Native American Summer

When a conversation has the auspicious start of "Is is just me?" or "I don't mean to offend." or even a "You might not agree with this but...."  you probably know that something is about to be said that will come across as offensive.

So...perhaps it is a bad idea to start my post today begging you to not take offense.  Let me explain myself before you start getting yourself all worked up.  I happened to hear the on-air program of Rush Limbaugh,  as he was trying to explain (in his pompous, egotistical way) that he didn't REALLY call Oprah fat ...but even if he did he would be justified because HE, himself is fat.  His theory being that if you are part of a group you can use the words that you find comfortable to describe that group.

(DISCLAIMER:  Not huge fan on Mr. Limbaugh, but he occasionally he surprises me with moments of keen observation only to lose me in his absurd ego-driven rants. )

Anyway, as I was saying....This brouhaha started after Oprah said a Swiss salesperson made a comment to her implying she couldn't afford a $38,000 dollar handbag.  Oprah was quite vocal that she perceived the comment to be racially motivated.  Rush, supposedly, made a comment that perhaps, the comment wasn't made because of ethnicity but because of negative stereotypes related to her weight.  Well...as one might expect this started a sh** storm of people being offended. 

Thought Number One:  When  Stating Your Opinion Becomes Politically Incorrect

There is hardly a day that goes by without someone accusing someone else of being non-PC, biased, racist, insensitive or  a combination of all of those things.  Yikes, it's a verbal mine-field out there.

It's not only that many of the words that are not offensive to some may, indeed, be offensive to others.... but it's also, how does one know which words are now taboo. (sorry if anyone out there finds the word taboo objectionable because of it's religious roots.) See!!!! Even there, I am probably trashing someone's religious beliefs. 

Take for example:  This year I have noticed a lot of marketing about sales revolving around the Dog Days of Summer. There is an absence of  the term " Indian Summer". Actually, as of late, nearly anyone that is consciously trying to avoid being labeled "insensitive" wouldn't use the word 'Indian' at all.  To be politically correct, you really should use the term 'Native American'.

Cheryl P. family tree

But am I allowed to use the word Indian? My mother's grandfather was Cherokee.  He is the one and only non-Irish or non-Scot that worked his way into our family but still...doesn't that allow me to use the word Indian as I am part Indian.  Let's not over-think the minimal amount of Indian I am.  I am not trying to get into a tribe.  I am just looking for the right to sing "one little, two little, three little Indians without being labeled as a bigot. 

 

 Thought Number Two:  No Wonder We Are Confused


It seems that there are so many contradictions out there.   I would suggest that we are all being challenged as to what exactly is politically correct. 

• Saying someone is fat is considered  offensive and, most cases rude.  However, there  are new rules classifying obesity as a disability.  So we can recognize that people can be disabled by fat but not say the word in relationship to an individual  person...well unless you are talking about celebrities and politicians being fat, then you can have them on talk shows to discuss it. The whole country seems to be comfortable with calling a certain politician fat to the point they would be labled bullies if they were still in grade school and no one seems to be having a problem with that. 

• We can't pray in school or put religious symbols in our government office buildings but we put "In God We Trust" on our money or have witnesses swear on a Bible in a courtroom to assure everyone of their honesty. 

• We can hear and say offensive  racial slurs in song lyrics and in movie dialogue but not say those same  slurs in public without consequences in both your reputation and your pocketbook. 

•  There are laws that make it illegal to yell "FIRE" in a public place (if, in fact, there is no fire) but it's within the rights of  abhorrent people to yell hateful slurs at a soldier's funeral.

A Pastafarian won the right to wear his
colander  for his state ID

OHHHH...See ...I knew it....I am getting into trouble here aren't I?  I am not endorsing using racial slurs or

thinking it is kind to call people fat...what I am saying is that the lines are blurred.  Is is more PC to wear a pasta strainer on one's head as the most recent case of a follower of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster won the right to do, than it is for someone to pray a prayer in a public school?  

So for my part., I am avoiding all words that hint of any kind of bias.  No longer will I say the word Indian, even though I have half of a drop of Indian blood.  I won't use the term Indian Summer. Instead I will use the the term "Dog Days of Summer."  

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Minding Their Business

This week, while looking around for what weird or unusual things that  are happening in the news, I came across a few stories in the business pages.  

