Of course I had to follow the directions. When I opened up the jar I saw dozens of tea bag tabs, each with an inspirational message on them. I reached in and randomly picked this one:
In this time of social dissension, the simple tag was a great reminder that a little love makes everything go more smoothly.
If you were in charge of inspirational messages, what would your thoughts be?
Pimento has to take antibiotics for 30 days, and he had emptied the first bottle. The
animal hospital that partners with the cat shelter is in South St. Louis, a thirty
minute drive from the condo. Hubby Tony had volunteered to handle the errand,
but when I saw it was going to be the last beautiful day of the
season I asked if I could tag along.
We've been to this vet a couple of times and don't even need Google to tell us how to get there any more. After picking up the medicine we got ready to walk.
|
| Wikipedia |
We were right in the middle of the Bevo neighborhood, which is known for a windmill-shaped restaurant and beer hall built by the Busch brewing family in the early 1900s as a rest stop between the brewery and their country estate. In the 1990s the neighborhood became a hub for Bosnians fleeing from war in their country. Many of the Bosnians have now moved out to the suburbs, but there are still a several commercial places that cater to the group.
Tony and I ended up strolling for about 45 minutes. The area was a mixture of commercial and residential, with pockets of industrial thrown in. Halfway through the walk the sun was warm enough that my long sleeved fleece shirt was too hot and I was glad that there was a bottle of water waiting for me in the car.
After we started heading towards home I realized that if we killed a little extra time Tony and I would be able to have lunch at the Balkan Treat Box, a restaurant that has been on our bucket list for quite a while. It is known for its authentic Balkan street food, and has won numerous national awards. Tony pulled into a parking spot in front of the restaurant a half hour before they opened. We walked around the area, and when we arrived back at the restaurant they had just opened.
I got the vegetarian pide (Turkish flat bread) of the day, a tasty combination
of roasted kabocha squash, kale, and caramelized onions topped with date
glaze, kajmak (clotted cream made from milk), and parsley. Tony ordered cevapi
(grilled beef sausages), which were nestled into Bosnian flatbread. Next to it
were spoonfuls of kajmak and chopped onion to add to the sandwich. Both dishes
came with a side of kupus (a pickled red cabbage salad) and a pepper that
tasted like a pepperoncini. When the food came we split the entrees in half
and shared.
|
| Pide |
It would have been nice to continue the adventure after lunch but Tony
had a commitment so we headed home. When we came in the front door of the
condo Pimento was waiting for us-it was time for his lunch.
After a series of medical tests we found out Pimento had a bacterial parasite. He hasn't been outside in months, so I have no idea where he would have gotten it, but it was good to have an answer and solution to the problem.
He came home with a small bottle of steroid tablets and a liquid antibiotic. At my local pharmacy I purchased a bottle of Omeprazole (the same drug that treats acid reflux in humans, which I was surprised to learn can also used for cats). At the pet store I picked up a powdered probiotic.I have only given medications to cats a handful of times. Unlike dogs, who will eat just about anything if you wrap it in a piece of meat, cats are notoriously difficult to dose. After a little trial and error I remembered the system that works best for me.
The emergency vet wants Pimento to be on antibiotics and steroids for four weeks. Just think how proficient I'll be at administering medication by then.
Five years ago today: The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The closest Walmart store is at the south end of a large big box shopping center that has two buildings separated by a road that leads to store loading docks. Sunday is a horrible day to hit this shopping center. Traffic is difficult to navigate, and there are a lot of shoppers crossing between the parking lot and the stores.
To avoid the mess I decided to park in the northernmost section of the lot and walk to my destination. That turned out not to be the greatest idea; I had to maneuver my way around cars pulling in and out of spaces and trot across parking lanes to avoid oncoming cars.
Once inside the store I found what I was looking for and got out quickly.
I wasn't looking forward to the return walk, but as I crossed between the two mall sections I noticed the wide road behind the northern building and realized I could use it to bypass the parking lot. There was a sign that indicated it was only for commercial traffic (i.e., trucks with merchandise for the stores), but I guessed that there would be no unloading happening on Sunday afternoon and it would be safe to walk back there.
My assumption turned out to be correct. However, the loading dock road eventually dumps out onto the main road and I observed that a fair number of vehicles were ignoring the commercial traffic notification. They were also ignoring several stop signs, but the rubber speed bumps just after each stop sign slowed them down.
When I got to the main road I walked on the sidewalk to the parking lot and
back to my car.
Just to the south of our condos a new subdivision is going up. Right now there's just a street and the beginnings of three houses at the top of a hill. I've been wanting to see the lot layout, and because it was Sunday there was no construction work going on. There weren't any No Trespassing signs, so off we went.
