Blog Archives
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #133 – MAY 13, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – THIRSTY BIRD
Is it just me, or are the pages of my calendars flying away in the manner of the old movie technique that used to signify the passage of time. Well, today’s challenge was to fold a thirsty bird drinking out of a bowl that resembles my dog’s outside water bowl.
Which brings up today weary query: Renee and I don’t mind the birds dropping in to wet their whistles, the thing that bother us is the fact that after getting their drink the always poop in the water. Is that what avian etiquette is all about. Now Renee never drinks out of the toilet in the house, so why should she have to drink out of the birdie latrine? Just asking … anyway, here’s my origami.
And, in case you’re interested, you can make the bird drink out of the water bowl. There’s just no way I can make the bird take a drink and photograph it at the same time. Well, there is a way, but I’d have to have a video crew on hand.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – THE NUMBER VALUES OF LETTERS
It’s not that I can’t do it, it’s just that I want to give you chance to solve it. (I don’t believe it! After I finished writing the previous sentence, I started solving the equations and in a minute and a half I had values for all the numbers.) All you have to do is decide which letter has the highest value. Give it a try.
Mlle. Renee would like to invite any of her four-paw fans who might be passing by to drop in and have one of her all-natural oatmeal/carob chip/peanut butter cookie treats that have no bad things like sugar and salt. She says I’ll share my recipe with your humans, if you can’t drop by.
MLLE. RENEE CELEBRATES HER FIFTH!
By everyone’s guesstimate, Mlle. Renee was probably born in early May of 2008. So, Renee and I decided that we would celebrate her birthday each year on Mother’s Day. And even though neither Renee or I know who or what her mother is/was, all things considered, that is a rather cool day on which to be born. And Renee really did love her mom. Anyway, today we celebrated! But I’ll let her tell you about that.
I was so excited about my birthday today I just couldn’t sleep. Would you believe it, I’m actually five today, and you know what that means in human years? That’s right, the big three five, which means from now on numbers don’t count for birthdays. The first thing I did was to go in and wake Rob up. He grumbled something about sleeping in, but after I shook the bed a dozen or more times he got up and opened the door so I could go out and run around and check the grounds for intruders like rabbits … and snakes. I hate snakes even more than Rob does. But I’m not afraid to pick them up like he is! I pick them up with my teeth and shake them silly … or until they stop wiggling around. There were no intruders, so I went back in the house and jumped into bed with him. He won’t say anything, but I think he likes when I snuggle next to his legs and warm his legs on chilly mornings like today. After a while the radio started playing music and it was time for Rob to get up and make breakfast. He gave me dry IAMS, and made flaky layer biscuits for himself. I gave him the mean on man stare, and he finally gave in and removed a couple of layers of his biscuit … spread a little butter on them … and put them on top of the IAMS. I really didn’t want the layers of the biscuit, but how else was I going to get the butter. I licked the butter of the biscuit layers, and when I saw him watching me I ate the layers, too. The IAMS can wait until I get hungry later.
After breakfast it was PRESENT TIME. I don’t know why he wraps things up … he knows I’ll only rip the paper up and he’ll bitch about cleaning up the mess on the floor. But the present was too cool to rule! It was a snazzy new, and totally fashionable nylon necklace of red, pink and purple. I ❤ it totally! It goes so well with my hair.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t cover the dent in my neck all the time. That happened when I was just a little pup before I was rescued by HSMO. They picked me up on the street and discovered a tight rope collar had embedded itself into my neck. I was kind of skinny, too. So after the nice ladies gave me something to eat, the doctors waited until I dozed off and while I was sleeping they surgically removed the old rope that was growing into my neck. They wrapped it up with medicine I didn’t like, but when I got well and healthy after a few months they let Rob take me home with him.
You can still see where my neck was hurt, but my new necklace will cover that up most times. So I’ll never take it off!. It has three cool charms on it that jingle-jangle when Rob takes me for walks. One charm is a golden bone engraved with my name. Another says I’ve had all my shots and vaccinations. And the last I’m a natural-born doggie of West Walnut Manor.