Cafe Going to the Cats

Who knew?  Not me!  As I was looking around to see what odd things were happening out in the world this week, I noticed that a new cat cafe was being planned for Paris.  Huh? A cat cafe?  I hadn't heard of that but it turns out that there are a number of cafes around the world that have a staff of cats...(I know a group of cats is a clowder but I am talking about a clowder of cats that are working for the cafe)  to provide companionship for the cafe's patrons. In Japan alone there are 79 of the "neko cafes" as they are called there. There are also, cat cafes in London, Vienna, Taiwan, and Korea. 

As for the Paris cafe, a young cat loving French woman, Margaux Gandelon is creating a cafe for the stressed out urbanites which will be named  Le Cafe des Chats.

You Are Such an Animal

While looking for our assorted "odd" news this week,  there seemed to be a number of reports concerning "animals".  For you animal lovers out there, you might want to hurry and get over to the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and watch the Ugliest Dog Contest that starts today.

 

Who Invited You?

When Andrew and Karma Madgwick decided to have their wedding reception at the Paignton Zoo in Devon, UK, they probably didn't anticipate having their wedding crashed  by one of the local residents.  

Is this the buffet line?

 Photographer, Vicki Boulter was taking the wedding pictures of the bride and groom when a Sumatran Tiger wandered into the shot. 

Keep Your Paws to Yourself

That's Very Human of You

 Do you anthropomorphize?  You can tell me...really, this conversation is just between the two of us and perhaps some inanimate object that you are currently best friends with.  Do you consider your pets to have human qualities?  Do you make friends with things around the house...not of the human variety?





 Thought Number One: According to Wikipedia we have been anthropomorphizing for a very long time.

From the beginnings of human behavioral modernity in the Upper Paleolithic, about 40,000 years ago, examples of zoomorphic (animal-shaped) works of art occur that may represent the earliest evidence we have of anthropomorphism. One of the oldest known is an ivory sculpture, the Lion man of the Hohlenstein Stadel, Germany, a human-shaped figurine with a lion's head, determined to be about 32,000 years old.
 

(according to American Heritage Dictionary)
 
(an-thruh-puh- mawr -fiz-uhm) The attributing of human characteristics and purposes to inanimate objects, animals, plants, or other natural phenomena, or to God. To describe a rushing river as “angry” is to anthropomorphize it.


Earlier this week, I was talking to a friend who was having repairs done to her home.  We were commiserating about how every time we have one issue taken care of something new rears it's ugly little head.  One could logically say that it is just physical deterioration or functional obsolescence but in this particular conversation my friend said "My house hates me!"  

As you might remember from some of my recent posts, my house has let me down a bit over the summer with a few "surprises" but I hadn't given thought to the possibility that my home is angry with me.  I was pretty secure in the fact that my house and I are pretty friendly.  I probably love my house more that it loves me but I am OK with that. I am not OK thinking it is "out to get me".

Frankly, I have never thought too much about things like houses, cars, computers, etc. having grudges against me but it did get me thinking.  


Now, I can add another worry to my rather lengthy list of worries.  What if my house hates me?

I want my house to be a friendly house.  I drive by a house fairly often on the way to my daughter's home.  Now this looks like a friendly house.





Yes, I am a happy house...look at my smile



If it were my house, maybe I would take it one step farther...or maybe not.

Thought Number Two:   My Cats and I  Are Very Pro-anthropomorphism

Ahh...how cute were the Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh stories?  Yes, very cute.
( But just to point out the obvious if this little guy, Christopher was our kid, we would
be asking ourselves, " Where does active imagination end and schizophrenia
begin?"



Yes, Pooh is quite cute. As with most things, we are evolving. 

Are you familiar with the TV show Wilfred. Wilfred is a real dog that
his owner sees as a human-like dog.  Wilfred has a very naughty
mouth and smokes like a fiend.


Disclaimer:  Two cats...even very human-like cats..... doesn't make me a cat lady.

Another Disclaimer; the opinions expressed by Carmen and Chantel do not express the opinion of Cheryl P.
Disney characters that talk and dance, not excluding tea pots, teddy bears, candlesticks, dogs, rabbits, elephants that fly, lions, puppets and even human size mice are quite lovable.

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That's One Way to Go

Every week I look for interesting (?) unusual news releases for my Friday post. I struggle with which 3 or 4 make the cut depending on factors such as "is it too stupid to be credible?", is it too disgusting to put  in my post?" or " is it so dumb that it doesn't keep my interest  long enough to get through the article?"  Given my rather short attention span and the number of truly disgusting stories out there it all but a miracle that I have a post on Friday.

