The Online Bookshelf - Travels And Adventures of Little Baron Trump

Seriously.

The Usual Suspects

UPDATE:  I was congratulating myself on having caught Minnie red-pawed and then I came home today to find a strip of rubber matting on the landing covered with German Shepherd-sized tooth marks.

WhoDunnit

Mouse sketch by Beatrix Potter

There was a tiny, intact, dead mouse on the spare-room rug this afternoon.  

Which rules out Reserve Cat, who always eats what he kills unless of course we get it away from him first.

Caturday!

Quote Of The Day

Every attempt to make war easy and safe will result in humiliation and disaster. ~ W. T. Sherman

Happy Thanksgiving

image from the Graphics Fairy

Although the mouse pie eaters in this house outnumber the pumpkin pie eaters three to two, we're sticking with tradition this year.

Vintage Advertising - Snowdrift Lard

From The Woman's Home Companion, January 1921.

Caturday!

Quote Of The Day

Cat Gorgeous Cat by Oliver Herford

"You know the best example of sincerity?  The absolute gold standard?"

"Who?"

Angus pointed to the door, outside which Cyril was waiting patiently.  "A dog.  Have you ever met with an insincere dog -- a dog who hides his true feelings?"

Domenica looked thoughtful.  "And cats?"

"Dreadfully insincere," said Angus.  "Psychopaths -- every one of them.  Show me a cat, Domenica, and I'll show you a psychopath.  Textbook examples."  ~ Alexander McCall Smith

Not So Ancient History

My oldest sister was watching this the other night and suddenly her husband's picture flashed on the screen.

Grrrsday

High Diving Giraffes from Алексей on Vimeo.

As requested - the giraffes!

Plus Ҫa Change

Michigan Avenue Bridge, by Errol Jacobson

About fifty years ago, my father (who resembled Dr Gibbs in this respect) piled the four youngest children -- aged eight to sixteen -- into our station wagon with my poor mother and headed for Alabama.

Ostensibly we were going to see my oldest sister graduate from boot camp at then-Ft. McClellan, but the real reasons for the trip were Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and any other Civil War site that could reasonably be sandwiched in along the way.

In front of a six-pounder perched high on Missionary Ridge, a young Park Service guide began asking questions of the small crowd of tourists.  Little did he know what he was in for...it went something like this.

He: Does anyone here know how many shots per minute this cannon could fire?

Me:  Two rounds per minute, with an experienced crew.

He:  Very good!  Who knows what these cannons were made of?

Next Youngest Brother:  They were cast out of bronze except for some Confederate cannons that used to blow up.

He:  Mmm..okay.  Now, in order to use a cannon, the crew needed to haul ammunition and other equipment around.  Does anyone know what this was called?

Youngest Brother: Limber.

He:  Ah...yes.  Moving right along, can anyone tell me what made these cannons so much more accurate than they were in the past?

Youngest Sister: They had rifled barrels.

And so it went for the rest of that poor man's spiel.  The four of us answered every single question, while my father grinned behind his moustache and my mother looked resigned.

Last Friday my sisters and I went on an architecture tour up the Chicago River (yes, it was snowing.  Took two hours for my feet to thaw out).  As soon as we were underway the guide began quizzing the dozen or so hardy souls aboard.

It was Missionary Ridge all over again.

Off to Chicago this week for a Veteran's Day meetup with my sisters.

(God help Chicago).

Vintage Magazines - 10-Story Mystery

From 1948, the British version of a magazine originally published in Chicago in 1942.

Caturday!

Quote Of The Day

Image from The Graphics Fairy

A smooth sea never made a skillful mariner. ~ English proverb.

Grrrsday

In our house, these are known as woof marks.