Back to the Grindstone- A Post Vacation MMP

I tried a spoonful of “no added sugar” Jif after dinner…bleh. It might be tolerable if used to make PB&J, or if added to something (e.g., a smoothie), but I think my dog will wind up gradually getting the rest of the jar. I love spoonfuls of peanut butter as a snack; if allowed after surgery, it’ll be one of those foods where I just have to account for the sugar.

I have tons of “I could never do it” respect and admiration for anyone who teaches or coaches kids (or leads scout troops, etc.)…because of the parents, not the kids.

I laundered. I napped. I’m beer-ing.

My one aunt Mary, and both cousins are Husker fans(they do live in Omaha after all).
I’ll have to pick up some Old Tuffy for the N.C. State Wolfpack’s kickoff next week.

:open_mouth:

Deep breath.
: crosses fingers :

You missed a chance to hand him a coaching sign up sheet for next season . :wink:

oopsie, have you tried natural peanut butter for your spoonful snack? I pour some of the oil off (I use it for stir fries later) and it’s the right consistency for snacking. The only two ingredients are peanuts and salt. The stuff in the tubs tends to work better than in jars because it’s easier to stir right.

metal mouse, I’m with doggio on the sign up sheet. :stuck_out_tongue:

Up, caffeinating, breakfasted and fixing to do lunch prep and make the spiced nuts for the brunch in the park this morning. Once home, I’m road testing a new vegan recipe (lentil tortilla soup) for future heathen potlucks. The soup itself is vegan, but if you eat dairy, you can put a dollop of sour cream and / or shredded cheese into your bowl.

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 77 Amurrkin out and mostly cloudy with a predicted high of 94 and mostly cloudy for the day with a fair to middlin’ chance of rain. The big item on today’s agenda is deheathenization. I shall verge this mornin’. As I mentioned yestiddy, we shall have a big down home late N.O,L./early sup. Of course I shall also achieve the requisite nappage and sloth.

Metal Mouse I’m with red and doggio on the sign up sheet. I would, the next time I see him, thank him for his offer to coach next year. Then again I’m a curmudgeon and would so such things.

Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then purtification for deheathenization must commence.

Happy Sunday Y’all!

That was my thought, too. Reminded me of waaaaaay back when our daughter played softball - FCD volunteered to help out as a 1st base umpire, whatever they’re called. He found out that it’s a lot harder on the field than in the stands. :open_mouth: Never made that mistake again…

I buy Crazy Richard’s brand, but I stir the oil back in, since I use it for sammiches, not for snacking. I find I like it much better than the brands with sugar and palm oil or whatever else they add. It’s great with apple slices, too! I lurves me some PB, with or without J.

I want to do something today to get us out of the house, but not just going out to eat. The problem is FCD really can’t walk, plus it’s hot and humid, which bothers him a lot more than it bothers me. I looked at the movies playing locally - ugh - nothing even remotely appeals. I suppose we can just go for a drive somewhere, then have lunch. Boring. Maybe we’ll just stay home.

On the plus side, I finished the afghan yesterday - it’s lots bigger than I expected and I just barely had enough of one color needed, so yay! I started a new project - a crocheted tote bag. Like I need a new tote! But I liked the picture, so I wanted one. And I’m making it out of variegated cotton yarn. I think it’ll be cute.

I’ve been having all kinds of issues with Windows 10 having to restart Windows Audio all the time. Apparently one of the upgrades causes issues, dammit. I don’t use sound all the time, but it’s really annoying when I want to and I have to do a restart. Are they trying to force me into Windows 11? Is ther a Windows 11? Yeah, I know, first world problems.

Happy Sunday, anyway.

i just looked ta the weather and seen that nasty as helllooking hurricane . and dropped in to say all ya friends in the south stay safe and i hope the damage isnt too bad …

We were also just back from vacation on Moanday and while it wasn’t my normal day to work, I had to go in to process a contract payment application that came in while I was off. I thought I’d only have to irk about an hour but it ended up taking me 3 hours because it turned out that there were 2 pmt app to process along with 2 change orders. Left the mountain of emails to be perused when I was back on Thursday.

