Sortin' thru that pile in the MMP

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Afternoon all. Made it to the gym (finally) and took it a bit easy (20 minutes of swimming instead of 30) and the scale said I’m down to 265.2lbs after a week of sloth! Hmm, either that Diet Soda has helped a lot or the scale lies… Will eat out tonight (as usual) and then we’ll see how the week goes. A little rain around now with more promised tonight.

shoe, nice of you to take care of the birdies. And Turkeys are supposedly pretty bright birds (so said Ben Franklin, supposedly when he wanted the Turkey as our National Bird instead of the Eagle), so maybe Old Tom is just working on your corn supply (seems to have worked today).

Oopsie, 1776 is one of my favorite musicals,I try to catch the movie whenever it is on,
so it’ll be interesting with such a mixed cast. (possibly inappropriate joke: Will the song be “Sit down Joan!”)? Enjoy it and the jazz festival.

Legend, welcome if you haven’t visited before, yeah, I know about having family stuff. I have most of my families old (I’m talking 40’s-50’s and later) photos and haven’t really done much with them in 20 years; they are inside a large ottoman that is under my desk so unless I really look there they are ‘out of sight, out of mind.’ One of these days…

Pearl, best wishes on the work front.

nellie, I think Wyoming wants to ban electric cars now… And what Dr. King would think–but that would be a discussion for another part of the board.

Seanette, gooed news on the foster cats; ya done good, ma’am.

JtC, had some friends in Chicago who tried to keep chickens in the city; I think 2 of them got killed and eaten by feral cats/hawks, so unless you can provide very good protection, I think you’re probably wise to let that idea go.

OK, some TV watching and then decide where to procure the evening meal. All y’all take care.

42

Wonderful news about Little Miss and Tiny seanette!

metal mouse, like JtC, I think you would like a tablet for travel. Heck, you can even use it to take books with you with the Kindle app.

oopsie, it’s been 3 years for most stuff for a few years now.

I have a stack on my kitchen table, mostly of recipe print outs and grocery lists. I tend to go through them monthly and put some in the recycle bin and some of the recipes in a binder. I also have a banker box in the bedroom closet with paid bills for the last 3 years (I’m down to two that I pay by check, so that’s shrinking). Everything else is digital.

Irked and came home. I was just doing KP when Nelson went bonkers at the door. It was my neighbor whose apartment is opposite mine on the font of the building. She brought me a belated holiday gift (candle that I’m going to have to put somewhere to regift eventually, but, hey, it’s the thought that counts).

Stay safe and healthy y’all!

43

Peace and quiet returns!! It was nice to have everyone here - BIL even came! I took the kids into the basement till it was time for me to cook, then I sent SIL down to wrangle them. Supper was really good and I ate too much. MIL said it was the first big meal she’d had in a while, and even BIL stuffed his face. Both of them have lost a lot of weight and BIL especially needs to add a bit more to his frame. Oh, and SIL brought cheesecake for dessert - OMG was it good!

Questions about cornbread - mine was tasty but waaaaaay too crumbly. Would another egg have helped? It was equal parts of flour and corn meal and I increased the recipe by 1.5, but I only used 1 egg. So was that my mistake?

The dishwasher just finished its load. FCD is taking his mom and brother back to the apartment. I think I’ve earned some mega-chillage.

44

The lack of an egg was likely the cause of your crumbly cornbread Moooooom. I’ve begun using a 1:2 mix of psyllium husk fiber and H2O for eggs in baking with good results.

45

Howdy Y’all! We are home from men’s night over to the church house. We had a good group present. We ate. We drank. We solved all the world’s problems, but, as usual, no one ever listens to us. Thus the world remains in chaos for yet another month. We also discussed Shrove Tuesday (comin’ up in just over a month!) and the biiiiig St. Patrick’s feast (comin’ up in two months!). We assist with Shrove Tuesday pancakes, bacon, and snausages and take the lead for St. Patrick’s. We also need to figure out if we will have any fish fries durin’ Lent, how many if so, and the Firday night(s) we shall do 'em.

