish I could. I have some things I have to get done before tomorrow so I’m focusing on that. Heart isn’t in it, though.

  22. 22.

    khead

    December 23, 2019 at 4:09 pm

    Handsome kitteh.

  23. 23.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 4:10 pm

    @sab:

    Holy cow. That’s one of the nicest compliments anyone has ever given me. Michele Obama is a goddess.

  24. 24.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:13 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Yes she is. I have been saying for years that while Barack is one of the most amazing human beings ever, he still married up.

  25. 25.

    eclare

    December 23, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    Awesome!  A channel for Maddie, Mabel, and Penelope!

  26. 26.

    Yutsano

    December 23, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    @Yarrow: *hug*
    You need some self-care. Maybe some Chinese food on Christmas day or something.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 4:14 pm

    The “Cats” movie is sounding like one of those big-budget productions that gives you the effect of dropping acid without actually having to do it. ?

    https://io9.gizmodo.com/in-an-unprecedented-move-universal-is-sending-theaters-1840595453

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    December 23, 2019 at 4:15 pm

    @TaMara:

    That apposition of ducks and “Christmas Eve menu” is a little too close for comfort!

  29. 29.

    satby

    December 23, 2019 at 4:17 pm

    @LivingInExile: Rosie passed away last night. It was expected, she was on home hospice for the last 5 (!) months and she was over 14 years old (would have been 15 in two months).  I had the pet cremation people pick her up this afternoon and her ashes are going to be scattered in the same pet cemetery garden as her  beloved Hershey was last May. So the two will be reunited there in spirit. Its not really sad, she lived an amazingly long life after being rescued from doggie death row 12 years ago. Thanks for asking.

  30. 30.

    Baud

    December 23, 2019 at 4:17 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    I think I’ll start calling you Dorothy D.

  31. 31.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:18 pm

    @Mnemosyne: I am wondering if reviewers are divided into cat v not-cat people. You really cannot expect much plot if it’s about cats. That is just not their thing. And they really do need to have tails, whiskers and moveable ears.

  32. 32.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 4:18 pm

    India protests:

    135 Reuters photos here…worth a look: https://t.co/1wtiaW5QiH— ?????? ?????? (@AyresAlyssa) December 23, 2019

  33. 33.

    eclare

    December 23, 2019 at 4:19 pm

    @Yarrow: That would be rough, I can’t imagine.

  34. 34.

    HeleninEire

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    “You deserve some ducks.” Yes, yes we do. Thank you TaMara.

    Happy Holidays to y’all BJ’ers.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @satby:

    {{{{{{{ }}}}}}}

  36. 36.

    eclare

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @satby: You gave her a wonderful life.

  37. 37.

    Baud

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

     

    @Yarrow:  Sorry for your loss.

  38. 38.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @satby: May I offer condolences? End of life choices are tough. It sounds like she was lucky to have you.

  39. 39.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @Baud:

    My birthname was DeLong, so that works for me.

  40. 40.

    Yutsano

    December 23, 2019 at 4:46 pm

    @Baud: Dandridge?

  41. 41.

    Baud

    December 23, 2019 at 4:47 pm

    @Yarrow: Sorry for your loss.

  42. 42.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @Baud: Fine by me!

    I still kind of miss being Iowa Old Lady.

  43. 43.

    Yutsano

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @Baud: Dandridge?

     

    EDIT: oddsfish. Suddenly comments aren’t working?

  44. 44.

    Baud

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    Test.

  45. 45.

    Skepticat

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    Would you like to diversify a bit?

    https://www.boston.com/news/animals/2019/12/20/state-troopers-saved-this-wayward-goose-now-you-can-adopt-him

  46. 46.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @satby:

    {{{{{{{   }}}}}}}

  47. 47.

    Miss Bianca

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I want to watch it, but am waiting for the DVDs to come out…

     

    And why do I want to watch it? Because week before last, I was sort of forced to watch “Last Christmas” with Emilia Clarke (I was the fill-in concessionaire at the movie theater) and everyone kept comparing her character, and the story, unfavorably to “Fleabag”. So now I’m curious about it.