I found out that the subdivision is one winding street with a cul-de-sac at the top. It was interesting to observe the sizes of the new builds and see how they integrated with the neighborhoods on either side. After we saw everything Tony and I walked back down the street and over to our street.
Five weeks ago today: A Cat's Bedtime PrayerToday started out brisk, but by lunchtime I was able to ditch my coat. I knew I wanted to get outside for an adventure. Hubby Tony had a dentist appointment, so I was on my own to do whatever I wanted. I decided to go explore a shopping area that's located in a tony part of town. I drive through the area more than I stop there, but I knew it had a great independent toy store, and I've started the hunt for Christmas presents for the grands.
The toy store was at the eastern end of the shopping area so I started there.
The store wasn't busy and an associate was very helpful, giving me a lot of good
ideas I can run by Tony before we decide what we want to gift. I was on my way
out of the store when I saw copies of a book I had bought for myself last
year called Mary Engelbreit's Little Book of Thanks.
The slim book is filled with quotes about thankfulness as well as the
delightful drawings that Mary Engelbreit is known for. I decided to buy one
for each of my daughter-in-laws.
The books ended up being my only purchase. However, I had a great time walking up and down the street and browsing in gift shops, charity shops, home decor shops, and clothing boutiques (where I pretended that I could afford outfits that would set me back an entire year's clothing budget).
When Tony sent me a text that he was leaving the dentist's office I decided to head home too. However, instead of going the most direct way I took a scenic route that took me past large houses on rolling acreage, which extended the adventure.
Five years ago today: TOO Close!
Back in February I completed a survey from St. Louis County 2050, which is charged with developing a comprehensive plan for the county for the next 25 years. The survey asked me what I thought about the current state of the county and how it could be better.
After I submitted my results I promptly forgot about the whole thing. Last week I received an email inviting me to an open house to review the preliminary recommendations and give feedback. In addition to letting me playing a part in the future of the county, the email also promised a free dinner.
I've never done anything like this before, but it sounded interesting. I asked
Hubby Tony if he wanted to go. He did. We put the event that was closest to
our house on the calendar.
The open house was tonight, held in the recreation complex of a county park. After signing in at a table in the hall we both got a cup that held eight push pins and a promise that once inside the room someone would explain what those pins were for.
The 'room' was a large open area. There was a table by the door holding a projector playing a slide show of charts and maps that summarized the information from the survey. Easels holding large boards were arranged in a semicircle along the far side. We learned that each board had one category of preliminary recommendations. After reviewing all of them, we were to place a push pin on the eight recommendations that we thought were the most important.
Each board had one or two members of the planning team there to answer questions. They were very knowledgeable and easy to talk with. I walked back and forth between boards several times before deciding which items would get my pins.
Shortly after Tony and I finished they announced that pizza had arrived. We went through the line and also picked up ice cream from the cooler next to the table. After eating we decided we didn't have any other questions and decided it was time to leave.
The last County comprehensive plan was adopted 40 years ago. The new one is supposed to be unveiled later this year. It will be interesting to see if any of my top priorities made the final document.
Last night shortly before bedtime we heard from the shelter that the emergency clinic was still trying to figure out what was wrong with Pimento. The doctor didn't want to send him home prematurely, but as he was feeling better Hubby Tony and I could stop by the clinic for a visit today.
When we checked in at the clinic reception desk this morning for our visit the associate told us her system indicated Pimento had been discharged and was ready to leave! Twenty minutes later a technician came out from the back with Pimento, his medicine, and paperwork. There was no bill; the shelter paid for everything.As soon as we walked into the condo Tony opened the carrier. Pimento shot out like a cannon. He skulked around looking for somewhere to hide, and eventually decided the safest place was under the bed. I went out to run some errands. When I got back it was time to give the cat his first doses of medicine.
After prodding Pimento out from under the bed and chasing him around the room Tony managed to grab him. I was ready to shove the two tiny pills and a syringe of liquid antibiotic down Pimento's throat. The procedure didn't go particularly well, but I think Pimento ingested enough to get him through to the next dose.Tony left for a while, and while I was working on dinner Pimento skulked around again looking for a different safe place. Eventually he gave up, and when Tony returned the cat had settled into his favorite spot on the couch.
A couple of hours later I ran to the grocery store to get some things to accompany tonight's meal. When I returned Tony was sitting on the couch, and the cat was sitting on his lap. Both looked satisfied.
