Railway model enthusiast Naoki Teraoka has operated miniature model-themed ramen restaurants and eateries in Japan since 2005. His latest was the Diorama Restaurant in Osaka, which he opened in 2018. But when the global pandemic struck two years later, business went south and Teraoka was pushed to the brink of shutting down his business. But an unlikely savior–a stray cat that Teraoka rescued–would turn things around.
During the pandemic, Teraoka rescued an emaciated stray kitten that had found its way to the restaurant. Later, the kitten’s mother and siblings also showed up and before Teraoka knew it he had a family of cats climbing, lounging and sleeping on his miniature models.
It was like the set of a monster cat movie so the owner began photographing and posting pictures to the restaurant’s Instagram account. Before long, people began showing up from all over Japan to see the cats and business took off.
Feeling grateful and in debt to his feline friends, Teraoka opened a cat shelter on the 2nd floor of his restaurant and now devotes a significant amount of time to helping stray cats get off the street and into homes. Here is the Diorama Restaurant website where you can make reservations to visit, learn about their rescue cats or donate to help support their activities.
At the link, there are a lot of fun cat stories. Not to mention lots of beautiful photos and unique stories of Japan.
Founded in 2007, Spoon & Tamago is an international blog that is based out of New York City and Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by artist and writer Johnny Waldman, who grew up in Japan. Using our unique background and international perspective, Spoon & Tamago attempts to comprehensively cover all aspects of Japanese design from fine art and architecture to product and graphic design with an emphasis on authentically communicating Japanese arts & crafts to the world.
What’s everyone doing today? I’m mostly cleaning and lunch with a friend.
Oh, thanks for the humor and balm to my spirit!
I love the way the ducks fall silent at the word “Snacks.”
2.
O. Felix Culpa
What’s everyone doing today?
At this moment, I’m finishing my now-cold cup of coffee and catching up on Balloon Juice. Then I’ll do some preparatory cooking and baking for tomorrow’s brunch, and as little housecleaning as I can get away with before the guests arrive.
3.
zhena gogolia
The one of the cat curled up asleep in the hills overlooking the tiny railroad yard is reminiscent of some Godzilla-like movie.
ETA: I’m trying to grade papers and read Dostoevsky in between worrying about Ukraine (and Russia, TBH).
4.
O. Felix Culpa
@zhena gogolia: Yup, the worry about Ukraine is a constant.
5.
Raoul Paste
Man, these ducks are high maintenance
6.
OzarkHillbilly
“Bridge out”
7.
Lyrebird
@zhena gogolia: Thanks for all your input and translations in the past few days, Mrs. Gogol.
ETA: I’m trying to grade papers and read Dostoevsky in between worrying about Ukraine…
Yes same here only need to make a conference poster rather than read difficult novels.
worrying about Ukraine (and Russia, TBH).
Yeppers. I let myself Google to see if Navalny is still alive – YES – and found this great article from Time. In between praying for the people of Ukraine I also pray for all the families of those demonstrating in Russia, and the soldiers’ families everyowhere. Okay back to grading.
8.
narya
I’m getting a covid test and doing the rest of the stuff to get ready for surgery. Tidying, taking out the garbage, recycling, and compost. All the laundry. Get some exercise (since I spent yesterday dealing with a proposal that was due and a team member that didn’t get it all done). Trying not to grind my teeth. LOVE the cat story!!
9.
Yarrow
Keeping assholes from taking out a fence by driving a too huge truck and trailer into a space that it won’t fit. Previously a fence has been destroyed and an electric pole has been damaged because these idiots think a large vehicle can fit. It can’t.
I’m the crazy person who goes out and yells at them when they try. They also destroy property on the other side of the street as they attempt maneuvers. They have also hit vehicles parked on the road.
It’s an utter mess and it takes someone like me yelling at them and taking pictures and videos on my phone of the truck, license plates and contact info on the door to get them to stop. Ugh. Stressful.
@Raoul Paste: LOL, you have no idea. Actually, during good weather it usually takes me 20 minutes a day to take care of them.
But this cold weather, it’s a constant all day. “is their water frozen?” “do they have enough shavings in the coop?” “is it too cold for them to be in the yard and do they need to go back in the coop?”
And if it’s too cold for the pools to be filled, I hand fill two litter boxes for them to splash around in.
I can’t wait for warm weather. Luckily, they are so entertaining, especially during these high-stress times, it’s all worth it.
12.
RandomMonster
Thanks for these stories. I have to go do some writing for a client which will be quite boring.
13.
Karen S.
Celebrating my birthday today, the first I’ll celebrate without my mother who died two weeks ago. I’m having dinner with my wife, my dad, my brother and his partner, and a few family friends. It’ll be strange and, perhaps, a little sad. I just want to be around people I love.
Thanks for posting about the cats that saved a restaurant. Lovely story.
14.
narya
@Starfish: Thanks–I’m first on the docket (arrival at 5:45 am), and am glad of that.
Dr Federica Pirrone of the University of Milan, who is one of the study’s authors, said: “Dogs are highly emotional animals who develop very close bonds with the members of the familiar group. This means that they may be highly distressed if one of them dies and efforts should be made to help them cope with this distress.”
Percy certainly had a hard time with the loss of Woof. He went days without eating on several occasions.
Finishing breakfast coffee. It’s le weekend, so I made gingerbread French toast and sausage. Bourbon barrel maple syrup ftw.
It snowed here in NE Illinois Thursday into Friday–looks like I received 3-4 inches of heavy powder. But it will be warming into the 40s over the next week, so soon my backyard will be mush and Gaby will have very muddy paws.
Walk after coffee, followed by laundry and some writing. Worry is always there.
@OzarkHillbilly: I really dropped the ball when that happened to King after his buddy Mickey died. I mean, he got an ulcer when Mom went into the hospital and didn’t come home. Luckily, when I took him in to the vet, she knew what was happening. She mentioned a little girl dog that they found tied to the office front door the previous day, and thought King and she might get along. Brought Gaby home a few days later and yes, a new buddy was just what King needed.
Gaby stopped eating her regular food a few days after King died, but she didn’t appear to go through the same lost-and-worried phase.
18.
Kalakal
I love those photos.
In another source of balm for the soul
The Library of Trinity College Dublin has opened up its new super digitisation
of The Book of Kells to the world for free
@narya: I understand cleaning the house, I ended up hiring a cleaning lady before my surgery. Something about an orderly house makes me feel ready for almost everything.