Still....this week I was able to find four "back-page" news stories to share.

WARNING: the first news story comes with a PG13 rating today. Feel free to adjust that age up or down depending on your level of comfort with a certain four letter word. 

The Billboard says WHAT??????



Seriously? This is a marketing plan????

Just when you thought that you have seen everything, something new presents itself. 
A giant risque billboard has gone up on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles that is sure to slow traffic along the Sunset Strip.

CougarLife.com describes itself as "the premier online dating service that pairs women in their prime with younger men and ends the double standard!"

Elissa Buchter, spokeswoman for Cougar Life and a cougar herself, told the media that the billboard is the first of more the company hopes to put up in Hollywood and West Hollywood. The company is targeting the area, Buchter said, because it is the national "cougar capital" -- with more Cougar Life members in the 90069 zip code than anywhere else in the U.S.

 Regarding the term "mother f*ckers," she commented, "The majority of cougars are single moms. And we thought it'd be a good way to get their attention and make a splash."

I don't know about the "making a splash" part, but definitely this is getting attention.  I think that maybe a few might disagree with the "good way" part of her statement.


Dancing in the Street...on a Pole

Prostitutes in New Zealand are being accused of destroying street signs by performing pole dancing routines on poles that can't support their weight.

The officials in  South Auckland, New Zealand are having an issue with their city's signs. The problem is that local prostitutes are being accused of destroying street signs by using them for pole dancing routines designed to attract customers.

In the last 18 months, more than 40 poles have been bent, buckled or broken in the past 18 months and the signs, which include notices of parking restrictions, cost taxpayers thousands of dollars to replace.

Elected officials such as Donna Lee say the culprits are local prostitutes who use them like stripper poles in a dance club. "The poles are part of their soliciting equipment and they often snap them," she told The Telegraph. "Some of the prostitutes are big, strong people."

I think they need to replace those street signs with a more quality product.  Do street signs come in "titanium"? There's probably a advertising opportunity there somewhere.  South Auckland has "big strong prostitutes"....surely, there is a way to make that work for them.

Quality Check Gone Bad 

Saturday was a bad day for Tavares Donnell Colbert. The Oklahoma man accidentally shot himself in the genitals, and then got arrested for it, The Weekly Vice reported.

Cops met up with Colbert -- a convicted drug dealer out of Watonga -- at a hospital at about 9 a.m. Colbert allegedly told officers that he found the gun somewhere in Kansas and had plans to sell it at a convenience store.

Prior to meeting up with the gun's purchaser at the 7 Eleven, he pulled his truck over to the side of the road, to make sure the gun worked. (how considerate that he didn't want to sell a defective gun.) 

The gun worked fine. Unfortunately for him he had the gun aimed at his private parts.  After shooting himself, he  panicked and drove to the hospital.

Colbert isn't allowed to carry a firearm because he's a convicted felon with a long rap sheet, so cops arrested him after he was treated, according to reports.

What makes this story even better is this guy has a bias....he hates dumb people.  On if Facebook page he posted  "Boy sum people aint shit!!!!!!!! They momma and daddy shouldnt of even named them shoulda just let them drop and bust they head when they were born."

Clearly this is a genius with exceptional skills in spelling and grammar.  He might want to work on his aim a bit.

The Purr-fect Mayor



His Honor the Mayor.  Looks better than other politicians
I've seen...although he is naked and lying down on the
job.



Mayor Stubbs has been at the helm of the small town of Talkeetna, Alaska for 15 years - an impressive feat for any elected official, but even more so considering Stubbs is a cat.

The part-manx is popular among residents, who voted him into office in a write-in election a decade and a half ago when he was a kitten, after rejecting the human candidates on the ballot.

"Lo and behold, Stubbs the cat won the write-in that year," a local resident to the local NBC affiliate,  "And he's been our mayor ever since."

Chamber of Commerce president Andi Manning explained to CNN. "Town residents are perfectly happy with their choice, and had nothing but praise for his record in office. "He's good. Probably the best we've had," Laurie Stec told WBBH.

It would appear that there are no term limits in Talkeetna.  The fact that Mayor Stubbs is "the best mayor they ever have had" doesn't bode well for past mayors.  They must of really been bad.

The ATF, the DEA, and the CAT

As I was looking around the Internet this week for some interesting news, I was getting concerned that maybe everyone was behaving so well....so responsibly....dare I say, everyone was showing exemplary behavior which would result in me NOT having anything to talk about.  FAT CHANCE of that happening. 

