Morning KarenM

You are getting all the fun snow, we’ve only been getting an infrequent light dusting.

Hope you are well.

Edit: Planned the garden space last week, looking at seed suppliers, soon.

Good Morning, KarenM
Cute snowman.
Thanks for helping our Peg.
I woke up in the middle of the night with a head cold. Been following the happenings in Cairo.
Glad to be here now. (Waving hello to everyone.)

Waving back…G’Morning All. No snow here…maybe rain.

Hi Demi,

Enjoyed your comment about you getting out to your garden, sigh, probably two months minimum before the frozen tundra melts.

Edit: Sorry to hear about your cold, never nice. Chomping down some raw garlic with a bit of fresh bread (to cut the heat) has nipped off my minor symptoms before they took hold for me so far.

Morning, Firepups!

I hope you take some photos of your garden for us. Flickr makes it pretty easy to see them.

When it’s not “quaking” or burning down, it’s a pretty cool place to live, if you don’t mind boring weather. :)

That snowman was probably built by students. I saw it on campus yesterday.

You might try some zinc for that cold. Paul and I use Zicam, the rapid-melt, cherry-flavored variety. It seems to work pretty well. Your immune system loves it some zinc.

Hi, RevBev… the good news about rain is that it does not require shoveling! ;~)

Fairytale setting and architecture with those pics you posted. Lovely

We live in a neighborhood that’s pretty old. It was intended to look a bit like an English village.

The twin houses have courtyards between them. There are newer houses, too, rectangular salt-box types.

Thankfully no snow here. Thanks for the help and the good wishes. :)

Thanks, bmobm. I just looked and the only zinc I had in the cupboard was magnesium with zinc, but I went ahead and just swallowed some. And my regular vitamin. When the sun comes up, I’ll run down to the market and get a piece of chicken and some celery to make a soup.
I’m drinking hot tea now.
What a fun ball of fire I am this morning.

You’re most welcome, Margaret… I still have to send your resume and letter to someone else who has good contacts at another local hospital.

Mornin’ all!

Sore throat here with generalized weakness, cough and phlegm starting to form. TMI?

KarenM, I’m heading for the pantry now to see if I can locate zinc I believe I have…..

Magnesium is great for your mental health… can’t hurt.

That Zicam is a homeopathic remedy, so you can take it every three hours until you feel better.

Paul was impressed with how well it worked on him last fall. So, now he keeps a bottle with him in his coat pocket.

Are you saying my mental health needs help? Well, okay. You’re right. *g*

Not really, but a cold can make you feel a bit down. Magnesium can only help.

Greenie – After I get my soup made, I’ll send you some.

Sorry about your UR infection. So far I’ve dodged that bullet at least this winter.

I found some Zand brand Elderberry Zinc lozenges. As per instructions, one is dissolving in my mouth as we speak. I’ll get some of the Zicam when I go to the store. I like using homeopathics.

Heavenly. Let me know and I’ll put my bowl out.

Same here, because I don’t worry about side-effects.

Would you like to share that soup recipe, demi?

Seems we have a few others with rainy weather and the potential for colds.

You’re fortunate &/or smart. Me, I was eating enough crap that I was tempting the fates. Smart = vegetables. Me = ice cream.

Zicam works wonderfully well. I’m a big fan.

You got it. It was funny. I was just digging through the freezer hoping I had some chickie breasts. All I found was some beef, fish (talipia) and ground turkey. Drats. I’m having some oatmeal right now, then I’m going back to bed. It might be a couple hours before I can ladle you up some soup.

Thanks, Margaret! Another testimonial…

I’m a breast fan. Chicken-wise. I’ll boil one in some broth and water, cube up the meat and add onion, carrots and celery. Either rice or skinny noodles. That’s it.

You must live not far from each other… or else you’re planning to mail that soup?

When I worked in clinical research I got some good habits. Like washing my hands after I touch things that other people have handled. For example I will carry a BK wipe to clean the handle of a shopping cart when I go to HEB. The last user may have had a cold or a sniffly child may have been sneezing all over it while his/her mother shopped. Washing, (but not obsessively), does more to prevent such infections than anything else you can do. I also take vitamin E, especially in the winter.

Sounds great, I love a simple chicken soup. I prefer the thighs myself.

A couple of hours sounds good. With the way I feel, I think we can safely guess I’ll be home.

The past few days, I’ve been glued to FDL, what with Bradley Manning and with the Arab Street.