  48. 48.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @sab:

    The Times had a cute anecdote. Hal Prince heard Lloyd Webber do a runthrough of the songs, and he said, “I don’t get it. Is it a metaphor for the British empire? Is it about Queen Victoria?” ALW said, “It’s about cats. It’s just about cats.”

  49. 49.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @sab:

    The Times had a cute anecdote. Hal Prince heard Lloyd Webber do a runthrough of the songs, and he said, “I don’t get it. Is it a metaphor for the British empire? Is it about Queen Victoria?” ALW said, “It’s about cats. It’s just about cats.”

  50. 50.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @satby: May I offer condolences. End of life decisions are so tough. It sounds like you did well, and she was relatively fortunate.

  51. 51.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:49 pm

    @Yutsano:  Thanks. I am with my dad on Christmas and then I’ve got an extended family obligation the next day. I’ve been eating ice cream, so maybe that’s self care? Not sure it’s good for me, but it sure tastes good.

  52. 52.

    Baud

    December 23, 2019 at 4:51 pm

    FYWP had become FYCF.

  53. 53.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:52 pm

    @Betty Cracker:  I watched the first two or three episodes of the first season. I think it’s an acquired taste. She’s not a very nice person but I wonder if series goes on maybe there’s more that comes out to explain what underlies who she is. I thought it kind of dark and I have plenty of dark in my life so I tend to stick to comedies.

  54. 54.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 4:53 pm

    Yes, I’ll try to come up with another cute anecdote to bludgeon you all with.

  55. 55.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 4:54 pm

    @sab:

    As far as I can tell, the problem is that director Tom Hooper chose to use digital effects rather than costumes for all of the actors and then half-assed the special effects to the point that the artists were still trying to finish them on the day of the film’s premiere.

    I mean, it’s a really bizarre show anyway, but the special effects problems are making it truly surreal.

  56. 56.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 4:54 pm

    @satby:  Aww, sorry to hear about that but it sounds like her passing was as peaceful as could be hoped for. You did good by her.

  57. 57.

    mrmoshpotato

    December 23, 2019 at 4:57 pm

    @bemused: Boneless Whole Turkey

    Since you’re thinking of disuniting the backbone from the skeleton.

  58. 58.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 4:58 pm

    @sab

    they really do need to have tails, whiskers and moveable ears.

    Unless one is Newmar or Kitt. Mrrrowr.

    :)

  59. 59.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 4:58 pm

    @Yarrow:

    If you can, you should probably declare a mental health day (or at least an afternoon) and do something fun by yourself. Read a book. See a movie. Get a massage.

    I think we’re going to go see “Knives Out” the day after Christmas, and “Frozen 2” is good for a cry if you’re okay with sad things happening to animated characters.

  60. 60.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 4:59 pm

    I’m not sure if this is an official Biden ad, but it’s really good.

    Donald Trump should release his taxes or shut up about corruption. pic.twitter.com/5G8VwWsyx0— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 23, 2019

  61. 61.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 5:00 pm

    @Betty Cracker:

    Spousal unit thinks that I’ll either love it or hate it, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

  62. 62.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:01 pm

    My comments on this thread. I think it was my browser not BJ. So I may have been multiple posting. Embarrassed.

    ETA  I have been getting a 502 alert for about two hours, but I think it was me and my browser and not BJ. So if I posted repeatedly, yeah I am embarrassed, but that is my excuse.

  63. 63.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    @satby:  I am so sorry, but as you and others have mentioned, you gave her a wonderful life, so I hope that gives you comfort. Still, it’s sad when they’re no longer here…

    This time of year is usually awful for me, but 2019 was my annus horribilis, so there’s a thicker shit frosting on the shit cake this time around (with apologies to the folks who enjoy this holiday season). Just going to hunker down until it’s over.

    Thank you for the critter pix, TaMara – they actually cheer me up a lot.

    Erm…Merry Christmas, everybody!! ?

  64. 64.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 5:03 pm

    The Asphalt Jungle running in the background on TCM.

