Spill the Tea(rs)

Christina Mackin
Nov 3, 2024
3 min read

Hello my cozy critters,

Happy November!

Happy Native American Heritage Month!

VOTE, VOTE, VOTE!

Beth Israel Cemetery. Photo by Chris A. Bolton

Puppies! Recently, I made an account with Borrow My Doggy -- a website where you can comfort and/or exercise other people's dogs. I can't have pets at the apartment, so I'd have to walk and play with the dogs outside. I haven't signed up yet since I work such long hours, but I've enjoyed receiving the daily emails with photos of dogs that are nearby. Here are some of them! Which one would you want to hang out with?

Fireworks! There have been a lot of fireworks these past two weeks. I'm not a fan of the startling and loud noises, but my white noise machine has helped dampen the boom-boom-boom-boom-booms. What's with all the fireworks? Well, they are leading up to the U.K. celebration of Bonfire Night (also known as Fireworks Night or Guy Fawkes Night), which is on Tuesday, 11/5. Here's my personal 10-point summary of Bonfire Night:

The event happened over 400 years ago.
It was a failed religious plot, hoping to spark a Catholic uprising. (of course it had to do with religion)
Guy Fawkes was caught in a storeroom beneath the Palace of Westminster with barrels of gunpowder and fuses in his pockets.
He was excruciatingly tortured for four days before confessing.
There were 12 other co-conspirators, 13 in total. (and they all owned black cats! no, they didn't)
The group of plotters were sentenced to death by hanging, drawing, and quartering. (don't look that up)
Fast forward, somewhere in there, people started making dummies of Guy Fawkes and burning them on bonfires.
At some point, Guy Fawkes became an anarchist hero. The Guy Fawkes mask worn in V for Vendetta has become a symbol of anti-establishment protests around the world.
The celebration continues, but the reason and the way people celebrate has changed dramatically. (but people still make huge bonfires)
Oh! And by the way, Guy Fawkes wasn't even the mastermind behind the plot.
- Side note: People at work failed to give a good explanation as to what they tell their kids when they go watch a dummy named Guy Fawkes being burned on a huge fire.

Anyway...

Remember, remember

The fifth of November

Gunpowder, Treason, and Plot

I see no reason

Why Gunpowder treason

Should ever be forgot (apparently not! sheesh!)

Ladybugs! Or maybe we should rename them... Ladybeetles? Did you know that ladybugs aren't bugs at all? No, way! Yes, way! They are actually beetles. Those little cuties hang out on the skylights in my apartment. A couple of them have found their way inside, so I scoop them up safely and let them out the window.

Speaking of which, a ladybug was chillin' out, maxin', relaxin', all cool on the window blinds this morning, so I took some photos and then made a dorky short video (or as I have titled it, un film dramatique sur un extraterrestre) of it flying from my finger to the window sill. I did notice a dead ladybug already on the window sill and I'm super hoping that wasn't the ladybug that I released last weekend -- and that this one survives. 'Cause otherwise that's my good luck RIGHT out the window (x2!).

FIN

How are you doing, dear reader? How was your Halloween? It's such a fun holiday for me and it was the first time that I was alone in a long time. Time passes and we make it to the other side of many difficult things in life. Snoopy and Woodstock always help!