I’m a tad late today, but I didn’t forget. As you all know, cats are goofy critters. Ours our no different. Tito likes to stash his toys in the bathtub and will spend time in there playing with them. Titanescu has taken to following Lastech to the bathroom as well. When he sits on the edge of the tub, Titanescu hops on his lap and actually gets a bit lovey. It’s like he becomes momentarily possessed by the Glinda, the good witch. Miss Jenny is obsessed with grooming Lastech’s bald head. If she can get to it, she’s gonna groom it. When she’s not grooming his head, she’s stealing pens.
Tito in the tubTitanescu getting some scritchiesMiss Jenny about to start grooming Lastech’s head
Here’s a bonus vid worth a chuckle. One of my FB friends shared it the other day and it gave me a giggle.
As I type this, two hundred searchers are looking for little nine-year-old Ida Rothschild who vanished yesterday while camping with her parents in Samuel P. Taylor Park. This is a heavily wooded area up in Marin County where searching is difficult. My heart goes out to her family and I hope they find her soon.
Update! When I started working on this post, little Ida had not been found. The news just came through that some cyclists found her about 2 and a half miles from the command post. Hooray! I’m thrilled with the happy ending. 🙂
The following is in no way a criticism of Ida’s parents. It was just a sobering reminder of what can happen when you travel with children. My father was a founding member of a desert search and rescue team. Lastech works in security at a site that’s always jammed packed with tourists. My advice comes from the experiences of both.
One of the most important pieces of advice is this: If you get lost STOP! Trying to find your way once you are lost may only make it worse. This applies to grownups AND children. If you’re on an ATV (or any vehicle) and run out of gas, stay with it. If in the forest, the youngsters to hug a tree and stay there, no matter how scared they are.
Camera or cellphone: Keep a current photo of their shoes, including the soles. Take one showing them in their clothes. You can delete and replace that one as necessary each day. Under extreme stress, it may be difficult to remember those details and it will certainly help the searchers. This should apply to the adults as well.
Get a whistle. Only permit them to carry it when it you are going someplace where they might get lost or wander off. The whistle can be heard much more easily than a voice. You can make it a big and special deal that they be careful to NOT blow it unnecessarily.
Important: When it comes to blowing the whistle, have them make two are three long toots. Then they should sing a favorite ditty and then blow it again. That way, if the searchers can hear it, they can respond and be heard. If the blowing is constant, it’s harder to locate or respond. The pauses give searchers time to zero in on where the sound is coming from. Since children tend to be impatient, singing a little song between whistle-blowing can help keep them calm and patient.
Clothing: Be sure to have them wear bright colors that can be seen from a distance. It just makes it easier for them to be seen.
Their fears: This is very important. Make sure they know that if they get lost, you will NOT be angry. Some children have hidden (and died) out of the fear of being in trouble with their parents or searchers. The harder part is dealing with “stranger danger”. They have to know when it’s ok to approach a stranger for help.
Time is of the essence: If you should suddenly find your child missing, don’t waste a lot of time searching. Get immediate help as every minute counts. If you know where they were last seen, protect that area to preserve any footprints that can be used by searchers. It’s far better to mobilize searchers only to find them in another section of the campground or park.
The city or large crowds: If you go to a ballgame, or any other place where you find crowds, get a pic of them AND the shoes. When a child is lost in a crowd, it’s easiest to start watching feet.
Getting help: Tell them if they get lost, to find someone in uniform. There will be security or park rangers in most places. The whistle should only be used in the case of a stranger trying to take them away. If they have a pocket, put a slip of paper with the name(s) , physical ,and clothing description of the parent(s). It will help.
Again, Time is of the essence: In this case, do NOT waste time hunting for them. Report it to security or rangers immediately so that many more people are looking.
Last, but not least: If you and your family are going out on a day trip to hike or drive, make sure someone knows where you are going and a check-in time so that they know when to report you missing. If you break down, stay with the vehicle. If you are on a road, an airplane will see the vehicle before they see you. Always carry plenty of water and if you’re in a place where it gets cold, keep extra blankets in the car.
I’m sorry Caturday is up late. We switched from graveyard shift to day shift and back again so it got awkward. We spent yesterday afternoon attending a graduation party for the son of a friend. It was lovely.
Before we get to the pointy eared people, we want to take a moment to remember and honor constables Douglas James Larche, David Ross, and Fabrice Georges Gevaudan. These three members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police lost their lives much too soon. We’ll not dignify their killer by naming him. Why does it matter? Moncton, located in New Brunswick, Canada is only a wee bit bigger than my hometown and we have friends there. Those friends weren’t just there. They were in the lockdown area and much closer than we care to imagine. You can read about it here. We are happy that our friends are fine, but sad at the loss that their community must endure.
Douglas James Larche, David Ross, and Fabrice Georges Gevaudan will not be forgotten
Now it’s time for the pointy eared people
Tito playing with one of his paper toysMiss Jenny playing with a toy that was given to her by our friend Grace…and now it’s a boy toyTitanescu resting on Lastech’s lap
Another Caturday rolls around and I still have a bazillion things to get done for the blog. I’m working on it, but it’s slow and I’m slower. 🙂
Meanwhile, here are the pointy eared people.
