Trivial (or not so trivial) stuff that makes you happy.

[Gillianren]

Yesterday, when I woke up, Mouse had moved himself from under the table, where I'd set up his nest, to in front of the back door. So I set up a nest for him there. Yesterday afternoon, he moved to a place he normally sits because his nest had gotten too wet. (He's on muscle relaxants and doesn't control his bladder.) This morning, he'd moved again to sit in front of the linen closet. I even got him to eat a little; we're about to start syringe-feeding to encourage him to eat if we have to.

[PetersCreek]

A few Bohemian waxwings came by to raid my mountain ash tree for the few remaining frozen berries. It's a horribly zoomed shot but that's about as close as I could get with the cell phone before they flew off.

[KaiYeves]

My brother and I saw a few on a nature trail the other day. They flew down and perched in the branches just above us, trying to work out if we had any birdseed.

[grant hutchison]

Ah, nice. Just plain old "waxwings" in these parts, because they're the only species we've got. We're right at the edge of their wintering range here, and they generally arrive in small numbers. But every now and then we have an "irruption", when they turn up mob-handed and invade urban gardens looking for berries.

Grant Hutchison

[Gillianren]

Mouse came and slept on my lap for a while yesterday.

[Swift]

Mouse came and slept on my lap for a while yesterday.

Aaaaawwwwww

Our Maki used to do that with me when she was younger. For reasons I don't know, she doesn't sit in laps any longer, though she is still otherwise a very social cat.

[Noclevername]

Our puppy, Finn, often sleeps on my lap when I'm in a recliner. (In a regular chair my fat belly takes up most of that lap space.)

[Trebuchet]

Mouse came and slept on my lap for a while yesterday.

Good for Mouse!
We hadn't had lap-cats for years, until just recently when one of ours, at age 12, decided to become one.

[Solfe]

Our puppy, Finn, often sleeps on my lap when I'm in a recliner. (In a regular chair my fat belly takes up most of that lap space.)

I thought it was Jake the Dog and Finn the Human.

[Noclevername]

I thought it was Jake the Dog and Finn the Human.

Woah, we live in a mirror Universe!

[Van Rijn]

My cat, Orange, sometimes sleeps on my lap when I’m sitting, but usually wants to sleep on my left side between my arm and body, with her head on my left shoulder or chest. It can be amusing/cute with her arms stretched out across my chest or over my shoulder, but it sometimes is annoying when I want to use my left arm.

[Gillianren]

Both our cats are lap cats, but Mouse has been hiding quite a lot lately. That he isn't, and he's making moves toward sociability, is definitely a good sign. And I saw him eat this morning, which is even better.

[Swift]

Both our cats are lap cats, but Mouse has been hiding quite a lot lately. That he isn't, and he's making moves toward sociability, is definitely a good sign. And I saw him eat this morning, which is even better.

Yeah Mouse!

My cat, Orange, sometimes sleeps on my lap when I’m sitting, but usually wants to sleep on my left side between my arm and body, with her head on my left shoulder or chest. It can be amusing/cute with her arms stretched out across my chest or over my shoulder, but it sometimes is annoying when I want to use my left arm.

I really hope Orange is a black and white cat, or maybe a grey tabby.

[Van Rijn]

I really hope Orange is a black and white cat, or maybe a grey tabby.

‘Fraid not. Orange’s name is a bit of a clue to her fur color (orange tabby).

[Trebuchet]

‘Fraid not. Orange’s name is a bit of a clue to her fur color (orange tabby).

In the world of cats, orange is called "red". And gray is "blue". And one of ours is a "seal point", which is dark brown.

[ozduck]

Today, 12 Feb., is the Lunar New Year for the Chinese. Yesterday our back fence neighbour, who is ethnic Chinese, dropped by to give us a plate of freshly cooked, and still hot, pork dumplings. We are 'friendly but not friends' with them so it was a nice surprise and they tasted lovely. We did give her some figs and grapes in return but we were the winners in the exchange. So Kung Hei Fat Choi to everyone.

