I can haz someythin to do with blooburrees?
A couple days ago, I bought a box of blueberries because they were on sale and looked nice. Sadly, they’re either rather tart or just plain bland. So, there’s two pounds of unloved blueberries looking for a tasty use.
Any ideas? Right now, my kitchen is sparse - the blenders and ice cream maker are packed, so no smoothies or ice cream.
Grumble. We apparently had a lightning strike on the power line serving our house. The line breaker is popped, as well as about half of the house breakers. VWife has no power right now.
I can hardly wait to find out how many boob tubes, stereos, microwaves, and computers toasted in the process. :rolleyes:
I forgot to add my congrats to** Mr. Rebo** on getting the job. That’s excellent news!
My parents had to put their dog to sleep today. 
They’re both very upset. They got Pumbaa (named after the Lion King character) after I left home so he was never my dog, but I’m sad to see them sad.
Howdy Y’all! Just a quick post before cheese thang makin’ commences.
Yay for MrRebo!!! Rebo make sure the cheese and butter are really, really soft and make sure to mix in the flour one cup at a time. The dough should be kinda stiff but they shouldn’t come out all crumbly. Plus, it is one of those things that takes two or three times to get right for some reason.
taxi the grilled okra is actually firm enough to cut with a fork if you are so inclined. One person said she liked it because it was not as slimy, so fwiw, she says it’s a lot less slimy. I will eat the Pod of God in any shape, form, or fashion so I ain’t the best person to ask, I reckon. However, I do think you’d like it grilled. The combo of olive oil and the taste of okra are good together.
Sorry about the 'rents doggie. It’s hard to let a beloved pet go.
gt if you can make it to da cave I’ll give ya some cheese thangs. 
BBBobbio I hope there’s no major damage.
Show of hands everybody who thinks doggio is now flat broke, lyin’ in the gutter and swillin’ MD2020.
ETA: Yay for the new love interest Moonie!
**gotti **- blueberry coffee cake? I’ve made a couple in recent weeks and they were really good. But the more crumbly stuff on top, the better.
Yay for Mr. Rebo!! Very happy news!!
**Bobbio **- what’s the deal with pumping a septic tank? I thought they were designed to require no maintenance. We’ve lived in many houses with septic systems, including this one, and we’ve never had any of them pumped, nor have we ever had any issues. Just a little RidX every once in a while.
I was going to take **FCD **out for supper, but he’s hurting, so we’re in for the night. He did stop and buy a new splitter, and that took care of our bad cable signal, so yay!
I had a 1 hour meeting today that lasted for 2 hours. Mr. Chatty-Butt just kept going on and on and one, including criticizing my part, even tho he had absolutely no idea of what I do. So I just redid one part. It adds nothing to the final product, but it kept peace on the team. What really kills me - this guy isn’t the lead, but he thinks he is. He’s just an ass who loves meetings. The team lead told me this guy held a SEVEN HOUR meeting last week. :eek: :eek: :eek:
But I’m much better now…
Nothin’ was blowed up. I was hoping my computer got hit, so I could get a new one.
Moooooooom, new septic systems are like what you’re thinking. Unfortunately, mine is not. It’s old school and flat out old, and was designed to be pumped every 4-5 years. It wasn’t touched for the 20 years The Former Denizen had The Lair, and was basically constipated. The black water occasionally went out the overflow pipe, and gas backed up into the house as a result.
I’m sorry about the parents’ pup, **taxi. ** They do become part of our families and it’s always difficult when they go.
FCM, septic tanks are supposed to be pumped every few years. How often depends on the size. If you don’t pump them, stuff starts backing up, into your bathtub for instance. I speak from experience there. The norm is every five to seven years for pumping.
We were ignorant about that and didn’t realize they needed to be pumped that often. So, not only was our tank full, but the sensors on the pump for sending out the gray water had gone on the fritz. It was a very expensive lesson. Ours was not a gravity fed drainfield, hence the need for the pump. Of course when we moved, the tank and field required an inspection and had to be pumped again. That’s a requirement when you sell a house with a septic system out here. If you don’t pass inspection, then you have to pay to repair whatever is wrong. Fortunately, we passed. That cost less than the first time, but it was still around $350.00 bucks to get it done.
