I've started moving this blog to another free blogging site.
I don't want the good of this blog being tainted by the... number of rather unsupportive nasty individuals on G+. I also found the site where I've moved the blog to has a lot more good responses, with much better coverage even without promoting it.
And frankly, the last time I tried updating this blog, Blogger wouldn't let me post anything. So enough is enough.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Monday, November 18, 2013
Upcycling: Coupon Ad Paper Ball Cat Toy
Here's a simple cat toy. Just take a coupon advertisement you don't need from your local Sunday paper. Wad it up. Then try to convince your kitty to play "soccer" with it.
The coupon ads make a good crinkling noise.
The coupon ads make a good crinkling noise.
Upcycling: Kitten Feeding Dish
If you read my previous post about the "makeshift litter pan for kitten", you know she's rather young, but is acting ready to ween and litterbox train.
But since she's too small for most of the bowls and saucers I own, I took the lid from a ricotta cheese container and used it for a feeding dish. In it, there is some salmon-flavored canned food mixed with kitten replacement milk. She still hasn't learned to quit stepping in it, but that's okay. It gives me an excuse to clean off her "hands" and the little "milk chin" she gets from feeding.
Okay, here. You deserve a look at the sprite:
By the way, she tucked herself in. I caught her like this after my shower.
But since she's too small for most of the bowls and saucers I own, I took the lid from a ricotta cheese container and used it for a feeding dish. In it, there is some salmon-flavored canned food mixed with kitten replacement milk. She still hasn't learned to quit stepping in it, but that's okay. It gives me an excuse to clean off her "hands" and the little "milk chin" she gets from feeding.
Okay, here. You deserve a look at the sprite:
By the way, she tucked herself in. I caught her like this after my shower.
Upcycling: Makeshift Litter Pan for Kitten
November 11, 2013, I came home from my usual routine and found a box on my doorstep. Inside, I found a tiny kitten. I'd say she was 3 weeks old, max. Well, she's been growing rather well the past week, and I thought I'd get a litter pan ready for her when it's time to litterbox train her.
What I'm using is a plastic TV dinner tray that I used to use for feeding canned food to the adult cats. Since it's deeper than most of the plastic trays I've saved, I thought it would be ideal for such a wee sprite of a kitten. The paper towel was used to wipe her bottom, so to show her that "messes go here," I put it in the litter pan. I've had the wee one for a week, and she made her first tinkle in the litter pan today. Just think, training her to go in the litterbox without the traditional "rub nose in accident and show kitty to litterbox" sort of training.
She's a smart kitten.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Cooking: 15 Bean Turkey Soup, in the Slow Cooker
Here's another comfort food favorite. It's excellent on a cold, wintry day.
What you'll need:
1 bag of 15 bean soup, beans rinsed
1 can of carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, and marjoram -- to taste
1/2 lb. ground turkey
Place the ground turkey and other ingredients into the slow cooker. Set it on low for 8 hours. Putting this on the night before is a good idea.
Note: You can find 15 bean soup at certain Wal-mart stores. If you've seen it elsewhere, please let us know in the comments.
What you'll need:
1 bag of 15 bean soup, beans rinsed
1 can of carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
garlic and onion powders, salt, pepper, and marjoram -- to taste
1/2 lb. ground turkey
Place the ground turkey and other ingredients into the slow cooker. Set it on low for 8 hours. Putting this on the night before is a good idea.
Note: You can find 15 bean soup at certain Wal-mart stores. If you've seen it elsewhere, please let us know in the comments.
Cooking: Crunchy Baked Flounder
This one is as simple as it is tasty.
What you'll need:
2 flounder fillets, defrosted, and cut lengthwise
1 cup crushed potato crisps, like Pringles
Black pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Put the crushed potato crisps in a shallow dish with the black pepper. Brush olive oil onto both sides of the flounder "finger" and bread it. Place the fingers in a baking dish and bake until golden brown at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
I suppose you could serve them with tartar sauce, but they were good just like this.
What you'll need:
2 flounder fillets, defrosted, and cut lengthwise
1 cup crushed potato crisps, like Pringles
Black pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Put the crushed potato crisps in a shallow dish with the black pepper. Brush olive oil onto both sides of the flounder "finger" and bread it. Place the fingers in a baking dish and bake until golden brown at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
I suppose you could serve them with tartar sauce, but they were good just like this.
Friday, November 15, 2013
Gaming: Minecraft 360
For the past couple of weeks, I've been playing the heck out of Minecraft 360, made for the xBox 360 console. It's... addictive. The game has all of the stuff I like in a game: collecting and building. I can farm a bit too, and even fish.
http://www.amazon.com/Minecraft-Xbox-360/dp/B00BU3ZLJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384559341&sr=8-1&keywords=minecraft+360
There's a mode that lets you turn off the monster mobs: peaceful. But you can later load the file with monsters coming out at night.
I think the greatest challenge is in creating your "dream home". It's sort of like the Sims, except you make the stuff you put in your "dream home"/fortress/ palace/whatever. I believe the disc I bought is version 1.8.2, which adds some new things to the game, like the ability to make nether bricks out of netherrack. Basically, you can make more stuff in this version, and use those materials to build your creations. This version also has the creative mode.
What I love is that even though you can play in multiplayer, this game also lets you play solo or split-screen with someone on another controller on the same console. It's very flexible. And like I said, addictive.
One of the things that's fun about this game: creating a new world using different "seeds". I've tried names of my friends, myself, and even some of the in-game phrases that pop up. One of the phrases I've tried that made a nice-looking world with good resource groupings: "Flashing Letters!". And yes, it has to be typed just like that, except for the quotation marks.
One of my friends' names generated a world with a mountain that was very intriguing. From one side, the mountain looked like a frog or toad. From the other side, it looked like a cat sitting. In front of the mystical mountain was a hill, and if you went to the front of the hill, it had three roundish holes in the front. I'd love to take pictures to show you, but the camera didn't do a good job the last time I tried.
http://www.amazon.com/Minecraft-Xbox-360/dp/B00BU3ZLJQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384559341&sr=8-1&keywords=minecraft+360
There's a mode that lets you turn off the monster mobs: peaceful. But you can later load the file with monsters coming out at night.
I think the greatest challenge is in creating your "dream home". It's sort of like the Sims, except you make the stuff you put in your "dream home"/fortress/ palace/whatever. I believe the disc I bought is version 1.8.2, which adds some new things to the game, like the ability to make nether bricks out of netherrack. Basically, you can make more stuff in this version, and use those materials to build your creations. This version also has the creative mode.
What I love is that even though you can play in multiplayer, this game also lets you play solo or split-screen with someone on another controller on the same console. It's very flexible. And like I said, addictive.
One of the things that's fun about this game: creating a new world using different "seeds". I've tried names of my friends, myself, and even some of the in-game phrases that pop up. One of the phrases I've tried that made a nice-looking world with good resource groupings: "Flashing Letters!". And yes, it has to be typed just like that, except for the quotation marks.
One of my friends' names generated a world with a mountain that was very intriguing. From one side, the mountain looked like a frog or toad. From the other side, it looked like a cat sitting. In front of the mystical mountain was a hill, and if you went to the front of the hill, it had three roundish holes in the front. I'd love to take pictures to show you, but the camera didn't do a good job the last time I tried.
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