Miscellany

I'm blogging before going out with the Irish kids this morning.  It's above freezing at the moment, but the temperature is supposed to drop throughout the day and we're to get snow late this afternoon through tomorrow morning.  But it's also supposed to clear and we'll have highs in the 50s over the weekend.  That'll be nice, as Brenda and VT are looking forward to our hike on Sunday.  ...  I met Nancy, the new neighbor in A-116 yesterday, as well as her three cats; and she met Lovey.  Nedi ran under the bed and refused to come out, so she got a glimpse of him, but that was all.
  If you live in or near Boulder, and are looking for a puppy, the Boulder Valley Humane Society just accepted 70 puppies from an over-crowded shelter in Oklahoma.  All pups are ready to be adopted, and are between 12 and 20 weeks old.  They are adorable!  Also, please be certain to have your pets/companions/friends vaccinated against rabies.  It's not a current problem in Colorado, but near Carlsbad, New Mexico there is a rabies outbreak - 32 dogs, 1 cat, and multiple head of livestock have had to be killed.  In Eddy County, New Mexico, there have been 22 skunks, 1 fox, and 1 dog that have been confirmed to have this awful disease.  Please protect your critters!
   I only watch snippets of The Big Bang Theory because I find it moronic.  However, I did get a chuckle out of their version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, which added a topper of "Spock", signified by the use of the "Live long and prosper" symbol.  It turns out that on the episode to be aired on March 29, Leonard Nimoy will make a voice appearance, speaking as Spock, in a dream that Sheldon has.  I might have to watch that episode.  ...  I was saddened to hear of the death of Davy Jones of the band and TV show The Monkees yesterday.  I liked his British accent, but he was too much of a pretty boy for my taste - I liked silent Mike Nesmith and clown Peter Tork.  But I can definitely still sing along with almost every Monkees song that I hear.   ...  And - big sigh - today marks the death of King Elessar of Gondor.  Also known as Strider and Elf Stone and a multitude of other names during his long life, he was the last of the Dunedain - until his wedding with Arwen Evenstar, and the birth of their sons.  I need to pull out my Tolkien books and re-read them.

Cats, Dogs, and TV

It's 48 degrees out, and though the wind is pretty steady at 30 mph, I was out in my sweater just a bit ago.  The patio door is open, as usual; Lovey is on the top of the cat tree, looking out.  Nedi is in search of squirrels he can play with.  My neighbor across the hall is moving upstairs to the east side of the building, to escape the heat and dust.  That means that Lovey won't be able to terrorize Mollie any longer, as Mollie will be on the floor above us.   ....   Ooch was his usual loving self this morning.  I kept telling him that his person will be home this evening, so he could relax.  ....  When I went out to the store this morning, the wind gusted and blew me up against the side of one of the buildings.  Remy was blown over by the wind the last time we walked when it was windy, so the red kids' walk was canceled early.
  I have invited VT and his lady, Brenda, to bring Jack over to play with Finn Sunday afternoon.  The weather forecast is good, so it looks like we'll be playing out in the sun.  Sunday is also Mike's birthday, so we will all get together for dinner at a restaurant of his choice and celebrate his 31st.  I'm not sure when Annie will get out of boot camp, but I'm pretty sure she won't be here for this celebration.  We're hoping that Sarah and Michael will be able to attend. 
  I was freaked out to hear the announcer on TV say (last night) to be sure to watch the "Season Finale" of  A Gifted Man this Friday night.  I think I've seen maybe 14 episodes of the show - and it's already time for the season finale?   Then there was a preview for Blue Bloods and I was amazed to see Justin Deas' wife as the special guest star that's making eyes at Tom Selleck. Thirty years ago, she and her hubby were playing Margot and Tom Hughes on As The World Turns.  ...  And I hadn't remembered that on Rawhide Gil Favor was a widower with two daughters being raised by his sister-in-law in Philadelphia, either....  I think I'm starting to lose what few un-sloshed brain cells I have!

A Nice Friday

Lovey is perched on my chest, and Nedi is exploring the grass and leaves that have been uncovered by the melting snow. I just returned from the library, having turned in 9 books and checking out 14. - It is supposed to snow Saturday night and Sunday, and the weather folks are saying our high temperatures will be in the teens on Monday and Tuesday. It's too cold for me to walk for long periods of time if it's under 20 degrees, so I'll be staying home and not walking doggies. And I'll have plenty of books to read! I went out this morning wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and my jacket - it was actually that warm outside today.
I am looking forward to watching The Lawman on Encore Westerns these days, and they are also showing the Ward Bond Wagon Train series, too. One of the series I'm looking forward to is The Tudors (from HBO) on BBC America beginning on January 19. And, beginning Monday, the 17th of January, I'm looking forward to a new series called Harry's Law starring Kathy Bates. The teasers for Harry's Law look very good.