    Hearing Sterling Hayden’s character say “You boned me in front of a stranger. Made me look small.” brings forth a snort the writers never intended to be there – every time.

  65. 65.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:05 pm

    The planet is burning up. Australia is literally on fire with 200 wildfires spread across 5 states. 8 people have already died.The solution, it seems, is to threaten this young girl with arrest for trying to do something about it.pic.twitter.com/r7wxVCovTx— Mark Adkins (@MarkMyWordsJCPM) December 20, 2019

    Got a 454 error earlier, when trying to post.

  66. 66.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:06 pm

    @Yarrow:

    ice cream counts

  67. 67.

    Raven

    December 23, 2019 at 5:07 pm

    5 hours of torrential rain that lifted just as we hit the Blue Ridge at Fancy Gap. Two more hours to the Airbnb which is in a nice setting on the lake. Back in the van to Falwellville for dinner.

  68. 68.

    feebog

    December 23, 2019 at 5:08 pm

    I had to run out to Lowes Hardware to complete a Christmas gift.  My sister mailed us our gifts, among them is (unknown to the Missus) a piece of homemade yard art.  So far so good, except to mount the sculpture I need a length of rebar (which I had) and a length of 3/4″ cooper pipe (which I now have).  I’m sure cutting the rebar and pipe to size on Christmas morning will be… interesting.

  69. 69.

    Raven

    December 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    @satby: Aw I’m so sorry.

  70. 70.

    zhena gogolia

    December 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    @sab:

    I had the same thing.

  71. 71.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    @sab:

     

    @NotMax: I liked their performances. I never for one second thought they were cats.

  72. 72.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 5:09 pm

    @spudgun:

    Self-care time for you, too. Do something fun and escapist for a couple of hours, whatever that means to you.

  73. 73.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:10 pm

    @Yarrow:  I am so sorry, Yarrow…I am with you in spirit.

    Of course ice cream is self care! ? what would make you think otherwise?

    Sometimes being around people is a good thing, even though it can be quite the effort. I really, REALLY have to force myself, but once I’m out I feel a bit better. My brother and his SO are coming over this evening to take me to dinner and then of course there’s Christmas  lunch with my parents on Wednesday, so I’m going to try to keep my spirits up until I can go back into my cocoon.

  74. 74.

    Mike in NC

    December 23, 2019 at 5:11 pm

    @Mnemosyne: We saw “Knives Out” in Tampa at Thanksgiving. Very good.

  75. 75.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:12 pm

    “Technical data corroborate reports that network operators have complied with orders by authorities to cut off telecommunications in Assam, leaving the state in the midst of a telecommunication blackout.” https://t.co/lI1q48gWAC via @netblocks pic.twitter.com/YSGEfOIjYZ— Erin Gallagher (@3r1nG) December 22, 2019

    Assam is one of those parts of India, that has a multifacetted and complex relationship with the State of India in which not everybody agrees.

  76. 76.

    VeniceRiley

    December 23, 2019 at 5:14 pm

    @Betty Cracker: I watched all of Fleabag.  It’s very rare a female unsympathetic character, no matter how well written, gets a green light.  I kinda loved it and am sad PWB has moved on to bigger and better things.  As a writer, I can see her clever mind all over Killing Eve as well.  Haven checked out the latest Bond movie rumors but she was brought in on that too.

  77. 77.

    eclare

    December 23, 2019 at 5:16 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That is a good ad!  Simple, on point.

  78. 78.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    @Betty Cracker:  I am a Fleabag fanatic! First season is a riot (a bit tough in some spots, to be sure), but I love the fast pace and the humor and I really connected with the protagonist. Second season blew me away, it was so brilliant and in my opinion better than the first. Phoebe Waller-Bridge deserved all the Emmys and the actress who plays her sister was robbed of best supporting, truly.

    My hard-to-get-into is Killing Eve, written by PWB. I think I’m going to give it another shot, though…

  79. 79.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:18 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I miss that nym too.

  80. 80.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:20 pm

    @Raven:

    Back in the van to Falwellville for dinner.

    Loaves and fishes?

