The Mega Pawsitive Fundraiser

[1CatOverTheLine]

1CatOverTheLine I don’t think I will see the mink at the cottage today, contractors rebuilt the dock last week. We didn’t bring the cats, not worth them fussing in the car for a short day trip.

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I hope Mother Nature drops plenty of rain where it is needed. Makes it impossible to wish you all a beautiful day knowing that is not possible for many.

@Shane Kent - Seeing the smaller furbearers - Marten, Mink, Fishers, and the two Weasels - is one of the things I sorely miss about paddling in Canada. The Adirondacks will never match their abundance in Algonquin, the Muskoka Lakes region, the Boundary Waters, and further north, in the Kipawa area.
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[segelkatt]

segelkatt - According to the Wiki article, "The Holy Fire was first reported at 1:17PM PST on Monday August 6, 2018, in Holy Jim Canyon (from which the fire derives its name), a community of about 40 homes and cabins in the Trabuco Canyon area of the Santa Ana Mountains."

Holy Fire (fire) - Wikipedia
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It has pretty much left the Trabuco Canyon and moved towards Elsinore which has a big man-made lake. If you look at the pictures I had posted yesterday you'll see a panorama with Saddleback towards the left (that's actually 2 mountain peaks, Modjeska and Santiago). The canyons are quite steep and narrow there which is why the developers have not invaded the place, yet. But a fire will race up those canyon walls and spread like crazy because they are so unaccessable by truck and foot. The fire first could be seen from here between the 2 peaks, then farther to the right and farther down where it sent all that brown smoke into the air, now there is that white smoke you can see on those last pics which is towards the small town of Elsinore. Thankfully this morning it is not only overcast but the humidity is up to 75%, feels almost foggy and there might have been some during the night. The winds, what there was of them, must have really turned during the night and brought all that moisture in from the ocean.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My kids are totally enthralled with The Andy Griffith show. DH got them started watching and they are SO into "the show from a long long long long long long long time ago" to quote my DS. Funny but I won't complain! Good tv!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

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Not much action with the Perseids at this early hour, and what there is - even with clear skies - seems centered more to the west of due north, rather than to the east, at about 30º elevation.

Doesn't matter much - it's a beautiful night out there, folks.
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[MoochNNoodles]

I used to wake my DD up to go watch the meteors. The last time we tried she wasn't as excited about being out of her bed. And we had a wild animal join us in the yard. Our yard is fenced in and it wasn't a cat! I never figured out for certain what kind of animal it was. We only saw it's eyes glowing when I shined my cell phone in it's direction. We've been studying astronomy in science since last fall so maybe I should try; but tonight's sky won't cooperate anyway. It's fun to see my kids experiencing these things that I fell in love with as a child.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

It's fun to see my kids experiencing these things that I fell in love with as a child.

The "action" has moved clockwise, and is just about at the Perseid radiant now.

MoochNNoodles - Good for you - and even better for your children. I remember lying on blanket on the grass with my Parents, and watching the Perseids. President Eisenhower was in his first term, and it seemed to me than that all was right with the world.
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[maggiedemi]

1CatOverTheLine --I checked and our canoe brand is Old Town. We got it in Lake Placid many years ago. Glad to hear that it's still safe to use.
@Furballsmom --I should get into baseball, since football is too violent for me these days. I actually went to a Yankees game once in Montreal.
My positive for the day is I tried my best in the Pasty contest. I think my pal won though, because hers actually tasted good. Mine was all dried out. An hour at 350 degrees was just too long in my oven. My oven is electric, maybe this recipe was made for a gas oven. Is there a difference? I know the stovetop part is different, but is the oven part? Here's a pic. My eggwash was kinda sloppy! But the positive is that I tried my best and the contest was fun.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Good for you - and even better for your children. I remember lying on blanket on the grass with my Parents, and watching the Perseids. President Eisenhower was in his first term, and it seemed to me than that all was right with the world.

That's how it started for me. Laying outside in my sleeping bag with my Mom. Different President though. It was probably HW Bush. Or barely into Clinton's first term.

