Haha! when closing out the cheese stray recipe, I got a pop-up about weight loss surgery.
YUMMMMMMMMMMMM
Hey, I have a question. Why do they call them “straws” when they look more like rectangles???
When they come out of the cookie press, they are hollow cylinders much like straws are.
OK, gt, you’ve hooked us. Where’s the next installment??
My weekend was nice, and sad, and fun, and progress was made.
Nice, because the whole FairyChatFamily was together, mostly.
Sad because my baby had to go back home yesterday. She arrived in Orlando safe and sound. I miss her already.
Fun because Saturday was my mom’s birthday, and we had a party at my sister’s house. All the sibs showed with their respective SO’s/spouses (except me - FCD stayed home in pain) plus some old neighbors, and some friends of mom’s. Food was good and there were no unnecessary dramas.
And progress was made with Murray. FCD brought her out of the bedroom - we need to get her used to living in the whole house. The dog freaked her out, so I took Bernie for a walk, and Murray gradually got brave enough (even after my return) to explore the dining room and living room. She almost entered the kitchen and the family room, but the aforementioned canine was present. She spent a lot of time miaowing, and she finally gave up and went back to the bedroom. But we’re getting there.
On the gooder news side today, FCD had his appointment with the neurologist today. He’ll be starting a regimen of steroids, including some shots, in the hope of perhaps avoiding a second surgery. Anything that gets rid of his pain is jake with me. The poor man is suffering - I’ve been married to him long enough to know that if he says something hurts, he’s in agony. So he’s coming home with a prescription, and we’ll take it to get filled then have dinner out.
Oh yeah, another gooder thing - we finally exchanged Christmas gifts with my mom, and she gave us a check that’ll cover almost half the cost of the recliner love seat we want. So when we add that to the cash my sweetie got from a work award that was going to be used for a cat (but Murray was a freebie) - we’ll just have to put a couple hundred of our own into the mix. Tomorrow we’re going to the showroom to look again and make sure of the one we want. Maybe we’ll have it by the end of the week. Yay!
We gave Mom a garden wagon that I put together entirely without directions, because they weren’t included. After it was assembled, I found them on line. Pffffft - I’m an engineer - I can figure out that mechanical stuff! Go me! Plus we have a similar wagon that I assembled last year, and I remembered a couple of the quirks.
And that’s all I’ve got for now.
HAPPY MONDAY!! 
Today was really boring work day. Really, really, really boring. What makes it worse, though, is that my boss’ boss office is right behind me. So, when I’m not doing anything useful, I get really paranoid that he is watching. But of course he wouldn’t - he’s cool, he knows I do good work. It’s just some days…
My weekend was entirely useless as well. I got in the habit in the last couple weeks of being up late because I needed to do work. Well, the work crisis is over, but I was still staying up until 3. So, both Friday & Saturday nights I was up until 3, and let myself sleep in. Which ended up being to about 1 in the afternoon. Once I got up, I just puttered, and did just about nothing useful. Baked a loaf of bread, but it didn’t turn out right. sigh
I have decided that with the long weekend this coming weekend, I will be getting stuff done! I will make a list, and do everything on it. Actually, I think I’ll do the list right now. That’ll look like work!
Susan
And to be entirely rude, and reply to myself, here is my list:
New glasses
10 pound weights
ice skating
new church
horseback riding
Italy
George Mason
haircut
dentist
gynecologist
rheumatologist
photographer
closet
2nd bedroom (bissell steamer)
salvation army
cats’ claws
Tina’s B-day gift
There - make something of that!
Oh, and I am thinking about dinner. I had been planning on cooking tonight, but I’m not in the mood. I have bread, and bacon, but the mayonnaise I used on my blt last night seemed slightly off to me. I think I might try Peanut Butter, Apple, and Bacon.
Susan
You sure this isn’t an entry in the new Dopername thread?
I’m not sure what I think about peanut butter and bacon together. PB and apple? Yep. Apple and bacon? Sure. All three? I don’t know…
If you do it, report back.
Thank you for all the compliments. It turned out pretty differently than what I started out with. Installment 2 will (I hope) be ready later tonight. Gotta get my pictures into an album to take to work tomorrow first.
Tapioca Dextrin - oh, my! One of my greatest fears is that I’ll wind up in the wrong restroom. Never have yet, (there’s your answer, swampy), but…
As far as airports in general go, I find that avoiding the really large, older ones is a good idea. Of course, there are some large ones that I’m so used to that they don’t bother me. I’ve been flying through O’Hare since I was a kid, so it doesn’t bother me. I’ve heard people complain about Atlanta, but I’ve never gotten lost there and you can get from one terminal to another very quickly. Although they could do with improved signs; sometimes you really have to look to find what you’re looking for. I’ve flown through Frankfurt quite a bit and never had problems there. And Mexico City’s airport keeps getting bigger, but I’ve always figured out where I need to go there, too.