  81. 81.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:20 pm

    The FBI broke into President Trump’s campaign, spied on him, then tried to cover it up.This is a modern-day Watergate. pic.twitter.com/7YfyARPIlr— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) December 22, 2019

    Blavatnik gave $200,000 to Kevin McCarthy’s Victory fund. It all makes sense now. https://t.co/Hr9p2eFPoR— La Femme Nikita (@LaF3mm3Nikita) December 23, 2019

  82. 82.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:22 pm

    @Mnemosyne:  Thank you. So far I’ve taken up cross stitch – it’s surprisingly soothing. I’m also trying to read more…anything to keep my mind occupied.

    And the occasional pint of ice cream…?

  83. 83.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:23 pm

    I’m killing time for about another hour before picking up pizza and going to Sighthound Hall for dinner. Bro’ Man is in bachelor mode—husband and kids went to Brazil on Saturday, he’s not going until this Friday—so we’re going to get caught up, discuss politics and use all the swear words because no little ears around.

    And we’ll discuss Christmas dinner plans. After the success of the prime rib at Thanksgiving, I’m ready to deep-fry a turducken and burn the house  down, but I think cooler heads will prevail.

  84. 84.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    Someone put this up pic.twitter.com/ACXAElM6qH— spring (@summer7570) December 23, 2019

  85. 85.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:24 pm

    @spudgun: Where do you get your patterns? Do you do your own

  86. 86.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    I’m not exaggerating. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Moscow) is apparently the guy who literally received & distributed rubles thru House GOP’s main account.He admits it. Swore he’d donate the ?? funds to “charity.”https://t.co/0Z8uCYMz1l #TreasonsGreetings #TrumpCrimeFamilyMustGo— ? Kim (@kim) December 23, 2019

    Citizens United was quite the “gift”, too bad about democracy,…..

  87. 87.

    Raven

    December 23, 2019 at 5:26 pm

    @Steeplejack: in a way. My job is to make fun conversation, that I can almost always do. EVERYONE loves fishing stories and with my new gigantic beard loafing is sure to come up!

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 5:27 pm

    Repeating from the other day, but (very) broadly in the spirit of the topic, Quack Quack.

    From one of the most curious productions ever.

    … it was the first and will almost certainly remain the only vampire snooker musical ever made. Source

  89. 89.

    Kayla Rudbek

    December 23, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: I was trying to say on the last thread that I one-clicked on your new book, which will be my self-care holiday treat. I kept on getting a 502 page.

  90. 90.

    VeniceRiley

    December 23, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    As for Christmas, both I and the GF are off work. Plan to spend the whole day watching sportsball matches and talking to each other, except when she is making and eating Christmas dinner while also fending off a dog pack (she has two she’s watching for an ex.) This is the last Christmas I will spend alone! Happy about that.

  91. 91.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:28 pm

    I was threatening jazz Christmas music this morning. Here’s a perky “White Christmas” from Charlie Parker.

  92. 92.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 5:29 pm

    @zhena gogolia: OMG, that is awesome. I love that Biden is keeping his focus on Trump. His recent ads have been great.

    @Mnemosyne:
    I don’t think I’d find going to a movie much of a mental health day. Would have to get myself out, go somewhere in awful traffic, sit in the dark by myself and all of it would cost a bunch of money. Movie tickets are expensive. But your general point stands. I just have things I’ve got to do and other people are depending on me, so I’m not sure how to get out of it. Maybe in January I can take a mental health day.

    Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts.

  93. 93.

    Brachiator

    December 23, 2019 at 5:30 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    As far as I can tell, the problem is that director Tom Hooper chose to use digital effects rather than costumes for all of the actors and then half-assed the special effects to the point that the artists were still trying to finish them on the day of the film’s premiere.

    I understand that the studio is sending out, downloading, etc., a new version of the film with some changes/refinements to the special effects.  I think it might be too late to save the film, however.

    The common complaint is that the characters are in just too much of an un-catty valley.

  94. 94.

    LivinginExile

    December 23, 2019 at 5:31 pm

    @satby: So sorry.  She was a lucky dog.

