Small Talk: The Welcome Mat

[Netfoot]

Ok, so Mo and I were out and about this morning, but back home now.

First, a blood-draw at Dr. Kristi. She came in while the blood was being drawn, and she looked really tired.  "How are you?" she asked. "Better than you, by the look of it!" I replied. And she tried to hide it, but she was chortling a bit when she read my T-shirt. So I went home and got another Chocolate Orange for her. And collected my phone which I'd forgotten. And gave Mo a chance to pee.

Then PriceSmart for onions, tomatoes, 3L of olive oil... Why is "Granulated Garlic" 58% cheaper than "California Granulated Garlic", I wonder.

Then the pharmacy, the deli, and the supermarket. Where a woman jumped the queue in front of me. She looked like she wanted to argue, (wrong & strong) but I just said, "You go right ahead. As an elderly person you are going to die soon, so you need to get out of here as soon as you can!" She was not amused.

Just went to take a pee. Dropped trou and Mo jumped up, grabbed the hem of my shorts, and rrrrrriiiiirp! What ya gonna go? Just look on the bright side. He could have grabbed something more delicate.

Gonna take a nap now. Didn't sleep well last night. Couldn't close my eyes until after 2:30, and was up at 6:00 to let a rascal go out and pee. Then tried to catch a few more winks, but there was major disruption in the bed and finally gave up trying around 7:00AM.

The house is swarming with mosquitoes all of a sudden. I've checked the property for danger signs, and I'm clear. So it has to be somewhere else in close proximity to the house. If the offender doesn't rectify soon, we'll have the trucks fogging the entire neighborhood before long.

Nap!

 

[Netfoot]

Amazingly, blood test results were back in no time!

Test #1 shows the blood clots in my lungs have cleared. (But why, then, am I still short of breath?)

Test #2 says I'm "perfect" with the rat poison. Normal humans are about 1-ish but I should be between 2 and 3 to prevent more clots. I'm 2.02 which is between 2 and 3 right enough, but barely so. I'd be more comfortable seeing it at 2.9 but Dr. Kristi says she is happy with it and I don't argue with her. Well, I argue with her all the time, but not about medicine. 

So there you have it. All is well on the medical front, at least for now. And I hope her chocolate treat picks up her spirit. Because I never know which T-shirt to wear when I go see her. Just got lucky today...

Mo is complaining because I brought a glass of milk to bed and poured some of it in his little bowl. He slobbered up his milk in a  flash and now he is angry that I have some left and he doesn't. So, he is now eating the bowl in frustration. 

Edited January 12, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Went to the club today. As we approached in the track, I saw unka Rudy in front of me, so by the time we got to the parking area, he had just parked and got out, and was standing next to his jeep.

As I approached my own parking spot, I wound the window down to shout Rudy... and Mo leaped out of the window!

I slammed the brakes on to make sure he was in no danger of being run over. He hit the ground with a wallop, and limped off to see Rudy. 

I was horrified. I thought "Damn! Vet tomorrow..." But after five minutes, he seemed to be fine, running across the field like a bullet...

[Netfoot]

After watching him closely for the last 24+ hours, I'm glad to report that he shows no sign of any problem from jumping out of the car window yesterday. I don't usually drive with the window down, so it isn't a risk that he is likely to encounter again. I lowered it specifically to talk to Rudy. And I will know better than to do that again.

More news: Just had a visit from Heidi. She was dropping off Christmas presents that she didn't have a chance to pass over before. She messaged me before, so I knew she was coming, and I met her at the gate with mo running around at my feet.

She seemed quite happy to see Mo, and didn't give any indication of disapproval, by word, deed or manner. I had to pick him up so she could cuddle him a bit over the gate, and she seemed quite interested in how he came to be here. I'm pleased that she finally knows about him and is OK with it. I thought she might have known from before, because my WhatsApp avatar has been a photo of he and I (same as my avatar here) for some weeks, and we've exchanged a number of messages in that time, but it would seem she never looked at the avatar.

I took a photo of Mo today, as I was photoing the controls of my van, for a post on the S33E03 thread. Mo (naturally) insisted on coming along and ensuring quality control. So I snapped his photo as well, and added it to the same post. You may have seen it. It's not very good; Mo in stealth mode and pretty blurry.

Also took about a dozen photos of him today, trying to capture the milk-moustache and beard he was wearing, but in each photo he was little more than a blur. I was giving him more and more milk to try for another opportunity, but it just wasn't in the cards. Eventually, I ran out of milk.

[Netfoot]

More puppy-related news gleaned from Heidi (who always knows everything) which I forgot to mention 

Dotty and Buddy used to go to a vet clinic about 1km from my house. It's called The Veterinary Clinic (how original!) Or TVC for short. Very convenient. But more to the point, they had great vets on staff. Very skilled, and highly respected. But over the years the ones I knew and trusted we're slowly replaced with younger, less experienced vets that I hardly knew.

When Buddy died and Molasses came to stay, I was determined to see that Mo got the best care that I could arrange. And literally everyone urged me to switch to Central Vet.

CenVet have five great vets on staff, one of the most senior of which I actually went to school with. So, I took Mo to CenVet, and he/we became their patient. The only problem is, CenVet is 10 times further away in distance and (according to Google) 16 times further away in time.

Well, it seems that CenVet have acquired (or are acquiring) TVC! They plan to spread the experienced vets and the younger ones across both locations on a rotating schedule, so the less experienced ones are always under the supervision of two of the more experienced ones. The reorganization is to be complete within a month.