Five years ago today: The Installation Is FreePimento was fine on Friday morning. By 10 pm that night he wouldn't eat, had thrown up some mainly digested food from lunch, and had left nothing in his litter box. (I was out for the evening, and Hubby Tony figured out in retrospect Pimento was probably lethargic starting mid-afternoon).
I contacted the shelter first thing Saturday morning. They called around to their vet partners to see if any could see him. The only option was an emergency clinic, so we took him there. Several hours later we learned that they had 'admitted' him so they could do some more tests today.We're still waiting to hear what's going on.
|
|
Infirm Pimento |
|
|
I've never been a Catherine, and never will |
And if I was inclined to switch to a new company, based on their level of detail I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be this one.
Five years ago: Virtual Sand Art
However, about three weeks ago things got wonky, and the left column started to show up underneath the posts. The last time I had this issue I fixed it by changing some HTML code. I've made several updates. Sometimes it looks like things are back to normal, but some times they don't.
If you're so inclined, could you please let me know what you see?
There is also a two-week period of no excuse in-person absentee voting, but it is usually only at the Board of Election Commissioners office. This year it was expanded to 14 locations in the metropolitan area. This option was so popular some people I know waited at a polling place an hour or more for the privilege of casting their ballot early.
That seemed crazy to me, and I decided that my plan would be to wait until Voting Day when there would be substantially more polling places (and hopefully shorter lines). Because voters can choose any polling place in the county, this morning after a chiropractor appointment I pulled up a wait time tracking website and found that the five locations closest to his office had somewhere between zero and six people in line. I headed towards the most convenient one.
The polling place was in a high school gym. It was well organized, with a line up indicator that wound around two sides of the room. However, there was no one in line and I was able to move immediately to a station. The worker scanned my ID, which told him which ballot I needed. After I had my ballot another worker directed me to a seat.
I pulled out my pre-filled sample ballot and got down to the task. Filling out all the bubbles was the hardest part. In addition to the national and state races, there were a half dozen state amendments/propositions, three county propositions, and two local ones. Including votes for a couple dozen judges that were up for retention, that was a lot of marking!
After I submitted my ballot I chose a sticker from the selection at the machine. The poll worker thanked me for coming in.
Five years ago today: Adventures In Selling And Buying
Thanks to the end of Daylight Savings Time and the early sunset it felt very late, although it was only a little after 9:00. I had the television on for noise, but my attention was mainly on my laptop screen. All of a sudden I heard a strange announcement from the screen. It said that the upcoming commercial was a paid political advertisement that by federal law the network was required to carry, it contained disturbing scenes, and viewer discretion was advised.
Just a few seconds after the ad started I saw a graphic image of an aborted baby. I picked up my laptop and held it in front of my eyes so I couldn't see anything else. All of a sudden the house felt scary. When I went to bed I turned on the lights as I went down the hall.
This morning I did research into the topic. I won't refer to the fringe Presidential candidate ad purchaser by name and increase his web presence, I found out that the vile anti-abortion ad has been running in states that have abortion measures on the ballot. The Federal Communications Commission’s rules say that stations are prohibited from rejecting or censoring political ads paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates. All they can do is include the warning statement.
The first summer Hubby Tony and I lived in our condo I got some flowers in
baskets to hang on the deck, but it didn't take me long to realize the
orientation of the building wasn't conducive to growing annuals. The deck
didn't get enough sun for them to thrive, but got too much sun for shade
lovers. My solution was to get a supply of metal flowers, which I display in
two large ceramic pots filled with pea gravel.
When the weather turns cool, instead of pulling up spent plants all I have to do is carry my 'garden' inside. I check the flower stems for rust and bundle them together, then carry everything down to the storage area. Flowers go on the shelf. Pots go on the floor
Our condo building has a buzzer system to let people in, so there will be no
trick or treaters tonight. Instead of getting a new supply of one-liners from them, I had
to search the internet for my own.
I bought 75 percent of shares in a vampire hunting business. I'm the main stakeholder.
What kind of medicine do witches use on their warts? I don't know, but it's not working.
What do you call a lost wolf? A where-wolf
What does a panda ghost eat? Bam-BOO!
What do you call a movie about zombies finding true love? A zom-com.
What’s the best thing to put into a pumpkin pie? Your teeth.
Why do vampires love baseball? They turn into bats every night.
Which position do ghosts play in soccer? Ghoul-keeper.
Five years ago: The Lee Family
The above-average numbers are doing a number on my mind and body.
Tomorrow it's supposed to be in the 80s again before rain comes through and knocks the temperatures back down to normal. I can't wait.