A lot of the supermarkets here actually provide wipes for your hands and for the cart. We always use them. Of course, it’s mostly cold here in the winter and the colds thrive.

The only other thing I add to mine is parsnips.

We have blizzards/heavy snowfalls virtually on a weekly basis. I’ve lived my whole long life in the upper midwest and these winters are worse than we’ve seen in the past. And we’re bracing for yet another spring of major flooding in the watershed. PTB still squabbling where to put a diversion, much less get it done. So it’s another sandbag springtime….

Watching CNN last night, Ben Wiedeman describing how out of touch the 1% elites in Egypt have been oblivious to the harsh lives of the rest of the country [my paraphrase]. He could as easily have been talking about conditions ripe for taking to the streets right here in USA.

She’s in CA. I’m in TX. The soup will be coming through the toobz.

That’s my I’vegotacodeinmydose recipe. For regular, I’ll add all other kinds of veggies – zucchini, tomatoes, corn, peas, bell peppers, potatoes…whatever I’ve got.

I love parsnips! When I can, I put the in my vegetable soup.

I agree.

That’s too bad… sounds like you could use some chicken soup.

Yes, I’m starting a Parsnips Anonymous in my area.

Good morning, everyone!

Demi, run, don’t walk, to the drugstore to get Cold-eez (or the generic equivalent). As mentioned above, zinc does really help, although there may be other ingredients in Cold-eez that contribute. You suck on one until it’s gone frequently during the day and it seems to both lessen the severity and the duration of a cold. I swear by them.

I got back Thursday from a wonderful week visiting my sister in northern CA, where it is usually rainy this time of year but was wonderfully sunny all week. They’ve had a lot of rain and it probably will resume but I hit the jackpot, weather wise!

Here in NW Indiana? Had to clean about 2 inches of snow off my car that had been parked for a week, and I’d guess at least a foot of snow on the ground. UGH I am ready for spring!!

Must be great to get all of those summery vegetables even in the winter.

And a recipe of sorts for coughs: hot water with lemon and honey. Also, Vitamins c and D. [I've taken to adding lemon to chicken soup for a flavor change of pace.]

Same here, msmolly! I can hardly wait for spring, but we still have to get through February, the month when we are likely to get most of our snow

That hot water with lemon and honey is a really good expectorant. Make sure to have a box of tissues near by.

Oh, yeah. And, my next door neighbor has a lemon tree that’s packed right now. Do you know how expensive they are at the store? It’s a real treat, for sure.

I have noticed some grocery stores place a container of anti-bacterial wipes prominently near the entrance, for people to wipe their hands and the cart handles.

Yeah, so does HEB but they are sometimes out of them when I get there so I keep one in my purse.

I’m convinced. Will get some when I go out.

Oddly, I have parsnips on my grocery list for tomorrow for the the first time in like forever.

Mornin’ all. Damn snow.

A little lemon zest in that soup will help with the healing process as would a hot cup of lemon tea with honey.

I took a good look at your terrain maps the last time you flooded out there. It is amazing to see the size of the basin, it could be the sixth of the great lakes (he writes from his home which sits safely atop part of a western ridge of the Niagara Escarpment).

Yeppers. Will do. Thanks.

Remind me where you are again? Here in South Bend, IN, we get a LOT of “lake effect” snow, mostly in January and February, in addition or on top of “system” snow. Just being out and about in the sun last week was like a tonic. But although we’re not far past the solstice, it is noticeably lighter in the mornings and stays light longer in the evenings. I’m always surprised by how quickly it seems to happen.

They’re great in vegetable soup. I may need to buy a few, too. My produce people didn’t have them this week.

Looks like this is the real deal in Egypt. Protesters are back in the streets.

That sounds like a great idea. Lemon zest! I may add some to the soup I plan to make tomorrow.

I’m not sure I’ve ever knowingly eaten parsnips. Not any aversion, just something I know nothing about. I do make yummy chicken soup, though.

Going to try them in lieu of potatoes because the starch is supposedly more easily metabolized.

Philadelphia suburbs… the most immediate one after the city, going west. Lansdowne. It’s a pretty little borough… a wonderful tree canopy, and a really, really old Sycamore that dates from William Penn’s time.

I used to call them radioactive carrots because they look like carrots but bigger and paler.

I love all of the root vegetables. And I’m pretty sure they all have good amounts of those trace minerals we all need.

They’re a bit sweet like carrots, too.

