Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[Bastet]

One of the reasons Little Miss Sunshine is so fantastically funny is that they filmed real kiddie pageant contestants and their parents for the competition Olive falls her way into.  If you actually wrote it that way - which no one could conceive of doing in the first place, since it's just that batshit crazy - you'd be accused of being ridiculous, but by accurately recounting the insanity, it perfectly skewers what a fucked-up world it is.

It's terribly sad such programs exist, but since they do I am down for making them the butt of the joke in a way that doesn't target the kids, just the adults who created this whole sick environment -- the judges, the parents, the host, etc.

[2soon2tell]

13 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

After Jon Benet Ramsey's murder, the pageant people all claimed that only friends and relatives of the kids in the pageants were allowed in to watch the performances.   That was a total lie.   

A co-worker traveled for work a lot, and she said she was at a lot of big hotels that often had a kiddie pageant.   She said if you were willing to pay the admission fee, you could get in to watch the pageants.     

Not to mention the people who film the pageants or dance competitions and put them on YouTube. A few years ago, there was a big stink because someone had filmed a bunch of young girls doing a dance that included a move that, in my mind, only a pole dancer would do. The parents and instructors defended it as a legitimate dance move, and they had only expected relatives to watch the video. 

[Colleenna]

The other thing that bugs the shit out of me about these pageants is,  what message are we sending our girls? That their value as a human is defined by their appearance? That their sole function is to be pretty? At least cheerleading is athletic! 

Last night as I was researching whether or not these stupid pageants still exist (sadly the answer is yes), I came across an article about a young girl who committed suicide last year at age 16. Apparently she had been active in the child pageant circuit for years, and appeared on the TLC show  "Toddlers and Tiaras." Her name was Kailia Posey. 

Was her suicide related to pageants?  We'll never know. 

[peacheslatour]

14 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I wish we had an "angry" emoji.

I use the "fire" one for anger.

[Bruinsfan]

The child beauty pageants have always struck me as messed up, but I've had a bunch of cousins come up through dance classes and shows when they were younger (which is what is depicted in the commerical that sparked this discussion). The kids loved getting dressed up in glittery outfits and theatrical makeup and dancing in front of an audience, and I'd hate to see that taken away from them just because there are creepy people out there who are going to objectify children no matter what they're doing or wearing.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I use the "fire" one for anger.

Oh,no! I use it for Extra Good. I hope folks don't misunderstand!!

[Bastet]

8 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Oh,no! I use it for Extra Good.

That's what it's intended for ("that's fire"), as they don't have negative reaction icons other than sadness.

But, to me, the fire and mind blown icons look negative, even though I know they're not defined that way. 

[Colleenna]

3 hours ago, Bruinsfan said:

The child beauty pageants have always struck me as messed up, but I've had a bunch of cousins come up through dance classes and shows when they were younger (which is what is depicted in the commerical that sparked this discussion). The kids loved getting dressed up in glittery outfits and theatrical makeup and dancing in front of an audience, and I'd hate to see that taken away from them just because there are creepy people out there who are going to objectify children no matter what they're doing or wearing.

Eh, kinda different animal.  Dance is a skill that has to be learned. The emphasis is on the skill. And while there is theatrical makeup in dance, there are not spray tans, fake teeth, and ridiculous hairstyles.  

I'm sure that there are skeevy people who get turned on watching little girls do gymnastics,  too, but there again,  it's an athletic challenge. 

[blackwing]

On 1/30/2023 at 10:51 PM, Prevailing Wind said:

About once a fortnight, somebody on Nextdoor is complaining about random strangers/neighbors walking by on trash day (when the bins are out at the curb) putting their dog waste baggies in the neighbor's wheelie bin. But if the sanitation workers can open the locks, so can the doggo owners.  Probably raccoons, too.

 

On 1/31/2023 at 6:22 AM, Haleth said:

Homeowners complain about people putting trash in their trashcans?  That sounds more like something Dr Rick should address.  Shoot, when I go running on trash day and see something on the street I'll put it in the nearest can.  No one has complained about it to me yet.

And yes, Dr Rick, someone is looking at the messy hedges.

