Smokey Cat is eleven years old, and has thus far in his life remained blissfully ignorant of certain human foodstuffs, until the week before Christmas.
We brought some mince pies home to eat. Mince pies - for those that are also unaware of this treat - are a seasonal British thing; tiny pies containing a mostly raisin-based fruit filling. These are traditionally eaten with heavy cream.
Smokey did what he always does at this time of year; he crept into my lap and settled down while we watched some TV. And then I had a plate with my mince pie and cream in my hands.
He took a sniff at the plate, turned around, and gave me such a look - that said, "OMG WHAT IS THIS AND HOW HAVE I NOT KNOWN ABOUT IT BEFORE NOW?" He then went into a frenzy of climbing over both himself and me in a singular attempt to lick what remained of the cream off my plate.
We have unleashed a monster. Every time I sit down to eat now, he has to know whether or not that elixir-like substance is involved in my dinner. Every plate must be sniffed and examined. He seems disappointed when he doesn't find any.
Mercifully, he hasn't yet told our other cats about this or there would be hell to pay.
Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Monday, January 13, 2020
On running
I ran a 5K on Saturday. Not my first and it won't be my last. It was cold, though. And windy.
There was a lady there who I wanted to beat. She ran off out the gate like a scalded gazelle and I thought, "Oh well, if she is that fast then I'm just going to do my own race." Until I realized that she wasn't disappearing into the distance, and I was maintaining my position behind her. Then I started to creep up towards her. About two miles in, I overtook her, and then it was On. Now I was being Chased; which gave extra impetus to my run.
This was a nice course; it started in a neighborhood, then there was a long winding section along a footpath, before going back into the neighborhood. After that, it was The Course That Would Not End. So many corners! And at each one, I'm thinking, "Surely this must be the last corner now?" But no; another one lay ahead...
Meanwhile, my nemesis was still behind me. I could guesstimate how far by the people cheering us on; I could hear them cheering her behind me. Another corner; nope, not finished yet, keep going. Keep going. You got this. If she was going to beat me, I was going to make her work for it, I wanted to win or lose on my terms, not hers, and the only way to do that was to run the best race I could.
I wound up finishing about 30 seconds in front of my nemesis, at a pace that surprised me. I ran pretty fast that day in the end. Maybe we all need a nemesis now and again to spur us on. I doubt I would have run as well had I not been chased. And now I know how fast I can run.
There was a lady there who I wanted to beat. She ran off out the gate like a scalded gazelle and I thought, "Oh well, if she is that fast then I'm just going to do my own race." Until I realized that she wasn't disappearing into the distance, and I was maintaining my position behind her. Then I started to creep up towards her. About two miles in, I overtook her, and then it was On. Now I was being Chased; which gave extra impetus to my run.
This was a nice course; it started in a neighborhood, then there was a long winding section along a footpath, before going back into the neighborhood. After that, it was The Course That Would Not End. So many corners! And at each one, I'm thinking, "Surely this must be the last corner now?" But no; another one lay ahead...
Meanwhile, my nemesis was still behind me. I could guesstimate how far by the people cheering us on; I could hear them cheering her behind me. Another corner; nope, not finished yet, keep going. Keep going. You got this. If she was going to beat me, I was going to make her work for it, I wanted to win or lose on my terms, not hers, and the only way to do that was to run the best race I could.
I wound up finishing about 30 seconds in front of my nemesis, at a pace that surprised me. I ran pretty fast that day in the end. Maybe we all need a nemesis now and again to spur us on. I doubt I would have run as well had I not been chased. And now I know how fast I can run.
Thursday, January 9, 2020
My like/dislike relationship with Christmas
We are just past all the holiday shenanigans as I write.
Christmas, for me, is not a religious holiday. And let's be honest, Christianity hijacked it anyway from existing winter solstice celebrations that have gone on since time immemorial. So; fine, let's all have a winter celebration to beat the darkness away.
I get soul-destroyed every year with the constant hammering of retailers wanting us to buy Every Last New Thing; the forest worth of catalogues that arrive in the mail (thankfully those seem to have reduced in number this year) and the barrage of emails pushing This and That.
Then there's the pressure of the fact we are apparently obligated to buy gifts for every member of our family and friends. All at once. And they're supposed to be creative and imaginative gifts. Which I am not great at choosing at the best of times. So I just don't want to do it. I'd rather give someone a nice birthday present; at least that gets spread out through the year and I can concentrate on choosing something good. But I do it anyway, otherwise people will be disappointed.
At least these days, everyone seems to have acknowledged that they don't really need anything, and some gift exchanges have been put on hold, while my husband didn't want anything at all. (I gave him some Heifer.org honey bees; at least that way he still got to open something, while someone else in the world gets to benefit). I'll be honest though; I like opening a gift as much as the next person - I'd just rather it was something I will actually use, rather than a house-filling trinket.
I swithered for ages about getting a tree, too. In the end, when faced with some nice-yet-cheap trees a few days before Christmas, I didn't buy one because I really couldn't be arsed to decorate it. My husband wasn't interested in having one anyway, and I just couldn't be bothered to do it only for myself. Sure, I love a decorated tree as much as the next person. Maybe next year.
