Look at these black panthers…
From cain:
The one with the bowtie is Khush, and the other one without the collar is Lava. They are named after the twin sons of Sri Rama, the hero of the Ramayana and his queen Sita. Of course, I’m named after Sri Rama, so it makes sense that my fur children would have those names. :-)
TaMara here – I sure hope Lava is reading Balloon-Juice and is of age to drink! I usually adopt whatever cat decides to choose me, but I really do miss my black panthers and I’m hoping maybe one will adopt me next.
I get emails!
SiubhanDuinne sent this along when I post about Obama’s book. I loved it. We will revisit the book in early December after everyone who was fighting over copies has a chance to read theirs. I’m four chapters in (I only listen in the car, because otherwise I get distracted and miss the good stuff) and I’m really enjoying it. I like the campaign and policy wonk stuff!
And Evap made election night goodies and sent me photos. I had planned to post them the day Biden was declared the winner, but things have been a bit hectic around that. Now that the GSA has finally acknowledged what we’ve known since Nov 4, I’m sharing.
I think that catches you up on everything everyone has sent me (I do have one more political cartoon, but it needs a “darker” post for that).
Bixby and I had a moment yesterday – he pulled me off my feet on a walk! And then dragged me. In the six years we’ve been together that’s the third time he’s done that. We are all fine, but it does mean a few weeks of retraining since our trust bond has been broken. You don’t walk 280 lbs of dogs without training and trust. :-( I’m trying not to be cranky with him…but…
I have a friend who is about all of 5′ and her mastiff did the same thing to her about a week ago. I think the pandemic/shutdowns are making everyone edgy and the dogs a little reactive. But still no excuse.
With that, here’s a fresh open thread.
Assassination Attempt On Iran’s “Father Of Nuclear Program”
SiubhanDuinne
I’m having reheated leftover turkey, dressing, and baked sweet potato. It’s my first meal of the day, so technically it’s breakfast. OTOH, it’s coming up on noon, so it might be more appropriate to call it lunch. Delicious and satisfying, regardless, in that day-after-Thanksgiving way.
Yarrow
Wow. Are you okay? That sounds scary. Good luck with the retraining.
Yarrow
@SiubhanDuinne: Sounds like brunch to me.
Tenterhooks
Checkerboard Biden-Harris cake and are those donkey cookies? very cool.
NotMax
@SiubhanDuinne
If you have coffee with it, it’s breakfast. Coffee after eating, it’s lunch.
;)
evap
@Tenterhooks: Indeed, gingerbread donkeys! I break out the donkey cookie cutter for election night parties. It wasn’t much of a party this year, just a couple of friends, but I made the cake anyway. I thought a chocolate and vanilla checkerboard cake fit the bill.
SiubhanDuinne
@TaMara, up top:
Yikes! That sounds frightening and painful. Glad you’re okay — lucky if you get away with a couple of bruises and mild abrasions — but it certainly does sound as though he needs to repeat some obedience training.
TaMara (HFG)
@Yarrow: I’m a little scraped up. He just really wanted to see the baby and there was frost on the ground and that was it. He loves babies. But again, no excuse, he was told to sit and hold and that’s what he should have done.
It’s my fault, I’ve been lax on his training. I’ve been focusing on Scout and have gotten her to a really good place on walks where she doesn’t get all hyper around other dogs.
And as he’s aged, he’s just become such a good and reliable dog. I got lazy. We both paid the price.
jeffreyw
@SiubhanDuinne:
I do so hope that you used cranberry sauce to lube the bread for that sammich.
Immanentize
When I lived in San Antonio, I had a beautiful black cat — Jean Louis — who was the smartest cat I’ve ever had. He figured out how to open the screen door to let himself in. He would stand on his back legs, hook his claws into the lower screen, then shuffle backwards on his hind legs until the door was open enough for him to drop down and scoot inside without clipping his tail. Sadly before the age of phone cams,. ?