 

On 1/31/2023 at 6:38 AM, dleighg said:

It's generally people putting their dog's poop in the neighbor's can rather than bringing it home to their own can.

Agree about the endless debate on Nextdoor.  Those who say "it's rude, take your dog's poop home to your own trash can" vs. those who say "that's what a trash can is for".

I would say that if the cans are sitting at the curb on trash day and the collection has not yet occurred, then I don't have issues with someone using the can.  However, what I do consider rude is if someone uses my can for their dog's poop AFTER the collection has occurred.  Then I'm left with someone's dog's poop in my can for an entire week.  I've had this happen to me at least twice, and didn't realise it until it started to smell.  Now I check the emptied cans to make sure they are fully emptied, before bringing them back inside my garage.

Another issue is people who keep their cans on the side of their house.  That requires someone with poop walking all the way up someone else's driveway just to use their cans.  Rude.

As far as the locks that are suggested.  My interpretation is that the locks are for people who keep their cans outside by the side of their house, so they can't just be randomly used.  On garbage day, the homeowner would remove the locks before putting the cans by the curb.

[Prevailing Wind]

28 minutes ago, blackwing said:

As far as the locks that are suggested.  My interpretation is that the locks are for people who keep their cans outside by the side of their house, so they can't just be randomly used.  On garbage day, the homeowner would remove the locks before putting the cans by the curb.

I didn't think they were that kind of lock. I thought they were more a child-proof lock on a cabinet - a raccoon- or coyote-proof lock for the garbage.

[Bastet]

I don't care if anyone puts a bag of dog poop in my trash bin when it's out at the curb, empty or full, because most of what's in that bin to begin with are bags of scooped cat litter (most of my stuff goes in either the recycling bin, the compost bin, or the yard waste bin).  But that's personal circumstances; if I was walking a dog, I'd never just assume some unknown neighbor would be okay with that and dump shit into their bin; if there wasn't a municipal trash can along the way (possible, as we need more of those!), I'd just have to carry it all the way home.  Which is why I'm glad I don't walk dogs.

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I didn't think they were that kind of lock. I thought they were more a child-proof lock on a cabinet - a raccoon- or coyote-proof lock for the garbage.

They have padlocks on them, presumably the kind that need keys.  Seems excessive, period, let alone for raccoons.  I know they're intelligent, crafty little trash pandas, but still ...

[Welshman in Ca]

1 minute ago, Bastet said:

I don't care if anyone puts a bag of dog poop in my trash bin when it's out at the curb, empty or full, because most of what's in that bin to begin with are bags of scooped cat litter (most of my stuff goes in either the recycling bin, the compost bin, or the yard waste bin).  But that's personal circumstances; if I was walking a dog, I'd never just assume some unknown neighbor would be okay with that and dump shit into their bin; if there wasn't a municipal trash can along the way (possible, as we need more of those!), I'd just have to carry it all the way home.  Which is why I'm glad I don't walk dogs.

 

We have community dispensers with bags for doggy poop in them as well as a trash can next to it specifically for the bagged up poop but I've still seen someone (on my ring camera) put poop in my trash can after it had been emptied & before I got home to put it in the garage. Luckily for them they kept their back to the camera so I couldn't figure out who it was.

Some people just think the world revolves around them & that isn't going to change any time soon.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

if there wasn't a municipal trash can along the way (possible, as we need more of those!),

We have a "record store" in the downtown area of my little town. They have a city trash barrel right outside the door, by the curb. MANY people who bought CDs there, peeled that sticky label off the top of the "jewel box" the CD comes in and stuck it around the edge of the iron basket the trash barrel sits it. It's pretty interesting to see the different kinds of music bought by people who would do that. LOL.

[tanyak]

Two or three years ago, we had someone toss a bag of dog poop in our trash can after pickup but before we moved it. I just happened to look in (have no idea why) and saw it. And it wasn't even tied tight. If we had just started tossing garbage bags on top, I'm sure it would have splattered all over. We ended up turning the can on the side so I could fish it out with a shovel. Then I doubled bagged, tied tight and put it back. 