I hope you have lots of food stored up. Your body will need protein to knit itself together.
Wishing you a complication-free surgery and a speedy recovery. Keep us updated when you can.
I like how patriots in Ukraine defend their Capitol, instead of attacking it.
— ALICIA (@aliciawins28) February 25, 2022
28.
narya
@Ohio Mom: @debbie: Thank you all for your good thoughts! I’m trying to maintain a “chop wood, carry water” approach. And trying to remember to stand up and stretch and take deep breaths to unwind a little of the AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! my brain is doing in the background.
Condolences on the death of your mother. ? That’s a hard thing.
32.
Yarrow
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Lol. These guys driving the trucks are just doing their jobs. It’s the management that sends them there. I kind of feel bad for them because they just want to do their job. But also I don’t want property destroyed or another electric pole taken out and wires on the ground again. It’s dangerous. So the minute I hear the heavy diesel truck idling sound it’s out the door I go. Again.
33.
JPL
@narya: If you get stressed remember to look at this post again. The ducks are amazing.
@Gin & Tonic: I think the Ukranian’s overall resolve has surprised a lot of people. Breaks my heart and inspires me all at once. I hope the world takes note and those that are praising Putin (I’m looking at you GOP) are rightfully shunned and shamed for backing a madman.
35.
Gin & Tonic
I’m seeing reports that Germany has come around and approved sending weapons to Ukraine.
36.
Yarrow
@narya: Wishing you the best for your surgery. A friend who just had surgery hired a house cleaner and says it has made a huge difference to the way she feels. The house is clean and she can relax more. She says it’s worth every penny.
@Karen S.: Happy birthday! So sorry about your mom. All the firsts – holidays, birthdays – can be really hard. Enjoy being with those you love.
39.
Gin & Tonic
@O. Felix Culpa: While it is inspiring that the National Bank of Ukraine is funneling donations to the armed forces, some of us have serious concerns about that. If things go wrong, those funds could be frozen/seized by the aggressor. Independent charitable organizations are more likely to be able to get the funds distributed quickly, and are more likely to have means to shelter the funds if things get bad.
@Karen S.: Deepest condolences. I lost my mom in November and I understand the void. Everything is just monochrome right now, but friends who have gone through this before me, reassure me that it will lift and memories of her will bring smiles. Until then, I find comfort in cooking recipes of hers that I’ve always loved. And talking with my brothers and dad about her.
I hope celebrating your birthday with your family and friends brings you joy and comfort. [[[hugs]]]
The one of the cat curled up asleep in the hills overlooking the tiny railroad yard is reminiscent of some Godzilla-like movie.
Or like a somewhat more peaceful version of the Giant Military Cats Twitter feed.
42.
eclare
@zhena gogolia: I noticed that too! The ducks definitely know the word snacks.
Just cleaning and household chores here, in between keeping up with Ukraine.
43.
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Also seeing that most European countries now support cutting off Russia from SWIFT. Hungary is on board with it, which surprised me some.
.@POTUS on Donald Trump calling Putin “savvy” and “genius” amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: “I put as much stock in Trump saying that Putin’s a genius as I do when he called himself a stable genius.” pic.twitter.com/H1Q1UVK8r9
@JPL: I’ve already sent the post to two friends! One is going through a really hard day (sudden death of a close friend; funeral today) and the other has a son who lived in Japan for awhile.
@Yarrow: Thank you! Getting through all the firsts will be hard, but there’s nothing to be done about that except relish the wonderful memories I have of her.
48.
Karen S.
@TaMara: One thing I’m going to do, maybe sometime next week, is make lemon curd using the double boiler my mom let me have late last year. It was one of her wedding presents (back in 1956) and I remember her doing things like melting chocolate and making hollandaise sauce in it. The pots are a little dented but otherwise solid. I’ve never made lemon curd before so it’ll be a pleasant little adventure.
49.
Yarrow
@TaMara:
There’s still a long way to go of course but at this point this observation seems accurate:
Putin’s unprovoked war has turned Volodymyr Zelenskyy into a resistance hero, strengthened NATO, united EU and the US, decimated support for Putin’s regime, exposed the remaining apparatchiks in the West, and gave his opposition a common cause with the international community. pic.twitter.com/UYhEOoRFZ5
— Morten Øverbye (@morten) February 26, 2022
@Karen S.: Yes. The end point of grief is acceptance but there are so many ups and downs and other steps before you get there. Be kind to yourself and just hold on when one of the roller coasters of emotions hits. Hugs.
54.
eclare
@OzarkHillbilly: My Sophie would race to Dante’s favorite chair first thing every morning to see if he was there for weeks after he died.
55.
Calouste
@Gin & Tonic: Which is a bigger thing than it seems at first sight, because Germany also kept a veto on all the weapons they originally sold to prevent them from ending up in war zones, which prevented other countries from sending them to Ukraine.
In other news, the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from international sports is gaining pace, with matches against those countries and events in those countries being cancelled in F1 racing, soccer, basketball, skiing, and chess by my latest count.
56.
Yarrow
@TaMara: TaMara, I did not know you lost your mom in November. Deepest condolences.
57.
JPL
@Karen S.: My condolences. I know it’s still difficult for my DIL, especially on holidays. It will get easier, but it takes a long time. Give yourself time.
58.
narya
@Karen S.: That’s so sweet. And I love the phrasing: “let me have.” Those interactions are so lovely; I hope their memory is a blessing for you.
59.
germy
I thought it would be cute to tuck in the cat and now it just looks like he’s having a late night crisis pic.twitter.com/pRj7TFVLEj
The irony of Russia, which weaponized social media against the west, having to shut off access to social media inside Russia to prevent its citizens from seeing the truth of what’s happening in Ukraine.
In Russia, a planned partial Facebook shutdown; Twitter appears to be shut in Moscow too; media watchdog on a warpath against any media reporting anything from non-state sources about this conflict. Russia is being cut off from the truth https://t.co/pEle1jmStX
— Polina Ivanova (@polinaivanovva) February 26, 2022
65.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: I suspect everyone is seeing the writing on the wall here, even those who are more natural allies of Putin. If the invasion had succeeded quickly it’s possible that support would have been harder to get. It dragging on like this makes Putin look weak and gives public support for Ukraine time to build. Ukraine’s heroism and sacrifice is also really hard to dismiss and is extremely visible.
