Momma Elsa is an amazingly beautiful, two-year-old, 6.8-pound (tiny) female blue-eyed Ragdoll/Siamese-mix looking for a loving guardian, as well as her four nine-week-old kittens Cloud, a male Siamese, Teddy, a male patch tabby, and two female tabbies Lucy and Jenny.

Found on May 7th, Elsa came to Friends of Petraits Rescue. She wasn’t microchipped, had no tags, and her humans could not be found.

Three weeks later, on May 31st, she gave birth to four beautiful kittens in a loving foster home.

These kittens are beautifully and perfectly socialized. They love other cats and would not be happy as the one and only feline in the home. Elsa can be adopted as an only cat, or with one of her kittens.

The whole family is extremely healthy, spayed/neutered, up to date on age appropriate vaccinations, dewormed, virus-tested negative, and microchipped.

To meet and possibly adopt any members of this beautiful family, please contact [email protected] for an adoption application. Their adoption fee of $200 each or $375 as a pair benefits the rescued pets of Friends of Petraits Rescue.

They are being fostered in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood.

Peach pie, caramels and Twinkies. That’s what I saw when I looked at the food on my kitchen counter. Not exactly what you need to keep healthy.

My freezer had two frozen pizzas, two pints of Haagen-Daz and a carton of Creamsicles. Not exactly American Medical Association approved. The refrigerator wasn’t any better. The highlights were three packages of Buddig processed sandwich meats and a package of Oscar Mayer hot dogs. OY…what would my Jewish mother say? OY…more importantly, what would my doctor say?

My lunch and dinner yesterday consisted of leftover deep dish sausage and mushroom pizza. I washed it down with some tortilla chips and a coke.

It’s a wonder I’m still alive!

I’ve known my choices in food has been a disaster for a long time. If it wasn’t for fruit, my regular diet should have sent me to an early grave years ago. The shocking thing is my blood work regularly comes back as normal. My cholesterol and blood sugar levels are fine. I’m not even close to overweight. Each yearly physical gets a thumbs up, which always leads to me think I can double down on my poor eating behavior.

Plus living in a pandemic gives you an excuse to continue to act this way. When you get depressed about the state of things in America, a piece of pie may make you feel better. One piece is fine. Eating the entire pie in a single day, not so much. I wish I could blame Donald Trump for part of this; after all, I do blame him for most of America’s ills in 2020, but it’s not his fault that I downed a Snickers with a root beer float for dessert last night.

Over the last decade, we’ve been down this healthy eating/lifestyle change before….numerous times before. It starts out with good intentions, but then I see a Butterfinger and that’s the end of that.

But, I have a new reason for trying to make this change and I think it’s a good one. My daughter is now one month away from having her first child…..and more importantly, my first grandchild. ONE MONTH!!! My original pandemic goal was to stay alive to meet this kid. It’s looking pretty good! I’m pretty sure I can continue my current life of gluttony and make it for another thirty or so day.

However, lately, I’ve been thinking a chance meeting isn’t going to be enough. I want more than that…much more.

My children never met their paternal grandfather….my dad. What they know about him is from stories told by me or other relatives. I don’t want that for this child. I want him or her to have their own memories. I’d be happy if twenty years down the road, mother and child could sit around and trade stories about their father and grandfather. For that to occur, big life changes have to be made. We’ll soon see if this is a new reality or if it’s just talk….again.

It sounds sweet, doesn’t it….maybe even sweeter than that peach pie.

Related Post: Health wise, you are not your father

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Out of all the exercise equipment I bought over the years to stay in shape, the Cubii Elliptical is the best investment I made in years. I’ve purchased every machine under the sun, from the Stairmaster, the Thighmaster and everything in between. In those days, I didn’t have lupus; I just jumped on the bandwagon like many others who were caught up by the celebs who endorsed those things, just to let them collect dust in the long run.

