#catlinyemaker

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Answers about cat dream trauma

rdprice29 replied to your post “I had a crazy dream last night that for some reason I had reconciled...”

SAM! Whatever you ate or drank last night, don't do that again. What a horrible, horrible nightmare! I'm assuming they are, since you got them from the pound and it seems like common policy now, but are the cryptids micro-chipped? Because if not, tell me how much it would be to get them so and I will paypal the $ to you. So much more peace of mind that you can be identified if they do get out. I'm practically crying just thinking about them getting lost like that!

Oh yes -- chipped and registered, and the reason I make them wear collars is so that people will know they belong to someone if they get out but stay in the building. The Anti-Cruelty Society won’t put cats up for adoption until they’re spayed/neutered, first-vaccinated, and chipped, so it’s not even an option, which I approve of. Even if you don’t change their chip paperwork to reflect your name and address, if they get out and the vet finds them, the Anti-Cruelty Society has a record and can get in touch. But it was like the first thing I did when I adopted them. 

catlinyemaker replied to your post “I had a crazy dream last night that for some reason I had reconciled...”

I have those sorts of dreams all the time, both dreams about corraling cats (or finding them [alive! my brain's not _that_ horrible] after I've apparently forgotten about them for weeks, that's a charming variant) and dreams about getting stymied trying to get back to someone or something. Very upsetting, especially when it's about cats who have passed. I'm glad your brain decided to give you a win in court after that!

After our dog died when I was in my 20s, I would sometimes have dreams that it turned out he hadn’t died, we just thought he had, and so we hadn’t fed him or given him water for several weeks. Like you, he was somehow still alive, but man that’s traumatic, isn’t it?

junker5 replied to your post “I had a crazy dream last night that for some reason I had reconciled...”

The fact that you can recall your dreams so vividly has got to be one of the many reasons you are such a fantastic writer. Poor Sam. The cryptids escaping is a real fear any inside pet owner has...I have to count noses before I go out the door, and slide out as quickly as possible. I'm super paranoid in the summer, because they like to sit and look out the stormdoor while I'm in the backyard. I'm sorry you are unsettled. Big changes, new job & all...sending hugs!

Yeah, in a weird way the “be good” ritual in the morning has calmed me down because they never try to dart out the door after I’ve told them to be good, but I’m always cautious when coming in with a suitcase or large package. Deebs got out once while I was maneuvering my suitcase through the door. She only made it about five feet before freaking out and running back inside, but they still look speculatively at the door sometimes :D 

kungfunurse replied to your post “I had a crazy dream last night that for some reason I had reconciled...”

That’s weird - I have recurring dreams of my cats getting out and I have to find them and get them safely back inside. For me it usually comes down to feeling out of control in some part of my life, and trying to keep the things important to me safe and where I put my hands on them. Whatever it means for you, I hope you have an awesome day and a lovely upcoming turkey day.

I don’t think it was about control so much as anxiety, although anxiety is related to control, so who knows. It could just be that things are going relatively well for me right now and while I’m not consciously waiting for the other shoe to drop, maybe unconsciously I am. 

 ameliahcrowley replied to your post “I had a crazy dream last night that for some reason I had reconciled...”

This feels an awful lot like as though your nightmares were being written by the ghosts of Gilbert and Sullivan (played, in my mind, by Stastler and Waldorf in their Marley Brothers costumes) last night.

LOL, my antipathy to Gilbert and Sullivan does sort of make sense in that light :D 

[naamahdarling]

How is Ms Fancypants doing, if you have time to let us know? I missed the last update (two weeks ago) and scrolled back to find it. Sounds great so far. <3

I THOUGHT I HAD POSTED THIS!  I’m so sorry!

She has been keeping us busy!

She’s doing SUPER well, and feels and looks more or less like a normal cat of her age, barring a slightly weak hind end, which we are working on by coaxing her to climb and jump.  Her coat is thin but incredibly soft, maybe the softest fur I’ve ever felt.  Her eyes and ears are clean, she has no fleas.  Given where she started, we couldn’t ask for her to be in better condition.  As of her last vet visit she has nearly doubled in weight.  Since that was a couple of weeks ago, I think she probably has by now.

Her tail still has no feeling or mobility.  It’s going to have to come off.  Her hind end, however, has ceased being a no-zone.  She used to not like it touched at all.  We are still careful how we pick her up (hand under the back paws, or under the belly, holding her leopard-on-a-branch style) but she is much more comfortable being handled.  She loves to be scooped up and cuddled, and will insistently ask for this multiple times a day.  We still don’t squeeze her bottom or her hips, but she doesn’t mind being petted there, and no longer nips at us when we touch her below the middle of her back.  She was in a lot of hidden pain, I think, and having been given the time and resources to heal at her own speed has made a huge difference in her comfort levels.