Every silent movie has a musical accompaniment. I expected some type of traditional organ or piano. Instead, two musicians at the front of the theater played a moody electronic score, which corresponded perfectly with what was playing on the screen and added to the eerie mood. I was caught up in the plot twists and turns. Even though I was pretty sure I knew how things would end it was still bittersweet when the movie was over.
Here's a selection of political items that have recently caught my eye.
Yes it does! Please do it.
At first I shunned the summaries, preferring to click on the old reliable hyperlinks. However, I'm starting to see the advantages of an artificially generated summary of information from multiple sources.
To see what the AI engine could do I did a search for 'Google AI Overview'
(pretty meta, right?). According to the Overview from that search, a generative AI learns patterns and
determines which links to include. It's available for some, but not all,
searches.
However, not all of the Overview information is correct, and you should do a fact check if the answer doesn't feel right. For example, in my search the Overview said you had to be signed in to your Google account. That was originally true, but changed back in August.
If you use Google for searching you can't turn off the AI Overview feature, but there are a couple of ways to get around it. One is to use the Web tab at the top of the search results just under the search box. Some browsers may not show the Overviews. Depending on your browser, you can install an extension that blocks the feature.
Did you know about the new Google feature? Have you used it? What do you think about it?
Five years ago today: What The Heck Is Cascara?`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
For some reason this skeleton walking its canine skellys across a lawn made me
think of Son Donald, who is tall and takes his two small dogs out for a walk
every day.
This tall skeleton knows its pet owner etiquette. See the poop in the
bag its holding?
This collection of Halloween inspired painted rocks is cute. (Sorry about the
glare on the top one.)
Someone left their foot in Aisle 3.
I wonder how often this dude sitting at a cash register gets mistaken for an
actual store associate?
Last night the booth organizer and I were emailing back and forth about the details. I asked her for the address. She gave me a location. Google Maps recognized the address, but said it was in a completely different part of town.
I did some internet research on the event and found out that the actual address needed to include an S (as in SOUTH). With that information I was able to find it just fine.
(And when I pointed out the discrepancy to the organizer, she apologized for forgetting that detail.)
I also like to find out if someone has commented on my comment and so will revisit the post a day or two later. In the past few weeks there are a couple of blogs where nothing from me is showing up! I like to think that I leave constructive comments but maybe I'm wrong. Or maybe Blogger is up to its old tricks again and sending things to Spam folders?
The taxi was this afternoon. When we arrived at the shelter the Operations Manager brought the carrier up from the building's Isolation room in the basement. The carrier held David, a sweet orange tabby who didn't look happy to be there.
The shelter prioritizes cats with special needs, and our passenger today certainly qualified. He had recently arrived from another location after his front leg had been amputated. Today's visit was the first one with the shelter's partner vet, who would do a physical exam, take out the staples from the surgery, and put in a microchip.
This is our second time ferrying a cat to this vet. Both the front desk and the medical staff are friendly and professional. After an initial consultation in the examination room the technician took David into the treatment area. Fifteen minutes later he was back, and happy to return to his carrier. The trip back to the shelter was uneventful.
When David gets a clean bill of health he will get to go to a foster house, and (fingers crossed) eventually to a forever home. He deserves it.
Five years ago today: He Done Her Wrong
There were multiple planning meetings over the summer and early fall, and the event was yesterday. Some things (like the menu) were the same. Some things were quite different. The biggest change was the assistance of a new church employee. He's the head janitor, but also a caterer with years of experience who operates out of the school kitchen. Early on Tony and I met with him and got some great ideas for simplifying the cooking process. Based on our conversation I typed up recipes, and made copies to tape to a shelf over the kitchen countertop.
Last year our kitchen crew prepared the sauerkraut and green beans. A group of volunteers grilled the sausage. The chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy were outsourced to a restaurant. Over the course of the 2023 event there were some issues keeping the serving trays filled with outsourced dishes, so this year we cooked the mashed potatoes and gravy in house.
There was nothing gourmet or fancy about the food. The sauerkraut and green beans came from a can. The potatoes and gravy started
off dried, but each dish was enhanced with extra ingredients. We heard several compliments from diners, and no complaints.
The
final numbers won't come in for a couple of weeks, but it will be interesting
to see how many people ate.
The caterer did all the purchasing, so I don't know how many commercial sized
cans and containers we went through, but we cooked more than last
year when we used 56 cans of green beans and 27 cans of sauerkraut.
And most interestingly, one of the kitchen workers indicated he might be interested in heading up the kitchen team next year. If he commits, Tony and I will take a step back and act as consultants.
Five years ago: Come See It!
