Support Local Business: December 16, 2008
Just a few notes and comments to take our minds off evil little troll moles that THINK they can step up to Dr. Robinson, AND WILL REGRET IT FOREVER…
Reader Shonda, who’s based in Philly, has two (2) tickets to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular tomorrow (that’s Wednesday, December 17). She can’t make it, but she’d love for someone to take the tickets off her hands — especially locals, with whom she can drop them off. Everyone else, she can probably still overnight them (sorry I’m a bit tardy with this announcement). If you’re interested, please post in the comments ASAP. They’re free, so go nuts.
The N.C. Double Scoop’s own Keckler has a piece up on the KQED site about the suckitude of advent-calendar chocolate. It is, I think, the worst chocolate (though I totally will still eat it) — even worse than KinderEgg chocolate, which is shite indeed.
Khristmas kittens, after the jump.
Reader Nacho writes in with a possible adoptee for any TN readers hoping to give the gift of felinity this holiday season:
A friend of mine found a mama cat and three kittens in the abandoned buildingnext to his office. He hooked up with the local humane society and got thekittens trapped and fixed (Mama was stealthy and has evaded capture so far), andI offered to foster them while we found them permanent homes. The first kittenstarted seizing from dehydration and stress while she was at the vet’s–but thatled to her being discovered by a family who loves her and is going to adopther. The second kitten had some problems adjusting but is starting to get backon track, and has been claimed by my friend’s boss to be the next BookstoreKitty for their office. The third kitten is the one I’m writingabout.
He’s PERFECT, Sars. When I spoke to someone who deals with feralsabout his sister’s adjustment problems, she told me that kittens like Nate arecalled miracles because they adjust so well. His litter box is never messierthan whatever comes off his little paws when he comes out, he eats well, heloves to play, he gives “kisses,” and even sleeps by my head at night. (Then hedecides it’s time to “play” with my hair at 3am, but he’s very good aboutstaying off the bed when I put him down.) I want him to have the perfecthome!
The problem is that, not being affiliated with any shelter orprogram, it’s difficult for me to find him the right kind of home. I don’t wanthim to go to any old family who thinks a “Christmas kitty” is a great idea. Iwould like to see him placed with responsible owners who will not declaw him,keep him inside, and never leave him in the old house when they move. (Yes, Ijust saw Bolt–what does that have to do with anything?) Every nearby shelterand group has been helpful in a purely informational way or, worse, a vague way(“We will help you in any way you need–uh, can we get back to you on that?”),but no one has said “Yes, we can put Nate on our Petfinder page” or anythingthat would aid him in finding a home.
Then I read the Vine today andrealized that you might be able to help me. Maybe one of your readers wasthinking about getting a kitten or cat, and Nate is the one for them! Could youpost this message, maybe with a picture or two? I have much more trust in theTomato Nation readers than I do some random neighbors.
Nate lives in theSouth Jersey area, very close to the Speedline. He has no health issues and hasreceived some shots. (I will get a copy of his shot record from my friend.) Heis fixed, as I said before, so no worries there either. I’m not sure how he’ddo with other cats, but I introduced him to one of my roommate’s cats and he wascurious, not mean or afraid. He sniffed the other cat’s nose and the other catwas the one to hiss and run away. I think he’d be fine with an older child, onewho can understand how to play with him, but maybe not a younger child whowouldn’t understand that hands + playful kitten = scratched hands.
You can see more pix of Nate here, here, and here. If you thought about adopting Nikolai but didn’t get the chance, here’s another cat who needs a home.
Tags: city living feline fun times food friends Keckler local biz Nikolai Rockettes
KinderEgg chocolate should not be considered chocolate, any more than the Cracker Jack box should be considered popcorn or peanuts. It’s merely the wrapping for the toy that I will end up keeping on my desk for way, way too long.
Awww @ Nate! He’s so super cute. Sad little eyes and all.
How is Niko, btw?
Free Rockettes? I’m in! Hook me up sista!
Any inkling of how Nate would do with dogs? We have a 5 year old mutt and a 2 1/2 year old cat (both male) who get along fine in a wrestle-y, head-chewy sort of way. Nate looks absolutely adorable, and we’d love to give him a home for Christmas–I would just need a back-up plan in case he wasn’t happy. We’re adamantly anti-declawing, we try not to let the other cat out, and we aren’t moving any time soon. We have 3 children (8, 6 1/2 and 3 1/2), but they understand that kitties have claws and that annoyed kitties use them. We live just north of Philly, so geography isn’t a problem. Let me know what you think.
OMG, how timely! Just last night, my roommate and I replaced all the chocolate in our advent calendar (you can do that, it’s little boxes, bought at Cost Plus) with Hershey Kisses and Reese’s Peanut Butter bells. That’s right, Kisses and Reese’s are FAR superior to the crapness that was those foil wrapped bells. We had a week’s worth lined up on the mantel, untouched. I hope some yummy chocolate places hop on the ball. Moonstruck, please?
