A 'Dog Park' For Cat People

A couple of weeks ago Christine wrote about cat cafes (a coffee shop that has cats for you to play with) that were popping up in different cities.  I'd never heard of them, and commented that I thought I'd just stay home with my own cat.  Well, I've changed my mind.  Tonight Hubby Tony and I visited the Tenth Life Cat Rescue for their first-ever Kitty Cafe.  It was a blast!

Tenth Life was founded in 2009.  It's mission is to save stray cats and kittens in the St. Louis area, particularly those with special needs. They are a no-kill shelter, and euthanize cats only when they have reached a state of incurable suffering.

The cafe took place at Tenth Life's storefront.  When we walked up there was a volunteer standing guard outside, and another immediately inside.  At first I thought they were just being friendly and greeting everyone, but then I realized they were also watching to make sure no kitties escaped when someone opened the door.

The small room was packed with people holding cats, playing with cats, and talking about cats.  We grabbed a cup of coffee and chatted with one of the volunteers that were circulating around the room.  I learned that normally there are only six cats living there (the majority of the cats are in foster homes), but for tonight's event they'd also brought in two litters of kittens.

In addition to drinking some great-tasting coffee, I got to hold several of the kittens and pet a couple of the mature cats that had taken shelter in a tower of climbing structures that covered the front store window.  Eventually Tony and I got our fill of cat petting.  Until next time.

Five years ago today: Bad Mood Begone!

Disremember

This morning at the mall Customer Service desk I was assisting a woman who'd asked for an electric scooter.  I was chatting with her as I left the desk to get the scooter from the storage area when a second woman pushed in and asked me where a store was.

Even though she'd been rude I didn't want to stoop to her level, and I told her I'd be with her in just a minute as I continued to the storage area.  That wasn't what she wanted to hear, though.  In an even more demanding tone she repeated her question.

After almost three years at the mall I know the layout like the back of my hand, but I was so taken aback by her attitude that I had to stop and think.  I pointed her in the direction of Macy's and she went on her way.  It wasn't until I was driving the scooter to the original customer that I realized I'd made a mistake.  Bossy Woman had asked for a store on the second level.  I'd sent her towards a store on the first floor that has a similar-sounding name.

I halfway expected her to come back and complain, but she never did.

Five years ago today: News On The Run (Updated)

The Chiropractor Is Usually Right

The other day at the chiropractor office I learned how the sinuses are connected to the liver.  Sounds crazy, doesn't it?

When the doctor entered the treatment room for my adjustment, he asked me how my allergies were.  I wondered why, because I hadn't mentioned having any issues.  He said that since it was prime spring allergy season and he'd heard me sneeze a couple of times he made an assumption (which was correct).  I have very mild issues with pollen in the spring and fall.  A couple of times I week I take an antihistamine which clears everything up.

He proceeded to give me a short anatomy and physiology lesson.  I learned that histamine is a chemical substance which causes many of the symptoms of allergies. Antihistamine helps to block allergic reaction symptoms, but when the body’s histamine response function kicks in, other body systems are affected, too.

Instead of popping a pill whenever I started feeling wheezy, he suggested a supplement that would help my body's detoxification mechanisms.  Basically, if my liver was functioning well I wouldn't have allergy issues.  I was skeptical, but I've heard crazy-sounding things from the chiropractor before and they've always panned out the way he said they would.   The supplement didn't cost very much so I decided to try it.

The directions on the bottle said to take one capsule each day.  Twenty minutes after I downed one with a large glass of water I started feeling better, and my nose dried up.  I also had more energy and my headache went away.  Was it a real or placebo effect?  I didn't know, but I felt so good I decided I didn't care.

The next day I took the supplement again (and had no allergy symptoms), but the third day I decided to try an experiment and did NOT.  After lunch my eyes started watering and my nose ran.  I guess the chiropractor knew what he was talking about.  Since my allergies are so mild once things stop blooming I'll put the supplement bottle in the back of the cabinet.  I plan on keeping it handy for the fall allergy season, though.

Five years ago today: How Cool Is That?

Stop Me If You've Seen This One...

Happy 'Sinko de Mayo'!

Five years ago today: Dig It!

Temporary Use

This weekend I attended an out of town meeting at a conference center that was several hours away by car. When I got ready to go to bed on Friday night I realized I'd forgotten to put my phone charger in my suitcase.

I keep a car charger in the glove compartment, but that wouldn't help until it was time to drive home on Sunday.  (I charge my phone every day, so I knew it would lose power long before then.)  All night long I fretted over a solution to the problem.  Saturday morning I had an inspiration.  I'd heard that cell phone chargers are one of the most common left-behind items in hotels; I wondered if the front desk might be able to help me out.

I went to the front desk and asked if they had anything available.  The clerk said she believed they did.  Sure enough, she checked in the back office and came back with a charger that was the exact micro USB style I needed.  She was kind enough to let me borrow it for the weekend.

Problem solved.

