Mornin’ y’all!!!
IIITTT’S FRIDAY!!!
Howzzat?
It’s 68 Amurrkin outside right now. It rained almost all night. Once it rained so hard it woke me up. That takes some doin’ let me tell ya! Anywho, it looks like a rainy and possibly stormy day with a high around 80. Weird, weird weather.
Oh, and did I mention…
IIITTT’S FRIDAY!!!
Ugh. Fridays I have to work all day. Plus, it’s raining, so no outside time for the kidlets.
My daughter goes back to school tomorrow, with a buttload of crap (presents, clothes, stuff she’s bought, groceries), and while I can get it all in the car, unloading it is a pain.
Not looking forward to that.
Gotta run. Have a good day, everyone.
When I heard from VunderKind last, he was cooling his heels in the Philly airport after getting The Routing From Hell[sup]tm[/sup] on the way home to Indiannoplace.
He was originally ticketed for a simple Nawfick-Charlotte-Indy routing, but the plane that was supposed to cover ORF-CLT had maintenance problems, so he was reticketed for ORF-Pittsburgh-IND.
I still don’t know the full story, but it went down hill from there. Something about a canceled flight and involuntary eviction from a flight, and he wound up going ORF-PIT-Philly-IND, and getting there 5 hours late. Didn’t even have the chance to see DiLWB last night.
I took the situation better than VWife because I’ve done it myself a couple of times, but I still fretted and even talked to American Express’ Global Assist section about contingencies for him. We agreed that no news is good news, and since I didn’t get any midnight calls, I’m assuming he made it back just fine.
Paging LiLi and other cool kid chefs. I happen to despise traditional pot roast, with the roast dredged in flour and smothered in cooked carrots. I’m also jonesing a big ol’ hunk o’ cow, and I have trouble eating any cut that isn’t hamburger or tenderloin. While we were gone over Christmas, I had (despised) pot roast at my stepmother’s place, and it went down just fine except for the taste bud issue. Do you have a pot roast recipe to share that could be considered off the beaten path?
I’ll be in my room…
VunderBob, my mom makes a potroast that’s not dredged in flour. It’s always very tender and juicy. Just meat and taters. A lot depends on the cut of meat.
I’ll get the recipe and post it later - it might not be till Monday -busy day today and and lots this weekend.
I got home late last night, and was too tired to post. I’m late for work, so I must dash. I will try to catch up when I get home because, grrrrrr, I am again blocked at work.
Chuck is good for pot roast. I like a winey, oniony pot roast. I’ve never dredged in flour. Braise it over low heat (or in the oven) in red wine, a little butter, onions, and garlic, with salt and lots of pepper. Mail me some through the cd drive.
I must make a necklace, do the laundry, buy cat food, wrap presents, wash dishes, tidy. Before noon.
Help.
As in, “But I dooooonnnnnn’t waaaaannnnnnaaaaabe eeeaaatennnnnnn… So I’ll make you cry.” ? 
Happy news to report: Bobbio gets a raise, far above the COLA adjustment… 
Good morning, Friday! Good to see you again.
Sorry, I invited Spring over for a visit. She’s cool, but she intimidates the hell out of Winter.
Bobbio - I likes me some pot roast, but I never make it dredged in flour, and I hate – hate – cooked carrots. Blecch! When I make a roast, I first buy a really good cut, preferably fresh cut from a deli/butcher. Once I get it home I trim the fat. (I hate fat on meat – any fat, any meat, unless the fat can be cooked to the consistency of the meat, as with bacon.) Then I get a big ol’ pot, dump the roast in, add some peeled/cut potatoes, really coarse-chopped celery (like, one-inch segments), onions (cut into eighths), salt, and coarsely milled peppercorns. Sometimes I’ll rub it first with freshly chopped or dried/flaked mint. It adds a whole new dimension to beef. Then I’ll fill with about half an inch of water, cover, and cook at around 350C for a good 3-4 hours or so. Every hour or so I’ll baste. About 30-45 minutes before it’s done I’ll remove the cover, baste, sometimes with HP or A1 if I’m in the mood, and let cook open for the remainder so the top browns. Once done I remove the roast and potatoes, use the beefy liquid that remains in the pan to make gravy (thickened with Veloutine), and there we go.