Hungry Joe
Missing Scully, our black long-hair kitten monster rescued off the less-than-mean streets of downtown San Diego. She loved all people, and tolerated, sometimes even liked, our dog and other cats. She lived to age 20, and seemed never to have a bad day. She drew blood exactly once, a few days after we got our puppy, Alice (now 13). Alice was tearing around the house, new-puppy-like, and Scully was sitting on the back of a chair, taking it all in, and not (yet) approving. I walked past her, and she reached out and swiped me on the arm, just to let me know. That was it — one time, in 20 years. I didn’t even blame her.
Roger Moore
@Yarrow:
It’s not a proper brunch without mimosas.
Yarrow
@TaMara (HFG): Glad you’re okay but that still sounds scary. He’s a big boy and strong. Does he know he wasn’t the bestest dog in that moment? Take care of yourself. Aches and pains can sometimes take a day or two to really show up.
Yarrow
@Roger Moore: Of course. But not everyone drinks alcohol so substitutes are allowed.
TaMara (HFG)
@Yarrow: He moped all day yesterday and retraining started bright and early this morning. Lots of disciplined sitting and holding before the puppies got to go outside (oh, having to hold while the squirrel taunts you…so hard!) and same before breakfast.
We’ll work our way up to a short walk this afternoon.
Yarrow
Has anyone seen Kay? Last I saw was in a thread where she was upset about (in her view) Democrats not standing up for voters. It seemed to get a little heated as at least one person said they were going to pie her. I’ve been very busy and haven’t been around much but I’ve looked for her comments and haven’t seen her. I hope she’s okay. I really appreciate her take on things.
Amir Khalid
@SiubhanDuinne:
Isn’t breakfast-at-noon called brunch? Or is the term reserved for a fancier repast than mere Thanksgiving leftovers?
frosty
@SiubhanDuinne: Coffee and pecan pie for breakfast here!
Yarrow
@TaMara (HFG): Awww…doggie moping and hang dog face when they know they’ve been bad always get to me. I’m such a sucker and a softie. Poor doggos being taunted by the squirrels. ?
frosty
@Yarrow: You’re right, I haven’t seen Kay since that thread, which got a bit heated. I’ll miss her too if she decided to bail on us.
Yarrow
@frosty: Maybe a frontpager could reach out? She’s such an asset to the blog. I didn’t see a GBCW, but she was really getting beaten up on and may have just left. I know how that feels.
MagdaInBlack
Gearing up to make your Pumpkin Buttermilk Bundt cake =-)
My black panther, Ivan the Dink/Dinklepuddy, lived to be 18 years. I rescued him from my in laws, where cats were on their own and the dog had killed his sibling.
HinTN
Indulging in all things Thanksgiving, today. I made a cranberry pecan upside down cake, which went well with coffee this morning. Now it’s on reheated turkey, dressing, and cranberry sauce for lunch.
TaMara (HFG)
@MagdaInBlack: Ooooo, I hope you like it.
Immanentize
@MagdaInBlack: You are such a good and fearless rescuer.
ETA I read that and thought of poor Tunch and his canine end.
MagdaInBlack
@Immanentize: One might say I rescued my husband from them too ;-)
Dorothy A. Winsor
I know Bixby has to learn to obey. It’s not safe otherwise. But I can’t help says “awww” at the idea that he loves babies.
The cake etc are fabulous.
Chacal Charles Calthrop
Cain, why is there no covering on that chair? It’s beige & the cats’ fur is black. Unless you know how to launder chairs, there’s no way you’re getting all the black hair off of it. Slip covers are a must with cats!
CaseyL
Oof! Sorry to hear about Bixby’s backsliding. It’s good you’ve started the retraining immediately, so Scout doesn’t get any ideas about following her Big Brother’s example.
My breakfast was eggs with leftover sweet potato casserole. Yummy! And I’m glad I left the pies with my neighbors, because otherwise I definitely would have had some this morning.
