Post Thanksgiving Flashback Selfies

 Phew, what a busy week has passed us by! 

All the work that was done to remove the 12plus inches of snow went to waste and the temps have been mild all week! We even got up to 62F on Friday! Then we had rain, to turn it all into a big mudpie, LOL! Well, at least we stayed safe, warm, and had exercise. Petcretary had to go to the woodsy back of our yard to clean up a big limb that had broken off from all the snowy weight. Catalpa trees are very messy...but since its way back there she hasn't worried about cutting it down. There is another box elder tree that came down last summer, and we need to get that cleaned up, as the trunk is way to large to drag it to the burn pile. LOL!

Petcretary was off for Thanksgiving, so we had the unfurbros over...and she made a big feast, including mostly all vegan dishes. Well, except for the turkey. Everything else was vegan. But though its not the normal way of eating for our pawrents, it was very yummy, they said.

Due to all the business, we have decided to let petcretary post flashback selfies of us...

 

Yesterday, there was rejoicing at our den, as the Wolverines from the U of M won their football game, and now they are the champs of their division in the Big Ten. Go Blue.

Funny thing is, next Saturday, Dec 3,  they have to play Purdue for the Big Ten championship, who are at the top of their division...and while we are Michigan fans, Pawppy is a Purdue grad. Hmmm. so will we be a house divided?? Who knows!!

Hail to the Victors!

GO BLUE!!

This past Tuesday, petcretary was on her game once again, at Teddy's Teaser, as she was the first to comment and the first to guess correctly about where the teaser picture was from.

I was the early bird (turkey) FIRST COMMENTER at Teaser class on November 22, 2022.

I was FIRST RIGHT GUESSER on the Turkey Teaser of November 22, 2022 !!

This Teaser photo was sent in by Mr. Frank – one of the students!    Here’s his description of this place:

“This is a photo of the Meigs County Courthouse – in Pomeroy OH.  It’s unique – and I think the only one of its kind. It is 3 stories … no big deal …. but each floor is directly accessible for the outside. That is, there’s is a 1st level door to the outside …. and a second level door to the outside (no steps or stairs) … directly onto the ground …. and the same for the third floor.  When looking at the front of the courthouse, this has nothing to do with the two sets of steps you see going upward. The second floor door is on the right side of the building … the third floor is on the back side. Because of the terrain/land around the courthouse, a person can walk directly into the building into all three floors.”

                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recently we had heard of the newest Angel Kitty to fly off to the Rainbow Bridge, NouNou, so this is the memento we sent to her mom.

We have joined up with the Kitties Blue at The Cat On My Head...who are the weekly hosts of thsie blog hop!  Thanks Kitties Blue! We love you and we love the Sunday Selfies!

In Memory of NouNou

NouNou

 NouNou of Cat Wisdom 101, has recently joined her angel furblings at the RB...I am sure her mom would love to hear your sympathetic messages if you have not done so already...

Happy Thanksgiving, 2022

 

Snowy Guests!

 Folks, we are buried in deep snow...well, we admit not nearly as bad as some folks, but sheesh over a foot of snow is bad enough...and its not even officially winter, yet! All this started last Thursday afternoon...

(Friday, Nov 18th) There is a bit less snow on the van because *she* cleared off about 4 or 5 inches when she got out of work.

We watched as petcretary and pawppy cleared the walks and driveway, and dug out the cars...it took them a few hours, and that was with the snow thrower helping them! It was heavy wet stuff, because all that snow came down at temps around 30F. Right now its in the low 20'sF. And the winds are picking up once again, which of course means more snow, and we are in a storm warning area till into Sunday morning...and of course this is the weekend that petcretary has to be at work...at least she won't miss the local Christmas Parade...it got cancelled, LOL!

All the schools and various other places were closed on Friday. Our road was not plowed until Saturday morning, which of course means that now the end of the driveway is blocked again...arghh!

 

It sure was hard to go out for our business duties before the shovels came out...

Benji seems to enjoy the snow a bit more than Dalton. Benji thinks there are good sniffs to be had, but Dalton just stands there and watches before looking for other spots to keep his toes out of the snow, or he goes to find petcretary...but silly pup that he is, he doesn't go back into the house, he wants to keep his eye on everyone else!