Now I’m in the mood for a roast. Damn.
And on should-have-previewed: Congrats, Bob! Raises are awesome, especially when they’re over and above your annual COL. My most recent paycheck went up too, but I’m pretty sure it was just tax adjustments.
I got a crock pot recipe ook for Christmas from the stepdaughters-to-be. I’m sure there are some tasty pot roast recipes in there. Mmmm, I think I know what I’m cooking this weekend.
As for plates, we have the Pfalztzgraff Grandma’s Kitchen pattern. Of course it’s discontinued, so I get real nervous eevery time we use them.
Sean, I have a similar problem with a lovely dinner service that my mother gave me. It was a wedding present to her and my father (from his mother) and she passed it on to me when she moved out of her house because she didn’t have room to store it any more. There are place settings for six people including some large serving plates and two tureens with lids.
It’s Royal Doulton china, very delicate pattern, and of course they don’t make it any more. Mum only ever used it for special occasions and sometimes Christmas was the only time it ever came out! I daren’t use it now in case I damage any of it, so it’s very well packaged and stored in the house!
Royal Doulton with hand painted periwinkles?
A cookie to the first cool kid who gets that reference.
Bobbio WOOHOO!!! congrats on the raise.
I like the old fashioned pot roast myself. Then again, I’ve been eating some dang fine beef stew the past couple days so right now I don’t want pot roast. Did I mention I make a goooood beef stew?
Congrats VunderNuts! Any raise is good news!
Swampy - you might not be far wrong with that design! The plates are white in the centre with a pale blue rim which has small sprigs of white flowers painted on it. I can’t post a link to them because I know they’re discontinued but I can’t remember the name of the design. I might have to either get one out of the packaging and photograph it, or have a look to see what the design name is.
It’ll give me something to do later while I’m at home waiting for the phone to ring. I just got a text from a friend telling me that her father died this morning, so she’ll probably be on the phone (or on the doorstep) later. I’d better stock up on tissues on the way home.
Some stupid kid’s day is going to be ruined here.
One of my drivers checking her bus after she dropped the high school kids off, found a history textbook with a baggie stuffed inside, and in the baggie was a little reefer.
And the kid’s school ID.
Oops.
I just got in from meeting the bus, the Lovely Officer Paige from the local constabulary, and the dean from the school. Paige took the baggie, dean took the book and ID and they’re both off to pull the lass from class to talk about her history book.
Congrats on the raise, Fireman Bobbio!
Since everyone else is posting china patters, this is what we registered for. It looks amazing on black placemats. Or dark burgundy/red ones. Or dark blue. Or pretty much anything that’s not pastel.
We didn’t register for fine china because I have a set from my father’s aunt and uncle which are white with pink flowers and gold stuff on them. I don’t like them all that much, but it’s a set of 12 and where else would I get something like that, even if it’s not exactly what I’d pick out myself? They’re in storage here with me. Plus, someday (probably once I have a house) my parents will give me their Syracuse china set which I really like. They’re white with a silver rim. Very simple, very elegant. Keith likes that pattern too so we’re all set there. That’ll mean we’ll have 4 sets of dishes: our every day Corelle ones, the Noritake ones linked above, the not-so-attractive pink flower ones, and the very elegant Syracuse ones. I have no idea where I’ll keep them all or if they’ll get used, but it’s cool to think about having a set for every possible occasion!
Congrats, **bobbio[/b! Raises are tres bonne.
I am full of grrrrr this morning. My Dad worked for IBM for over 25 years. He draws a monthly pension. We need a statement of the amount of the monthly payments for his medicaid application. They won’t give it to us unless we prove power of attorney which BarbeeDoll[sup]TM[/sup] has. We sent the pertinent information by express mail two weeks ago. Two days ago she was told it was “tied up in the legal department” and was left on hold for 15 minutes when she asked for a supervisor. Same thing yesterday when she called again…only this time it was 20 minutes. There is no reason for it to take this long and for the people to be so rude. :mad:
I looked for my everyday dishes on the Target site but they weren’t there. Suffice it to say they are yellow stoneware with navy blue banding. Very cheery. We very seldom use the “good” china which was Mr. Anachi’s mom’s.
