With the cold weather, snow on the ground, and a halt to most outside activities, the pets become entertainment. This post is mostly about them and includes a new video, so take a look.
Pam happened to catch Blondie napping in the laundry room and thought the lighting was quite unusual. I agree. Here is the resulting photo, taken by Pam, of our 14 year old pack leader.
The kittens, Stirling and Vienna, are now 5 months old and are filling out. It appears both will be long in the body and not prone to getting fat, but it’s early days yet. Their activity levels are quite high!
I have a new video of the kittens playing with a favorite toy, Mr. Spring. You can watch the video without leaving this post by viewing it below. (Click the red “Play” button.) This is a feature I am experimenting with, embedding my YouTube videos, so let me know if you like or dislike it.
Outside, we have snow on the ground, the first accumulating snow of the season. We have been watching the birds at the feeder, the squirrels using the water bowl, and nuthatches and woodpeckers at the suet feeder. (Sparrows have also been using the water bowl.) I shot some video of birds at the feeder. This was taken through the library window while it was snowing and is not as sharp as I would like, but the birds fly away whenever I open the door to go outside.
On the medical front, I received word from the Mayo Clinic that my right shoulder could benefit from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. This diagnosis is based on the MRI taken a week or so ago. I am just trying to decide when to have the procedure done as it means little use of my right arm for quite some time.
Pam made a trip to the dentist to have a filling examined. A piece of tooth had chipped off, leaving a rough edge. The dentist polished the edges for the time being; Pam will visit dental world in December to re-do the tooth with a more permanent fix.
Toby arrived Thursday night and will be with us until Sunday morning. There is a lot going on in his life as he has a new girlfriend and is planning to move from South Bend to Las Vegas. (More on that in later posts.) It was good to see him and have long conversations about where he is, what his hopes and dreams are, and what he sees for his future over the next few years.
Otherwise it has been quiet. I have been shoveling snow as well as working on short videos. I had upgraded to a new web browser, Vivaldi, and mostly retired the Safari browser supplied by Apple on my Mac. Upgrading the Mac’s operating system would require purchasing new versions of the software I use most, a very expensive proposition, but the new browser is working fine where Safari was having problems. (With WordPress 6.1 and my blog software, for example.) The Vivaldi upgrade seems to be an interim solution so I won’t have to upgrade right now.
Pam came across this ad in the local paper. We are in the Bible Belt for sure.
Photo Archive
Just a couple shots taken on motorcycle trips in Colorado
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
The year seems to be moving swiftly toward closure. Company is in-house, medical and dental issues continue, Solstice cards are moving along well — but –January-type weather is visiting NE Iowa.
Exterior holiday lights installation is on our calendar for the weekend after Thanksgiving; the Elma holiday parade passes by Heart House that Sunday night. If the weather doesn’t improve to above freezing during the day before then, the main portion of our light display this year may be installed after the parade passes by…
Happy Trails.
So, now when I open up Appleattic blog, it takes me right to the blog, not the home page as in the past…..Really enjoy the new format, the videos a bonus…Well done
Craig:
Thanks for the note. If you want to get to our Home page, edit your bookmark so it reads https://www.appleattic.net and that will do it. Your bookmark probably has an added /blog at the end of it which takes youto the blog page. Or, if you are viewing from a PC and not a hand-held device you can click on the “Home” link at the upper left-hand part of the screen, under the main image. On a hand-held device the link is under the bars at the top-left of the screen.
Yes, I like the idea of viewing videos without having to leave the blog page. I used to be able to do this in the early years of the blog when I had a photo and video hosting service, Cincopa. It got too expensive to keep going after they raised their rates as they were aimed at the commercial market, not private pages. I am pleased to be able to embed videos in the blog page again.
It takes some code work to remove the YouTube branding and the “Recommended” list that pops up after most videos, but it is worth it. Just one other YouTube note: My videos are “Unlisted” which means you won’t find them on a search. They can be viewed from the blog page or directly if you have the link, so if you ever want the direct link for a video let me know and I will send it to you.
Thanks again for the note. I appreciate the feedback!
I could not find where to comment? Thanks for the card! Hope you and Pam have a thankful Thanksgiving!!!! DEB