 

 Close your eyes now, Tabbies!

Of course the birdies were VERY hungry, and petcretary had to go out and clear the snow off of the feeders so they could get at the noms easier...but not before she tried to take some guest selfies...most are not the best, taken from inside the house with her phone...through the still blowing and falling snow at that time...as it snowed almost all day on Friday.

Mr & Mrs Cardinal

Chickadee

Tufted Titmouse

Chickadee & Purple Finch

Purple Finch, Photobombed by Mrs Cardinal

Another Tufted Titmouse

Mr Cardinal

Red Breasted Nuthatch and Chickadee

Red Breasted Nuthatch...this is an uncommon visitor to our feeders, so we were glad to see him today.

We didn't get their pictures, but there were also a lot of different species of woodpeckers, a wren, and tons of finches and juncos. We always put out mealworms, suet, sunflower seeds, peanuts and a mix of fruit and nuts. For some reason, the bluebirds we saw a lot of last winter and spring are now only very rare visitors. 

Its safe now, Tabbies!

Petcretary was at her work just before she published this blog...and wouldn't you know it...we had yet another dump of about 6 inches of snow, but its a lot fluffier and easier to clean up...phew! But the roads were a mess, and she once again crawled home at slow speed to not slide off the snow covered and sometimes icy roads. The winds are gusting up to 40MPH, and the temps are in the low teens F, right now. Brrr, this is one big storm system!

                                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~

Sadly, this past week, Tuiren's family had to say a final goodby to their sweet pup.

                                                                                               ~~~~~~~~~~

 

We also heard that Valentine's mom being ill, has decided to retire their blog, and that since last December when they last made a post, both Myrna and Bessie have gone to the RB as Angels.

You can visit them here if you wish to send them off with best wishes and hope for the future.

We have joined up with the Sunday Selfies, Blog Hop. You can join too, by clicking this caption, and it will bring you right there! Thanks, Kitties Blue, for being our hosts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Loving Memory of Tuiren

Sweet Tuiren from   ATCAD,  recently became a new Angel-Pup, after a short illness. She was loved and known by many and will be sorely missed, esp by her own furmily of both kitty and dog furblings. She even had a boyfriend, Walter, who we know will miss seeing her so very much.

Tuiren loved the great outdoors, so now she can romp in the all the meadows at the RB, to her heart's content.

If you haven't yet, you can visit Tuiren's blog to leave your messages of comfort and sympathy. We know they will be very appreciated.

Tuiren

Happy Birthday To Our Petcretary!

 

Yup! Today's the day!! It's Petcretary's Birthday...she is even more ancient today, than she was last year, BOL!

Eons ago, she interrupted our Oma's Birthday, by deciding to be impatient and wanting to arrive earlier than was predicted, tee-hee. Maybe that is why she tends to do a lot of things as fast as she can...and gets impatient when things are pokey...Who knows! 

Nonetheless, we love her tons, and made a card for her...with us on it, so we will be giving her a break from trying to catch us to take selfies the traditional way.

We'll try to be nice and not make a lot of noise, or bring dirty paws into the house. We only hope she brings us doggy bags from when they, (Pawppy and our unfurbros), go out to celebrate with a nice meal.

And since its World Kindness Day, we shall be kind and and give her lots of kisses and cuddles...and some nice flowers!

In a remembering mode, since there was snow flying in our area yesterday afternoon, on this day in 1963, there was about 9 inches of snow, in our city in Southern Ontario. Sheesh, that was way too early even for that part of 'the Great White North'! She hopes not to see that much snow till Christmas...and then it can all go away as far as she is concerned, BOL! But would she want to move to a warmer clime?? NOPE! LOL! (At the time of publishing this post, the outside temp was 26F...Brrr, that is the hardest frost we have had so far this fall.)

Next week, there will be 'real' selfies again... from a guest!

We are hopping along with many others at The Cat On My Head who are the weekly hosts of this fun hop.Thanks so much Kitties blue!

Remembrance Day/Veteran's Day ~ Lest We Forget

 

Today, November 11th, is Remembrance Day in Canada where petcretary came from, and its Veteran's Day in the USA.

