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Vicki at Sea-Meow in Seattle
04/11/24 19:36
Well, I did it… I gave a presentation in front of a live audience at the Seattle Exhibition Hall at Seattle Center 2 days ago. It was noisy since there was a lot of exhibits and people talking in the hall. The stage was not really separated and sound proofed yet they were troopers to listen to me talk about the miracle of treating FIP. It was interesting to be back in Seattle after not staying there probably for the past 10 years?
Here is to the wonder of cats.
Here is to the wonder of cats.
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Fun and Friends in Minneapolis
12/10/24 07:30
The 2024 AAFP conference was in Minneapolis MN this year. It was the 50th Anniversary of AAFP and the Saturday night event was a 70s Disco night.
It was fun. The music was quite well done and we did dance. Bob and I wore our tie-dyed T-shirts and got a picture with good friends, Drew Weigner and Jessica Quimby.
It was fun. The music was quite well done and we did dance. Bob and I wore our tie-dyed T-shirts and got a picture with good friends, Drew Weigner and Jessica Quimby.
RVing and Grilling in La Pine
21/07/24 08:04
We took our travel trailer out for its annual trip. We headed again to La Pine and the Cascade Meadows RV park. It is always a re-learning experience of how to use the trailer and all that comes with it.
This last year, I bought a small table top grill to cook outdoors with and it needed to be put together. Bob took it on with all his love (NOT) for the many parts and poor directions of how to put it together. After a thunderstorm and power outage, he did finally get it together and we had some lovely steaks grilled the next day. It looks like it should work fairly well for us in our camping out.
This last year, I bought a small table top grill to cook outdoors with and it needed to be put together. Bob took it on with all his love (NOT) for the many parts and poor directions of how to put it together. After a thunderstorm and power outage, he did finally get it together and we had some lovely steaks grilled the next day. It looks like it should work fairly well for us in our camping out.
Deciphering The Cat in The Cat, ed 2
13/07/24 13:40
The long awaited publication of the 2nd edition of The Cat, Clinical Medicine and Management, just arrived by UPS yesterday. It weighs around 8 lbs and is pretty heavy. My chapter as in the 1st edition is Chapter 3 - Deciphering the Cat, Physical Exam and Medical History. It is thrilling to see this since it was written to be submitted in early 2015 and the prior edition was published in 2012. Here are images showing the book & chapter.
Wildlife Quilt
31/01/24 08:52
I finished the Wildlife figures quilt started for Victoria. The image panels had eagles, deer (a buck), bear, owl, fox, and other images. It is quite colorful and was relatively easy to do (except for the binding which needed one side to be hand sewn). I'm not sure what will be my next quilt project. I will have to take a break to determine what is doable as I am getting busier with other tasks.
Thayer Farm Sesquicentennial Sign
20/08/23 19:43
We got our sign for the Oregon Farm Bureau program the other day. This morning the sign went up on a post near our driveway and the Berlin Rd. It announces our status of being established in 1853, therefore a Sesquicentennial Farm here in Oregon. WooHoo!!
Vancouver Washington Waterfront
06/07/23 11:29
We visited last Saturday the newly developed Vancouver Washington waterfront district. We used to live in Vancouver about 10 miles east along the river (Old Evergreen Highway). We got one photo of me on the walkway point that demonstrates suspension bridges. The area now has new condos, restaurants, parking, hotels, and other businesses. Quite a change!
Providence Church and Me
25/06/23 07:16
Yesterday, Bob and I went to the last regularly planned Powell-McKinney reunion at the Providence Church between Lacomb and Scio. The church was established by Joab Powell and Ann Peeler Powell along with others in the 1850s. Joab and Ann were my great-great-great grandparents who came over the Oregon Trail from Missouri to settle in Oregon. Joab was a well-known circuit preacher in Oregon.
Bob took a photo of me beside the monument to Joab and the founders of the Church. The stone needs some cleaning to show the inscriptions better. I'm sure they will get there.
Bob took a photo of me beside the monument to Joab and the founders of the Church. The stone needs some cleaning to show the inscriptions better. I'm sure they will get there.
Better Late Tried and Done
23/06/23 16:00
Now that calls upon my time has decreased, it is time to catch up on craft projects built up over the years. One of the major ones was a quilt bed cover kit for both the boys beds as youths. A long time neglected. This quilt has lost its instructions and also at one time got wet and faded in parts. There could be pieces that are missing. I have about 1/2 triangles sewn together into 4 in squares.I now have a downloaded instruction that offers different ways to lay out the triangles. I think this was a pinwheel pattern. On to see how this comes together and can make 2 single quilt bed covers.
