kochleffel

As if we didn't have enough to worry about: A California family was perplexed by "rumbling, snoring-like noises" they heard all winter. Then the bears woke up. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/5-bears-under-house_n_62643c7ee4b00b4e017ef157

No cheesesteak for me. Chocolate-covered raisins are OK but would be better without the raisins. As for cocktails, it depends--some are wastes of good liquor. Definitely in favor of nonsense although there is too much of it masquerading as sense. Vegetarian enchiladas might be OK if you can find good vegetarians to make them from. No on the cocktail, yes on the wine. I haven't been to Tanzania. With pharmaceutical help, I slept better last night, but I'm still tired. I need to shop at Wegmans but preferably not on a Friday, so may choose to make do with Aldi today. I also need to pick up some cardboardeaux. Dinner will probably be ratatouille with tofu, because the zucchini won't keep long. I also need to do something with the largest romanesco I've ever seen. Animal news, about escape artists: --A zebra that escaped in Seoul has been captured. https://apnews.com/article/zebra-escape-zoo-south-korea-9af961eeca1a232fd4086ba648c2a052 --A multiple-escape bear in St. Louis is being moved to a maximum-security compound in Texas. https://apnews.com/article/bear-escape-zoo-missouri-15d5a7252a58b2abb4f2ac9094ccb772

On the puppy topic, sort of: yesterday the Supreme Court heard arguments in a strange case involving whiskey and a dog toy: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2023/03/22/jack-daniels-dog-toy-trademark/

I'm back from donating blood, which went smoothly. The donation site is a church that is basically around the corner from me; one of the other donors was a monk from the Hindu temple that is about the same distance away in the opposite direction. I'm enjoying see the photos of puppies, even those that are no longer really puppies. FWIW, I'm quite partial to Brittany spaniels.

During Zoom meetings, especially those that are likely to be annoying, I sometimes drink wine from a coffee mug.

Melba toast is OK but I would usually choose a whole-grain cracker such as Wasa. Chips and dip aren't on my list. I always like it on Dr. Pol when they're examining a litter of puppies. One of the veterinarians said that the first step was to check for cuteness, but all puppies are cute. I would probably need Lactaid with the feta pasta. I'd like some real New England apple pie, but I'll skip it as a cocktail. The wine might be above my budget. I haven't been to Chile. The situation at work continues to bother me, and it won't be resolved until the project either takes place or the time frame for it ends. Very possibly another bloodbath meeting next month. I'm having trouble sleeping. I have an appointment to donate blood this afternoon. Another animal story: Mr. and Mrs. Pickles, of Houston, have three new babies. Mr. Pickles is 90 years old and a first-time dad; Mrs. Pickles is 56. They are tortoises. https://www.houstonzoo.org/blog/oh-sweet-baby-pickles/

Our constituency is high-maintenance. The two quarreling people in the first episode were heads of organizations that we cooperate with, but which are sort of rivals to each other. Years ago I worked for an organization whose members were mostly artists, writers, musicians, and yoga teachers, and the constant eruptions of artistic temperament were much worse than this. My retirement date is June 30, 2023.

Today is supposed to be my day off, but I'm at work. In fact, I was here earlier than usual for an emergency (?) meeting with someone who was told in public (not by me) that he had given offense at a public event that I hosted and wanted to apologize. No apology was needed or appropriate, but it turned out to be a manifestation of an ongoing problem that doesn't actually concern me, except that I need the two of them not to quarrel at our next event that they will probably both attend. Then a member of the board wanted to apologize for the bloodbath meeting last night. That board member had spoken very freely but not in a way that required an apology; if I wanted an apology I'd want it from the entire bunch of them. After that part of the meeting, they kicked me out to plan my retirement celebration. I don't know why they're treating it as a surprise party, because I have already approved the date. I would really prefer that they do nothing at all, but that would look bad.

Badgers are protected in the Netherlands. The rail operators can't interfere with them--iirc they're allowed to repair the damage, but not while the badgers are present.

None of the special days has much appeal for me. Yesterday Miss Manners answered a question about how to reply to the question, "Are you still working?" that struck home -- people here have been asking me that the entire time I've lived here, which is since 2007. I have a source for kosher Greek-style sausage, but don't think I will make pita pizzas. I don't appreciate hot peppers, so the drink is out; the wine might be OK. I haven't been to Alicante and it's not on my itinerary for the fall. Sasha was a small cat with a very small voice, but the house is awfully quiet. I have some wildlife news to share. First, one of the two porcupines that escaped (probably with help) from a zoo in Germany has returned on his own. The porcupines are named Pinky and Brain, after the animated series; Brain is the one that returned. https://apnews.com/article/germany-missing-porcupines-zoo-pinky-brain-680ad00a6b11ff8e34a8ee75348fe8b9 Second, train service in parts of the Netherlands have been disrupted by badgers that tunneled under the tracks. The article has a nice photo of badgers, although they're not Dutch badgers. https://apnews.com/article/badgers-netherlands-trains-delays-dcd9acb783750366e1c308c0160d3aa8 Our board meeting last night was a bloodbath. After it I medicated with Calvados.

