PrettyTiny Film Company Pic A Week *2020*! (The END!!)

[neon_jellyfish]

What beauties! I'm envious, everything non-phalaenopsis can't survive in my place.

[Loona]

Whoa, you have weird weather over there... here it's now turned into the constantly cold (chilly even in the morning, but still no snow) and gloomy that I loathe. A friend living in Finland has just posted snow-covered pictures, and I really wish we were there already, as snow is the only thing (out of those outside my influence) that can make me happy during these months...

I completely feel your pain about the lack of natural light! I've been postponing taking photos for the same reason for weeks. After literally weeks without sun, on Tuesday we finally had some of it, but I was so busy with work there was no way I could have stolen some time for photos from those few hours that are now available (tecnhically 2-3 at best: around noon the sun isn't quite there yet, and at 3PM it's already behind the surrounding houses). Yesterday and today we finally had some sun on days I didn't have work-related duties, but I wanted to use it for other things (l've been meaning to go through some of my dolls - mostly MH and EAH bought for customs, or as impulse buys - and decide if I'd really like to keep them. Some of them have been bought and immediately went into a box, in which they stayed for years. That's just unreasonable, especially if you are short of space. I wanted to prioritise this because now's a good time to resell them because of Christmas coming. I did have some success and managed to decide on selling about 10 of them, and I used today's sun to take photos of these for the ads). Oh well, it's not like I don't have a massive backlog of photos I'd need to edit and then post, but it would be so much easier if there was more natural light giving a bit more freedom of choice.

Mariya Luiza looks stunning with the orchid! It's nice to see the prchid doesn't care that much about the lack of natural light - though thinking of it, aren't they ground-species in their natural inhabitat, surrounded by taller vegetation? If so, it'd make sense for them to thrive and flower even in less sunny spots.

[Alliecat]

Thanks, everybody! So little daylight -- rain & gloom all week so far -- I'm reduced to flash snapshots indoors; ugh.

For living in such a cold and gloomy place, you certainly seem to have a lot of success growing colorful tropical flowers!

The orchids are all crammed onto south windowsills & crowded around one too-small too-narrow east one. It's not ideal as they're not supposed to be in full sun, but most of them manage. I have scraps of sheer curtain to try to shade them a tiny bit. I can take the kitchen-window one down for a couple months in the summer when the sun is high enough, but otherwise it kind of blocks my view of the backard...

It's nice to see the prchid doesn't care that much about the lack of natural light - though thinking of it, aren't they ground-species in their natural inhabitat, surrounded by taller vegetation?

No, oncidiums are epiphytes. I've never tried terrestrial orchids. This one lives on the hot sunny south kitchen windowsill where it gets a little too much light.

With the apocalypse rolling on out there, I keep vowing not to watch the news, so we at PTFCo are watching more movies instead.

[davidd]

Is that the Cats movie?

The apocalypse is really getting to you, isn't it?

[Elfy]

Technically it is cat watching the film.

[werepuppy]

Ahh, you're watching the 1998 stage video version - aka the way they should have done the movie if they weren't going to go animated.

Hope it was enjoyed!

[Loona]

No, oncidiums are epiphytes.  I've never tried terrestrial orchids.  This one lives on the hot sunny south kitchen windowsill where it gets a little too much light.

Oh, coming to think of it, I did know about epiphyte orchids (though I know way too little about them to know which is which). My sunny south windows are all packed with succulents

I don't watch the news, either. Technically speaking, I wouldn't even be able to, as we don't have a TV, but I also don't read them. I have enough worries in my life even without those, thank you. Plus local channels usually take on an apocalyptic, exaggerating tone that I dislike (and wonder how so many people actually believe everything they say...). While this attitude of distancing myself from the news does help mentally, it almost got me into trouble twice in the past weeks: I wasn't immediately aware that wearing a mask on the streets was made mandatory about 2 weeks ago (and I was lucky that I am usually wearing it anyway, because it's too troublesome to take the earphones off, take the beanie off, and then take the mask off, and on again everytime I get on and off public transport, or enter a shop), nor was I aware until my father told me this Monday, that shopping time slots reserved exclusively for elderly people were reintroduced, and I was, again, only lucky I didn't set off to go shopping in the mornings recently, because I wouldn't have been allowed to enter shops between 9-11AM...

[dargosmydaddy]

Victor looks very relaxed in control of the remote. Hopefully he doesn't get too excited; wouldn't want his tail knocking over the mug of tea.

[dunneh]

Yes! The vastly superior stage version of Cats, I approve. ♥ I have never watched all of Cats, sadly. It was playing in Vegas when I went in 2006 but was poor as dirt and couldn't get tickets. But I know most of the songs and they are great! Shame about the movie bizzarro world version.

Your little pullips are SO cute! Seeing yours makes me really like little pullips.

[Lejays17]

Victor looked very comfy in charge of the remote there. I hope you enjoyed the movie - we UNrecommend the new movie version released last year, we watched it a few weeks ago and wondered why we bothered. And were pleased that we didn't got see it at the cinemas.