If this happens it will mean Mo can get the best of care, and we can go to either location we like, depending on which is most convenient at the time. This will mostly be TVC (or what ever it ends up being called). So we get the best vets, plus the shortest / fastest travel.

And also Sarah, the veterinary assistant who looked after Buddy so well in his final days, and cried when he died. She was the one thing I missed about TVC when we moved.

So fingers crossed that this will all come about as expected, and without undue delay. Mo is young and in good health so he may not need to see a vet for ages to come. But he is the type to leap out of a moving vehicle, so it will be reassuring to know that come what may, best veterinary care is only a minute away.

[Netfoot]

Cooked myself a meal yesterday. I usually eat the same sort of stuff every day. Stir-fried or stewed vegetables with some sort of meat. No different yesterday. Eating this way allows me to enjoy come cassava now and again. Or other carby food I'm not really supposed to eat.

It was horrible. The vegetables were fine, but the beef came out like tasteless little chunks of vulcanized rubber. I threw the lot out.

My dinner today was eggs, cooked with sausage, mushroom, sweet pepper and tomato, with an old piece of cheese from the back of the fridge. The cheese was like little chips of ceramic material and had to be chewed vigorously before they would crunch up small enough to swallow. I guess I'll have to try something else tomorrow and hope I don't screw it up completely. 

Mean time, a picture of Mo:  

He does make reading a bit of a challenge...

Edited January 15, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

I woke early this morning to take Mo out for a pee. He was limping badly from the moment he got out of bed. At one point he actually lifted the leg up and hopped along on three. I picked him up and carried him back to bed. We're having a lovely little cuddle right now.

It is the left, rear leg that he is favouring. The same one he limped on (for five minutes only and not since) on Wednesday, after jumping out of the car!

Obviously, we're off to the vet as soon as they open at 9:00. I'm quite concerned because I've examined the leg from toes to hip, gently squeezing and manipulating all the joints and he does not show any signs of discomfort. I suspect an x-ray is in the cards.

And now I feel guilty for not having taken him to the vet first thing on Thursday.

ETA:

[Netfoot]

Ok, just back from the vet.

An examination showed that he was sore in his left rear knee. They x-rayed his leg but there are no breaks or hairline cracks. Instead we have discovered he is suffering from a condition that stems from his bones growing. It is the source of what's called "growing pains" in humans. He will suffer off and on for his first year. He will grow out of it.

They had to shoot him full of something to get him to cooperate while taking the x-ray. Right now, he's staggering around like a drunk, and mostly, thankfully, snoozing it off.

They also gave him a shot of an anti-inflammatory pain killer, and I have a bunch of pills to give him. One a day for the next seven days, and the rest to be kept for such time as he may exhibit a recurrence of symptoms. 

I took the opportunity to ask the vet to check his teeth. She says his new teeth are beautiful, strong and just perfect. The canines and the rearmost teeth are still to change.

I then cheekily asked about their takeover of The Veterinary Clinic and was told it was happening, and should be operational early in February. They are retaining only one of the vets from TVC, have "poached" a vet from the RSPCA, and are bringing home one from the UK, plus they will rotate their own staff through. 

He weighed in at 20.7 lbs. 

[Netfoot]

I guess all the excitement of going to the vet had him all hyper. Since he got home again, he has been very dopey (but they did give him good drugz, don't forget) and sleeping quite a bit. And the leg is still hurting him a bit, because he is limping and even struggling to stand and walk. 

He did a poo in the house (first time in 5-6 weeks) but I didn't admonish him at all since he obviously was having trouble getting outside. I am keeping a close eye on him.

Meanwhile, I decided to make a large pot of soup. But before starting on that and mindful of the state of the beef and cheese recently used from the fridge, I decided to spring-clean the fridge first. Sitting on a small stool, I got started on the bottom shelf. The one with the two crisper drawers attached to it's bottom. 

I removed and binned some very ancient vegetables, some stale bread, a roti skin that was as hard as a cracker, some very soggy pak choy, a bag with some mouldy carrots, and a package of something so old I couldn't tell if it were animal, mineral or vegetable! Ugh! Oh, and eight cokes. They've been on there for over three years hoping that Dr. Karen would give me the OK to drink them. But apparently that ain't going to happen, so...

That left the bottom shelf clear, so I cleaned it. Had to take it out and give it a good scrubbing. What with the two crisper drawers it was quite an effort, so when it had been replaced and the vegetables packed back (two trays of tomatoes, eight bags of sweet peppers, two halves of cabbage, a few jalapenos, some carrots and two heads of pak choy) I gave it up and came away. I'll get back to the fridge after my "nap" and then start on the soup.

The thing is, I can only use the front half of that bottom shelf, because I can't see or reach the back. I have to look at getting some sort of flat tray(s) or baskets that will slide out, so I can get at the back. Inaccessibility is part of the reason why stuff ends up getting ignored until it turns to mush. As you add things to the front, older stuff ends up being pushed to the back, where it gets forgotten.

Damn, it hurt to throw those cokes away. I was sorely tempted. They would be all flat and horrible by now, right? Would taste terrible! Right?

[Netfoot]

Just received news of a pal from the old days from school, who died this morning in a hospital in Cleveland.

He'd had knee surgery some time ago, but was having some issues, so went back for additional surgery. Picked up an infection and didn't recover.

Years ago I had serious surgery here (large-area skin grafts) and spent 6 weeks recovering before I was allowed to go home. I was told that if I'd gone to the USA as had initially been considered, my chances of survival would have been lower because an air-conditioned ward was more prone to infection than the local ward with the window open and Ramier pigeons on the sill. (But what else would you expect them to say?)