"Jockeys" and "Ghost Rider"

There were heavy clouds everywhere this morning; they turned pink, silver and gold colors as the sun rose behind them. The Flat Irons to the west were clearly visible, but the sky behind them looked like creeping ground mist - it was an odd sight. I walked along the Boulder Creek Path this morning, so early that my only companions were ravens and raccoons - and it was beautiful, but so very dry. My kits are feeling feeling the pressure change and are being snarly with each other; but we only have a 50% chance of rain and/or snow late this afternoon.

There are two dogs from Colorado at the Westminster Dog Show: an Old English Sheepdog called Georgie Girl, and an English Spaniel called Katie. One of the numbers that came out due to the AKC show is that Americans spend over $43 billion per year on their household pets. I can easily believe that number without stretching my imagination - I know that my two kits are spoiled rotten.

Friday night I watched a new series on Animal Planet entitled "Jockeys". I'm still not sure how I feel about the series. It comes in 30-minute segments, and this past Friday they premiered the series by showing two episodes back-to-back. It seems that they are following the lives and careers of about 8 jockeys during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita and on into the Breeders Cup Championship races. I recognized Mike Smith and Aaron Gryder and Corey Nakatani (who shattered his collarbone in the first race the series covered about him, and who was then sidelined for the entire meet). The audience was introduced to Chantal Sutherland, a Canadian jockey, trying to establish herself in California, and dating Mike Smith; Kayla Stra, an Australian jockey,also moving to CA; and Joe, a young man on the rise in the riding community. It showed the new jocks trying to get rides via their agents, showed the constant exercise and weight-watching the jocks go through on a daily basis, and also the ups and downs of being someone who has to "be in the money" at the finish line to make ends meet. I suppose that if I didn't know anything about jocks and the thoroughbred racing business that I would be enthralled; but I wasn't... and I kept wanting them to hurry up and get on with "the story." I'll probably continue to watch this series, but it's not on my Must See list....

Just before I sat down to eat supper last night, I was channel hopping to see what was on... and the movie "Ghost Rider" was starting at that time. I knew that Nicholas Cage was in the movie, and I thought that I remembered that Sam Elliott appeared in it too. I'm not big on comic books, and I was prepared to not like the movie and to switch channels as soon as I finished my meal. I sat and watched the entire movie. I felt some of the special effects were a bit over the top - but I really liked the movie a lot! I have to admit that I got a kick out of seeing Peter Fonda play the Devil, and Sam Elliott can always make me drool... and, dumb me, I never even tied the comic book and movie in with the "Ghost Riders in the Sky" song. Nicholas Cage was riding his motorcycle and Sam Elliott was easily keeping up on his mystical horse, snorting fire, in one scene near the climax of the movie and an electric bass guitar starting playing the song... I broke out in goosebumps and couldn't help smiling like an idiot. I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

We broke the Record for Low Temp!

Hello, folks! It was -18 degrees here last night... that broke the record set in 1901, which was -14. I did add another blanket onto my bed, and thankfully had two warm, furry, purring bodies with me under the covers. We had 4 inches of snow fall yesterday, and even though the sun is shining, it's still -5 outside, so the snow is not melting. We might reach 32 degrees on Friday, but the weather people are saying we'll be getting two more storms in over next weekend - I haven't seen any squirrels this morning, but large flocks of small birds have been visiting since 7 a.m. - And today I took a holiday from my 5 mile walk.

Banichi is curled up in the sun next to my new rosemary plant - a gift from Rosie and Remy's owners. Lovey is in my lap, talking away, and I just e-mailed my Texas soldier. Did you see the Iraqi reporter throw his shoes at President Bush in Baghdad? The reporter has lost a lot of family members, and was himself taken hostage and tortured for three days by anti-American factions in Iraq. Richard Engle says he wasn't surprised at the reporter's actions, but as an adamantly anti-American reporter, Engle was surprised that the reporter was allowed into the press conference with Bush.

When we went to Missouri to see cousins Sarah and Pam, both Kathy and I were intrigued by the lovely countryside - we saw numerous side-roads that we wanted to explore, but just didn't have the time to do so. That has been added to my list of things I'd like to do... Kathryn introduced me to a new (to me) author - Wilbur Smith. He has multiple books out, and the one I started with, Hungry As The Sea, has grabbed me and taken me inside the world of giant tugs and salvage ships. I'm looking forward to exploring more of his books!

Saturday, Sunday and Monday I'll be out between Boulder and Longmont taking care of Lucy and Pepper. They are wonderful little dogs and I'm really looking forward to spending time with them again. I did get a deal with the cable company - I'm getting double the channels at less cost than my usual 80 or so, and I get BBC America, Encore Westerns, and History International channels now. The Western channels shows series that I grew up with, from 5 to 8 p.m. weekdays: Maverick, The Big Valley, Bat Masterson, Cheyenne, etc.... I'm looking forward to seeing old friends again.