Cat Rug Hooking
07/04/23 07:33
I am trying to catch up on various craft projects I have purchased and stashed over the years. One such kit was bought through Facebook and was an inexpensive rug hooking project of a tabby cat in a curled, laying position. The kitty image is much like the grand girls DSH cat named Spice. Vada encouraged me on to complete it with "When are you going to be done, Gramma?" Maybe since I had promised to give her this rug hooking for her own (and Victoria's) room.
Take a look at Vada and her spiced kitty rug.
The Spice cat look-a-like though she is not amewsed.
Take a look at Vada and her spiced kitty rug.
The Spice cat look-a-like though she is not amewsed.
Picture Postcard Scene
15/02/23 13:40
The snow yesterday offered me an opportunity to shoot some photos of the pristine snow early before it melted.
Here is a photo of a neighbor's home across the valley framed with snow covered maple and Douglas fir trees.
A picture postcard scene to me.
Here is a photo of a neighbor's home across the valley framed with snow covered maple and Douglas fir trees.
A picture postcard scene to me.
American Graffiti
09/02/23 09:09
One of my favorite TV shows was Laverne and Shirley. The actress Cindy Williams played the role of Shirley. She was also in another classic movie, American Graffiti, which is more detailed in this article.
Fans may be unaware that Williams also appeared on the big screen in “American Graffiti,” which turns 50 this year. This movie, directed by George Lucas, captures an era and its music like no other.
The film fades in to “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley and His Comets. The year is 1962 and Steve Bolander (Ron Howard), Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss), John Milner (Paul Le Mat) and Terry Fields (Charles Martin Smith) congregate outside Burger City, a drive-in joint in an unnamed California city, where the carhops glide around on roller skates.
More at the article link.
Fans may be unaware that Williams also appeared on the big screen in “American Graffiti,” which turns 50 this year. This movie, directed by George Lucas, captures an era and its music like no other.
The film fades in to “Rock Around the Clock,” by Bill Haley and His Comets. The year is 1962 and Steve Bolander (Ron Howard), Curt Henderson (Richard Dreyfuss), John Milner (Paul Le Mat) and Terry Fields (Charles Martin Smith) congregate outside Burger City, a drive-in joint in an unnamed California city, where the carhops glide around on roller skates.
More at the article link.
Rug Hooking
19/01/23 11:26
I am trying to catch up and work on different craft projects I have accumulated over the years. I enjoy crafting, not that I am proficient at any of them. I usually have done more in the line of crochet or embroidery over the years. I'd like to get better at knitting or quilting.
I recently started working on a rug hooking kit I ordered through a company on Facebook. This is not an expensive piece and relatively small. It is of a tabby colored cat laying curled up with head raised. Vada thinks it looks like Spice so we shall call it Too Spice(y). Let's see how long this project will take me to finish it. Yikes!
I recently started working on a rug hooking kit I ordered through a company on Facebook. This is not an expensive piece and relatively small. It is of a tabby colored cat laying curled up with head raised. Vada thinks it looks like Spice so we shall call it Too Spice(y). Let's see how long this project will take me to finish it. Yikes!
Audiobooks
11/01/23 11:45
I am a big reader and am usually reading a book on the IPad with the Kindle app or read a physical book instead. I like audiobooks in the car though I tend to get restless and fade out of listening with audiobooks. I do like Jeff Jacoby's article about how much he has come to enjoy audiobooks and why he does enjoy them so much…
"All my life I have been an avid book reader, but for the last 25 years I have been an increasingly enthusiastic audiobook listener, too. I don't recall either of my parents reading aloud to me when I was a child, probably because I began reading insatiably on my own early on, so it was only as an adult that I discovered what John Colapinto, in a 2012 New Yorker essay, called "the pleasures of being read to."
Chief among those pleasures is how rich the experience of taking in words can be when they engage the brain through the ear and not the eye.
When you read a book for yourself, in silence, there are no cues outside the text as to how the words ought to be taken. But listen to a well-read recording of a book and you are enveloped in aural cues — inflection, emphasis, animation, accent, tone — that deepen and illuminate the experience of encountering the author's words."
https://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby010923.php
"All my life I have been an avid book reader, but for the last 25 years I have been an increasingly enthusiastic audiobook listener, too. I don't recall either of my parents reading aloud to me when I was a child, probably because I began reading insatiably on my own early on, so it was only as an adult that I discovered what John Colapinto, in a 2012 New Yorker essay, called "the pleasures of being read to."