His nickname was "Insect". Or just "Sek". All Bajans have a nickname. Except me, so don't ask.🤐

I remember when I was part of a crew marshalling the 1974 June 500 navigational rally, he was a competitor. He was the navigator and with his driver competed in a Morris Minor. The little 803cc engine had been swapped out of the car and replaced with a tuned 1800cc engine, with twin 1½" (I think) SU carbs. It came out of an MG-B. The vehicle was known to everyone as "The Sekmobile". The event ran from 8PM the Friday, and ended around 2PM Sunday. Four routes, with an hour and a half between. I distinctly remember their vehicle arriving at one of our checkpoints at maybe 3AM on a country road doing 100+ miles an hour with no lights at all! They had lost their electrical system earlier and had managed to get the engine going again. Because of this delay, they were late and racking up penalties at every checkpoint, so they were blowing to make up time. They said they only had to make it until dawn without hitting something...

Later, Sek used to ride a big old bike. I remember it was a Triumph Bonneville with the 750cc lump. That was a 120 MPH machine.  He always had a big sheath-knife on his leg. He could throw it from the saddle and hit a dollar bill at 20 feet. I believe he gave up the bike when he married Val.

He liked guitars. He was a photographer and processed his own B&W prints. He enjoyed the music of Gordon Lightfoot.

He was a good guy.

 

[Netfoot]

Buddy had a "Poor me! Denied all the good things in life!" face he used when ever he wanted to cajole something edible from the unwary. Mo doesn't need that face, because Mo speaks. All the time. And if he doesn't get his own way, he has a very effective whine which leaves you in no doubt how under-appreciated and neglected he is! He had two dinners, one right after the other, because he only had a tiny lunch and I was expecting him to want more than his normal dinner.

When he came back from his doctor, he was very dopey, and could hardly stand. She said they would give him something to calm him for the x-ray, but I didn't expect it to be so strong nor to last so long. I put him in bed early to sleep it off, but he jumped down and spent the afternoon sleeping under the bed. I was a little worried, but when he awoke he was fine again, and didn't seem to be in much pain if any. I have a tablet for him to take every morning for the next week.

Never got back around to the fridge. So, no soup. So, no hot dinner. Tuna mixed with chopped peppers, onion and olives, and some mayo. Spices to taste, and eat with a spoon. Mo spoke to me and ended up with a large spoonful of it for desert after his two servings of dinner.

By the way. You do know that, painful leg or not, this mornings visit to the vet was delayed for a few minutes, right? Right?

 

[Netfoot]

Mo ate his breakfast treat (sausages!) without the least clue that they contained his pain & anti-inflammatory medicine. He spent the morning acting perfectly normal. Engaging in mischief, then running away.

We went to the club and first thing we did was go for a little walk. When we were on our way back, we ran into Rudy and Aussie heading out. Dressed in protective clothing, the two of them were going off to locate a model lost yesterday. Where? In the middle of a cane-piece.

I asked why they hadn't let me know before I left home. I was in shorts, a t-shirt and my usual Crocs. There's no way I'm walking into a cane-piece dressed like that! Especially since I'm on Warfarin! No problem, they said to me. They had a clever plan, and would be able to recover the model in minutes!

So after an hour and a half of searching, a new plan was struck. We will all return on Wednesday with long trousers, long sleeves and proper footwear. And a couple other hands have also been recruited.

Anyway, Mo had a load of fun walking around our property, then rocketing around the clubhouse and strip, going to collect duncs, and demanding everyone give him ice. 

Raf was welding up the container that forms the secure area of the clubhouse. We bought it cheap because it had dents and scrapes. But these dings damage the zinc plating, and rust is the result. Periodic repair is necessary. 

So I spent a considerable portion of the afternoon trying to endure Mo didn't get a case of arc-eye. I think he's OK, but now I have caught a bit, just in the right corner of my right eye. Thankfully, not bad.

We came home, and the puppy is pooped. He ate a large dinner, and right now, he is crashed out next to me, in bed.

Speaking of dinner, I finally got that soup cooked. Before going to the club I prepared all the vegetables and left Mr. Oxo to produce a strong beef stock in the pot. Only had to light the stove as soon as we got home,  and add ingredients bit by bit so everything was ready at the same time. I say soup but I think Rachael Ray would likely refer to it as a "stoup".

It tasted fine but didn't have a host of exciting ingredients. No plantain, no brussel sprouts, string beans... And definitely no potatoes, sweet potato, yam, Tanya, cassava, breadfruit, eddoes... None of the good, tasty carbs!

Anyway, it tasted fine, and as I eat it bowl by bowl, I will add other stuff to replenish the vegetables, meats, and broth. I have a bottle of Red Dragon stout to go in as soon as there is room. I usually use Guinness but thought I'd give the Jamaicans a chance.

Found a use for the 3 liters of flat coke. Got this pot that is made of high-carbon steel, and not treated with any type of non-stick. So it rusts. And over time it can get very stained. So I sat it on a flat surface and filled it almost to the top with throw-away coke. At $2.35 a bottle you wouldn't normally be able to use the stuff like this, but since I was throwing it away anyway... No idea if it will work, but coke will make the blackest of pennies shine brightly after a period of immersion. So we'll see whether that pan is all shiny tomorrow lunchtime. If not, what have I wasted?

Need to buy salt. And maybe some veggies. And a friend keeps asking me if I have certain books he wants to read. Which I don't. So I will see what the Book Den has to say. Almost three weeks before the ladies of the book-tent return, unfortunately...