No one wants to side with a crazed dictator who may end up losing control of his country and at the very least will become a complete pariah to the global community if they want to stay part of that community themselves. Even China and India are distancing themselves some. They both abstained instead of voting against that UNSC resolution. And Putin’s losing Xi.
We’ll see a similar dynamic with businesses and sports. There was intial hesitation to start pulling things, but it’s increasingly ramping up the longer this goes on. Sticking with Russia is an increasingly isolating place to be as everyone else starts running away from them. That’s untenable for most organizations that are even mildly sensitive to public opinion.
66.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: That’s not ironic. Russia knows better than anyone how dangerous social media is.
On my mind today
“It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would rather have stayed there in peace.”
68.
The Dangerman
@Yarrow: I’m amazed this morning. This has a damn long way to go but sure seems like Putin has fucked up massively. The comparable equivalent of “sure, let me have some more of that gas station sushi“ kinda fuck up.
I wonder if Russia sends anyone to the Paralympics. They are about to start.
70.
Yarrow
@Eolirin: Russia funded social media companies like Facebook and as a result have been allowed to spew their disinformation all over the place. They have had significant influence over the behavior of companies like Facebook. And now they can’t control it in their own country.
Okay, I’ve avoided it long enough, must start cleaning. LOL, I just looked in the living room and every pillow and stuffed animal is strewn across the floor. That’s what happens when the dogs have been housebound all week. I’m just going to walk on by that mess for now.
Writer friends, in case it helps you as it helps me – I’ve found two free text-to-speech websites that really help with my writing. I’ll listen while I work today – it is very useful in helping me find the weak spots in my story (it also keeps me seriously focused when I’m going back to read/edit – my mind wanders less if that British voice is droning on along with me).
72.
Eolirin
@The Dangerman: While control of Ukraine is still in doubt, he’s certainly made his position on every other strategic objective he may have had much much worse.
I struggle to think of another historical example that’s this magnitude of unforced error.
73.
zhena gogolia
I just listened to Zelenskyy’s address to Russia. God, what a man. I’m learning Ukrainian from listening to him.
74.
zhena gogolia
@Yarrow: I was almost (almost!) tempted to join Facebook because I heard of the outpouring of Russian statements there.
@Gin & Tonic: It is as if the US government went down, and Steven Colbert led the charge against the invaders—and did a kickass job of it.
If Zelensky survives, he will never have to run for re-election. And if he dies, he will be a national hero.
Putin will go down in history as a piece of shit thug. I hope he dies, and soon.
77.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: Russia never could really control Facebook, just make sure it was allowed to be used in a way that let it be weaponized. But in doing so they also made it so it could be weaponized against them too. They’re preemptively shutting that down. It won’t just be the natural reporting that’s of concern, US intelligence agencies can do what the Russians do too. Right now it’d be pretty easy for us to apply pressure on the fracture lines around the invasion.
Facebook is an equal opportunity platform for social disruption.
@Steeplejack: Rush hour tomorrow in Downtown Kiev is going to be a bitch with all those road closures.
80.
Calouste
@Baud: Well, see Eolirin’s post at 65. It’s about normalizing the exclusion and isolation of Russia and making it harder to stand by them. First a trickle, then a flood.
@Yarrow: To be clear, I meant with respect to state sponsored psyops and disinformation campaigns.
I don’t think they’d do shit about it if US intelligence agencies started fomenting social division in Russia or anywhere else. They’re fundamentally mercenary about it.
@Steeplejack: I’m using TTSReader right now – and also Natural Readers. I have thought about getting a subscription, but I need to find one that the subscription voices are much better than the free ones. On these two websites, the subscription voices are only moderately better than the free readers.
86.
narya
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I’ve been thinking about LOTR a lot as well. For all of the problematic aspects of it, I have always appreciated JRRT’s approach to war, informed as it was (I assume) by his own experience of it. It is far and away my biggest objection to Jackson’s films: he glorifies war WAY too much, whereas the books make it clear, over and over again, that it is never the first choice.
87.
The Dangerman
@Eolirin: If I’m remembering history well enough, the soldiers coming home from Afghanistan in boxes led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. And that war wasn’t instagrammed (and I’m blown away that Google Maps picked up the start of this thing). I’ve seen the reported mobile crematoriums. Are they really going to tell Mothers/Wives that Yuri went to Ukraine and got lost and they can’t find him?
88.
Yarrow
@Eolirin: Maybe. But that Russian money is still working hard at Facebook. Zuckerberg is owned by them. How he’ll pay going forward I’m not sure.
89.
Gin & Tonic
@brendancalling: As seen on Twitter “KGB pensioner loses information war to comedian with smartphone.”
90.
Gin & Tonic
@The Dangerman: Yes. No body bags went home from Syria, none will go home from Ukraine.
91.
Xennial Dysentery Dodger (fka texasboyshaun)
I cackled when I saw the second cat pic! It’s so cute and funny.
92.
Eolirin
@narya: The books were a little inconsistent about the war messaging given that the orcs and the rest of Sauron’s forces were irredeemably evil and set on mass genocide of everyone that wasn’t them. There never were any other real choices presented in the face of that, and everyone who pushed for an alternative to conflict ended up either being shown to have made a huge mistake or being evil. The books are also really clear on the necessity of fighting against evil.
I feel like the films do try to capture a little bit of the horror of conflict and the damage caused by it, but they’re still basically action fantasy movies targeting a teen+ audience, so there’s a limit to how much they can push that.
93.
Gin & Tonic
One for this crowd. Guy in Kyiv carrying his fish and his cat. And his Kalashnikov.
@zhena gogolia: Heh, the Godzilla scale accurately portrays cats’ oversized influence on our lives fersure, love it!
95.
Spanky
@Gin & Tonic: In fact, merely the report in Russian media of mobile crematoriums is a score for Ukraine in the info wars. It wouldn’t even need to be true.
96.
Ogliberal
Open thread so I will vent. Very careful Covid folks here. Kid has pre-condition so maybe even more careful. Work from home, homeschool – easy to avoid shit. Had chance unmasked encounter – a few seconds – with unmasked cop Covid positive neighbor. Family goes through 2-3 weeks of Covid shit and son gets Crohn’s flare-up that he hadn’t had in years. Triggered by Covid. And now we’re back in the mess of dealing with that. Anybody have Crohn’s, with the associated RA join pain? Not fun.