And that’s not all! Rob also made me some special treats!
They’re carob chip, peanut butter and oatmeal cookies. Carob is sort of like chocolate, but isn’t. Rob says chocolate is bad for me, but he eats it all the time. So that’s why he made me these special cookies.
Smells good!
Tastes even better!
Even the crumbs are good.
Don’t know why Rob won’t eat any of them.
Oh, well, just more for me!
This has been my best birthday yet!
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #129 – MAY 9, 2013
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – TATO
I know what a tater is, but what the heck is a tato? The slang dictionary says it is a sweet potato, I don’t know if they’re referring to the yam or the ocarina. So I went to the Encyclopedia Of Origami … (did you know I learned how to spell encyclopedia by watching the original Mickey Mouse Club on TV and I always have to sing that dumb song when I type it out) … anyway, the EOO says the TATO is a small flat Japanese treasure box. Sort of a Japanese Coin Purse. It was also easier to fold than I though it would be.
TATO – Japanese Flat Treasure Box
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – CIPHER ALPHABET ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME GROUPS
Actually, I solved this one while I was shooting the calendar photo. Well, I solved seven of the eight groups. If you can decode 2 and 5, you can decode all of them except 8. But I haven’t given up yet … I still have until Friday morning to solve it.
SOLUTION: OK, it took me a while to decode S I S as Y N Y in #8, but I finally figured it out. The HOF rock groups are Aerosmith, The Who, Cream, Traffic, The Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Black Sabbath and Lynynd Skynyrd.
SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCE:
Renee Freckle-toes
She’s napping on the bed in my office, library, music room and creative domain. She apparently wore herself out today following me around the yard as I mowed, trimmed, weed whacked, swept around the yard until I wore myself out. I was racing to beat the arrival of still more days of rain. Renee will be celebrating her fifth birthday on Sunday, and she has been my loyal companion since adopted her when she was nine-months old. She was a rescue pup at the Humane Society of Missouri, and today she is my most loyal and loving companion.
HIJINKS WITH MLLE. RENEE
Yesterday, I was racing to get all of the lawns mowed before our next week of rain (and possible snow) begins. I was doing pretty good until my stomach started to growl. So I called time out for a bologna sandwich break. Naturally, Mlle. Renee followed close behind when she heard bologna. See, we have a little game we play whenever I make a bologna sandwich. We call it Catch the baloney worm. As you probably know, when you make a bologna sandwich a portion of the sausage meat always remains stuck to the red bologna casing. I always run a paring knife around the inside of the casing and remove the long thin remnant of meat. It does sort of look like a long thin worm.
So Renee sits at the end of the table and waits for me to drop the baloney worm.
Please note that the baloney worm is not sitting on her nose. The camera caught it falling in mid-air. A fraction of a second later, her tongue darted out and caught the baloney just like a lizard. She never misses.
Do you think we have too much time on our hands? Guess my mother would have said, “Stop playing with your food!”
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #97 – APRIL 7
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR – SUNDAY EDITION
The weekend challenge from the calendar was to master the waterbomb base. It’s not very difficult, and on my second attempt I even folded it using spring flower folding paper.
I also added a couple of little extras …
What inspired me to make the little pups? Yesterday, I was taking Mlle. Renee for our walk around the neighborhood and I was stopped by a lady who was also doing her walking exercise. Renee naturally sat down at her fawningly best. The lady asked if Renee was a female. I said yes, and she asked if I was going to breed her. When I explained that she was spayed, the lady replied that she really would have loved to have a puppy from her. That’s why I made a couple of puppies for my origami Renee.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR – SUNDAY PUPPY MATH
STOP READING NOW IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THE ANSWER YET!
Hopefully Tom’s pets are tropical fish …
Because he has neetruof of them.
Eunice has evif of sundry creatures.
And you can see Pam’s pets on the calendar.
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – WORD CROSS
I’m not going to do all the work, but the down word is duol.
Hopefully, you realized that I typed all the answers backwards.
PICK PIC OF THE WEEK … DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?