When he's confronting a long wheel-base LandRover and barking it to submission, Mo looks about the size of a mouse. But when he's laying immobile in the bed, he looks about the size of a full grown mule. And if you try to persuade him to move, he exhibits other mule-type qualities.

[Netfoot]

This morning, after a short delay for some cardio...

...we were off for a drive looking for books for unka John. He has read the first three books of a series of eight, and keeps asking me if I have any of the others. I found one book in the series, but unfortunately it is #2 which he's already read. Still, I bought it ($7) because if I can get hold of the set, I will read them myself. Gave the Book Den a list of the remaining seven, so maybe we will get lucky.

Stopped at the supermarket to buy some veggies. Got a small selection, then came home. Got salt too. Gave Mo his lunch, and added some plantain, broccoli and cucumber to the pot, and started it aboiling again. 

Turned out good. I had a bowl for lunch. Ate the first ¾ with a fork, and finished with a spoon. Will add more carrots and sweet peppers to the pot for dinner. And maybe that Red Dragon. And some extra garlic wouldn't be amis, either. Plus Bajan seasoning and a hunk of red butter? And some mince?

When I sat back after my meal, I caught a tinkling sound from outside. Now what was Mo playing with?!??

That thing is about 3" long and 2" wide. Zoom in, go ahead! Check out the razor sharp edges and corners. The dumb-ass landlord was repainting the verandah and broke a globe-light. He swept the broken glass into a pile, but instead of picking it up, he left it there for my baby to find!

More cardio to retrieve the puppy and relieve him of his toy. I cleaned the pile up and disposed of it. Mo's mouth appears miraculously undamaged. I will check him again more carefully, as soon as I can persuade him to let me.

Now to give the entire property the once-over to see if he has more bits of that globe stashed here and there.....

[Netfoot]

I found two more pieces of glass. The 2nd was about ⅔ the size of the original, and not as sharp or jagged. Found it in Mo's mouth. The 3rd piece was only about ¼ the size of the original. Found it lurking under the verandah rail. Also not particularly jagged or sharp. And as a bonus, Mo brought a different toy to bed tonight - a 2½” rusty, roofing nail with a large head. You never know what is next with him. 

More soup for dinner, fortified with additional veggies and seasoning. It's getting better with the passage of time. Tomorrow, more onion. More plantain. More cabbage. Maybe some jalapenos. And also some stir-fry pork. And I'll thicken it with corn starch and (maybe) add some evaporated milk for creaminess. Never tried evap. before, so I hope it isn't a disaster.

But you know what would make it great? Some breadfruit and some English potato. And a large hunk of bread - a French plait, preferably - to go with it. <sigh>

Little Monster  sicked up on a pillow yesterday, and it's being cleaned, so we're down to three. But he still thinks that when he decides it's tea-cozy time he should get three pillows, leaving me with none. Right now he is laying with his head on my knee and his back stretched along my thigh, with his butt on my hip. Tempting fate, so whispering: he hasn't peed in the house in three days!!!

 

[Netfoot]

I'm noticing that the list of shows I'm "following" is getting shorter and shorter. The conclusion of The Expanse just knocked the list one shorter again.

Is it appropriate to ask what you guys are watching? For myself, it's Archer, Bull, FBI and The Rookie. Plus TAR, of course. And Bull is pure crap that I hate-watch for reasons I don't even understand myself, while FBI is only slightly better. I actually like Fillion, which is why I watch The Rookie. Of these one is currently not airing, while the others end their seasons in 2 episodes or less. TAR being the exception, with what? 5 or more episodes? I've lost count due to the hiatus. There are a couple of other shows I will watch from time to time, but nothing that I bother to follow here.

I'm hopeful for Reacher (or Jack Reacher, depending who you ask), but I was hopeful of Foundation, and what a hot mess that turned out to be.

So, do you have anything good to recommend? Something new, or something older that maybe I never watched? Love to hear what you think.

ETA: I used to watch (and love) The Good Fight, with it's hysterically funny satire of political craziness but Judge Whackner drove me away from that show.

Edited January 18, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Mo has a fuzzy face. As he goes digging around in the garden, dirt and pieces of grass cling to the fuzz. Then, he takes a drink of water and two things happen. First, all that dinge falls off his fuzzy face, contributing to a constantly filthy water bowl. Second, the water in the bowl sticks to his face, with droplets enough clinging to each strand of fuzz. You should see it after he's had a drink of milk. Sometimes he comes to give you a kiss and ends up giving you a bath!

Now picture that face, right after he's finished off a bowl of soup!

On Sunday unka Rudy gave me a frozen bundle of stuff for Mo. Just some offcut beef scraps, he said. I brought it home and thawed it out in the fridge. This evening I examined it. Four or five small, puppy sized bags of beef chunks. Good stuff. No reason why Rudy couldn't have eaten it himself. Anyway, I cut all the chunks in half and cooked them up for the Mouse. Served it hot from the stove, and gave him the same warning Dotty and Bud quickly came to understand. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" I said, gently touching his mouth. Then to emphasize I touched the food bowl...

Grr-rrrrr!! Monster made it quite plain that his bowl of beef was off limits!

My dinner was more soup (I really all hope this leads to at least one pound of weight loss...) which included more onions, sweet peppers, cucumber and cabbage, along with stir-fry pork. Quite tasty but after I'd eaten all the chunky bits and half the broth, Molasses persuaded me to let him have the last little bit. Two minutes later and he was anointing me with his paintbrush face!

