I Don't Think Moths Have Any Brains

First of all, when did they start making moths the size of weiner dogs with wings?

At night I'm sitting peacefully watching TV, and then this giant freak of nature comes flying in through the patio doors, and heads straight up to the swirling ceiling fan of death. It ignores the swiftly turning fan blades, somehow mesmerized by the irresistable bright lights attached to the fan. I hear a whhhhthump, turn my head to see what made that loud sound, and see a a torpedo like object come hurling toward my open, gaping mouth. I shut my mouth and get hit on the top of the head by this now un-moth.
I mean really, what are they thinking? If they like the light that much, why don't they come out in the daytime and sleep at night like everyone else? They could be in the sunlight and flit around, fly straight to the sun, and nobody would be the wiser.

Also I had another weird experience a short time later. Well, I didn't know what hit the fan, but I did hear a thump. I walked over to the area didn't see any moth parts. but did see what I thought was one of those candies...a hard striped one called a Humbug, on the floor. I just about picked it up, then thought, "it's probably sticky" so I got a ruler that was nearby and was going to scoop it up. It stuck to the carpet, so I thought, eww somebody had this in their mouth. I got under it a bit more and as I dislodged it, it hissed at me. sssssss ssssssss., and then moved a bit. Serionsly freaking me out. If you ever saw the movie The Mist, well those were the kind of thoughts that started going through my mind. I was hoping it wouldn't suddenly fly at my neck and grab on. It took about 5 flick/scoops to get that thing out of the house. Each time it hissed.


::shudder::

Lesser Known Computer Viruses

These may not be well known, but beware of these!

Old Geezer Virus (in our home it's also known as the "Hey That Sounds Like Me Virus")
-creates faulty memory, and when the computer is asked to retrieve recently input data, the screen goes blank.

Adam Lambert Virus
-your computer creates and ouputs it's own audio files and is always reformatting. Has certain magnetic properties.

- Johnny Depp Virus
- a quirky virus that reacts differently in different applications. Could make your computer moody and dark, or it could attempt to pirate other computers and steal their bandwidth.

- Gordon Ramsey Virus
- a virus that scans files you have created, taking bytes from them and then disables them with harsh HTML.

Tom Cruise Virus
- was a powerhouse virus, but has been self destructive and downgraded to a simple worm, which tries to get other worms to follow it's path. Occasionally makes your screen jump up and down.

- The Sasquatch Virus
-a virus that hides deep in the recesses of your computer and take up lots of disc space, leaving a data trail. Some have said that it can be seen at night, through Windows, but most believe it is a virtual blip.

Message Board Virus
- sends subliminal messages through your computer screen, compelling you to pend unreasonable hours online.

Cat's ear hematoma and more lovely stuff

In my quest to bring you both good and bad things about pet owning, I give you a small tale about our cat, and a couple of her issues.
Skittles, was give to us by our daughter's friend in the fall 11 years ago.

First adventure at the vets: We had her about a month, when we noticed that she wasn't eating, or peeing (sorry about mentioning the p word again in my blog, but it's just something everyone does and has to do...a lot). We took her to the vet, and he felt her stomach and said it appeared she had something in here and it felt "crunchy". She was new, and small, but we had no choice but to get her into surgery. It turned out that she had eaten a candy cane, wrapper and all. The candy had gone through, but the cellophane wrapper had balled up and stuck in there. Once it was removed she was stitched up and just fine. Shows you that your pets will try and eat anything. Little cat. Big bill.


Second adventure at the vets: This was about two years ago. One day she seemed fine and the next, her ear had ballooned up. Off to the vet. We were told that it was an ear hematoma. She must have been shaking her head and ruptured some vessels in her ear. No ear mites or fleas, so we are not sure why. Once again...into surgery. The ear is drained, and because it had filled with fluid, the layers of her ear had separated and it had filled up like a hot water bottle. They cut the skin, and fit it back together and stitch it up, kind of like a quilt so the ear can heal and glue back together. The stitches stay for about 10 days. Then they take the stitches out. This may work in some cases, but in ours......no. The ear started to get fat again and in the end our cat's ear just wouldn't heal nicely. We could have tried again, but had no more money and our cat was just not a good patient. It's wrinkled and thick and she looks like an old alley cat, I don't think she cares.

Sink Cats & Tub Dogs

Just about everyone knows a cat that likes to sleep in the sink.
If you think not, look for telltale signs. Are there strange hairs on your bar of soap....I don't mean the curly ones that you may blame (curse) others for leaving behind, in your home. I mean long silky ones? Is your toothbrush hairier than usual. If you say yes, you may have a secret night-sink sleeper.
I have had 3 sink sleepers. This one is Claw'd (named because that's what you got when you went near him).
This particular cat used to sit on top of the fridge and bat the top of your head when you opened the fridge door, and also hide behind doors, attacking your ankles when you walked past. Sadly this little fuzzy monster is no longer with us.

Slightly less well known...but they are out there for sure, because I have had 2 of them, are the dog tub sleepers. This is Monty, our first tub sleeper (again, no longer with us).


Our current dog will do this as well. She did it a lot as a young dog (as well as dragging out the wet towels and rolling in them). She is getting older now, and it's harder for her to pick her legs up climb in, so we don't see her there as often. I suppose this is a big dog thing, that's what we have always had.
Anyways, cats in sinks, dogs in tubs, just part of the strange goings on in your home when you own pets. Nothing weirder than walking into your bathroom on a warm summer day , and having your sink and tub full of furry animals.
Gotta love 'em, they have their own personalities.

Oh where, oh where have my little links gone.....

I seem to have lost a bunch of my links. Can't find them anywhere. If you remember being linked to my blog before, please let me know and I will re-add you. Thanks.

Dinosaur Eggs

I put a new listing in my shop, of a set of dinosaur nesting eggs. While I was painting them, I was reminded of a gift I made for one of my children's teachers one year, eons ago, and thought it might be nice to share this idea for others...maybe you could use it as a father's day gift (make with your kids) or really for anyone, anytime.

1. Find a nice egg shaped, oval or round rock. The smoother the better. Can be whatever size you like (think paperweight, doorstopper, or ornaments as possible uses.) Make sure it is clean and dry.
2. Draw a hole, use lots of angles and draw some crack lines
3. Draw your dinosaur, just the head, neck and maybe an arm or tail sticking out of the hole. Keep in mind who you are giving this to...somebody with a big head? big nose? Try and make it fun. You don't need to do any special type, make up your own
4. I use acrylic craft paint, use whatever colours that you think your giftee might like. Make sure the "hole" that is showing is painted in a dark colour. Paint the cracks with a thin brush, in black. You don't need to paint the whole rock, just keep it natural.
5. Put a coat of varnish on. I use a wasterbase varnish from the craft store and it dries quickly. Paint one side, let it dry and then coat the other. You may need a couple of coats.
   

Now for some fun. You have to come up with a fact sheet for your dinosaur. Maybe you could print it out as a card. The things you might want to put on the fact sheet are: (my example)

• Type of dinosaur : Remediosaurus (named after the teacher Mr Remedious)

• Era: The old days (could be disco era or anything you like, based on the age or the time you give the gift)

• Size: Started small and got bigger (really you can be as nice or cheeky as you want)

• Physical Characteristics: Large feet, balding, long nose, tiny head (don't be tooooo rude)

• Attributes: More intelligent than he seems, very kind, likes to giggle, burps at inappropriate times (here is your chance to really make the gift special by listing the funny things and things you love about your giftee.

You may have some ideas of your own, so just have some fun. This can be something special because it shows you took some time and put thought into your gift.