Anyhoo…more about large airports later. And rigs, no, not ze bus driver, but rather ze fellow passenger.
I dunno, Puggy, the eyeball story sounds pretty interesting to me. I pictured a clear bucket of eyeballs, all looking at YOU.
Drae, just another week and you’ll never have to worry about moving again! And you’ll be able to take as long as you want to unpack. And then you’ll add an item to your to-do list: have garage sale (or “donate extras to good cause” or “take to consignment store” or some other regional/personal variation). Hang in there! Hope the tooth behaves.
beckwall, tell us more about vortices and crystals…I’m clueless.
Fondue sounds yummy. We had meat fondue for Christmas Eve and then another night at some friends’. We had turkey, pork, veal and beef this time. We’ve done scallops and shrimp as well - always yummy. I agree that it takes a while to get the hang of how long to leave meat etc. in, but it tends to be a little different every time. I keep meaning to have friends over for fondue. (I actually own 2 fondue pots.)
42 is a very important number…meaning of the universe, etc. I’m well past it, age-wise and currently consider 48 to be far superior.
Eli, I’ve only been to DFW on one trip about ten years ago and don’t remember it clearly, but the signs at CDG basically tell you where the exit is and what direction to go to to claim your baggage. I didn’t see anything that told me which direction any of the other terminals were in. Of course, I stop taking in information when I don’t really understand the language (I can read French pretty well, but somehow, the fact that I can’t communicate with other people in their language turns my brain to Jell-o). And somehow, this carries over into pictograms, so I may have missed something.
donkeybear, shouldn’t I know by know that when you announce TMI and put it in a spoiler box it will be gross? Please explain why I still read the spoiler.
Cheese straws - I cheated and bought some at Target. (Their highfalutin’ Archer Farms - or whatever - brand.) Gorgonzola. And actually quite good, although I’m sure not as good as homemade.
FCM - glad to hear FCD’s appointment went well. Hope the treatment does the trick! (Fingers crossed, prayers said, good thoughts sent…)
Tee hee - just previewed and read your post about susan’s list, Bobbio. Some of them would be great names. It’s funny to try to imagine the person behind Tina’s B-day Gift or 10 pound weights.
Hi scout! Seems like I’ve heard about the PB/bacon/apple combo before… Does sound odd, though.
Well, off to work on the album and then the next installment.
GT
Oh my goodness gt Paris CDG is the most horrific, unorganised, most likely to make a travelling stranger wish they had never got this new fangled flying idea in the world. I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE it. I point blank refuse to fly to or through it - even if it is the cheapest option. A feeling I also have about Houston George Bush.
Sorry I am still reelling from my “Continental Airlines are atrocious and IAH is an awful airport” travel trauma this last trip home.
As for the weekend after I accomplished my monster list of things to do on Saturday Sunday involved baking a veggie lasagne and not a lot else. I however hurt my back in bed last night (and no not from anything naughty just did nto sleep well at all) and when I turn up to the chiropractors today I could hardly walk and they don’t know why. Off for X-rays & and MRI tomorrow. Fun stuff.
I am hungry and want to go home but I have two more things I have to do for the new boss tonight before I go home…
As far as crystals go, there are just so many shops in town catering to the “crystal clientele”. All crystals are healing, some deal with fertility issues, others with physical or mental health problems. They are often sold as they were found, and have facets and jagged edges. The colors are what I am usually drawn to - I like amethyst (maybe because Mr. beckwall’s company is called Amethyst Productions) and anything with green in it. I just carry a few crystals with me in my purse, and I do have a small altar at home with stones and also milagros.
Now, milagros - whole 'nother story. 
Old’un. 42 is twice my age. 
gt, wonderful MMP. I am almost literally hanging off the edge of my seat waiting for the next section. And bravo on the idea of an MMP in installments. Might’ve helped mine read more easily.
Today in international news, more about Amsterdam! In case you don’t remember, I mentioned this last week: I got an email about a master’s program in theoretical physics at the University of Amsterdam, and I submitted preliminary qualifications to decide if I was worthy of submitting a full application.
Well, today I found out that apparently I am worthy, and the full application … isn’t very full, actually. It’s just some more personal information, and they want my picture for some reason. So combined with a letter of recommendation, I remain optimistic about my chances of getting into this program. Only one thing remains, and that is to consult my current physics professor about the quality of the program. Anyone here know how good the schools are in Amsterdam?
Oh, and about those crystals? I call bullshit. Or at least, cite.
What are milagros? They sound like a Mexican dish of some kind–or migrant workers.
Can you tell I don’t speak Spanish?
Congrats, Rifty!
Where have you been? I needed math help, dammit! 
Forgot.
I find this sort of convenient:
From the Sedona linke above
IMO, this seems to act as rationale for man as dominant.