I mentioned lupus because that’s what I suffer from now. Lupus affects internal and external organ systems and can cause a flare up in symptoms at any moment. Currently, I’m having neuropathy in my legs and feet. I’m also suffering from major pain in my joints and muscles in my legs, hips, and feet. This is why I bought the Cubii Jr. elliptical. I saw the commercial numerous times; I was never skeptical about it–just reluctant to buy it at first.

The commercial had a lot of elderly people using it which made me think that it wasn’t for me. Actually, I was trying to convince my father to get it because he is using a cane and it will probably work for him. He didn’t seem interested so I wound up buying it. Again, it was the best investment and decision I ever made for myself.

The Cubii is so easy to use and assemble. It comes with a mat, a screwdriver and screws for the foot pedal. They even throw in a pair of non-skid socks which are so comfortable. These things were a plus for me because I am not mechanically inclined; I can’t put anything together. It felt so good when I started to use it. It glides very easily that you almost forget that you’re using it. It has its own timer but I usually time myself by watching a television program and stop when it goes off.

I’ve been using my Cubii for a few weeks now and noticed that I have a little definition in my legs. I went to the doctor recently and noticed that I’ve lost ten pounds as well. That wasn’t my reason for using my machine but losing a little weight doesn’t hurt! My Cubii Jr. cost under $300 but there are others that cost slightly more. Using the Cubii is also a great way to stay in shape during your quarantine in this COVID-19 pandemic.  Check out their website for more information on the size that’s right for you. Whatever you decide, you won’t be disappointed.  www.cubii.com

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No matter how many times I drink this beer, I’m still amazed at how smooth it is. Many have forgotten the idea behind the barrel-aging of beer, which I assumed is to add character to the different styles. Putting beer into a barrel of spirits to add a layer of depth. I don’t think it was ever, “Let’s see how boozy we can make this stout?” But, maybe I’m wrong? NAH!

Victory At Sea is already a great porter, infused with vanilla and San Diego’s own Caffe Calabria coffee beans, it’s delightful. Then you take that beer and place it into some of the most sought after bourbon barrels from High West, and it’s a yearly treat you do not want to miss out on.

I stumbled across a 4-pack, and have never really had the same opinion of barrel-aged beer since. The bourbon nuances are not aggressive. On the contrary, it melds so well with the base beer, that it’s hard to think of it as a BBB.

How can I explain this better? Well, some Bourbon Barrel-Aged Beers (BBB’s) are just super boozy and feel like all they did was throw the liquid into a barrel to see what happened. BBA Victory At Sea is so smooth, it feels like they tinkered with this until perfection.

Maybe it’s the barrels, maybe it’s the base beer, maybe it’s the perfect combination? You aren’t smacked in the face by booze, rather it’s subtle. Mid-beer, you might even forget it’s been aged. Light vanilla, light java, followed by a Tootsie Roll trail 0f bourbon. After drinking this beer, you’ll wonder why so many other bourbon barrel-aged beers are just booze bombs?  I now find myself wondering the same thing.

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I recently had two new Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) outlets installed in my kitchen only to have the outlets to keep tripping. Whenever multiple devices were plugged into either of the outlets the alarm went off, caused the outlet to trip, and ultimately caused the corresponding outlet to lose power. Life is the same way when our wires are crossed.

First, we are alarmed when we don’t understand when things don’t work when multiple devices are plugged in or connected with one another, so we trip out and automatically shut down to protect ourselves until we need to be reset. When the reset button does not work, we not only effect ourselves, but we also impact those around us, until we’re all without power.

This is when we need to ask ourselves why are so many devices plugged in at once even when they are not operating? I found that the outlets worked fine with one device plugged in at a time. Then I had to call someone to help me get to the root cause. An electrician came out and found the wires were crossed causing high voltage and not allowing multiple devices to operate simultaneously. Are your wires crossed causing high voltage and not allowing you to operate at full capacity? Who is your power source that you need to call and find out the root cause of you being alarmed, tripping and without power? Call your source today so that your power and the power of those around you can be restored!