Gearing up for a grocery run later on, hoping Black Friday doesn’t also happen at supermarkets. Other than that, no particular plans for the day.
SiubhanDuinne
@jeffreyw:
Leftover turkey-and-dressing sammitches (yes, of course with cranberry sauce; I’m not a heathen) are for Saturday and Sunday, not the day after Thanksgiving. I thought everyone knew that.
Monday is for a big ol’ heaping mess of bread and gravy. There should be dressing with it, but it’ll probably be gone by then.
SiubhanDuinne
Cain’s kittehs are gorgeous. I love black panthers.
JPL
@Roger Moore: Water Girl should zoom us watching Biden take the oath of office and we can toast each other.
Steve in the ATL
@SiubhanDuinne: We grilled salmon at 11 am. While it was our first meal of the day and therefore breakfast under the SD Rule, we exercised our constitutional rights and deemed it lunch so we could have a bottle of Turley zinfandel with it. Red, of course–only Omnes drinks white zin.
Sorry I missed the Zoom fest yesterday. Sounds like a good time was had by almost all, with minimal trolling and no Toobining.
Roger Moore
@JPL:
I’m not a brunch person, or a mimosa drinker, myself. I just know the customs.
TaMara (HFG)
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: This is satire, right? An attempt at humor? Otherwise…
Delk
@Chacal Charles Calthrop: I took a handful of my dog’s hair when I went couch shopping.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow: I dropped a note to Kay. Her last comments were on Monday, so hopefully she is just busy with the holidays.
In any case, Kay knows folks have been asking about her and hope she’s just busy and not taking a break after the discussion on Monday.
WaterGirl
@JPL: There is talk of Zoom for Christmas and for the Inauguration. Christmas Eve would make sense, as well.
And maybe something between now and then.
Yarrow
@WaterGirl: Thanks. I would like to see her comment again.
pamelabrown53
@TaMara (HFG):
Sorry to hear about the Bixby backslide.
I have a question: Not too long ago, you featured a dish that required a lot of lemons (chicken?). Do you recall the recipe?
TaMara (HFG)
@pamelabrown53: Oh, yes, One of my favorites.
https://whats4dinnersolutions.com/2012/04/19/thursday-recipe-exchange-zesty-lemon-chicken/
Yarrow
@WaterGirl:
I’m not a big fan of too many Zooms. I think it will lead to more of an in-crowd issue than already exists. Those that can’t or don’t feel comfortable zooming will not be part of the in-crowd. The blog itself will suffer during exciting times like the inauguration because people will Zoom and not comment.
WaterGirl
@Yarrow: Something to think about.
mrmoshpotato
Those felines know how to enjoy a good sit.
CaseyL
@Yarrow:
That’s a good point. Also, Zoom doesn’t preserve our comments so latecomers can see them. I would love an Inauguration Day Zoom (I’m one of the people who has suggested it), but you’ve given me something to think about.
JanieM
@SiubhanDuinne:
My first meal of the day too, except not reheated. I like my leftovers cold from the fridge.
Any word on your sister?
Just One More Canuck
@Hungry Joe: We had a rescue cat name Scully who lived to be 17. So gentle with our daughter (Scully would swat the air in front of her if she had had enough, but never made contact). She was a great hunter – the local chipmunks learned to give her a wide berth, though she did catch one when she was 16
mrmoshpotato
Potted
plantkitty! ?TaMara (HFG)
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I didn’t let the folks he embarrassed me in front of know that. I let them think it was their sweet pup my dogs wanted to play with (Bixby and Scout just wagged tails and sniffed said dog once they arrived, me sliding behind them).
And to their credit, once I stood up, both dogs were at my side, sitting and behaving, looking totally innocent, like they hadn’t just upended me.
