Cones on the Loose - an orange MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
101

Nah.

(Good link, though.)

heff, our pool’s dimensions are 12’x26’ and 3.5’ to 5’ deep. Not all that big but perfect for us. dots, it would be so cool if it were ready by Labor Day but that’s prolly too much to ask. The cee-ment got poured yestidy and it looks good. The crew was here at about 7:30 aye yem to knock out what forms there were and I’m guessing they will return the fill dirt where need be to the hole.

doggio, that place is surprisingly clean for that many cats…or was that a set up.

wile e, thank Og I drink vodka. Otherwise I’d have to give you a beatin. :wink:

In other news, the weather remains steamy. Today’s heat index to reach 108 You Ass degrees. Thanks for listening.

Tupug

102

Dotty that’s so sad about your 'rents neighbors.

Wiles hope the eye thing gets better all soon like.

BBBobbio yikes! I thought we’d heard the last of Miss Most Likely To Need A Restraining Order.

Puggy my pool is 16X32 and ranges from 3.5 - 6 feet deep. Sounds like we have the same idea. A pool to float around in whilst quaffin’ adult beverages. :smiley:

Up and caffienated here. I need to shave and stuff but I’m not motivated yet. It’s so dang hot! Temp is expected to be near 103 Amurrkin today with a heat index of 110! :eek: And here I go to work during the hottest part of the day. Guess we’ll be makin’ good use of those coolin’ stations this week as temps top 100 for the rest of the week. I bought some of those fitness water thingys to drink during breaks. We can have water out on the floor plus there are water fountains at most of the coolin’ stations. I keep my big ol’ Bubba Keg filled with ice and water and sip on it throughout the shift. We must keep hydrated after all.

103

That’s a shame about your parents’ neighbor, Dotty. The same thing happened last year to the DIL of a good friend of mine, about the same age, leaving four children. So my poor friend not only has her 95-year-old mother to take care of, but is trying to be a substitute mom for her four grandchildren. It’s really heartbreaking to lose someone so young.

That Moscow crazy cat lady is actually quite impressive. The cats all look healthy, and the place is sparkling clean. But wow, that’s a lot of cats!

Papa Tigs is indeed staying home today; but he slept really late, which for him is good because he’s been so congested lately that even his CPAP doesn’t help him breathe well enough to sleep soundly very much. So he got caught up on at least a portion of his missing sleep, I hope. But because he got up early and let the dogs go outside before coming back to bed and back to sleep, I slept late, too, without the dogs clattering around outside the door to wake me up. So now I need to get my behind into gear and get some work done. This is a really good day to stay inside; it’s so humid out that last night all the windows in the house were fogged from the difference between the dry air conditioned air inside and the humidity outside. It’s still not New Orleans-level humidity, but it’s moderately impressive. Probably not as nasty as where you are, either, Pugs. But they mentioned on the local news yesterday that the all-time record for D.C. on that date was 106° in 1918 – can you imagine D.C. without AC and 106°? I try hard not to.

104

Yerp! That’d be right. Can you recommend me some flotation devices with appropriate cup holders? :smiley:

Do they not have AC in the brewery?

105

Guten Morgen! It is now Tuesday, the Ontarian long weekend is behind us, and I’ve mostly skimmed the MMP due to the potential (but generally inevitable) flood of calls that usually come in after a long weekend from centers playing catchup with an extra missed day’s load. I’ll have to catch up proper as I am able.

The weekend wasn’t particularly exciting, save for last night, where I made garlic shrimp and fettuccine Alfredo. (Which I just spelled “feetuccine,” much to my amusement and debate on keeping it that way.) The shrimp came out simply awesome – though they’re not that hard to do. I used a very low calorie margarine (Becel RSF – 25 calories per 10ml, or 2.5:1 , which is a heckuva lot better than the usual 70 calories or 7:1 of the regular stuff) which, at least to me, tastes just as good as regular margarine and even rivals real butter. Even the wife commented that the shrimp were almost as good as the stuff you get at Red Lobster. :smiley: The Alfredo sauce, however, didn’t turn out quite so good. I didn’t put nearly enough garlic powder in it, and it could probably have stood a bit more pepper and chopped parsley, too. The end result was that it was rather bland. In my defense, it’s been quite some time since I made it last, and my recipe (which I never wrote down) was adapted from an existing traditional Italian recipe which called for equal parts butter and 35% heavy cream and half that amount of fresh Parmesan. I cut the butter in half and switched it up for the aforementioned Becel, used 18% table cream, and doubled the Parmesan (in this case, freshly shredded Grana Padano) instead. The end result is (normally) a very tasty Alfredo sauce that’s about 1/2 to 1/3rd the calories of the traditional stuff.