1CatOverTheLine --I checked and our canoe brand is Old Town. We got it in Lake Placid many years ago. Glad to hear that it's still safe to use.
@Furballsmom --I should get into baseball, since football is too violent for me these days. I actually went to a Yankees game once in Montreal.
My positive for the day is I tried my best in the Pasty contest. I think my pal won though, because hers actually tasted good. Mine was all dried out. An hour at 350 degrees was just too long in my oven. My oven is electric, maybe this recipe was made for a gas oven. Is there a difference? I know the stovetop part is different, but is the oven part? Here's a pic. My eggwash was kinda sloppy! But the positive is that I tried my best and the contest was fun.
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I think pastry is something that requires a lot of practice to get it tasty AND pretty. I think yours looks good! My Gram really had the knack for pies and she said she tossed plenty when she was young. My pies usually look bad but taste great. Gram had all of us grandkids in the kitchen learning to make and roll out dough. It's transferring it that I can't seem to master. I wish Gram could advise me! I've always had electric stoves and Gram did too. Maybe an oven thermometer would help you know if things are heated right? I think chilling the dough makes a difference too. Gram often made her dough in the morning and her pies in the afternoons. I should remember to try that her way. I use a silicone rolling mat and still have sticking issues. Maybe that can be chilled too.

I slept long and hard last night. That is absolutely a wonderfully positive thing. I feel like a million bucks compared to yesterday. It reminded me of when the kids were babies and how hard it was to be pleasant and productive. But now I'm almost ready to tackle housework I've neglected. But first:

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

1CatOverTheLine --I checked and our canoe brand is Old Town. We got it in Lake Placid many years ago. Glad to hear that it's still safe to use.

M maggiedemi - Grummans are aluminum, and very hard to kill. I've heard that crazy people have paddled them on rivers like the Fawn, the Winisk, the Servern and even the Seal. Proceed with caution with your Old Town; if they're stored for long periods not on their gunnels and not blocked for shape, they'll eventually conform to the shape of whatever surface upon which they're placed.

Aside: I think this looks fabulous!

I could make this too, but mine would turn out about half this size, and would end up looking like charcoal being considerably darker. I give this one an A+!

That's how it started for me. Laying outside in my sleeping bag with my Mom. Different President though.

MoochNNoodles - It's the singer, not the song.



The current weather forecast claims that today will be clear and dry. The raindrops just beginning to dot the surface of the pool - and the radar map, with the arrow showing the storm's current path - suggest that the forecasters might have had a little too much catnip:

 

[neely]

DH and I went to an estate sale yesterday. The owner of the house passed away and his daughter told us we could have some old architectural etchings/prints for free as long as we promised to do an act of kindness. We followed through with her wish that same day and plan to display the prints in our home.

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

DH and I went to an estate sale yesterday. The owner of the house passed away and his daughter told us we could have some old architectural etchings/prints for free as long as we promised to do an act of kindness. We followed through with her wish that same day and plan to display the prints in our home.

neely - This is absolutely wonderful! What time do I have to meet Carleton at the airport?
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[neely]

neely - This is absolutely wonderful! What time do I have to meet Carleton at the airport?

You're too late, lol.
The daughter let us take the prints home the same day since we also bought two other architectural items. Actually we have met some of the nicest and jovial people going to estate/house sales, one of whom we met almost 25 years ago and are still friends with today.

 

[Jcatbird]

I have been positively busy but will return with upbeat news! I just had to stop everything and say how wonderful it is to have @ashade1 doing such wonderful things for cats. Good and kind and positive and very important!

 

[maggiedemi]

1CatOverTheLine --The canoe is made of Royalex. I don't know what a gunnel is, but it's hanging on some special thingy out in the screen house. We did have a metal row boat, but we sold it. That might have been aluminum, I don't know.

Truthfully I would rather my food looked like crap and tasted amazing. Positive memory for the night- this reminds me of a slice of pizza I bought at the Corel Centre. It was greasy and disgusting looking. I told the lady, there's no way I'm eating that, that's gross! But I took a bite of it and it was the most delicious pizza I ever tasted! So you can't always tell by the way food looks, how it will taste.