Chief among those pleasures is how rich the experience of taking in words can be when they engage the brain through the ear and not the eye.
When you read a book for yourself, in silence, there are no cues outside the text as to how the words ought to be taken. But listen to a well-read recording of a book and you are enveloped in aural cues — inflection, emphasis, animation, accent, tone — that deepen and illuminate the experience of encountering the author's words."
https://jewishworldreview.com/jeff/jacoby010923.php
Starting 71
02/01/23 08:21
Today is my 71st birthday. We are heading over to the coast and Lincoln City around late morning to midday. It will likely rain there yet it is away and one can hope for a relaxing few days over there. It does not feel like a birthday yet, just another day in the string of many.
Crocheting Redux
26/12/22 09:06
I tend to be a procrastinator by nature and try to avoid it. I love and enjoy doing different crafts and I get a thrill from buying an interesting bit of yarn or a kit for assembling a project. I often start then stop my project, letting it sit for months to years. I have to give myself credit that this winter I have a list of tasks to work on and complete. One project I finished was a multicolored striped afghan. It is now on the bed in our green bedroom (our term for wall color). I have way too many projects to work on yet I will give this my best shot at trying interspersed with other projects. On to the next one!
Christmas Songs
25/12/22 08:55
I have to agree with this blogger in this post that when it comes to Christmas songs, there is only one iconic singer and version of that song. These resonate through the decades.
Have you had this experience and feeling? "Because it’s December, the background music at Cracker Barrel was a series of Christmas songs and among them was a version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” by some singer who was not Burl Ives, which triggered me to go off on a rant."
Also, "Let us stipulate that many other artists have recorded versions of “The Christmas Song” that have some musical merit. But while I have no personal beef against, e.g., Michael Bublé, when it’s chestnut-roasting time, only Nat King Cole can get the job done right. Having a hit Christmas song guarantees a performer a sort of musical immortality. A singer’s entire catalog of recordings may be forgotten, but if he had a big Christmas song, kids will still be listening to it long after he’s dead. Like, Nat King Cole was one of the most successful singers of his time, with a long string of hit records, but does any kid ever listen to “Mona Lisa” anymore? No, but every Christmas, those chestnuts are still roasting, baby, and it’s the same with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"."
Let the traditions continue!!
Have you had this experience and feeling? "Because it’s December, the background music at Cracker Barrel was a series of Christmas songs and among them was a version of “Holly Jolly Christmas” by some singer who was not Burl Ives, which triggered me to go off on a rant."
Also, "Let us stipulate that many other artists have recorded versions of “The Christmas Song” that have some musical merit. But while I have no personal beef against, e.g., Michael Bublé, when it’s chestnut-roasting time, only Nat King Cole can get the job done right. Having a hit Christmas song guarantees a performer a sort of musical immortality. A singer’s entire catalog of recordings may be forgotten, but if he had a big Christmas song, kids will still be listening to it long after he’s dead. Like, Nat King Cole was one of the most successful singers of his time, with a long string of hit records, but does any kid ever listen to “Mona Lisa” anymore? No, but every Christmas, those chestnuts are still roasting, baby, and it’s the same with Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"."
Let the traditions continue!!
Freezing Rain Ice Storm
23/12/22 07:34
A huge Arctic air weather system has been crossing the U.S. this week. Our area's part is to have a freezing rain/ice storm move through over night and planned for the rest of the morning. The sidewalks and roads are a shiny skating rink look to them. A day to stay quiet and at home as much as possible.
The view of Berlin Rd and its shiny ice glaze.
The view of Berlin Rd and its shiny ice glaze.
The Week Before Christmas
18/12/22 11:14
I have neglected adding to this blog. I missed sharing during the trip to South Dakota in mid-October and later to a meeting in Pittsburgh. Here I am a week before Christmas and I have not kept up to date with comments and photos.
