and today i have mostly been...

[steve_earwig]

It's usually more like "I really need to do something about that, but not while I'm using it. I'll do something about it when I'm not" and then forget right up until you need it again. On a smaller scale I often think I need to clean my windscreen when I get home and then promptly forget all about it until I'm driving again. My wife kept spotting a cobweb on her way in through the front door here but, by the time she'd been mobbed by the dogs, mugged by the cats and changed into her civvies, she'd forgotten all about it until the next time.

That reminds me, the next time I have to reboot my pc I really need to fit the sata3 cables I bought for it about 3 months back...

[Welly]

I'm glad it's not just me then, in 'my' shower the hoop-thing to hang a shower gel or flannel from has cracked on one side and needs Aralditing.....I have the glue (downstairs in the Kitchen).....I have the ability to apply glue..... EVERY DAY I see the broken bit.....and EVERY DAY I forget it needs doing about 5 seconds after leaving the Bathroom

[Doggy]

Get yourself one of those smart-arse phones and set a reminder on it?

(I realise how banal that is, but it's what my kids would tell me).

[Welly]

I'm still staunchly holding onto my old Blackberry much to the bemusement of EVERYONE since you can't actually be a normal human without an i-Phone it seems

Anyway what's to stop me from forgetting the reminder?

[steve_earwig]

Yesterday we lost George. In the morning there was a wheely bin overturned 2 door's down, with it's contents scattered across the road. I saw it in the morning, I had to take Srečko to the vet's as he's managed to damage a paw but as I turn the other way to go towards town I didn't have too close a look at it. I was actually thinking about picking it up but as I passed the bin men just down the road I decided they could deal with it. When I picket t'wife up from work in the afternoon she'd asked if I'd seen the dead cat in the road. No? A tabby, in with the rubbish from that overturned bin. It can't be one of ours as she'd just been feeding them and they were all present and correct. Umm, I've not seen George today. I had a look but I can only assume the bin men collected him with the rubbish. Obviously we were hoping to be wrong but George never came again, so I guess we have to face reality. My wife is quite upset that she'd seen him but didn't realize, but there's not much she could've done for him. I suppose it's bad that he went with the rubbish but it was just his body.

He'd just turned 2. So, this year we've lost one dog, Vicky, and 2 cats, Obama (who is still officially MIA) and now George. But it's given us Charlie and Camilla and Teatime who, apart from being a pig and looking like a nightmare, is a damn nice cat.















Goodbye little George.

[Doggy]

Sorry to hear about George.
We're still getting over losing our Charlie, so I can imagine losing three of your 'family' will be hard for both of you.

Some amazing pictures there.

[steve_earwig]

Thankyou, and thankyou.

You'd think that, with so many animals, it wouldn't be so hard to loose them, but they all have their own individuality, they all have something that makes them special.

George-
-A meow so loud you could hear him asking for food a long time before he appeared.
-The only animal to keep me company in the garden.
-The only cat I didn't mind sleeping on my bed because he didn't want to sleep on me.
-Never jealous or aggressive at food time.
-Didn't like being picked up but only struggled when you put him down again.


Incidentally, while I was at the vet's yesterday she had a dog in there with suspected pseudorabies ("mad itch"), a dog they were using for wild pig hunting (one of these maybe - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Istrian_C ... ired_Hound ). He was in a right state, having almost scratched all the skin off of one side of his head. I'd not heard of it before but it sounds very nasty. She had him doped up and planned to take it to the veterinary faculty in Zagreb this morning to verify her diagnosis. However he died yesterday evening, which makes a trip to the faculty pointless as it confirms her diagnosis anyway. It's not clear how he got it, it's supposed to be from uncooked pork, but I think if he's tackling wild pigs in the forests then maybe he got it that way. She says that's the first time she's ever seen it but I guess she'll have to watch out for more now. Oh great, something else to worry about.

