Day 66: You'll see something really weird in this video

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 66: You'll see something really weird in this video

Something really weird happened in our house and by the time you watched the end of the video you will no doubt agree, this is indeed weird. If you have an explanation for it, by all means let me know because I’m a little freaked out.

It all started when we bought a baby monitor. No, we don’t have a baby, we have four cats and I thought it would be nice if we got a monitor to keep an eye on them while we’re not at home. Not only can we see what they get up to, but we can also talk to them and they can hear us.

In addition to vision and sound, the monitor also records everything for 24 hours and then starts over again. When it gets dark, the monitor has night vision. And here is where it gets interesting.

At the beginning of the video you’ll see Halley coming down from the wall unit and onto the cat tree where the monitor is positioned. She sniffs it and lightly touches it with first her right and then her left paw. When she loses interest, she jumps down onto a lower level of the cat tree.

And that’s when it happens. You’ll see a tiny light near the ceiling, moving toward the monitor. It’s not a firefly, because we don’t have those here. So what is it?

If you have an explanation for it, I’d love to hear it.

This got me thinking though. Our cats regularly look up at the ceiling and move their head from side to side as if they follow something that’s flying around. They even talk to it! We often wonder if they can see something that we don’t. When I saw the video I thought if this is what they see.

Take a look, it’s really, really weird.

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Day 65: These products can cause cancer

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 65: These products can cause cancer

I'm slightly ticked off today as I learned that Juul has suspended their marketing campaign in the U.S. Apparently, they targeted teens and some people were offended. What else is new.

The health nuts will have a field day. Oh smoking/vaping is bad for you. You know what else is bad for you? The following products:

Hormonal treatments

Millions of women are put at risk of breast cancer by taking hormonal treatments. As soon as women enter menopause and experience hot flashes, doctors recommend hormones. Are these women informed of the dangers? 

Weapons

Millions have died due to weapon use, but is there a ban on weapons? No, Americans scream at the top of their lungs that it is their constitutional right. Never mind that people are being gunned down at work, in schools, on the street, in cinemas, at gatherings.  

Alcohol

Alcohol is the leading cause of vehicle accidents, causing drivers, passengers, other road users and pedestrians to die, get crippled or at least sustain serious injuries. 

Alcohol is also responsible for divorce, domestic violence, child abuse, pet abuse, and job loss.

The use of alcohol leads to liver cancer, heart attack, stroke and a number of other ailments.

Yet, is there a no alcohol campaign in place? No. On the contrary. Alcohol is being advertised on TV, in magazines and newspapers in the most enticing way. Seldom do you see old people with a beer in their hand. No, ad campaigns select beautiful sexy people, having fun, or relaxing.

  

Junk food

Whether it’s burgers, hotdogs, pizzas or another type of junk food, they all have one thing in common ... they raise people’s cholesterol, leading to heart attacks and strokes. Yet are people offended by advertising these foods? No, young and old gorge on them. Never mind that 39% of adults and 18% of children in the U.S. are overweight or considered obese. Oh no, let nobody tell them that they can’t have their greasy cheeseburger anymore.

Personal hygiene

Where it comes to cancer, you might not be aware of a few other products that put you at risk. Every day people wash and condition their hair, shower and put on deodorant. The chemicals in those products can lead to cancer.

The moisturizer you put on your face, the lotion you put on your body, the makeup you apply ... all of it can cause cancer.

 

Not to mention what goes on in hair salons. Millions of women straighten, perm and/or color their hair, but are they worried ... not at all. They are completely oblivious to the chemical used.

Purchase receipts

  

Supermarket staff is especially at risk for cancer. You know those paper receipts that are handed to you at the end of a purchase? They are loaded with chemicals that can lead to cancer. You may only touch them a few times a day, but the supermarket staff handles them all day long.

Scented candles

Another seemingly harmless product is scented candles. They too can lead to cancer. The chemicals fill the air, you breathe in that air, and there you go, those chemicals go into your lungs and bloodstream.

Fact ... anything and everything can give you cancer.

Fact ... billions of currency are lost by boycotting smoking. Yeah, the non-smokers will say, but a lot of money is saved in healthcare. Really, be honest with yourself and think for a moment how many people you know personally who died of smoking cigarettes/vaping? Not, a friend told me, or my auntie told me, do you know anyone personally? A handful of people may know someone. But did that person die of smoking cigarettes or vaping? Or did something else cause the person's death? The reason for his/her lung cancer could be car fumes, airplanes fumes, the use of aerosols, contact with asbestos, inhaling perfumes, etc.