If you caramelize the parsnips a skosh and then mash them with the almighty spud you will keep parsnips on your shopping list forever.

Thanks for all the healthy tips, sisters. Gonna take my hot lemonade and go back to bed. Laterz.

My sister has a lemon tree in her back yard that is loaded with fat ripe lemons and I usually bring some back, but totally forgot this time! RATS! I don’t use many in the winter (I drink lots of fresh lemonade in the summer) but I wanted to bring at least a couple back with me.

Mmmmm… that sounds yummy.

That picture of your house in the snow is lovely, KarenM.

Me, also. I am not even sure what they look like….

Global warming has been disproved with all the snow. It was nothing more than an attempt to destroy our freedoms by the “dirty f__kin hippies.”

Been looking for parsnip recipes and the mashed parsnip is probably the first one I’m going to try.

Feel better girlie!

I’ll give it my best shot! Ha ha. Thanks, hon.

OH, now I know I’ve seen those. Just never knew what they were. I will have to try some.

Another thing I “discovered” about a year ago is Swiss chard. I was making a recipe from Francis Lam (food writer at Salon.com) called Mar i Muntanya, which is Catalan braised chicken and shrimp, and the “go with” was Swiss chard with pine nuts and raisins. I left out the raisins because I don’t like them, but found some beautiful rainbow colored chard and it was really good and different!

Good morning all.

Stayed up late to watch Egyptian developments so slept in a bit this morning.

Yes, we’re had plenty of snow this winter. And cold. Below zero for several nightly lows, and I can’t remember the last time that happened.

I grew up in Buffalo and loved the snow. It sure is pretty. However, as a senior, enuf’s enuf.

Feel better demi.

For those talking about preventatives & cures, my cleaning lady swears by a spoonful of raw local honey every morning. Putting it in tea doesn’t count, as heat destroys the enzymes. She grew up in a large poor family & all the kids were required to do the honey thing, and rarely got sick. I gave her a jar of mine this year, and she’s been fine even though her regular job is at a VA hospital, where one series of colds or flus follows the last one.

I’ve been healthy this winter (except for the fall), so I haven’t bothered.

I always get a kick out of college graduates who don’t seem to know the difference between weather and climate. That’s what I call being “deliberately obtuse” and I have nothing but scorn and contempt for them. Some people are genuinely ignorant because they didn’t have the opportunity to attend college and then there are those who went but have an ideological chip on their shoulder that makes them “forget” what they learned there. It’s infuriating.

Yes, love me some potatoes-parsnip smash.

Great advise Margaret, I needed to get my mother to three appointments last week outside of the senior center where she lives and a couple of the offices we visited had unisex bathrooms, no urinals. Apparently some men in these places don’t think it proper to respect other users and take the time to sit down on the toilet seat. Since I’ve cleaned my own house forever, it is automatic for me, never wanting more cleaning work than necessary, but washing hands and then needing to open the door latch with the paper towel then wishing to get that towel into a waste basket that was inaccessible without letting the door close, again sucks. I’m guessing this might spark a few comments. :)

I’ve been healthy this winter (except for the fall), so I haven’t bothered.

Yeah, I’ll bet even local honey wouldn’t do much for that. So glad you weren’t badly injured!

She puts the snow where she wants it. Only foolish arrogance challenges Her plans. Don’t want to step on it? Walk where it aint.

I do the same thing. I intentionally carry a big purse with pockets so if a basket isn’t handy, I can put the paper towels into a dedicated pocket, (not the one with my sunglasses or cell phone) and dispose of them later. I’ve discovered that as I age, I can’t throw off infections as easily as I used to.

Thanks. Went out & did a big shopping yesterday. W a s v e r y s l o w. But worked out OK.

Hmmm. Just tried to get on Juan Cole’s site & couldn’t. Wonder if Mubarak has found a way to block it (just kidding). Maybe too much traffic?

Probably the traffic. I made the mistake of closing the AJ English window yesterday and never got it back.

HA! That reminds me of my dear longtime friends Marilyn & Bill where I used to live in Michigan who had two very tall sons, and Bill is tall also. Marilyn confided in me once that she made all three sit to use the toilet at home. It makes sense to me, but I’ll bet it isn’t customary in most homes and it wasn’t in mine, although my son and husband weren’t particularly tall.

Good morning all. We’ve gotten very little snow, just frigid nights/mornings, but the days have been fairly warm.

