Tag Archives: me

“Haloo, Haloo?” Cat

books, cats, curiosity, Finnish, fun, , , , ,

Saturday, November 19, 2022, 3:27 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … what’s up with all these gizmos … like this cell phone? … Have to always check if its battery is charged … Still use the “old fashioned” paper and pen for Finnish language study notes … Duolingo, Unit 8 …

Shadowsland Cats

cats, computer, curiosity, outside, shadows, sleep, stretch, window, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, October 14, 2022, 12:51 pm — Teeny Tuxedo …

Saturday, October 15, 12:58 pm … Teeny, Perkins … butterfly bush …

Tuesday, October 18, 1:54 pm … Teeny … “Can I help?” … New York Times … daily Spelling Bee … “Make words of four or more letters using the letters in the honeycomb, including the center letter. There’s always one pangram, a word that uses all seven letters and counts for big points.” …

Below … Wahoo! Reached Genius in the April 21, 2023 New York Times Spelling Bee! … Wrote a haiku using some of the words … More of my “Genius” Spelling Bee haikus at My Haiku Adventure blog …

Vital Bee
On virtual trail
With lariat
Caught true Genius

More Finnish Cat

cats, computer, Finnish, stretch, , , , , , , ,

Saturday, July 16, 2022, 10:36 pm … Teeny Tuxedo … big stretch after catnap on corner of bed … Computer is beyond lower left corner … bed is handy work space …  Red spiral notebook and headphones are for studying Finnish via Pimsleur.com …

June 26, started a 7-day free Finnish trial with Pimsleur and continued … $20.95, month … Can now rattle off “valitettavasti” … “myöhemmin” … “rautatieasema” with ease … The method of breaking words, sentences into chunks, starting at the end, adding on, building to the beginning works quite well … Audio-based … not focused on reading, grammar … Helps immensely that I had weekly Finnish Zoom discussion group sessions, Sept. 2021-May 2022 (Salolampi, Concordia Lanuage Villages, Minnesota) … and that letters in Finnish words are pronounced exactly as they appear.

Morning Focus Cat

art, birds, cats, curiosity, family memorabilia, window, , , , , , ,

Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 8:42 am — Teeny Tuxedo … ready to jump … from window … to bed … focused on her landing spot …

Thursday, June 16, 2022, 8:58 am … the next day … What does she see? … Perkins? … (one of Mom’s loons, hand-carved, in background) … The green fringed Victorian lamp shade was handmade, 1990, when Kevin and I moved to Portland, OR … The now slightly ratty fringe was a cat temptation …

All About Eve Cat

1950s, actresses, art, blogs, cats, fun, movies, travel, tv, , , , , ,

[from My Photo a Day Adventure blog]

Saturday, April 2, 2022, 12:39 am — Teeny Tuxedo … It’s After Midnight Movie Time! … Hey, Teeny … what’ll we watch? … Your tail’s pointing to All About Eve, 1950, Bette Davis … perfect choice! … On demand … on practically perfect Turner Classic Movies … the one channel I HAVE to have … since it first began in 1994 … uncut, commercial-free …
tuxedo cat

Teeny and I had the need to rewatch All About Eve … 1950 Best Picture Oscar … Poster on wall, Summertime, 1955, Katharine Hepburn, Rossano Brazzi, directed by David Lean, filmed in Venice, Italy.

March was “31 Days of Oscar” on Turner Classic Movies … every year a different theme … This year, every hour of every day was filled with Oscar-winning films … All About Eve had six 1950 wins … Best Picture … Director AND Writing, Joseph L. Mankiewicz … Supporting Actor, George Sanders … Costume Design … Sound … (and eight more nominations).

Ever so fortunate to have seen Bette Davis (twice) and Katharine Hepburn in person on stage … Two of my favorite actresses … All About Eve, 1950, and Summertime, 1955, are favorite films … Plus the extra fortune of staying a month alone at Bette Davis’s Butternut Cottage, Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, July, 2016.

Chair Traveling Cat

art, cats, computer, curiosity, travel, , , , , ,

Friday, March 25, 2022, 10:58 am — Teeny Tuxedo … travels to Monument Valley … on the computer chair … best seat in the house … Behind the Mittens, edge of framed collage, photos from National Geographic … created in a workshop when worked at the WA State Library, Olympia … before started my MLS studies at UW, Seattle, 1985 …
tuxedo cat

Family Bird Art Cat

1950s, art, birds, boxes, cats, family, family memorabilia, scratching, tv, , , , , ,

Thursday, February 24, 2022, 6:07 am — Perkins … after her early morning scratching … red arrow points to someone’s claw … boxes of photos on Mom’s hardrock maple coffee table, Ethan Allen … Framed bird print has been in the family since before our first tv, see below! …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

… Bird print on wall … We’re the TV generation! Debra, me, Marcie, Judy, Laurie …  My birthday party, June 5, 1957. Glenwood house, Vancouver, WA … That could possibly be Mr. Moon … (plus Mom’s bear) … see Our First TV …

