Sunday, July 8

The Thief Post

I have decided to steal a meme off H & B, because my brain is on holiday.

This is the Wikipedia Meme, where you type in your birthday minus the year,
then list 2 birthdays, 3 events, & one holiday.

Sounds easy. Then you get there, & there are so many things to read the eyes glaze, & nodding of the head begins. Perhaps it is too early in the morning. Sunday sloth.

Anyway.
19th February.
2 Birthdays.

Tim Shadbolt, Mayor of Invercargill. A Kiwi whose life & times have been extremely colourful in parts. He wrote a book called Bullshit & Jellybeans.

Karen Silkwood, Amercian activist. She was fiesty & brave & clever, in spite of being treated like an idiot female!

3 Events

1600 - The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
This seemed a suitably huge event for the date.

1861 - Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
I have always hated the concept of serfdom or slavery in any society.

1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.
My goodness what a favour he did! Music for the masses. Music is a vital part of my well being.

1 Holiday. Well, there are no holidays!! This was the only interesting item I found.
February 19 is the 50th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

I seem to want to just sleep. I even fell asleep on the telephone yesterday! Luckily the person who was talking to me, didnt realise what had happened.
Once the call was over, I just sat & slept!

It must be wind-down after the anxiety of the tooth, sort of post panic inertia.

Had a trip to a Mall with DJ yesterday, & we had SG with us. He was quite good really. We visited the pet shop to see the poor little puppies. They look so sad to have to sit on shredded paper, & just beg to come home with us. They are so expensive, most of the people who would give them good & loving homes, cannot afford to pay the huge asking price.

We worry about what happens when they dont sell, & they get over being cute puppies? Are they put down? Are they given to the RSPCA?. (which is the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals)

Questioning the young staff doesn't elicit any answers. They squirm & their eyes slide away to the distance, & they murmur evasive words, which don't make much sense. Or, they insist that they all sell, & go off to new happy homes. I somehow dont see it being true.

They are 'designer' dogs, bred for the market. Mainly Poodles crossed with other breeds. Supposedly antiallergenic. Not all of them turn out to be 'pretty'. Some look unhealthy. I think those shops should be prevented from being allowed to sell those poor little things. They claim they are expensive so that only serious owners will buy the pets. I dont see that as true.

Perhaps I should become the mad dog lady, & mount protests outside the shops. Wearing my tasteful dog haired top. And tasteful dog haired pants.

And now, I can go & begin packing. Or I can complete the quilt for the SIL. Having restocked cottons for the quilting. Which is proving a very taxing exercise. I wont be doing too much more of that style of quilting! I will end up a hunchback.. in a dog hair outfit! Charming.


Augie March, One Crowded Hour.
Joan Baez, Cry Me a River.

11 comments:

Stomper Girl said...

I hope you get some sleep. P

et shops are sad when you look at it like that, but I hate to say it, my boys and I had the best time recently looking at all the fish and reptiles and a couple of very cute kittens and puppies. Now I feel a bit guilty. I hope they all found homes....

Mrs. Goodneedle said...

Sleep well, dear friend; you need some recuperative shut eye. I think you would make one fantastic activist in dog-hair attire.

LBA said...

We too are always in pet stores. I'd love to buy a puppy, but am not interested in picking up sh!t off the lawn .. or going walkies in he rain and cold ... I would end up resenting the creature..

I too wonder what happens when they're too big and not as cute - but have always been assured they all sell too ( that's a LOT of doggies being bought !! ).

Occasionally, you find the last of the litter, sitting there on his shredded paper, looking all forlorn, and it tears your heart out !!

I do think paying for a pet is more responsible than 'free', but yes, the designer dogs are very expensive. If you go to the pound, you have to pay too, but it's mainly to cover expenses and immunisations/neuturing etc.

I know at the cat's home it was $60 for a kitten, or $30 for an adult cat. That's where we bought our first ( adult ) baby :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Meggie,
What an interesting thing to do; looking up the events of your birthday. I must have a go at that.
I avoid pet shops at all costs. I can't bear to see animals for sale in the windows.
I was in Spain one year and they were selling live rabbits,at an open air market. Legs tied to-gether and flung into a large basket. I was so upset I just had to get out of there.

Ragged Roses said...

Hello - my mother always wanted to go and live in the country and surround herself with all the dogs she could rescue! I can't bear to think about what happens to the animals that don't sell.
Kim x

Gargoyle said...

Thanks for the visit, I haven't blogged for ages. I find myself in limbo at the moment, but it's good to see others are still hard at it! I will get back into it soon.

Keep up the good work.

Flea said...

Hi Meggie,
Thank for dropping by my blog today. I certainly enjoyed reading through your blog, I bookmarked you and will be back for a visit again.

caramaena said...

Good luck with the packing. What sort of new carpet did you end up choosing?

Linda G. said...

meggie, you may need that sleep as the immune system does something special while you're asleep that it can't do while you're awake. Not that I can tell you what that is.....I'll google it and get back to you one of these days!

I worry about all the little critters too. The state of California is trying to pass a law that pet owners must spay and nueter their cats and dogs or face steep fines. There would be licenses for breeders etc.

E has been snappish lately too. Luckily, he is rather deaf and can't hear the things I mutter under my breath! I would think it's stressful to have GOM dabbling about in what has probably always been your domain, questioning your every purchase etc.

Take good care of yourself meggie, you deserve the best.............

Unknown said...

It is so sad but many people who think puppies are cute and get one, put them down when they get older and aren´t the cute puppy anymore.

Lucy said...

Don't go to those shops, better not.
What gets me about being spoken to from 3 rooms away and being expected to know what particular 'this' is being referred to is he can't hear what I'm saying when I'm right next to him and I have to orient myself accordingly, but I'm supposed to have the hearing of a super-mutant X-man type person. Meggie, you bring out the worst in me when it comes to grumbling about GOMs...
I had a friend who had an acquaintance, and when the latter rang her she used to deliberately go off and do something in the next room and come back a bit later knowing the person on the other end wouldn't even notice her absence!
Go get some sleep now, Meggie dear!