  95. 95.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:33 pm

    Dexter Gordon, “The Christmas Song.”

  96. 96.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 5:33 pm

    As Sarah Chayes, one of the leading anti-corruption voices in the U.S., told Bellingcat… “it’s frankly open season. It broadcasts to the Kremlin that if you just disguise your money a little bit, the U.S. system is still fully penetrable.”https://t.co/TxhOBdTVZu— Bob Magaw (@BobMagaw) December 23, 2019

  97. 97.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:37 pm

    I have been living at this latitude and longitude for twenty years. So Why am I so surprised that I think dinner should be ready by now, at 5:30? Because it is very dark outside.

    Because I am retired and not commuting for two hours. So I can cook dinner when it gets dark and I am here, not when mom/wife gets home from her long commute.

    We do things badly nowadays, but we have pressures directing us badly.

    Just saying.

  98. 98.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:43 pm

    @sab:  Oh no, I’m nowhere near that good! I just started, so I defaulted to a few beginner’s kits from Joann Fabrics. But I did a lot of online research and found a site for DMC – it’s based in Europe, France or Luxembourg or somewhere – and they have TONS of free patterns to download. You have to sign up for their newsletter to download, but it’s worth it because I found over a hundred easy-beginner patterns that I’d like to work my way up to.

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:44 pm

    @satby:

    RIP, Rosie. ?

  100. 100.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 5:46 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    You could still be IOL. I was kind of surprised when you changed. Ah, but the author thing.

  101. 101.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:46 pm

    @Jay: Sarah Chayes dad thinks Caleb Carr is a sensible foreign power voice. Makes me doubt the whole Chayes dynasty. Writing aptitude is not actual knowledge.

  102. 102.

    Splitting Image

    December 23, 2019 at 5:47 pm

    Shouldn’t the title be “You deserve a drake today”?

  103. 103.

    Yutsano

    December 23, 2019 at 5:48 pm

    @Brachiator:

    The common complaint is that the characters are in just too much of an un-catty valley

    I may never forgive you for this…

  104. 104.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 5:52 pm

    @Kayla Rudbek:

    You rock!

    I kept getting errors too, right around comment #33 on this thread.

  105. 105.

    sab

    December 23, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    @spudgun: You are arting in my world. Bless you and good luck. Keep us posted.

  106. 106.

    Ceci n est pas mon nym

    December 23, 2019 at 5:53 pm

    In the spirit of respite, I am taking a break. I don’t want to read or hear that name, see that face, hear that voice until after the new year. Not even if he is taken away in chains during the holiday. I’ll catch up on any such news in January.

    So by necessity that means I’m not going to read any political blogs for the next 8 days or so. Just to show how pervasive he is in our culture, he popped up in this interview with Robert DeNiro about “The Irishman”.

    Frank has a problem with his daughter. He has problems that anybody can relate to. I never thought of him as being amoral or immoral. He lives in a world where the penalties are harsh if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do. He says he’s going to do something, he does it. I don’t like to go to Trump, but he is a person who, to me, has no morals, no ethics, no sense of right and wrong, is a dirty player.
    Could you find your way into the character of President Trump? I wouldn’t want to play him. He’s such an awful person. There’s nothing redeemable about him, and I never say that about any character.

    See you on the other side, jackals! Have a wonderful holiday!

  107. 107.

    spudgun

    December 23, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    @sab:  Many thanks, sab – have a wonderful holiday!

  108. 108.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    @Yarrow:

    Honestly, even just downloading a fun audiobook or podcast and listening to it as you travel from place to place could help. Don’t underestimate how valuable even a 10 or 15 minute mental break could be.

    Gentle hugs if they’ll help. ?

  109. 109.

    Brachiator

    December 23, 2019 at 5:55 pm

    @Splitting Image:

    Shouldn’t the title be “You deserve a drake today”?

    Or perhaps, “Mallard, M’lord.”

  110. 110.

    Mary G

    December 23, 2019 at 5:56 pm

    @satby: It was Rosie’s time, but it’s hard at the holidays. Glad she can hang out with Hershey again.