We vacationed in New Buffalo on the shore of Lake Michigan which is about an hour and a half+ south of shoe. Lovely time. Went to the beach 6 days, hiked in a nearby state park, the menfolk golfed, had a grand time at a winery-tasting and buying, took the pup to a dog park, we womenfolk visited a few vintage shops and a resale shop. I had 2 great finds at unbelievably low prices-a vase and a skirt. I also doubled back and surreptitiously bought a decanter that my daughter had been eyeing but felt that it was over her budget. Won’t she be surprised at Christmas.

When I opened the last MMP that I had been reading, I found that I haven’t been back since July 26, busy month, so I hope all MMPers have had a relatively pleasant 4 weeks, this hotter than Hades weather not withstanding.

Off to the shower to get ready to ‘deheathenate’ as our Southern cave-dweller would say. :slightly_smiling_face:

Well, all 4 peaches I bought at Food Lion went into the garbage. When I sliced them open, they were a weird brown inside. Ick. Lesson learned - just buy local peaches or canned peaches.

We decided to just stay home today. I’ve got a load of unders in the washer, since we’re both pretty much out. I throw them into the dryer anyway - tomorrow I’ll do the clothes that hang out to dry. Apart from that, I see a lazy day for me.

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off today. I need to run to Aldi for a poke loin.

Good morning everyone.

I can’t believe it’s almost time to head back to work. Ugh. I shall be logging on to my work computer today just to knock some spend plan stuff out of the way.

I completed my granddaughter’s birthday present shopping yesterday and got started on my grandson’s birthday stuff. Zoe will be three on the 3rd of September and Adam will be one the 28th of September. He’s now walking too! I’ll have to gate everything when he comes to visit, lol!

I need to get the lawn mowed today. It won’t take long, but I’ll need to wait for a bit yet as running a mower at 7:00 am wouldn’t exactly be cool. Plus, the grass is wet from the dew. It’s currently 49 degrees outside with an expected high of 79.

I also need to get laundry done today, which includes the bedding. I am really sick of my down comforter and need to find a new one. Every time I look at comforters, I become annoyed because I can’t find something that truly appeals to me, and I lose interest in looking further. Plus, no matter where you look, the patterns are all the same. I guess I’m picky. I went with a duvet last time with the idea that I’d buy seasonal duvet covers. Yeah, that never happened and some duvet covers are as expensive as the actual duvet or comforter. If I do find a pattern I feel like I can live with, the dimensions are not right. I don’t want an 86 inch comforter, it needs to be at least 90 because the husband likes to grab all of the covers. It can’t be slippery, it can’t be too heavy, nor too light. It’s just a PITA.

Metal Mouse, I agree with the others. You should have that form ready for the next time the guy accosts you, because you know he will.

I also need to get to Safeway to get some more chicken thighs to boil up for Polar. I tried giving him expensive canned food last night. He didn’t want any of it. I left it in his bowl because I wasn’t going to hand feed him and he didn’t touch it. Today I gave him an appetite stimulant in hopes he’ll just eat without me having to prompt him. He was just getting back to that before his surgery, and now we’re back at square one.

The good news is he seems to be healing and even his rash is doing better and his pain seems to be under control too.

Good morning, Mumpers! It’s just after 10:30am here in Northern Virginia – the Misnomer House is 12 miles west of the White House – where it’s overcast and in the mid-70s with a sneaky kind of humidity that you don’t notice until you’ve been outside for a little while.

(Is there a difference between humidity and muginess? I tend to use those terms interchangeably, but can/should I…?)

Today I have no plans, other than accepting the grocery delivery that’s scheduled to arrive sometime between 11am-1pm. It will be good to feel prepared for the week, food-wise. And I just realized that my vocal jazz workshop starts two weeks from today, so I think I’ll work on some music stuff later. September is looking pretty good: Labor Day holiday, vocal workshop start, NYC trip, 50th birthday…and, with luck, a surgery date!

I need to make more of an effort to post from my desktop computer – like I am right now – vs my iPad: it is sooooo much easier to quote folks and remember who I mean to “talk” to. :slight_smile: Quoting works on the iPad, but the screen can get…weird. It’s easy to lose my place, or get frustrated and discard my draft. Or miss things I meant to reply to, like:

Yeah. We’re gonna need couples counseling.

Thanks! I feel better today. I’ve been living alone for so long that sometimes I forget how helpful it can be to simply get something off my chest. :slight_smile: I do have some good friends, but I tend to not vent/whine to them. Yesterday I looked into online support groups: there are a couple that my surgical program facilitates and I’ve noted those days/times, plus I found an active Facebook group for middle-aged bariatric patients that I think is going to be a great resource. But knowing I can ramble to y’all when needed is priceless!