And if, and that's a big if, smoking/vaping causes lung cancer, what causes brain cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer? Are you going to blame smoking for that too? 

Before the 1980s just about everyone smoked and lived long lives. Take my own (smoking) family for instance. My granddad lived to be 92 (died of natural causes), grandma 91 (died of blood clod due to a kick of a horse), dad 88 (died of a hospital bacteria), mom 84 (died of brain tumor after a fall). 

With each passing generation people are turning more and more into whimps. They can’t have this, they can’t have that, the are non-tolerant of this and that, they are allergic to this and that. Are they healthier and live longer? No, they get sick at a drop of hat and they die younger and younger. 

All this health babble makes me bloody mad. First the smokers were no longer allowed to smoke inside but were given a smoking room; then they were forced to smoke outside, then they had to be away 6 feet from a door.

Fact is, before all this no smoking nonsense started the Cancer Society was an itty-bitty company. Since the no-smoking campaign, they have grown into a multibillion-dollar organization. Coincidence? I think not.

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Day 64: Am I seeing that right?

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 64: Am I seeing that right?

After a few miserable days, the sun was shining brightly in Toronto yesterday with a rise in temperature to 24 degrees C (75 degrees F). Taking advantage of the warmer weather, I went for a walk during lunchtime and almost got into trouble.

Along the way, I passed a shoe store and if there’s one thing that has a magical attraction on me it’s shoes. So I slowed down and stopped to take a closer look. 

On the store’s advertising board it showed a rather cute pair of walking shoes. Just a picture, but I assumed that these cuties could be found inside the store.

Now, this is unusual, cute walking shoes I mean. Most walking shoes are rather big, clumpy and altogether unattractive. This pair, however, had take-me-home written all over them.

They were elegant, comfy looking and the price ... 19.45. You have to admit, a price like this would grab any warm-blooded female’s attention.

At the same time, alarm bells started ringing ... $19.45 for a pair of walking shoes? This couldn’t be right. So I dug in my bag for my reading glasses, put them on and ... ah, now I saw more clearly. 

The running shoes were not $19.45, the board stated ‘Since 1945’. The year the store opened I presume. It’s a good thing I didn’t go inside, enquiring about the cute shoes or wouldn’t I have looked the fool.

A few days ago I was an even bigger fool.

I walked into my – dimly lit – bedroom, where I saw a dark form on my bed near the pillows. “Hi Greyson,” I said, “are you sleeping?” I didn’t really expect an answer, but when spoken to Greyson usually gives a meow. This time however he remained quiet. Approaching the bed, I tried again.
“Greyson? Are you alright boy?” Still no reaction.
I went around the bed to give him a pet when I heard from behind me Greyson’s distinctive meow. Hm, if Greyson was behind me, who was that on the bed? Charlotte perhaps who also has a dark coloring.

I reached out and petted the dark form. Right away I knew something was wrong. What I felt wasn’t fur, it was ... material. When I turned up the light, I saw that the dark form was not a cat but a jacket. I had been talking to a jacket!

Fortunately, nobody – apart from Greyson – was around and he won’t tell.

See that’s the thing with not seeing well and not wearing my glasses all the time, I get into the most embarrassing situations. I’m sure that those wearing reading glasses know exactly what I mean.

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Day 63: Who wants ...

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 63: Who wants ...

Isn’t that the most adorable picture you’ve ever seen? It’s like someone asked ‘Who wants food?’ or ‘Who wants chicken?’

Mind you, if you were to put that question to my cats, the answer might be ‘Can I get back to you on that one.’

My cats are notoriously picky eaters. Over the years I’ve tried just about every brand on the shelves and it’s been an uphill struggle.

For years my cats got fed on Whiskas and Purina and they lived anywhere from 13 to 20 years. Then someone said that neither of those brands was very good and that I should switch to a more quality food. So I did. Instead of the supermarket I went to the pet store, talked to the proprietor and bought everything she recommended. 

Feeling thoroughly chuffed I went on my way. No more Whiskas or Purina for my cats. From now on they were going to get the good stuff. My feel-good mood didn’t last long. When I spooned the quality meat on the cats’ plates that night they took one whiff and turned their backs on it.

'Introduce the new food gradually,' a friend said. 'Give them a can of the old food and mix in a quarter of the new food. That will do it.' She was wrong. Charlotte, Holly, Halley, and Greyson eagerly ate everything on their plate ... except for the new food. 