There was recently a spirited debate on one of my mom boards about. Some people were all, it's a TRASH can. But a trash can doesn't necessarily have to smell bad. Everything that goes in our can is bagged. Even when we had a cat, poop was mixed in with litter and doubled bagged. If I have meat to toss, I'll actually bag it and stick it in the freezer until the night before trash pickup. That way it's not outside baking for days. One time, I forgot and tossed meat in the summer. I can't describe the odor...and the flies! It took two intense can washings (which wasn't easy!) before it finally dissipated.

[peacheslatour]

The only thing I ever found in a trash can that didn't belong there was when I was getting my dad's house ready to sell. Actually my DH found it. My dad hadn't been living there for months by then but my husband was cleaning his house one day and went to throw some junk away. He lifted the lid and there, in a paper bag,  was a whole bunch of primo weed, a couple of pipes, a small blow torch and some other weed related shit. He brought it home and I was like SCORE! Lol, some neighborhood kid probably decided it was a safe place to hide their stash.

[janie jones]

The reason it bothers me that someone would put trash  in a stranger's garbage can is because it's rude to use something that belongs to someone else without asking. You're not a guest in my home, I don't know you from Adam, so don't use my stuff. I think it's just as rude to put a candy wrapper or anything else non-gross in someone else's can.

I know some people feel that since the trash can (often) technically belongs to the trash company or the city, anyone who uses that service is entitled to use any trash can, since it doesn't belong to the homeowner. I disagree. If I leave my library book sitting somewhere where other people can see it, is it socially acceptable for other people to start reading it because they also pay taxes and have a library card? I think most people would say no.

If I were out in front of my house and someone asked if they could put something in my trash can, I would never say no (unless it was an unreasonable quantity of garbage), but for someone to do it without asking is so rude to me.

(Three paragraphs makes it seem like I think this is a bigger deal than I really do. When I looked in my garbage can and saw a strange poop bag, I just said "oh huh" and went on with my day.)

On 2/13/2023 at 7:44 AM, blackwing said:

I would say that if the cans are sitting at the curb on trash day and the collection has not yet occurred, then I don't have issues with someone using the can.  However, what I do consider rude is if someone uses my can for their dog's poop AFTER the collection has occurred.  Then I'm left with someone's dog's poop in my can for an entire week.  I've had this happen to me at least twice, and didn't realise it until it started to smell.  Now I check the emptied cans to make sure they are fully emptied, before bringing them back inside my garage.

I'm curious what you would do with a poop bag if you found one in there. When I found one, I just left it there, because where else would I put it?

[blackwing]

58 minutes ago, tanyak said:

Two or three years ago, we had someone toss a bag of dog poop in our trash can after pickup but before we moved it. I just happened to look in (have no idea why) and saw it. And it wasn't even tied tight. If we had just started tossing garbage bags on top, I'm sure it would have splattered all over. We ended up turning the can on the side so I could fish it out with a shovel. Then I doubled bagged, tied tight and put it back. 

There was recently a spirited debate on one of my mom boards about. Some people were all, it's a TRASH can. But a trash can doesn't necessarily have to smell bad. Everything that goes in our can is bagged. Even when we had a cat, poop was mixed in with litter and doubled bagged. If I have meat to toss, I'll actually bag it and stick it in the freezer until the night before trash pickup. That way it's not outside baking for days. One time, I forgot and tossed meat in the summer. I can't describe the odor...and the flies! It took two intense can washings (which wasn't easy!) before it finally dissipated.

Yep, exactly.  Poop smells.  I've followed the debates on Nextdoor, and there are some that always say "of course I'm going to use your can, who wants to carry poop all the way back home"?  The most interesting comments are the people that bag up the poop but then leave it on someone's lawn and claim they are going to come back for it on their way home.  Mmm hmm.

10 minutes ago, janie jones said:

The reason it bothers me that someone would put trash  in a stranger's garbage can is because it's rude to use something that belongs to someone else without asking. You're not a guest in my home, I don't know you from Adam, so don't use my stuff. I think it's just as rude to put a candy wrapper or anything else non-gross in someone else's can.