It took a number of years, but my father and I managed to convert the back lawn from crab grass and other undesirable woody grass blends to a nice turf of zoysia grass that stands up to the heat and dry periods of Saint Louis summer. It stays green all summer, doesn’t need a lot of cutting during the dog days and probably could stand up to a football team playing on it everyday. I don’t have a football team, but I do have Mlle. Renee and the grass stands up to all of her daily yard racing all summer long. The vet tells me that among her multiple breed ancestries, she pick up a gene or two from an African ridgeback hound. Not a bad breed of dog, just one that was born to run. Something I know well from when she likes to pick up the pace on our daily walks.
There is one problem with zoysia grass. In mid-west winters it goes dormant and takes on the looks and texture of a stiff scrub brush. This is something that has not gone unnoticed by Mlle. Renee. And in the spring of the year her life is enlivened with the pleasures or running, jumping and rolling on her back on the stiff zoysia thatch.
So every day, after she wears herself out playing in the back yard, this is the image that greets me when I go out on the back deck. I don’t even have to say anything before she gives me her “Did I do something wrong?” look. She might look all Ms. Innocent, but I know she’s waiting for me to get the brush out and give her a good brushing. It’s not easy to get all of the thatch out of her coat. But then, it’s totally impossible to vacuum up any of the dried grass that gets into the house. The lawn will start turning green in a month or so, but until then I have a part ridgeback hound disguised as a porcupine.
WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: A Day In My Life
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CONFIRMED CURMUDGEON AND HIS CANINE COMPANION! A multi-photo challenge with captions.
The first thing I do when I get up in the morning is jump out of bed … turn the heat on … and jump back in bed until the house warms up. My faithful canine companion jumps back in bed behind me and we both get in a few more winks.
Once the house is warm, I start a cup of coffee.
Then I let Mlle. Renee out to tend to her morning duties.
Breakfast is next with a calendar puzzle to solve while I eat.
I always pour the left over 2% milk in Renee’s bowl next to her IAMS.
I also put a little something out for our feathered friends.
Friday is grocery day, so I headed to the corner MetroBus stop.
And watched a couple of pigeons watch me.
Riding the Metro is a great way to get in some reading.
That is, when I’m not checking out St. Louis classic architecture.
I also considered potential lunch spots on my trip.
Behold my stupidmarket!
Because I had a lot of chores at home, I decided to pass on lunch and picked up a sandwich at the store’s deli counter. The overstuffed, N.Y. style, hot pastrami sandwich from Carl’s was pretty tempting until I realized that it was Passover and they would be using grocery rye instead of rye from the Jewish Bakery.
While waiting for my return bus, I noticed that the trees along the street were starting to bud.
To give you an idea of the size of the city of Saint Louis, I shot this photo from the bus when we crossed the street that marks the border line. This view shows the entire city from west to east … meaning the Mississippi River. Of course, the city runs along the Mississippi for a much longer distance going from north to south.
Once I got home and unloaded the groceries, I took Renee for our daily constitutional.
I swear she actually watches the walk/don’t walk so she knows when to cross.
Heading home to take care of housekeeping chores.
LAUNDRY! How does an old curmudgeon know when it’s time to do laundry?
When he discovers only two pairs of socks and underwear left in the drawer.
While the laundry was washing …
I went out into the yard to do some yard chores. Renee looks bored.
It was Recycling Collection Day and I had to bring in the dumpster. Renee always has to go along with when I take out or bring in the containers. She runs alongside of me carrying her ball or an old milk bottle. Guess she thinks she’s doing her part.
I also noticed that despite Sunday’s foot and a half of snow the spring bulbs were sprouting.
And this was the last bit of snow left in the yard.
What would you expect when the temp hits 70?
Then I went back in the house to pick up all the toys Renee always drags out, before I started vacuuming, dusting, washing dishes, and baking fish for dinner.
THAT’S MY LIFE …
AND WELCOME TO IT!
Oh, one other thing…
I found this little guy hopping down the bunny trail that goes through the yard!
NOTE: All photos can be enlarged to full size by clicking on them.