Just took him out for a pre-bedtime pee. He'd just come in from outside and he was behaving like he was on blues and blotter. I thought we'd find a big old crapaud that he'd been licking, but no. Just natural exuberance. 

Got to go to the pharmacy tomorrow. Also, I'm part of the search party for Austin's lost trainer come the afternoon. Fingers crossed. It's quite a large cane-piece. And even if the plane is a complete wreck (unlikely, unless it went straight in on the nose, because canes are good for soft landings), the engine and receiver, and servos, battery pack, fuel tank, etc, all have value. And unless I'm mistaken, that engine is one Aussie modified to run on gasoline  instead of methanol (glow) fuel.

[Lamb18]

My shows are TAR, Survivor, Big Brother, Top Chef, Project Runway, Bachelor, Bachelorette and NFL football. Lately I've also been watching some cooking competitions on Food Network, like Chopped and Holiday Baking Championship.

[Netfoot]

Interesting collection! Thanks for the response.

For a rabid TAR fan, I don't consider myself a fan of reality shows. Apart from TAR, I will watch a little Survivor, but little else. Oh, and Iron Chef, because...

I enjoy cooking shows as well, usually on YouTube. But these days, as I try to keep blood sugar in check and maybe even lose a pound or two, those cooking shows just make me hungry! 

As for sports, my interest are usually considered by some to be a little eccentric or even "not really sports at all". For example snooker, shooting, and all forms of motorsport. Including BattleBots! :)

ETA: Now my list grows shorter as even Hate Watch Bull is concluding in only one more episode!

Edited January 19, 2022 by Netfoot

[Pfiga]

On 1/18/2022 at 11:05 AM, Netfoot said:

So, do you have anything good to recommend? Something new, or something older that maybe I never watched? Love to hear what you think.

Other than TAR (and sometimes Big Brother), I currently watch FBI (original only), assorted L&Os, and New Amsterdam.  I would not necessarily recommend any of those.  I also watch tennis, reruns of Friends, and I may watch some Olympics.

Do you only have access to network/basic cable shows, or can you also watch older shows, and things on HBO/Showtime/streaming services etc.? 

[Netfoot]

Arrived at the club late, to find the other members of the search party gardening!

Came late because I underestimated the time needed to put on socks and long trousers with Mo's help!

4 hours ago, Pfiga said:

Do you only have access to network/basic cable shows, or can you also watch older shows, and things on HBO/Showtime/streaming services etc.? 

I don't have a TV. But I do have access to BitTorrent, so I get to watch pretty much anything I want.

Election day and the guys are bitchin' because the law says no alcohol can be sold for the entire day!

Edited January 19, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

We searched half of the cane piece - no luck. It's about 13 acres in size total. A different crew will try tomorrow with drones. 

I bought cheap gloves to wear and stupidly left them home, along with a face tube/buff. So I'm a bit scratched up on my hands and face. The canes were quite high, with the tops starting above head height, and the trash often forming a significant barrier to progress. Worst of all, the field hasn't been weeded or sprayed for a while and there is a low, tough vine that snags your feet at almost every step. I nearly fell several times, saved only by my walking staff. I used that staff to beat back the worst of the blades and the trash so as to save my hands as much as possible.

Tough going, and Mo was with me every step of the way. I just gave him another beef dinner which he inhaled. I bet he sleeps like a log tonight! And so will I.

But no, I can't! TAR will be out tonight, and election results won't be available until well after midnight, I'd think.

 

Edited January 19, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

In bed with a sleepy Mo at my side.

Watched TAR S33E04 but can't comment because the forum is locked. Won't open for another 25 minutes. Why, I wonder? But it doesn't matter. I will post my thoughts tomorrow.

Tried to follow the elections but the show seemed focussed on a panel of pundits who had nothing but rubbish to say and no results to announce. So I will catch the details tomorrow. Right now, a glass of cold milk, then bed. Skipping my usual pre-bedtime shower tonight due to tiredness. But the sugar cane may force me to reconsider that in a while. If so, it will only take a minute.

Did I mention that Mo's big-boy upper fangs are on their way out? Spent 15 minutes trying to get a photo today but the 20 lb. dog proved too much for me to subdue and control.

[Browncoat]

1 minute ago, Netfoot said:

Won't open for another 25 minutes. Why, I wonder?

Because it's on from 9-10 Eastern time. 

[Netfoot]

16 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Because it's on from 9-10 Eastern time. 

Then how come I get to see it early? It had to have shown somewhere, or it wouldn't be available to me. Anyhow, it don't matter.

Mo is too tired to jump into bed, and insists I lift him up. Like when he was a baby. But he keeps jumping down, only to demand another lift a minute later.

[Rootbeer]

59 minutes ago, Netfoot said:

Then how come I get to see it early? It had to have shown somewhere, or it wouldn't be available to me. Anyhow, it don't matter.

Mo is too tired to jump into bed, and insists I lift him up. Like when he was a baby. But he keeps jumping down, only to demand another lift a minute later.

Maybe you're watching a feed from the Atlantic Time Zone (Nova Scotia)?  That's an hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the US.  

Edited January 20, 2022 by Rootbeer

[Netfoot]

2 hours ago, Rootbeer said:

Maybe you're watching a feed from the Atlantic Time Zone (Nova Scotia)?

I suppose that's possible. In any event, I was just awoken in the dead of night by a bad "Charlie horse" cramp which affected thigh, knee and calf. Had to get  up and walk across the house to get a salt shaker to sprinkle salt on my tongue, because I'm told that stops the cramp. The cramp did go away, so maybe it works. Or maybe the cramp was on its way out by then anyway? Anyway, I'm up now, and so is Mo...