We let her out of the studio for most of the day so she can run, play, and socialize, and she only goes back in there to have her special kitten chow and when we sleep or leave the house, just to make sure she doesn’t get into any trouble before she learns house rules like “don’t chew on power cords” and “no climbing the bookshelves” and “stay out of the fireplace”. That sort of thing.

She is absolutely fearless of the other cats, and has no trouble putting them in their place if they push her too far … so they mostly don’t push her.  Everyone gets along.  She plays with them, they seem to enjoy her company.  She loves big fluffy Uncle Raleigh the most, but she likes to follow the others around, watching them, then doing what they are doing.  It’s adorable.

She’s just doing a darn good job of growing up and being a strong, fierce young lady.

The biggest challenge right now is teaching her human communication, and what our expectations of her are, as well as managing our expectations to keep them reasonable given her age and experience level. She’s very friendly with people, she likes people, but she doesn’t understand that there are rules here.  Not just “knows there are rules and ignores them” but she literally has no concept of “thing that I am not supposed to do.”  She’s also having a hard time learning her name.   She gets excited when we talk to her, but she doesn’t quite understand that our mouth noises mean specific things besides just “HI! HELLO! FRIEND? FRIEND! HELLO FRIEND!  I AM HERE!  I CAN SEE YOU!”  She is only just now starting to catch on that “Fancy!” means we want her attention.

The communication issues are to be expected from a cat that was raised in proximity to but not by human beings.  I think she’s doing very well developmentally, and will catch up to more intensively socialized cats very soon.  She doesn’t do very many bad things, honestly, she really does not. She’s mostly a very good girl.

And yeah, we’re keeping her.

[copperbadge]

tzikeh replied to your quote “Would you mind elaborating on why White Collar disappointed you? Was...”

It was DEEPLY unsurprising to discover that Jeff Eastin is a rabid FOX News/Trump supporter.

Oh SNAP is he really? Lord, that is unsurprising and yet depressing. 

rionsanura replied to your post “rionsanura replied to your post “I’m doing a small White Collar...”

yeah that was what I tried, and it had no results, but your link works for me, and now when I try the same thing it works. Maybe clicking and unclicking Crossovers Only had an effect.

Oh yeah probably. I assume if two different fandoms are on the fandom line it’s a crossover regardless, so I always try to apply as few filters as possible because fans are unreliable taggers :D 

catlinyemaker replied to your quote “Would you mind elaborating on why White Collar disappointed you? Was...”

And the really terrible thing about the showmakers' take on this is that it could have been insanely amazing. Picture the next season where the season arc is Neil and Mozzie researching and finding the original owners of all this art and sneaking around returning it in between working for the feds, and Peter starting to hear rumors of great stolen art resurfacing and suspecting Neil of forging it or something... Really the possibilities would be endless.

Yeah -- well, and tons of fans wrote about that, myself included. Like, there was no shortage of ways the show could have gone about actually dealing with the legacy of Nazi art looting. It’s not like there was no way out of that hole. 

[copperbadge]

Hey, it feels like a cop-out to just give one big shout out, but I wanted to say thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! IT WAS TERRIBLE! :D 

We had a staff meeting in terrible heat and humidity, and then I went home and slept off a headache. But I did get lots of cuddles from the kittens, and anyway I’m properly celebrating my birthday next week with the family, so it’s not a huge deal. 

But I did appreciate all the birthday wishes! 

[copperbadge]

Answers About DIY

annasbeta replied to your photoset “MY KITCHEN IS READY.”

Dear Sam, what is Barkeeper’s Friend? Is it a commercially sold cleaning agent or home made remedy? If the second, can you/have you posted the recipe? Thanks!

It’s a commercial cleaner. It comes in powder, spray-foam, or liquid versions; it’s supposed to be an all-purpose home cleaner, though I’ve found it isn’t always the best depending on what you’re cleaning. I really like the powdered form, but I bought the liquid form by mistake, and the liquid form isn’t so great for countertops or grease (it leaves a weird residue on the former and doesn’t do much at all on the latter), so it has somewhat languished in my kitchen cupboard.