If it hadn’t been slippery, he would have never dragged me, once I plant my feet, the dogs don’t move…they’ll strain, but they don’t pull me. I was moving…so he kept going.
burnspbesq
@Amir Khalid:
Brunch has been re-branded by Our Self-Proclaimed Progressive Betters into a symbol of a certain kind of allegedly complacent center-left type. First cousin of the tote-bag-totin’ NPR listener, apparently.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/11/2020-election-left-isnt-going-back-to-brunch-after-trump.html
tokyokie
@Immanentize: Years ago, I lost a couple of cats to the neighbor’s dog, something I didn’t fully figure out until some time after the fact. The threat to the rest of the kitties ended when my irascible orange tuxedo cat, Cat 9 From Outer Space, the best cat I ever had, killed the neighbor’s dog. Black cats remind me of Neyle, one of five cats we dragged from Tokyo to Texas in 1998 and the last of the group the leave us. He was also a great cat. However, the other black cat I’ve had, a rescue I named Marlene, was undoubtedly the stupidest cat I’ve ever had. Sweet, but stupid.
mrmoshpotato
@SiubhanDuinne:
Yummo!
pamelabrown53
@TaMara (HFG):
That’s it! Thank you so much!
JanieM
@Yarrow: Thanks for this.
I had resisted Zoom until last night, when, because so many people made it sound so tempting, I finally broke down and installed the app so I could join the 10 pm BJ meeting. This was timely, because my local library book group has shifted back to Zoom, and the next meeting is Monday, and I got all the kinks worked out last night. :-)
I was looking forward to putting faces to names, but then some of the people I would have been most tickled to “meet” that way didn’t have their cameras on. And it turns out that as far as conversation goes, I much prefer the blog. Nothing against the 10pm BJ group, it was light-hearted and friendly; it’s just personal preference. I much prefer one-on-one conversations in real life, it’s a bit of a puzzle why I read blogs in the first place.
Maybe a once-a-year T-day Zoom tradition?
MagdaInBlack
@TaMara (HFG): As all long time cooks do, I messed with it a bit. 1/4 cup mascarpone for 1/4 cup butter, milk instead of water….my pie spice is defunct, do I used my mothers method…spices til it tastes right. I think it’ll be wonderful and extra rich =-)
Phylllis
@WaterGirl: Oh I hope so. So much fun and great discussion. And a treat to see everyone.
ETA: Yarrow makes a good point, tho.
zhena gogolia
Black cats are the bestest!
mrmoshpotato
@TaMara (HFG): Glad to hear you’re ok.
The cake and cookies below the kitties also look yummo, like everyone’s post-Thanksgiving turkey breakfasts.
pamelabrown53
@WaterGirl:
Agree with Yarrow.
Maybe something like a Saturday evening zoom meeting? Something once a week like Sunday morning garden chat.
P.S. Shout out to all the breakfast pie eaters. Just cut into a “Scarlett” pie-a specialty pie from Whole Foods. Made from, I think, apples, pears and figs. Streusel topping with copious chopped walnuts. Lived up to the hype!
JanieM
@JanieM: Okay, I should have started with gratitude for the work that went into it — Watergirl, John, Cheryl (all of whom were on the 10 pm Zoom), the hosts — thank you! It was a great thing, especially at this moment in time.
It’s just that like Yarrow, I’m not sure but what the blog itself would be quite different if Zooms became frequent.
Time passes, things change, I think I wrote that recently on another thread.
zhena gogolia
@Yarrow:
I worry a little about that too. But there’s no rule that there can’t be simultaneous Zooming and commenting, as long as there’s some front-pager in charge of each.
I think the holiday Zoom was really valuable, especially for people who were alone. And an Inauguration Zoom would be wonderful. But I’m not fanatic about it.
zhena gogolia
@Yarrow:
My impression was not that the Zoom was full of in-crowd people. I saw lots of nyms I was totally unfamiliar with, and there were people who were speaking up boldly who never comment. It was just a different dynamic.
