New Home for Migwe

My canary, Migwe, got a new cage. This is a flight cage given to me by a friend of Offspring #1. Migwe is on the right side of the cage there, just minutes after arrival. A friend told me that when you move a goldfish from a small bowl into an aquarium, the fish swims in circles the same size as the small bowl. I wondered if this would happen to Migwe - if he'd flit about the size of a small cage. That didn't happen. For one thing, the food dish on the right is farther from the water dish on the left. That alone forced him to expand his range. He has a lot more room to roam in this cage. I hope he likes it. This cage came with an electric perch. You can see it on the left side of the cage below three wood perches. The electric perch is gray and points toward the camera. You plug it in. The first time I saw it I thought, well, never mind what I thought. It's an electric perch and has a thermostat that will keep Migwe's talons warm when the temperature drops at night.

A Day Outside

Today Offspring #2 and I volunteered at the sled dog festival at the Wildlife Science Center. We spent 6 hours outside among the wolf pens. Our job was to sell hot dogs, chips and pop. Really, coffee or hot cocoa might have been a better choice than pop. The hot dogs were kept in a large crock pot full of wiener water soup. I suppressed the urge to tell people this was not healthy food but instead I took their money and handed them their nitrate laden processed meat tubes. We kept the buns on top of the crock pot after one customer complained we sold him a frozen bun. Lots of people came to this event. I talked to one woman from Excelsior and another from Rochester. Many people wanted a ride in a dog sled. Dogs were invited to this event, leashed of course. Some dogs were a little freaked out by the wolves, lynx, cougar and the smelly gray fox. We had a fun day but we got cold standing outside for 6 hours. I had my warm snow pants on. The only part of me that was really cold were my toes. I had 2 pair of socks inside my sorel boots too. After a while we both seemed to loose the lubricant in our limbs. We were so stiff it was hard to sit down. I really struggled to fold myself back into my car at the end of our day. Now I feel great. We had a hot meal at Than Do on the ride home. I took some pain reliever and a hot shower and I'm drinking hot cocoa.

Russian Brides and Viagra at Work

Every day at work I get work related emails and spam emails. On Wednesday this week I counted 32 spam emails at work selling Viagra. I delete them without reading them. If I was a man and if I was interested in a medication like Viagra, I'd consult my doctor and let my medical insurance cover some of the cost. I wouldn't get my drugs from a spam email at work. Tucked inbetween these spam emails are emails related to my job and I want to read them. Some spam emails are not Viagra related and they trickily use real names in the subject line. I won't know until I view them if they are legitimate or not. I get 5 or more emails from people named Elena or Svetlana. These tricky emails say things like (and read this in a Boris Badenov or Natasha Fatale accent): "Remember we danced under the Russian moon. Why you no write back to me? Russian brides available. I miss you terribly." Who is sending me these emails? Mr. Big or Fearless Leader? (not Sex and the City Mr. Big but Mr. Big who supervised Boris and Natasha). Oddly enough, I am grateful for the Viagra emails because if you have to get spam, at least get spam that is recognizable without having to read it. I know I'm not interested in Viagra and can delete them quickly by just looking at the subject line. We've complained about these emails at work yet nothing slows them down. Our firewall seems to be made of Swiss cheese.

The Mouse Trap

I got together with some college roommates on Saturday. We ate and drank at Billy's Bar and went to the Lyric Arts Theater to see "The Mouse Trap," a play written by Agatha Christie. Do you like mysteries? I don't. Some mysteries I can tolerate if they're not too violent and not too complicated. Red herrings (clues written into the plot that are designed to confuse you and lead you astray) really bug me. I don't like all the BS. Just tell me the story and quit yanking my chain. Before we went to the play, I looked up Mouse Trap on Wikipedia. I read all about it. I not only found out who did it but also who was a police officer pretending to be a boarder. I enjoyed the play more because of my knowledge. And if you think that is a strange thing to do, I'll tell you something even stranger. Sometimes when I read a mystery book, I start by reading the last three pages before I go to the beginning. That is just the way I am. Agatha Christie's characters are funny, annoying, and endearing. She generously gave the right to the play to one of her grandson's who is now a millionaire from all the royalties. Wikipedia said it is a tradition at the end of every showing to ask the audience not to reveal who did it. I was happy to see the tradition continued even right here in Anoka. This was a good production of a classic play.

My Sister's Keeper

I read this book and saw the movie. Which was better? I cried more watching the movie. Both held my total attention and gripped my heart. I guess I liked the movie and the book equally. This story cuts close to home. An older sister has leukemia. The older sister's name was Cate - a deritive of Catherine. Wow, too close to home. We cried and cried all through the movie. But the tears were cathartic and healing. I would give my left arm to be able to prolong her life with my blood or my bone marrow. Thank modern medicine that more little sisters don't have to grow up without their big sister now days.

Where I Will Be on Saturday

The Geometry of Sisters

"The Geometry of Sisters" tells the story of two sisters who become separated and eventually reunite. Luanne Rice tells an intriguing tale about love, loss, estrangement, forgiveness, and family members sticking up for each other. Most of the story takes place in Newport, Rhode Island - a place I visited last summer. So when the kids in the story go to party on Eastons Beach or drive down Bellevue Avenue or drive over the Newport Bridge I kept thinking, "I remember that! I was there too!" I always enjoy reading stories about a city I have visited. I liked this book a lot.