I know some people feel that since the trash can (often) technically belongs to the trash company or the city, anyone who uses that service is entitled to use any trash can, since it doesn't belong to the homeowner. I disagree. If I leave my library book sitting somewhere where other people can see it, is it socially acceptable for other people to start reading it because they also pay taxes and have a library card? I think most people would say no.

If I were out in front of my house and someone asked if they could put something in my trash can, I would never say no (unless it was an unreasonable quantity of garbage), but for someone to do it without asking is so rude to me.

(Three paragraphs makes it seem like I think this is a bigger deal than I really do. When I looked in my garbage can and saw a strange poop bag, I just said "oh huh" and went on with my day.)

I'm curious what you would do with a poop bag if you found one in there. When I found one, I just left it there, because where else would I put it?

The times I found poop in my can and didn't know it were before we had a dog.  Now we have a dog and we keep the poop in a tightly lidded metal trash can in the backyard.  If I now found an unwanted poop bag, I would fish it out and put it in that can.  Same with unwanted poop (dog or coyote or otherwise) that I find lying on my lawn sometimes and bag up.

However, I have cleaned up more than my share of dead animals (rabbits, chipmunks, mice, birds, one time even a bat) from my yard.  These I will bag up and take to the public park trash can, because I don't want it to smell/decompose even in my dog poop trash can for up to a week.

[janie jones]

21 minutes ago, blackwing said:

"of course I'm going to use your can, who wants to carry poop all the way back home"? 

I mean, no one, but there are lots of things about having a dog that I don't want to do, but I still do it.

[dleighg]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

The most interesting comments are the people that bag up the poop but then leave it on someone's lawn and claim they are going to come back for it on their way home.  Mmm hmm.

I'm an early riser. I was out early getting the newspaper and I saw someone letting their dog poop *in the middle of my lawn* about 100 feet away. I stood there and looked at her. I think she felt chastised. I haven't seen her do that again. Really people?

[blackwing]

53 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I mean, no one, but there are lots of things about having a dog that I don't want to do, but I still do it.

Yes, exactly.  If someone can't be bothered to take their own dog's poop home to their own trash can, then they shouldn't have a dog.  Or they should just have their dog poop in their own backyard.

Another common defense of trash can users is "at least they bagged it up, they could have just left it on the lawn."  Which I respond with, see point #1.  If someone can't be bothered to pick up poop, then they shouldn't have a dog.

11 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I'm an early riser. I was out early getting the newspaper and I saw someone letting their dog poop *in the middle of my lawn* about 100 feet away. I stood there and looked at her. I think she felt chastised. I haven't seen her do that again. Really people?

I have a neighbor that objects to ANY dog using his lawn in any shape or form.  He claims that pee browns the lawn (it can) and that poop leaves residue on the grass (if it's soft and you don't clean it up well).  I don't know how to respond to him, I think it's part of living in a populated suburban area.  He actually berated one of my neighbors one day.  She lives next door to him and I guess her dog's "spot" is his lawn.  She said he said to her "wow, your dog REALLY likes my lawn, doesn't he?"  She said she stopped for a while but now just lets her dog choose himself where to go.  The neighbor probably watches from the window but she doesn't care.

There's another guy in my area that actually posts a sign on his lawn "please do not let your dog pee on my lawn unless you want me to pee on yours".  I'm sure he has a lot of friends. 

[dleighg]

28 minutes ago, blackwing said:

There's another guy in my area that actually posts a sign on his lawn "please do not let your dog pee on my lawn unless you want me to pee on yours".

Well I have a sign next to my mailbox that says "Please do not let your dog pee here" because several years going my plants (including a several year old clemetis) around the mailbox have been killed by getting peed on. I'm sorry, I don't think having someone let their dog pee or poop on my lawn is ok. We've got plenty of little wooded areas between the houses with lots of "wild" trees for peeing on.

Edited February 14, 2023 by dleighg

[peacheslatour]

All this talk about damaged lawns and flowers makes me glad I have cats.

[blackwing]

55 minutes ago, dleighg said:

Well I have a sign next to my mailbox that says "Please do not let your dog pee here" because several years going my plants (including a several year old clemetis) around the mailbox have been killed by getting peed on. I'm sorry, I don't think having someone let their dog pee or poop on my lawn is ok. We've got plenty of little wooded areas between the houses with lots of "wild" trees for peeing on.

