More Precious than Rubies

Yesterday I was languidly poking keys at the computer–paying an invoice, setting up a meeting, texting with colleagues–when my little cat made such a sad little cry. And after a while, another one. I went over to ask her what was wrong but she just sat on the rug looking miserable. She kept it up and my heart sank.
I called the vet–YES, she could be seen right away. I put her in the cat carrier bag and off we went. Unlike my other two cats who wail loudly all the way to the vet and back, Sophie doesn’t make a sound in the car: ANGEL cat.
Or of course, fatally ill cat.
The doctor saw us immediately, and after a bit in the examination room, Sophie went off to get blood tests and all the other Very Important Tests that MUST BE DONE.
Out in the waiting room I started wondering what the tally would be for this visit–$300? $400?
HA HA, GROSS underestimate.
Once my little cat was returned to me, quiet and sad in the carrier, I went to the desk to pay the bill.
!! ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS !!
I gasped. I was shown the bill with all sorts of charges which added up to more than I have ever spent at the vet–well, since this same little cat was treated for hypothyroidism.
Well, what can you do? Friends, I paid the bill and took Sophie back home.

And she broke my heart by just lying in the carrier after I opened it up and left it on the floor–too weary and sad to get out.
HOWEVER, this morning, I did NOT find her little body lying dead on the floor–in fact she had cheered up and was ready for breakfast.
Ah well, I’m grateful that she’s still with me– my thousand dollar kitty cat.

London, thou art the flower of cities all!

There was a lovely picture on the front page this morning–so much nicer than the bombed buildings, floods, and Trump-Biden pictures that have assaulted my eyes on previous mornings.

The King’s horses were thundering through London! They had been prepping for an celebratory military parade when there was a horrid boom, a nearby construction accident–and they were OFF. Poor creatures, they were terrified, and several of them were badly hurt during their wild stampede–but what a splendid picture they made. And what a thrilling rush hour! The London Fire Brigade sent up drones to help track the horses.
Ah London! This kind of excitement NEVER happens around here.

Hairball on My Pillow

Living with cats has its highs and lows, its joys and sorrows. And every once in a while, they surpass all expectations.
Early early this morning–before sunrise–I flung my hand against the other pillow and found–horrid wetness! I hurled the offending pillow to the floor, and once it was daylight and time to arise I examined it: a nasty black HAIRBALL. Bertie, the perpetrator, had long since left the scene.
Sigh. I have other pillows, other pillow cases. AND had it been on the mattress instead of the pillow it would have been a much greater problem.
But it will be SOME TIME before I forgive that cat.

Murder in the Outback

I am reading a fine new murder mystery called EVERYONE on the Train is a Suspect: rather jolly! The author speaks to us directly with great good cheer, and discusses popular murder mystery tropes as the plot unfolds.
See, there is a literary festival going forward, and a bunch of mystery writers (including our genial author) is invited to take an all-expenses-paid trip on the luxurious Ghan train from Darwin to Adelaide.

So party down comrades! Yes, I WILL have some more champagne! And hand me that truffle-on-a-stick!
Fun is being had as the train clickety-clacks onward until–A MURDER! This casts something of a damper over the festivities, and our author is not the only one working up his murder detection schtick. One of the swifter authors assembles everyone in the bar carriage at 3 in the morning for that well known scene: the Revelation of the Killer. Blah, blah, talking, explication, and then he bellows (don’t worry, no spoilers): "I am telling you exactly what happened. [Name] was murdered and [Other Name] is–without a skerrick of doubt in my mind–definitely the killer."
…Then Jasper burst into the room, gasping, and said: "[Other Name] has been killed."
I burst into laughter, alarming the cats. And I thought, this is a charming book.

The April Rainers

These words suddenly occurred to me this morning–it is April after all, and it is raining. And then the other verses came to mind, and I found myself singing in the bath, "Eight for the April rainers, Seven for the seven stars in the sky, Six for the six proud walkers…"
Mysterious words but a fine tune! Apparently many scholars have puzzled over it, and the final conclusion is that its origins and meanings are….OBSCURE.
But the April rains are certainly here, and their misty gray skies enhance the gorgeous blooms–the dogwoods! The redbuds! And my fabulous cherry tree, which delights me everytime I look out my kitchen window.

The spring, the sweet spring. The season starts so gently–the crocuses, the daffodils–and then BOOM! Color everywhere, birds singing, leaves opening. On my walks around the neighborhood I see violets–darling little flowers, but forbidden in most gardens, including mine, due to their noxious post-bloom habit of greedy spread. VERY STRONG ROOTS, those dainty little flowers have. But so charming!
The kindly spring is of course followed by the torrid heats of summer. But right now, it is spring! AND it’s Friday! Rejoice!

Math is hard!

Before I tell you about the FAB FAB Barbie movie, I should admit that Barbie did not actually say these exact words–but it was something pretty close. Thus bringing down on her pretty head the thunder of furious feminists.

