I wound up eating a ton of food tonight, listed over in the “What’s for Dinner” thread. Now I’m chilling by candlelight - dunno why, but I haven’t lit a candle in a long time. Depression is weird like that.
I did not, however, clean Charm’s tank (or feed her - shit) and didn’t get to the litter box or the bath mat.
Still gonna call it a successful day.
Y’all have a peaceful night - or lovely, uh, morning (?) for the Dopers across the pond.
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 51 Amurrkin out and mostly cloudy with a predicted high of 68 and N.O.S. We are havin’ a warmin’ trend and it looks like Turkey Day could be rainy. We can still stuff our faces even if it rains. Today is laundry day. The thrill of it all! I shall also begin some prep stuff for the big feast. I envision bakin’ up cornbread for the dressin’ and choppin’ up the celery and onions for it as well. Sup shall be my version of Philly cheesesteaks made with the leftover hunk o’ beast from last night’s sup. The usual sloth and general overall uselessness shall also be a part of the agenda.
Batboy good on you for trainin’ someone before you left. Here’s hopin’ you land a much better new gig soonest.
JtC I am sure the LWT will greatly appreciate the turkeys.
shoe glad your mom and you had a nice convo. Also glad you et a lot. If you got some stuff done then it is always a win.
Nellie you did have a rough day, so don’t beat yourself up about it. Also, nice of you to listen to that woman. You never know, unburdenin’ herself to a complete stranger might have been just the thing she needed.
doggio hope the heavin’ was smooth and uneventful.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day! Rah.
Happy Tuesday Y’all!
My daughter made these for everyone on her staff. She had us a couple some months back and (blush) I have no idea where they are. It’s not something I would use, tho FCD liked his (nut probably doesn’t know where he put it.) I’d never have pegged something like this for popularity - shows what I know…
I’m hoping to find something interesting at the craft show I’m working on Dec 3 to send to my recipient. Or not. Honestly, I haven’t had time to give it a lot of thought, what with, yanno, life and all that. 
But it’s still on my list. Please don’t let me forget! I don’t want to be that Secret Santa…
I was so intent on getting the turkey into the oven last night (it’s still in there) that I forgot to fill the pellet stove. I was rudely awakened (OK, I was up playing with my tablet) when the furnace came on - OOOOPS!! A new batch of pellets are loaded and burning, the critters have been tended, and I’m caffeinating. The button on the turkey bird has popped, but I think it’s not quite time, since it should take 10 hours and the bird’s been roasting less than 5. I think it’s a defective button - it was half out when I loaded the bird in the oven.
After I finish my morning surfage, I’ll empty the dishwasher, tidy the kitchen, and figure out what needs to get done and when. Daughter is coming over around 10 (she’s making the mashed spuds) and the rest (minus BIL) are coming around noon. BIL is being a butt - my random guess is that since it isn’t actually Thanksgiving, we shouldn’t be eating turkey today. I could be wrong, but that logic would be typical of him. No biggie - his loss.
Needless to say, crazy day ahead. Holidays and fambly - rah!
Happy Tuesday!
Good Tuesday morning, everyone.
I only know it’s Tuesday, because I have my stupid, dreaded dentist appt., this morning. Just for the twice yearly cleaning. Still, I detest having to go.
It’s a cool 23F out there, this morning. Going to get up into the 50s, again, with abundant sunshine.
My schedule for the day will be making my pie crust, folding the laundry that I have so far failed to fold, putting some clean dishes away, and washing some dirty ones. I’ll also put the finishing touches on my grocery list for tomorrow. I want to go EARLY, so it won’t be a madhouse. It’s usually not bad, though, since the store is in the middle of nowhere, Illinois. That’s one good thing about it! Also, I probably should put my turkey into the fridge, to thaw. It’s already roasted, and resting in its own juices. I’ve been doing it this way for several years, and it hasn’t disappointed, yet! I swear, it tastes like it was just roasted.
That’s about it for my day’s worth of excitement. I’ll try to contain myself.
As for leftovers, well, there usually isn’t much. My husband takes any leftovers with him for OTR meals. If there’s any turkey leftover, the dark meat goes into the freezer, for soup, and whatnot.
It’ll just be our daughter, my husband, and myself, for T-giving dinner. Maybe a friend, too. We’ll see. I have no idea when our T-giving will be, either. Depends on if hubs can get home on Thursday, or if he comes back on Saturday. It’s always a crapshoot, and making plans is just a big dream, most times.
Have a good day.
This is a hill I refuse to die on. I can make pie crusts - I’ve done it in the past. I don’t do it any longer. We can’t tell a whole lot of difference between homemade and store-bought - whether frozen in a pan or the rolled-up crusts. And, frankly, all we care about is the filling - the crust just keeps it from sticking to the pie pan! MIL would make up a dozen crusts at a time and freeze them. Me, I’d rather buy than mess up my kitchen with all that flour, etc. Because I can. If you don’t like it, you can pass on pie!