I figured the worst that would happen is that it wouldn’t work on the under-fridge gunk and I’d have to resort to baking soda or bleach, but if I used the liquid stuff I didn’t like much anyway at least I wouldn’t be wasting something that could be better used elsewhere. 

me-ya-ri replied to your photoset “MY KITCHEN IS READY. READY FOR A NEW FRIDGE that does not leak...”

My immediate response to that first picture was "EEEEERRRRGHHHH!" while making a horrified face and wanting to run away. So, um, Good job on fixing it! O.O

That was very much my reaction too :D Along with “Hey, I bet I could try the barkeeper’s friend on this...”

daroos replied to your photoset “MY KITCHEN IS READY.”

good job that was hero's work bro

I felt pretty heroic by the end, NGL. :D 

rsfcommonplace replied to your photoset “MY KITCHEN IS READY.”

Better... much better. I hope the new fridge fits in the gap!

Oh, I measured very carefully. MOTHERFUCKER HAD BETTER. Though if it doesn’t that’s really just an excuse to rip out the ugly counter/cabinets surrounding it. 

Mind you, I moved Death Fridge to the dining room, and I’m kind of digging having it there? I might put the fridge and microwave in the dining room and put more storage or counter space where the fridge normally goes. 

theotherguysride replied to your photo “I decided...”

I actually really like that idea. Maybe another place that a frame wouldn't go amiss? It looks really good as an accent piece.

It’s a thought, the frame thing, but I’m worried I’d bark my shins on it, it’s a somewhat narrow hallway at that point. Maybe I’ll paint a frame around it sometime :D  

catlinyemaker replied to your post “Out of pure curiosity...”

Oh, I'd be so tempted to wall off awkward column A entirely, enclosing the small space behind it to create a super-sekkrit passage/cabinet. Access panels left as an exercise for the reader. ;) 

i-ddpej replied to your post “Out of pure curiosity...”

Interesting! Personally I probably would have tried to find shelving that would fit behind the column (two sets, one facing TAFKAMW and one facing into the book nook) , just so the space there could be useful for *something*.

If it were further from the wall, I would probably be looking at one of these options, but that’s the awkward thing -- it’s only 20″ from the wall, and an awkward 25″ long, so there’s a dead space in the middle even if you wanted to use the front and back, which looks awkward. It’s difficult to even get a roller in there to paint that side of the column; I could (and probably will) use it for print storage for framed stuff that’s not on my walls, but that’s about it. Not big enough to be a secret passage and not really wide enough to accommodate shelving easily, I’m afraid. 

I’ve looked at photos of other units and what they did with it, and the most common response to the column is to put a bookshelf in front of it on the hallway side, and to use the “nook” it helps to create for an entertainment center. I like the former option for the outside, but for the nook, which faces west in my case, putting a TV there isn’t advisable. So I’m turning it into a mini library. 

shinyrock6498 replied to your post “Out of pure curiosity...”

On second look, how do you get into the kitchen? Is that a sliding door?

It’s just an open doorway -- it’s not very visible from the plan, but you can see that the wall color changes at one point, where there’s no cabinets, and that’s the doorway (it’s the doorway you see in images of Minty Junior). 

That wall, with the doorway in it, is the one I plan to knock out to enlarge the kitchen eventually -- I’ll take the wall out, extend the counter into the dining room a bit to make a breakfast bar, and then install over-island cabinetry for more storage (can’t move the island because the sink’s there). But that’s probably a couple of years at least in the future, so I painted it in the meantime. 

rineechan replied to your post “Out of pure curiosity...”

This is super duper awesome! Thank you for taking the time. It also makes a lot of things make a lot more sense (your comments about the awkwardly placed columns, e.g.). But I'm stiiiiil super confused about the placement of the Key-frame-homage-to-Murder-Wall. Or at least I'm very bad at figuring out where you might have stood when taking a picture of it. Either way thanks a lot and CONGRATULATIONS ON THIS AWESOME A FLAT!!! West-n-south facing windows are such a treat!

Oh, that entry way, the photos of the framed red? That’s the bit that’s not quite right in the drafting. In the image you can see the front door enters from the east, straight shot down the hallway to the living room. In the actual floorplan, that I was just too lazy to draft, the front door opens from the north, and then you walk in and make an immediate right turn to proceed down the hallway from the east. So that photo is taken facing east, in the entry vestibule that’s not visible on the groundplan. 

I intend to do a more accurate plan eventually (I think the living room is also about 2′ too wide because I left the vestibule off) but I could only take so many measurements when I was there before I owned the place, and I was more concerned with getting the spacing/size of the windows and the location of the freestanding column and the wall column right. 