 

[tinydestroyer]

I agree M maggiedemi - so many people nowadays are too concerned with how their food will look on Instagram, and not enough with how it will taste! Sometimes the best meals are messy.

My PAWsitive today is that we are officially going to be moving! Specifically, out of CA, and into the Midwest for a new job that my husband is taking. I'm really excited about taking on a new chapter in our lives, and looking forward to seeing all four seasons every year (which seems to be a point of pride among the midwesterners I've encountered.) I am sure I'll have lots of cat-related move questions, so it's also pretty PAWsitive that I'm a member of the best cat site on the net!

 

[Jcatbird]

My positive is that all my missing kitties have turned up now! Yay! Flowers was the last to show but she has allowed me closer than ever before. Another positive is that I have missed everyone here and I am glad to be back. Nothing beats positive posts! I will catch on the missed posts later as I have run late giving tlc to some kitties. It seems they expect extra when they take a vacation. I did glance this page and saw some great stuff. Lovely and yummy looking pastry, good pie making tips, sky memoirs( a personal favorite of mine and all did seem well with the world) canoe conversations, wild animals, furry friends, architectural items, good deeds requested and accomplished, catnip consuming weather forecasters(lol) , mountain peaks and canyons! Wow! So much new info. I love it. I thought perhaps of view from this area might be enjoyed here. The coast is always beautiful to me. I remember camping on the islands as a child. There were no other people there then. No roads or cars, just nature. I loved exploring the shore. The knowledge that no other humans were there made it feel like a secret place. I never knew what I would discover on the beaches there. Every shell and knarled piece of driftwood was as good as treasure. Night times were an adventure as the wild pigs would nose around the camp. Mornings revealed footprints of deer as well. Exciting times.

 

[Norachan]

I like this one - CatLadder, CatCubby, CatDeck and CatShelf combined. I wonder if Ikea would buy the design from you?

It does look a bit Ikea, doesn't it? I think that's because I painted it white. I bought a can of mat white to tart up the bird houses, so decided to do the Kitty Kennel to match.

My positive is that all my missing kitties have turned up now! Yay!

Oh, that's wonderful news!

 

[1CatOverTheLine]

My positive is that all my missing kitties have turned up now! Yay! View attachment 247695

Jcatbird - How wonderful that all the kitties are back where they belong!

That's a lovely photo; it looks a little like the sky does here sometimes:

Actually, it looks a little like the sky does here all the time. The one odd-shaped cloud over the barn hasn't moved for about fifteen years.




We've more rain falling this morning, and three more days forecast as well - exactly what the parched landscape needs to recover from our hottest, driest Summer on record.
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[Jcatbird]

Jcatbird - How wonderful that all the kitties are back where they belong!

That's a lovely photo; it looks a little like the sky does here sometimes:

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Actually, it looks a little like the sky does here all the time. The one odd-shaped cloud over the barn hasn't moved for about fifteen years.

We've more rain falling this morning, and three more days forecast as well - exactly what the parched landscape needs to recover from our hottest, driest Summer on record.
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Ahahahaha! I love that odd shaped cloud. Amazing that the air currents keep it stationary! Speaking of stationery. For those of us who still use paper, very cool stationary! Now if my real kitties would remain slightly stationary....... be nice if they were as easily located as that cloud! Lol Great one! If the rain comes from that cloud it might make your plants grow better. It would probably be very special rain. Might rain cats and dogs!

 

[maggiedemi]

tinydestroyer --That's exciting! I hope the weather will be nice where you are moving. I was supposed to move to Texas, but things happened and I never made it. Maybe someday.
1CatOverTheLine --That's the nicest barn I've ever seen. Do you have any farm animals?
My positive for today is I'm thinking for my next cooking project I might make a Stromboli. They are called Stromboli in Upstate NY, but in Texas they call them Calzones. So I don't know what the correct name is, but they are like a pizza folded over in a pocket, with all the pizza sauce and ingredients in them.