I guess it depends on the the community.  It sounds like you live in an area with large lots and space in between houses, which sounds great.  Where I live, it's the typical suburban community, houses lined up right next to each other.  There's really nowhere else for the dogs to do their business but on somebody's lawn.  I've seen plenty of dogs doing the same to mine, as I said, it's just an aspect of home ownership that comes with living where I live.  

[Bastet]

56 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Where I live, it's the typical suburban community, houses lined up right next to each other.  There's really nowhere else for the dogs to do their business but on somebody's lawn.  I've seen plenty of dogs doing the same to mine, as I said, it's just an aspect of home ownership that comes with living where I live.  

Same in my inner suburb, so it doesn't bother me at all (as long as they pick it up in the case of poop).  But, a few people have those signs up, and I think in those cases the owner should steer their dog to one of the 99% of yards that don't.

[Colleenna]

14 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

All this talk about damaged lawns and flowers makes me glad I have cats.

Same same. INDOOR cat.

[Haleth]

16 hours ago, blackwing said:

However, I have cleaned up more than my share of dead animals (rabbits, chipmunks, mice, birds, one time even a bat) from my yard.  These I will bag up and take to the public park trash can, because I don't want it to smell/decompose even in my dog poop trash can for up to a week.

I’ve ended up burying dead animals (even a large possum) found in the yard because I feel bad about throwing them in the trash. 

14 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

All this talk about damaged lawns and flowers makes me glad I have cats

Shall we discuss people who let their cats roam and poop in neighbors’ flower beds? 🤣

Way back at the beginning of this conversation I said I was one who would pick up trash off the street and put it in the nearest can. This was on garbage day before the truck came through and the stuff I was putting in the bins was like soda cans and plastic bags, not dog poop. I won’t apologize for this. I consider this a community service. 😄

[Prevailing Wind]

My cat is allowed to go outside, but her idea of going out is sitting on the doormat and looking back into the condo through the ajar door. In her younger days, she was known to catch a chipmunk and bring it back into the home and release it. I swear it was the same chippie every time. The last time, he ran 3 laps around the living room and then dashed out the door, which I promptly closed behind him so Stella had to stay inside while Chippie got away.

Both she and the late Bosco used their indoor boxes. Bosco would come inside to use the box and then go back out to play. Once Stella came back in, she stayed in. The older she gets, the more fearful she gets - falling leaves chase her back inside in a panic. I don't understand why that should be; she's never been hurt while outside, but perhaps it's a testament to how secure she feels inside with me.

[CrazyInAlabama]

There are a lot of feral cats in the next subdivision, and a couple migrated to my street, they pretty much live in the sewers.     So, they poop everywhere.   But more irritating are the landlords who say no indoor animals, and that means people have outside mostly cats, that poop and pee on other people's property.   

The best part is when the one landlord is building a duplex for her to live in, and rent the other side, and I saw the one feral cat run right into her crawl space, for what I can only describe as a bathroom break.     I wonder how long it will be for her to realize why her house smells like a litter box?    

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, Colleenna said:

Same same. INDOOR cat.

Yup. Our cats have no interest in going outside. 

[Prevailing Wind]

Stella likes sniffing the air. I can't keep windows open because of my allergies, so she'll go out & sit on the porch and smell the good things in the air. The door is not latched, so she can barge in if she feels the need to.

She's weird about people coming over, too. We share a porch with the unit next door. If Neighbor Cynthia is getting a delivery or company, Stella's not bothered at all.  But if a vehicle shows up that's coming to our house, as soon as she hears it, she jumps off my lap & runs to hide. I don't know how she knows the difference - I'm not expectant that Amazon's driver is showing up in the next hour or so, so I'm not sending off signals...but she KNOWS they're coming here.  I know when the GrubHub driver is here, not because s/he texts me, but because Stella goes to hide.

The late Bosco, on the other hand, would run to the door to greet our visitor. He was everybody's friend. Jeez, we miss him.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

Stella likes sniffing the air. I can't keep windows open because of my allergies, so she'll go out & sit on the porch and smell the good things in the air. The door is not latched, so she can barge in if she feels the need to.