One day, we picked up some new pillows. I placed one of the old ones on the computer chair while put pillow cases on the other. Tito adopted it immediately and now the old pillow remains on the computer chair and is his.
Tito on his throneMiss Jenny’s ear. She’s sleeping in the blanket cave.Titan is helping Lastech use the computer by napping on it.
We survived yet another internet outage this week. Harrumph! I managed to get a lot of housework done that day though. I went through boxes and boxes of books. I’m keeping very few of them. The library will get the rest. It hurts to give them up, but if I haven’t read them in the last year, then the odds are that I won’t read them this year or next either. The books I go back to read again and again will stay. I managed to do all that without putting Miss Jenny into a state of panic. The Feliway really does work.
Speaking of Miss Jenny, she posed nicely for me this week and the boys went out of their way to be cute.
Sleepy Miss JennyNapping Tito with a bit of a pink tongue showingTitan snuggling with Tito and looking quite adorable
Now for a bonus video. At Pier 39 there is a musical staircase. Viewed from below, the stairs look like piano keys. According to the Pier’s website, it is an interactive art exhibit presented by Remo Saraceni, who also created the The Big Piano used in the Tom Hanks movie Big. The other morning before the crowds arrived, Lastech found the pigeons making music. You can hear the sea lions barking in the background. 🙂
We had another heatwave this week and Southern California is again on fire. Elsewhere, I have friends who are still getting frost and snow. Here, Karl the Fog returned to the Bay chasing away the heat, thank goodness. Now we just need to get our friends warmed up and the fires put out. To top it off, we had no internet access from last night until late this morning.
We had also planned a special post for a couple of special friends of the blog who got married this last week. The heat and parental health emergencies have caused a delay. In the meantime, we want to give a shout of congratulations out to Mrs. and Mrs. Catgirl! You go girls!
Handsome TitoMiss Jenny sneaking over to dad for scritchin’sTitanescu looking especially regal
This video is a pretty darned good example of what it’s like for us every morning when Titan is begging for breakfast. 🙂
Happy Mother’s Day to all. You don’t have to have children to be a mom. You don’t have to be a woman either. 🙂 There are plenty of men who are doing the jobs of both parents. Like a good girl, I called my mom this morning. She’s having a nice day and I’m glad. Daddy was in the hospital a couple of times with week with some serious health issues. He seems to have had a mini stroke. Mom said he was much better this morning and they went out to breakfast with friends.
The adventures with dad are why I totally forgot about Caturday, so I’ll try to make up for it now. Lastech and I aren’t doing anything special today. He had to work, so he’s sleeping now. I did roast a boneless pork loin though as it’s a treat for me.
Anyhow, here are the pointy eared people.
Silly TitoSlurpy JennyTitan is always watching
Ze Frank usually makes me laugh. This time he just says something that I have been able to relate to in the past.
We had a heatwave in San Francisco. The temps would be fine in most places, but no one has air conditioning. Karl The Fog went on walkabout and those days were rough. Actually, here’s a very good link describing what San Francisco is like in the heat. Yes, it’s absurd. I grew up in the desert and was used to heat that was far worse. I’m not a desert rat any more. The kitties were not amused either.
Hot kitties flopped on the cool(ish) floor
The heat was absurd and so were the pointy eared people.
Miss Jenny yawning at Tito.Tito and the big yawnSsssttttthhhhhllllllluuuuurrrrrpppppp!
And this is what I woke up to this morning, as usual.
He’s my little curmudgeon and I love him, but when he’s hungry he’s a total butthead. I sleep on my side and his favorite trick is to stand on my shoulder and slap my head with a paw. That’s followed by using my shoulder as springboard as he dives off the bed, runs around and comes back for another round. He started at 0400 hrs. He doesn’t get breakfast until 0530. I finally grabbed my squirt bottle and aimed it correctly and went back to sleep. I zapped him twice before he stopped.
Miss Jenny, while not quite a butthead, will egg Titanescu on. However yesterday, Lastech discovered her and Tito having a mutual love fest in the window.
Tito giving Miss Jenny a neck bathPlaying peek-a-boo under the shredded sheers
This video isn’t new, but it’s certainly appropriate and a perfect description of Titanescu.
Well, I managed to remember what day it is. I mentioned a while back that we were trying out the Feliway plug-in to see if it helped Miss Jenny. It seemed to be helping a lot. Then we ran out. We didn’t have a refill on hand as we were merely testing it and didn’t want to spend too much in case it didn’t do the job. Holy moly! That was our proof that it worked. The minute it ran out, Miss Jenny went back to nervous Nellie mode. For her sake, we replaced it quickly. 🙂 We’ll be sure to keep it on hand.
In other news, Lastech and I went back to Angel Island yet again and this time we visited the Immigration Station museum AND managed to hike all the way around the rest of the island. Photos will be coming soon.
Miss Jenny, the nip headTito being loveyTitan soaking up some rays
Here’s a delightful vid starring a burrowing dachshund.