Hundreds of looters acting like shock troops have stunned Chicago’s Magnificent Mile and toney downtown area yet again. Just after midnight U- Haul trucks and vans and scores of vehicles and their occupants broke into several stores and sadly even attacked a RONALD McDONALD HOUSE connected with  Lurie Children’s Hospital. The looting and mayhem lasted well into the early morning before police could restore a semblance of order.

To say that the city cops were caught by surprise would be charitable, to say the least. The onslaught was said to be triggered by a shooting in the Englewood district. The word spread that the police shot an unarmed 15-year-old. The cry went out TIME TO LOOT. The real facts were a 20-year-old was shot by the police after he fired 3 shots at the officers while he was fleeing the police. He’s listed in good condition but the facts of that case didn’t stop the millions of dollars in damage and stolen property from taking place. Evidently the time to loot had to go on regardless.

I’m usually loath to second guess cops and the decisions they make, but I would be derelict if I didn’t ask some serious questions that allowed the city to be ravaged yet again by organized LOOTERS. First off, if hundreds of people are being called to arms on social media to gather and loot, how could this information escape the cops and other authorities? The police were again woefully undermanned and unprepared. The looters did not walk from their neighborhoods to the downtown and Mag Mile targets. Some had vans, U-Haul trucks, and scores of vehicles that they returned to and loaded up with the looted property time and time again. WHY was the order not given by POLICE COMMAND OFFICERS TO DISABLE THOSE VEHICLES? IT’S NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE TO FLEE THE SCENE WITH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN MERCHANDISE IF THE TIRES ON THOSE VEHICLES WERE MADE INOPERABLE. THERE ARE DEVICES TO FLATTEN TIRES.

I repeat this is not a second guess, because any knowledgeable police supervisor should have had given that order. This tactic goes as far back as the late ’60s and was effective. It’s difficult to flea any scene with arms full of looted merchandise.

Immediately Monday morning the finger-pointing got off to an Olympic Torch LIGHTING beginning. The Top Cop started in rolling on the Cook County States Attorney KIM FOXX who he claimed was soft on the hundreds of Looters a few months back and refused to prosecute them. NO question about it, the Chicago Tribune identified over 25,000 criminal defendants that the State’s Attorney, Kim Foxx,  refused to prosecute — some attempted murderers, assaults on cops, some for robberies and serious sexual offenses.   What the hell would make anyone think she would prosecute or hold looters accountable? The guy had to say something, maybe to keep the spotlight off his department’s less than stellar response. But he hit the nail on the head.

Kim Foxx is the same prosecutor that refused to prosecute over 455 people for felony escape, the folks who destroyed their home monitoring system, serious felony criminals, including murder and attempted murder, and hundreds of crimes committed with firearms. Soon after the Police Superintendent was finished rolling on the beleaguered Foxx, it was the Mayors turn. She didn’t call Foxx by name, (no good democrat would say a fellow democrats name) but she did say that the STATES ATTORNEY NEEDS TO PROSECUTE THESE CRIMINALS. Be still my heart. DUH! IS THE ONLY WORD THAT COMES TO MIND. For those who read me, this might sound familiar but it speaks for itself. CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR THAT GOES UNPUNISHED SPREADS LIKE A VIRUS AND JUST INVITES MORE AND MORE OF THE SAME BEHAVIOR.

Mayor Lightfoot who never in her Mayoral life has accepted any blame for anything she has done that went off the rails, her scapegoats, somehow always hear these words” I DIDN’T SAY IT WAS YOUR FAULT: I’M JUST BLAMING YOU. So here is Chicago again in the National spotlight. Murders are up 139%, shootings are up over 80% and the blame game is in full swing. The Mayor is being called Mayor Undertaker, her handpicked Police Superintendent is being called the TOP FLOP and soon no doubt after the proper scapegoat gets thrown under the BUS she most likely will look out over the cameras and say to the people of Chicago ”WHO ARE YOU GOING TO BELIEVE ME OR YOUR EYES? A once-great city is slowly circling the drain, ever so fastly. STAY SAFE.