Walk where it aint.

Um, you must not live where it is really snowy. That would be very difficult here.

Okay, I’m back. My laptop hung up again, so I ran Norton and closed the browser and now I’m back online.

I just got on that with no problem. Yesterday, rawstory also had a link to AJ english.

Thanks msmolly! We do live in a pretty nice neighborhood. It’s not all that expensive, but it’s pretty nice. Diverse, too.

I just tried Juan Cole’s site and got a “Firefox can’t find the server” error message. Wonder what’s up with that?

They are also wonderful if you roast them in the oven with a little olive oil and some salt. Wonderful! They really caramelize that way.

I hope you get over your cold very soon, demi!

I sometimes buy rainbow chard for my daughter. Ever since I started buying local and regional produce, she’s had to figure out how to cook the things I buy for them.

UGH! I used to install flooring when I owned a remodeling business and one day I was installing new floors in all three bathrooms in an occupied home. When I got to the upstairs boy’s bathroom, the toilet, the floor and the wall surrounding it were covered in urine. I made the homeowners clean in up before I went in there and they actually hired a maid to come out and do it. I felt so sorry for her but if I’d been the maid, I would have refused. I thought it was a little boy, judging by the room but as I was finishing, a young man of about 20 came in and asked if he could help. I asked if that was his room and when he said yes, I said “You can improve your aim”. That didn’t go over well but it wasn’t like I was going to take on another job for that particular customer.

That’s another really great remedy… but it does have to be taken raw.

I’ve heard that. I intend to try to roast them with olive oil and then dribble a little brown sugar on them.

The Red River runs north and the broad basin it runs through was a huge prehistoric lake–Lake Agassiz. Runs north explains a major part of our spring flood problems. The ND/MN watershed melts and flows into the Red, doesn’t sink in the soil because it’s saturated, doesn’t stay in wetlands and potholes because most of ‘em have been drained to farm boundary to boundary, plus drain tiled and ditched for faster run-off, and…

The water rushes north into Canada and runs into the still frozen northern waters via Lake Winnipeg. ‘Course with global warming, maybe that won’t be a problem. Or…the whole Lake Agassiz basin could just fill in again permanently.

Who could have anticipated….

15 inches of snow sounds like hell on Earth. Blech. I plan on sneaking off to Cuba and spend the rest of my days near the ocean.

Do you cook kale? And how, if you do? Ive given that thought, but never tried it.

Got the same thing (see 87).

Morning, eCAHNomics! I wouldn’t be surprised if Juan Cole’s site were blocked.

That will be really tasty!

Yeah, your comment is what made me try the site. I thought perhaps it was a traffic glitch, but it seems to be offline. Hmmmm…

Thanks for that PS! Very interesting bit of geographical history…

Well, it is one way of finding out how neighborly your neighbors are. Paul cleared the walk of our next door neighbor. Her husband died last summer and she’s been staying with her daughter in West Chster, PA. Lucky for them… they don’t live on a corner!

I would like to, but the bitter greens don’t agree with my stomach. However, I have seen a recipe or two that call for roasting it in the oven with a bit of olive oil. Kale crisps, I guess.

You can google for those recipes. I keep meaning to try it.

I’ve been watching foodnetwork a lot & they’ve been doing all the greens, chard, kale, mustard. My cleaning lady does beet greens.

I’ve done only chard myself, but it seems they can all be cooked pretty much the same, steamed with some flavors, like butter, onions. My parents’ warm bacon bits dressing works well.

Also can be added to other dishes, like soups (ditto spinach) at the last minute because they cook so quickly.

I added a box of thawed chopped spinach to mashed potatoes a couple of weeks ago. Yummy, very pretty, and made me feel less guilty about the butter in the potatoes.

Some may be more bitter than others, so would require more counteracting flavors. Chard is very mild.

Thanks for that reminder, I do remember reading that bit, now, but my gray cells needed a small kick. Appreciated.

I hope Bluetoe2 was being facetious. I saw a scientist on television talk about how global warming is actually RESPONSIBLE for all the snow. Something to do with warming and humidity; sorry I didn’t catch it all. But it is snowing again, a beautiful movie-type snow here in the Northeast. A pot roast may be in order tonight — all this talk of parsnips and kale has me yearning for some comfort food. Have a good weekend, all!

While I was running Norton, I decided to get a cup of tea and something to eat. I had a small gluten-free strawberry thing. It was pretty good with the green version of Earl Grey.