Five years ago today: House Wrecker

The Rubdown

When it was time to think about lunch today I looked in the refrigerator and noticed a bunch of kale that needed to be used.  I decided to make a kale salad and serve it with salmon left over from last night's dinner.  Normally I'd remove the kale stems, wash and chop it, then add dressing and immediately eat it.  However, in the interest of trying something different today I decided to make a massaged salad.

If you've ever eaten raw kale, you know it's tough and fibrous. However, iIf you massage it with (depending on the recipe) lemon juice, olive oil, or salt it becomes softer and easier to chew.  It also makes it less bitter.

After I chopped, washed, and dried the kale I put it in a bowl and added a tablespoon of lemon juice, two tablespoons of olive oil, a big pinch of kosher salt, and some pepper.  I tossed everything together to mix it, then took bunches of kale in my hands and rubbed them together.  It only took a couple of minutes for the greens to shrink in size and become glossy.  I sampled a piece, and it had a pleasingly smooth texture.

When I was done I transferred the kale to two bowls-one for me and one for Hubby Tony to eat with his dinner.  I ended up using mine as the basis of a main dish salad; I heated up the salmon filet and flaked it on top of the kale, then added some chopped cantaloupe and a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  It was good stuff.

Five years ago today:   Mocha Mask

Happy May Day!

Here's a bouquet of virtual flowers for you to brighten your May Day.

(Want to make your own bouquet? Check out the cool program at Central Park.com)

Five years ago today: A-Tisket, A-Tasket

International Jazz Day

Did you know that today is International Jazz Day?

In honor of the day, here's a song by Arturo Sandoval, one of the world's foremost jazz trumpeters.  Hubby Tony and I were fortunate enough to see him in concert last Friday night.  He and his band blew me away!



Five years ago today: Enough, Already!

Spectating

I see some crazy things from my perch at the mall Customer Service desk...

The other day I noticed three distinguished-looking middle aged men sitting in the armchairs closest to the desk.  They were all wearing nice business clothes--dress pants, ties, and blue blazers. I was too far away to hear, but I could tell they weren't speaking in English.

Each man had a suitcase in front of him, which didn't surprise me; there are several large office buildings in the area, and we often have people in the mall going to/coming from the airport. The men were taking items out of mall store bags and packing them into their cases.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw one of the men slip off his dress shoes and take some tennis shoes and a pair of jeans out of his suitcase. I didn't think anything of it; I assumed he had to repack to make his purchases fit.

When I saw him take his belt off his dress pants, though, I started to wonder, and when he lifted his hips enough to slide his dress pants off I was completely floored! The arms of the chair and his blazer hid his body for the pants removal, but when he stepped into his jeans and briefly stood to pull them up there was a flash of his dark-blue underwear. He tucked his shirt in, then sat down to put on his tennis shoes.

It only took about 30 seconds for a Security officer to arrive. He tried to talk to the man, who shrugged his shoulders and acted like he didn't understand. With a 'don't do that again' the officer left. The men were laughing until they left five minutes later.

Five years ago today: Shake Your Moneymaker

Flip It

The Internet is full of interesting things.  For example, if you want to see your writing from a new angle, the website Flip Text lets you turn your words upside down.  To use it, you type in your text (or copy and paste) and push the "Flip Text" Button. The words appear upside down and the order of the letters is reversed, but they lose their capitalization.

Here's a sample.  The "About Me" element on the right sidebar of the blog says:

Welcome! Thanks for visiting my blog. I live in Manchester, Missouri (a suburb of St. Louis) with my husband and work at a mall Customer Service desk. Our three boys are all grown--two of them live out of town, and one is temporarily back home. We also have two cats who keep us amused with their antics.

When I flipped it I got:

˙sɔıʇuɐ ɹıǝɥʇ ɥʇıʍ pǝsnɯɐ sn dǝǝʞ oɥʍ sʇɐɔ oʍʇ ǝʌɐɥ osןɐ ǝʍ ˙ǝɯoɥ ʞɔɐq ʎןıɹɐɹodɯǝʇ sı ǝuo puɐ 'uʍoʇ ɟo ʇno ǝʌıן ɯǝɥʇ ɟo oʍʇ--uʍoɹb ןןɐ ǝɹɐ sʎoq ǝǝɹɥʇ ɹno ˙ʞsǝp ǝɔıʌɹǝs ɹǝɯoʇsnɔ ןןɐɯ ɐ ʇɐ ʞɹoʍ puɐ puɐqsnɥ ʎɯ ɥʇıʍ (sınoן ˙ʇs ɟo qɹnqns ɐ) ıɹnossıɯ 'ɹǝʇsǝɥɔuɐɯ uı ǝʌıן ı ˙boןq ʎɯ buıʇısıʌ ɹoɟ sʞuɐɥʇ ¡ǝɯoɔןǝʍ

I'm not exactly sure when I'd have a real-life use for flipped text, but it's good to know I can access it if I need it.

Five years ago today: Fīnis