For those interested in the (properly done, unlike my inadequate dash-and-pinch method from last night) recipe, here ya go:

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups (500ml) 18% table cream (NOTE: You can use 10% half & half for even fewer calories, but it requires a longer cooking time and will produce slightly less sauce due to the extended reduction)
  • 1 cup (250ml) Becel RSF margarine
  • 1 cup (250ml) shredded or grated Grana Padano or Parmeggiano Reggiano. It is important here not to use the shelved, pre-packaged stuff like Kraft, as it will not blend properly with the cream. Fresh Parmesan is the way to go.
  • 4 sprigs (approx. 1 tbsp) fresh parsley, finely chopped. (Dry flaked will do, too, but fresh has the better flavour)
  • 1 tsp. ground or cracked pepper (depending on texture preference)
  • 2 tbsp. garlic powder

Directions:

  • Mix the garlic powder well into the margarine. (Garlic powder will clump at the slightest hint of moisture; mixing it into the margarine beforehand makes sure it all comes out smooth.)
  • In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the margarine mixture over medium-low heat (3-4 on your average 10-point stove dial)
  • Add cheese and stir to coat
  • Slowly pour in cream, stirring constantly until well blended
  • Bring to a gentle boil, stirring frequently, until cheese has melted thoroughly
  • Whisk in pepper and parsley
  • Allow to boil gently for 10-15 minutes (15-20 for 10% cream) or until sauce has thickened to desired consistently, stirring frequently throughout and whisking as needed to ensure the mixture stays blended. (Some of the margarine will tend to separate and float to the top and needs occasional whisking to stay blended.)
  • Pour over fettuccine. Add a sprig of parsley on top if you’re into that whole dash of style thing – or if you’ve only got dry flakes, rim the plate with it.

As you may notice, stirring is a rather important component here. It both keeps everything blended, prevents the cream from scorching on the bottom, and keeps a skin from forming on top. This recipe serves 3-4.

If’n ya want the shrimp with it, then here’s the one for that, too:

Ingredients:

  • 1lb (454g) white shrimp, peeled. If serving as a side or appetizer, you can leave the tails on to provide a “handle” with which to pick them up. Otherwise, pull the tails off.

  • 1 cup (500ml) Becel RSF margarine

  • 4 tbsp garlic powder

  • 4 sprigs (approx. 1 tbsp) fresh parsley, finely chopped. (Dry flaked will do, too, but fresh has the better flavour)

  • 1/2 tsp. salt

  • 1 tsp ground or cracked pepper (optional - adds a bit of kick)

  • Mix garlic, parsley and salt well into the margarine

  • In a skillet, over medium-high (7-8) heat, melt margarine mixture

  • Add shrimp, stirring frequently, until pink on both sides

  • Sautée for an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring and flipping the shrimp occasionally to ensure even cooking

  • Pour entire thing into a deep plate

  • Serve over fettuccine (without the garlic butter), or as an appetizer or side (with the garlic butter)

Both of these dishes are about as low calorie, low fat as you’re likely to get given what they are. They’re still not the sort of thing I’d have for dinner every night, but they make a nice treat that doesn’t completely assplode my diet plans.

Hank - Welcome to The Big Smoke! Also known as The Greater Toronto Area, The GTA, The T-Dot, New York North, and the Center of the Universe. Glad you arrived okay. It’s gonna be a bit soggy this week though, but at least it’s not scorching as it was last week.

Dogbutler - Jeebus. It’s like a giant, mewling, writhing mass of varicoloured fur at feeding time. I would not want to clean up that litter box. Uh … litter room? Yard? House?

106

Roo, my hair is medium golden brown. I tend to stick with what my natural hair color once was. When the sun shines on it, it has reddish golden highlights. It’s just how my hair looks when it’s dyed, and really, it’s how it looked before I dyed it.

