Recently, I'd blogged about reusing and repurposing plastic bottles
and plastic milk jugs. The main idea for the bottles was using cut
bottoms for holding upside-down almost-empties of shampoos and lotions.
Let gravity and time help you get the last smidges, The main idea for
the milk jugs was using cut parts for common household purposes. (Milk
jugs are easy to cut and have handles as well as pour openings.)
"Get the Most Out of Shampoo/Lotion Bottles, Etc." (article | video)
"Reusing and Repurposing Plastic Milk Jugs" (article | video)
As of late, I've accumulated more empty plastic containers and ideas,
broadening uses. The video shows items I hope inspire uses beyond my
previous reuse/repurpose videos. The last video section shows use of a
cut gallon milk jug to store nested plastic bottle bottoms.
Pedialyte Bottle As Curiosity for Its Shape
I wondered about Pedialyte being in squarish bottles. Various other
hydration drinks also come in squarish bottles. From Google AI when I
asked "why are some hydration beverages in square bottles".
Hydration beverages, including water, juices, and sports
drinks, are increasingly packaged in square bottles primarily to
optimize space, enhance brand visibility, and improve stability.
I hope the images I selected on the title page and thumbnail pique
your interest in trying out reuse/repurpose of common plastic containers
you run across.
The video represents my autumn 2018 sessions of recording Ginger, a
calico cat that probably inspired my recent vivid dream earlier this
month.
The Vivid Dream
The dream cat was a small, whitish kitten, later looking larger and
not so young--its left side looking tawny, its right side very reddish
brown.
Initially, his/her appearance started out as a slender kitten,
seemingly docile, not skittish, yet reserved in its approach toward me
as I cautiously approached him/her. The dream shifted to a stack of
newspapers I'd retrieved for a neighbor. Having ditched a few daily
papers, I decided to save the 5" diameter Sunday paper for later
lollygagging over.
The cat came back into the dream, this time no longer a teeny kitten,
but maybe three times larger. I stroked it from head to tail on the
tawny side; it then turned around to display its dark-fur side for me to
stroke. I cooed it with "I bet you've owned a few people over time."
My significant other came into view. I told him I wanted to feed the
cat. I perused a name--Ginger. It wasn't exactly a ginger, and wasn't a
calico. I said, "Let's feed it." I pulled out my container of milk. I
looked for tuna. Ginger patiently waited, as if it knew patience was the
socially correct behavior to exhibit.
The Dream as Mishmash of Events
I awoke from the dream, wondering how I wove it. The dream seemed a mishmash of some events, both recent and long-ago:
Encountering dog-owner walkers whose dogs were varying sizes, breeds, and colors (more details below)
Loosely arranging newspapers retrieved while a neighbor on out-of-area trips
Searching for a pouch of tuna to feed Ginger (actual tuna search on the previous day)
Dog Walkers' Dogs
Maybe I integrated recent encounterings with some dog owners walking
their dogs of various colorations. One owner someone walks three of his
smallish dogs, two that had similar dark colors for my dream cat. I'd
kiddingly call out "Mush!" as they approached or passed by us. Some
other dog owners walked dogs of various breeds, sizes, fur types (short,
longish, curliness), and fur colors.
Four September 2018 "captures", each about a week apart. Friendly enough to snuggle up to my ankles."
For my blog item video, I revisited the original clips from September
2018, editing it anew, and also adding encounters from October and
December. For my title page and thumbnail, I pasted some images that
somewhat resemble my dream cat Ginger (not an artist), and the real
Ginger.
Cat Resources--Mainly Calico and Tortoiseshell
While poking around the web for cats and kittens that resembled my
dream Ginger, I also ran across related info. Big takeaway--calico cats
are NOT a breed, but color schemes. Calicos are three-color types of
cats and can have the colorations across several breeds.
Calicos are a coat pattern. There is no such thing as a
Calico breed, but there are many breeds that can sport the coloration.
... They are typically white with distinctive patches of black and
orange of varying degrees.
the word “tortoiseshell” refers to a distinctive
color-patterned coat. The bi-colored coats look like the shell of a
tortoise, hence the name, and their appearance is similar to a Calico.
... Color combinations are often black and orange, and some have red,
ginger, or chocolate mixed into the coat. ... Calicos typically have
white mixed in with the fur, whereas a tortie will not.
Tortoiseshell and calico cats resemble each other with their
multi-colored patterns. However, there is one significant difference.
The latter has the same mix but on a white background. Otherwise, you’ll
see the same group of colors, from cream to orange to black—and
everything in between! If a tortoiseshell cat has a tabby pattern,
people call them torbies.