Anyway, I don’t miss the septic tank not one little bit. I’m on the sewer system in this house.
I went to town with the Wii Fit and some of the Wii games today. It was a good workout! The Wii Fit will definitely put you through the wringer. After that, I did some Wii boxing, tennis and golf. Okay, so the golf wasn’t really a workout, but all the other stuff was!
Or, Moonie Gets a Taste of the Simple Life, and it Tastes Like Sausage.
So, a little under three weeks ago, Chez Moonie was abuzz with activity. It was mid July, and by extension midsummer, and plans were afoot. I had just taken my final exam for my Summer Thermodynamics class, signaling the end of my Summer class commitment and the beginning of that magical time between completion of Summer semester and start of Fall semester wherein I have nothing whatsoever to do. Coincidentally, since we all wanted to get out of the house and find some weather that didn’t suck NSFW Donkey Appendages, and Dad had some mandatory use-it-or-lose-it vacation time, we decided it was vacation time. Specifically, we decided we were going to head to the mountains, and more specifically still, we were heading to the Garett-Patomac State Forest in the Appalachians of Western MD. We’ve been camping out there before, at a place called Snaggy Mountain, a campground which is literally nothing more than a dozen or so campsites spaced a quarter of a mile apart along a dirt road in the middle of the forest. It’s one of our favorite places to go because it’s relatively close and so quiet and peaceful and private, and we were all looking forward mightily to getting away from our busy suburban lives and getting some rest and relaxation.
Now, vacation time at the Moonie household is not just an occurrence, it is an EVENT. Every detail must be planned and accounted for so that nothing can ever possibly go wrong in any way shape or form known to man or God. Preparations began three days in advance, with a trip to the library to pick up books to read at the campsite; I went light this time and made it out of the Fantasy/SciFi section with only about five thousand pages of the likes of George R. R. Martin and Mercedes Lackey for me and LilBro to share. Mom got additional books for herself and for Dad. Grocery shopping had to happen, too, picking up at least a week’s worth of food and drinks and snacks (for a four day trip) and planning meals and packing the cooler and a million other things related to making sure we don’t go hungry. Then we had to pack up all the clothes we’d be taking, gather up sleeping bags and pillows and blankets, collect things like flashlights and plastic utensils and disposable plates/cups and toilet paper and everything else you need for a camping trip. Finally, we had to load everything, as an altogether unfathomable amount of crap got piled into the back of the car and into the camper until there was barely enough room left for the four of us, but we still managed to fit ourselves in and away we went like the Beverly Hillbillies, except instead of piling the family into the car to head from the boonies to civilization, we were heading from civilization to the boonies. Funny how that works, eh? The actual trip was pretty boring; LilBro and I spent the whole four-hour duration listening to music on his iPod using a headphone splitter and a USB car charger, so we wouldn’t have to spend eternity watching cow pastures roll past. We finally arrived at the campsite around late afternoon and got the ancient tent trailer set up in short order, and settled in to do nothing, because that’s what vacation is all about.
Aside: I love our old popup tent camper. We bought it used about 15 years ago and it’s been all over the place with us and has a TON of memories locked away in its particleboard and Formica construction. That said, it’s a piece of crap - the retractable step has rusted through on one side so we can’t use it, the tent portion is full of patched holes, it’s missing the curtains (eaten by mice), its dirty, the lid to the cargo compartment is cracked almost in half, the zipper that holds the awning in place has dry rotted away, the elastic cords that held the tent in place when set up dry rotted away as well, the strap that holds the battery which powers the lights in place has frayed in two, its stained with mildew and dirt, and one of the door latches broke off. Its falling apart, and we need to replace it, but we can’t afford to and we love it too much to just cast it aside anyway.