I thought I would add some thoughts on a TV show I have enjoyed for the past 4 seasons, now on season 5. The show is Yellowstone where it is set in the Bitterroot Valley of SW Montana. The scenery is spectacular. The acting and actors draw you in. The writing is by Taylor Sheridan who is a former rodeo participant and a lover of the Old West, horses and the cowboy way of life. This has become a TV phenomenon. This series is being spun off into other series, one show is 1883/season 1, which shows how the Dutton family came to locate in Montana. At the end of this series, the location is picked by the 18 year old daughter, Elsa, who picks where she will die and be buried following being shot by an arrow that creates sepsis. The next spin-off is set at 1923 and we shall see how the family handles adversity in that day and age.
We drove on the way to South Dakota along I-90 which follows much of the Yellowstone River. We saw the beauty of some of the Yellowstone Country. I am adding here a photo of the Little Bighorn River near the Crow Agency and GaryOwen, MT where Custer's last stand and battle occurred for the 7th Cavalry - a story in itself.
I thought I would add some thoughts on a TV show I have enjoyed for the past 4 seasons, now on season 5. The show is Yellowstone where it is set in the Bitterroot Valley of SW Montana. The scenery is spectacular. The acting and actors draw you in. The writing is by Taylor Sheridan who is a former rodeo participant and a lover of the Old West, horses and the cowboy way of life. This has become a TV phenomenon. This series is being spun off into other series, one show is 1883/season 1, which shows how the Dutton family came to locate in Montana. At the end of this series, the location is picked by the 18 year old daughter, Elsa, who picks where she will die and be buried following being shot by an arrow that creates sepsis. The next spin-off is set at 1923 and we shall see how the family handles adversity in that day and age.
We drove on the way to South Dakota along I-90 which follows much of the Yellowstone River. We saw the beauty of some of the Yellowstone Country. I am adding here a photo of the Little Bighorn River near the Crow Agency and GaryOwen, MT where Custer's last stand and battle occurred for the 7th Cavalry - a story in itself.
Starting off again
04/10/22 10:05
I went on hiatus of blog writing since March. I have fewer tasks taking my time and I have finished a number of personal tasks. My time is more free - Yay! We also have added in a new internet service, PEAK, which is fiber vs aerial transmission, and is up to 1 GB speed. We shall see how this goes for my blog. I want to get back into it for sure.
Insults the Blackadder Way
28/04/20 12:21
As my family knows, I LOVE Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean and Blackadder. I could watch these over and over again. The humor and sarcasm is so special. I wish I could use these as well as Blackadder does. I am surrounded by Baldricks though. 
)
There is a compilation of insults somewhere but the woke likely had YouTube take them down.
)There is a compilation of insults somewhere but the woke likely had YouTube take them down.
The F Word
21/04/20 11:54
The Hill's Global Symposium for this year was held online yesterday and today. Everyone had to present remotely. One speaker is a co-founder of Brief Media which produces Clinician's Brief magazine. She mentioned at one point about how people don't like to use the F word. Not the one that seems to capture bad language attention but F for Failure. We focus too much on our failures and try to avoid any yet it is often through failures that we learn how to do better. I hate to focus on failure too, I certainly have done enough in this area yet as I will mention in the Winn FIP Symposium webinar on April 30th, it is through failure of treatment that we learn more about how to treat disease better. We's love to but we can't win every time in our lives.
Sadly though it seems that in this day and age of social media, any presumed failure or disagreement that is considered a failure from the perceived norm is treated savagely. Failure is not allowed to be a learning experience but an experience to destroy that individual. This is unfortunate and I hope will change but I don't expect it will anytime soon. This challenge of COVID 19 pandemic is bringing out the best and worst in people and as it goes along, it promotes more of the worst above all else.
Sadly though it seems that in this day and age of social media, any presumed failure or disagreement that is considered a failure from the perceived norm is treated savagely. Failure is not allowed to be a learning experience but an experience to destroy that individual. This is unfortunate and I hope will change but I don't expect it will anytime soon. This challenge of COVID 19 pandemic is bringing out the best and worst in people and as it goes along, it promotes more of the worst above all else.
Long time, No Posts
19/04/20 14:21
I can see it has been about 2 1/2 years since I did a post. I stopped due to time and also some difficulty publishing the posts every day. I guess we shall see what happens when I try to restart. I do want to do this again.
We are starting the second month of safe at home due to the COVID 19 pandemic problem. Oregon is not as severely affected with numbers of cases and deaths due to the virus. You wouldn't know that listening to our Governor. She needs to give a better description to people in this state on a date she is hoping to allow more businesses opening. This is harmful to the economy of this state.
Well, enough for the moment. Let's see if this will publish as I hope it will and I can get back to doing more for my personal benefit.