Well, we’re packed and waiting on our friends. Hugs to those that need them and I’ll check in either Friday night or Saturday.

Take care.

107

Mindfield–that sounds yummy. I have Greek chicken in the oven as I er, type.

Dotty–how horrible for that family! :frowning: I was pulled to work ER one Christmas Day (I was watching 2 ICU pts down there-no room in the unit that day) when a family came in. Dad had choked on a piece of roast beef, which caused him to have a massive MI and he died. Awful.

I am enjoying my last day of freedom. Went to the grocery store and am now cooking like a fiend. Probably will make brownies and banana bread later. Am not cleaning anything except my cooking mess.
cranked the soundtrack to Hairspray and ended up scaring our cat. Ha!
Stay cool, Cool Kids–it’s MFing hot and humid out there, with more storms a-comin’ (at least to my area). I may sprout fungi if this continues.

108

Bye Taters! Have fun! Throw a couple rolls of extra tp in your purse just in case. :smiley:

Puggy I found a couple of those floatin’ chairs at Sam’s Club that are great. The cup holder thingy holds a beer in a koozie just right. The brewry is well, as air-conditioned as a big open space can be, which is to say not much. You gotta remember with things such as great big honkin’ pasteurizers that heat stuff up to around 180 degrees Amurrkin, that it’s a kinda hot/humid environment. So, AC, such as it is, keeps things more in the 85-90 degree range as opposed to the 110-120 degree range it might be if’n it weren’t there. Make sense? There’s also lots and lots of fans located everywhere plus the coolin’ stations one can go hang out in for a few minutes. It sounds awful, I know, but you’d be surprised how one sorta gets used to it. Of course the break rooms, cafeteria, restrooms and all are air conditioned. Plus all the break rooms have ice machines, so there’s always plenty of ice to scoop into one’s drinkin’ vessel of choice. Then there’s the old standby of washin’ one’s face and haid with cold water trick, keeping a wet towel on one’s haid under one’s bump cap, of course. And water. Drink lots and lots of water.

Ok, soon it will be time to suit up for work. I’m thinkin’ white pocket tshirt and blue jeans today.

Later Y’all!

109

That was scarey: a board outage…

110

And not just a board outage, a board outage while I was taking a break from work to eat some lunch, so I was forced to <gasp> find an alternative. <shudder>

I just realized I haven’t heard from Alabaster Bunny today. Not that she needs to report in every hour, obviously, but I’m her mom and it’s my job to worry, dammit! I hate to call her when she’s driving, though, because she uses hand controls so she really can’t spare a hand to deal with the phone, and she doesn’t have a bluetooth headset. So I guess I’ll just sit here and worry. Don’t mind me. <sniffle> It’s just a sad fact of life for a poor, neglected mom that my ungrateful children put me through this torturesome worry…

:smiley:

Okay, back to work. Much as I’d rather go take a nap. But if I do that, I’m afraid I won’t ever get to sleep tonight since my night owl schedule is already pushed about to its limits anyway.

111

And I was just about to post my drive-by! I’m glad it’s back. Scary how we get so addicted, ain’t it?

Have a good day, my peeps!

112

According to my thermometer, it’s 93, but it feels a lot hotter. I think I might nap, and watch a movie later.

MamaTigs, you sound like my parents: “Call me when you get home, dress warmly and don’t speak to strangers.”

Mork, notice that everything in the cat room is plastic or tile. I bet she just hoses everything down.

Wile E, that would be alcohol abuse.

113

They put Libby on a repirator today and are keeping her sedated. There are plans to do an MRI or a CAT scan to try to find out why she is having such trouble breathing, and another procedure to drain fluid from her abdomen.

I’m scared, ya’ll.

114

{{{SCL}}}

115

{{{{{SCL}}}}}

Am I remembering correctly that Libbey was just diagnosed and started chemo rather recently? Somewhere around Memorial Day? It’s awfully fast to be getting into such bad shape.