All these back to normal folks? Fuck you. Just go fucking beat yourself with a stick. My son would probably prefer that v. what he’s going through. Fuck you.
Cobb asked why the video from the Ukrainian President was so effective
jelani cobb (@jelani9) tweeted at 9:10 AM on Sat, Feb 26, 2022:
I’m curious: what exactly do you think makes this Zelensky video such effective political communication? I have my theories but I’m curious about yours.
(https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/1497589864665026567?s=02)
Here is a good reply:
A Shady Dame From Seville (@SorayaMcDonald) tweeted at 9:18 AM on Sat, Feb 26, 2022:
Most people don’t see what this kind of courage looks like. They see histrionics from folks who aren’t actually oppressed all the time.
@rikyrah: that entire Cobb thread is great. Thanks for pointing me to it.
107.
Yarrow
@Bex: There’s a gazillion replies in that thread. Can you link it?
108.
narya
@Eolirin: Yup. Fully agree. War became a necessity because it was a fight against genocidal evil. My List of Grievances with Jackson’s Version is . . . perhaps a little longer than it should be, but to me so much flows from him choosing to spend so much screen time on battles. Shorten all of that by a bit and suddenly there’s time for other things (cough#scouring of the shire#cough) that are more to the point.
109.
Bex
Can’t link it, but it’s not far down from the top. I imagine it’s on Kinzinger’s Twitter feed also.
So the minute I hear the heavy diesel truck idling sound it’s out the door I go. Again.
So perhaps you should insist the local government put up a sign, “No Large Trucks” or “Road Not Suitable For Large Trucks” both of which are common around here, many city streets cannot support a tractor trailer backing up at all.
Even streets that carry a huge amount of passenger traffic can’t handle anything larger than a small box truck for local deliveries.
But Zelensky, who looks mad regular, is like, “pull up then, n—.”
I don’t understand what the bolded part is referring to. ??
113.
Kalakal
@Miss Bianca: No, I’ll have to look out for it. A fun fact is that one of the perks of studying Library Science at Trinity is the students get to do the daily Turn The Page event. A friend of mine described as being the simultaeneously the most wonderful and scariest event in her life. The thought of damaging it kept her awake for days
114.
Mike E
@WaterGirl: It’s an expression of solidarity, a call to rally…a welcome! to fellow travellers
I use the voice on my MacBook laptop. One voice pauses to take a breath every few lines. I almost fell off my chair the first time that happened.
119.
Mike E
@debbie: did NPR also get these disgruntled Russian athletes to comment on Biden’s weak response to the crisis because that would be so on point with their sh¡tty coverage, heh
120.
Yarrow
@J R in WV: The trucks already shouldn’t be there. They show up anyway.
A year ago or so we had some entertainment when a large tractor-trailer moving truck took a corner poorly on a clearly marked tight dog-leg turn. It got stuck in a deep ditch and shut down streets in four directions. Had to call the huge specialized tow truck to get it out. Took most of a day.
Then there was the time the huge truck delivering cars to a dealership got lost and showed up in the neighborhood. Couldn’t take corners, took off a huge tree branch and damaged some of the vehicles it was carrying and then it got stuck in an overhead power line and one wheel went into a ditch. Shut down multiple streets. The fire department, power company and a specialized tow truck had to be called. Took until midnight before it all got dealt with.
I’m not that much of a hip-hop head, but I’ve grown up with it — and that video message put me DIRECTLY to mind of so many great “me and my crew/posse” videos I’ve seen over the years.
And that’s an old, old message in Human terms, arguably the oldest in many ways, the one that allows us to bond and build civilizations (or tear them down). That ideal of a Band of Brothers (and Sisters!) who will stand tall against any threat? Yeah, feed me more of that, says the guy who wore out one of his actual BAND OF BROTHERS DVDs.
Zelensky is media canny, I suspect, in the same way we attribute to Reagan — or, in a very different and far more morally-charged way, MLK was, esp. early on. (Although I must add I don’t know how much of this is his deliberate idea, as opposed to circumstance playing into him putting the right foot, forward. I suppose history’ll tell.)
Putin and his cronies should have pushed harder to cut Ukraine off from comms to the world; if he was as smart and capable as his rep has been, he’d have a correct dossier and predicted this from Zelensky. That he didn’t I suspect says a lot about his actual capabilities, as much as the war on the ground does.
(Oh man, I hadn’t heard THAT version yet, just the OG video. [I’m home with my Partner who’s asleep for her 3rd shift Lab gig, and only just now hooked up headphones.]
Chills. Anyone who’s ever loved a hip-hop song’ll get it.)
126.
Eolirin
@narya: I think it was the right call for a blockbuster film series, but I hear you.
Thanks, that’s the one I saw this morning, but I know several are floating around. He really is one brave man, knowing Putin’s looking to rip him limb from lime.
128.
Bex
@Steeplejack: No it’s two kids, girl holding a stuffed animal and boy saluting as Ukranian tanks roll by.
129.
Eolirin
@debbie: Well of course they do, they’re weak as fuck and on some level they know it.
Comment function is fucked up; won’t let me embed the link.
131.
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: OMG. All these images from Ukraine are making me laugh and cry at the same time.
132.
Kattails
@Karen S.: deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother, that must still be very raw. I hope you manage to have a pleasant birthday despite that.
Good luck with the lemon curd, it just needs care in the timing. I used to make it when I was doing desserts for a restaurant. I’d make no-bake cheesecake (Mel’s Kitchen has a good recipe), loose-bake Graham cracker crumbs, layer it all in parfait or wine glasses with blueberries in top. Turned heads every time it was served. Good for minis, too, in little jars. Imma into desserts….
However, contrary to popular belief, the poem My Boy Jack does not allude to the wartime loss of his son, rather it was written about the death of Jack Cornwell, the youngest sailor killed at the Battle of Jutland.
zhena gogolia
Oh, thanks for the humor and balm to my spirit!
I love the way the ducks fall silent at the word “Snacks.”
O. Felix Culpa
At this moment, I’m finishing my now-cold cup of coffee and catching up on Balloon Juice. Then I’ll do some preparatory cooking and baking for tomorrow’s brunch, and as little housecleaning as I can get away with before the guests arrive.
zhena gogolia
The one of the cat curled up asleep in the hills overlooking the tiny railroad yard is reminiscent of some Godzilla-like movie.
ETA: I’m trying to grade papers and read Dostoevsky in between worrying about Ukraine (and Russia, TBH).
