Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion
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message 2401:
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Kathleen
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Jun 30, 2019 07:07PM
Congrats to Mike and to Gabrielle, and wishing you all the best. Down with soul-sucking jobs!!
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Apropos of nothing, i apparently have a cat. I hadn't planned on having a cat but he won't leave so... His brother and sister are also around but they seem happy enough with occasional visits but he appears to have staked his claim :| .
I'm still holding my ground on the litter box though! Thats my line in the sand (pun intended) . He makes his own arrangements during the day and we put him out at night like the cat from the flintstones. Except that he has a nice shed to go into, with food and comfortable bedding.
We're currently in negotiations over how many meals a day a cat should have.
He's insisting on four, but since he refuses to do anything but sleep and eat i'm trying to get him down to at least three, but he's playing hardball :P .
Wreade1872 wrote: "Apropos of nothing, i apparently have a cat. I hadn't planned on having a cat but he won't leave so... His brother and sister are also around but they seem happy enough with occasional visits but ..."
I'd love to hear the ongoing saga of your negotiations with this cat. Sounds like he drives a hard bargain! ;)
Wreade1872 wrote: "Apropos of nothing, i apparently have a cat. I hadn't planned on having a cat but he won't leave so... His brother and sister are also around but they seem happy enough with occasional visits but ..."
Do you know whether or not he/she/they have been neutered/spayed? Because it can turn into a serious problem if they haven't been.
If you don't know whether they are, you can probably get in touch with your local humane society/cat rescue, and they'll help you set up traps, if necessary, in order to catch them and insure that they are neutered/spayed, usually on the cheap and sometimes for free. As much as I love cats (I have two, and one's a Persian that controls my life completely), you don't want what starts out as two or three to become twenty-six or twenty-seven.
by curious coincidence, the population of Slug Towers is soon to increase by one (cat), with Lady Slugge and (ringleader) Littlest Sluglette having me outnumbered, and various local rescue centres being contacted as we speak...
Pillsonista wrote: "o you know whether or not he/she/they have been neutered/spaye..."Not sure about the spayed situation but i doubt it, the sister has already been in heat but the one i acquired is definitely a male so for now i'm considering the spayed situation someone else's problem.
I've worked out the rest of the family, the momma, sister and the other one (probably another male but unconfirmed) live with one of our neighbors, At least two different houses seem to be feeding them and they're definitely not sleeping rough (i don't normally know anything about my neighbors but spied about a bit because a LOT of different cats use my garden as a crossing point, at least 5 plus the family of four i mentioned).
Also there are foxes about and i reckon one might be living in my neighbours jungle/garden. Leaving plates of food and cat in the shed at night might cause some issues :P .
I miss the birds a bit, stupid magpies are still about of course but for a while there, after my last cats died out, but before all the new ones started moving in, we built up so many sparrows, starlings and blackbirds that sparrow-hawks actually hunted the garden a handful of times.
Update: I saw the cat eat broccoli once before moving in here, i'm going to try to use this to my advantage regarding the food negotiations ;) .
Wreade1872 wrote: "Pillsonista wrote: "o you know whether or not he/she/they have been neutered/spaye..."Not sure about the spayed situation but i doubt it, the sister has already been in heat but the one i acquire..."
Using broccoli to entice a cat.... you are really "uping" your game!! ;)
Darren wrote: "by curious coincidence, the population of Slug Towers is soon to increase by one (cat), wit..."Hope you have better luck than i do, my cat isn't much of a people person.
Or rather furniture person, it doesn't do chairs or even beds and you can forget about it sitting on your lap, so thats a lot of human interaction areas ruled out. Wouldn't be much fun for a family cat, although its fine for me.
It sleeps on a rug on the floor like a dog and keeps its purring to a minimum.
Terris wrote: "Using broccoli to entice a cat.... you are really "uping" your game!! ;)..."
So i left the cat some food with a side head of broccoli in the shed last night and this morning it was all gone. Now the cat eating the sort of ends on the broccoli sure.. but the giant thick stalky bit?
I suspect a fox visitation, cat seems fine though.
I wonder if i can coat the garden path in flour or something, try and catch some paw prints next time :P .
I’m loving the cat updates. When I moved into my house years ago, I had two cats, that I’d adopted a few months previously from a cat sanctuary. One soon moved to live with the old lady at the end of the road, he obviously preferred the peace and quiet. My next door neighbour’s cat moved in. We spent many months putting him out of the house, never feeding or encouraging him, but he was persistent. He loves my other cat, but regularly sees off any other cat intruders. He moved himself in, but won’t take that behaviour from another cat!