I’m the same way about cake mixes. But cookies are another matter - those are always from scratch. Because. That’s just the way it has to be.
I think I had the only grandmothers in the world who didn’t bake - not breads, not sweets, no baking. I remember the one time my maternal grandmother made cookies - they were from one of those rolls of cookie dough. She sliced, baked, and burned the batch! That’s why she never baked! On the other hand, there were several excellent bakeries within walking distance of her house, so the breads, cakes, donuts, etc, that she could buy were amazing! Ah, memories…
Afternoon, mumpers! It’s 7c/45f with a predicted high of 8c/47f and partly cloudy. Fortunately that also means partly sunny because there’s a problem with the heating in our offices and this room is cold today. The sun gets round to our side in the afternoon so we should start to warm up soon enough. Weather app says “If this weather was an ice cream flavour, it would be fucking called Old Dry Waffle Cone”. So, that’s you lot told.
nona fingers crossed for an uneventful dental appointment today!
nellie don’t be hard on yourself, you had a tough day but you still made time to let someone else unburden themselves to you. That’s a big chunk of kindness and probably made the other lady feel better for being able to talk about it without judgement.
Batboy I read your previous posts about your job, and I’m relieved that you’ve been able to get out of there. It’s a nasty environment to be in, so good of you to train a replacement before you left. Give yourself a bit of time to get over it, you need to be in a better mental space before you’re ready to take on something new. Let’s hope the next job is the perfect one!
shoe good to know you’re still with us, and you navigated around the choppy waters with you mum. and you have someone making T-day dinner for you so that’s a bonus 
I have (had) a busy day - back to back meetings this morning and now it’s almost lunchtime. I have blocked some time out in my calendar this afternoon to write some handover notes 'cos I’m on leave after today for A Whole Week!!! That means last-minute shopping tonight to make sure we have enough cat food, treats, litter, puppy pads etc in the house, and a chance to pick up anything we need to take with us. There are some things we have in our supermarkets that apparently you can’t find in Scotland. Also there’s a list of stuff 'im indoors wants to get from Scotland to bring home with him 'cos we don’t get them down here.
Four hours until I log off for a week
Good morning everyone.
It’s about 41 degrees and cloudy according to the weather app. The expected high is 51 and rain is moving in this afternoon. We’ve gone a solid two weeks without rain, so I’m not complaining.
nellie, I’m sorry you had such a cruddy day. Yes, some folks have it worse, but that doesn’t minimize your stuff. Also, if the mall area you are referring to is the one I’m thinking of, you really do need to carry some pepper spray or something. There are definitely some shady people hanging out down there.
shoe, I’m glad you checked in and that the call with your mother went well.
Yesterday was not a good day for me either. Some of you may remember I shepherded an office move over the course of last year. They all insisted on taking temporary furniture to the new location (too much in my opinion). I had told the MPA to make sure she accounted for that furniture and put it on our excess system, but, she didn’t. I was informed yesterday the new furniture is scheduled to be delivered the second week of December (I was expecting February). On the face of it, that sounds great, but in point of fact, I now have to work with contracting to schedule someone to remove all the old stuff and dispose of it in less than three weeks. This is a holiday week. Everybody is trying to burn use or lose leave (me included). I have serious doubts about many of the moving pieces in this latest round of chaos.
I’m supposed to have the state office cleaned by the end of December, but guess what just took precedence? I will have to go over to the other office (across the mountains), in December when Snoqualmie pass is a constant mess of accidents and Blewett is dicey too. The MPA told me she isn’t coming into the office today because she’s still sick. Every time I try to schedule something where we’re working together on a project someone dies, she’s sick, or something else is going on. EVERY single time. I told her yesterday (prior to finding out about the furniture), that we have to make the office clean-up happen and that the SD is not budging on the date, even though I’ve been trying to manage her expectations with regard to the 10 years or more of records that somehow got dumped at the state office. We (the MPA and I) also need to be working with the national records management office to get permission to destroy records according to regulation and to find out where, or if, we can ship contracting and personnel records to those respective mission areas since we no longer have those types of personnel at the state level and those folks did not properly disposition their records before departing.
I’m stressed because I need to make sure the office over the mountains is clear and I’m already hearing from the rest of the management team they want to encourage max telework. Uh no, those office staff need to clean their stuff up and make sure they’ve packed up everything to put it out of the way for the movers. I stressed the importance of this three times yesterday with the management team, but it’s like they didn’t even read it. If they don’t have their stuff cleared away and I don’t have all the old furniture removed, the installers won’t install the new furniture which causes extra cost and contract issues.
