I’m not a big fan of how Discourse shows links. I just looked at the recipe by clicking on the blue “this one” which now has a 1 next to it. Sometimes seeing the number is the only thing that makes me realize that it is a link.
Thank you for the recipe and suggestion, missred, it looks yum!
The prayers continue. I so wish I could do something to help.
Evening all. Swimming and sauna are done, ham-n-cheese on rye have been consumed, and mail obtained before some rain began falling (the angels are bowling right now). New doorbell is installed, now we’ll see if anyone comes along and uses it…
{{{{Cat Glove}}}}. You have a lot on your mind, would be something wrong if you weren’t struggling a bit. Take care and remember you have friends…admittedly you known them only electronically, but we’re here. Always.
wet one, take care, hope your home/roof stays intact. Twisters are common here in N. Ali-bama too and we takes them seriously.
JtC, yeah on the pie coming out well. I eat bananas twice a day with my meals, don’t have a problem, but I have to say your recipe is awful tempting.
J Bats, I’m sure Bob will be just fine with your friend. And your stories of life in these United States do ring a bell; oh, and please don’t die, we kinda like you here.
red, thanks for the vote of confidence, but I am neither young or flexible and working under the sink means getting on the floor and inside the cabinets below, and I’m not sure I can get down there (or get back up when finished), Best let the pros do it.
nellie, I must live in the quietest community in America, nothing like that here (at least that I can hear).
FCM, enjoy the chicken. And kids can tire you out without you moving much…ask an old soccer coach who has coached U6 and U8 teams in the past.
Pilot, that sounds like a nice museum…have to remember that.
lily, glad wife-unit is doing so well.
OK, got a brochure from Viking Cruises for 2024/2025. Have always wanted to take a river cruise through Europe, may look into that for next year or '25. Might need a roomie if anyone wants to start saving their pennies…
Have a good evening/morning all.
I hope his chemo is tolerable today.
We really enjoyed our river cruise on the Danube. It seemed like a sensible and historical way to travel.
Well, I got my apartment key - excuse me, key fob. It’s plastic. Looks cheap. But if I want another one it will cost me $135. What the hey?
I’ll be right over!
Some dogs thrive in kennels, some dogs don’t. I have some kennel horror stories told by folks at my current job. But my friend’s golden retriever goes to a kennel because she clearly thrives there. Current employer is a company that handles pets for absent or invalid owners. We place the pet in a private home, like a foster situation, except it isn’t free. It’s great for dogs who don’t thrive in kennels and it works for many cats too. Some kennels and cat boarding concerns don’t have a lot of space and time to devote to the pet. Our company tries to find hosting homes with people who know and understand the pet but aren’t looking at the pet as a primary source of income but rather as a guest in the home. I’m not going to get rich at this job but it sure beats the large corporate work life.
Yay for the missus! May she heal quickly and well and may the replacement not be needed for many years.
Cat Glove, from family experience, try to avoid feeding hubs fatty and spicy food on chemo days to help avoid the puke situation. Bland is boring but bland usually stays down better. Sending strenght to both you and the hubby.
Have a good evening. I’ve got some other threads to catch up on.
Up from naptime, having a martini with meatballs and cheese tortellini.
Brown : < posts "UPS is the bestest! video on Twitter >
Commenters: “These aren’t employees, they’re clean.”(they’re probably PT Supervisors acting as {unpaid}actors).
Well, Spot is authorized to be a Vicious Attack Cat if a Blueberry from work breaks in…
Yay! and {{{{suan and wife}}}}
[Oddball]You and your negative waves.[/Oddball]
But’s it sounds like it’s not you, you just got 1000% of your RDA of weird today. Maybe that means the flight and Bob’s visits will go smoothly.
{{{{Catglove and Hubs*}}}}
lily great to hear that your wife’s surgery went well and you’re taking very good care of her.
red I’d appreciate the sweet potato soup recipe also. Never mind. I didn’t notice the link. Thanks to JtC for pointing it out. And what a great recipe. I think I’ve mentioned that the SIL is a vegetarian so this will be great to make for when we’re all at the cottage next monthl
Thanks very much WetOne. Our daughter called Hubs and told him she was under a tornado watch and that there had been reports of one near O’Hare and one near Midway.