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has had a busy week.  In fact, just on the first story this morning, we can check off both ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO. 

Cigarette Smoking Can Kill You

Police say a North Carolina man is dead after drinking some gas then going outside for a cigarette.

A spokesperson for Chapel Hill N.C. said that Gary Banning set himself on fire after accidentally drinking  from a jar what he believed to be  "a beverage".  According to investigators, Gary spit out the gasoline, put on some clothes and went outside to smoke.  While the investigation is on-going, they believe that some of the gasoline remained on his body which he inadvertently ignited with his cig.  

I don't really understand the "on-going investigation" part of this story.  As people don't usually spontaneously combust, I am thinking that the answer is fairly clear.  Cigarettes and gasoline don't mix. 

There Goes the Judge



Lumpkin County Superior Court Judge David Barrett wasn't angry, but trying to make "a poor rhetorical point" when he pulled out a gun from under his bench this week.

Barrett was presiding over a sexual assault case in which a woman brought charges of rape and aggravated assault against Scott Sugarman, a former Hall County sheriff's deputy.

But when the victim took the stand to testify, Barrett told her that she was "killing her case" -- allegedly because she wasn't cooperating.  To reinforce his position, the judge said " You might as well shoot your lawyer," while extending the  gun toward  the witness.

The woman -- whose name is being withheld because she may be the victim of a sexual crime -- wasn't shocked and "thought it was a test" by Barrett to gauge her reaction. Langley claims that he objected and approached the bench to tell Barrett to put the gun down.

Seems the judge used some poor judgement and has since resigned his position.

The next story that would be under the jurisdiction of :

Is it a vegetable or a weed?



 A Florida teenager was arrested after he allegedly stole a tomato plant he mistook for marijuana.

Angela Cartwright, of Holly Hill, said she saw a 15-year-old grabbing it through her open kitchen window as she returned from walking her son to the school bus stop.

"See, I have one of your pot plants," the brazen teen allegedly yelled at her as he ran off.

"I chased him and I yelled out, "You stupid little brat, it's a tomato plant!" Cartwright told the newspaper Thursday.

Police made an arrest Wednesday after Cartwright spotted a teen she identified as the thief.

If brat boy wants a future career in the drug trade he is going to have to work on being less obvious and a class in botany wouldn't hurt.  It would have to be a remedial class for sure.

We have covered the ATF part and the DEA part...now for the CAT part.....




Cute but Maybe NOT a Purrrrfect Candidate

A race for a US Senate seat in Virginia is heating up with the entry of a somewhat unconventional candidate entering the campaign.  Hank in some ways may not seem to be a  serious contender. Still he has shown real tenacity for overcoming adversity.  He was born to a single mother, spent time in a behind bars, sentenced to death only to be later reprieved (ok, he was in an animal shelter) and prefers to work without his clothes on.  (Well, I guess that last point  has applied to other politicians) Oh, did I mention, that he is a CAT.

Hank is running as a political Independent facing off against former governors George Allen (R) and Tim Kaine (D). Hank is not relying on his good looks to carry the votes but has an agenda for creating jobs. According to his Twitter account, Hank is also passionate about the creation of a Privacy Bill of Rights and the protection of consumer data.

"The problems we face now have been faced by Americans since this great land was founded," Hank wrote in the mission statement on his website. "Right now we need to fall back on time-tested solutions, not social theory." 

Hank has a few more hurdles to the Senate than most of the other candidates....hairballs, clean litter box and god forbid that someone takes out a laser pointer. Hey...Kitty, Kitty, focus!



Around the Water Cooler 9/23/2011

One of the big stories that have people talking this week is the big changes over at

It seems people are NOT happy about it either.  A lot of unfriendliness is coming out as a result of the new homepage and how the status updates feed into the site.  Oddly enough the most talked about subject on TWITTER today was FACEBOOK.   Talk about social media overload.

As for other stories in the news;

I AM SHOWING AND I AM TELLING

I guess when you live in the "Show Me State" (whoever thought of that as a state motto might want to rethink it about now) you start at an early age with the "show" part. A kindergartner in Sweet Springs, MO surprised his teacher and the police officers when he pulled his mother's crack pipe and and several baggies of "rocks"  from his backpack.

What was not a surprise was the arrest of his mother on a charge of possession of a controlled substance and a count of first degree child endangerment.  Bond has been set at $7,500.00 for 32 year old

Michelle Marie Cheatham.

