I say yes, you say no, OR People are Strange

Wabbit

blue ... LOL at your joke!  I flaked out early last night ... doggie with a sick tummy had kept me up all night the night before.  Let dog out, let dog in, clean up puke, let dog out, let dog in ... yawn, sigh.  She is a sweetheart but she does have a sensitive stomach ... our other German Shepherd did too. 

At -43 the pee probably freezes and they can't pee out the ice chunks.  Brrrrrrrr

leggo

Thanks for the tip Patmom.....20 foster puppies?? Kudos! I'm just going to call the school and tell them I owe them some books. Poor dog WAS probably trying to pee chunks. Sorry your doggy was sick WhiteRabbit.

BarbaraA

Blue, I thought it was funny and I usually am like 'What, I don't get it."

Anonymous

Notself - I think it might be "she".  She is small.  AND about a month ago I had a larger opossum hanging around for 3 days. 

ananda8

That is so cool.  I hope you're right.

I just put out a large, plastic dog food bin for the critters.  I placed it on its side and on a slight downward slope to keep the rain out.  It currently has dry cat food in it because possums do very well on cat food. 

Possums love all sorts of vegetables, as do song birds.  You can put lettuce, sliced apples, grapes, broccoli, shredded carrots out and possums will make them disappear. 

ananda8

Many pages ago, someone mentioned that polls can be slanted to favor one outcome or another based on how the questions are structured and who is polled.  Some of you who like to read polls may be interested in the site RealClearPolitics.  The bias of some pollsters really stands out when you see a list of polls on the same topic.  http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approval-1044.html

IMHO, one of the most reliable pollsters is the Pew Forum.  Here is a poll about the Tea Party and the opinions of those who make it up.  There are really interesting results.  The ones I find most surprising are the number of people who have not heard of the Tea Party and the number of people who have not heard of the Christian right. http://pewforum.org/Politics-and-Elections/Tea-Party-and-Religion.aspx

1Athena1

Notself, and the funny thing is that realclearpolitics itself commits statistical crimes of its own by averaging poll results despite all the differences in methodologies used. I agree with you - Pew is always reliable.

For political polls, to get a scientific reading by people who know what they are talking about and don't just average out apples with oraanges in the way realclearpolitics does, go to: www.pollster.com. They discuss methodologies extensively and chart trends.

I would, in general, avoid cable news polls as well. I would even more forcefully avoid the pundits' interpretation of the polls.

1Athena1

Deathly quiet here today...I can hear a pin drop.

Does nobody have anything to say about polls, dogs, cats, Libya or food?

Bren, where are you???

Enjoyful

My sister's dog tore up my carpet, so I have carpet people coming to give me an estimate today.  Did I mention I'm not a dog person?

I just put in an application to adopt another guinea pig.  :-) 

Bren-2007

Geez .. you have to go through screening to adopt a guinea pig?  We had some when I was little .. I thought they were lots of fun.

Bren

PS .. Sorry about your carpet ... why not install hardwood instead.

Enjoyful

*sigh*  She'd find some way to destroy hardwood too.  :-(

Yes, the guinea pig rescue people are very careful about their guinea pigs' homes.  Seems like a lot of trouble but I'd rather rescue one in need of a home than buy one from a pet store.

1Athena1

Sorry about the mess made, E - a lot of patience on your part to even want that dog back. What breed is it (I am expecting that you could say labrador...).

Enjoyful

Well, since my sister moved in with me her dog is part of the household too, so I don't really have a choice about having her back.  :-)  She's a sweet dog, just destructive sometimes.

She's a "treeing walker coon hound."  Sort of like a big beagle with long legs.

BarbaraA

E sorry about the carpet. I am a cat person for a reason. Well, actually several. I travel a lot, too. Lucy is fine for a couple days when I go. Yes, quiet today. Speaking of weird pets, my cat does this 'overgrooming' thing and she has this strange bald spot on her stomach where she lick, lick, licks. Weird. Anyway, check out her little tummy, licked bald. Very weird.

 

annettek

how about possum and a side of brussell sprouts....

BarbaraA

Her tummy looks sort of possum-like. No you cannot eat her, Annette. How about a delmonico steak? Tonight that's it with baked sweet potatoes and sauteed spinach with olive oil, garlic and some grated onion.

Alpal

Barbara - is that a Brazilian Wax job?

annettek

Athena- I share your love for the majestic big cats...the very first movie I was allowed to see on my own with friends was Born Free...and the awe has just grown...