Anyway, so now we had made it to Snaggy Mountain and set up the camper and we were ready to really start vacationing in the only way we know how: Doing nothing, and eating. Books were brought out and we dug in to some good stories and the Subway sandwiches we’d picked up during the trip.
Monday was our first full day in the mountains, and we decided to continue our proud and noble tradition of doing nothing while on vacation by spending the ENTIRE DAY reading and napping, a process facilitated in no small part by the fact that it rained. A lot. Mountain thunderstorms are so much fun, the thunder echoes off the surrounding hillsides and reverberates seemingly forever. Fortunately the rain didn’t start until the afternoon, though, so even though we all slept in late we were able to get up and fix a delicious breakfast of eggs and sausage. Not just any sausage, either, but a jumbo pack of 24 sausage links, because you can never have too much sausage – a fact which would evolve into a running theme over the next few days. Anyways, the rain let off early enough for us to build a campfire and enjoy it for a few hours before it was time to go to bed, in case the two or three naps I took during the day weren’t enough.
Tuesday was a wee bit more interesting. Once again we all slept in late and then breakfasted, and by the crack of noon we were ready to face the day. Then we drove to nearby Deep Creek Lake, and rented a speedboat! We were cruising along all over the lake oogling the expensive waterfront mansions and having a ton of fun, until the smoke detector started screaming at us and we had to call the rental place on Dad’s cellphone and they sent another boat out for us so we got to make a mid-lake boat-to-boat transfer. But the new boat was more fun anyway and they gave us a free extended rental for the trouble so it all worked out in the end. After that it was back to the campsite for more napping and reading and eating, in this case a dinner made from rice, mozzarella cheese, sautéed vegetables, and another huge pack of sausages – at least two pounds. Remember, you can never have too much sausage. After that it was time to toast s’mores over the campire we built, and then bedtime!
Wednesday started off pretty predictably. We slept in, got up, and ate a so-called “Mountain Man Breakfast” which consists of layers of fried eggs, hash browns, cheese, and (you guessed it!) two pounds of crumbled sausage. By the crack of 1:00PM, we were off for more adventures, in this case a hike down a couple short trails at Muddy Creek Falls through the old Hemlock forests. I have always loved it there – the constant roar of water as two rivers crash over waterfalls and come together accompanies you while you walk through stands of 300-year-olf Hemlocks and Oaks on trails that are springy with dirt made from centuries of accumulated, decomposed pine needles. It’s wonderful. We also stopped by the nearby Swallow Falls Campground and used the showers in the bath houses there to get clean because we were all pretty gross and stinky by now. After that, feeling much more human, we headed to the nearby town of Oakland to eat dinner in a local mom-and-pop restaurant; the food was delicious and the portion sizes perfect. Then, for the final time, it was back to the campsite to crash by the campfire until bedtime.
And at last, Thursday. Nothing much to speak of here – we got up, cleaned up, ate up, packed up, drove home, and reversed the packing process. That’s really all there was to it, although afterwards I took a shower in a “real” bathroom and it was wonderful.
So yeah, that’s about it. A great trip, mostly consisting of laying around the campsite reading or napping, gathering firewood for Dad to chop up with the chainsaw, lounging by the ensuing campfires, and eating sausage, interspersed with fun activities, all set in the mountains where the weather was cool and not humid. It was great, but at the same time it was really nice to be back home where there’s clean showers and a refrigerator full of food and all my friends and an internet connection. It’s nice to get away – but it’s often almost as nice to get back home!
Also, thanks to everyone wishing me and Jasmine the best, or at least Awwwwwwwing over the cuteness of young love. It’s flattering! I’ll be 22 in two weeks, and Jasmine is two days older than I am; this is not her first relationship, but it is mine, and it’s the most exhilarating and frightening thing in the world. I’ll be back later to post a summary (SFW, I promise! XD) of her visit, cuz I love telling stories, and then I’ll get around to responding to you all in turn! :3
Moonie know what would have made that campin’ trip perfect? A lot of sausage cooked over a campfire cause you can never have too much sausage.