Nettie good news on the kitties!

MOOOOOOM as red said, the cornbread needed another aig. However, it got et, so ya did good.

Now 'tis time to stare at some Netflix and then go beddy bye.

46

This got me Googling egg replacements, which in turn led me to a trip to Sprout’s for a commercially made egg replacement. It’ll work for things like baking, but pretty obvious wouldn’t if I were to tackle egg bites. Any suggestions there, other than hope I can find actual eggs at a not-totally-deranged price when I want to tackle something like that or scrambled eggs?

47

Happy Moonday!

I hear it was really cold this morning.
I slept in until 830, so it doesn’t matter to me anyway.
It’s almost 50 degrees now though.

Ripple was standing next to my bed shaking this morning. I don’t know what was up, but once I started petting him, the shaking stopped.
He seems to be okay now.

Paper usually doesn’t build up too badly around here.
Lately I’ve been a bit lax in taking care of it, and there is a whole lot more of it with all the estate stuff.
I bought a rolling craft cart with 12 drawers to file everything in. I have a bunch of medical stuff to keep organized, this turning 65 Medicare bullshit gets on my f’ing nerves. My PCP showed me the list of stuff you’re supposed to have done when you turn 65.
Who has time for all that shit?
Once everything with the estate and unemployment gets settled, I’ll file all that stuff upstairs with all the rest of the ‘to keep’ papers.

JtC, that is why you get a rooster with the chickens. Roosters will protect the chickens, but a goat can irk too. One of my favorite
youtuber farmer
put a steer in with his turkeys to protect them from an owl.

I didn’t get much done today, other than irk.
I really need to get back on a regular irk schedule, and everything else schedule.

48

Took a long nap, made an Old Fashioned with my Southwest cheeseburger and fries.

Pearl!
: tacklehug :stuck_out_tongue: and {{{{hugs}}}} on the work thing.

I also heard 7 years. How long to keep taxes, and how long gum stays in your stomach.

I like to celebrate with Wild Turkey, too.

49

My wife and I walk at least an hour a day. In the inclement weather we walk laps in the local mall. They open their doors three hours earlier than the stores open for us. In the two years we have been there we have gotten to know most of the regulars. We are the only people at this time wearing masks.

Today, a woman who is new since the first of the year stopped us and asked if we were OK. I assured her that we were fine. She said that she noticed that we wear masks and was hoping that is was not because we were in poor health. She said that she had been worried about us and was glad we were OK.

It was strange, but kind of touching…

50

On behalf of the “don’t eat enough sometimes” tribe, this made me happy. You must have made something that tasted and smelled delicious, if you got their appetite worked up that much.

Good on ya!

I’d have said your mistake was not using a box or two of Jiffy mix, but I’m like that.

That is kinda sweet.

51

re: cornbread this sounds weird but as a kid, because of being disabled and my legal situation we always ended up on the government food donation list back when if someone grew too much of something … the USDA would have it processed and donated so wed get the infamous cheese which was (generic Velveeta really tho sometimes you’d get the real thing because it had a big "kraft"wrapper on it) and all these odd canned goods like pork that had so much salt on it you had to rinse it off to eat it (mom made it like tuna for sandwiches and I even liked the powdered eggs …)

But we’d get these 5-pound bags of cornmeal and sometimes we make our own but most of the time if mom wanted it for dinner shed just go to the Marie calendars pie shop side and just order a sheet of it for there

So I was looking at it one day and noticed a weird chocolate cookie recipe on the back and we were like chocolate cornbread cookies? erm ok … then a day or so I was bored and remember the recipe and well I made them … and they were great … and made them for several occasions and discovered that people used cornmeal instead of flour id love to have that recipe again …
No offense the only reason one needs “jiffy” anything is 1 they only have a buck or less to spend … or they’re out of the better stuff

And I was told it was 7 years for utilities … but I have tons of papers I have to keep because of medical plans and SSI/A and such … plus I had 13 years of papers dealing with me being a ward of California and Indiana…bleh I say to paperwork lol

52

We used to get government cheese as well and I remember big wheels and bricks of cheese. You are right, the velveeta stuff was horrible but some of the wheels were really good cheese back when we had it…like in the 60’s…geeze, I’m stinking old.