I haven’t tried natural peanut butter yet! But these comments prompted me to do some nutrition label comparisons (online), and frankly I’m not sure the differences are significant enough: for example, Crazy Richard’s only has 1 fewer gram of sugar and 3 fewer grams of carbs per serving than regular Jif (the serving sizes are identical), while having just 1 more gram of protein. The fat amounts are the same, and the natural peanut butter only has 10 fewer calories. The Trader Joe’s unsalted natural peanut butter is comparable to Crazy Richard’s. I might still try a natural product someday, but now I’ll feel better if I decide to stick with the regular stuff!

(I never imagined that I could write so much about peanut butter…this is nuts… :rofl:)

Yep; it was released a couple months ago.

September birthdays are the best! :grin:

Glad to hear that Polar continues to be on the mend!! I’ve been binge-watching a show about Toronto emergency veterinarians (Vets Saving Pets) on Hulu, and from time to time I’ve thought of your doggy. And given my doggy an extra hug. And maybe gotten some dust in my eye or something…

I think of mugginess as extra high humidity. That should be the definition if it isn’t. :wink:

We lunched at Red Robin because FCD had a hankerin’ for a cheeseburger. I got the grilled chickie salad, and I drank too much Diet Coke - I may be awake too late tonight. Afterwards, I ran into WalMart to get FCD some new shorty socks - his old ones are becoming transparent from wear. But now we’re home.

Shortly, I will assume the crochet position and work on my tote some more. I already did the load of whites and tread the mill for an hour. And I just remembered I have a pair of white shoes soaking in a generic OxyClean - I need to rinse them and set them outside to dry. Onward!!

Just looked at the clock and it’s 1:40pm. Where the heck did the early part of the day go? Well, slept until 8am (after yesterday, I earned it), then went to Longhorn for dinner and then sent a couple e-mails to the soccer folks and…day just goes to fast. Should mow my lawn, the rain from Ida is due Monday evening and Tuesday here, but we’ll see how much ambition I still have by then.

Appreciate the comments, but I’ll be coaching his daughter (who is a pretty good soccer player) for another 2 months, so I don’t need extra drama. Besides, I’ve got a perfectly good Assistant coach right now.

Oopsie, I don’t eat peanut butter, but good on ya for actually reading the labels. And I consider humid days muggy…guess it depends on the interpretation.

OK, back to puzzles and internettin’ All y’all have a great Sunday.

Cat Glove, glad to see you checking back in. And sounds like a perfectly restful vacation.

Just built a chicken-grape-pecan salad. I hope it’s good, since there’s a LOT of it. And I tidied the kitchen. Now I can well and truly chill.

Happy Sunday!

Was a drizzly morning at the park. Somewhat disappointing as well.

Yesterday was a horrid day at the park. It started out well but then there was a big dog fight, as in the bigger of the big dogs got into it.
It should have been okay, pull the dogs apart, check for blood (human and dog), give them a time out, apologize for your dog’s behavior, and move on from it.
The two dogs, belonging to S and J, that got into it are not known for bad behavior and it is kind of surprising that it happened.
The problem is, I will call him big mouth man, started yelling at one of the owners S, telling him his dog is vicious and shouldn’t be in the park. S and J are part of our group, but they had not met yet as S only comes on the weekends, and J usually doesn’t come on the weekends. We all like S and J, and their dogs. S’s dog is very much loved by us and we always look forward to seeing him on the weekends. J is a newbie to the group, but we all really like him and his dog.
S got pissed off and left, but not before seeing big mouth man’s dog run into the park and attack J’s dog. So, he yelled at big mouth man, yeah, I can see that my dog is the problem.
At that point J left too.
Big mouth man got his dog and took him onto the small side.
Big mouth has only come one other morning, he seems nice enough, but he really needed to mind his own business.

S is so pissed he didn’t come this morning, even though I thought I had calmed him down and convinced to come back today. J didn’t show up either, and I don’t know if it was because of the rain or because of what happened.
I am not happy. Nobody is.

Then my son upset me by saying he thought the kitten that went under the shed must have died under there because of the smell. I had walked past the shed several times and didn’t smell anything, and I was pretty sure the kitten wasn’t under there because the dogs weren’t acting crazy. Finally figured it out, it’s the chickens three doors down. You can’t smell it all the time, but I guess when the breeze is just right, it’s enough to make you gag.