Butterfly Adventurist Cat

blogs, cats, curiosity, food, travel, tv, , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, January 25, 2022, 9:55 am — Teeny Tuxedo … what do you see outside? … Perky’s more interested in eating, which is great! …
tuxedo cat, ginger / red / orange tabby cat

Big circle … little circle … which does Teeny Tuxedo prefer? … If she could read, she’d know that the big blue circle celebrates Margaret Fountaine, intrepid Victorian traveler, who loved butterflies and men … and wrote about both in her diaries … From Teeny’s feline perspective, the tiny blue circle on the big tv screen is much more interesting … and it moves! …
tuxedo cat

“Margaret Fountaine, 1862-1940, I’m a bloody lepidopterist and i loved love” … alternative blue heritage plaque … Norwich, Norfolk, England …

“In 1867 the very first blue plaque was unveiled to mark the London birthplace of Lord Byron. These iconic heritage plaques can now be found on buildings across the UK, celebrating ‘great figures of the past from all walks of life who have contributed to society’. But do they tell the whole story?” – source

“Rosie’s Plaques is a guerrilla art project staged by women of The Common Lot theatre company. When we discovered that out of more than 300 heritage plaques in Norwich [England] only 25 celebrated non mythical women, we decided to do something about it. In May 2019, under cover of darkness and dressed as Rosie the Riveter, we erected hand made alternative blue plaques on significant buildings in the city.” … including a plaque for Margaret Fountaine!

During my August 1999 home exchange in Durham, England, I made two train trips to the Norwich Castle Museum, Norfolk … to spend time in the non-public area with Margaret’s butterfly collection … but more importantly, her diaries … 12 volumes … from 1878, when she was barely 16 … to 1939, the year before her death in Trinidad, seeking butterflies … see January 22, 2022 – Brilliant … on My Photo a Day Adventure blog

Bridging the Gap Cat

actresses, cats, dvds, family, family memorabilia, Finland, movies, sleep, travel, tv, , , ,

Tuesday, January 4, 2022, 11:27 am — Perkins … multicultural cat … Finland and Sweden … newly arrived DVD set … Ingrid Bergman’s Swedish Years … she’s star of the month on Turner Classic Movies  … The green and red are part of a table runner I wove on a loom at my cousin’s shop … Mikkeli, Finland … 1999 … a week’s visit between home exchanges in Kirkintilloch, Scotland and Durham, England … (Mom’s wingback chair) …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

The World’s a Stage Cat

boxes, cats, curiosity, sleep, , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 31, 2021, 7:38 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … After the disappointing box on the floor, two minutes later she saw boxes on the table … special boxes … photo boxes! … Perky’s orange tabby-ness gives away her secret napping spot on the chair under the table …
tuxedo cat, ginger / red / orange tabby cat

A closer look … Who’s that in the black and white photo? … Me! … Anniella, manager of the Hotel Paradiso … Hotel Paradiso, written by Georges Feydeau (1862-1921) … on Broadway, 1957 … Anniella was a man, Anniello, in the original … Mrs. Decker changed it for me … early 1970s … Penguin Playhouse …
tuxedo cat

… Teeny’s curiosity has been satisfied … Now, to sit and scan the territory for more boxes …
tuxedo cat

White Paper Cats

boxes, cats, curiosity, Finnish, fun, holiday, , , , , , , , ,

Friday, December 31, 2021, 2:01 am — Teeny Tuxedo, Perkins … snoozing next to my Finnish discussion group notes … Started Sept. 2021, once a week, one hour, six-week sessions … via Zoom … Maybe they’re learning Finnish by osmosis …
tuxedo cat, ginger / red / orange tabby cat

7:36 pm … that night … New Year’s Eve … Teeny Tuxedo … none too pleased to share her box with empty TP rolls …
tuxedo cat

April 1, 2020 … Perkins, Teeny Tuxedo … much more impressed when there was a TP shortage … and this magnificent box of wonderful white stuff showed up … see Rare, Elusive TP Cats …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat, tuxedo cat

Double Curiosity Cat

animals, boxes, cats, curiosity, Finnish, food, travel, , , , , ,

Wednesday, December 29, 2021, 6:59 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … curious about the food puzzle toy … but not curious enough to work at getting a piece of Wellness out …
tuxedo cat

… 7:13 pm … Curiosity takes her to the dining table … boxes! … a box of travel photos being sorted … June 2003 cross-country train from Vancouver, WA to Buffalo, NY … rental car to upstate NY to Bangor, Maine (harness racing) … to Lubec, Maine … to New Brunswick, Canada (Campobello!) … back to Buffalo, NY … drove by myself through West Virginia (1 night) … to Lexington, KY (Kentucky Horse Park, Fell ponies!) … to Ashland, WI (High Bridge, WI, Dad’s home farm!) … to St. Paul, MN (Russ, Kathy, Krista) … flew back, PDX … 3 weeks! …
tuxedo cat