I think I might try to make a homemade advent calendar for next year, so I can fill it with chocolates that are worth my time.
I can’t adopt a cat, but I would happily adopt that case of Yuengling in the background of pic 3!
The only good Advent calendar chocolate I ever had was from Thornton’s the one year I was lucky enough to be in the UK just before Christmas. No stores here though, boo! But I still eat the crummy stuff from my Trader Joe’s calendar (the only bad food I’ve ever had from there, BTW).
I live close to South Jersey but I’m very allergic to cats. He looks like a sweetheart, though. I hope soon he’ll be batting the ornaments off some lucky person’s tree. :)
Hey y’all,
Many thanks to the always amazing Sars for posting this. It is now 9:ish and I have four tickets so anyone in the Philly area who might be going to NYC tomorrow with a spouse and two kids, or your harried self with three kids, or two parents and a grandparent and a kid, these tickets are yours. Free. Orchestra seats. 72.00 a pop. C’mon.
And Nacho? You rock! I’ve found homes for six “ferals” (big ol’ babies) this year, and spayed and neutered 12 who were really feral (fixed and returned to their colony). Muchas gracias for your kitteh love.
You know, we HAVE been thinking about getting our new baby a baby-er brother to play with (we were going to take his sister, but that fell through)…hmmm. I shall run Nate by the rest of the family and see what they think.
My German teacher in high school used to get us to fundraise for class trips by selling advent calendars every year. The chocolate was horrid, we were lucky no one knew that before buying them.
And Nate looks adorable, I wish we had room for one more at my house :(
Aw! I live too far from Nate, and I’m already at full capacity (my lease only allows 2 little creatures), but I squeed from the cuteness.
I hope he finds a loving home.
Nate looks super cute. I can’t take him (already have two cats and in LA to boot), but wanted to speak up in favor of adopting feral kittens. Growing up, there was a feral cat with a habit of having litters in my mom’s garage. We had a difficult time catching the mother (although did eventually), but always caught the kittens after a time and found homes for them. We usually kept one and they were wonderful wonderful pets. My two current cats were both caught by animal control as feral kittens and they’re my darlings. Love to the formerly feral!!
Man, easter-related chocolate is always the WORST. Not the good brand stuff, like Cadbury or whatever, but the no-name cheap crap they sell in assorted holiday shapes. It tastes soooo fake, and it is always so sweet it hurts my teeth. I’d rather have NO chocolate than eat that sub par non-chocolate.
About 10 years ago I was in Belgium on a business trip at the right time and scored a Godiva Chocolates advent calendar! My husband actually fought me for the little chocolates. It spoiled us forever, we haven’t had a good advent calendar experience since.
Sorry to be a little bit thick but are you specifying “will keep him inside” or “will not keep him inside”? Just out of curiousity really as I live in London so am just slightly off the radar to potentially adopt. I have two cats who are both inside and outside cats and who were clamouring to get outside since they were kittens. They love playing outside, having total freedom to come and go as they please and I could never take that away from them now, though I do understand some cats are perfectly happy to be permanently inside. I have had to put up with 4 dead pigeons being brought inside within the last year though . . .
I hope he finds a wonderful home.
For the person who liked the Thorntons chocs. They will ship overseas.
But you might just like to find a chocolotier closer to home as the shipping is pricey.
So… Nate: Cutie! There’s room for Nate in my home, and I’d be happy to take him. That said, I also don’t want to deny someone with fewer pets the opportunity to become a Crazy Pet Lady like me.
I have three cats (one is a kitten) and a very spazzy dog, but everyone co-exists about as well as you’d expect. None of my cats are declawed, all are indoor-only, and one was a feral kitty once upon a time.
I live in Atlanta, but (conveniently) I’m in south Jersey for work right now, so if the timing’s right, I could pick him up. I’m only here until tomorrow afternoon, though, and then I won’t return until January 5th.
Good luck Nate!
The horrible Easter chocolate is Palmer’s. They even mess up white chocolate. Between that stuff and Russell Stover discontinuing the green coconut nests, Easter is a sad time indeed.
My mom made us an advent calendar when we were kids, and put the dreaded root beer barrels and butterscotch discs in it, apparently so we wouldn’t be tempted to steal the candy ahead of time. Mission accomplished vis a vis theft deterrence; not so much with the happy holiday memories and anticipation.
We put mini candy canes in our handmade advent calendar every year. I don’t know why we never thought of chocolate.