Quick update, i was wrong about the fox. Gave the cat another head of broccoli, he murdered the entire thing including the thick stalk bit, it was weird :P . But a perfect distraction and stopped him annoying me for more catfood :) .
lt also had a kind of catnip effect, he ran around for a while chasing a ball then jumped out a window, most exercise i've gotten out of him in days ;) .
I’m going to have to start eating more broccoli!! ;)
Wreade1872 wrote: "Quick update, i was wrong about the fox. Gave the cat another head of broccoli, he murdered the entire thing including the thick stalk bit, it was weird :P . But a perfect distraction and stopped ..."
😹
Wreade1872 wrote: "Quick update, i was wrong about the fox. Gave the cat another head of broccoli, he murdered the entire thing including the thick stalk bit, it was weird :P . But a perfect distraction and stopped ..."
What a bizarre cat! I don't think mine would have ever even gone near any broccoli. The cat saga is very interesting 😹
New born in the family! My niece and godchild just gave birth to a little Antone. This mini human is the first of his new generation. So I become a grand-aunt! (I'm not sure if it's the right word in English...! 😏 )It's so moving... I wonder what it's going to be like when or if I have a grandchild?
Congratulations, Gabrielle. In Canada we use the term Great-aunt. Being a grandmother is the best!
Congratulations, Gabrielle! They say a grandmother can have a rest from bringing the kids up and simply enjoy loving them.(I wouldn't know, am still at the bringing-up stage)
On an unrelated note, did anyone notice an improvement in GR automatic recommendations? I recently read 3 books they recommended to me and found them good! 2*, 3*, and 4* - mean value of 3* "I liked it".
Admittedly I don't pay any attention to the recommendations created on the basis of all the books read - I only look at the recommendations for my 5-stars shelf, because otherwise the algorithm is quite capable of recommending stuff "because you added book XXX," where the book XXX got a 1*-rating from me.
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(I wouldn't know, am still at the bringing-up stage)
On an unrelated not..."
I think the books recommended for the most part do look interesting to me. Overall, I think the recommendations on GR are helpful.
Rosemarie wrote: "Being a grandmother is the best!"I an only believe you! But there's no hurry for me, Rosemarie. :)
https://www.buzzfeed.com/shylawatson/...I just did this Buzzfeeds quiz & the results show that this group is working & helping readers reach their Classics reading goals!! I got 90/100!!! ;)
Mod
Lynn wrote: "That is amazing Terris! I got 46/100, which I consider respectable. Eight of the books I clicked I have either read or reread this year."Good, Lynn! I found that several on the list were ones that I had read for the Bingo challenges in the last couple of years! Yay!
Rosemarie wrote: "Terris, I got 89!"Good job, Rosemarie! Only one to go to catch up with me!
Haha! ;)
Had you heard of The Decameron?!! I had never heard of it or the author. I'm probably not going to read it :/
But Ivanhoe is on my list for this year.
And I may have to give in and try to read The Lord of the Rings. I liked the movies but I didn't think I'd ever read the books. But they are first on so many lists, I might have to try the first one -- maybe as an audio book -- not sure yet ;)
The Decameron is a collection of short stories told over a ten day period, by a group of noble men and women who have gone to stay at a country villa while the plague is raging in the nearby city. They take turns telling stories, many of them dealing with adultery, or reminiscent of Chaucer.It is actually entertaining, if you like short stories written during the Renaissance.
I plan on reading Oliver Twist, since I own a copy, so I will reach 90.
Rosemarie wrote: "I plan on reading Oliver Twist, since I own a copy, so I will reach 90."Good! Then we'll both be in the "90's Club"! ;)
Well, I'll have to say that The Decameron sounds kind of interesting, I'll have to look into it. I just don't think I've heard anyone talk about it in this group -- or I just wasn't paying attention! :)
My Bucket List of Books includes The Decameron. Maybe in a couple of years. I am doing mostly nonfiction this and next year. Then I will be ready to return to mostly fiction/classics for a couple.
I think I'll go ahead & add it to my TBR list.
We've got a spammer in Current Group Reads and Chit Chat.
Mod
I think I caught them. Thanks -- let us know if we miss any more!