The drugs were tested and found to be methamphetamine and worth about $3700.00.

According to Police Chief Richard Downing told KCTV5 that this was a "first" in his law enforcement career and that when he called the prosecutor about it, the prosecutor exclaimed, "you're kidding me aren't you?"

Sadly, no!

Seems like this "show and tell" was really a show stopper.

A TRAINED CAT

Down by the station early in the morning...and later in the evening, the commuters in Melbourne, Australia will see Graeme, the cat sitting on the train platform to see his owner coming and going to work. The cat's owner, Nicole Weinrich, says her cat always sits behind the yellow line while waiting for the train doors to open as he is extremely safety conscious.

When not greeting or saying goodbye to his owner, the social cat is mingling with the other commuters or sunning himself.  He has become quite the local celebrity as he works the crowd to get pets and pats from the commuters. The Herald Sun recently interviewed some of Graeme's fans.  He was described as gorgeous, friendly, amazing, regal and aloof, but in a good way,

On several occasions, Graeme boarded trains to take a ride down the line only to deboard  couple of stops later.  His owner worries about that but says he seems very aware of how the station works. 

http://video.heraldsun.com.au/2131780176/Feline-trainspotter


Graeme has a Facebook page.  Seems Graeme has a sense of humor as well.

BLACK CATS REALLY ARE UNLUCKY

At least for Kelly Schaffer of Cookeville, Tennessee.  After having a black cat cross the road in front of her car, Kelly made an X on her windshield.  Evidently this was to protect her from back luck.  But as luck would have it, she lost control of her car and ploughed into a yard. In fact, she continued through the yard and ran head on into another vehicle. Schaffer was transported to an area hospital and charged with not having a valid driver's license or insurance.

Don't X and drive. 

 IS THERE A DOCTOR IN THE HOUSE

University of Pennsylvania students were confused on the first day of scheduled class when their professor failed to show up.  In all fairness to the professor, he had an excellent excuse.

He had died five months earlier.

Dr. Henry Teune, was scheduled to teach a political science class at the Ivy League university on September

13th.  An hour after the scheduled class failed to start due to the teacher being MIA, the students received an email telling them of of  Dr.Teune's passing.  The administrator apologized for not having cancelled  the class.

The story was reported on Monday by a Penn student Blog in a post titled "The Worst Thing to Happen To A Class Ever".

Excerpt:

The post began: "How annoying is it when you drag yourself out of bed to class and the professor isn’t there? You’re all like, what the hell is this guy doing, worst class ever, etc… and then you find out, via an email sent while you’re waiting in class, that the professor isn’t there because he died. And the department forgot to tell you."

According to an obituary published in April in the Daily Pennsylvanian, Dr. Teun had been a faculty member since 1961.  He was chairman of the department from 1975-1979 and Vice Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in the 1960s.

Gone and completely forgotten.

THE THREE YEAR OLD IS PACKING HEAT

A mother was arrested shortly after her three (that's right...3) year old interrupted her drug deal by firing a 12 gauge shotgun into the roof of her drug buddy's minivan.

Marietta, GA- Shania Sutherland allegedly brought her toddler and 5 year old to the Rite Aid parking lot where she had made a previous arrangement to sell drugs to Brandon Donahue.  She had her friend, Leah Porter,  drive her to her appointment in Leah's Chrysler Town and Country van.

After a passerby heard the shot and called the authorities, police located Sutherland hiding in the drug store and the children hiding in the Donahue's (the drug buyer) car. Porter was picked up a few blocks away.

According to WSB-TV an investigation has been launched to assessing Sutherland's fitness as a parent.

What no babysitters available for scheduled drug deals?  No worries, take the kid and give them a 12 gauge to amuse themselves with.  


The Good for the Day... a smart pet


The Bad for the Day...stupid parents

The Weird for the day....

The Weird for the Day...

Dog and Cat Days of Summer

Two Thoughts for Tuesday



Dogs and Cats






Last week I was reading the issue of the Parade Magazine dealing with Cats vs Dogs.  As a dog
AND a cat lover usually I am left feeling bad for the cats.  Statistically they are far less liked than their canine counterparts.   

"Hey what's with all the heavy breathing?"
"At least I don't cough up hair balls."

According to the article here are some facts.