Thanks very much JtC
Thanks very much MetalMouse If I didn’t feel real comfortable and that you guys are friends, I would never have mentioned it.
Thanks for the words of advice vroom. Perhaps the chili on the omelette wasn’t the best idea. Will keep bland in mind.
Thanks very much doggio
Well, like MetalMouse and some others, Mooom included, I’m generally a very early waker. On Monday I woke up at 4am, yesterday it was 5am. So I didn’t set an alarm last night even though I wanted to be up by 6:20ish at the latest, hopefully sooner so I could get to work by 7am since I had to be home by 9:20 to take Hubs to his appointment. Well, it was pretty bright when I woke up this morning so quickly opened my eyes and it was 7am. Fastest I have gotten out of bed and ready for work in many, many years. I punched in at 7:23am. Counted yesterday’s cash, made out the deposit slip and bank bag. Prepared the cash receipt group for both Monday’s and Tuesday’s transactions and punched out at 9:15am. This ole gal still has it (at times LOL)
I thought one was supposed to put olives in a martini. 
< adds comma >
Although tomato sauce/meatballs/tortellini/gin sounds like an Italian Bloody Mary.
It came out really good. I watch/listen to cooking shows (along with other science fiction) and one of them recommended sprinkling a little cinnamon on the bananas before adding the custard. I highly recommend!
I also had a serious happy/sad moment remembering Mom teaching me how to make a custard. I had to stand on a chair to be able to reach the burners on the gas stove and of course I was wearing a frilly dress that Mom had made. The apron I was wearing was also homemade and had ruffles.
It’s a shame that kids aren’t raised in kitchens anymore. I understand why they aren’t, both parents have to work, but I learned so many important life skills while avoiding setting myself or the kitchen on fire.
We had to have that talk with BFF’s plumber hubby. We were complaining about our disposal and he told us that replacing it was just a simple in and out job that would take 10 minutes. Thankfully BFF smacked him upside the head and told us that he would be happy to install a new one for us whenever we needed.
Enough about the fob, how is the kitchen? While nobody ever has enough counter space, is yours adequate? I hope the move goes well, I know you will be much happier in your own space.
So…stoopid raccoon knocked over the bee bath and broke it. (Bird bath that the bees took over) The across the street neighbors cat knocked the concrete one over and broke it. I’m considering a metal one, but am not sure how bees like metal on their feets.
Sending virtual hugs & popsicles, and virtual soup, and many best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Dude, you have no idea. Thanks for the kind words.
I laughed at “hyperactive wobblies” and then again at your “slow learner” quip.
That’s an A+ grade!
I had a pet bunny as a kid, and the guy we got him from mentioned occasional slices of sweet potato as a treat.
Well, my mother, being Polish and pretty much the opposite of a foodie, had never friggin’ heard of sweet potatoes. Regular potatoes, sure (Polish people of her generation luuurve them some peeled, boiled, barely salted potatoes. Hurk!)
… but I digress. She dutifully bought this strange looking spud, and we offered a nice, thick slice. HE LOVED IT, so much so that a single sweet potato became part of the usual weekly groceries.
I doubt my mother had so much as a bite, for years. Possibly still never. She & I both associated them with “rabbit food” e.g. not people food.
R.I.P. Buttons. You were one cute lil’ bun-bun.
Concur. If you want to up the protein, you’re better off with things like scrambled eggs, or dishes like chicken’n’rice. Avoid grease bombs like fried chicken, though; stick with grilled, baked … hm, maybe a stir-fry?
Okay, that was funny.
I haz a seriously very impressed.
I’d be concerned that it might get too hot.
A bit on my “upcoming” plate, though nothing like what many of y’all are dealing with:
After an absolutely ridiculous amount of back-and-forth (some of it entirely my fault) I have what I sincerely hope is the right contact info for my dental & vision insurance.
I really need new glasses, and I’m atrociously overdue for a teeth cleaning.
So tomorrow will involve some Adulting and Boring Phone Calls, but hopefully will inch me towards those two goals.
Then, there are rumors of solar activity Thursday night and they’re saying Wisconsin and Michigan may be able to see the Aurora Borealis. 