So, renting the movie now being within the limits of even the smallest budget, I decided to just go WILD and watch it. AH, said Amazon regretfully–your system can’t handle the splendid technology of this artistic wonder.
Sigh.
So, I ordered a new Roku, which CAN handle it, and which cost less than I paid for the old one it replaced: progress!
Installing this was surprisingly easy–though of course it is always easier NOT to do it and stay in the comfy old ways. But that is not the way of HIP MODERN me.
Initially there was something of an issue in that half of the sound was missing: Barbie spoke, yes, but Ken moved his mouth and nothing came out.
I sighed and returned to my South Korean show (which had no such problems).
I looked into sound problems, receiver issues, took notes–but lo! The next day the magic had happened! Ken could now be heard! All was well in Barbieland!
The movie starts with a group of sad little girls playing with old fashioned dolls and toy household appliances. And then BOOM, a giant Barbie appears, and they smash their oh-so-stodgy dollies and turn to the Mattel goddess! I might add that whatever Mattel may wish, baby dolls and toy kitchens continue to enchant modern children.
So, lovely Barbie wakes up in her lovely pink Dream House in Barbieland–another wonderful day! But Barbie begins to feel angst, and eventually has to set out for the Real World to solve her dilemma. And of course Ken comes along!
The movie is extremely well designed, and the stars are just delicious. Lovely Margot Robbie! Handsome Ryan Gosling! And Will Ferrell was so entertaining as the Mattel CEO! There were some very fine dances!
But somehow, it failed to completely charm me. Still, I am pleased to be able to check it off my list! Well done you guys!

My lovely cherry tree

My Kwanzan cherry tree is coming into bloom! It politely waits for the Yoshino cherries to bloom first–those enchanting clouds of bridal white that still blanket Washington–and then its lovely buds begin to open into popcorn clusters of pink blossoms.

It is HUGE now, but when it was just a baby, I carried it, tenderly planted it.
Long ago, I lived in a grand house on a street that was LINED with Kwanzan cherries–and you can’t imagine how lovely it was in the spring. And the carpet of pink on the street when the blooms fell!
Soon my tree will dazzle all who pass by! And then its petals will carpet the road, and then it will shade the garden with its leaves and birds will sing in its boughs.
Blessings on the trees! How they enrich the lives of the transient little humans living among them.

Girl of STEEL

Last night I had a sudden wild notion to watch Barbie–the rental cost had diminished to $4 which was within my budget limits. HOWEVER, it turned out that my 9 year old streaming device was unable to handle the surging power of new movies–4 K UHD (ultra high resolution)! So I ordered a new Roku, put off Barbie for another day, and settled down to watch my South Korean show.
This is a truly silly show but not offensively so. There is a tiny girl who has SUPERNATURAL STRENGTH. There are two lovely guys vying for her.

And there is a simply horrible monster of a man who kidnaps women and keeps them in his nasty den.
You can see where we’re going with this.
Last night Do Bong-Soon (the Girl of Steel) encountered the monster and overcame him–but he ran away (there are TEN more episodes so he must continue his wicked ways for at least nine of them). And there was a charming little scene when the young men–one a policeman, the other her wealthy boss–argued over who would take her home from work (to protect her from the vile fiend). While she dithers between them at armpit level (she is 5’2″, they are both 6 footers). I admit it made me smile.
I guess Barbie and Ken can wait a little longer.

Dr. Slump

This is a show about 2 doctors confronting career disaster and how it is eventually overcome. The man is a brilliant plastic surgeon, the woman a brilliant anesthesiologist–they knew each other in school, competed fiercely with one another–but did not hate each other as much as they pretended to. The show starts with the disasters:

1. A patient DIES on the surgeon’s operating table–he is forced to sell off his clinic.
2. The anesthesiologist quits after quite terrible treatment by her boss who has stolen her thesis AND her offer of a better job.

She retires to weep in her bedroom–She lives with her mom and her brother, over the restaurant run by her uncle.
He moves into a modest apartment which happens to be owned by—HER MOM. It is the roof apartment upstairs from where she lives.
Naturally they meet. Naturally they begin to have feelings for one another. There are exciting plot developments, a secondary couple, some spectacular scenery–and of course, the leads are just lovely.

The medical scenes seemed well made to me–though my only experience is from the patient POV which is to say, mostly unconscious. There is much eating and drinking, and his cold MIA parents are compared to her warm loving family. A rather charming show, 16 episodes, on Netflix–do try it!
I admit that I was somewhat disconcerted by the silly antics of the young man–his growing love for the lady leads him to act in quite idiotic ways. This is par for the course with these South Korean shows–and can be rather sweet–but Park Hyung-Sik takes it to extremes. HOWEVER, I was able to bear it: he is such a pretty fellow!

Failure of the Cozy

Lest people call me HIDE BOUND and SET IN MY WAYS, I decided to watch a non-South Korean show last Friday night. So, on to Yorkshire! And the exciting adventures of James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small.
SO charming, so cozy!
I had left it after the first episode in Season 4: comes now Episode 2.
Well, well, we enter into a scene of humorous commotion–2 goats are accidentally released from the examining room INTO THE HOUSE. Such shenanigans! OH HOhoHO, it’s simply HILARIOUS! They knock things over! Sigfried is tripped and upsets the flour! Heavens to Betsy, what a mess!

And the dire thought came to me: I am SO NOT amused.
And I switched it off.