[Swift]

Today, 12 Feb., is the Lunar New Year for the Chinese. Yesterday our back fence neighbour, who is ethnic Chinese, dropped by to give us a plate of freshly cooked, and still hot, pork dumplings. We are 'friendly but not friends' with them so it was a nice surprise and they tasted lovely. We did give her some figs and grapes in return but we were the winners in the exchange. So Kung Hei Fat Choi to everyone.

Nice. On top of everything else, those are some picture perfect dumplings.

[Gillianren]

‘Fraid not. Orange’s name is a bit of a clue to her fur color (orange tabby).

That's okay, we had a cat named Grey when I was little. Guess what colour he was!

Our first snow in the new house. Graham had, for reasons I'm not happy with, a half-day at work yesterday, so he got home before there was much accumulation. He also has today off, again for reasons I'm not happy with, but it means he doesn't have to maneuver down our street, which I'm quite sure will not get plowed.

[DonM435]

In the world of cats, orange is called "red". And gray is "blue". And one of ours is a "seal point", which is dark brown.

Well, orange-haired humans are called "redheads," right?

[profloater]

And “Robin red breast”, actually orange but there was no word for orange when robins were first named and no doubt redheads are back dated also.

[grant hutchison]

And “Robin red breast”, actually orange but there was no word for orange when robins were first named and no doubt redheads are back dated also.

The OED's first citation for "redhead" meaning "having red hair" is actually a good 60 years later than its first citation for "orange" as a colour. I do doubt if we'd ever have called a robin an "orangebreast" if the colour name had been available. The punchy alliteration in "redhead" and "redbreast" are simply too appealing, compared to the clumsiness of any word incorporating "orange", which is pretty much alliteration kryptonite.
(On a side note, "Robin" started off as a personal name applied to the bird originally called the "redbreast". We used to have a number of these, some of which are still slightly familiar (Tom Tit and Jenny Wren) and one at least completely assimilated (Mag Pie).

Grant Hutchison

[Trebuchet]

Well, orange-haired humans are called "redheads," right?

Except in Australia, where for some reason they are called "Blue".

[grant hutchison]

Except in Australia, where for some reason they are called "Blue".

Probably an insulting reason, based on stereotypes about redheads being fighters and/or stupid and/or itinerants and/or manual workers. (There's a little cluster of blue/bluey slang in Australia, which seems to concentrate around railway workers, tramps, fights, mistakes and complaints.)

Grant Hutchison

[Gillianren]

Yet there's a fairly charming cartoon called Bluey.

[grant hutchison]

At least Blue Heelers actually look a little blue, in some lights. And it would be really confusing if Australians started calling Red Heelers "Bluey".

Grant Hutchison

[ozduck]

My father was called 'Blue' as he was a redhead up until he was around 50 when his hair turned brown. It may have started out as insult possibly in regard to the Irish and a perceived violent nature but there seems to be a lot of conjecture about its origin. It has not been considered an insult here since at least the end of the 19th Century and is certainly in common use today without anyone even rising an eyebrow about its use. It is often used in that 'ironic' way to describe things the opposite of what they actually are. For example, when a Virgin Airline's 'associate' company was set up in Australia its livery was red so, naturally, it called itself Virgin Blue.

My father certainly never considered it an insult and after years of hard physical labour, as a miner and tree-feller, he was certainly capable of redressing any wrongs he received.

And, Gillianren I am glad that you and your children are enjoying 'Bluey'. My grandkids still love it and it is often amongst the highest rating programmes on local TV. to quote for one show " It was the most-watched broadcast across all free-to-air multichannels, and the eleventh most-watched broadcast overall. In 2019, the series was the most-watched program through time shifting." There has never been the slightest thought that Bluey having that name was any sort of insult.

https://english.stackexchange.com/qu...n-called-bluey

[grant hutchison]

My father was called 'Blue' as he was a redhead up until he was around 50 when his hair turned brown. It may have started out as insult, possibly in regard to the Irish, but it has not been considered an insult here since at least the end of the 19th Century and is certainly in common use today. It is often used in that 'ironic' way to describe things the opposite of what they actually are. For example, when a Virgin Airline's 'associate company was set up in Australia its livery was red so, naturally, it called itself Virgin Blue.