O. Felix Culpa
@zhena gogolia: Yup, the worry about Ukraine is a constant.
Raoul Paste
Man, these ducks are high maintenance
OzarkHillbilly
“Bridge out”
Lyrebird
@zhena gogolia: Thanks for all your input and translations in the past few days, Mrs. Gogol.
Yes same here only need to make a conference poster rather than read difficult novels.
Yeppers. I let myself Google to see if Navalny is still alive – YES – and found this great article from Time. In between praying for the people of Ukraine I also pray for all the families of those demonstrating in Russia, and the soldiers’ families everyowhere. Okay back to grading.
narya
I’m getting a covid test and doing the rest of the stuff to get ready for surgery. Tidying, taking out the garbage, recycling, and compost. All the laundry. Get some exercise (since I spent yesterday dealing with a proposal that was due and a team member that didn’t get it all done). Trying not to grind my teeth. LOVE the cat story!!
Yarrow
Keeping assholes from taking out a fence by driving a too huge truck and trailer into a space that it won’t fit. Previously a fence has been destroyed and an electric pole has been damaged because these idiots think a large vehicle can fit. It can’t.
I’m the crazy person who goes out and yells at them when they try. They also destroy property on the other side of the street as they attempt maneuvers. They have also hit vehicles parked on the road.
It’s an utter mess and it takes someone like me yelling at them and taking pictures and videos on my phone of the truck, license plates and contact info on the door to get them to stop. Ugh. Stressful.
Starfish
@narya: Good luck on your surgery.
TaMara
@Raoul Paste: LOL, you have no idea. Actually, during good weather it usually takes me 20 minutes a day to take care of them.
But this cold weather, it’s a constant all day. “is their water frozen?” “do they have enough shavings in the coop?” “is it too cold for them to be in the yard and do they need to go back in the coop?”
And if it’s too cold for the pools to be filled, I hand fill two litter boxes for them to splash around in.
I can’t wait for warm weather. Luckily, they are so entertaining, especially during these high-stress times, it’s all worth it.
RandomMonster
Thanks for these stories. I have to go do some writing for a client which will be quite boring.
Karen S.
Celebrating my birthday today, the first I’ll celebrate without my mother who died two weeks ago. I’m having dinner with my wife, my dad, my brother and his partner, and a few family friends. It’ll be strange and, perhaps, a little sad. I just want to be around people I love.
Thanks for posting about the cats that saved a restaurant. Lovely story.
narya
@Starfish: Thanks–I’m first on the docket (arrival at 5:45 am), and am glad of that.
OzarkHillbilly
I know this will surprise exactly no one here:
Dogs experience a form of mourning when another dog in the household dies
Percy certainly had a hard time with the loss of Woof. He went days without eating on several occasions.
Kristine
Needed that cat story.
Finishing breakfast coffee. It’s le weekend, so I made gingerbread French toast and sausage. Bourbon barrel maple syrup ftw.
It snowed here in NE Illinois Thursday into Friday–looks like I received 3-4 inches of heavy powder. But it will be warming into the 40s over the next week, so soon my backyard will be mush and Gaby will have very muddy paws.
Walk after coffee, followed by laundry and some writing. Worry is always there.
Kristine
@OzarkHillbilly: I really dropped the ball when that happened to King after his buddy Mickey died. I mean, he got an ulcer when Mom went into the hospital and didn’t come home. Luckily, when I took him in to the vet, she knew what was happening. She mentioned a little girl dog that they found tied to the office front door the previous day, and thought King and she might get along. Brought Gaby home a few days later and yes, a new buddy was just what King needed.
Gaby stopped eating her regular food a few days after King died, but she didn’t appear to go through the same lost-and-worried phase.
Kalakal
I love those photos.
In another source of balm for the soul
The Library of Trinity College Dublin has opened up its new super digitisation
of The Book of Kells to the world for free
https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/hm50tr726?locale=en
Gin & Tonic
Ukrainians having a cocktail party:
Dorothy A. Winsor
@Yarrow: You are my hero
TaMara
Lakota Man is a great follow on twitter and Zelensky is just bad-assed.
O. Felix Culpa
@Gin & Tonic: Brave and resourceful people.
Gin & Tonic
@TaMara: He has surprised many, many people.
Ohio Mom
@narya: I understand cleaning the house, I ended up hiring a cleaning lady before my surgery. Something about an orderly house makes me feel ready for almost everything.
I hope you have lots of food stored up. Your body will need protein to knit itself together.
Wishing you a complication-free surgery and a speedy recovery. Keep us updated when you can.
debbie
@zhena gogolia:
My favorite photo! It would be perfect for a caption contest.
debbie
@narya:
Wishing you the best of luck on Monday.
debbie
narya
@Ohio Mom: @debbie: Thank you all for your good thoughts! I’m trying to maintain a “chop wood, carry water” approach. And trying to remember to stand up and stretch and take deep breaths to unwind a little of the AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! my brain is doing in the background.
debbie
O. Felix Culpa
From Timothy Snyder on twitter, so presumably trustworthy:
And a link to the list itself.
Steeplejack
@Karen S.:
Condolences on the death of your mother. ? That’s a hard thing.
Yarrow
@Dorothy A. Winsor: Lol. These guys driving the trucks are just doing their jobs. It’s the management that sends them there. I kind of feel bad for them because they just want to do their job. But also I don’t want property destroyed or another electric pole taken out and wires on the ground again. It’s dangerous. So the minute I hear the heavy diesel truck idling sound it’s out the door I go. Again.
JPL
@narya: If you get stressed remember to look at this post again. The ducks are amazing.
TaMara
@Gin & Tonic: I think the Ukranian’s overall resolve has surprised a lot of people. Breaks my heart and inspires me all at once. I hope the world takes note and those that are praising Putin (I’m looking at you GOP) are rightfully shunned and shamed for backing a madman.
Gin & Tonic
I’m seeing reports that Germany has come around and approved sending weapons to Ukraine.
Yarrow
@narya: Wishing you the best for your surgery. A friend who just had surgery hired a house cleaner and says it has made a huge difference to the way she feels. The house is clean and she can relax more. She says it’s worth every penny.
zhena gogolia
@debbie: Right on!
Yarrow
@Karen S.: Happy birthday! So sorry about your mom. All the firsts – holidays, birthdays – can be really hard. Enjoy being with those you love.