She's weird about people coming over, too. We share a porch with the unit next door. If Neighbor Cynthia is getting a delivery or company, Stella's not bothered at all.  But if a vehicle shows up that's coming to our house, as soon as she hears it, she jumps off my lap & runs to hide. I don't know how she knows the difference - I'm not expectant that Amazon's driver is showing up in the next hour or so, so I'm not sending off signals...but she KNOWS they're coming here.  I know when the GrubHub driver is here, not because s/he texts me, but because Stella goes to hide.

The late Bosco, on the other hand, would run to the door to greet our visitor. He was everybody's friend. Jeez, we miss him.

You are describing my Elizabeth and Nathan. We always said Nathan should be a Wal-Mart greeter. He was the friendliest cat. Miss you boy.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

The Speedo/budgie smuggler story: I was on vacation in Maui with Dr. PurrsALot.  He is European and a fairly large man; think a stockier Liam Neeson.  The hotel we were staying at had four all ages pools with lifeguards and one adults only pool without a lifeguard.  That was also the pool with the bar; people would have to walk up a few stairs or take the ramp from the all ages pool or go to the inside bar. 

We're not big drinkers, especially during the day.  We were at the adult pool for the quiet and to stay out of the way of the families. 

There was a family with two very young children who were always at the adults only pool.   Why?  The parents were really big drinkers.  So instead of watching their children, they would be guzzling cocktails, getting sloppy drunk, tripping over things, etc.  They would often fall asleep/pass out.  This left the bartender, us, and a wonderful group of four women who were often there to constantly be left worrying about their children.  Not exactly the vacation they or we signed up for. 

So one day, I put on what I call my Amish bathing suit.  It is a swim dress that goes really high on the chest and has a skirt that is much longer than most swim skirts.  I also wear a  long sleeve shirt when not in the pool.  I am highly sun adverse.  Dr. PurrsALot normally wears  a pretty typical bathing  suit you would see in the US, swim trunks that fit appropriately.  On this day, however,  he is wearing the robe provided by the hotel when we go down to the pool.  For the moment, we look very modest. 

We get to the pool, the couple is there with their kids as are the four women.  He takes off his robe and he is wearing a speedo that is so many sizes too small.  It is so small and tight that it is riding up his butt cheeks.  He then proceeds to stand right in front of the couple, and bends over to scratch his foot.  He stands there with his now not covered except for a strap right up the middle ass in their faces for a good 20 seconds.  

For the next half hour, he would get right in front of them and bend over every 5 minutes or so.  Basically, if they looked up, they were going to get quite the view.  

The couple tried to say something to him, and he just ignored them.  It was basically a case of they were going to have the vision of his ass as long as they and we were there.  Finally they packed their stuff, grabbed their kids, and moved to an all ages pool.  

The group of women were laughing so hard.  They went from shocked, thinking "why the heck is he wearing that?" to "that is the most brilliant thing I've ever seen." They bought us a drink and asked him to keep the suit handy just in case. 

A few days later, the couple came to the pool when we were there.  Dr. P was wearing his normal suit.  He saw them and loudly said, "This suit is too baggy;  I'm going to change."  They headed down to the all ages pool. 

When I asked him why he owned this, at first he tried to hit me with, "I'm from Europe.  We have different standards.'  Later he admitted that he owns a speedo for swimming laps but it fits.  He bought this purely to get rid of the couple and that the sales clerk did ask him what size his son wore.  😦  

tl;dr: Tiny speedos have a purpose.  They are good at scaring off jerks. 

[peacheslatour]

What a great story Princess! I was torn between the "funny" button  and the "applause".

[2soon2tell]

5 hours ago, Haleth said:

 

Way back at the beginning of this conversation I said I was one who would pick up trash off the street and put it in the nearest can. This was on garbage day before the truck came through and the stuff I was putting in the bins was like soda cans and plastic bags, not dog poop. I won’t apologize for this. I consider this a community service. 😄

I’ve lived in a community that threatened to fine you if you put recyclables in the trash. Fair enough since the garbage service threatened to fine them for mixing non recyclables with recyclables. Currently, my recycling company doesn’t take glass. So if you do your community service and put a random glass bottle in my recycling bin, the bin will either be left unemptied, or the bottle will be taken out and left by the curb. Either way, I get to deal with it. 