The most fun I've had so far today was taking out the trash and recycling, which will give you an idea how things are going. Actually, it is a relief to be able to set out paper and cardboard: I always have a backlog because it is so often raining on recycling day. Mostly, however, I've been struggling with a monthly newsletter for my organization. Several other organizations contribute material, and our relationships with them require publishing their contributions. This month, two of them, the two that have the largest following, were typically close-mouthed; I usually have to use threats and intimidation to get any information from them, or obtain it from another source. A third, on the other hand, contributed way too much and none of it needs to be published. @rafinmd Thanks for the alternative menu, which I would be happy to have. Dinner here, however, will probably be salmon, boiled potato, and roasted Brussels sprouts.

Thank you. I hadn't seen it yet. Here's a link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/2023/03/18/louisiana-wildlife-officials-illegal-pet-nutria/b0e8e508-c5be-11ed-82a7-6a87555c1878_story.html

I also wondered whether the first of the special days referred to paying down balances or to reducing the number of accounts. I have inadvertently done the latter through letting accounts be closed for lack of activity. No on crab-topped anything, and I'll skip the cocktail, but I'll be ready for the wine at 5:00 p.m. I still haven't been to Australia.

He dedicated the class tonight to Sasha's memory.

As @cat shepard said, it was a gift not to have to make "the decision we all dread." I had no hope that the vet would be able to help her. At her visit last fall, they noticed that the pupil of one eye was fixed and dilated, and thought she might have had a stroke. There was no other impairment then, but it made it seem likely that she would have another, worse one, sooner or later.

The Senior Cat in Charge died in 2013. Sasha declined promotion because the responsibility would have interfered with her beauty regimen.

On social media, our rabbi commented that Sasha was a "fine cat who never missed a Talmud class." The classes are on Zoom, and this is almost true: if I was there, she was there. There is a class tonight, and one very elderly participant always asks how, or where, Sasha is. The person is hard of listening (not especially hard of hearing) and I will probably have to answer four or five times.

For a TATL cruise from Spain this fall, I'm flying from Rochester, almost 100 miles away, in order to use miles on American, which doesn't fly from my local airport, but returning from Fort Lauderdale, I'll need to fly on Delta, both because I have credits there, and because I get a free checked bag, and Delta does fly to my local airport. I'm going to think about a one-way rental instead of parking at ROC for three weeks, although the remote parking at ROC isn't very expensive.

Later this morning I went to my own doctor. There was a medical student on a clinical rotation, which is always interesting because doctors tell the medical students things that they don't bother to tell their patients. My doctor is better than most in that respect, but there was still an interesting discussion of treatment options, including some that we had tried and abandoned. Here are the Senior Cat in Charge (Fergus) and Sasha in, I think, 2007.

Actually, she was DOA at the veterinarian's office, although breathing when we set out.

The Junior Cat has gone to her eternal reward. Her name was Sasha and she was 19 or 20 years old. She came to me from the Massachusetts SPCA, which had taken her from the home of a hoarder where she was terrorized by larger cats, and at first was frightened of everything. Over time she became a very happy cat, and I hope that her reward is a good one.

I had to look up Certified Nurses Day. It celebrates nurses who have earned additional quallifications, i.e., in specialties, subspecialties, or advanced practice. Roll-ups sound like a complicated way to make lasagna. I'd skip the cocktail, would like the wine if it were obtainable, haven't been to Australia. Since we were just talking about eating muskrat, opossum, and nutria, or not eating them, here's a menu from the Semi-Annual Banquet of the Alabama Hotel Men's Association at the Cawthorn Hotel Vineyard in Mobile in 1913. I slept better last night; will teach an adult class on Zoom at 9:30, then run a film screening at 2:30. I have an online meeting at 6:30 p.m. that I will probably skip.

Get Your Tiara Ready. The Coronation Is Coming. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/12/fashion/jewelry-tiaras-coronation-london.html The Junior Cat is hunting for her tiara, which she hasn't had occasion to wear since the last royal wedding. This morning I had been up for only a few minutes before I realized that I wasn't going to attend the synagogue. I went back to bed and slept until about the time it would have ended.

When I had surgery for a broken nose, the single most annoying part of recuperation was that, when I dropped anything, I couldn't pick it up. The Moroccan lamb stew would probably be OK with me, although many Moroccan dishes are spicier than I like. I'd try the cocktail, preferably with the optional addition, and would probably like the wine. The bottle that's open right now is a rosé of Pinot Noir from Oregon. I don't envision booking a cruise that would call at Corinto, but you never know.