[Netfoot]

Feeling terrible this morning. Still tired from the search yesterday, plus a bad night's sleep, I guess.  Feel like going back to bed and zonking out. Gotta give Mo his anti inflammatory tablet first, though.

Oh, and DSMPITH is back to zero. :(

Election results are in! I'm not allowed to tell you what they are.

[luv2lurk]

10 hours ago, Netfoot said:

Then how come I get to see it early? It had to have shown somewhere, or it wouldn't be available to me. 

 

It's on at 7pm Eastern in Canada

[Netfoot]

As mentioned before, Baby Mo is getting his new fangs!! The top pair started first, and I've been trying to get a photo for days, but he has not cooperated.

Earlier, the garbage men arrived, but they weren't collecting. They were delivering new garbage bin(s). Mo took one look at the new bins (or maybe it was the rumbly noise they made trundling along on their wheels), and ran screaming. He ran to me, leapt into my lap, climbed up onto the desk and started to run over the desktop. I had to grab him to save the computer and everything else. 

He was behaving as if he was being pursued by a tiger. He was shivering like a leaf while I held him. Finally, he calmed down and went to sleep on the desktop. So, I was able to ease his lip back and reveal his choppers.

To my surprise the photo shows that the lower fangs are also on their way in. If you look, you will see that the original fangs are in place. But a closer look will reveal the newer teeth beginning to extend into place, up from the gum, directly in front of the originals. 

I'm guessing that when the new teeth are sufficiently extended, the old ones will be expelled. You'd think this would be a painful, or at least uncomfortable process. But Mo seems completely oblivious to it.

The soup pot is empty. I had the last of it this morning for breakfast, in a large mug. It was 99% broth with only some small pieces of well-cooked onion in it. If I'd thought, some cold, diced tomato would have made it even better but I didn't think of it. 

I could have kept restocking the pot indefinitely, like a good West Indian pepper pot stew. But if I do that for too long, I get thoroughly sick of it. So, it's best to finish it, clean out the pot, and start all over again. And a couple days on different fare is a good idea as well.

[Netfoot]

After dinner, Mo was outside barking vigorously. It didn't seem like he was about to stop any time soon. I peeped out. He was barking furiously at the new wheely-bin still standing outside our gate. 

I unlocked the gate and brought the new wheely-bin inside the garage. Mo fled. 

When it was time for a pre-bedtime trip to the garden, it took much coaxing to get him to come out of the house. He finally screwed up the courage to creep past it at 10' distance. I had to coax him back past it when he was done. 

Dunno why he hates/fears it so. Dunno what to do about it. 

Today's search party sans moi but equipped with drone-born aerial surveillance, again failed to find Aussie's lost plane. It's annoying. We know it's in a 13 acre cane piece, but we just can't find it. It's maddening!

ObPhoto:

[sharkerbaby]

Netfoot, As your a Fillion fan, you must have watched the original space western Firefly, yes?  If not, even if you're not a sci-fi fan, you absolutely must watch it.   I'm guessing since you watch The Expanse, you do not fall into the anti sci-fi bucket so with that being said the following are not of the space faring sci-fi genre but are still great; Orphan Black and at least the 1st season of Westworld.

[Netfoot]

Thanks, @sharkerbaby! Yes, I've watched Firefly, and also Orphan Black and the 1st season of Westworld. I think I might watch Firefly again, as a mater of fact. And/or Serenity the movie, which I thought was also great. Summer Glau was great in her part as River, and the final confrontation scene between Fillion and Ejiofor was also great!

I'm now watching a short (13 episodes) series called Cadfael which is about a 13th century monk who is a sort of tech-genius detective of the day. The title role is played by Derek Jacobi (of I Claudius fame). Unusual, but fun.

Also trying to watch the dubbed version of The Silent Sea and not getting into it. While the video looks quite serious, the dubbed voices seem to be more comedic. I wonder if I'd find the original in Korean with English subtitles any more compelling?

I've found this list of Sci-fi TV shows and I'm looking through it. There is much I've seen in the past and much I chose not to watch (unimpressed by the blurb), but still hoping to pick up something fun.

Obviously, I'm not only interested in Sci-fi shows. So interested to hear anything that anyone cares to suggest.

Oh, BTW, I am also watching a British show called Shetland which is a cop show set in the Shetland Islands. It's currently between series right now. I didn't mention it because Primetimer doesn't have a thread for it, so I it wasn't listed when I checked "Your Shows" on the site.

Similarly Death in Paradise, a British/French cop show set on a fictitious french Caribbean island. It's more a comedic look at island life than a serious cop show, which I guess is why it appeals to me.

[sharkerbaby]

I just realized you didn't mentioned Yellowstone - it's excellent and current.  I recommend it highly.  I haven't yet started the prequel 1883 but I hear good things about it as well.

eta: On the fun side of TV watching, I also loved Galavant super fun spoofy musical drama.  Good Omens was fun and if you enjoy the music of Queen, it's featured heavily.  And last fun one is The Orville - Fun sci-fi (specifically Star Trek psuedo-spoof) next season scheduled for release March '22

eta #2:  This is the last one... (probably)  I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our beloved Phil's other reality competition Tough as Nails - true salt of the earth contestants honoring their blue collar roots and doing and being what and who they are.  Love

Edited January 21, 2022 by sharkerbaby

[Netfoot]

I've got the first three series of Yellowstone here to watch, but not gotten started yet. 

I'm aware of 1883 but didn't know much about it. In oparticular, didn't know it was related to Yellowstone in any way. So thanks for that tip!