Canadians remember and honor all veterans, the living and those who gave all for the freedoms Canada and the western world have. Also known. as Armistice day in some countries. Red Poppies are worn to help commemorate the day, and it refers back to the poem known as In Flanders Fields. That poem was written in Belgium, by a Canadian doctor, John McCrae

 

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

          In Flanders fields

John McCrae
1872–1918
Born in Guelph, Ontario, Canadian poet, soldier, and physician John McCrae earned his undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Toronto, where he received the Gold Medal. As a physician, he worked at Toronto General Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital, McGill University, the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Infectious Diseases, Montreal General Hospital, and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. He served in the Boer War in South Africa as an artillery subaltern in the Canadian Contingent from 1899 to 1900, was promoted to the rank of major in 1904, and reenlisted in the First Canadian Contingent soon after the start of World War I. McCrae became a member of the Royal College of Surgeons and was the first Canadian to be appointed consulting surgeon to the British Army.
 
McCrae’s well-known poem “In Flanders Fields” memorializes the April 1915 battle in Belgium’s Ypres salient. For 17 days, McCrae tended those injured in the battle. The poem, written after the death of a close friend, was first published in Punch magazine and led to the adoption of the poppy as the Flower of Remembrance for the British and Commonwealth war dead. McCrae wrote several medical textbooks during his life, and his poetry was posthumously gathered into the collection In Flanders Fields and Other Poems (1919).
 
In 1915, McCrae was transferred to Boulogne No.3 General Hospital to oversee medicine. He worked there until his pneumonia-related death on January 28, 1918, at the age of 45. McCrae was buried with full military honors in Wimereux Cemetery near Boulogne, France. His family home in Guelph is preserved as a museum, and the main street in Wimereux is now named Rue McCrae. 

Petcretary is Canadian, of Dutch descent, and several of her Uncles and even an Aunt served and aided their country either in Military service or in underground activities, all risking their lives to do so...

One of petcretary's first jobs was in a nursing facility just for veterans, which was in a separate section of a larger Canadian Veteran's hospital, not unlike the veterans hospitals here in the USA...she enjoyed that work, and there were not only Canadian vets in there, but also some from other countries who had immigrated to Canada, after whatever war they had served in. At that time there were still several from WWl! And a couple from the Boer War.

Many years ago, in 1975, Petcretary visited Groesbeek, which is a Canadian War Cemetery.

Allied forces entered the Netherlands on 12 September 1944. Airborne operations later that month established a bridgehead at Nijmegen and in the following months, coastal areas and ports were cleared and secured, but it was not until the German initiated offensive in the Ardennes had been repulsed that the drive into Germany could begin.
Most of those buried in GROESBEEK CANADIAN WAR CEMETERY were Canadians, many of whom died in the Battle of the Rhineland, when the 2nd and 3rd Canadian Infantry Divisions and the 4th Canadian Armoured Division took part in the drive southwards from Nijmegen to clear the territory between the Maas and the Rhine in February and March 1945. Others buried here died earlier or later in the southern part of the Netherlands and in the Rhineland.
The cemetery contains 2,610 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, and nine war graves of other nationalities.
Within the cemetery stands the GROESBEEK MEMORIAL, which commemorates by name more than 1,000 members of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaign in north-west Europe between the time of crossing the Seine at the end of August 1944 and the end of the war in Europe, and whose graves are not know.

Groesbeek is a short distance away from Nijmegen, where petcretary's Mother grew up, and its close to the German border. Seeing that place was a moving and emotional experience.

And for Americans it is Veteran's Day, in which we thank all veterans who have or are serving their country. There are several residents who are veterans where Petcretary works,and also several in her Church community. At her work, they really make a special day of it, and there is a wall of portraits so we all can honor them and thank them at any time. 

If you know any veteran(s), be sure to thank them, because the freedoms we have today are ours because of the work they did, and do.

Take a moment; two minutes; at 11am; to be silent, to honor all veterans, who did and do so much for their fellow citizens.

A Field of Poppies in the Netherlands, ca2008

A closeup of some of the above poppies...sorry about the focus...

We are joining the Nature Friday Blog hop, on account of all the pretty poppies, here today. To see the others or to join, too, just click on this caption.