All Purls. No Swine.
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction--Mark Twain, 1887 Some of you have met him. Many of you have heard about him, or read about him. I’m talking about Psymon. My ginger-and-white cat who’s about seven years old, who first appeared in my life during the winter of… Continue reading Constantly Outwitted By My Cat…
So here we are on February 22, 2025, all set to observe George Washington's 293rd birthday. Right? Not so fast. It's true that, for years, February 22 was a national holiday in the United States. Banks were closed. Schools were closed. No mail was delivered. Department stores nationwide celebrated the end of the "white sales"… Continue reading Happy Belated Birthday, George Washington!
. . . from Geoffrey Chaucer, who, as with so many other things, is often credited with starting it all. It's a post which has largely gone before, but a sentiment which--to my mind--never goes out of date: Chaucer's dream vision poem, The Parliament of Fowls, was written about 1380 and begins with the narrator… Continue reading Happy Seynt Valentyn’s Day!
Well, I don’t think it’s quite that dire, but I did get a good chuckle out of a Fox News article today: Musk uncovers limestone mine used for manually processing federal workers’ retirement papers. Musk says the retirement process at the facility is done by hand, limits the number of federal employees who can retire to 10,000… Continue reading “DOGE is Coming!” The Eye of Elon Swivels to the Mines of Moria
The Telegraph headline, on a UK immigration story: Albanian criminal’s deportation halted over son’s distaste for chicken nuggets. Ahh–Yep. Evidence about child’s picky eating helps convince immigration tribunal that being forced to leave UK would be unduly harsh. I hope Tom Homan is preparing himself for this sort of lunacy, on this side of The… Continue reading Calling US AID! Why Have You Not Installed a McDonalds in Tirana? For the Children?
Today is the Super Bowl. I don't have a dog in this year's fight (at least not a two-legged one), as the Stillers--after a promising start to the season--folded, as they so often have in the past couple of decades, towards the end. Oh well. And without Tom Brady (Boo!) and the New England Patriots… Continue reading “I Will Play For Gumbo!” Notes on the Super Bowl, and a Recipe
An oldie-but-goodie from several years ago, inspired by recent family, friend, and social media experiences. "The more things change; the more they stay the same." My considered advice to all those younger than I (I'm 70 at the moment)--after you've had a good look in the mirror and found a way to accept with equanimity… Continue reading Aging Gracefully: The Girl On Your Back