It might be something I do this weekend, depending on how fast painting goes.  

[copperbadge]

Answers About The Speakeasy

caped-ace replied to your photo “I was over at the new place today”

Why does your new home look like a set used by the Leverage cast?

Because we’re both awesome? :D I dunno, I suppose because Leverage usually went for a kind of beat-up-but-classic style with its architecture, and beat-up-but-classic is this entire building’s aesthetic. 

tyrannosaurus-trainwreck replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

If you like vining/climbing houseplants, that column looks like a great place to stick like a pothos plant and train the vines around!

Oooh, tempting! Though that’s like the one place in the unit with no natural light...

compromised-by-castiel replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

do your windows have screens?

Some do, some don’t, at least I think. I haven’t checked -- I know at least one in the bedroom does because the screen has a hole.... 

catlinyemaker replied to your photo “I was over at the new place”

Inquiring minds want to know, is there another column in the utility closet? Because based on the notch out of the bedroom there should be, and my unseemly urge for order wants to sketch on in there. It looks like an older factory/warehouse construction model with the evenly spaced pillars. Also thanks much for posting all this and gratifying our curiosity and desire to let you know how we'd decorate your space. :)

I was wondering myself after drafting it, because it does seem like the pillars are regularly placed. I went in this evening and measured it, and while there isn’t a VISIBLE column, the closet actually has a wall before the column would be visible. So I’m guessing yes, and I think my hot water heater closet shares it with the coat closet of the unit next door. 

The building was an old-timey office building, way back in the day (built in 1910 I believe) so the regular columns make sense. 

ambersnake replied to your post “I am so obsessed w your home renovation”

I'm addicted to watching someone Make Visible Progress. I'm often low on energy and a terrible procrastinator to boot, so watching your condo coming along is like crack.

I need to do a “before and after” photo series for sure. 

kittoria replied to your post “HiSam, since you don't care about making”

I am surprisingly emotionally invested in Ghost's happiness. I hope she likes the Speakeasy :)

Me too! I hope she comes along, she’s been a good roommate for the most part :D 

calmiera replied to your post “HiSam, since you don't care about making”

How can you make sure if Ghost moved with you?

I can’t, really, unless she wants me to, I suppose. I’ve given her chances to see it, and I put a map on the lid of her traveling box so hopefully if she changes her mind she can go home again. I rarely get much direct contact with her except the occasional dream, so I suppose if I dream she’s having fun, then I’ll know :) If not, eh, not meant to be. 

pterriblepterodactyls replied to your post “annechen-melo replied to your photo”

Honestly my apartment has open face cabinets and we've never had an issue w that. The cabinets themselves were kinda sticky and gross when we moved in but we washed them and they've been fine. You *might* have more of an issue bc you don't use your dishes as much (1-5 college students in the apartment at any given time = a lot of used dishes) but even the stuff we don't use much is fine, so I wouldn't worry too much

I’ve had people say both. I know that cooking with gas tends to add a sticky residue to stuff, even stuff in closed cabinets if you’re not careful, so that could be part of it. 

spaci1701 replied to your photo “I was over at the new place today”

My crafter's soul shrieks at unused, blocked off space, but the 10" gap does make your meh attitude make sense. There is one storage idea I've seen that would work perfectly and cheaply if you chose - stacked lengths of 8" PVC pipe. No painting, no attaching needed.

I keep trying to envision what the PVC pipe is for and failing. Is it like...stacked on end, or....propped between wall and column horizontally? What is the pipe meant to be used for? 

[copperbadge]

catlinyemaker replied to your post “Installing a Smart Thermostat”

What did you finally do about the stranded wires? Careful twisting? Solder? Splice to solid wire?

I considered splicing to solid wire -- I didn’t even think of solder, that would probably have been good -- but eventually we got it done by using a pair of (very much the wrong kind of) pliers to twist the strands together and crimp them down tightly enough to snug into the thermostat. We had to strip some insulation from two of them, and we almost didn’t get the yellow wire in because the wires themselves kept snapping every time we pulled the insulation off, but eventually we managed.

I say “we” but Sci did all the fiddly work, I wasn’t any good at it. I mostly hovered and made anxious useless suggestions. :D 

[inquisitorhotpants]

catlinyemaker replied to your post:THE UBER WEAPON HAS LOWER STATS THAN MY CURRENT...

Are you surprised? That doesn’t surprise me at all; most quest reward stuff isn’t as good as my current gear.

I’m not surprised, per se, but I’m very amused that the Ultimate Weapon for the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny had worse stats.  xD