Sister Golden Bear
@burnspbesq:
Teh Gays would like a word about appropriating queer* culture. //
*OK, well white cisgender gay male culture.
mrmoshpotato
@frosty:
? Mmmmmmmmm
pamelabrown53
@burnspbesq:
Thank you. You just reminded me why I won’t be renewing my Intelligencer subscription.
mrmoshpotato
@CaseyL:
This phrase does not compute. ?
mrmoshpotato
@JPL:
Hehe, 9am champagne for the left coasters? Don’t mind if they do!
stinger
TaMara, I just made your roasted butternut squash and spiced apple soup, and it is delicious! Will be a permanent addition to my fall menus!
cain
@Chacal Charles Calthrop:
Not to worry – it’s vinyl so fairly easy to clean up. It’s like this sofa I got second hand when I lived in Denver. It’s like from the 60s. hah. but duly noted.
The real danger is my leather chairs that can be easily scratched. I’ve been covering those with a blanket.
mali muso
I wonder if a series of Zoom book clubs on the Obama book might be fun. Perhaps if each one was organized around a specific chapter/section or topic, or even had some discussion questions to help structure the conversation? I enjoyed last night, but it’s definitely a different vibe than blogging. The chat window is more my speed.
cain
@tokyokie:
Khush is the cat’s cat. Always curious, always exploring, and doesn’t mind being picked up. Lav, is lot more skittish – but likes to sleep with me at night. But overall very quiet – is not particularly predatory – but he definitely gets jumped on by his brother, Khush often.
Ruckus
@Yarrow:
I expected more people to be Zooming, sure it was a holiday, but even so it seemed light. I did 3 of them and probably got in maybe 15 words, which for me is like clearing my throat.
mrmoshpotato
@WaterGirl:
@Yarrow: Agreed. As nice as the Zoom meetings were yesterday, we can’t Tbogg unit a Zoom chat, and at least my Inauguration dancing should be confined to the comments.
JanieM
@mali muso: @Ruckus:
Both these comments made me chuckle. Is the chat window just blog commenting with images of ourselves at hand? ;-)
A book discussion would be quite a different thing from a random get-together. Related, perhaps, to what Ruckus wrote, I didn’t get any words in at all yesterday, maybe partly because of not having Zoom-ed before (then again, I did my share of online work meetings over the years), but also because it took me a while to figure out that there was no structure to the conversation, people just started talking, and then other people started talking…having a topic to focus on might make me feel differently about it. I dunno.
NoraLenderbee
@Steve in the ATL:
I read this as turkey zinfandel and thought, some people just go too far.
Steve in the ATL
@NoraLenderbee:
ha! But I’d wager that turkey zin is more drinkable than white zin!
Zelma
I enjoyed the Zoom meeting. It was fun to put names to faces and hear voices. But it is kind of hard to do any kind of give and take with fifty people. It’s funny; some people were older than I thought and some people were younger. I’m really sorry Amir never got his video on!
Re pets, the feral cat who waltzed into my house about six weeks ago and spent the ensuing time mostly under the bed, waltzed out again the other night. He still comes to be fed several times a day. I think he never quite adjusted to the idea that while Bandit would chase him off the deck, he accepts the idea of having a cat in the house. Maybe when the weather gets colder, Percy will waltz in again. I miss having a cat around, even if he is mostly under the bed.
trollhattan
@NoraLenderbee:
Heh :-)
Turley is pretty cultish. Damn good when you can get your hands on it but priced more like a cab or pinot than a zin.
mali muso
@JanieM: I think the chat function just allows for a little extra free flowing conversation(s) alongside the main one. Zoom is hard in that unlike a party with lots of people moving from one small group to another and carrying on multiple conversations, you’re restricted to one. Still fun to see everyone though!
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: Who is Sarah Jones, and why should I care?
Steve in the ATL
@trollhattan: we order it directly from the vineyard. Today’s selection is a 2016; have a bottle of Conundrum breathing for tonight.
Sloane Ranger
I loved the Zoom meeting and would love to have more, but I agree they shouldn’t be too frequent. Definitely a very special occasion sort of thing.