More likely in the northern parts, but if there’s even a chance … y’all, I’ve always wanted to see them, and thought I’d have to travel to, like, Norway or some shit to ever view them. I was honestly resigned to dying before ever laying eyes.
So then on Friday morning I gotta get up at the buttcrack of dawn, to drive over an hour each way for the biometrics (e.g. fingerprints) as the next step in getting my naturalization certificate → drivers license.
Irony that I’ll be on the highway for over two solid hours - helluva risk for someone with out-of-state plates, no insurance, bad license, etc. - in order to correct the problem in the first place.
Finally, Gentleman Caller. Remember him? Feel like I haven’t mentioned him in a while? Yeah. He went kind of M.I.A. lately (I knew he had school stuff, but really, something else had to be going on - he usually at least checks in briefly here & there) but he popped up in my messages just now tonight … and hey, I asked for Friday off since I didn’t know how long the appntmnt. would take, so I guess maybe, if he’s free, perhaps we could have a Friday evening date?
But I do need to find out WTF was up lately.
Thanks for your good wishes. She’s been icing her hip, has eaten, and has been up.on crutches briefly. We have PT scheduled. A friend is bringing over dinner tomorrow (we had another offer for tonight but declined). Pain is 2 or lower. Many phone alarms are set for varous meds over the next 12 hours, after which we may be able to align them better with each other. Cat* is fed, trash and yard debris are on the street, most dishes are washed, tomorrow’s meals are tentatively planned. Now I’m going to sleep for a few hours!
*Expensive testing says cat is hyperthyroid. We’ll develop our treatment plan in a few days after my lovely wife is stabilized.
Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.
Both my parents worked, so I learned to cook off the Hamburger Helper box. Along with the PBS cooking shows.
{{{{hugs}}}} and : crossed fingers : to wife and cat
Morning, mumpers! It’s 16c/61f with a predicted high of 69f< snerk >/20c, and mostly cloudy. Weather app is not impressed and says “Imagine if you were riding a horse and all that horse wanted to do was fucking eat grass. That’s like this fucking weather. Boring”. Well, boring is just fine by me.
lily glad to hear your lovely wife’s surgery went well and she’s on the road to recovery.
CatGlove sending positive vibes for you and for hubs too.
JBatty I’ve never had dogs but we have cats and I think the experience is largely the same. Two of my cats really bonded when they were in the cattery sharing a pen, one of our other cats hated it, and another seemed quite indifferent. Most of the time we use a catsitter now, so that they can stay at home in familiar surroundings and just have someone coming in a couple of times a day to feed and fuss them, clean litter trays and do medication.
Well, Shadow’s test results from the vet came back with thyroid issues so we’ll be starting him on some fancy expensive meds. They’re on order and I should be picking them up today. Hopefully that will stabilise his thyroid and it’ll help him put a bit of weight back on as he’s a skinny old thing. Not bad for a 19yr old really, and we’d like to keep him a bit longer while he’s enjoying life.
Don’t most folks choose an olive or 2?
Order yer own then! 
Fungus doesn’t need dead pig on pizza!!
No plans to go anywhere today with the kids. I’ll just let them destroy the basement till it’s time to go home.
FCD is taking his mom to her retina specialist today, then taking his bro for some testing tomorrow since BIL doesn’t know where the other hospital is and he tends to freak out in strange situations. At least he asked for help this time. They have a strained relationship going back eons…
Good sleep again for both of us. YAY!
Happy Thursday!
Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN 'Tis 74 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 93 and mostly N.O.S. for the day. The big item on today’s agenda is mowage. It must be done cause da yahd looks awful, plus TWPTB allege we will have rain possibly tomorrow and Sattidy. Thus suck it up and accomplish mowage I shall. This will, of course, mean I must double down on sloth and general overall uselessness after it’s done. Sup shall be majik intartoobz pizza (I blame all the talk of pizza up in here) and sallit.
Now I need more caffeine and to feed rumbly tummy. Then, onward into the day and mowage! Rah.
Happy Thursday Y’all!
As is my usual, I was perusing Bored Panda.
When I came across this lamp:
My first thought was: Is she missing a leg?