Thanks…my mother used bacon etc as you mention. I really don’t buy/cook bacon anymore. So may have to reconsider. I started doing Canadian Bacon instead.

Welcome, Anais! I hope you come back next week. We love new recipes in these threads.

That was nice of him. That sort of sense of community these days is all but gone. If I was on fire, my neighbors probably wouldn’t piss on me to put me out.

It’s a whole lot leaner and tastes better, too!

Mornin’, Karen, pups

No rain, no snow, gonna be a nice day for Gasparilla, an annual parade in Tampa celebrating the entry of Jose Gaspar and his pirates into Tampa couple hundred years ago. Once was enough for me.

Looks like I’m gonna be glued to Al Jazeera most of the day. I love the smell of revolution in the morning. Smells like…freedom.

I have a couple of very healthy resident deer who know exactly when my chard is best, about six to eight inches tall. I plant extra so there is some for me.

We live in such a small place that you have to be neighborly.

A frienda at work said that all of the men on her street help anyone who gets stuck and they all work together to get the sidewalks cleared. Of course, she actually lives in the city of brotherly love.

Looks like I’m gonna be glued to Al Jazeera most of the day. I love the smell of revolution in the morning. Smells like…freedom.

Me, too. It’s my Irish dna… we nearly always root for the underdog.

My morning beverage is Constant Comment green tea. Earl Gray is a bit similar, but with bergamot instead of a bit of orange and spice.

Interesting how PUAC wanders from topic to topic, isn’t it? We started out with snow and have moved to cooking. The break from politics and (at the moment) Egypt is very welcome. Reality will return shortly.

I would call that a very neighborly gesture, nonquixote!

Karen, Fargo’s facing major flood potential, but our problems pale compared to Devils Lake ND. They’re already below the waterline, aging frail infrastructure keeping the water at bay.

And RevBev, I’ve cooked kale. Sauteed in olive oil with fresh herbs and a bit sof pepper and sea salt. More root vegetables and variety leafy stuff is something I’m going to consider for this season’s gardening. Reading a mag/book I found at Lowe’s on how to combine veggies and flowers in container gardens.

Austin is having a demonstration later in the day to show support for the protesters…..

I’m going to make Italian chili today. Chicken thighs, hot Italian sausage, fennel bulb, corn, tomatoes, I forget what else. Will make a big batch & freeze a bunch in single serving containers.

I like Constant Comment, too, msmolly. In fact, a few weeks ago, I made some cupcake with Constant Comment tea. You might still be able to find the recipe on Bigelow’s website.

Instead of making the cake, though, I made cupcakes and I frosted them with a cream cheese frosting to which I added some lime juice. I took them to an open house. They looked pretty.

Thanks…I have heard it is really good for you. And I need easy variety; am not much of a cook.

One of our good grocery stores had Vegetarian Chili in its take out. I was very good.

I lived in South Dakota many years ago, when I was in the 7th & 8th grades. It was pretty dreary… of course, we were living on Ellsworth AFB. All of those SAC bases were pretty dreary.

That sounds wonderful… maybe you could take some photos for flickr and share them with us next time? The recipe, too?

I shouldn’t be amazed by all that, but somehow I am.

Across from our house in Buffalo was a small triangular park. The street on the other side of the park, which joined our street just a bit above our house, had a mild uphill slope. Snow plowing, salting/sanding, etc. was a lot less thorough when I was a kid. Nor were tires & cars as good as driving in it. So there were some days when my 2 older brothers spent most of the time helping push the cars up the slope.

Hooray for Austin, that blue dot in a red-hot state. I still miss Molly Ivins. She was such a fantastic writer.

Well, your name does imply a sort of cynicism. ;~) Not that I am a particularly strong believer either… except for prayer.

Philly is a pretty liveable city. Lots of interesting neighborhoods. Of course, there is also the snow.

I hope your brothers were rewarded for their efforts.

Ain’t it the truth…TX politics so weird; she would be wonderful to hear. There is a play about her on right now, so there are some fine pictures in the publicity. What a special and unique woman.

So is St Pete for Peace and the Muslim/Palestinian groups but it’s gonna be in Tampa and I’m not fighting that traffic to go. Once across the bridge it’s gonna be a nightmare on the roads.

Go to p 517 here.

Before we scatter, anybody got any natural ways to remove hard water rust from a vintage cast iron tub? We “upgraded” from the stocktank at the cabin.