I attended the 10am one and I think there was an element of people feeling each other out. It’s one thing to communicate through the medium of this blog, it’s another to do so in real time and I know I wasn’t relaxed. I always get nervous when meeting new people for the first time.
Perhaps next time we could have a topic. That would help focus attention. Also maybe some rules of engagement to make sure everyone who wants to say something has the opportunity to do so.
Just some thoughts.
Yarrow
@pamelabrown53:
If you have once a week Zoom then the people who show up for that will be their own club. If that’s what tptb on the blog want, fine. I’m personally not for that. It will end up changing the dynamic of the blog and not for the better, imo.
@zhena gogolia:
Of course there’s no rule but it likely won’t go that way. There will be zooming and those who zoom will post comments like, “Come join us in zoom!” as they did yesterday. Again, in-crowd (zoomers) and not.
I agree that under these strange circumstances it was valuable. Another year when people are busy with family or friends and can go anywhere with less worry it might not be as popular.
CatFacts
I’m a less-frequent commenter and didn’t make the Zoom so I doubt this will be worth much, but I agree with Yarrow. Less is more for Zoom.
WaterGirl
@Sloane Ranger: Every one of the 5 zooms was different. Some were in the weeds with politics, some were not. All great, all interesting, but all very different, I thought.
Jess
I love black kitties. My (second) black cat, Maya, is one of the most gorgeous cats I’ve ever seen. Just a beautifully proportioned face and body, radiant gold-green eyes, and the silkiest blue-black fur. Looks and behaves like an Abyssinian, except for the color. To top it off, she has an adorable white locket on her chest, and a white bikini that only shows when she’s on her back. She’s 14 now, but still as healthy and active as she was in her prime. She’s a bit feral by nature, and quite the trouble-maker–has to get into everything, and torments my 75 pound dog. Now that the weather’s cooled down, I wake up every morning with her curled up on one side, and the dog pinning me down on the other. I feel so loved.
NotMax
@Janie M
Via whatever dynamic, the 10 p.m. meet became a lot more serious and politicky than any of the others did.
@zhena gogolia
Yeah, scads of unfamiliar and new nyms, which was a special holiday treat.
@Steve in the ATL
*shudder
Geminid
@WaterGirl: I am just not cut out to be a Zoomer, but I can see how the Zooms had special value in our current situation, where people who are not loners like me lack the level of social contact they need. But I think the jackal who said less is more when it comes to Zooming was maybe right.
Yesterday, when I was thinking about things I was thankful for, I thought of the dedication and hard work put in by you and the other folks who run this blog. I hope you had a happy Thansgiving. It sounds like it was at least a busy one.
J R in WV
Both of our cats sleep with me some, Spike is a little gray tabby, prefers to be outside on the hunt. But when I let her in in the wee hours of a cold night, she will light on top of me to get warm. I don’t move around much once I’m good and asleep, wife is restless always.
Punkin will creep in near dawn, and wants to be around my head, also to warm up. They’re the same age, getting up there now. But unlike other cats who have in the past laid against the top of my head, Punkin, a big mostly black Calico, will get her face near mine, so her whiskers tickle and wake me up. I’m trying to break her of that habit. If she just cuddles up against me I won’t wake up, and the purr is very restful.
The young dogs can also sneak into bed and lie between us. One is sneakier than the other, a little smaller and more graceful, she can be in bed with us for quite a while before anyone notices. She is prone to paw at one to get pets, and that doesn’t work very well for sleeping together.
Alice, the senior dog lands on the bed like a bomb, everything shakes hard. White Lab mix, probably sneaking up on 85 or 90 pounds since “Bambi Bits in the Woods” season is with us. They quit eating kibble for a couple of months as there’s lots of deer bits from the hunting season out there. Hard to enforce a diet this time of year.
No name
@Steve in the ATL: well we both have good taste; I had Conundrum last night with the boid!