Nate’s adorable. I love y’all (‘specially Bridget & Cat right now) for finding him a home for Christmas. *sniffle*
My folks used to get these cherry-flavored candies that looked like cherries on a stem but were actually two hard candies on either end of a hunk of green wire. I’m sure the potential for injury is why they’re no longer marketed…but even today, at 50-something years old, I would knock my little sister down & run her over to get one of those off the tree…(I hear ya, Liz…butterscotch disks? That’s just mean.)
Katie, I believe it was a request to keep Nate indoors.
If you let your cats outside, dead pigeons may only be the least of your worries. Between diseases, outright cruelty, and the possibility of becoming roadkill – most animal welfare organizations heartily advocate keeping kitty indoors.
Nate will be scooped up quickly, I am quite sure. That photo of him on the bed giving the come-hither look…”No, you don’t have to go to work today. Just come back to bed and snuggle.”
Such love!
Ha, I came up as “Nacho” because that email addy has “Nacho Bidness” as its name.
I have no idea how Nate would do with dogs. I’ve only introduced him to the other cats in the house briefly, and he was like “Hey, there are rooms outside this room! Oh hey, other cats, excuse me while I go check this place out.”
Here’s a video I took this morning. Sorry so dark: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTapWSIMPQ8
If you want to reach me about him, email glitterkick at yahoo dot com.
Thanks everyone!
Whew. However it plays, it looks as if Nate will be getting a home for Christmas. I was suffering from the Want/Can’t Haves, and a really strong need to tuck him inside my shirt (shut up you know you all do it too).
I have found, to my distress, that as I get older, there’s a LOT of chocolate I no longer like. Where did this pickiness come from? That said, one of the BEST Christmas-candy memories I have is from the year my Dad went to the Christmas Candy Cane Factory Outlet (wherever that may be), and for a pittance, brought home box after box of deformed candy canes. They tasted just fine, and they looked like Mars Decorates For Christmas on the tree; I smile thinking about it.
Now I want a warped candy cane.
LaBellaDonna, you ARE a warped candy cane! I say that with great affection and admiration!!!
That video is hilarious. I’ve always said “no more cats after these 2 are gone”…but one just died and now I’m not so sure. Kitten-ness is too cute.
Bronte- yes, I know Thornton’s *says* they will ship to the US, but the shipping costs are about 3 times the cost of the chocolate, they won’t guarantee that it’ll show up non-ruined, and I’ve requested catalogs 3 times but they were never sent. Every time I’m in the UK visiting family I stuff my suitcase though… the customs dogs are always very interested.
@ezila – thanks for your comment and I am interested in what you said about animal welfare organisations – the ones near me (South East England) have the opposite policy and complaints are actually made about the cruelty of keeping them INSIDE. Still, I can see both sides of the argument.
Ack! No kitties! I must resist. He is so very cute, though….
What is this about discontinuing green coconut nests? I love those things. I wonder if I could figure out a way to make them. No one will ever try to imitate Palmer chocolate at home.
Speaking of other Tomato Nation Mascots, does anyone know how our fluffy Czar Nikolas is doing? Is there a way to get an update Sars?
Well if nobody takes Nate and we can figure a way to get him to San Diego, he’s aaaaaallll mine. (I’m totally serious, anybody in Jersey headed this way?) He’s ADORABLE.
We need a Nate update, please! How’s he doin’? Where’d he go?
May we also have an update on Nikolai, too, please?
(See how it is? I come here for years & dig all the thoughtful advice & hilarity, and all of a sudden I get all DEMANDING & shit. Sorry Sars, I’m just curious & always need good things for which to be grateful. Rescued kitty love would make the season bright, ya know? Thanks!!!!)
We have had three families interested in Nate. We originally offered him to the family that took his sister, but they declined, so now we’re moving on to the people from Tomato Nation who have stepped up and offered. We’re hoping to have him homed very soon. Will let everyone know!
Oh, I can’t believe y’all are hating on the KinderEgg. Maybe the ones you can get here aren’t as good as the ones I got growing up in Germany as a kid, but I totally love those things. (Palmer’s Easter chocolate and advent calendar chocolate, though, I am in complete agreement on. Waste of time and calories.)
Thanks, Allie! You’re good people. Hope you have the best holiday ever! Smooch that sweet little face for me!
Weeks later for a mere tangent…yes, the Russell Stover “Butter Bon” green coconut nests appear to have been discontinued. I looked it up last year (when regular chocolate ones were all I could find,) and found blog posts, etc., from people who claimed to have written to RS about it, which seems convincing to me, at least, since it’s an odd claim to falsify. RS doesn’t list them, although their web site is pretty seasonal and there are no Easter candies at all mentioned right now.
However, Googling “green coconut nests” brings up a blue million recipes, and admittedly these would be about the easiest commercial candy to replicate at home. It’s just getting the flavor of the white chocolate right that’s tough.