[chessiegal]

We've put screened-in porches on 2 houses that were ostensibly for us to enjoy bug free outside times, but they were really for whatever indoor kitties that were living with us could enjoy outdoor time without being totally outside.

Today it got up to 65 degrees, and Jinglebelle decided she wanted to nap outside. 😻

[CrazyInAlabama]

2 hours ago, 2soon2tell said:

I’ve lived in a community that threatened to fine you if you put recyclables in the trash. Fair enough since the garbage service threatened to fine them for mixing non recyclables with recyclables. Currently, my recycling company doesn’t take glass. So if you do your community service and put a random glass bottle in my recycling bin, the bin will either be left unemptied, or the bottle will be taken out and left by the curb. Either way, I get to deal with it. 

Where I live they only recycle office paper/phone books/catalogs, aluminum and other metal cans, and plastic items, plus cardboard boxes.      We have a separate can for those.   However, they pick up with a manual recycle pickup.   If anyone on the pickup area puts regular trash or items they don't accept (styrofoam, etc) then at the dump the entire load is dumped in with the regular trash, because separating it out is too work intensive.      

So, I stopped using the city recycle with the cans after some of the neighbor's recycle cans fell over, and it was obvious that the neighbor's recycle carts were full of regular garbage.    So, one of the other neighbors tosses the bags some of us accumulate with plastic, paper, cardboard, and cans, and takes them to the recycle drop off point.      The renter across the street was using his recycle for another trash can, instead of paying for another trash can.   That really made me angry, and reinforced that using the recycle can was useless.   I did hear that people that use their recycle for a regular trash can get fined, but he got evicted before I could squeal on him.   

[janie jones]

On 2/14/2023 at 3:14 PM, blackwing said:

I guess it depends on the the community.  It sounds like you live in an area with large lots and space in between houses, which sounds great.  Where I live, it's the typical suburban community, houses lined up right next to each other.  There's really nowhere else for the dogs to do their business but on somebody's lawn.  I've seen plenty of dogs doing the same to mine, as I said, it's just an aspect of home ownership that comes with living where I live.  

That's kind of how my neighborhood is, so I plan my route so that my dogs will poop where there isn't grass. Like, one of my dogs likes to poop under these trees where all that's there is leaf litter. It's kind of annoying because I can't really mix up the route, but I prefer not to let them poop on someone's lawn if I can help it. Even if I can pick it up cleanly, one of my dogs is a real kicker when she's done and I don't want her tearing up someone's grass.

12 hours ago, Haleth said:

Way back at the beginning of this conversation I said I was one who would pick up trash off the street and put it in the nearest can. This was on garbage day before the truck came through and the stuff I was putting in the bins was like soda cans and plastic bags, not dog poop. I won’t apologize for this. I consider this a community service. 😄

I'll pick up trash, too, but I still bring it home to throw it away. I actually use a dog poop bag to carry it!

[Haleth]

15 hours ago, chessiegal said:

We've put screened-in porches on 2 houses that were ostensibly for us to enjoy bug free outside times, but they were really for whatever indoor kitties that were living with us could enjoy outdoor time without being totally outside.

Today it got up to 65 degrees, and Jinglebelle decided she wanted to nap outside. 😻

Our new house has a screened porch and yesterday was the first time it was warm enough to let our kitty explore it.  She took a turn, sniffed all the patio furniture, then went back inside.  Lol

[Prevailing Wind]

My SIL now has 5 cats, all neutered males except for lil Tallie.  There's a screened in porch with a cat flap to the outside and a fenced back yard. Tallie loves sleeping out on the porch. The boys like to go outside and one of 'em thinks he's Spiderman and climbs the wooden fence to go visit the doggo next door.  They, too, come inside to use the box and then go back out again.  They were all taken from their mothers at an early age - Moms never got to teach the kits how to "go" outside. All but Moses were foster fails. LOL.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

6 hours ago, Haleth said:

Our new house has a screened porch and yesterday was the first time it was warm enough to let our kitty explore it.  She took a turn, sniffed all the patio furniture, then went back inside.  Lol

Inspection complete.  Did she have a clip board and a list?  