Gin & Tonic
@O. Felix Culpa: While it is inspiring that the National Bank of Ukraine is funneling donations to the armed forces, some of us have serious concerns about that. If things go wrong, those funds could be frozen/seized by the aggressor. Independent charitable organizations are more likely to be able to get the funds distributed quickly, and are more likely to have means to shelter the funds if things get bad.
TaMara
@Karen S.: Deepest condolences. I lost my mom in November and I understand the void. Everything is just monochrome right now, but friends who have gone through this before me, reassure me that it will lift and memories of her will bring smiles. Until then, I find comfort in cooking recipes of hers that I’ve always loved. And talking with my brothers and dad about her.
I hope celebrating your birthday with your family and friends brings you joy and comfort. [[[hugs]]]
dmsilev
@zhena gogolia:
Or like a somewhat more peaceful version of the Giant Military Cats Twitter feed.
eclare
@zhena gogolia: I noticed that too! The ducks definitely know the word snacks.
Just cleaning and household chores here, in between keeping up with Ukraine.
Yarrow
@Gin & Tonic: Also seeing that most European countries now support cutting off Russia from SWIFT. Hungary is on board with it, which surprised me some.
TaMara
Hello? 911? I’d like to report a murder:
narya
@JPL: I’ve already sent the post to two friends! One is going through a really hard day (sudden death of a close friend; funeral today) and the other has a son who lived in Japan for awhile.
Kalakal
@Gin & Tonic: It seems so, that’s a major shift
Karen S.
@Yarrow: Thank you! Getting through all the firsts will be hard, but there’s nothing to be done about that except relish the wonderful memories I have of her.
Karen S.
@TaMara: One thing I’m going to do, maybe sometime next week, is make lemon curd using the double boiler my mom let me have late last year. It was one of her wedding presents (back in 1956) and I remember her doing things like melting chocolate and making hollandaise sauce in it. The pots are a little dented but otherwise solid. I’ve never made lemon curd before so it’ll be a pleasant little adventure.
Yarrow
@TaMara:
There’s still a long way to go of course but at this point this observation seems accurate:
luc
Ukrainian Tweet with options to help
https://twitter.com/Skiminok/status/1497398695578460167?t=eguyH_C6NMsnUNXEiejXXw&s=19
eclare
@Karen S.: I’m so sorry about your mom. In my experience birthdays are hard without parents. I’m glad you have people to gather with.
JPL
@TaMara: I cheered after hearing that.
Yarrow
@Karen S.: Yes. The end point of grief is acceptance but there are so many ups and downs and other steps before you get there. Be kind to yourself and just hold on when one of the roller coasters of emotions hits. Hugs.
eclare
@OzarkHillbilly: My Sophie would race to Dante’s favorite chair first thing every morning to see if he was there for weeks after he died.
Calouste
@Gin & Tonic: Which is a bigger thing than it seems at first sight, because Germany also kept a veto on all the weapons they originally sold to prevent them from ending up in war zones, which prevented other countries from sending them to Ukraine.
In other news, the exclusion of Russia and Belarus from international sports is gaining pace, with matches against those countries and events in those countries being cancelled in F1 racing, soccer, basketball, skiing, and chess by my latest count.
Yarrow
@TaMara: TaMara, I did not know you lost your mom in November. Deepest condolences.
JPL
@Karen S.: My condolences. I know it’s still difficult for my DIL, especially on holidays. It will get easier, but it takes a long time. Give yourself time.
narya
@Karen S.: That’s so sweet. And I love the phrasing: “let me have.” Those interactions are so lovely; I hope their memory is a blessing for you.
germy
Calouste
@Gin & Tonic: It’s amazing how easy it is to become a hero if you’re a basically decent, honest human being. Instead of a lying sniveling coward.
Baud
@TaMara:
Damn, that’s good.
Baud
@Calouste:
Don’t forget Eurovision!
germy
Old friends:
Yarrow
The irony of Russia, which weaponized social media against the west, having to shut off access to social media inside Russia to prevent its citizens from seeing the truth of what’s happening in Ukraine.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: I suspect everyone is seeing the writing on the wall here, even those who are more natural allies of Putin. If the invasion had succeeded quickly it’s possible that support would have been harder to get. It dragging on like this makes Putin look weak and gives public support for Ukraine time to build. Ukraine’s heroism and sacrifice is also really hard to dismiss and is extremely visible.
No one wants to side with a crazed dictator who may end up losing control of his country and at the very least will become a complete pariah to the global community if they want to stay part of that community themselves. Even China and India are distancing themselves some. They both abstained instead of voting against that UNSC resolution. And Putin’s losing Xi.
We’ll see a similar dynamic with businesses and sports. There was intial hesitation to start pulling things, but it’s increasingly ramping up the longer this goes on. Sticking with Russia is an increasingly isolating place to be as everyone else starts running away from them. That’s untenable for most organizations that are even mildly sensitive to public opinion.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: That’s not ironic. Russia knows better than anyone how dangerous social media is.
Dorothy A. Winsor
On my mind today
“It was Sam’s first view of a battle of Men against Men, and he did not like it much. He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man’s name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would rather have stayed there in peace.”
The Dangerman
@Yarrow: I’m amazed this morning. This has a damn long way to go but sure seems like Putin has fucked up massively. The comparable equivalent of “sure, let me have some more of that gas station sushi“ kinda fuck up.
Baud
@Eolirin:
I wonder if Russia sends anyone to the Paralympics. They are about to start.
Yarrow
@Eolirin: Russia funded social media companies like Facebook and as a result have been allowed to spew their disinformation all over the place. They have had significant influence over the behavior of companies like Facebook. And now they can’t control it in their own country.
TaMara
Okay, I’ve avoided it long enough, must start cleaning. LOL, I just looked in the living room and every pillow and stuffed animal is strewn across the floor. That’s what happens when the dogs have been housebound all week. I’m just going to walk on by that mess for now.
Writer friends, in case it helps you as it helps me – I’ve found two free text-to-speech websites that really help with my writing. I’ll listen while I work today – it is very useful in helping me find the weak spots in my story (it also keeps me seriously focused when I’m going back to read/edit – my mind wanders less if that British voice is droning on along with me).
Eolirin
@The Dangerman: While control of Ukraine is still in doubt, he’s certainly made his position on every other strategic objective he may have had much much worse.
