If your pet was a person. . .

I'm sure Bonnie knew that Pansy could no longer make the hike . . . and then knew that Pansy was gone . . . doggies are very sharp about such things . . .

Yes, I know. They are amazing. If only Bonnie (or Pan) could have told us, we wouldn't have had those days of hospitalization and not knowing what it was - the vet thought she'd been poisoned. Finally, he realized that it was a gall bladder ready to burst, but by then it was emergency surgery under stress. Days earlier and it would most likely have been a successful operation.

Roberta

Yep - the greedy Floss couldn't eat it all, although that cat would easily kill for chicken.
Funnily enough, my guests, who were hungry before, didn't seem to be hungry enough to eat what she left them

My friend has horse sense @ http://community.webshots.com/photo/50722278/52967786XjVBZA

All I know is that Nisse, our male cat, would probably be a politician... Loud-mouthed, talking all day long, but... he's got nothing to say, really. Hot-air guy.

His sister, Mysan (means roughly "the cuddly one" in swedish), is just that, cuddly, but somewhat prim, and a total show-off when we have guests. I guess she would be collector of antiques, we're not sure, but she could also be a ... cat!

Algis. <smile>

BigDice -- Nisse is a word meaning a little person, an elf or brownie? Right?

[quote="Piffka"]

BigDice -- Nisse is a word meaning a little person, an elf or brownie? Right?[/quote]
Bigdice - is this so? My friend Neil is known as Nisse in Sweden. Indeed, the family business has been named after him. He's quite dark (he's a Kiwi- living in Sweden), and quite mad, but I never thought of him as an elf. Gremlin or troll, tomtar, maybe....?

Bigdice - is this so? My friend Neil is known as Nisse in Sweden. Indeed, the family business has been named after him. He's quite dark (he's a Kiwi- living in Sweden), and quite mad, but I never thought of him as an elf. Gremlin or troll, tomtar, maybe....?[/color][/quote]

Margo, in Sweden guys by the name of Nils are often called Nisse. There is also the julnisse - Christmas nisse which is something like an elf. I'm sure bigdice can explain it better and hopefully will. Also, Nisse is the favorite cat's name in Sweden. And there used to be an ad in Swedish TV by Manpower, the temp work company. If you can't get all the work done, call Nisse from Manpower. I used to work for Manpower and that is one reason why Nisse the cat is called Nisse.

Yup, y'all right in context, really... Tomte-Nisse is the little guy living on the farm in the woods, taking care of the family he lives with, without them realizing it. Kinda like a leprechaun, but nice.

From there, Im not sure how anymore, came the swedish version of Santa Claus, or correctly translated the Christmas-tomte, who in turn got his red robe and beard in a Coca-Cola ad, sometime back in the thirties or forties. And the painter of that ad was a... swede...can't remember his name anymore, sorry!

But other than that, it's like my wife, urs53, said!

Hi Wife!

Margo, My late, lamented Miranda once helped herself to some chopped liver I had put out for guests. Amazing, but no one wanted any after she had her nibble. What's the problem? There was plenty left. Bunch of wusses.

BigDice, So Nisse is a politician? There's usually one in every family. Lots of talk--no substance. And Mysan is, well, of all things, a cat! How did that happen? Maybe a feline antiques dealer. What would a feline antique be, I wonder. A mummified mouse? A mangled ball of yarn? A couch that's been ripped to shreds? Quien sabe?

URS53, How would one pronounce Nisse, would one be so inclined?

Nisse is NIH-SEH I think, I'm lousy with phonetics... and I don't use the G.B Shaw-way of writing things, either, lol.

Mysan isn't so much the collector-antiquarian, but the sales-person, a bit prim andlike to show off, mainly, but with subtlety...

BigDice, Your phonetics are fine. And Mysan the sales lady, and I do mean lady.

We have a cockatiel that thinks she's half human, and half dog. She throws fits if you eat in front of her, wanting to be invited to the table. If an ambulance goes by, she squawks up a storm, sorta like a beagle.

Big Dice and Urs -- That's cool, you're both posting! I love the names of your cats. I remembered reading about the Christmas Nisse-Tomte, I guess. As soon as you mentioned Christmas, I got an image in my mind that I'm sure is from a book. What a concept! A farm helping leprechaun sort of fella. Always male, I think.

I get the feeling that one of these days we'll see a topic with urs and bigdice wherein they discuss what they're going to have for dinner. :-D

cjhsa, I love dem boids. A cockatiel, part human and part dog. And both parts are feathered. I saw a National Geographic show once where a bird, in I think it was New Zealand, tried to impress the females of the species by making as many imitative sounds as possible. After sounding like a bird, he made the sound of a camera clicking pictures and finished his love song with the sound of a car alarm! So maybe your cockatiel is practicing to sound like an ambulance. I hope not, for your sake.

Hi Jespah, I'm all for it. So Bigdice and urs, what's for dinner?

Well, that might be a pretty good idea. We work different hours as you can see from our posts. So on some days we don't see each other at all. And since Nisse and Mysan don't pass on any messages... :wink:

Roberta

The boid's a lyre bird, and comes from - guess where??? Oz!

I've only ever seen one or two in the bush, and they only thing they were doing was running away. Apparently they can imitate anything they've heard. It explained some unexpected sounds in the bush - mobile phones, lawn mowers, cameras. If they're exposed to the sound, they can have a go at reproducing it.

Urs and BigDice - thanks for the explanation. Their shop used to be called "Cheap Neil's", they tell me, but, since they opened the huge new shop - they decided to go upmarket, and drop the "cheap". They showed some of their "horribly cheap" television commercials on a trip out here last year!
I hope to get over and check it out come June. (and have some Janssen's temptation - no matter how hard I try, it doesn't taste as good here!)

Hiya Margo, Thanks for the lyre bird info. Amazing imitator. I will never forget that male bird standing with his head held high, posturing for the female. And out of his mouth came a car alarm! Was she turned on? I don't remember. But how could she not be seduced by such a mimic?

Well Margo, the Jansson's temptation is my favorite food, too.
I had some problems getting the REAL anschovi(sp?), but I found out that IKEA has a special Sweden-shop, where I can get them tiny fish! Now I make it taste like the recipe that I got from my grandma!

It's not easy being an ex-pat!