I hate to be piling on but ascites (fluid in the abdomen) is not a good sign. I probably ought to do this again…

{{{{{SCL}}}}}

116

VB, Libby had been sick for a while before she ever went to the doctor, so she was in bad shape prior to diagnosis. I hate to think how the cancer may have spread while she kept telling everyone she had a “stomach bug”. Like many women who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she has a record of yearly clean pap smears, which don’t detect ovarian cancer. Doctors don’t routinely do C-126 blood tests to test for it; the health department here doesn’t even offer them. When I asked for one they gave me a referral. :rolleyes:

117

Ouch SCL

{{{{{{{Libby and the people who love her}}}}}}}

118

(((((SCL and Libby)))))

119

{{{SCL and Libby and family}}}

I thought I heard something yesterday. :smiley:

Puggy, we saw a floaty chair in the Sky Mall catalog over the weekend that has its own little propeller so when you get out into the middle of the pool, you don’t have to jump off to push the chair back to the edge. It’ll take you wherever you want to go! :rolleyes: :stuck_out_tongue:

Yay on the no throwing up, LiLi! Here’s hoping you stay non-throwing-up for the rest of your pregnancy!

Here’s a summary of our weekend in NJ (cut/pasted from an email to a friend) :
It got off to a very good start. When we went to get out rental car, which was supposed to be a mid-size like a Corolla or similar, they instead gave us a bright yellow Ford Mustang! Boy, we had a good time with a flashy car. It’d have been nice if we could have taken it out on some small, windy country road and really tried it out, but KeithT enjoyed the acceleration off of the every-ten-feet stop lights. It is a very sexy car.

Anyway, Friday afternoon we drove down to Princeton and wandered around the campus for a little while. Very beautiful campus, and nice if overpriced town.

And we had dinner at an Indian-Chinese restaurant near Edison. As in Chinese food but prepared by Indian folks. Really good food and just a different, fun experience.

Saturday was the wedding and we got all dressed up. Damn, but we’re a good looking couple! :wink:

Some friends were driving down Sat morning from home near Boston, but they got stuck in headed-to-the-shore traffic, and the last couple miles took them an hour. So they ran into our room (instead of checking in to theirs) and changed and we all headed out. At about 12:40 for a 1pm wedding. Yeah, we were late. But we did get in before the bride walked down the aisle.

Lovely ceremony, if a bit long for us non-Catholics. And the bride looked absolutely gorgeous.

Reception wasn’t until 6 so we hung out in the pool. We were the only ones though, we think because the rest of our engineer friends couldn’t risk letting their pasty white skin see the sun. :stuck_out_tongue:

The reception was mostly good. The food was excellent. And it was good to be surrounded by engineers again. When everyone else started dancing, there were two whole tables of RPI folks rooted to their chairs. It was awesome.

But the music was way loud, which was annoying. Part of the fun of a wedding is catching up with everyone you haven’t seen in forever, which you can’t do if you have to shout over the music. Why doesn’t anyone ever figure that out? Bah!

And I had Dunkin Donuts coffee 2 days, which made me very happy. :slight_smile:

I thought of **Special1 **when we were headed home because the gate next to ours at the airport was for a flight headed to Tel Aviv. On a really big 777. Very cool.

Got home with no problems and had Monday off to do chores (i.e. laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping) and got a massage just 'cause. It was good.

Now back to work. But I like my job enough that it feels good to be back.

120

I got a boring one for you. Kansas. In the winter. Snowy winter. Miles and miles and miles and miles of flat whiteness. I drove it alone, westbound, then eastbound a week later. Tedium, pure and simple.

Happy Tuesday! I earned another credit hour today. We had a branch meeting that ran long - in fact, it was originally supposed to keep me 30 minutes over, but it stretched out twice that long. No big. I’m home, critters are fed, and a load is agitating away in the washer. Life is good.

**FCD ** had to go to Phila today and I don’t know when he’s due back. So I don’t know if I need to cook for 1 or for 2. I tried calling, but got no answer, so I’ll just wait for him to call me. And in the meantime, I’ll think about thawing something, tho pizza sounds good. I just don’t feel like driving to the pizza place. I need me a full-time flunky to fetch pizza and do stuff I don’t feel like doing. Any takers? The pay sucks, but at least the hours are bad and the expectations are completely unreasonable. Anyone??

Speaking of heat, the radio weather guy announced twice this morning that today’s heat index would be between one-oh-five and one-oh-ten. I wonder what weatherman school he went to? :rolleyes:

{{{SCL}}}