Sunday, December 27, 2009

Dec. 28 -- Semi-decent Kitty Cam Results

Here is Wyatt, the Ramar of the Jungle of our house in terms of adventuring out and about. He is not wearing the camera here but is wearing a golf bag medallion that shows how the camera would rest against his chest when put on a collar around his neck, so it is from this angle that the Kitty Cam will take pictures as he explores.
This was such a fun experience for us today, as we have not known just where Wyatt goes when he disappears. We had assumed he was heading toward the front of our house, where we have frequently found him under the bushes up against the foundation of the house, after going out the back door onto the deck and then down to the patio. But here is evidence that he goes to the neighbor's front porch (east of our house). This picture below is on our patio heading east. He then cut to his left (north -- our backyard faces south), heading up to the neighbor's back yard.

Then he went even farther to the left (north) over the dirt on the neighbor's hill.

Below, he seemed to pause and turn around and look back at our house (that's the front northeast corner of our house, showing the holly bushes where we usually find him hiding, WHEN we can find him at all!) to see if we were watching where he went (of course, we weren't -- we had the camera on him!).


Then he zipped on up onto the neighbor's front porch.

It seems he paused and checked out his view from here, looking to his right (northeast).
Then he looked directly at the house across the street from the neighbor's house.

He then apparently looked for a minute or so to his left (northwest) and a picture was snapped of the house across the street from his (our) house.

This was quite enlightening to us, as we had no idea that he was going over to the neighbor's front porch. We have seen him looking in the koi pond in the house behind this neighbor's house (which is catty-cornered to our back yard due to the corner on our street). Hopefully the next time he goes out with the camera, we can get pictures of him watching the koi pond.

The camera was set to take a picture every 60 seconds, and he was out and about for only about 26 minutes (we got 26 pictures, most of which were either duplicative of the above shots or too blurry during movement to be useful). But in this one trip, the camera has served its purpose and has tattle-tailed on where the little bugger went. Larry and golf agree that this episode was DEE-lightful to follow via pictures, and they look forward to further Kitty Cam Adventures. golf was LOL as she tracked his journey by the pictures and calling to Larry to "come look at this one." ;-) She is going to SO enjoy spring when the weather is nicer and Wyatt can be outside longer.





Sunday, December 20, 2009

Dec. 20 -- Yet Again a Few More Christmas Pictures

Here is the tree late this afternoon, after golf finished wrapping all the presents -- for a Christmas when it has been agreed we (family) aren't going to exchange presents. Oh, well, golf just can't do that. But she just has little stuff for her family -- putting little bags of chocolate candy or pistachio nuts in a box and then giving it as a gift, just so everyone will have something to open -- really no big deal. But since she wrapped all the gifts for herself and Larry (new camera, memory stick, spare battery, etc., plus other little stuff she doesn't even remember! Check the end of this post for the Saga of the Missing Marine Pack.), Larry gets to open all the presents Christmas Eve (he has to work Christmas, so they'll "do Christmas" on Christmas Eve. Close-up of the presents -- note the Breyer palomino Western horse at the center just left of Quigley Down Under "action figure" and 8" Madame Alexander Scarlett doll (Christmas present for golf in 1955).
Another picture of the lights outside since golf added the six little candy cane lights by the sidewalk -- already on sale at Wal-Mart at 50% off.

And last night golf moved all the knick-knacks off the mantle and put all her little china Victorian houses with batting for snow there.