And the poop-encrusted cherry on top of this mess (along with all the “normal” BS stuff) is that we’re undergoing a reorganization that takes place during all of this chaos too. I will fall back under state leadership and I’ll have to schedule IDPs, my performance plan, and continue to take care of all the other stuff I’m trying to get done.
No stress, none at all.
Let’s see. Let’s try to end this ramshackle post on a positive note.
Polar is lying at my feet waiting for me to head upstairs to go to work. He’s the best office mate ever.
I hope you all have a wonderful day.
I’m going to make the cornbread for the stuffing today and take the Jimmy Dean sage sausage out of the freezer. Also the frozen turkey thighs I’ll use for stock. Tomorrow will be a cooking day.
Ooo…ONLY from scratch cookies! My husband loves my from scratch chocolate cake, so, I make that. I also make my own cheesecakes for my daughter. I like messing around with making the pie crust, though. I enjoy cooking, and baking!
Thank you! I’ve got to leave in a few minutes. I’m dreading it. Good grief. Bah.
Morning all. Up by 6:30am which bodes well for an early start tomorrow on the trip up to Brother’s. need to complete my list of things to do today so I’m not rushing around tomorrow or remembering something 150 miles down the road. So after the morning internetting it’s time to get things done…I guess…
36F out and cloudy, the temperature is supposed to be in the high 50’s today and up to 66F tomorrow, but a few degrees cooler where I’m heading. Well, at least no snow.
Taters, sounds like you have the curse of being a responsible person, which apparently a lot of your colleagues aren’t. Hang in there, prioritize and what doesn’t get done is up to others. Hope the great movement goes well in the end.
Boo Fae, happy shopping. And yes, I can find things in Markets in one state that I can;t find elsewhere, so it’s a universal rule to confuse shoppers, I think.
FCM, bet the BIL crashes the dinner anyway. Have a great day with the family.
shoe, Ok, you are fed, make sure Charm gets hers today. And thanks for explaining Buc-ee’s to other Yankee’s; if you’ve never been to Texas you might not have heard of them.
JtC, I’m sure neighbor will appreciate your kindness.
Nellie, no reason to be ashamed; yeah, lots of people have it rough, doesn’t devalue all you (and for that matter, other MMPer’s) have to go through and put up with. Hang in there.
OK< onward into the day. Take care now, all.
'Morning, everyone. Thanksgiving is just Mr. brown and me, and we’re not turkey fans. I have a nice boneless leg of lamb in the freezer which I’ll get out to thaw as soon as I get off this couch. It’ll be served with creamy garlic potato casserole and brussels sprouts. Also a pecan pie, and I have to mix up the crust for that today and put it in the fridge. The pie will get baked Thursday morning early.
It has been so long since we’ve had leg of lamb that I can’t remember what I do with leftovers. It isn’t a big roast, so there won’t be infinite leftovers. I suppose one can eat cold lamb sandwiches on a French roll.
Today we’ve having a road trip to Castroville, where we’ll have a late breakfast at our favorite Mexican restaurant: Birrieria Coalcomon. Hopefully Mr. brown is up to it. He had injured something in his foot and was lame yesterday.
Okay, enough internet. Up I get to get out the lamb, mix up the crust, and then take a shower. And it’s not even 6 a.m. yet.
Good (Tuesday) morning everyone. 47F outside and supposed to be 60 today.
I’m back from several days of boating/fishing, most of it OK, but not as enjoyable as it used to be. [FCM: scroll down now 
] I’m getting less enthused about boating in general, due to the work/fun ratios. By the end I was considering just selling the boat to get out from under all the work. Yet another minor pump/hose combo has started leaking and I must somehow burrow under to fix it. I think I’d rather just buy fish at Kroger’s.
The devildog is still here, and thus far has somehow contributed to a broken iPhone, gotten a claw tangled in an afghan throw - resulting in whining, fear, and destruction of said Afghan, and managed to fall off the couch during a dream and is now limping. In short: his normal self.
We are preparing to RV to my daughter’s town and have T-day dinner there (and return the devildog*). A great deal of food prep is happening, but I’m staying out of it. I assume there will be leftovers, but not sure what. We’ve all agreed to forego Turkey this year due to shortages, and the fact that none of us are really that crazy about it. Ditto dressing, since it seems to be more tradition than desire. The current menu is chicken, gravy, rolls, salad, mashed potatoes, and apple/pecan pies. Sounds good to me.
My remaining parent is spending Thanksgiving at nearby relatives, which is a relief. I didn’t want him to be alone, and my sis has spent the last week with him but had to fly home for work. I’ll be headed to spend time with him after we return from T-day with daughter.
The hot tub is working and the earlier leak seems to have healed itself somehow (I think I mentioned this in an earlier MMP).
Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving week!