Cheese thangs are made. Church ladies shall be happy. I get to make two more batches for the anniversary do tomorrow. How much longer will I be able to keep up with this madcap lifestyle!
My septic system is designed to never need pumpin’. Like MOOOOOOM’s system, a little RidX down the terlet once a month keeps things in balance. The ecosystem in my septic tank is extremely gross and I never want to see it, but as long as it keeps happenin’ I am a happy bear.
Ok, time for some teevee veggin’ then beddy bye.
Nitey Nite Y’all!
ETA: First on Four!
Congrats to Mr. Rebo and Moonie!
Camping with your family sounds like fun, Moonie. Can I come along next year?
I’ll be there to collect my cheese thingies in the morning, swampy.
Sorry about the parents’ puppy, taxi.
Home. Ate today’s garden sandwich which was actually a hot sandwich (tomato and red pepper covered with a bit of cheese, lightly broiled. Added some spinach for additional green stuff. It was quite tasty. I’m considering strawberries and a bit of yogurt for dessert. Already had my pre-dinner chocolate.
After that, I’ll knit for a while and then crawl into bed, I think.
It’s almost Firday!!!
GT
I’m going to just cop out and say rosie’s sig to all… It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I’m tired and can’t keep up.
And also, we’ve got the kind of septic tank that needs to be pumped, too. Actually, I think we have two of them or at least there’s two different ‘holes’ that they open up and pump out.
tired - all sung out
Go Rigsy!
Go Pie! (I saw the photos)
rosie out.
Sewers are such a great invention…
Gratz to Mr. Rebo! New jobs are a good thing.
Still getting calls from agents, which is a good thing too because it leaves me with the impression that I ought’a be able to get back on track after the course in Scotland is done.
<snerk> Swampy said sausage.
Great news about Mr Rebo! In the same week that rigs gets a new job too, 'im indoors has been approached about a potential job in Paris at a stonkingly good rate so he’s looking into that. I don’t know whether anything will come of it but you never know.
I’ve got 4.5hrs left at work before my holiday. Not that I’m counting, you understand, but that’s the way it is. I have a long list of stuff to do over the weekend, part of which involves enjoying a peaceful Saturday on my own while he’s off go-karting and boozing on a stag do, and then there’s the small matter of packing!
rosie’s sig to all!
It’s Firday!!!
That is all.
It is indeed Friday - Whoohoo!
Yay rigs! Yay Mr Rebo!
I have been MIA this week travelling - been to Germany and Romania and I am currently in a small town about an hour outside Bucharest. I head back to Paris tomorrow early AM
Seeing as I have been gone I know you are interested in what the latest count down is until I see my hubby. As per the usually applied 'Vacation Countdown Rules and Regulations" at 1 week the switch is made from counting the day to counting the sleeps. So
6 more sleeps til HubbyTime! :D:D:D
Yay for Firday! It’s a short day for me - I get to leave around 2:30.
That sounds like a fine camping trip, Moonie! One of these days we’ll do that. Though generally I prefer my camping at a place that has showers and air conditioning and room service…
Septic tanks sound really gross. I’ve never lived anywhere with one.
Sorry about the parent’s doggy, taxi. That’s so sad.
I took Blaze to the vet last night for 6 month booster shots. What an ordeal to take that dog! He just can’t get around very well, but when he decides he’s going (in the wrong direction) you can’t hardly stop him! 
We passed this homeless/beggar woman and her SO on the way in. The vet’s office is on a busy corner. She was very friendly, asking about Blaze and stuff, and I couldn’t get him to come inside! Finally we escaped. When we came back out, of course she was still there. And Blaze decided to poop, so I was stuck talking to her. I didn’t have anything to pick up the poop, so she volunteered! I gave her $3 - for gas so they could get back to California because she heard that her father passed away and they had a car stolen and they didn’t have any place to stay and and and…
Finally got away and came home to Italian subs that hubby made!
Whew.
ETA: Yay for only 6 “sleeps”, mmmmmmmm!