Not at all. They did it to be helpful. Maybe got a few tips. I really don’t know. But that kind of behavior was normal in those days and that place.

Someone once told me to add a pinch of baking soda to greens to offset bitterness. I tried to cook kale once, and it was good but I managed to wreck it by adding lemon and olive oil. I think EVOO makes some things bitter sometimes.

I’m going to attempt to bake some Norwegian sweet bread rolls (boller) today…they contain cardamom. I am not a baker, but I’m gonna give it a shot. Last week I made French bread for the first time and it came out every bit as good as store-bought. So, now I’m all into baking things (rolling eyes)..

Also, I’m searching for little glass containers with lids to make terrariums with..so far, I found an empty candle jar with a lid..small, but I’m gonna try it.

It is supposed to get up to 75 here in Central TX.

Wire brush and elbow grease.

I saw the silhouettes of three sets of necks and heads with perked up ears, busy trimming up the white cedars at the edge of the yard last night. It’s the least I could do for them for saving me so much yard work.

Im not going either….may be wet here. It will be interested to see the turn out as I expect there will be a large UT delegation.

Nothing like an Austin demonstration. Wish I was there.

Rust is oxygenation so don’t use oxyclean or any other reactant. Probably SD is right: Just a wire brush and plenty of sweat.

Quick meatless meal in my house is thawed, quickly steamed chopped spinach mixed with leftover brown rice and parmesan cheese.

I wish you were too…been thinking about you.

Thanks, Karen, I will have to find and bookmark that. Sounds very good. The orange and spice flavor is a bit less intense in the green tea version. I wonder if it would be better to get the regular Constant Comment for cupcakes/cake?

A certain amount of cynicism is necessary for a long life, especially when you’re governed by greedy idiots :). Albuquerque is pretty nice too, as far as the scenery and weather goes.

You all have a good day….I’ve been here forever. Later….

Hmmm. I confess to clueless, because I don’t know what “diosnomeama” means.

Maybe we ought to do a PUAC that discusses the origin of our screen names. Yours and mine are pretty straightforward, but I’ve always wondered about some of the names here at FDL and their significance.

Sorry, not natural, but if for a one time initial cleaning there are less toxic variants of toilet bowl cleaners when applied sparingly dissolve the gunk.

LMAO! And mine fairly drips with imagination….

Try vinegar? Vinegar and salt? Wet aluminum foil?

Yep, I’m still trying to figure out what a “Margaret” is after all this time.

dios (god) nom (name) eama e ama????

Totally agree. We grew parsnips in our garden when I was growing up and they have been a prized root vegetable ever since. My favorite way to prepare them…..caramelized in bacon fat served with the crumbled crisp bacon.

LOL!! Yes, since I’ve been hanging out here I’ve often thought I should change my screen name to something more distinctive, but I use some variant of it in so many places as a user ID that I don’t want to have to keep track of something else. Lazy, I guess… and I’ve been msmolly (from Good Golly, Ms Molly, the Little Richard tune) for years.

It was nice to hear from everyone, thanks Karen, some laundry, cooking and phase two of some CAD work awaits. Be well. Don’t let winter get you down, think about how fondly you’ll remember it when the dog days of summer start barking.

Not quite, but you get an A for effort. It’s Dios no me ama. God doesn’t love me.

Call some hardware stores and see if they have any naval jelly, but first google and make sure I’m suggesting the right remedy.

Kale and collards are often sauteed, but if you think they are a little bitter, try boiling them in salted water, draining them and reheating with olive oil adding lemon right before service.

My sibs would tell you it’s “that which serves no useful purpose” but they just refuse to recognize genius when they see it.

hahaha…mine is my initials doubled. I used to post as LS for years and when I came back to FDL, they required more letters, so I doubled it.

I never complain about the heat in the summer!

Naval jelly

i have a cynical side, too, but I try to restrain it in these threads.

They’re just jealous :)

Well, Margaret, we all appreciate your genius!

That works too. Sometimes simple works best.

Naval lint

Seconded

hey. morning

I wouldn’t change it. msmolly suits you.

That’s my theory. Self loathing and repressed.

That’s a good idea. Cynicism is like most other things: best in moderation. I like coming here to crack jokes and kick it with y’all.

Morning! We missed you earlier on…

Morning BL

Yes, I used the black tea version. I don’t think the green tea variety would be as good.

Elsewhere… I tend to let my cynicism run amok.

