The beauty of being a blogger {yes, Mom, that is a “thing”} is that I have a platform to share whatever noteworthy topic that pops into my head. Sometimes, the crazy stories I come across on the inter-web or the random thoughts that pop into my mind aren’t really noteworthy at all {on their own}. They usually make me pause, laugh, or just plain roll my eyes and I go on about my day.
BUT, awhile back, for some odd reason, that Saturday Night Live skit, “Deep Thoughts by Jack Handey,” popped into my head {this is just how my brain works, so stay with me, it’s all going to connect in a minute}. It seemed like a great idea to tweak deep thoughts into random thoughts, so that I get to share all of the weird that I come across on the inter-web, with no particular purpose other than to maybe share a virtual eye-roll or laugh with all of you.
Who knows, maybe somewhere in the randomness, I’ll throw in earth-shattering, life-altering tidbits, but don’t hold your breath {seriously, don’t hold your breath, you’ll pass out}.
So, without further ado, here’s this weeks edition of Random Goodness from Around the Web
Only in Seattle? Well, maybe not…
On December 26th, Seattle opened its first cat cafe. Let me paws {ha!} for a moment, and allow that information to soak in. Ready to move on? Good. If you are like me, you are probably asking yourself, “Is that what I think it is?” Yes. Yes it is. It is a cafe, where cat lovers can hang out with a bunch cats and simultaneously sip a cup of whatever blows their hair back. This particular cafe will also feature a room where you can adopt additional furry feline companions, after you’ve sipped your cup of Joe. How nice.
When I first read the article, I was like, “Only in Seattle,” but it turns out, cat cafes are popular in other large cities, like Oakland, L.A. and New York. Apparently, cat lovers have been looking for a public place to drink warm beverages AND cuddle with cats. Who knew?
In the off-chance that YOU are one of these people, I feel like as a public service.
I’m all for trying new recipes, but I have to say, when I stumbled on popular dishes from history {some of which just plain made my stomach turn}, I have to admit, I was glad we’ve refined our culinary preferences a bit.
For example, the ancient Romans served dormice–that were stuffed with pork and more dormice meat and then roasted. I’m picturing a twice-baked potato, only more pest-like. The Vikings were apparently fans of jelly, only their version consisted of tissue from the face of a sheep that was encased in a nice jelly mold and then spread on bread. Yum.
In the Middle Ages, they were apparently into playing with their food–it was popular to serve a dish known as the Helmeted Cock. It was a roasted pig, with a roasted capon riding the pig. It’s like food art, only not.
The Victorians served boiled calf’s head–eyeballs and all. I want to go on record saying that I can appreciate that they ate the whole animal, but I am also pretty sure that if it were offered up to me today, I would have a reaaaallly hard time choking it down.
Finally, as early as post WWI and WWII, you could pop into the grocery store and get yourself some canned whale meat. In fact, because meat and fish were on short supply, it was encouraged.
Are You an Instagram Husband?
Look, there’s help out there if you or someone you know is trapped in a relationship where you’ve become a “human selfie stick.”
On a Personal Note: I Must Have This
I am kicking myself for not leaving subtle hints to the HH about this new cookbook I just stumbled across: New England Farmgirl: Recipes & Stories from a Farmer’s Daughter. The reviews are awesome–a solid 5 stars across the board.
Do any of you own this one? Is it as good as the reviews say it is? The description says it’s filled with “heritage recipes” from her grandfather and grandmother. Man, the term “heritage recipes” kind of does things for me…forget flowers and scented candles. Must. Make. It. Mine.
And that concludes this installment of Random Goodness from Around the Web. Please make sure to leave your random responses in the comment section.
~Mavis
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Amanda says
Cat cafes are not actually for bringing your furry friends to, they’re for meeting new furry friends, especially for those who don’t or can’t have them at home. 🙂 You reserve an hour to visit with kitties and relax with a drink. They’re popular in Japan, where I’ve also heard of rabbit cafes and an owl cafe (http://kotaku.com/who-thinks-japans-owl-cafes-are-a-hoot-1453247424)!
Lisa Millar says
Cat cafes are quite the thing in Japan now. I didn’t go into one, but recently my sister and niece did. It’s not BYO cat, but rather a chance to play and hang out with the café cats – great if you are an animal (cat) lover and don’t have any yourself.
The photos are really cute of all these different sorts of cats vying for their attention!
(Apparently it was really clean too – not at all smelly)
I am not sure how my sister prised my niece out of there, knowing how much she loves animals! lol
I love reading about the types of food people used to eat!! Not that I probably could unless I was totally desperate but not sure if anyone would come across a twice stuffed dormouse these days! I found that both hilarious, and tragic for the dormouse!!
Deborah from FL says
“BYO cat” HaHaHa! Now THERE’S an image. Thanks for that laugh. 🙂
I think I’d like to visit one of these though. Interesting idea.
Lisa Millar says
🙂
I am def. going to go to one next time I drop into Japan!
Deborah from FL says
Great pic Waldo. I don’t often see you with your hair down. It kind of took me by surprise. 🙂
Mavis Butterfield says
I was going for shock and awe. 😉
Candy C says
About the book…reserve it at the library online if your library offers that and see if it is something you want to own or maybe just copy or use your copier for the recipes you would like to try. This way you save money, space and reqreting the expense if it isn’t what you expected.
Mavis Butterfield says
Good tip! I checked and my library does not have it. 🙁
Alice says
KCLS has the book. I just put it on hold.
margery says
My 15 yo daughter is going to Japan in June and one thing she is looking forward to is visiting a cat cafe. Check out some of the videos on you tube. The reason for them in Japan is most people can’t have pets in their apartments. She is also looking forward to meeting the sacred deer. Can’t tell she is an animal lover.
Holly says
My daughter volunteers at a cat cafe in San Francisco. She says that over 300 cats were adopted from there so far. It’s great that such places have so many functions: a place to hang out with adorable kitties, a place to drink coffee, and a place to find your next pet.
Gail says
The cookbook looks interesting so I checked it out on Amazon. They listed the author’s blog at
carolinafarmhousekitchen.com so I plan to check out recipes on there to see if the book might
be worth it.
Kelli M says
I didn’t realize there was a cat cafe in Oakland! Thanks for the info! There was a pop-up cat cafe here in San Jose for a few months; we took the oldest girls there for a visit. My Chicken Little wasn’t able to go then, so I’ll have to take her to the one in Oakland (she’s still too young to visit the one in San Francisco).