Dad LOVED the spam stuff and would fry up for us kids every chance he got and Mom would mix the ham with the powdered potatoes and some of the cheese and fry them up for something I would love to be able to recreate.

I still get government cheese once in a while nowadays. The United State Department of Agriculture (which I speeled right the first try) still buys surplus food and dairy products from the farmers which go to food banks and the surplus boxes I get every week .

Some of the cheese is ick, but some of it is the good stuff I remember from back in the day.

And as long as I’m speechifying…did you guys know that food stamps are funded by the USDA?

53

Up, caffeinated, and sheveled. Off to heave.

54

That’s what FCD said - he prefers Jiffy. Plus he said my batch was too thick - it did rise pretty high. I’ll try it again some day with the proper ratio of ingredients and see how it goes.

I decided to sleep with Mel last night, and I got a good 8 hours. I think Tobias and I will run to Food Lion this morning as it’s the last day of the current sale - I’ll see if I can score another chicken, plus I’ll get FCD some more Cherry Coke Zero - he drinks a LOT of that.

We’ve got to make some decisions about the summer. As Head Honcho, Daughter is a 12-month employee, so she doesn’t get off when school is out. I know she’d like to take Roxy out of school for the summer, mostly to save $$$, and it’d save me, too, since I give her a portion of the tuition. But I need to talk to her about having alternative arrangements because FCD and I would like to go away on our boat for a little while. We’ve got time to work it out.

Gonna be a dreary, cold day today. My sweetie is taking his brother to a neurologist appointment this morning. I’ve got a dishwasher that needs to be emptied and a table leaf to remove and put away. And I need to roll suck the dining room because I know Roxy got cornbread crumbs all over the place. Try not to envy my exciting life!

Happy Tuesday!!

55

Good Mornin’ Y’all! Up and caffeinatin’. YAWN ‘Tis 47 Amurrkin out and clear with a predicted high of 75 and partly N.O.S. for the day. Rain might or might not be in the forecast. TWPTB are bein’ all willy-nilly about that. The big items on today’s agenda are laundry (oh the joy!) and I get to see the doc and the vampires at nine-thirty this mornin’. Sup shall be boxed lasagna (don’t judge), sallit, and cheesey garlic bread.

Hippy that was thoughtful of her, and a little weird.

Now I need more caffeine but rumbly tummy will have to wait to be fed until after the vampires. Then I suppose I must needs purtify and don attire acceptable for bein’ amongst the great unwashed. Woe is me!

Happy Tuesday Y’all!

56

Good morning everyone.

It’s currently 41 degrees with an expected high of 50, and clouds and finally rain showers move back in this evening.

Tomorrow the office is having a goodbye luncheon for someone who is retiring at the end of the month. It’s a potluck (not a fan), and the theme is Hawaiian. I volunteered to bring something which means I need to go to the store today to pick up the ingredients and make it tonight. The food is supposed to be Hawaiian too.

The husband slept for a long time yesterday, got up for a few hours, then took another nap and didn’t wake up until 4ish. His cough was nearly gone, so that’s good news. He’s still got sinus problems, but at least the cough subsided.

It’s back to the salt mines today. I donwanna.

I hope you all have a great day.

57

Morning everyone. Well, I seem to have become sick, too. No throwing up, luckily, but it still sucks to deal with.

58

Good morning, everyone.