I went back to the pet store, explained what happened and the woman smiled and nodded in understanding. ‘Yeah, cats can be finicky,’ she stated. ‘Try something different. Sometimes when switching cats to better food it can be a hit and miss.’ Yeah, no kidding.

‘Give them raw meat,’ another friend suggested. ‘I give my cats raw food. Not always, but as a treat.’ I agreed to try it and she brought me a type of bird (can’t remember the name) all neatly cut up. ‘Don’t worry about the bones,’ she said. ‘The cats won’t choke on them. Mine eat this all the time.’

When I spooned the raw meat onto plates I thought Charlotte, Holly, Halley, and Greyson would be all over it and go nuts to get a piece, but I was in for a surprise. Not only were they not interested in the raw meat, they ran away from it. They didn’t just turn tail, they actually ran.

Eventually, after trying several brands, they seemed to like Weruva, especially Mac & Jack. Not on its own though, I still have to mix the meat with Whiskas, Purina, or Iams.

‘Don’t feel bad,’ a colleague said. ‘My cats are even worse. They won’t eat anything except 9 Lives. I mean really, 9 Lives! That’s just about the bottom of the barrel, but they like it.’

I guess there’s no accounting for taste and it’s the same with humans. Some people love the taste of seafood, meat, and veggies, others won’t touch it.

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Day 62: The most effective cure for insomnia

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 62: The most effective cure for insomnia

For the first time in a long time I feel rested on a Monday morning. Usually, on a Monday morning I feel like death warmed up because of lack of sleep the previous night.

I sleep, sort of, okay during the week. I’m up at 6:00 a.m., work all day (sort of) and go to bed at 11:00 p.m. Tired, I’m almost asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow.

Sleeping on a Sunday night is a different story though. Instead of at 6:00 I get up around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and when I go to bed I’m not tired at all. I go to bed because, well, I have to get up early the next morning.

Over the years I’ve read numerous articles and followed all sorts of advice.

Warm milk

That doesn’t work for me because I hate milk and I’m lactose intolerant.

 

Chamomile tea

I tried that, first with one bag and then with two teabags in a cup and it did precisely nothing.

Melatonin over the counter sleeping aid

No results.

Counting sheep

I counted from 1 to 100 and from 100 to zero and I was still wide awake.

 

Lavender oil 

 

I thought a few drops on my pillow would do the trick and it did smell very nice. Unfortunately, it brought on a sneeze attack which kept me awake.

Meditation 

That didn’t work at all. The more I tried to think of nothing, the more my mind kept jumping all over the place.

Sound machine

Now there was a great idea. My son got me a sound machine for Christmas and I had high hopes. It seemed to work very well for other people, so I was confident that it would work well for me. It didn’t. As I tried out various sounds, and a number of things happened.

 Birdsong 

I have three cats sleeping with me, and I’ll bet you know what I’m going to say next. Right, the cats woke up and were on high alert. Birds ... they heard birds ... where were those birds? They got up, walked all over the bed, looked under the bed, jumped on cabinets, on the windowsill ... they were all over the place, looking at the ceiling and the walls, twisting their head from left to right, up and down.

 Babbling brook 

Ah, so relaxing, except after a while I had to go to the bathroom. Half an hour later, another bathroom visit.

 Whale call 

The first time I heard the call of a whale I nearly bolted from the room. My gosh what a spooky sound. During the day a whale call might be fine, but at night it’s like a few ghosts are having a party.

 Rain

Okay, so that was fine. Hearing rain spatter on a hard surface was rather nice to listen to. Sometimes listening to the rain worked, sometimes it didn’t.

And then I remembered something. Many years ago I followed a TV series called ‘The Joy of Painting’ with Bob Ross. Ross passed away on July 4, 1995 but his voice lives on. A bedroom voice as many used to call it. His paint instructions were educational, but listening to his voice alone was relaxing and enough to put anyone to sleep.

With this in mind I had Dieter download a couple of ‘Joy of Painting’ episodes and played them last night. I was out like a light before the first 20 minute episode even finished.

Having finally had a good night rest, for the first time on a Monday morning, I feel fresh and rested. If you have trouble sleeping, forget warm milk, chamomile tea, counting sheep, meditation, or pills. Listen to Bob Ross’ voice and you’ll be catching those zzzzz’s in no time.  

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