[Doggy]

Sounds nasty. I guess if they grapple with wild pigs there's always a risk.

We had our annual wild boar feast a couple weekends ago - my bro brings back a big lump of dead animal from his hunting trip to the Midi Pyrenees.
They use dogs to flush the boars, but they don't look like the one you describe.
My bro asked them what breed they were and in reply received a shrug and, "melange des croiser", (which I think means a mix of cross-breeds).

[lozz]

Sorry to hear about the loss of George Steve.

Our cat went missing about 3 mths ago not seen him since..
Strangely the day before he went he got on my son's dogs bed and curled up with it for an hour
And he hated the dog..
Must of made peace with the thing before he decided to pack his bags.

[steve_earwig]

Thanks Lozz.

With hindsight the only clue that Obama may have found some place better was his rejection of any food we gave him, one sniff and he'd rush out the door again. At least I hope he found somewhere better, it's hard to imagine here as most people just treat a cat as a device for controlling pests, only feed it bones and scraps and, if it goes wrong, hell, there are plenty more. But you've gotta hope.

I drempt George came last night, I was sad again when I woke up. I told my wife and she says she keeps dreaming Obama comes in the night for food while we're all asleep.

[lozz]

We still leave food out for our cat.. (The strays come in and take it..so no waste really)
I read somewhere about a cat going missing for 2 years or some daft length of time and
Then one day it'd just strolled in like nowts happend..

Cats are weird creatures ithink... one minute they can be pets and then change to ,I'm going back to the selfish mode..

[Welly]

Sorry about your Cat Steve, that's pretty rough but outside of your control no-one could criticise you for not caring for them all equally.

[steve_earwig]

They don't consider themselves to be pets, if we're stupid enough to feed them then they'll stick around but if the food falls below par or there's better elsewhere then they won't hesitate. No loyalty, you see?

Slightly catty - I took Srećko back to the vet's this morning for one last antibiotic, his paw seems pretty good now and he doesn't mind it being touched (insomuch as Srećko will allow any part of his body to be touched without the threat of instant death hanging over the transgressor). It was -2 here this morning, yoyoII covered in frost so, rather than have Srećko wait for me to clear the car, I'd start it up, stick the heaters on, scrape the frost off and then go get him.

Now, I'm not overly keen on leaving a car running out in the street, so I wanted to lock it. Plus I get a chance to see if the locks are seized or anything. Put (spare) key in lock, turn, click, still unlocked (it was damn Fords being backwards to anyone else that has left me confused forever). Turn it the other way, click, it's locked.

I went indoors, found Srećko hiding under the bed (I think he heard the cat box), dragged him out and posted him into the box. I took the box outside, go to the passenger side of yoyoII and... no door lock The bloody cheapskates didn't fit one So I went to the driver's side, stuck the key in and turned it, click, still locked. Ok, turn it the other way, click, still locked. What the actual? So I tried the plip, which doesn't work with the engine running of course. Try the key in the lock again, click, and it's unlocked This Moment of Panic™ has been brought to you by the Toyota Heavy Machinery and Dangerous Toy Corporation of Japan. If you have enjoyed this Moment of Panic™, please tell your friends.

I also noticed that, while all this was going on, the idle was cycling between 900rpm and 1500rpm in 30 second intervals. Nice.

[Doggy]

This Moment of Panic™ has been brought to you by the Toyota Heavy Machinery and Dangerous Toy Corporation of Japan. If you have enjoyed this Moment of Panic™, please tell your friends.

Scary moment though. Did you get as far as working out when it would run out of fuel?

[steve_earwig]

I didn't get that far, I still had the misconception* that I had one more lock to try, with vague thoughts as to which window would be easiest to replace.

*Yes, misconception as I've just been out to try the lock again, which worked, and to see if the lock in the tailgate worked too, only to discover that the miserly feckers didn't fit one of those either! This stupid bloody car has ONE EXTERNAL DOOR LOCK!!!