Food Play + Jokey Animals + Esther Chilton’s X-Naughty Tortie – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

A turtle made out of a mushroom eats spinach. Food art by Khashayar Parsi.
No animals harmed here.

“Don’t play with your food!” When’s the last time you heard that? My passion is writing (click here for more about my books), so I’m especially lucky that my husband’s passion is cooking. His food-play fills our home with delicious aromas and fills our tummies with healthy dishes. (Click here and click here for some of his many food shares. Type “recipes” into the search bar for more.) On weekends, his beautiful brunches often include mushrooms. Myself a pescatarian animal lover, his food art can border on being too adorably realistic to eat. This critter’s mixed some melted cheese into mouthfuls of leafy greens…

Another turtle made out of a mushroom eats spinach. Food art by Khashayar Parsi.
None harmed here either.

Jokes and general play are the rainbows. Joy and friendship are the resulting pots of gold. Even many of our fellow beings can’t resist doing it. Our sorely missed tabby cat often snagged open Khashayar’s rattan bureau drawers, flung clothes onto the floor, then dashed out of our bedroom in delight! For sure, squirrels can’t get enough of hee-hee-taunting our dog, who saves her laughs for when we play hide-and-seek.

Do dome-shaped vegetarian tortoises and sleek omnivore turtles play? Since I dunno — here’s the next best thing…

Today’s guest blog post, a UK blogger/writer/editor/tutor/cat-fancier Esther Chilton knows her tortoiseshell cat is up to something….

Photo of writer/blogger/editor/tutor/cat-fancier Esther Chilton Esther Chilton and her multi-colored tortoiseshell cat at her desk.
Writer/blogger/editor/tutor/cat-fancier Esther Chilton Esther Chilton works alongside her home office clown, Lexi.

My Very Naughty Tortie by Esther Chilton

I’d heard of the saying ‘Naughty tortie’ and, to be honest, I wasn’t sure there was actually anything in it. True, I hadn’t ever had a tortoiseshell before, but I’d had cats my entire life and they’d all had very different personalities, from cuddly, to standoffish, to mischievous. 

So, when I adopted Lexi, a tortoiseshell kitten, from a cat shelter ten years ago, I was excited and looked forward to welcoming her home. I wasn’t worried by the tag attached to her markings. But little did I know I’d adopted a kitten with ‘tortitude’ – in buckets.

I already had a couple of other cats which meant I needed to keep Lexi away from them to begin with and introduce them steadily. I thought it would be a good idea to set Lexi up in my loft conversion, where I slept. I could then make sure she was okay.  

As I settled down to bed that night, Lexi scrambled up and snuggled up with me. Oh, how sweet, I thought. By the next morning, bleary-eyed through lack of sleep, I was beginning to think very differently. I know kittens like to play, and I made sure she had plenty of toys and spent time with her, but Lexi came alive at night. She thought it great fun to sneak under the covers and pounce on my legs, arms, toes – any part of me she could. And, if she wasn’t attacking me with her needle-sharp claws, she was licking me. Not the best way to be woken up! 

I hoped this was a phase – one that wouldn’t last long. It wasn’t, so I ended up leaving her in the loft overnight and sleeping downstairs. 

I like a cat with character and, as the months went on, it was soon apparent Lexi was a larger-than-life character. She doesn’t like being shut out of any rooms in the house. She clearly thinks she has a right to go where she pleases. If a door is shut, she’ll scrape away at the door (peeling the paintwork off) and/or tug at the carpet (pulling up tufts or a corner of the carpet itself), until she is let in. If I intervene if I don’t want her in a particular room, and try to distract her, she’ll turn to me and give me a right mouthful, just like a petulant teenager, then return to her task. 

Her favourite thing in the whole world is dry cat biscuits. She has one pouch of wet food in the morning and one in the early evening, then biscuits before bed. Though Lexi’s bedtime is a little different to mine. She thinks she should be given biscuits at 7pm and lets me know by pulling at the cupboard door where they are kept. If I don’t give in, she’ll keep on at the door, or me, making it very clear she’s starving and needs her biscuits. 

When I lived near my mum, if I went on holiday, she would look after the cats instead of them going into a cattery. One particular time when I was away, I received a frantic call from her to say she thought the house had been broken into. My heart was in my mouth. I asked Mum what had been taken. 

“Well, I can’t see that anything has gone,” she said. “But all the drawers in your chest of drawers upstairs have been pulled open and the clothes are all over the floor.”  

“It’s alright, Mum, it’s just Lexi,” I said. I’d forgotten to warn her that Lexi thinks it’s terrific fun to pull drawers open and yank all the clothes out.

Although she’s cheeky, I wouldn’t want it any other way. I adore my feisty tortie and she really is the most caring girl. She always knows when I’m not feeling good, or if I’m upset, and she’ll cuddle up to me, placing her paw on my arm as if to say, “It’s going to be okay.”