One thing I did enjoy was doing the Reddit Secret Santa gift exchange. In this, you're paired up with a complete stranger and have to get them a gift. They can fill out a form explaining their likes/dislikes and you choose something they will (hopefully) like. Some other person gets to choose for you. I like it because there is zero pressure; it's not like getting something for a family member who you have known for 40 years and have run out of ideas of what to get them. You just choose something cool, send it off and hopefully brighten a stranger's day.
The other thing I like is the chance to cook and eat a nice meal in the company of friends. All our family is 5000 miles away so that's less practical. I think that is what Christmas has become, for me - a celebration of friendship, while enjoying the chance to take a break from the world. That period between Christmas and New Year is always strange - a whole series of Sundays, cups of tea and cookies, followed by a fire in the evening. A time to recharge and reset, preferably in the company of good people.
And now it's January; off we go again...
Christmas, for me, is not a religious holiday. And let's be honest, Christianity hijacked it anyway from existing winter solstice celebrations that have gone on since time immemorial. So; fine, let's all have a winter celebration to beat the darkness away.
I get soul-destroyed every year with the constant hammering of retailers wanting us to buy Every Last New Thing; the forest worth of catalogues that arrive in the mail (thankfully those seem to have reduced in number this year) and the barrage of emails pushing This and That.
Then there's the pressure of the fact we are apparently obligated to buy gifts for every member of our family and friends. All at once. And they're supposed to be creative and imaginative gifts. Which I am not great at choosing at the best of times. So I just don't want to do it. I'd rather give someone a nice birthday present; at least that gets spread out through the year and I can concentrate on choosing something good. But I do it anyway, otherwise people will be disappointed.
At least these days, everyone seems to have acknowledged that they don't really need anything, and some gift exchanges have been put on hold, while my husband didn't want anything at all. (I gave him some Heifer.org honey bees; at least that way he still got to open something, while someone else in the world gets to benefit). I'll be honest though; I like opening a gift as much as the next person - I'd just rather it was something I will actually use, rather than a house-filling trinket.
I swithered for ages about getting a tree, too. In the end, when faced with some nice-yet-cheap trees a few days before Christmas, I didn't buy one because I really couldn't be arsed to decorate it. My husband wasn't interested in having one anyway, and I just couldn't be bothered to do it only for myself. Sure, I love a decorated tree as much as the next person. Maybe next year.
One thing I did enjoy was doing the Reddit Secret Santa gift exchange. In this, you're paired up with a complete stranger and have to get them a gift. They can fill out a form explaining their likes/dislikes and you choose something they will (hopefully) like. Some other person gets to choose for you. I like it because there is zero pressure; it's not like getting something for a family member who you have known for 40 years and have run out of ideas of what to get them. You just choose something cool, send it off and hopefully brighten a stranger's day.
The other thing I like is the chance to cook and eat a nice meal in the company of friends. All our family is 5000 miles away so that's less practical. I think that is what Christmas has become, for me - a celebration of friendship, while enjoying the chance to take a break from the world. That period between Christmas and New Year is always strange - a whole series of Sundays, cups of tea and cookies, followed by a fire in the evening. A time to recharge and reset, preferably in the company of good people.
And now it's January; off we go again...
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
Everyone's listening
We have Siri and Alexa in our house, and yesterday they were joined by Google.
For some reason, Google decided to offer my husband one of their Home Mini devices for free, so OK Google, let's see what you've got.
I decided to ask it this morning what the outside temperature was. It told me, and then advised me to say 'Good morning' for a daily summary. Alrighty then, I did so, and it gave me the weather for the day followed by the news.
Next I wanted to ask Alexa the temperature, to see if they concurred. She told me, and then offered to read me the news. Which she has never asked before. So; Alexa is listening to Google....
For some reason, Google decided to offer my husband one of their Home Mini devices for free, so OK Google, let's see what you've got.
I decided to ask it this morning what the outside temperature was. It told me, and then advised me to say 'Good morning' for a daily summary. Alrighty then, I did so, and it gave me the weather for the day followed by the news.
Next I wanted to ask Alexa the temperature, to see if they concurred. She told me, and then offered to read me the news. Which she has never asked before. So; Alexa is listening to Google....
Friday, January 3, 2020
People are people
We are watching ‘For All Mankind’. (Spoilers abound here!)
We’re a few episodes in, and it seems that in this alternate world of the 1960s - actually it’s about 1972 I think now in the show - they have made good strides with some issues. Apparently we can now have female astronauts and black astronauts without too much societal horror - perhaps this is a consequence of the show being made in 2019, although I’m not complaining.
But they haven’t got their heads around gay or lesbian folks yet, still considering them to be an aberration.
I can’t get my own head around why the activities of two consenting adults - of any description - is any business of anybody’s but their own. People are just people, no matter how they’re packaged.
There's quite a lot of folks here in 2020 that could do with learning this small fact, as well.
We’re a few episodes in, and it seems that in this alternate world of the 1960s - actually it’s about 1972 I think now in the show - they have made good strides with some issues. Apparently we can now have female astronauts and black astronauts without too much societal horror - perhaps this is a consequence of the show being made in 2019, although I’m not complaining.
But they haven’t got their heads around gay or lesbian folks yet, still considering them to be an aberration.
I can’t get my own head around why the activities of two consenting adults - of any description - is any business of anybody’s but their own. People are just people, no matter how they’re packaged.
There's quite a lot of folks here in 2020 that could do with learning this small fact, as well.
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