stray kitten in need!

Kitten Update #2

Kitten in new house - oh yeah, I think it worked out well!

3 jan 2011

Kitten Update

The kitten has gone to a new home - Thank you Brent and Stan!

1/1/11

__________________________________________________

This adorable kitten goes to the shelter today at 5

unless someone steps up.  

It came into our yard last night, with a very tight ribbon knotted around its throat.   We removed the ribbon, fed and watered it, and put it back out to hopefully find its way home.  NOPE!  Still out there this am.  It can't be in our yard cause the dogs will damage it!

If a cat is in the house it is a curiosity to Tech, if it is outside it is an intruder and needs to be dispatched.

This kitten appears to be 3 months old, possibly male, purrs and nuzzles like you wouldn't believe, is apprehensive about the dogs but not terrified, used the litter box, and as you can see is totally adorable!

If you want it PLEASE contact us - even if you can't get it today!

There is a free spay/neuter clinic in 9 days, just in time to get this little thing fixed - FREE, did I mention Free? 

Free Kitten, Free spay/neuter?

Tis the season

Tis the season....Citrus Season that is!

The citrus is in!  Oranges, both sweet and sour, mandarinas, grapefruit....

Oh it's fabulous - on many street corners you can buy liters of freshly squeezed, squouzed, squozen juice.

You can buy bags of peeled mandarinas sprinkled with chili and lime, bags of peeled sweet oranges and grapefruits, oh be still my salivating taste buds.

Oh and the x'ec; a salad of cut grapefruit, manadrina, jicama with a bit of salt, chili, and lime!

Simply delicious!

I happen to have a large sour orange tree right outside my back yard, as well as several other varities of citrus available to me thanks to neighbors trees that overhang my property; my view is If it's on my side, it's Mine!

So I get China Limas and Limones Indios thanks to my neighbors, and I have a small tree that gives me both Persa Limones and Limones Amarillos!

We use our sour oranges for all sorts of yummy things; mostly drink things.  You know naranjada, margaritas....

Something is cutting into our supply!

So what the heck is it that is doing this?

It's a fricking Fruit Rat, aka Citrus Rat, aka Roof Rat, aka Scurrilous Vermin soon to Die Rat!

They open a hole in the orange and then eat all the flesh and seeds inside, all that litter on the patio are the husks of the orange seeds!

Roof rats/Citrus rats/Fruit rats are actually quite common. Well if you bother yourself to keep up on rat-i-culture!  They grow to about 9 inches in length and weigh about 8 ounces. They are nocturnal and very shy. They are vegetarian but will apparently eat nearly anything for survival, and they are excellent climbers.
They average 6 litters per year with an average of 6 surviving pups per litter. . .WHAAAAA

Call me the rodentinator! Get me some rodenticide!
Tis the Season!

It's my Momma's Birthday!

You say it's your birthday

It's my birthday too, yeah

They say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party

Yes we're going to a party party

Yes we're going to a party party

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Dance

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Take a cha-cha-cha-chance (Birthday)

I would like you to dance (Birthday)

Dance

You say it's your birthday

Well it's my birthday too, yeah

You say it's your birthday

We're gonna have a good time

I'm glad it's your birthday

Happy birthday to you.

The Virgen de Guadalupe, La Morenita, La Virgencita, La Reina de México, la Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe

Whatever you want to call her this was her big weekend!

This past 2 weeks has been a series of events, both religious and festive leading up to this weekend! 

But definitely not ending with Sunday. 
The holiday season here in Mexico begins December 1 (Guadalupe) and ends January 6 (3 Kings Day).

La Virgen de Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego on December 9^th 1531.  She brought to Juan Diego, and the devastated indigenous (Mexica) population a message of comfort, love, and compassion.  Her only request was that a place of worship be built upon the sacred hill at Tepeyac.   Juan Diego had to go to what is now Mexico City to plead his/her case before the bishop.  It was not until his 3rd visit with a miracle of roses and her likeness emblazoned upon his tunic that he was believed. 

So fast forward to now; leading up to December 12 (the day of the miracle) there are a multitude of events transpiring all over Mexico and indeed in any area of the world where Mexicans now reside.

In fact here in my neighborhood of San Sebastian here in Merida Centro I was provided with a small folio with dates and neighbors homes in which the nightly novena would be held.  These novenas began on December 1.  Last night as we arrived home from our outing to la iglesia de San Cristobal there were parades of the likeness of Guadalupe and many cohetes (firecrackers/bottlerockets).

In every community throughout Mexico there is a church designated the Guadalupana.  This is where the image/effigy/statue of Guadalupe resides and where the annual pilgrimage to praise, thank, and beseach Guadalupe are made.  Here in Merida the Guadalupana church is San Cristobal.

Depending on the distance the days leading up to the 12th herald the arrival at the Guadalupana of the antorchistas.  These are the people who travel (in open trucks, by bicycle, by horseback, by motorcycle, by running and/or walking in relays) from all over the yucatan peninsula.  They come to pay their respects, to thank the virgen for some perceived miracle or grace in their personal lives, and sing praise to Guadalupe.