Terris wrote: "I think I'll go ahead & add it to my TBR list."If you should get a desire to read, I hope you will remember me Terris. Maybe we can get another Catching Up friend to read with for a buddy read.
Cynda Cat wrote: "Terris wrote: "I think I'll go ahead & add it to my TBR list."If you should get a desire to read, I hope you will remember me Terris. Maybe we can get another Catching Up friend to read with for ..."
Yes, I will definitely keep you in mind! But I will probably have to put this one on my list for next year. And, at 909 pages, it may take me all year to get through!! ;)
Terris, yes. Next year, definitely :-)
Cynda Cat wrote: "Terris, yes. Next year, definitely :-)"It's a deal! :)
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I just did this Buzzfeeds quiz & the results show that this group is working & ..."
74/100
Sara wrote: "82/100 - I notice many of the ones I have not read are Robert Louis Stevenson, Swiss Family Robinson, The Wizard of Oz, Chronicles of Narnia...books that I missed when a child and have not read as ..."That's kind of a fun idea, Sara! Maybe even add one per year. The books that you need to read are pretty good ones. I read them as an adult. I only read Swiss Family Robinson last year and I really liked it! Enjoy!
Bob wrote: "Terris wrote: "https://www.buzzfeed.com/shylawatson/...I just did this Buzzfeeds quiz & the results show that this grou..."
Woohoo!
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His brother and sister are also around but they seem happy enough with occ..."
I am wondering how Broccoli Kitty is getting along?
also interested to hear about Broccoli Kittyand meanwhile our rescue cat has been chosen and will be arriving at Slug Towers on Saturday
will be re-naming, provisionally "Bilbo" :oD
Darren wrote: "also interested to hear about Broccoli Kittyand meanwhile our rescue cat has been chosen and will be arriving at Slug Towers on Saturday
will be re-naming, provisionally "Bilbo" :oD"
Congrats darren, i hope you've prepared for the toilet training ;) . Broccoli Kitty is doing ok... there's a lot of cat traffic in the garden its freaking him out a little.
His mom came by a few days ago to scoff all the catnuts that were left out. He snuck up behind her like he was gong to attack but just continued to slink around until he was sitting in front of the backdoor, presumably to tell her the house was off limits, he also stood in front of the shed for a while to tell her that was off limits too, a move which failed utterly.
He continued to slink around the garden for the rest of the visit. She mostly ignore him except for a quick head sniff. By the time she was done she had eaten all the catnuts, scent marked his favourite bush, quite deliberately peed in the middle of the garden and even wandered into his shed.
At that point i overruled all objections and scared her enough to get her out of there.
To make matters worse a few minutes after she left the black tom that terrorizes the neighbourhood came by presumably following the mommas scent. My suggestion of immediate murder was overruled on the basis that Broccoli Kitty 'needs to learn to protect his territory'. The cat had other ideas and hid on top of the shed until the intruder was gone.
All in all it was like a really embarrassing parent visiting you at school and then immediately running into the school bully :P .
It has not helped his confidence any :| .
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and meanwhile our rescue cat has been chosen and will be arriving at Slug Towers on Saturday
will be re-naming, provisionally "Bilbo" :oD..."
Great update! And Darren congratulations on your new addition.
Darren wrote: "also interested to hear about Broccoli Kittyand meanwhile our rescue cat has been chosen and will be arriving at Slug Towers on Saturday
will be re-naming, provisionally "Bilbo" :oD"
Nice. I'm committed to naming all my pets after LotR characters.
we are thinking LotR/Hobbit/Marvel/Harry Potter relatedI vetoed Thorin and Thanos as being too serious a name to live up to
Kili and Snape are both still possibilities though...
I know about being vetoed. I tried to convince the family that a Bjark was a perfect dog name. No love for Bjark. They ended up being fine with Pee Diddy because it's so versatile (plus he tended to tinkle on his feet when he was a tiny guy). When he gets a little older he can change his name to Pup Daddy if he is so inclined.
Melanie wrote: "Has anyone read The Island of the Blue Dolphins?
"I read it in elementary school. It's a classic.
Pink wrote: "Old book smells win for me, as long as they’re not too musty."I'll go with old, but both are nice.
glad to see the New vs Old Book Smell debate rumbling on! ;o)meanwhile, our cat arrived last week and while initially nervous he now seems to think he owns Slug Towers
name: Bucky (apparently a character from the Captain America franchise)
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