I struggle to think of another historical example that’s this magnitude of unforced error.
zhena gogolia
I just listened to Zelenskyy’s address to Russia. God, what a man. I’m learning Ukrainian from listening to him.
zhena gogolia
@Yarrow: I was almost (almost!) tempted to join Facebook because I heard of the outpouring of Russian statements there.
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
Interesting parallel:
Pictures in thread.
brendancalling
@Gin & Tonic: It is as if the US government went down, and Steven Colbert led the charge against the invaders—and did a kickass job of it.
If Zelensky survives, he will never have to run for re-election. And if he dies, he will be a national hero.
Putin will go down in history as a piece of shit thug. I hope he dies, and soon.
Eolirin
@Yarrow: Russia never could really control Facebook, just make sure it was allowed to be used in a way that let it be weaponized. But in doing so they also made it so it could be weaponized against them too. They’re preemptively shutting that down. It won’t just be the natural reporting that’s of concern, US intelligence agencies can do what the Russians do too. Right now it’d be pretty easy for us to apply pressure on the fracture lines around the invasion.
Facebook is an equal opportunity platform for social disruption.
Steeplejack
@TaMara:
What are the websites?
Spanky
@Steeplejack: Rush hour tomorrow in Downtown Kiev is going to be a bitch with all those road closures.
Calouste
@Baud: Well, see Eolirin’s post at 65. It’s about normalizing the exclusion and isolation of Russia and making it harder to stand by them. First a trickle, then a flood.
Yarrow
@Eolirin:
In theory, yes. In practice Facebook hasn’t allowed it to work that way.
Spanky
Good news from CNN!
Baud
@Spanky: Thanks, Brandon!
Eolirin
@Yarrow: To be clear, I meant with respect to state sponsored psyops and disinformation campaigns.
I don’t think they’d do shit about it if US intelligence agencies started fomenting social division in Russia or anywhere else. They’re fundamentally mercenary about it.
TaMara
@Steeplejack: I’m using TTSReader right now – and also Natural Readers. I have thought about getting a subscription, but I need to find one that the subscription voices are much better than the free ones. On these two websites, the subscription voices are only moderately better than the free readers.
narya
@Dorothy A. Winsor: I’ve been thinking about LOTR a lot as well. For all of the problematic aspects of it, I have always appreciated JRRT’s approach to war, informed as it was (I assume) by his own experience of it. It is far and away my biggest objection to Jackson’s films: he glorifies war WAY too much, whereas the books make it clear, over and over again, that it is never the first choice.
The Dangerman
@Eolirin: If I’m remembering history well enough, the soldiers coming home from Afghanistan in boxes led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. And that war wasn’t instagrammed (and I’m blown away that Google Maps picked up the start of this thing). I’ve seen the reported mobile crematoriums. Are they really going to tell Mothers/Wives that Yuri went to Ukraine and got lost and they can’t find him?
Yarrow
@Eolirin: Maybe. But that Russian money is still working hard at Facebook. Zuckerberg is owned by them. How he’ll pay going forward I’m not sure.
Gin & Tonic
@brendancalling: As seen on Twitter “KGB pensioner loses information war to comedian with smartphone.”
Gin & Tonic
@The Dangerman: Yes. No body bags went home from Syria, none will go home from Ukraine.
Xennial Dysentery Dodger (fka texasboyshaun)
I cackled when I saw the second cat pic! It’s so cute and funny.
Eolirin
@narya: The books were a little inconsistent about the war messaging given that the orcs and the rest of Sauron’s forces were irredeemably evil and set on mass genocide of everyone that wasn’t them. There never were any other real choices presented in the face of that, and everyone who pushed for an alternative to conflict ended up either being shown to have made a huge mistake or being evil. The books are also really clear on the necessity of fighting against evil.
I feel like the films do try to capture a little bit of the horror of conflict and the damage caused by it, but they’re still basically action fantasy movies targeting a teen+ audience, so there’s a limit to how much they can push that.
Gin & Tonic
One for this crowd. Guy in Kyiv carrying his fish and his cat. And his Kalashnikov.
Mike E
@zhena gogolia: Heh, the Godzilla scale accurately portrays cats’ oversized influence on our lives fersure, love it!
Spanky
@Gin & Tonic: In fact, merely the report in Russian media of mobile crematoriums is a score for Ukraine in the info wars. It wouldn’t even need to be true.
Ogliberal
Open thread so I will vent. Very careful Covid folks here. Kid has pre-condition so maybe even more careful. Work from home, homeschool – easy to avoid shit. Had chance unmasked encounter – a few seconds – with unmasked cop Covid positive neighbor. Family goes through 2-3 weeks of Covid shit and son gets Crohn’s flare-up that he hadn’t had in years. Triggered by Covid. And now we’re back in the mess of dealing with that. Anybody have Crohn’s, with the associated RA join pain? Not fun.
All these back to normal folks? Fuck you. Just go fucking beat yourself with a stick. My son would probably prefer that v. what he’s going through. Fuck you.
rikyrah
Cobb asked why the video from the Ukrainian President was so effective
jelani cobb (@jelani9) tweeted at 9:10 AM on Sat, Feb 26, 2022:
I’m curious: what exactly do you think makes this Zelensky video such effective political communication? I have my theories but I’m curious about yours.
(https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/1497589864665026567?s=02)
Here is a good reply:
A Shady Dame From Seville (@SorayaMcDonald) tweeted at 9:18 AM on Sat, Feb 26, 2022:
Most people don’t see what this kind of courage looks like. They see histrionics from folks who aren’t actually oppressed all the time.
But Zelensky, who looks mad regular, is like, “pull up then, n—.” With Ukrainian Wu Tang Clan around him. Scrappy af. Gotta respect that.
(https://twitter.com/SorayaMcDonald/status/1497591850835841033?s=02)
Miss Bianca
@Kalakal: Oh, so cool.
Have you ever seen the beautiful little movie, The Secret of Kells? I just re-watched it the other day and it’s even better than I remembered.
@Gin & Tonic: Now that’s a cocktail party!
Miss Bianca
@debbie: Ooh, snap.
Mike E
BTW I’m watching La Liga futbol and the scoreboard banner reads “no a la guerra”
Baud
I worry about the delicate ears of all the kids who will hear “Russian warship, go fuck yourself.”
MagdaInBlack
@rikyrah: I think she nailed it. Thank you for this post.
Brachiator
@Baud:
Both the reporting of the expletive and the implied criticism of Putin will be forbidden in Florida schools.