Did you (or do you) comment at the Plum Line blog too? I remember LS from somewhere, perhaps just here from awhile ago. I bailed out of Plum Line because many of the commenters were downright nasty to each other (and me, a couple of times), and there didn’t seem to be much moderator intervention no matter how nasty.

Margaret: Navel lint has a Wikipedia entry with photo? That will make me chuckle all day!!

Diosnomeama: That name would be sad if I believed in God. But I thought God was supposed to love everybody?

A stout 2×4 upside the head will bring them around, no doubt.

I started off at the old Salon blogs using just “Karen,” but I wasn’t the only Karen, so I added my last initial.

As well you should :) I tried going through one day without being cynical, and it was the worst day of my life.

No, I only posted here from back in the Libby days until Barry won, and then I just stopped for about a year and a 1/2 for a variety of personal reasons.

I think it function as a sort of safety valve.

That happened to me at Kos so I use MargaretPOA there. (POA = Pissed Off Artist).

Not worth the effort. Or the wood.

I also added some more dried spices to the batter, because I thought it would taste better.

I don’t believe in God either, but if there is, he sure has a funny way of showing us love.

I’m the odd one out among my siblings, too. Except for one sister, they’re all much more conservative than I am.

If there is a god, I fear it must be a feminine one. And she’s taking the long view with all of us.

I think “she” is Mother Nature, and I think she’s really pissed off! :)

Florida’s nice this time of year but the summer is horrible. I rreally want to move back north (from NJ). My sister in suburban Philly has spent a week telling me only wussies live in FL. I guess real men and women live in Philly.

I’m commenting from Paul’s new laptop. I got tired of trying to keep mine from hanging up.

Yep. I wouldn’t have it any other way though. If conservatism is the price for their acceptance, I’ll be the outcast.

Can’t argue with that. If I were Mother Nature, I’d be pretty pissed off, too.

Well, we do show our mettle when we have to remove snow.

Same here, but for some reason, they seem to tolerate me.

Sorry if my weather thing is off topic I just got here and was starting with the original post. we’re on the topic of God and cupcakes?

It very well could be. Women are much better at that whole “planning ahead” thing.

What kind of art do you do, Margaret?

More dried spices, like which ones? I don’t bake much because I try to avoid sweets, but I may pass this along to my daughter, who much prefers baking to cooking.

I left all my mettle on the sidewalks of NJ several winters ago. I tried to explain to sis that on Wed we had ugly, ugly weather– torrential rain, frequent cloud to ground lightning and tornadoes. much mor edescructive than snoe and can’t play in it. She needs to lighten up.

Exactly! I don’t know many men who know how to take that long view. Mostly, especially those on WS, seem to feel entitled to short-term profits and gains. There’s a reason why the micro-lenders prefer to lend to women. They raise their family’s quality of life, as well as their community’s.

LOL. Get with the program, BFL!! (teasing)

I commented upthread that PUAC seems to be a little like LLN, when off topic IS the topic. We wandered from weather to cold remedies to cooking with stops in between at cleaning toilets and cast iron tubs.

It was just what I had on hand, probably some more cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg and a dash of allspice.

I’m very good at planning ahead. Piss poor at following through, though.

I was telling Paul a bit ago that it’s always a potpourri here in these threads.

Weather, God, cupcakes. They’re all connected.

Sorry, but I can’t call that taking the long view. ;~) Still, we’d rather see you here than not.

Thanks, I will make a note of that.

Hey, we all must need a break today, since we’ve topped 200 comments. I’m stalling because if I put the laptop away I’ll have to start on today’s to-do list.

If there is a god and she’s Mother Nature, I’ll be that she prefers cupcakes. Portion control, you know.

But TOILET CLEANING?? LOL!!

saw something about naval lint too.

We have grocery shopping to do… and tomorrow I’m going to make my weekly vegetable soup a bit earlier, so I can go to Paul’s English-style brass band rehearsal with him. I knit better listening to them. And there’s an older man there who seems to like me. Paul mentioned it.

I didn’t know that about the loans. I’ve always been nervous about trying to get one.

This was a most enjoyable thread this morning…. Many thanks to all of you who dropped in this morning! I’ve been laughing out of the side of my mouth nearly the whole thread.

Chocolate eclairs. Real ones, with custard filling.

Procrastination gets you nowhere, but it can be fun if you have enough beer.

Well, maybe you should try to get one. They loan to men, too, but why not apply?