And before anyone suggests it, I've never watched Breaking Bad, despite the huge amount of love it has received in every quarter. Dunno what is stopping me from trying it. The premise just doesn't appeal, somehow.

[sharkerbaby]

Breaking Bad doesn't appeal to me either.  Just FYI in case you missed, I added to my previous post...  not once but twice.  No need to comment specifically, I just wanted to make sure you didn't overlook my thoughts because I egotistically think they are great suggestions. <sheepishly walks away>

[Netfoot]

58 minutes ago, sharkerbaby said:

Just FYI in case you missed...

Thanks for pointing it out: I hadn't noticed the additions.

I watch and enjoy Tough as Nails and I'm hoping for a new series soon. And I've watched The Orville. I've also watched several episodes of Avenue 5 and hated it, which is a surprise given how much I love Hugh Laurie. So, not recommended.

Dunno about Galavant but Good Omens sounds like I might be interested...

In more serious news, baby Mo is at the doctor! He had a couple very nasty poos yesterday and this morning, and I called the vet and they said bring him. Today is a bank holiday (not allowed to tell you which one) but the vet was already at the clinic dealing with an other emergency.

After an exam she says he has a painful tummy, but he is very active and lively (he was having a ball, being the center of attention) so she thinks it's either a reaction to the meds he's been on, or he ate something. He stays with her today for observation, but she says she isn't much worried at this stage.

I'm missing the little Monster already. And I don't get him back until tomorrow at the earliest!

 

[Netfoot]

In bed. Alone. No little boy to snuggle with me. Nobody to chew on my various body parts. No tea-cozy to be found.

Whose desk did my baby climb onto this evening? And fall asleep there? Who took him out to pee before bed? Did they tell him he was a good boy for peezing outside? Did they protect him from crapauds? Who will rub Mouse's tummy until he falls asleep?

I have an obstacle free bed to sleep in with uncontested pillows and a whole blanky (top-sheet, actually) for myself. Nobody will wake me at 4:00 and have to be carried out and guarded from the scary dark with a torch. I should have my best sleep in ages! Prolly won't sleep at all.

Hurry home, little Monster!

[Netfoot]

Little Mouse is home!

Well, actually we are at the supermarket laying on supplies of minced beef for him to eat for the next few days...

More later!

[Netfoot]

Here he is, on our back steps, with his face wet from a good drink of water.

I'll give more details later this afternoon.

[Netfoot]

He's home in bed with me and biting me up. (But not hard.) He spent the day and night with his doctor and he had the charm turned up to 111% the whole time. They were very impressed with him, and said he was very lively and active the whole time. They ran several tests and even did an x-ray to see if he had swallowed anything that might be the cause of his black, liquid poo (eeeech!) But he's insides are clear. The current theory is the anti-inflammatory drugs he was on. They've been stopped and he is now on something to soothe his tummy. 

I was told to feed him only raw, minced beef for the next few days, so we stopped and bought a bunch of the stuff for him. I took him home and he immediately did a poo. Not black, not liquid. But he seems a bit constipated. I guess they must have given him something to dry up his poo and now he is constipated? Anyway he is to get 5cc of heavy parafin oil twice daily for the next couple days. 

So, he got 5cc of oil, and inhaled half a tray of mince and is now acting perfectly normally. I guess I will worry about him for the next couple days, but I think basically he is OK now, with only some bland food and settling meds to take. 

Gotta run. I hear him destroying something in the passage.....

[Mariette]

Yet another TWOPer and member of the various homes since. I've not posted in a couple years and in fact forgot my last profile name so had to start over. Nice to be here again.

[Netfoot]

17 minutes ago, Mariette said:

Nice to be here again.

Glad you made it!

[Netfoot]

He's been out surveying his garden and making sure nobody usurped his prerogatives while he was away.

One of the disadvantages if having a fuzzy-faced boy is when he comes in with sweethearts stuck to his face. Especially if he doesn't cooperate with you in their removal. It's almost as bad as when he gets burrs between his toes.

 

[Netfoot]

In bed, getting my toes nibbled. 

Mo was somewhat miffed when I wouldn't give him any sweet pepper when I was preparing dinner. He likes sweet pepper! But he's on a "bland diet" order for the next couple of days. Which is why he was miffed again when I wouldn't give him any curried chicken and veggies. The meal was good, but slightly salty. Dunno why; I didn't add any great amount of salt to it. 

He had a long nap on my desk as I caught up on my viewing and tried a pilot if a new TV show. (Single Drunk Female. Not worth the bandwidth.)

Off to bed, after a quick walk around the garden. I pop into the bathroom while Mo steals a Croc. The door is locked already, so he ends up bringing it back.

Into the bedroom and... Déjà Vu! A mouse is awaiting me on the bedroom floor. (Oh, my little Buddy! Taken too soon.) No, not my little Mouse. A real-real mouse. Did my Mo-baby catch it and lay it out like that? I can hardly believe it! But if he didn't then it must have died of apoplexy, because there is no other explanation.

Anyway, I'm thirsty and drinking lots. Prolly that salty curry. Will no doubt wale wake up 17 times tonight thanks to the fluids and the Lasix... And every time I take a sip, Mo gives me kisses. To taste my moustache in case I've been drinking anything interesting.

His canines are progressing well.

 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Netfoot

[Netfoot]

Awoke to find this sleeping on my arm:

What a fuzzy, snaggle-toofed baby!

You can just make out the new canine, budding right in front of the old one.