One Cat at a Time

1970s, cats, curiosity, dvds, tv,

Friday, June 4, 2021, 4:59 pm — Teeny Tuxedo … Looks interesting, but there’s nothing to eat! … One Day at a Time, 1975-1984, complete series … an early birthday present …
tuxedo cat
… “The misadventures of a divorced mother, her family, and their building superintendent in Indianapolis.” … Bonnie Franklin, Valerie Bertinelli, Pat Harrington Jr., Mackenzie Phillips

Child Star Cat

actresses, blogs, books, cats, family, fun, movies, ,

Friday, June 4, 2021, 8:18 am — Teeny Tuxedo … sitting next to Shirley Temple’s autobiography, Child Star (left corner) … If she could read it, she would! …tuxedo cat

… a 1988 Christmas gift from Russ … who knows I’ve been a fan since Pluto was a pup … Must be fate, since Mom was outside the Los Angeles Wilshire Methodist Church where 17-year-old Shirley was marrying John Agar, Sept. 19, 1945 … details on my movie blog! ...

Chirp, Robin, Chirp!

birds, family, food, outside, travel, trees, weather, YT, , , , ,

Sunday, May 2, 2021, 12:14 pm — A cheery, chirpy, clear sky robin day! … top of tree … looking north from the front door …  outside, rather than through a window … MUCH crisper! … (Russ and I were leaving for Olympia … Dirty Dave’s Pizza! … a travel tradition) …

By the time filming started, chirp-chirp-chirping stopped … did catch him/her drop a black seed out of its mouth … and make a swift flying exit …

Listen to the American robin’s cheery chirps and other songs and calls at audubon.org

Prince Philip’s Fell Ponies

birds, books, cats, horses, scratching, travel, tv, YT, , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, April 17, 2021, 5:42 am — Perkins … HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip … funeral today … live streaming, BBC … he’d planned all the details, including participation of his two Fell ponies and carriage, which have been left to his granddaughter, Lady Louise, 17 … Camera on top of scratching post and High Noon book … to film Fell ponies on tv screen (see below) …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

… Prince Philip’s Fells … Balmoral Nevis, Notlaw Storm … heading toward and at Windsor Castle …

… Prince Philip … Windsor grounds … 2019 …

… Granddaughter, Lady Louise, 14 … her mother, Sophie, Countess of Wessex (father, Prince Edward) … Royal Windsor Horse Show, 2018 … Philip taught them both to drive …

… Lowther Horse Driving Trials and County Fair, 2005 … 3-day combined driving event … Cumbria, England … (I was there all 3 days, 1999! … Queen Elizabeth was, also, thinking it might be Philip’s last year to compete … not quite!) …

… Competition Carriage Driving … HRH The Duke of Edinburgh … 1994 … have both this and his 2005 book, 30 Years On and Off the Box Seat …

… Windsor … 2017 …

“A red-topped plastic container was placed on the box seat of his driving carriage. He used it to store the sugar lumps he gave to his Fell ponies, Balmoral Nevis and Notlaw Storm, both present along with the carriage in the castle quadrangle. Next to this lay his driving cap, whip, blanket and brown gloves.“

Doob … my Fell pony … Orange Hay Net Cats, Oct. 24, 2016 …

Morning-Night Cats

1980s, cats, curiosity, dvds, fun, outside, shadows, sleep, tv, window, , , , , , , , ,

Sunday, April 11, 2021, 10:33 am — Perkins, Teeny Tuxedo … a warm morning snooze … Teeny’s front paw keeps the window standing straight …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat, tuxedo cat

… 10:43 pm … Perky welcomes the newest DVD set … all the way from the UK! … Nanny, complete series 1 to 3, 1981-1983, BBC, Wendy Craig …
ginger / red / orange tabby cat

  • “A divorced woman decides to train as a Nanny in 1930s England. The series is unique as, not only, is she a more mature person but she is also modern with ‘progressive’ ideas.”
  • Saw it over 30 years ago, PBS, recorded one episode, VHS … well worth the wait, still mesmerizing … 1st purchase from Amazon UK
  • Hooray for my Panasonic DVD-S700EP-K Region Free DVD Player, 1080p Up-Conversion with HDMI Output, Progressive Scan … purchased Dec. 2018

Springing Forward

birds, health, outside, weather, , , ,

Friday, April 9, 2021, 4:40 pm — A sure sign of spring … busy, chirpy robins … west edge of back lawn … 24x zoom …

… and blooming flowers … cool, overcast day, 59° … the perennial anemones keep their petals up to stay warm …

… 1 year ago … warmer day, 68°, anemone open to the sun … “First spring bloom on the deck … first day working from home … campus closed  until … possibly the end of spring quarter, June 2020” ... Stay Home, Stay Safe, March 17, 2020 … and today, 1 year later, 2021, campus still closed … on the positive side, we’re getting vaccinated! …