Morning all. Up at 5:30am, way earlier than even I am used to so nappage is a distinct possibility this afternoon. Not much on the agenda, need to go on-line and pay my annual home insurance (the plumbing problems kicked it higher, but you still need it and this company has been very responsive). So some gym time when I can. Already 75F heading to 86F and a ‘chance of rain’ for the next 5 days (the old ‘scattered thunderstorms’ routine).
swampy, happy mowage. Debating if I want to try and mow mine before my short vacation Wed-Sun, it’s not long at all but by the time I get back it may be bringing down property values in the neighborhood so we’ll see.
doggio, no comments on your martini…to each his own…besides, all the good comments have been taken, 
boo fae, best wishes for Shadow.
JtC, I was raised in the time when ‘Men didn’t learn to cook, that was wimmen’s work’, so never really have learned outside the basics that keep me fed and (more or less) healthy. Kinda wish I had learned or been taught.
shoe, good luck on the Northern Lights. I’ve seen the Southern Cross but never the Northern Lights, it’s on the list. And be careful driving.
Cat Glove, amazing how things fall into place when they need to. Glad you got both sleep and work done.
Probably the computer coding or something like that. Replacing the key fob for my car costs something in that neighborhood.
Read more of the brochure. And costly, did you mention costly? Will have to plan way ahead for that.
OK, need to do the morning internettin’ and then see what else needs to be done. Take care all.
Good morning one and all.
It’s 55F, dark and clear outside, and birds are singing. The expected high will be 83F, and tomorrow and Saturday creep up into the 90s. Wicked hot for these parts, at least on this side of the Cascades.
I’ve tried to follow along while traveling, but I’m sure I have forgotten stuff.
nellie, I’m so happy the ortho agreed the PA was twat, that your problem is serious and requires resolution, and there is a path forward that will ultimately result in no pain.
Shoe! You go, girl! You are more capable than you give yourself credit for.
catglove, sending hugs as both you and hubby deal with the effects of chemo. I hope his subsequent injections go better.
lily, I am glad your lovely wife’s surgery went well. I hope her recovery continues to go smoothly.
My drive to Spokane proved interesting the last 20 or 30 miles in as I drove into a lightning storm. The sky before me was black, and the sky behind me was bright. It was quite an interesting contrast, especially as lightning lit up the blackened skies. Then came rain and wind. These little bursts continued throughout the afternoon and evening.
The visit to the office was productive, although the staff there viewed my visit with some suspicion. I explained it had always been my plan to visit each office a few times each year, but that COVID and two other office remodels/moves kind of messed up those plans. I am also dealing with a lease renewal/TI for that office that kicks off today. Our staff would be better off relocating to the other USDA office a few blocks east of the current space. The current space is cramped and loud. I recently had to fill out a space requirements form for the current space and requested three cubes and an office. No way can happen in that space unless the lessor guts the space to the studs, takes room from the storage space and the conference room, and reconfigures everything. However, the other USDA space has been recently remodeled and has vacancies. It’s a really nice spot and has views looking over the hills there too. I presented my thoughts to the Director and Deputy, and we’ll see what happens.
I also visited the other USDA office and received a tour from my counterpart for NRCS. He and I interact regularly since our agencies often share space. It would have been nice to meet up with my counterpart for FSA, but he was on leave, and I don’t blame him for enjoying it. He has a lot on his plate.
The drive back was fairly uneventful, but instead of driving 90 to 18 to 167 to 512, I took 90 to US 97 to 12, to 410 (Chinook Pass) because there is ongoing construction on Hwy 18 that has everything backed up and there was no way I wanted to sit in that traffic backed up onto I-90. Besides, driving over Chinook is always a pleasant and beautiful experience.
Well, I suppose I should finish my coffee and get on with the day. It feels like I shouldn’t have to work, but I need to be in that lease kick-off meeting. Take care!
Take a look at Vacations to Go’s river cruise page. River Cruises: Best Discounts on All Ships and Departures . They’re a discounter that we’ve used many times for ocean cruises–this is their river cruise page. Haven’t used since before COVID, but we found them to be reputable and the cruise lines treated the booking like any other.
