Unidentified Flying Objects!

We have had some exciting times here in North America. At first we pretend we pretend they aren't there, as we don't want the bad guys knowing we can detect these systems at a distance. They tracked the first one for days across the continent. Now, NORAD has better capabilities in their radar systems and can weed out small things like balloons. 

The US shot down one balloon last week over the water. It travelled on a diagonal across from western Canada to southeastern US. 

People have begun creating memes for it. 

My SIL tells us they are capable of acting like a phone satellite, which cannot be good for privacy issues, as well as darker plans. 

There was another one was dispatched on the border between Alaska and Yukon. It landed on Canadian territory, and we will recover it and figure it out. Then, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, there was an alert about another one. They closed air space around it. It appeared to travel across the Great Lakes. 

Boeing Stratotanker 'no call sign!'

The US sent out some interesting planes to track it before they shot it down over Lake Huron.

After that excitement, I took out the garbage this morning. Our week begins anew. I hope you have a good one. 

More kitten shenanigans

Here we are, trying to recover from this blasted cold virus. I went into town to pick up a refill of my puffer. I'm improved muchly. JB is still taking it easy.

We needed a few groceries, so I decided to get what I could in the drug store. Not so bad. JB is staying warm under the sleeping bag. The cats play hide and seek under his feet.

I mailed the musical card to JB's aunt. I'd lost it for nearly a week. It was on the bench behind the driver's seat. sigh. The Post Office outlet is in the drug store. One stop shopping!

Next, the dollar store. They are having a going-out-of-business sale. Everything is $1.50, so I thought I'd pick up a few things. One was balloons saying 'get well' for JB from the cats.

I even popped into the LCBO to get myself some white wine, helium balloons in hand!

On the way to the car, balloons in hand (you should have seen me), I thought I'd pop into the pet store for some catnip cat toys. 

Happy boy on the floor with his catnip mousie

They're getting quite eager to run around. These are crocheted and filled with catnip. Perfect! 

I gave another one to Nutmeg, on her bed in the office. Lunch was had. All was well with the world.

She's still a bit skittish.

She is calming down some. She's still a little leery of things in her world. I cannot blame her. So wee, just left at the side of the road. She is such a cutie.

JB went downstairs to watch some curling. He came back later and went into the office. Nutmeg was in her bed, but no mousie.

JB said, "Nutmeg, where's the mousie Mommy gave you?"

She jumped down, went under the dresser, brought out the mousie and dropped it at his feet. What a kitten!

This morning, Annabelle found the catnip mouse, and seemed to be intimidating Nutmeg.

It looks as if the severe warnings for freezing rain have melted in the actual rain!

It's simply raining in the above zero temperature, but what a huge storm! I think I might prefer snow. The ice rain is in red. Snow is blue.

Balloon releases become deadly litter

Still recovering, but happily and gainfully unemployed reading news, doing one minor chore at a time, and trying to clean house for guests.

This is an excellent article. Why not release balloons? I wrote in 2010, when I found a balloon bouquet in our meadow.

*Blow bubbles (Collect all empty bubble bottles and wands.)
*Plant a tree or a garden.
*Light candles (Use safety precautions and collect all spent candles.)
*Float flowers or flower petals (Many people feel a sense of peace and of letting go when they watch the flowers float away on a stream or lake.)
*Fly a kite (Never near trees or lines where a kite could become entangled and harm birds.)

My horse whisperer friend, Nancy, points out...

horses (and cattle) have ingested that thin wire that holds the darn balloon lanterns open. It gets in hay fields, gets baled, gets fed... too thin to detect, until it punctures the gut and the animal dies in agony, with nothing a vet can do to help...

BALLOON RELEASES: DEADLY LITTER

If you are planning a balloon release for a special occasion, understand that the moment or two of delight the balloons provide can have deadly consequences for the environment. When you release balloons you are littering and your litter…

WORLDANIMALFOUNDATION.ORG

The best birthday ever!

Hubby had fun planning his birthday. He is otherwise not really into them, not having had them as a child. For our granddaughters, he's a major general!
They've moved away from Frozen, but they are still into the minions.
Hubby is also growing a mustache, having shaved his beard. He found a suitable likeness, and a hat for himself. We had so much fun.
They arrived, with toys in large purses and bags. Josie: "Gramma, it might look like we're staying over night, I've got so much stuff, but we're not!"
We had a play, while Josie lined up all her toys. Isabelle required I take a photo or two!
Next lunch, then cake, then pressies. You can see Dorah guarding the present on the bed. I loved the photos, with Josie hanging on to her sister in sheer delight while grampa blew out the candles!
Afterwards, we watched Bindi on Dancing With the Stars. Just Bindi's dances with Erik Hough, since some of the others segments are, well, vulgar, and remind me of pole dancers rather than ballroom dancing.
After THAT, hubby and our S-I-L had some good post-election chats. Caitlin and Josie had a play in the basement play room. Izzy popped her boots on. 'Gramma, come out and play tag!'
Izzy and I went out. We ran in the back yard. We went down the hill to the meadow.
"Gramma, I don't know what to do inside, but I sure know what to do outside!"
We were a long time outdoors, in the forest, down by the frog pond, on the dock. We had a grand time. Daisy followed us, far behind in the forest. She's a bit unsure of the girls. The only downside was that Izzy picked herself up a tick, which was crawling on her sleep toy in the car. I'm ready for a cold spell! That's 100 ticks this year.

We had an impressive 8-point buck visit.
It was an amazing sunset, which JB also missed since he went to Evesong in town.
Such a full day!