[Netfoot]

For the next 10 days, Mo has to take medication 30 minutes before his first meal of the day. He just came begging for his grub early! Normally, I'd just feed him immediately, but instead I had to give him the capsule.

Now he is bitching loudly, with his most "poor me" voice, because I didn't feed him right away. Poor baby has another 18 minutes to go. But according to him, he's gonna die of starvation long before the timer runs out...

[Netfoot]

Ok, so he had his lunch -- half a tray of raw, minced beef. He inhaled that while I went to fill his water bowl, and he met me on the way back leaping and prancing for joy!

Now, he wants the other half.

But that's for his lunch tomorrow. His dinner will be another, full tray of raw, minced beef. The remaining half tray from today and yet another full tray will be his vittles for tomorrow.

He is getting raw minced beef because they wanted him to eat something very healthy but yet mild. And boiled chicken & rice or raw mince was what they suggested. So, being a lazy olde farte, I chose the beef.

From Tuesday, he will be back on regular vittles. Tinned puppy-food, bagged puppy-chow (I believe it's called "kibble" up North) plus anything I'm cooking for myself that I think will be good for him.

Also  a little of what ever I buy at the deli that he might like. This usually consists of a portion of mackie pie (which I buy but don't eat myself) and any skin, gristle, fat, etc, that I cut away from whatever meat, say chicken or pork, that I'm having for myself. He doesn't get bones from the deli lunches. I'm not giving him bones yet, although sometimes some spare-rib bones are little more than gristle and I will give him those.

Buddy and Dotty before him, got whatever bones I had that I wasn't planning to eat myself. And that includes chicken bones. People have told me many times not to give chicken bones to the doggies. But in 21 years, neither Dotty nor Buddy ever had any issues. And the family (a.k.a. my mom) has fed generations of dogs any chicken bones we had, and again, no issues.

I'm strongly of the opinion that the chicken bone issue is a storm in a teacup or an old wife's tale, just like onion or chocolate. But I'm not feeding Mo any bones right now. And because I am tired of having my ear-drums beaten to death over the issue, I will avoid giving him chicken bones when he is grown up as well.

However, since Barbadians have a love affair with chicken (it being the most popular type of meat on the island) he will run across many chicken bones during his life, that didn't originate with me. Picnics, BBQs, takeout, etc. So, he will definitely get some chicken bones down his neck from time to time during his life when he goes out from home. And other than keep my eyes open and try to catch him before he has a chance to eat any finds, there's nothing I can do about that.

[sharkerbaby]

Raw bones are fine for dogs and in fact quite good for them.  They help clean their teeth and gums and give a boost of nutrition, in particular the marrow is fantastically good for them (and you).  So if you're like me and debone all your own meat, please don't deprive our little Mo.  And even if you don't debone your own meat, be sure to ask your butcher for whatever discards he/she may be willing to give you.  Raw does not splinter like cooked can hence all the hoopla.  I'm with you though even cooked doesn't often cause problems but the potential is there.

[Netfoot]

1 minute ago, sharkerbaby said:

Raw bones are fine for dogs and in fact quite good for them.

I rarely buy meat with bones in. I have been instructed to eat only chicken white meat, so I buy boneless breasts, chunks, tenders, etc. The only chicken bones I get are in the ready-cooked deli meals.

Beef for me is an Angus steak, sitrfry or boneless beef stew, or mince. Pork usually stirfry, but occasionally chops, but I cook the pork chops with the bone in them.

I rarely buy lamb, but do occasionally buy lamb necks for the boys. Of course, I cook them. But if Mo can have raw beef, I guess he can have raw lamb, with uncooked bones in place. I suppose? I generally avoid giving the doggies lamb bones because they come off the meat saw with the bones looking like knife blades!

Mo isn't getting bones just now, but if a raw bone presents itself, I will consider letting him have it.

[Netfoot]

I dislike surfing on my phone. It's one thing to load a few pages and squint your eyes to read the fine print, while contemplating how horrid the mobile version of the page is in comparison to the desktop version. It's quite another to use a site requiring extensive interaction, like this one. 

I hate PrimeTimer on mobile.

In landscape mode, between the ginormous banner/logo at the top and the inescapable stupid advert at the bottom, I've got about 40% of the screen to work with. It's like changing a tap washer in the downstairs bathroom from outside the house, through the letter box. If you try to see a photo, a significant portion of the image is hidden. If you invoke the keyboard to type something, the entire working area if the page is now covered.

In portrait, it is hardly any better. Adverts between every few posts I could live with, except they pop open late, so if you begin selecting options when the page loads, an advert is very likely to pop up unexpectedly, shifting everything on the screen and making your finger press on something entirely different from what you wanted to.

Worse of all is the advert located at the bottom of the page. There is an X that will bannish it... For about three seconds. Then it (or another) ad pops up again. It only takes a tiny mistake and you've touched the advert. No doubt that is the intent, because now the site earns 1¢ or whatever, and they don't care that my ten-paragraph masterpiece of wit and wisdom is now gone!

Now, picture going through the nightmare of using the horrible site design just so you can keep in touch with other TAR fans, with the phone in your left hand and a puppy locked in mortal combat with your right!

This evening I spotted a new pilot, and watched it. It's about a bomb-disposal expert in the Metropolitan Police. It's called Trigger Point and it looks like six episodes, the first of which was released today in the UK. Not bad for an opener. High production values, suspenseful, but one or two spotty points in the plot (a supposed top professional making a stupid, rookie mistake, for instance). I enjoyed it and plan to keep watching. No discussion thread on the forum, unfortunately.

 

Edited January 24, 2022 by Netfoot