*[MontyPython] And there was much rejoicing! [/MP]
No prob if he does, but honestly, I doubt that he will. I’ve mentioned many times, he’s got issues. Duh…
Just finished building the brussels sprouts gratin - it and the sweet potato casserole will go in the oven shortly before we eat. I need to tidy the kitchen (FCD insists everyone needs to start out upstairs before going to the basement. Great fun, with 2 Parkinson’s patients…) so I need to do more cleaning than I planned. Dammit.
< break >
And I just finished vacuuming and running a quick mop down the middle of the kitchen. That’s as deep as I intend to clean. In a little bit, I need to get the smoked turkey out so I can carve it and platter it. Then I’ll turn up the heat on the other turkey to crisp up the skin, and after it rests, I can carve it. That whole Norman Rockwell nonsense of carrying the golden bird to the table is stoopit! Take a platter of serving-ready meat and have at it! So say I!!!
That’s where we were 11 years ago. Then FCD retired, and the only logical thing to do was get another boat! So we did.
OK, break time over. Back into the fray!
I swear I hate almost everyone I’m related to but 6 people and 4 of them depend on what day it is …
That made me tear up, too. Never be ashamed for being in awe. You - and she - are wonderful, strong women.
Today is another day off, though I had to put a quick team meeting on the calendar for this morning. Which is a bit of a poop since that’ll bump my schedule behind, but only by 15 minutes or so. At least it’s for a good reason - we’re getting more people, so help is (theoretically) on the way. I just want to let everyone know before tomorrow given the upcoming PTOs. Don’t want to let everyone know via email if they have questions.
Anyway, today I’m going to try sneaking into Costco for some staples, which is probably an awful idea. But we need veggie burgers, dangit. And bagels for the terrifying twosome that are my newphews. Then I’ll clean, then I’ll take the kids to the orthodontist, and so on and so on.
Oh, and I need to keep pouring boiling water down our humidifier drain. Apparently we’re supposed to do it annually or it clogs. Who knew? Probably most adults, that’s who. But we walked downstairs to a mini lake in our storage area this morning, so I suppose I’ll just keep boiling water and snake if I’ve gotta. I’m honestly quite afraid of walking down the stairs with yet another pot of boiling water.
Now we’ll not spend any time upstairs - our guests will be ushered downstairs right away. Because Aunt B has a psycho dog and we don’t know about its attitude towards cats. Plus Higgs doesn’t like dogs in her living room. Oh well, it’s clean anyway.
Daughter and her crew are here. Turkey comes out of the oven in about 15 minutes. Smoked bird has been carved (half of it, anyway) and it’s ready to be heated. Daughter will start her spuds in about 45 minutes. We’re targeting dinner for closer to 1 now. I guess.
Meanwhile, Grandpa is reading to Roxy - a story about traveling with your Octopus!
The bird is out of the oven, resting. Guests will arrive in about 90 minutes. Daughter is peeling spuds. As soon as everyone gets here, I’ll put the veggies and the biscuits in the oven.
And in about an hour, I’ll dismember the turkey. I’m exhausted and it’s not noon yet.
Reasonable. But freakin’ cold. 
Just whack an ASF with a rubber mallet, and toss it in.
But good job on accomplishing things!
Otto and Victoria?
Nothing you could find AT the craft show could be as interesting and enjoyable as the cat butt coasters you’re making to sell there. Just plan on making an extra set of them for your Secret Santa giftee, especially since they very likely might have been reading about them here and are intrigued.
There, that was easy.
A rainy day here in the PNW. In other news, the sea is wet, and the desert is dry. Yesterday, D., the surgery consultant I spoke to said she’d call me at 8:30 to tell me whether or not P. was in. No call. I called D. and got her voice mail. I’d call P, but they rarely answer their phones, so I’d just get her VM and still not know if she was in. I have to head over there anyway, as the shot clinic is just down the block, so I may just stop in.
I think the reason I got so emotional yesterday was because I was tired and on my last nerve. I’m grateful for the encounter and appreciate your support more than you know.
Huh. The only shady person I’ve encountered has been the weirdo who followed me home. I think the area where the buses stop has a few questionable characters, but I seldom go there. I’ll look for my mace again today. I know I put it in a logical spot. I just can’t remember the logic.
IMPORTANT question for you stuffing/dressing makers: do you add eggs to it? All the recipes I find say to add them, but Mom never did, and I loved hers. I want to make it tomorrow night and fridge it. Is it safe to do that with eggs?
Oh, ugh. I hate that pass in winter and wish a gigantic iron would just smooth it out. Do you have chains? You’d only travel in the daytime, right? Yes, I’m getting a running start on worrying. My daughter had to drive across the pass in December a few years ago. A storm hit, and she ended up white-knuckling it back to my place. But maybe the weather will be good and the roads dry for your trip. 
MetalMouse, happy packing!
FCM, looking forward to a full report on the feast!