We are starting the second month of safe at home due to the COVID 19 pandemic problem. Oregon is not as severely affected with numbers of cases and deaths due to the virus. You wouldn't know that listening to our Governor. She needs to give a better description to people in this state on a date she is hoping to allow more businesses opening. This is harmful to the economy of this state.
Well, enough for the moment. Let's see if this will publish as I hope it will and I can get back to doing more for my personal benefit.
Starting Up
01/12/17 16:18
Unfortunately I have taken a 9 month hiatus from blogging daily.
This is not what I wanted to have happen but with the pressures of working almost every day, I seemed to let time slip past me.
Maybe it was good for me to take a break and think about what I need to do i my life. I have been experiencing more of a need to do what I enjoy most - learning, photography, crafts, and yes...keeping this blog up to date. I will give it my best effort.
This is not what I wanted to have happen but with the pressures of working almost every day, I seemed to let time slip past me.
Maybe it was good for me to take a break and think about what I need to do i my life. I have been experiencing more of a need to do what I enjoy most - learning, photography, crafts, and yes...keeping this blog up to date. I will give it my best effort.
A Coastal Birthday
02/01/17 23:14
A cold day in the Valley but a sunnier yet cold day at the Oregon Coast. We headed on our for Lincoln City to shop at the outlet stores and eat at Kyllo's in Lincoln City. We enjoy the seafood there and it is consistently good. It is so nice to get away from home and work even for part of a day.
The pass and trees were covered with snow coming back from Newport to Corvallis. It was spitting snow in Corvallis and cold at home but the roads were not bad.
Here I get to enjoy some sparkling wine at Kyllo's to celebrate. Good food, fun times.
Bob's meal: Crab stuffed halibut on potatoes. It was very tasty looking. I had fish and chips along with a Oregon hazelnut and blue cheese salad with small shrimp. Yum.
The pass and trees were covered with snow coming back from Newport to Corvallis. It was spitting snow in Corvallis and cold at home but the roads were not bad.
Here I get to enjoy some sparkling wine at Kyllo's to celebrate. Good food, fun times.
Bob's meal: Crab stuffed halibut on potatoes. It was very tasty looking. I had fish and chips along with a Oregon hazelnut and blue cheese salad with small shrimp. Yum.
Happy New Year and a New Start
01/01/17 11:09
Due to a large amount of work on my plate, I have let my blog slide. I had been until part of 2016 good at placing one blog piece each day for a number of years. It does make me feel sad that I have not kept this going the way I had planned. I can only try to do better for 2017.
How to Avoid Procrastinating
03/03/15 07:25
Procrastinating can be one of my worst habits. I had to read and keep this article on ways to avoid procrastination when you work from home as I do. My main way is to jump in and get going. This article is helpful in how to avoid getting caught in the sinkhole of email or other tasks to the detriment of others.
Here it is, how to avoid putting off to tomorrow what you could do today.
Here it is, how to avoid putting off to tomorrow what you could do today.
Hiatus
24/02/15 20:08
In spite of working at trying to keep up a daily entry for the past 2.5 years in this blog, I have had to accept a forced hiatus from putting my thoughts and different informational items here. For some reason, my website software refused to export and publish my daily musings. There are still glitches yet I have gotten the site back to publishing but only by dropping or deselecting 1.5 years of entries. I am hoping they will have the kinks worked out soon and I can placed the other entries back with what is what will show on my site. It has been discouraging to say the least.
I may slowly go back and fill in the gap with interesting topics and musings. I have enjoyed doing this, actually much better than Facebook since it is my creation, not just bits and pieces placed in someone else's software media that makes them money.
I may slowly go back and fill in the gap with interesting topics and musings. I have enjoyed doing this, actually much better than Facebook since it is my creation, not just bits and pieces placed in someone else's software media that makes them money.
Details
11/02/13 13:59
Back at home again and working through a list of tasks to accomplish. Adder decided to run off yesterday and did not come home. Sending an email shout out to the neighbors brought about a call from Shirley Adams and her comment that he showed up at their house at 11 pm last night. Silly dog! He is all sore and tired today.
Unknown Topic
06/01/13 12:39
This was a previously unpublished blog page. I'm not sure what happened to create the gap so I am completing some comment on this date.
A Blog Gap
14/07/12 09:29
This date page is a previously unpublished page in my blog. It likely came at the end of our fun and glorious trip to Boston, Maine, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, and Prince Edward Island.