And of course there are the locals that come from all over Merida  to pay their respects to Guadalupe at the Guadalupana as well.  The church entry and street are packed with people waiting to get in.

Friends Joanna and Jorge, who operate a college here in Merida are testing out a new series of lectures on Mexican Customs and Culture as part of their Life Long Learning program. This series is mostly for English speaking participants.   Yesterday there was a presentation on Guadalupe.  You can read Joanna's impressions of the lecture here.

The lecture itself was quite interesting giving me a lot of history and background that I had not yet bothered to discover on my own.   I especially liked finding out about all the symbology of the Guadalupe images.  After the lecture and a few questions we all walked en masse down to San Cristobal.

The lecture group was there for about an hour; Tom and I stayed and met up with friends Jonna and Mimi, Theresa, and a new acquaintance Trish.  We spent several hours watching the antorchistas arrive.  And of course the ever present crowds of vendors and gawkers.

for some background reading try wikipedias http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

or friend Joanna's http://joannavandergrachtderosado.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/celebrating-in-merida/

or here  http://www.inside-mexico.com/guadalupe.htm


OH - January 6th is  Día de los Reyes, or 3 Kings Day. This is Epiphany on the church calendar, the 12th day after Christmas, and is when the 3 Kings (Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltazar) came bearing gifts for baby Jesus. In Mexico, this is when children traditionally receive gifts. Some children also receive gifts from Santa Claus, but Santa is an imported custom, the traditional day for Mexican children to receive gifts remains January 6.

I've been trying to get this post out since Sunday morning but am having issues with loading the photos - so here's what I can coax, and as I am able will update with more.

Clip Art Pet Peeve

OK, so when you GOOGLE 'FREE CLIP ART',  and you select from the gazillion hits a link for Royalty Free, or Free clip art there are always watermarks and fees associated!

This just pisses me off!   I asked for FREE, not FEE!

This rant brought to you by Monday Mornings!

see what I mean, I googled "free clip art angry face"   and this, for a fee, although it says royalty free link comes up.  So what, someone put it out there but now this link is charging you to use it!  and paying no royalty to the person that actually created it - just pocketing the coin!

Makes me mad!

YAPA

A while back I joined a group of animal conscious individuals in a group called YAPA

(Yucatan Ayuda Para Animales)

What we do is support several animal care interests here in Merida.  We cater to English speakers and serve as a bridge between them and the Spanish speaking founders of these shelters/albergues, etc.

We have been providing support staff and volunteers for several of the events of these animal care facilities.

I am adding the link to their blog to my side bar, but you can get to them right here!

Please check them out, and if you want to help out just send an email, you can do that here!

so what's the difference between a flauta and a burrito - the tightness of the wrap!

So this morning I am just awake, laying in my hammock rolled up like a flauta in my comforter and enjoying the warm snuggliness of it when the doorbell rings.  

Now we routinely have schoolkids ring the doorbell as the walk by, but that's always the 10-15 year olds that pass by at lunchtime.  At 7am its the young kids being    walked to school so this was quite unusual.

There it goes again; ok it's someone that really wants to speak to us.  

So I get my legs over the edge of the hammock and stand up - it's all I can do to keep from falling over I am so tightly wound in my comforter. I start sort of hopping as I am trying to disentangle, Tom, seeing this,  gets up and slips on a pair of pants and answers the door; we have one of those little doors that you can open to reveal just a face.  By then I am loose but not yet free, a few more Houdini like moves and I am out just as Tom walks past on his way back to bed and says "...its for you!"

I go to the door - it's the newspaper delivery guy.   I get the Diario de Yucatan delivered to  my house Thursday through Monday.  The only days I don't get it are Tuesday and Wednesday.

The delivery guy explains to me about my delivery dates and then says its Wednesday well, miercoles!  I shouldn't be getting a paper.

So what happened was he had accidently slipped the paper under my door on the wrong day and wanted it back!

Tonight I'm a burrito.......just in case!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

A friend sent me this so I thought I'd share!   Enjoy, Debi!

The Pastor's Ass

The Pastor entered his donkey in a race and it won.

 

The Pastor was so pleased with the donkey

that he entered it in the race

again and it won again.

 

The local paper read:

PASTOR'S ASS OUT FRONT

The Bishop was so upset with this kind of publicity

that he ordered the Pastor not to enter the donkey in another race.

The next day the local paper headline read:

BISHOP SCRATCHES PASTOR'S ASS

This was too much for the Bishop

so he ordered the Pastor to get rid of the donkey.

The Pastor decided to give it to a Nun in a nearby convent.

The local paper, hearing of the news, posted the following headline the next day:

NUN HAS BEST ASS IN TOWN

The Bishop fainted.

He informed the Nun that she would have to get rid of the donkey

 so she sold it to a farmer for $10.

The next day the paper read:

NUN SELLS ASS FOR $10

This was too much for the Bishop

so he ordered the Nun to buy back the donkey and lead it to the plains where it could run wild.