Saga of the Missing Marine Pack: golf initially asked "Santa" for the Sony MPK-WE marine pack for her camera. Then Larry's camera broke and golf found out her Sony W220 has no option for any manual settings, but the W290 does ("semi-manual") so Larry agreed he would "get" her new W220 as his new camera for a present (because his MAIN Santa present was his new HDTV) and golf can get the W290 -- because she had already ordered the marine pack. THEN, first vendor she ordered it from canceled the order because the pack is no longer manufactured by Sony --"discontinued." So the Great White Whale Hunt (no pun intended!) began to find a vendor with leftover inventory of the marine pack. She went through three more orders that got canceled -- and every time after waiting a week to so inform her!! DON'T tell her you have something and then A WEEK LATER send an email canceling the order because you DON'T have it! golf was getting really p.o.'ed. She has SUPPOSEDLY now found it at Ace Photo Digital who promised her "100%" they have it in stock because their inventory control shows 36 in inventory. Obviously, it is now far too late to get it by Christmas, but right now she can live with that -- she's not going snorkeling on Christmas or the weekend after -- she just wants to GET the danged thing. However, she will not be surprised -- though greatly disappointed again -- if she hears from Ace that they don't have it after all. If it's discontinued, why does Sony still have this item on ITS website for $229?? She was hoping to pay less than that (she saw it from a seller on eBay for $135 this summer, and that's when she got the idea to get it -- and apparently WHEN she should have bought the bloody thing if she actually expected to receive it). If Ace cancels, Sony might be the only option. Right now she and Larry are probably willing to pay the $229, just to get it. They're getting stubborn and determined to get it now. Will keep you posted. Big sigh . . . . . (from golf) . . . . .

Sunday, December 13, 2009

December 13, 2009 -- I Am Not Amused . . . .

But Larry is. This was his big idea. As a Christmas gift last year, golf was given a bottle of wine placed in this gorgeous wooden box. The wine has long since disappeared, but golf always puts the box under the tree because it's so pretty.
THIS year, Larry asked if I would fit in the box! WHY would he want to know that??
. Is he trying to get rid of me??

Not very subtle, is he?

In the meantime, here are a couple of other ornaments golf has put on the tree -- a needlepoint version of our house here (visited by the 308 Ferrari and TC's heli, along with Santa in a 1995 Chevy Blazer [our previous Golfmobile -- now it's a red Rodeo]).

And here's the house at 383 Park Avenue, as it looked when golf and Larry lived there. golf still loves her time spent at that house. The Ferrari put in an appearance here too.


And so that Santa doesn't think the "coffin" pictures above are a Christmas request:


Happy Holidays!!





Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Wednesday, December 9 -- Kitty Cam!


Well, not yet. Just practicing. golf has asked Santa for the pet's eye view camera:

Kitty Cam

The purpose of same is to find out where the HECK Wyatt goes when he disappears for a couple of hours when golf and Larry let Sundance and Wyatt go outside for a while. Sundance sticks fairly close and will readily come flying up the deck stairs when called or whistled for. Wyatt will do that SOMETIMES. Other times he just disappears and we have NO idea where he is. He always comes back within an hour or two. Still and all, golf found that camera and thought it would be enlightening and entertaining to have Wyatt wear a "kitty cam." The trick, however, is to get him used to wearing something around his neck, as he normally doesn't even wear a collar. Since we have no pet collars around the house, golf linked two luggage tag "belts" together to make a temporary collar for Wyatt. She tried that first, and he didn't object after just a couple of minutes of puzzlement. Then she needed something about the size and weight of what she figures the camera will be. What would work? Well, she and Larry has been given a couple of metal golf bag tags when they were at Maui Dunes -- she just needed to find one. Not on the golf bags. Not in the golf bags. She had seen one recently . . . . . Okay, on a table downstairs. Attach to collar. Wyatt does NOT like. Too heavy for initial orientation. Remove it, attach a spare key to the collar instead, much less weight but still a dangling object. Okay, no objection, and he adjusted to that fine. That was Monday night. Tuesday night when she came home for work, she switched out the key for the heavier and larger golf bag tag. A little disconcerting to Wyatt for a few minutes, but then he adjusted and paid no attention to it, not even when it was clunking against the hardwood floor while he was eating the kitty treats she gave him for being such a good boy and not objecting to his new "badge." He played around the rest of the night with this rather weighty "iron" hanging on his neck, but there was no evidence of trauma or even discomfort. So he's ready for the camera, whenever it comes in. I have a feeling golf won't be able to wait till she receives it as Christmas present to use it.

So, here's how Wyatt looks - the sheriff in town:

He may look slightly annoyed here, but I think he was objecting more to the picture-taking that his necklace.
Eventually, after he wore himself out playing round the house, he went to sleep. Yes, I can see the badge is REALLY bothering him and stressing him out . . . . .