And, at least life is never dull with Lexi around!

Does your pet play tricks on you?

 

Source: Food Play + Jokey Animals + Esther Chilton’s X-Naughty Tortie – Happiness Between Tails by da-AL

A diferença entre dieta e reeducação alimentar é um tema muito relevante e que provoca confusão em muitas pessoas

De maneira geral, a dieta é frequentemente vista como um plano restritivo que tem como objetivo a perda de peso em um curto espaço de tempo, enquanto…

A diferença entre dieta e reeducação alimentar é um tema muito relevante e que provoca confusão em muitas pessoas

Eindrücke von verschiedenen Reisen in den USA – Senioren um die Welt

Die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, die USA, sind ein sehr großes und abwechslungsreiches Land, das für jeden Besucher etwas zu bieten hat. Aufgrund der riesigen Ausmaße ist die Landschaft außerordentlich vielfältig, auch was die Menschen und die Kultur anbetrifft. Es zu jeder Jahreszeit sehr interessant, sich einiges von diesem ungewöhnlichen Land anzusehen.

Grand Canyon Nordseite

 

Mesa Arch im Arches NP

Green River vor dem Zusammenfluss mit dem Colorado River (Canyonlands)

 

 

 

Einer der schönsten National Parks den USA ist der Arches NP mit den Steinbögen, die ihm den Namen gegeben haben…

Source: Eindrücke von verschiedenen Reisen in den USA – Senioren um die Welt

RFK Jr sexual assault accuser says she chose to speak out after Super Bowl ad | Trump administration | The Guardian

Cooney initially told Vanity Fair about how she went to work for Kennedy in 1998, when she was 23 and he was a 45-year-old environmental attorney. Describing a series of unwanted advances, she said Kennedy ultimately “came up behind her … and began groping her, putting his hands on her hips and sliding them up along her rib cage and breasts”, before being interrupted by someone walking into the room.

In July, it was widely reported that Kennedy sent a text to Cooney after the Vanity Fair story was published.

He wrote: “I read your description of an episode in which I touched you in an unwanted manner. I have no memory of this incident but I apologize sincerely for anything I ever did that made you feel uncomfortable or anything I did or said that offended you or hurt your feelings. I never intended you any harm. If I hurt you, it was inadvertent. I feel badly for doing so.”

Cooney told USA Today: “I don’t know if it’s an apology if you say, ‘I don’t remember.’ In the context of all his public appearances, it seemed a little bit – it didn’t match. It was like a throwaway.”

Source: RFK Jr sexual assault accuser says she chose to speak out after Super Bowl ad | Trump administration | The Guardian

Avian Flu Diary: Pennsylvania To Require Precautionary Bulk Testing of Milk For H5N1

Yesterday, Pennsylvania announced that no later than November 26th, every milk processor in Pennsylvania will be required to collect bi-weekly samples from each compartment of each milk tanker, and submit them for testing.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: Pennsylvania To Require Precautionary Bulk Testing of Milk For H5N1

Antiviral COVID-19 drug molnupiravir tied to large drop in deaths in older patients | CIDRAP

When given early, the antiviral drug molnupiravir (Lagevrio) halved the risk of COVID-19 death and reduced all-cause deaths among older adults in the Czech Republic in 2022, findings published yesterday in Open Forum Infectious Diseases suggest.

Masaryk University researchers analyzed data from all 74,541 adults with a diagnosis of COVID-19 in the national registry infection treated with molnupiravir from January through December 2022, a period dominated by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. A control group consisted of 1.5 million matched COVID-19 patients not receiving the drug. Follow-up was 1 year.

Patients were eligible for molnupiravir if they were at risk for severe illness (age older than 65 years, being obese, or having underlying illnesses), had mild symptoms, and were within 7 days of a positive COVID-19 test. Average patient age was 56.7 years, and 73% were fully vaccinated against the virus.

Source: Antiviral COVID-19 drug molnupiravir tied to large drop in deaths in older patients | CIDRAP

Report: Most fast-food chains aren’t making the grade on antibiotic policies | CIDRAP

Of the 20 restaurant chains reviewed in the Serving Up Superbugs report, which grades the chains based on antibiotic use policies in the meat they serve, only Chipotle and KFC received A grades for having meaningful policies for all types of meat they serve. Five chains received a C grade, six a D grade, and five received an F.

Source: Report: Most fast-food chains aren’t making the grade on antibiotic policies | CIDRAP

Climate change is making the Swiss and Italians redraw the border – Darcy Hitchcock

Part of the area affected will be beneath the Matterhorn, one of Europe’s tallest mountains, and close to a number of popular ski resorts.

Large sections of the Swiss-Italian border are determined by glacier ridgelines or areas of perpetual snow, but melting glaciers have caused these natural boundaries to shift, leading to both countries seeking to rectify the border.

Source: Climate change is making the Swiss and Italians redraw the border – Darcy Hitchcock