The next day the headlines read:

NUN ANNOUNCES HER ASS IS WILD AND FREE

The Bishop was buried the next day..

The moral of the story is . .

being concerned about public opinion can bring you much grief and misery . .

and even shorten your life.

So be yourself and enjoy life.

I just want things to work.....

Oh the DRAMA! So yesterday we had the service tec from cablemas here to swap out our old modem that had one Ethernet port to a modem/router combo that has four Ethernet ports. As you may recall from our previous post we lost wireless connectivity with our fancy ass new(ish) Toshiba computer. Ethernet connectivity was still working, but with one Ethernet port it was either internet or voip phone.


So yesterday after I got up I tried to access the internet and even the cabled Ethernet could not/would not connect. Seems the NIC (network interface card) is completely shot! Just frickin great. I just want things to work so I can scoot along fat, dumb, and happy! Is that too much to ask?

Well the cablemas guy gets here just after a long morning, which will be another post, if I ever get around to it, and just after I had gone to hammock for an afternoon rest. Anyway, I try explaining to him what’s going on. I’m not sure he was going to swap us out the hardware until I told him the wireless went out on the computer but the Ethernet cable still worked AND we needed a 2nd Ethernet for the phone.

Then of course I have to tell him that today even the Ethernet connection isn’t working; I tried to get him to see if he could check it/fix it to which he informed me he doesn’t work on personal hardware/equipo. Ah well, it was worth a try…

So then I pull over the ‘old’ Toshiba, the one where the ‘v’ key doesn’t work anymore, and the one that constantly tells us the hard drive is about ready to fail, and varying other dire warnings about kernels, and things I don’t understand.

Oh, and I whip out the netbook - so there he stands in front of the desk with these 3 computers set out before him. He starts doing his thing with the new equipment and the computers and I can see he’s having issues. Things aren’t connecting, things are blinking, he keeps going back over stuff, blah, blah, blah. I give him the key/clave that keeps my wireless secure and ask if he will change it - to which he replies no it will stay the same. He jumps from computer to computer and finally says he’s done and hands me a paper to sign.

I jump up and instead of signing start trying to access internet pages and check the networks, etc, I see we are connected to a network named ‘X%&#’, where we used to be ‘Kuhn’. He says oh he had to rename it! I laugh and he laughs and there is a sort of funny story that I can’t tell you cause I’d have to kill you cuz it sort of gives away the new network name, you know ‘X%&#’.

Things seem to be working, I can access the internet from both computers, he’s waving the paper in my face for a signature and talking very fast and I don’t get any of what he’s saying by this point, so of course I sign as he’s hustling towards the door.

So this morning I get up and can’t get on the internet, and I notice that my wireless connection is unsecured, which means any knucklehead can piggyback on my signal and diminish my bandwidth and have easier access to my computer and oh my gosh the sky is falling, the sky is falling. BTW, I am writing all this at the table on the netbook, in Word, so I can cut n paste if and when I do get online, whether here or at a park or at a friends…

And it was 19degrees Celsius this morning when I got up and the dogs are wearing t-shirts to keep warm, and I am wearing socks to sleep in and bemoaning that I no longer have either full shoes or sweaters. And when I started the washer this morning, instead of filling to the top with water as instructed it cut off with only a few inches of water and started agitating, which of course would be fine if that were its instructions and if there were only a few things in the tub; but the tub was full of towels and bedclothes, and other stuff, and it was instructed to fill, so fill damn it…

I just want things to work so I can scoot along fat, dumb, and happy!

Is that too much to ask?

Well at least the TV didn‘t go out.


So for now we have no internet, no vonage, no skype.  Gads, you may need to send us letters  and wait for responses, could be weeks between communications,  how, oh lord, how did they used to survive, you know, in the olden days!



Gads - more technology woes!

I want to go back to the days of two cans with a string - this technology crap is giving me a headache.

So now the big fancy ass just over a year old laptop computer can't connect to the internet wirelessly. The NIC card is visible in my hardware config, but I get the "wireless network connection 2 adapter" error message.

We don't really need this laptop to be wireless, it sits here on the desk all the time. And the little one that I use frequently still connects wirelessly so we're good to go.

EXCEPT - and there really is always the EXCEPT clause isn't there!

Our VONAGE, you know, voip phone, US number than rings while travelling anywhere in the world!

Well our VONAGE adapter needs to be direct wired (ethernet). We have an adapter for that, it gets the ethernet cable/signal from our cable wireless modem, which has 1, yes 1 ethernet port!

So it is either the computer or the phone plugged in - only one at a time!   

And our computer is on practically ALL THE TIME!

I think I have found a suitable, and fairly inexpensive work around!

I'm going to get a 5 port ethernet switch! Cool hunh!

Well that is AFTER we check with Cablemas, our cable provifder, to see if they offer a 2 port modem.  However, if they don't with the switch,  Just plug the ethernet from the modem into the switch, then up to 5 ethernets out to their various needs, in my case phone and computer.

 And here I thought today was going to be my veg out and do nothing day!