ROUND AND ABOUT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SNOW STORM
Depending on the spot in the yard, the accumulation is somewhere between nine and eleven inches ten hours into the snow storm.
West Walnut Manor Totally Frosted
The flakes were falling so thick the camera couldn’t focus on Mlle. Renee.
Alas, poor tulips!
ORIGAMI SPRING – the only spring in sight in the midst of the continuing snow fall.
The official weather station at STL Lambert International Airport reported an 8.5-inch snow fall as of 4:00 pm. 3/25/13. Many individuals in the metro area reported snow of 12-inches or more. I stuck my yardstick at the side of the front steps and got …
Ok, the wind sort of did cause the snow to drift a bit there. And the tip of the yardstick was broken off about an inch and a half. And there was no way I was going to walk out into the yard to get a true measurement, because I didn’t want to get my new snow boots wet. Based on the accumulation on the back deck, I would estimate a nine to ten inch snowfall here. That was at four pm. and the snow fall is expected to continue through the night into Monday midday.
Midnight Update: Getting ready for bed, and I thought I’d update my Sunday post. As of the News@Ten, the official NOAA snowfall amount for Metro STL for Sunday, March 24 was 12.2-inches. It is also still snowing as you can see from this shot from the back deck.
And from the handle of the shovel, you’ll not that I did clean the snow from in front of the door to the sunporch. That’s so Renee can get in and out of the house without tramping through a snowbank. Since this snow was a widow-maker … very heavy and filled with water … I only removed enough for a Renee-sized path. Besides, it will all be covered again by morning. As for the 2012 Summer Drought, take that you drought!
Monday 4:00 pm update – Total official two day accumulation is now at 12.6″ – the highest snowfall since 1982. Some individual areas have recorded unofficial highs up to 20″.
THE LADY IN RED IN BED
Mlle Renee woke me up at 6:30 this morning. She had to go out and … you know. It was just starting to snow and only sticking on the deck and a couple of the colder areas of the grass. She was out and back in a flash and after a quick rub down with her fluffy towel, she decided she’d sleep in a little longer in my bed … just to keep me warm. She’s a very thoughtful companion. So we slept in until 11:30.
There was a lot more snow on the ground when we looked out the door this time, and though it was falling in a thick untoasted corn flake fashion she decided she had to patrol the grounds. When I looked out a couple of minutes later she was frolicking like a puppy or a human five-year old. (Renee won’t be five until Mother’s Day, which would make her going on to 35 in human years. She prefers to stop counting years at that point.) After walking around the house for a while, she decided that my room and my bed was the warmest place for her to warm up.
Playing in snow can be so exhausting … cold and wet, too!
DAILY CALENDAR CHALLENGE #83 – MARCH 24
By the time you read this edition, I just might be covered with 6 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow. Or so the Weather Wizards said on the News @10 last eventing. I’m sure to survive because I stocked up on milk and bread on Saturday morning.
#1 THE ORIGAMI CALENDAR CHALLENGE – SUNDAY EDITION
This was the weekend challenge which I completed yesterday with the very simple BLINTZ BASE.
So not wanting to look like a slacker, I did an extra folding for today.
I actually did this little black kitten for my great niece’s first birthday yesterday. They have a big black cat living in the house as a member of the family. My cat even got to sit next to her birthday cake.
She liked her cake …
But not the frosting on her fingers! Boy, Mlle. Renee could have cleaned up those fingers.
#2 THE MENSA PUZZLE CALENDAR - COMMON BONDS
CLUE – only seven different letters are used to answer all the questions. If you figure out the common bond you’ll get all the answers.
#3 THE PAGE-A-DAY PUZZLE CALENDAR – LOGIC CROSSWORDS
And are answers are in no particular order …
leap, wise, exit, also, axle, stop, peep and laws
Now all you have to do is figure out the logical order.
Now Renee and I are going to go back to bed, and try to avoid the snow.
... a somewhat unknown or perhaps imaginary actor, writer, director, producer, photographer, friend, brother, uncle and all round good fellow that you really should get to know because he lives with that most glamorous fourpaw Mademoiselle Renee. (Mlle. Renee for short)