On a lighter note, there is this couple who pull up, usually next to me, in the parking lot when I am waiting for my son to get off irk. She is dropping him off. I call them the Fighting Couple because every time I see them, they are really going at it. Her mostly, with screaming and cursing and calling him names. Usually, she pulls in on my passenger side, so I can see her but not him. She looks like she just stepped out of a People of Walmart video. Big surprise there. One day she pulled in on the other side of me. They were going at it as usual, but I couldn’t see him because the passenger side window is a plastic bag. I could hear his side of the argument and I give him credit; she is screeching at him and he was very calm in his responses.
Then he steps out … and DAMN!
He could be a male model.

I think he likes living dangerously though.
She was very, very, very angry at him, hurling insults and calling him names. He leans back in and says But I love you baby.
Didn’t calm her down any, just pissed her off even more.

Closing is tomorrow.

I think muggy is more, like when the sun isn’t shining, so it feels even wetter. Your clothes feel damp even though you aren’t sweating, because the sun isn’t drying them out.

No peanuts or peanut butter for me. No more reese’s, no more snickers.
Anaphylaxis is no fun.

I took the bus downtown and walked to the farmers market this morning. It’s a huge one, and it was packed. It’s in a well-ventilated building, and of course everyone was masked up, so I don’t think it was risky.So nice to see all the gorgeous vegetables and fruit. I bought a little loaf of rosemary garlic bread, and the clerk said since it was small, she was giving me a discount. :slight_smile:

My son called while I was meandering, so that’s one kid heard from. He was driving their old dogs to the dog P-A-R-K for a change of pace (nyuk, nyuk) from their usual, uh, W-A-L-K. Anyway, made me think of sari and canine crew.

I’m really tired but must walk to the pharmacy. Then I think I’ll mindfully collapse while awaiting my daughter’s call.

Oopsie, I want to try making peanut butter in a food processor: no added sugar or oil, and I bet it’s delicious. Darn. Now I want some.

A tragedy!! :astonished: :astonished: :astonished:

The chickie-grape-pecan salad is pretty good. FCD said it needs craisins. I think it needs some kind of seasonings - all it has is S&P. I’ll look at some other recipes for ideas.

Chillage continues.

Mowage was achieved yesterday, still gotta figure out how to disable the seat shut off switch. Annoying to have it shut off every time I need to open or shut the gate.

I got my new phone today. Took a little while to set up getting it to talk to the network, but the transfer was surprisingly effortless. Just plug one phone into the other and suddenly everything is now on the new one, including the wallpaper pic of my dog. Prolly gonna have to remember a few passwords.

Dinner shall be a pork chop ana baked potato with gravy. I’ve been craving gravy for a couple weeks.

FCM maybe some paprika in the salad?

Now, the Sox are on and the potato is in the oven. Chillage ensues.

I’m glad Polar is on the mend taters. Now to get his appetite back.

oopsie, what Jif calls natural peanut butter isn’t. Natural PB is the stuff with a layer of oil on the top of the tub or jar. It’s not added oil, but the oil from the peanuts ground to make the spread. If you go to a store where you can grind your own, you’ll still get that layer of oil. Natural can be made with either salted or unsalted nuts, but there’s no sugar added, hence the common use of jelly, honey or marshmallow fluff when making sandwiches for the wee ones.

Hung out with the heathens (and took Nelson), came home and made the tortilla soup. The next time that I make it, I’ll tweak it with more tomato juice (it wasn’t soupy enough) and more garlic. But otherwise, the recipe is a keeper and one that will go to potlucks with a bunch of vegans / vegetarians.

Boy do I NOT miss dog park drama. The dogs were (almost) always fine, but there were people I learned to avoid. I keep meaning to take Bailey to another park again sometime, but we haven’t been regulars at one in several years.

I’m interviewing a possible tech editor tomorrow morning. I’ve been on many interview panels, but it’s been quite some time since I’ve conducted an interview on my own/been a hiring manager. I’m Googling “tips for conducting a good interview” and trying to make sure I’m less nervous than the candidate. :wink:

That’s why I didn’t mention it/include it in my comparisons. :slight_smile: And yep, I understand where the oil in natural peanut butter comes from.