BarbaraA

OMG Alpal, ROFLMAO!! It really is strange. She licks so hard that in one place she has a little scab. The vet says I need to distract her when she does it. I mean, I don't follow her around 24/7 but I try when she does it and I see. Want a treat, Lucy?

crazy4carrots

Barbara, I can identify!  My Burmese has the (infrequent, thank goodness) habit of licking the upper inside of his front leg until the skin is exposed.  Got an elizabethan collar to keep him from doing it and letting it heal, but that was just too difficult for him.  So....I bought some stretchy cotton jersey material and, after many tries, made a long-sleeved "sweater" for him.  It works!  He also knows he's not supposed to do it, and whenever I see him start to vigorously lick that leg, and say very loudly "Toffee, NO".  He gives me a guilty look and walks away!!!!

BTW, I made the semmel knoedel recipe the other night with pot roast.  Actually tasted really good, but I'll never use whole grain bread again for it!  Tonight, it's home-made fresh basil pesto on angel hair pasta -- and salad greens, of course!

BarbaraA

Lindasa - on my way over.

Bren-2007

Alpal .. ROFLMAO.

Linda .. how do you make pesto?  I love it and buy it in the jar, but don't know how to make it. 

I'm having carrots and a diet pepsi so far for dinner.  I wish I enjoyed cooking.  We have a nice glasstop stove and I hate it.  Prefer gas, but we can't get that here.

Bren

Alpal

Bin - I'll let Linda tell you how to make pesto, but, take it from me, it's the easiest thing you'll ever do, takes no time at all, and freezes beautifully. You do need a food processor. I make many many batches all summer. Freeze and use all winter long. Even if you don't enjoy cooking, you can boil pasta!!

Anonymous

Bitter Apple spray - can buy in pet store.  It will keep the dog from chewing.  Doesn't harm furniture  I spray it on one of my dogs every night.  He licks same area as Barbara's cat, perhaps you could try that on kitty too.

Notself - Opossum doesn't like veggies, I tried several  He does love fruit,  bananas are favorite. I give him kitten chow.  My "Bird Guy" gave me a bag of some pellet for him/her.  He said they had a high fat content and some calcium.(loves those)  He is picky, loves these freeze dried salmon dog treats,  I offered him a piece of cod he grabbed it out of my hand, chewed it and then spit it out !!

Bren-2007

Yep .. I can boil pasta.  Is there a way to make it w/o a food processor?  I have a nice blender .. will that work?

Bren

crazy4carrots

Bren, you can certainly try using the blender.  Here's the recipe for a batch that makes about 6 ounces:

Start with 5 or 6 (or more!) cloves of garlic.

Add 1 cup of tightly packed basil leaves

Add 1/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts if you prefer)

Add 1/4 finely grated parmesan cheese

Throw in a pinch each of sea salt and freshly grated black pepper

Whirl together in the blender and then slowly pour in about 1/2 cup of EVOO and blend until the mixture is fairly smooth.

BTW, the amounts are only approximations!  And sometimes i omit the parmesan if I want I slightly more runny pesto.

Anybody else's recipes are also welcome!  Always looking for new ideas!

iodine

Polls: My got on a repub. list somehow (could it be the letters I write my senators?) and the "poll" was written in such a slanted way that dh and I got a good laugh at the questions.  I imagine the dem. polls do the same thing.  Anything to prove anyone's point.  When I get unsolicited mail like that with a return envelope, I return it.  Without any info or $$, of course.

Last night we had our biyearly cauliflower/cheese sauce.  Of course, I got to talking with dd on the phone and let it boil over.  Now have a once beautiful glass top stove with encrusted crap all over the area where it splattered and ran under the pot---so far the regular cleaners haven't worked.  I'm soaking in vinegar now and got a special cleaner from Lowe's .  That may be our last cauliflower!

When our previous cats would scratch on the courners of the sofa (first one to shreads!) I first put used x-ray film around the edge, then I found that clear packing tape worked beautifully.  Of course, no cat I know uses a scratching post, but the babies we now have will use the cardboard ones very well.

Marple

You can also use toasted almonds instead of pine nuts.......much cheaper and very yummy.

Is EVOO olive oil?  I use olive oil.

Edit to add~for the pesto recipe two posts up.

Bren-2007

Thanks Linda,

I think I can handle this! ha!  Tim will be so impressed.  Actually, I can cook, I just don't enjoy it.

Bren

Alpal

Extra Virgin Olive Oil - EVOO I think the blender would work fine. Pine nuts have become outrageously expensive, so I'll sure try the almonds. Thanks, Sharon

Erica - I was going to suggest Bitter Apple, but wasn't sure about it on skin. I've only used it on table legs! It's great stuff.