Only the side? Why not your whole mouth?

Don’t know how to do links too good but if this works it oughta help with toilet cleaning. works for me.

http://www.zazzle.com/blast_it_with_piss_tshirt-235354308330332222

I can’t even remember the last time I had a chocolate eclair.

I was trying to type at the same time. Have to concentrate.

I love eclairs..with the real custard filling…yum.

Graphic design. Haven’t done it in years though.

true. i remember the days.

Yeah, with a PHOTO (if you follow the link to the Wiki entry). Still can’t believe there’s an entry for navel lint!!

Yes, type and laugh at same time hard. make head hurt :)

Can you do business logos and such? I’m trying to put together funds with a friend to open a bakery, a catchy storefront sign would help bring the peeps in.

That’s the kind of thing I used to do, yeah. Logos, business cards, etc.

I’ve heard the interest rates on micro-loans are usurious. I read a story a few weeks ago about a woman with an NGO who visited a family in either Peru or Chilie, iirc. The local woman was making 2 rugs a week to help support her family. The NGO gave her a small loom to increase her output. The NGO woman came back a few months later and the local woman was making 2 rugs a week. When asked why only 2 she said that the loom was very nice and the time it freed up allowed her to spend more time with friends and family.

i saw that. gross.

Nice, if I ever get my shit together on this, maybe I’ll hit you up for it.

Time to get off my ass and get things done. Have a good day everyone.

you too. i might go see if i can get an eclair. i used to call them
egg-clares when i was a kid.

It’s valuable skill for a project manager… sometimes they have to come up with logos, or a web page.

It should be part of your resume.

moved from way up north to get away from snow in 2003.
yesterday here in SoTx, Temp 71, Sunshine.on Jan 28. Forecast for Jan 29. Temp 71, rain overnite. This is the way our winter has gone so far. Expect springtime planting to start about the middle of Feb. And so, no, I do not miss snow shoveling, putting on layers of clothing to go outside(I wore shorts yesterday!)driving on icy roads. Don’t miss it at all. Even the over 100 degree days we sometimes get in the summer don’t bother me. I just get up at 6am to do my 2 miles with my dog and then take a nice nap in the late afternoon during the heat of the day. Seasons? Youall are more than welcome to them. I prefer an endless spring/summer.
Damn I am so glad moved down here back in 2003. Sold our house with only 6 weeks on the market, had 2 people fighting over it, got $40K over what we wanted. Then discovered just how cheap houses were down here. Had a 2000sqft all brick house with all wood/tile floors built in 2004. Total cost, 121,500. Unfreekin real. Prices have gone up since then, now a house like ours(price incl property) would be somewhere about $160K.
We paid cash for our house and got a lot of new furniture-gave all our old stuff to one of our kids-and still have money left over.
And even better is the way Texas treats veterans. I, because I have a 100% disability from the VA, am exempt from all property taxes. So save about $4K a year. Yea. In addition Texas ensures that many other lic and registrations are free to disabled vets. My local VA hospital, while not the newest or best, does provide pretty good health care-my wife also gets, thru me, health care from CHAMP VA. All meds and Drs free.
While I totally dislike gov goodhair and campaigned for Ciro Rodriguez-I still have no idea who curreent rep is-I will survive the rethugs in the Ledge and the 20+Billion budget shortfall.
Despite the politics and the mega churchs, life down here is pretty good.

You, too!

These threads always make me hungry. I’m eating a quick omelette, filled with some tiny chocolate chips, the same ones I often put in my oatmeal.

That’s great… I hope to be able to do something similar when it’s time to retire. However, I will have to work part-time, in order to survive. So I’m learning to make beaded jewelry, how to quilt and I’ve been perfecting my knitting skills. And I can do astrologial charts, too. I figure several revenue streams should be enough to tide me over.

Astrological charts. Thanks for jogging me brain. I could make a few extra bucks doing Tarot readings.

It is. Second to most recent job.

back! with my egg-clare!!!

I confess I read the letter more carefully than your resume.

I’m sorry that Saturday mornings are a bit hectic for me, and I also was glued to AJ this morning, listening/watching what is going on in Egypt. So I am just catching up on PUAC.

Teh google suggested this for cleaning rust stains, in case anyone is checking back.

I can say that I have done my share of cleaning bathrooms/urine and such over the years and will probably never see the end of that. Yech.

I am going to make some butternut soup with coconut milk and some other things later. It should be tasty.