Sorry, just caught my eye–not trying to start anything. (just remembered where I am…)
So, something like 45 minutes after I landed, I arrived at my departure gate. The inside of the terminal was nice enough. Not sure if they’re expanding toward this building or if they’ve just temporarily relocated these gates. (I have no idea whether the whole Terminal 3 fiasco is related to this…) They have several shops, what seem like permanent restrooms, Plasma-LCD TVs (they were labeled, that’s how I know), and nice seating.
The crowd at the gate was much more diverse than the bunch that I’m used to from the Stuttgart-Atlanta route (I’ve flown that route 5 or 6 times in the past 10 years). It’s generally a lot of German tourists, German-Americans flying to or from Germany, the occasional military family and a bunch of business types. On this flight, there were a lot of people who were traveling from India to NY; quite a few French, a few New Yorkers, other assorted Europeans (I heard people speaking Italian and Spanish, and the guy who sat in the row ahead of me was reading a Hungarian newspaper - Magyar Somethingorother) and a few Americans. This crowd was much more interesting for people-watching purposes, I must say.
The best overheard conversation happened while we were standing in line, waiting to have our boarding passes verified. It was between two of the travelers returning from India. The line had a turn in it and they wound up across from each other for a little bit and had their conversation right in front of me. They recognized each other because they had been to the same wedding. They spent several minutes figuring out which friends and relatives they had in common, who was related to whom, etc. “So you know So-and-so? Well she’s married to my cousin What’s-his-name. And you’re Whoosit’s younger brother? Aha.” Yes, the world is small.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. (Imagine that!) I’d been typing for a while, when they announced that the flight was overbooked. They were offering a free overnight stay in Paris and a 600 Euro check to anyone who was willing to fly the next day instead. It was very tempting, since the only part of Paris I’ve ever seen is the airport. Also, I belatedly realize, it would have offered me additional opportunities to regale the MMP with travel stories. But: 1) the airport is a ways from the part of Paris I’d like to visit and I’m sure the hotel would have been that Sheraton I’d passed on my trip to the gate, 2) I needed the 4-day weekend to get back home mentally, 3) and I WAS NOT GOING TO TAKE THAT BUS AGAIN!
Back to the line: In my semi-conscious state (I still feel like those planes crossing the road were part of a dream), I found that there was a message on my boarding pass telling me that there would be 45 minutes travel time between my flights. Found this after I was at the gate, getting ready to board. (Now they tell me!)
The ultra-luxurious boarding process included having to cross a street (we had our own walk signal and crossing guard) and then climb stairs (which were at least covered in case of precipitation). I wondered what happens to people who can’t make it up the stairs.
They skipped the usual row-by-row (or, in Delta’s case, zone-by-zone) boarding protocol and just had us trickle through. Somehow we all boarded without incident anyway. It didn’t take any longer than the row-by-row deal and was much less annoying (I am inevitably in zone 7 and get to a point where I fear they’ll decide to leave my zone behind.)
Despite the announced overbooking, the seat next to me and the ones in front of me remained empty for quite a while. I sat down so that I could stay out of others’ way. And then, just when I was adjusting to the idea of sitting all by my lonesome, a tall, dark, handsome (really!) guy approached and stowed his carry-on luggage in the compartment just above my seat. Did you know it’s possible to get a rather nice view of a person’s abs when they are stowing luggage in the proverbial overhead compartments? I’m just sayin’.
To be continued…
Cuz somehow jet lag kicked in last night (huh?) and I became very sleepy, very early. Didn’t finish pictures (although I figured out I missed having some of them printed AND I need additional pages for my album) and never even got near this. But hey, it provides a natural sort of cliffhanger…
GT
Gah!
You can’t stop now! I am on my way to work and need something to mull over for the next 12 hours…
Ze stranger zat down next to vous, eh?
Purses fingers together and kisses them (oops, wrong stereotype).
Please tell me we don’t have to wait until tomorrow for the next installment. Cause that would just be cruel.
I think I read that somewhere before.
Why oh why can’t I sleep at night? It used to be my insomnia was caused by an irregular sleep schedule (one thing you don’t get on a Navy ship is a full night’s sleep) and stress. Well, I have a regular sleep schedule now and minimal stress in my life. So what’s the deal.
I got a cord of firewood delivered yesterday. Today is the second day of abnormally high temperatures (like in the '60s, man). I know they are related somehow.
And how can we keep hijacking and derailing the thread if gt keeps posting in installments?
indecisive1 you can roll the dough out and cut it into strips. It’s just purtier pressed from a cookie press. I usually use the press, but if I decide to roll the dough out and cut it, I use a fork to make indentations in each straw because, well, it makes 'em purtier.
donkeybear what Bobbio said. I’m Whiskypalian, he’s Luterun.
gt I hope in the next installment you either rip his shirt off or “accidentally” fall asleep with your head on his shoulders or chest. Or. maybe he orders champagne and caviar and romances you the whole flight. Or, maybe he took off his shoes, had really stinky feet and proceded to belch, fart, scratch himself in inappropriate places and snore the whole flight. Whichever scenario would make good readin’.