Today I read the owner’s manual of my new car (yes, I’m a dork).
I actually found it well written, and kind of hilarious in the way they covered everything; straight up saying the doors lock when in motion to protect you from intruders, to not leave children and pets unattended because they can overheat but also because “children copy adults and they can get hurt if they push buttons”, etc. Parenting advice from a car manual.
I’m amused at how enjoyable that was, sipping my cup of tea, and then I went out and fiddled with all the things, adjusted a bunch of stuff, and took a nice little drive around the city.
The black cat spent time sitting in a window and I’d hear people walk up and notice the “silhouette” and then be joyful when they realized she was real.
It was unseasonably warm yesterday so I kept the front door open to hand out candy. We don’t have a screen door, and there’s a small portico without an interior door as you step inside. Both cats are indoor cats, and neither have ever tried to approach the open doorway. Last night they spent most of the evening at the portico threshold, watching kids arrive, and getting lots of compliments at how cute they were, and how well behaved. One little girl who probably wasn’t even two years old pretty much ran into the house, excitedly pointing out the CAT! CAT! CAT! and it took a minute or two for her dad to convince her to leave. She was incredibly adorable.
Heh. Our one dog loves toys. We have a little wooden box full of them in the living room. When my wife comes home from work, I’m often in the living room (I work from home). Jax, the dog is very excited to see her. He runs from me to the door, back and forth. And I say “Don’t forget to get a toy”
He’s very much like “Oh yeah” And grabs something from the box to greet my wife with. It’s very, very cute.
Also, at night my wife and I play chess. The dogs know that that is Doggie Ice Cream time. The other dog Lani will gently pick up her cup of ice cream, and take it to a special spot. It’s a ‘cave’ under the stairs with a dog bed in it. She does NOT want to be disturbed.
This morning I was reading the political endorsements of the Wichita Eagle.
There are two races for the Kansas State Board of Education from districts that include parts of Wichita. The Eagle ‘strongly’ endorsed a candidate from each, giving their names and qualifications.
The newspaper declined to name the two opponents, saying only
We got our new washing machine delivered today. I had plenty of washing to do, so I did several loads today.
Machines of yore, if they made any sound at all when the cycle was done, would beep or buzz once or twice and then be done with it. My previous machine emitted a cheery, brief little electronic ditty. This plays the song of its people, which is easily 30 seconds long, if not more, and seemingly made of completely random notes.
And while it did made me smile, it doesn’t beat the rice cooker, which plays Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star upon starting and a tune called Amaryllis when the rice is done.
What made me smile yesterday was my dogs chasing each other in the snow. One would chase the other in one direction, they would turn and the other dog would chase back. Back and forth they went. It was truly a game for them to play.
And then they would both just stop. Perhaps roll in the snow for a bit. They definitely have a doggie language.
Not sure if I should smile, yet, but one of the things I really enjoy is planning what to cook.
I have a medium sized yellowtail* to cook for three people, and I am cheerfully researching recipes. Could not plan ahead because I went down the the harbour and had no idea what I might find.
also known as “yellow amberjack”, it is a white-fleshed fish reaching about 2kg.