Bex
@rikyrah: Scroll down Cobb’s thread and look at the picture Adam Kinzinger posted. It’s gonna be iconic someday.
scav
Ducks are good.
Thanks.
TaMara
@rikyrah: that entire Cobb thread is great. Thanks for pointing me to it.
Yarrow
@Bex: There’s a gazillion replies in that thread. Can you link it?
narya
@Eolirin: Yup. Fully agree. War became a necessity because it was a fight against genocidal evil. My List of Grievances with Jackson’s Version is . . . perhaps a little longer than it should be, but to me so much flows from him choosing to spend so much screen time on battles. Shorten all of that by a bit and suddenly there’s time for other things (cough#scouring of the shire#cough) that are more to the point.
Bex
Can’t link it, but it’s not far down from the top. I imagine it’s on Kinzinger’s Twitter feed also.
WaterGirl
@Ogliberal: I’m so sorry. To be so careful and then this. Especially for your son. So sorry.
J R in WV
@Yarrow:
So perhaps you should insist the local government put up a sign, “No Large Trucks” or “Road Not Suitable For Large Trucks” both of which are common around here, many city streets cannot support a tractor trailer backing up at all.
Even streets that carry a huge amount of passenger traffic can’t handle anything larger than a small box truck for local deliveries.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah:
I don’t understand what the bolded part is referring to. ??
Kalakal
@Miss Bianca: No, I’ll have to look out for it. A fun fact is that one of the perks of studying Library Science at Trinity is the students get to do the daily Turn The Page event. A friend of mine described as being the simultaeneously the most wonderful and scariest event in her life. The thought of damaging it kept her awake for days
Mike E
@WaterGirl: It’s an expression of solidarity, a call to rally…a welcome! to fellow travellers
debbie
@Calouste:
Apparently, Russian tennis stars are very unhappy with the invasion (from NPR).
debbie
@TaMara:
Joe *is* the guy I want to have a beer with!
debbie
@Eolirin:
Yeah but they wuss out when the tables are turned. Pussies!
debbie
@TaMara:
I use the voice on my MacBook laptop. One voice pauses to take a breath every few lines. I almost fell off my chair the first time that happened.
Mike E
@debbie: did NPR also get these disgruntled Russian athletes to comment on Biden’s weak response to the crisis because that would be so on point with their sh¡tty coverage, heh
Yarrow
@J R in WV: The trucks already shouldn’t be there. They show up anyway.
A year ago or so we had some entertainment when a large tractor-trailer moving truck took a corner poorly on a clearly marked tight dog-leg turn. It got stuck in a deep ditch and shut down streets in four directions. Had to call the huge specialized tow truck to get it out. Took most of a day.
Then there was the time the huge truck delivering cars to a dealership got lost and showed up in the neighborhood. Couldn’t take corners, took off a huge tree branch and damaged some of the vehicles it was carrying and then it got stuck in an overhead power line and one wheel went into a ditch. Shut down multiple streets. The fire department, power company and a specialized tow truck had to be called. Took until midnight before it all got dealt with.
MisterDancer
@rikyrah: That Shady Dame has the right of it. :)
I’m not that much of a hip-hop head, but I’ve grown up with it — and that video message put me DIRECTLY to mind of so many great “me and my crew/posse” videos I’ve seen over the years.
And that’s an old, old message in Human terms, arguably the oldest in many ways, the one that allows us to bond and build civilizations (or tear them down). That ideal of a Band of Brothers (and Sisters!) who will stand tall against any threat? Yeah, feed me more of that, says the guy who wore out one of his actual BAND OF BROTHERS DVDs.
Zelensky is media canny, I suspect, in the same way we attribute to Reagan — or, in a very different and far more morally-charged way, MLK was, esp. early on. (Although I must add I don’t know how much of this is his deliberate idea, as opposed to circumstance playing into him putting the right foot, forward. I suppose history’ll tell.)
Putin and his cronies should have pushed harder to cut Ukraine off from comms to the world; if he was as smart and capable as his rep has been, he’d have a correct dossier and predicted this from Zelensky. That he didn’t I suspect says a lot about his actual capabilities, as much as the war on the ground does.
debbie
@rikyrah:
There’s no video. ??♀️
Steeplejack
@Yarrow:
Probably this photograph.
debbie
@Bex:
Apparently that’s from 2016.
MisterDancer
@debbie: Go here: https://twitter.com/SaoSasha/status/1497311531041640450 (ref. : https://twitter.com/jelani9/status/1497585203925106696)
(Oh man, I hadn’t heard THAT version yet, just the OG video. [I’m home with my Partner who’s asleep for her 3rd shift Lab gig, and only just now hooked up headphones.]
Chills. Anyone who’s ever loved a hip-hop song’ll get it.)
Eolirin
@narya: I think it was the right call for a blockbuster film series, but I hear you.
debbie
@MisterDancer:
Thanks, that’s the one I saw this morning, but I know several are floating around. He really is one brave man, knowing Putin’s looking to rip him limb from lime.
Bex
@Steeplejack: No it’s two kids, girl holding a stuffed animal and boy saluting as Ukranian tanks roll by.
Eolirin
@debbie: Well of course they do, they’re weak as fuck and on some level they know it.
Steeplejack
@debbie:
Referring to this one.
https://twitter.com/SaoSasha/status/1497311531041640450
Comment function is fucked up; won’t let me embed the link.
Miss Bianca
@Gin & Tonic: OMG. All these images from Ukraine are making me laugh and cry at the same time.
Kattails
@Karen S.: deepest sympathies on the loss of your mother, that must still be very raw. I hope you manage to have a pleasant birthday despite that.
Good luck with the lemon curd, it just needs care in the timing. I used to make it when I was doing desserts for a restaurant. I’d make no-bake cheesecake (Mel’s Kitchen has a good recipe), loose-bake Graham cracker crumbs, layer it all in parfait or wine glasses with blueberries in top. Turned heads every time it was served. Good for minis, too, in little jars. Imma into desserts….
raven
@The Dangerman: My Boy Jack by Kipling. Ruydard pushed him into the Army even though he was nearly blind. He was in Battle of Loos and was never seen nor heard from again.
raven
@ETA
However, contrary to popular belief, the poem My Boy Jack does not allude to the wartime loss of his son, rather it was written about the death of Jack Cornwell, the youngest sailor killed at the Battle of Jutland.
rikyrah
Everyone is so cute ??