  111. 111.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 5:57 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    A writer friend of mine just found out that she’s on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the top 10 romance novels of 2019. I would be jealous if she weren’t immensely talented and deserved every bit of the praise.

    If you look up the list, it’s Mia Hopkins and the book is “Trashed.” It’s a great book, though quite, quite dirty. ?

  112. 112.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 5:58 pm

    @Yarrow

    Everyone has something (or somethings) which works as a salve to at least temporarily combat down in the dumpsdom.

    Personal go-tos are watching either The Stunt Man or a few episodes of Wonderfalls. Takes me out of myself just enough to shake the emotional dice and re-roll them. Musically, Prokofiev’s Lt. Kije Suite or else Louis Moreau Gottschalk’s A Night in the Tropics symphony or his shorter composition, the Grand Tarantelle. YMMV.

  113. 113.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 5:59 pm

    @satby:

    We put the urn with our kitty Annie’s ashes under the Christmas tree this week, because she always loved hanging out there during the holidays. She’s the one we lost to cancer back in May. ?

  114. 114.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 23, 2019 at 6:03 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Aww  Annie kitteh will love it. How have you been?

  115. 115.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 6:08 pm

    @sab:

    Sarah Chayes Dad isn’t Sarah Chayes, and one can suck on Foreign Policy, ( it’s a given in the US) and not be wrong on corruption.

    Parnas, of Fraud Guarentee, Mafia Rave and Loan Crime Investigation Group, LLC’s, according to FEC filings, gave the maximum amounts to all the ReThugs, from Individual cantidates, to State and Federal ReThug Committees, to PAC’s.

    For a guy with no money who was selling Trump Condo’s for a “living”, that’s quite the “giving”.

  116. 116.

    Steeplejack

    December 23, 2019 at 6:09 pm

    Miles Davis et al., “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”

    I’m off for pizza. ?

  117. 117.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 6:10 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Not too bad. I’ve been off-line a lot since I’m (theoretically) writing a new book. Theoretically. ? And I’m hoping to finally get my author website up and running for 2020 and actually get onto a blogging schedule.

    How are you and husband kitteh? I know that the news from home is pretty scary right now — my Indian friend that I recently re-connected with has been keeping me in the loop.

  118. 118.

    Jay

    December 23, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    For nearly 3 years numerous “journalists” said the Trump-Russia scandal was a Conspiracy Theory. Just yesterday an @NPR journalist told me nothing was discovered by the Murller report nor was there any collusion. He was adamant nothing was found. #ButHerEmails-alism is real. https://t.co/h5AT7gOtSq— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) December 23, 2019

  119. 119.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    @Steeplejack

    I’m off for pizza.

    Pepperoni, frankincense and myrrh?

    :)

  120. 120.

    cain

    December 23, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    Ducks wearing little Christmas sweaters pic.twitter.com/WReMVJ2pMw— Ducks (@Duck_page) December 23, 2019

    More respite and a good twitter to follow :D

  121. 121.

    Miss Bianca

    December 23, 2019 at 6:13 pm

    @NotMax: I never would have thought of The Stunt Man as a feel-good – or feel-better – movie.

     

    Maybe because I first saw it when I was still in high school, and the only part of it I could relate to was that it had been filmed at the Hotel del Coronado, where my grandmother used to take us to dinner when we’d visit her.

  122. 122.

    debbie

    December 23, 2019 at 6:19 pm

    Vociferous little buggers! I didn’t realize ducks were so cold tolerant.

  123. 123.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 23, 2019 at 6:20 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Actually the past week has made me more hopeful about India than I have been since Modi was reelected.

    That Modi would do the things he is doing is not surprising. Sangh’s intent has been clear since its inception in the 1920s. But the push back that this agenda is getting has been heartening.

    If you are on Twitter please retweet the massacre Modi’s handpicked chief Minister is perpetrating in one of India’s most populous states, Uttar Pradesh.

    https://twitter.com/RanaAyyub/status/1209145386327257089

  124. 124.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    @Miss Bianca

    For me it’s that it is so over the top yet manages to keep all the pieces and gears humming along in unison. Plus O’Toole thoroughly masticating the scenery (while going right up to but not crossing the line into farce) is a delight.