Other variations ... mosaic, which is a mix of a bunch of colors all
over the cat. A pet with a chimera pattern has one shade on one side and
another on the other side. You’ll find both long-haired and
short-haired kittens.
>calico” and “tortoiseshell” refer to coat patterns, not
breeds. These color combinations are the result of genetics and can
appear in any breed, though they are more commonly found in breeds like
American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Japanese Bobtail, Maine Coon, and
Persian. ... A “tortico” is a combination of classic tortie and calico
markings, featuring large patches of orange and black brindling on a
white background."
A chimera cat is a feline whose cells contain two distinct
sets of DNA, resulting from the fusion of two embryos in the womb,
making it one of nature's most fascinating genetic phenomena. ...
chimerism involves two separate zygotes combining into one individual.
calico and tortoiseshell cats are not the same as chimeras,
even if they have similar markings. ... some tortoiseshell cats are
mosaics. This means a single fertilized egg resulted in a variety of
genetic lines. ...Calicos and tortoiseshells display a wide variety of
coat patterns and colors. These may include different colored eyes and
“split” faces, but that doesn’t mean they are true chimeras.
In case you're inclined to view videos contrasting calicos and tortoiseshell cats, search for YouTube's "calico vs tortoiseshell cats".
The video
is star-studded with previously encountered painted rocks. The rock
star treatment includes starshape outlining of the 48 rocks and two
limestone path enders.
My topic evolved from revisiting "Painted Rocks Borderline" (article | video),
from 2018. At that time, I used Dreamweaver for web page, PaintShopPro
for graphics, and MS Movie Maker for video. Since then, I've moved on to
Bluefish for web page, GIMP for graphics, and OpenShot for video.
I concluded I no longer had the raw video input(s), so picked my
finished 2018 video apart and used newer skills and different on it. I
gave it star quality with wordplay and imagery renovations/innovations.
The video's rocks piqued my wordplay about rocks.
Rock Theme Playlist for the Blog Topic
Rock and roll was a natural inspiration for my painted rocks topic. I've created a playlist with songs that include "rock".
Eh, MOST of listed songs have "rock" in their titles. Exceptions are
"No Man Is An Island" (opposite sentiment to "I Am a Rock"), "Rocket
Man" ("rock" syllable), "Roxanne" (phonetically includes "rock").
"Life Is a Rock" by Reunion is my anthem choice. The first listed
version in the playlist has no lyrics. The second one has lyrics; the
chorus is Reunion's, but a DJ does the narration parts. BTW, I made it a
point to gather YT vids that included lyrics. Enjoy the good rockin'
music!
Mini-background on Painted Rocks Trend
About a decade ago, painted rocks were trendy, mostly individual ones
left for others to find. In 2018, I published a blog article pertaining
to a neighborhood painted-rocks path. I also uploaded a video featuring
the path, 48 painted rocks, "bracketed" by a couple of larger limestone
rocks. The blog article "Painted Rocks Borderline" ( includes sections titled "Rocks and Pebbles" (size differentiations) and "Painted Rocks Background" (kindness rocks).
Brrr! What a cold several days starting with Sunday, January 25! I
recorded the whiteness (mostly ground level) in the morning after the
previous night's sleet. Also recorded the next three days, skipped the
fifth day, then recorded the sixth day.
The sixth day was thawedful in front, but still icypatched in back.
This freeze was forecast/forewarned by weather people starting the
previous week. There had been dire warnings that 245 million people,
over half of US population, could be affected by the severe weather.
The stocking up of groceries by so many shoppers! It was like grocery
shopping at a holiday eve--all cash registers operating, and several
shoppers deep per register! We had gone the day before the actual eve,
anticipating that going the night before the freeze would be REALLY
unwise.
My first recording shows Sunday, January 25 at 7:32 AM. It was 17
degrees. I ventured out onto the front porch, then gingerly stepped onto
the back patio a few feet. Crunch, crunch. I ventured as far as the far
end of the patio bench.
The next three days of recording the back was through glass of the
storm door. I skipped recording on the fifth day. On the sixth day, the
front was totally thawed. The back was almost totally thawed, enough
that I wasn't chicken to step onto the concrete.
We're expecting another couple of days of freezing weather, but no
precipitation that could freeze and weigh down and break tree branches
as in 2023. No power outage this time around, as had occurred in 2021
and 2023.
"Feb 2021 Deep Freeze to Aftermath" article | video
My profession had been technical writer/editor. Through TheWriteJob clublet (blog at http://thewritejob.blogspot.com), I have been exploring my inner creative writing, which includes mostly language enlightenment, entertainment, and a-muse-meant. Over time, I have become more active with images and my YouTube channel.