It’s still dark, but, that’s how it is, this time of year. We’re going to have sunshine, and 54F. For now, it’s 42F. Not bad.

I need to do laundry. It looks like the entire cast of Ben-Hur disrobed, and left their laundry for me to take care of. Good grief. I detest laundry. I shouldn’t. I know what it was like when I was growing up. It’s nothing like that, nowadays. So, I need to put my big girl bloomers on, and get over myself.
Other than that, I’ll need to roll suck, as well. There are also some dishes that I have neglected since last night. I’ll take care of that, too.

I see where one of our dogs, Shayna, has broken ANOTHER fang. This time, it’s her bottom left. The last time (Some months ago), it was her upper right fang. So, I’m going to have to make an appointment with the vet, for an extraction. It’s not bothering her, yet. It will, though. There goes another $400+. She REALLY needs to stop chewing on the chain link fence! You’d think she would have grown out of that crap by now. But, nope. It’s a wonder I’m not layin’ drunk around here, 24/7, I swear. Ugh. Always something.

Have a good day, Dopers.

59

Happy Tuesday.

My work schedule is 10:30 pm - 7:00 am, which is perfectly fine with me, but it does mean that if I sleep through the night on my days off (Sunday and Monday nights), I have to re-adjust my sleep schedule so I’m not dead on my feet on Wednesday. Consequently, I tend to roam about Portland in the small hours of Monday and Tuesday mornings.

This morning found me in an all-night cafe/bakery at 2:30 am, noshing on a breakfast burrito and a cup of coffee while I read some Wodehouse on my phone (courtesy of Project Gutenberg). It was perfectly enjoyable Wodehouse, but as it was some of his Public School Boys stories, it didn’t send me rolling in the aisles the way a “Bertie & Jeeves” or a “Life at Blandings” would have. By 3:00 am, I had finished the burrito and was hoping for the server to come by with a coffee refill, when a young lady (whom I supposed was my server) dropped a paper (which I supposed was my check) on my table, saying, “I have something for you.”

She was NOT my server (which became clear to me when she returned to her own table and rejoined her companion, and also didn’t bring me any more coffee as I requested), and the paper was NOT my bill. Rather, it was a folded napkin, on which had been drawn a little cartoon angel (PROBABLY – there were no wings, but the figure did have a halo and a benevolent smile), accompanied by the rubrics “Have a Lovely Day!” above, and "Entertain my Angle!" (I THINK that’s what it said; I have it before me now, and it’s written in light brown pencil, so it’s a bit difficult to make out) below. It struck me as somewhat oracular, or cryptic, anyway, and being shy, I tried to betray no outward reaction, but went back to my Wodehouse.

Five or so minutes later, a server DID come around to me, bearing another paper that wasn’t my bill, and acceded my request for more coffee. She also let me order a slice of pie, as long as it wasn’t banana cream. I chose lemon/sour cream. The second paper was a note, written in purple ink. Bear in mind that the handwriting was different to that accompanying the cartoon angel; it’s plain that this message had emerged from another quarter. It reads as follows:

She misses you too and askes [sic] that you try not to be so sad. Have some of “my pie” know I love you and we’ll be together soon! [note that the dot of the exclamation point is a little heart] please do smile, dear! :slightly_smiling_face: 1/17/23

Quite the mash note, what?

Anyway, that’s the story of how kaylasdad99 learned that he apparently has Resting Bitch Face.

P.S. By the way, there are a total of two shes who could qualify for “miss[ing me] too,” and as they are both dead, telling me that I will be together with either of them “soon” is not the kind of thing that’s going to cheer me up real fast. I’ve just signed a fourteen-month lease on an apartment, and I’d prefer not to default on it.

60

The recipe I use:
one cup each of flour and cornmeal (medium grind)
1-1/3 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup sugar (yeah, some people call that sacrilege)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter (cooled)

I’d suggest soaking the cornmeal in the buttermilk for about ten minutes before adding the other ingredients.