• 62% of Americans have pets.
• 69% have a dog
• 51% have a cat
• 90%+ consider their pet a family member
• 25% have tasted their pets food
• 66% wouldn't vote for a presidential candidate that didn't like pets
• $50.84 Billion - estimated amount that pet owners will spend on their pets this year

  So today, I am posting some funny and cute videos featuring dogs and cats.  Hopefully, at least one of these is new to you.

Thought #1  -  I like dogs.

Thought #2... Cat's Are So Cute

***Editor's note:  The cat's get three videos because the Dancing Dog took 3 minutes to do his dance.***

The Good for the Day....That dog that dances has real talent.

The Bad for the Day....The dog dances better than I do.

The Weird for the Day..... Really.... a quarter of you pet owners have eaten your pet's food???



Do you have pets?  Are your pets considered part of your family?  Would you be friends with someone that really disliked pets?  Liked pets generally but not your pet?










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Are You A Dog Person or A Cat Person?

Hi Blogees !!

On with yesterday's story......

The December before Tootsie's passing, it became apparent to everyone that Tootsie was dying. My sweet heart of a  daughter, Kiddo #1 came to Texas with her boyfriend  (now her husband) to hand deliver a birthday present to me.  I was still in bed  one morning when I was startled from sleep to find kiddo #1  and boyfriend, hovering over me. (sidebar:  I find it commendable that he didn't run far far away if one is to believe  that daughters age like their mother)

As soon as I recovered from my shock, I noticed the tiniest bit of fluff in Kiddo #1's hand.  She brought me Chantel.  My daughter, genius that she is,  knew that I was going to need a new distraction to keep me busy if something was going to happen to Toots. As it turned out, just in the nick of time.

I had never considered getting a cat. No particular reason. The only pet I had up to this point was Tootsie and I was really struggling with knowing her time was coming to an end.  I hadn't thought about getting any new pet, dog or cat.  But here she was, a little Blue Point Himalayan Persian fluff ball.  Love at first sight.


Now, I know some of you  "dog" people are feeling faint right now aren't you???  Yikes, a CAT!!
This is one of life's great debates.  The dog lovers versus the cat lovers.  There a entire books rallying for one side or the other.  One web site devoted to figuring out which  is better, had this explanation.

Cats Versus Dogs

What is a Cat?


1. Cats do what they want.
2. They rarely listen to you.
3. They are totally unpredictable.
4. When you want to play, they want to be alone.
5. When you want to be alone, they want to play.
6. They expect you to cater to their every whim.
7 They are moody.
8. They leave hair everywhere.

CONCLUSION: They are tiny little women in fur coats.

What is a Dog?

1. Dog's spend all day sprawled on the most comfortable piece of furniture in the house.
2. They can hear a package of food opening half a block away, but don't hear you when you're in the same room.
3. They can look dumb and lovable all at the same time.
4. They growl when they are not happy.
5. When you want to play, they want to play.
6. When you want to be alone, they want to play.
7. They leave their toys everywhere.
8. They do disgusting things with their mouths and then try to give you a kiss.
9. They go right for the crotch as soon as they meet you.

CONCLUSION: They are tiny little men in fur coats.

I am not sure if  ALL that really applies BUT by early 2000, I had figured out that having a cat was nice so having two cats should (in theory) be even nicer.  Now, I am guessing that you "dog only lovers" are throwing up a  hair ball, figuratively speaking.  GGHHGGk rettchhh  

 I decided that Chantel needed a pet, so hubby and I went over to the no-kill shelter in Denton, TX, thinking we needed another little cat just like Chantel.  However, when we were roaming from room to room at the shelter there was a skinny grey leg poking out of a gate smacking hubby's leg. The little leg frantically trying to get us to notice her, belonged to Carmen, a 16 week old Blue Russian/Siamese mix (all of that is supposition as she had been picked up off the street in Abilene, TX)  She continued to be very insistent.  Hubby picked her up and she latched her arms around his neck just like a hug. She had chosen her family and she was not taking no for an answer.  

Now eleven years later, our girls are with us in Kansas doing what cats do. They spend their days, eating, sleeping, shedding, sleeping, chasing,  sleeping, sleeping and sleeping.

Our girls today.

I know pets aren't for everyone. Some people like dogs and some people like cats, and  some like an array of other creatures.  I like the people that like dogs and cats and an array of other creatures.  To all the animal lovers out there, I hope your pet people are happy and healthy.

The good for the day.... My pets make me happy.

The bad for the day....Lots of animals need people in their lives to take care of them and protect them.

The Weird for the day....I find this funny. 

By the way, Chantel says HI !!!!