[KittyMom4]

 

On 2/15/2023 at 11:22 AM, peacheslatour said:

Yup. Our cats have no interest in going outside. 

We have 4 cats (hence my username), 3 of them are rescues, one we adopted as a kitten. All 3 rescues were once outdoor cats but are now indoor only. Not one of the rescues has any interest in the outdoors, the kitten who never spent a minute outside thinks its where he needs to be, lol. Thankfully as he has gotten older he is fine with just sitting in the window chittering at the squirrels and the birds. 

18 hours ago, janie jones said:

but I prefer not to let them poop on someone's lawn if I can help it.

As long as it's cleaned up I do not care, I have found poop piles in my yard a couple times when I was mowing and that pisses me off. It's your dog, you can clean up after it. Our dog passed in 2022 but when I walked him I cleaned up after him. Not sure what the big deal is about carrying the poop bag until you get home, to me it was just a plastic bag with poop. I wasn't carrying it in my bare hand....

[Stevie Nicks]

People who let their dogs out in the front yard to go to the bathroom are weird. Just let them out back in your own yard. That way, your neighbors don't have to put up with it. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Re Paul Giamatti:

 

6 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

There's something seriously wrong with our culture.

At the same time, Giamatti is in his mid-fifties and has always been more of a Hey, It's That Guy. I agree with you in principle, but in practice it's a bit annoying when the general public (and I'm guilty of it too) forget that acting is work. It's what makes the anti-genre fare attitude of film critics so tedious, which is a separate and yet related issue. That unless you're solely doing "serious projects", you're not really acting.

[Prevailing Wind]

1 hour ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Re Paul Giamatti:

 

At the same time, Giamatti is in his mid-fifties and has always been more of a Hey, It's That Guy. I agree with you in principle, but in practice it's a bit annoying when the general public (and I'm guilty of it too) forget that acting is work. It's what makes the anti-genre fare attitude of film critics so tedious, which is a separate and yet related issue. That unless you're solely doing "serious projects", you're not really acting.

I was referring to Kevin Hart.

[Bruinsfan]

I don't like Hart at all, but he's in everything including multiple blockbuster movies, so it comes as no surprise that he's richer than Croesus.

[Prevailing Wind]

Re: Scented laundry products...

I remember when Gain first came out - they sent wee sample boxes to every household. We got one, Mom used it, and the entire family complained about the stench of the detergent.

I've got one of those "stackable" W/D combos where the basket of the washer is about two-thirds the size of a regular washer.  I could never use those pre-measured pods, because it would be WAY too much detergent.  I actually use very little detergent - my clothes aren't really dirty; they just need a freshening.

I used to use dryer sheets, but it took me about three years to figure out the allergy I had was to the dryer sheets - the pillowcases would make my eyes itch. I finally realized that it was the pillowcases when I noticed my left eye itched more and I sleep mostly on my left side. The left eye was pressed into the pillowcase, getting irritated by the dryer sheet residue. Now I use "Free" detergent and liquid softener and my eyes no longer itch. Yay, me.

[CrystalBlue]

I use the clear fragrance- and dye-free laundry detergent and wool dryer balls for the dryer.  Dry or sensitive skin reacts to all the perfumes and dyes used in whatever touches skin.

[Prevailing Wind]

I read once that "unscented" and "fragrance free" are not the same thing. Sometimes manufacturers add a neutralizing smell because the original product smells bad - that would make it "unscented" - but "fragrance-free" means nothing else that smells has been added, so you get the true odor of the product.

[Haleth]

I started using wool dryer balls more than a year ago because of all the trash the dryer sheets created (even though I'd tear them and only use 1/2 a sheet).  The balls don't really do much to stop static though.  I stay away from pods because I feel they contain more detergent than necessary and you end up buying more frequently.  I'd rather control how much detergent I use depending on the size of the load.

[CrystalBlue]

I've never used detergent pods.  I like to control the amount of detergent I use depending on the size of the load and water temperature.  Same for the dishwasher.