Today a fellowship member needed some supplies that I had. She lives an hour west of my house so we arranged to meet halfway. However, when she threw out a meeting time of 3:30 pm I was annoyed; that's right in the middle of my least productive part of the day. However, she really needed the supplies so I agreed.
My route to the meeting location took me west on Interstate 44. Because I'm never out at that time I didn't realize that it was the beginning of rush hour traffic. Another annoyance. Traffic going eastbound was gridlocked for several miles, and decided I would not go home that way.
I gritted my teeth as I navigated around multiple semi trucks and a pickup that was weaving in and
out of traffic. The first four miles going west on 44 is
lined with development, but all of a sudden you enter the Forest 44
Corridor and there is a dramatic change in the scenery, with rolling
hills lined with heavy greenery and no development. That change completely
changed my attitude.
Continuing several miles down the highway I passed over the Meramec River,
which is straddled by the former city of
Times Beach
(the site of a major environmental disaster and now a state park). No
development here!
In two more miles I was at Eureka and exited the interstate.
I had made the decision not to get back on the highway. Fortunately I knew the
area well enough to take surface streets-first going north and then east. The trip
ended up being just what I needed. The first half consisted of two lane roads
that wound up, down, and around the rolling hills. Even though there was very little
traffic I didn't feel safe stopping for a photo, it was very similar to this:
|
| Pxhere |
After a turn that took me down a subdivision-lined street, the next portion of the drive skirted the perimeter of a state park. Once again there was nature to the right and left of me. I was bummed when the park ended, because the next two turns were onto heavily traveled, four lane roads. Instead of looking at the wonders of nature around me I had to concentrate on the traffic.
Five years ago today: Polite, Pleasant, Personable
The mammogram was normal. The
bone density showed that my bones needed some improvement.
I was sad but not surprised; I'm Caucasian, female, old-ish, with a thin build - all risk factors for
osteoporosis. The best way to improve bone strength is with weight bearing exercises. However, when I try to do any type of weights at the gym my left shoulder lets
me know that's not a good idea. Time to find a different solution.
I dug around in the coat closet and found a backpack. I dug around in Hubby Tony's pile of hand weights and put an appropriate-sized one in the backpack. Then we went for a walk. The weight on my back was obvious but not particularly pronounced. It was easy to carry, even up the hills.
My friend Google said I should aim to ruck two or three times a week and eventually increase my weight or walking speed. I suppose doing both wouldn't hurt either.
Five years ago today: Flip Flops Lost And Found
However, mixing hydrogen peroxide and vinegar can create peracetic acid, which
is toxic.
No one takes the time to figure out if things are true or false before the pass them on.
AARGH!
Five years ago today: "I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille"
The orders are placed online. I volunteered to coordinate the order distribution. That means I pick up the calendars at the printer, print out the invoice, and put the orders into an appropriate size bag/mailing envelope/box. The local orders get picked up, and the others are mailed.
Since the beginning of September I have fulfilled dozens of orders with only one problem. It was a doozie.
The errant order was for both shipped and local calendars. When I was packaging them I flip-flopped the numbers, and instead of mailing one I mailed ten! I didn't realized my mistake until the woman who was picking up the local order contacted me to ask why there was only one small package instead of the larger one she was expecting. I was embarrassed, but the woman was considerate about my faux pas.
Ultimately, she took the correct number of calendars from my inventory, and asked her out-of-town friend to refuse the large package so it would come back to me. I put the friend's mailing information on the singleton package and sent it on its way.
Today the postal carrier dropped off the incorrectly mailed package, which
looked like it had been through a lot. The plastic envelope had ripped, so the
Post Office placed everything in a Damaged Mail plastic bag and used quite a
bit of tape to close everything up. When I took the calendars out of the
packaging I noticed that a couple had come apart at the top where they were
glued together, but I think that can be fixed.
I can guarantee I won't make the same mistake a second time!
Five years ago: Just Me, Myself, And I
We combined our trip to the bakery with some other errands. It was a beautiful day, so after the last stop we left the car and walked the rest of the way. Earlier in the day Tony had wondered out loud what the most popular coffee drink was. I asked my friend Google, who suggested an article called "The Most Popular Coffee Drinks: Comparing Data for Countries Worldwide" on the Coffeeness website. In the interest of international affairs, instead of getting a cup of black coffee we both ordered a cappuccino (which is the most popular coffee drink in 24 countries).
It didn't take long for the associate to have our drinks ready. I enjoyed the perfect combination of espresso and steamed milk with a thick layer of milk form on top, and thanks to the caffeine I was extra energetic on the walk back to the car.