My father certainly never considered it an insult and after years of hard physical labour, as a miner and treefeller, he was certainly capable of redressing any wrongs he received.

Yes, people differ. I only know about redheads being called 'Blue' because of a young redheaded Australian I worked with for while, who very much did consider it offensive. (We got on to the topic because people were discussing the use of the word "ginger" for redheads in the UK, which some find offensive and which some shrug off, and he drew the analogy.)
When I was a kid I didn't receive any hassle about being a redhead--my corner of the world has more redheads per capita (pardon the pun) than anywhere else, and it just wasn't a big deal. But attitudes have changed (for no reason I can discern) and redheaded kids are nowadays being bullied by schoolmates, sometimes with tragic results. So the whole "ginger" thing has taken on nasty connotations it didn't previously have.
There's perhaps an analogy with the way people call Scots "Jock". My uncle, who moved to England in the 1940s, was "Jock" all his life, and never evinced any great concern about it. Whereas nowadays some Scots find it extremely offensive, and most are at least slightly irritated by it.

Grant Hutchison

[ozduck]

Yes, people differ. I only know about redheads being called 'Blue' because of a young redheaded Australian I worked with for while, who very much did consider it offensive. (We got on to the topic because people were discussing the use of the word "ginger" for redheads in the UK, which some find offensive and which some shrug off, and he drew the analogy.)
When I was a kid I didn't receive any hassle about being a redhead--my corner of the world has more redheads per capita (pardon the pun) than anywhere else, and it just wasn't a big deal. But attitudes have changed (for no reason I can discern) and redheaded kids are nowadays being bullied by schoolmates, sometimes with tragic results. So the whole "ginger" thing has taken on nasty connotations it didn't previously have.
There's perhaps an analogy with the way people call Scots "Jock". My uncle, who moved to England in the 1940s, was "Jock" all his life, and never evinced any great concern about it. Whereas nowadays some Scots find it extremely offensive, and most are at least slightly irritated by it.

Grant Hutchison

Thanks for the personal notes. As you said I guess that it does depend on a persons own feelings whether any nick-name is insulting to them. And we simply can't, or shouldn't, tell them to just accept it. The apparent rise in bullying is something to be deeply regretted.

In my years in Customs virtually everyone had a nickname. We had a 'Stretch', 'One Metre, 'Tugger', 'Mumbles', 'The Irish Tenor', 'Mad Dog' etc virtually ad infinitum. It may not surprise you that mine was actually 'Duck' . It was so prevalent that people who hadn't worked in your area would not even know your real name. It certainly happened to me a few times towards the end of my working life. I was reasonably senior, not just in years, by then and a 'technical expert' in Customs procedures. A junior staff member would be sent to me for advice and embarrassedly admit that they been told to see Duck for help but did not know my first name.

[grant hutchison]

In my years in Customs virtually everyone had a nickname.

Nicknames fall into the "stuff I don't get" category. Some people seem to like having one, some people seem to like inventing them for others, and some organizations seem to pretty much require them as a badge of belonging. I've managed to get through life without ever having one, apart from a ten-week period in the summer of 1978, and I'm happy about that.
But it seems to me there's a difference between a nickname acquired because of something specific to the named person (as mine was), and generic nicknames like "Jock", "Stretch", "Ginger", etc. Even setting aside the occasions when these are used deliberately to be offensive, they have the effect of labelling a person according to one tiny aspect of their existence, which is a gateway to stereotyping, and I think that's why a lot of people object to them, particularly younger people who are aware of these issues in a way that previous generations largely ignored.

Grant Hutchison

[Noclevername]

The ones that get to me are sarcastic markers of pseudo-familiarity like "sport", "pal" or "big guy" that adult strangers seemed to delight in calling me when I was an adolescent and especially sensitive to teasing or bullying.