[Alliecat]

shopping time slots reserved exclusively for elderly people were reintroduced,... I wouldn't have been allowed to enter shops between 9-11AM...

Well, at least your shops have decent hours for elderly shoppers.  SMH at all the shops that think that 7-8 a.m. is a reasonable time to ex?pect an elderly person to drag out for shopping.  I'm sure not all of them are morning people?

Victor looks very relaxed in control of the remote. Hopefully he doesn't get too excited; wouldn't want his tail knocking over the mug of tea.

We have had many spills in the living room, alas... but I don't recall Victor being responsible for any of them.

Your little pullips are SO cute! Seeing yours makes me really like little pullips.

Thank you  Minis rule!

Yes, the "definitive" stage version of "Cats".  I thought it would be entertaining to compare the two, since I'd heard there was a lot of hate for the new one.  So I watched both.  Then I read some of the bad reviews on Amazon and kind of laughed...  most were unable to articulate why they hated it.  I have to say I liked it more than I thought I would based on what I'd heard, and on the short clip I saw comparing bits of the same songs from each version.  The list of things I didn't like was considerably shorter than the list of things I did, & was mostly about the music not sounding as grand & the singers were definitely not as good.  So yeah, I thought it was OK.  >shrugs<

****************************************

This week's pic comes with a long and very angryworried rant.
TL/DR version:  One of my best friends has COVID.  After a week with no letup in symptoms, he e-mailed to let me know what was going on.  He said he sometimes wishes he could go to sleep & not wake up so he didn't have to wake up to still having it.  He's toughing it out alone at home, as of a couple of days ago.  He's been to the ER once and they gave him a ton of meds.  He's prone to sinus messes, not in the best of shape, or particularly active.  In other words, part of that great big huge chunk of the population of average size in average health.  He is too far away for me to do much to help. He's been really sick, and given how fast this thing can go downhill, I'm sending almost-daily nagging "how are you now?" messages.  People think they're on the mend and then -- they're not.
The rant?  The reason he is sick... is that a co-worker, who developed symptoms along with his wife, did not isolate, did not take any precautions, and did not even tell anyone.  "Bill" has now singlehandedly directly infected at least 10 people and shut down an already previously-struggling small business.  The wife is a dental receptionist.  Who knows how many people she infected.
It's probably a matter of time till we all end up having someone we care about getting this.  God forbid it's us as well.  The thing that makes my blood boil is the wilful ignorance and selfishness of so many people.  We have a vocal minority (I hope minority) on the island who are all screeching about global government conspiracies, Nazis, thenewsisfake, thenumbersarefake, thevirusisfake, and ihaverightsyoucantmakemewearamask.  They're cheering on all the defiers-of-regulations & protesters.  They post every lameass bogus "alternative" news story, every ridiculous conspiracy article, etc. etc.  It's easy to pretend something awful is fake till YOU get hit with it.  Because we've been very, very lucky here, although with all the people running back & forth to the mainland it's probably a matter of time till we get it here.  Some of these a$$***** will s*** themselves if they actually have to deal with someone they care about getting really sick.  
Yes, some of it is innocently spread because people don't know they've been ex-posed and actually were trying to be careful.  But lots of people are dying because someone else was stupid and selfish.  My friend better not end up being one of them.

/end rant.  I'm gonna stop here because it raised my blood pressure too close to bedtime and this isn't really the place for it.  Sorry.  And yeah, that really was the short version.
Just... be careful, you guys, OK?

The crew here is waiting for dispatches from my shipmate, and hoping for good news.

[Lejays17]

Awful news! I will keep fingers crossed that your friend will be okay, and not suffer long-term with it.

And I fully-endorse your rant about selfish people, not wanting to do things cos it’s not convenient to them. There’s a bit of chat going on here at the moment about the Australian Tennis Open & when it’s going to be scheduled, and quarantine arrangements for overseas players. Government regs say 14 day quarantine (In a specific hotel, or at an old army base if you come in via Darwin), and it actually means that. So a bunch of players are screeching & whining that it’s “not fair” and “why can’t we just do {something that breaks the quarantine}”.
Well no, there are these things for a reason. No one is forcing you to travel here, and as someone who spent 112 days in hard lockdown because of quarantine breeches, I don’t want to go though that again because a sports person (and their multitude of hangers-on), don’t get told “no, you can’t” very often.

[Elfy]

It is a lovely illustration of a bad situation, Allie. I feel for you and your friend. Defeating the virus as a population is not an easy task. It requires support from everyone in the community and needs them to follow a number of directives, which aren’t great at the time, but do have the desired result.

[dargosmydaddy]

That was a well-deserved rant. Too many people have their heads up their butts. The number of people I've encountered who are unconcerned and/or think they're the exception to whatever rule they find "unfair," etc. has been getting to me. Your poor friend! Sending well-wishes his way-- and your way, too. It's hard being the person on the worrying end.

That is a lovely dolly portrait of solidarity.

[neon_jellyfish]

That's a super-cute group photo!

Keeping my fingers and toes crossed for your friend, I hope he feels better soon and that it doesn't have any lasting effects on him!