Yay! I am soooooooo glad to see Friday.
Tupug
Good morning and Happy Friday everyone!
Bobbio! Congrats on the raise. That is indeed good news.
SCL, I’m glad to hear the interview went well. I hope everything pans out.
On the whole china/dishes thing. My everyday set is Antique Grappa by Gibson. It is now discontinued. I had service for eight, but, alas a few of the dishes have suffered a shattering fate. I’ve tried to find some more dinner plates, but they don’t have any on that replacements website. So, the search continues. It’s that, or buy a whole new set. So far, I haven’t found any appeal to me for a reasonable price. My “china” is plain white, with a gold rim. They’re cheap and I’ve only ever used them for Christmas Day dinner or when I have more than 7 people present for a nice, sit down dinner.
MBG, it appears that said student is not very smart. Additionally, she must have been slightly buzzed to make such a stupid mistake.
Well, the daughter enjoyed her birthday. She liked her presents and enjoyed her dinner out. Dessert was cheesecake, which is her favorite.
I have much to do today. I had finished up a project for the boss yesterday. The data sort of ticked the boss off. None of it is my fault; it’s just the data. At any rate, he wants me to investigate, analyze, and take the lead on squaring things away. When he told me this, he kind of gave an evil little laugh. It was meant in a fun way, of course. So, I’ll take the project and run. However, I’m going to end up riding some people hard to fix their mistakes. I told the boss yesterday that I didn’t have the time or the inclination to constantly monitor, repair and update these folks’ DB, if they don’t take the time to use it appropriately. He agreed with me. However, we do need to find out about the many discrepancies between the original, in-use, and big pie in the sky DB. He told me, in confidence, that he doesn’t really trust the in-use DB and the folks responsible for entering the data.
The data needs to be as accurate as possible due to our capacity issues for different classes of patients here. He’s relying on me to make sure the data is accurate so we can make some decisions about enrollment issues. Lucky me…
Additionally, he threw a couple of new projects on my plate. I laughed and told him that one of the projects may take me a few days and to not expect immediate results. He laughed in reply and reminded me that for every project I finish it is encumbent upon him give me four more. I told him that I at least have job security.
I’ve found the best way to handle feeling overloaded (and I kind of do), is to accept it with grace and humor, but be forthright about when I feel I can give the boss the results or completed analysis. That way everyone knows up front what to expect when. So far, it’s worked.
I should work now. Smooches to all.
Good morning, everyone!!! And a happy Friday to you too. I’m home (although I just had a couple of work-related phone calls) and didn’t even get up until 9:30 or so. I was convinced it was only about 8, but when I looked at the clock… :eek:
I need to go pick up my mail, deposit a couple of checks at the credit union, and pick up season 1 of Remington Steele from the library. Also need to do my Christmas cards which were delayed due to The Sick. And I’m going to steam my sinuses a couple times (I knew you’d want to know).
Yay on the raise, Bobbio (I liked the nursing home story, too, by the way).
Glad Mom didn’t explode in the living room, Nava, but I understand. Apparently they’ve forgotten that there are lots and lots of cute ages and that helpless infant isn’t the only one. My nephew is 8 (which I can’t believe) and has always been really fun, but I’m really enjoying this stage where you can see him start to aim towards the person he’ll grow into, but is still a goofy kid.
Have a fun weekend, LiLi!
Amazing how dumb kids can be, MBG. What…the person who sold her the weed required ID?
Pretty dishes, everyone. I love that Replacements web site. I also have silverware (well, it’s stainless, but still…) that was my Mom’s that I really like. A few have gotten lost along the way and I’m happy to see that I can still replace them, although they are, of course pretty pricey. I keep looking for silverware of my own and haven’t really seen anything that I like better. Everything I see is too heavy or too ornate or too blah or too light.
Off to get stuff done.
GT