  125. 125.

    debbie

    December 23, 2019 at 6:23 pm

    @satby:

    Expected or not, I’m sorry.

  126. 126.

    Miss Bianca

    December 23, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    @NotMax: Yeah, I guess. I must be alone in the world in that Peter O’Toole in his Manic Pixie Nightmare Boy mode does nothing for me

     

    ETA: Then again, my “the world sucks so bad I need a personal re-boot” movies are Muppets from Space and Desperately Seeking Susan, so what the hell do I know?

  127. 127.

    debbie

    December 23, 2019 at 6:25 pm

    @Yarrow:

    I’m sorry for you and your friend.

  128. 128.

    Yarrow

    December 23, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    @Mnemosyne:  Thanks. I’ve watched some comedies I had piling up on the DVR. At least that makes me laugh. I still have a long list of things that must be done so I’m doing that, then taking a break. And then over again.

  129. 129.

    Mnemosyne

    December 23, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I wish I was on Twitter, but I’m not. ?

  130. 130.

    debbie

    December 23, 2019 at 6:33 pm

    @sab:

    He is a military historian.

  131. 131.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 6:36 pm

    @Miss Bianca

    Will add I find the secondary and tertiary characters, although caricatures, fully-formed individuals, not simply way stations along the road to the end credits. (And if you’ve never seen it, stick all the way through to the finale of those credits.)

    And there are sprinkled throughout internally consistent amusing Easter eggs encountered (in my case) only upon repeated viewings.

  132. 132.

    debbie

    December 23, 2019 at 6:36 pm

    @Yutsano:

    Since no one’s responding, the D is the D Sab mistakenly added in the middle of her last name.

  133. 133.

    Brachiator

    December 23, 2019 at 7:29 pm

    @Miss Bianca: 

    I must be alone in the world in that Peter O’Toole in his Manic Pixie Nightmare Boy mode does nothing for me

    Not even My Favorite Year?

  134. 134.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 23, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    The site has been locking up for me. It seems okay now, but I just got back on.

  135. 135.

    NotMax

    December 23, 2019 at 7:48 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor

    Not only you. More hosting/server errors/outages, which affect everyone.

    “Help us, WaterGirl, you’re our only hope.”

  136. 136.

    satby

    December 23, 2019 at 8:12 pm

    I was trying to offer condolences to Yarrow and thank multiple people for their sympathies when I got a cornucopia of errors.

    So I went and watched the Man Who Came to Dinner instead.

  137. 137.

    Mrs. D. Ranged in AZ

    December 23, 2019 at 8:17 pm

    I made it thru my last day of work until next week. I can’t even begin to tell you how much I needed time off. I’ve got the presents wrapped, kids fed and can’t wait to put them to sleep. Then I get some alone time in my craft room. Trying not to think about the ex’s hearing tomorrow morning. So much is riding on it. I dread the thought of having to go to trial and testifying. But worse than that having my daughter testify. I’m praying for a good plea deal.

    @VeniceRiley:

    @Betty Cracker:

    Highly recommend Fleabag for all the same reasons VeniceRiley mentions.  But you have to be ok with unlikable characters and sexual content.

  138. 138.

    Miss Bianca

    December 23, 2019 at 8:35 pm

    @satby: hoping to direct that at my theater next year!

  139. 139.

    Dan B

    December 23, 2019 at 9:28 pm

    We’re getting a respite from the Koch related, FOX news fanatics this year.  Yesterday we had dinner at friends, four hearty homemade soups: Wonton, sun dried tomato, chickpea with chinese noodles and ginger, and a hearty turkey noodle!  One couple’s gay nephew from small town and crazed evangelical family was there to have time with a batch of gay guys.  Xmas day we go to my brothers and a nephew and his Persian boyfriend and a niece with twins and husband.  They live in Bend, OR, a very different climate.  They are all anti-GOP so politics will likely be discussed but I could skip that.  Too much anxiety as is the news out of India.

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