what are you doing right now?

[lurkyloo]

Jan 12, 2024 13:18:44 GMT -5 steph08 said:

It's going to be like 5 degrees here next week, and my 12yo beagle was just diagnosed today with congestive heart failure and put on Lasix for a week, so she's going to need to pee all the time and be forced to go outside (with me, where she will pee and then I will pick her up because her feet will be too cold to move  ). 

I’m sorry about your furbaby.  I hope the lasix helps.

[giramomma]

So far we've gotten 5 inches of snow. We're supposed to get another 4-5 yet today.

DH has to go out to get DS.

I am really not happy.  

[lurkyloo]

I’ve been bored at work a lot lately, but not today.  Man.  My brain hurts.

[NoNamePerson]

Jan 12, 2024 13:41:59 GMT -5 giramomma said:

Jan 12, 2024 10:54:50 GMT -5 raeoflyte said:

Ds cello instructor left the music school "effective immediately" so we couldn't get him a card to thank him (and honestly I just wasn't on it this year and hadn't managed to do that for Christmas either).  I really think this instructor is the reason ds was able to stick it out in high school orchestra with just 1 year of experience.  Ds found a fingering chart or something that his instructor gave him, that had his first and last name and I found him on Facebook.  I'm not a stalker, but is it stalker-ish if I message him to tell him how much we appreciated him.  And that if he's ever teaching privately to let us know?  

If it matters, pretty sure he's in college or recently out of college. 

Please tell him.

I have cards and notes from kids that I adored. They are adults now. 

That is how I know I actually am simply more than just a cog in the machine.

I agree. Tell him. After I graduated high school I tracked down two of my teachers to let them know the influence they had on me. One actually got weepy eyed and hugged me. Had to do this in person back in the olden ages. I wish I could have found my 6th grade teacher to let her know how much she taught me.  

[soupandstew]

Pink Cashmere I hope you are able to get the heating situation at your house squared away.  I understand it must be really frustrating to deal with your mom on this sort of thing 

[soupandstew]

Jan 12, 2024 12:29:29 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Got myself a couple of instant pot cookbooks.  One is a beginner one with step by step instructions then I got a William Sonoma one for some more complex/interesting recipes.

If you like risotto, it is SO good in the IP - lots of great recipes for it.  And we really like this one for gumbo www.favfamilyrecipes.com/instant-pot-gumbo/#wprm-recipe-container-21579

[chiver78]

Jan 12, 2024 15:47:38 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

Jan 12, 2024 12:29:29 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Got myself a couple of instant pot cookbooks.  One is a beginner one with step by step instructions then I got a William Sonoma one for some more complex/interesting recipes.

If you like risotto, it is SO good in the IP - lots of great recipes for it.  And we really like this one for gumbo www.favfamilyrecipes.com/instant-pot-gumbo/#wprm-recipe-container-21579

  for sure! I was actually thinking about making some for dinner tonight, but I don't think I have enough dry arborio in my pantry. I might measure to be sure, b/c I've been craving it. 

this was the first IP recipe I found - IP mushroom risotto  and find that the method used is very consistent and perfectly cooked. 

basically, I will saute whatever needs to be cooked (think - diced pancetta, onion/garlic, mushrooms) before toasting the rice. then cook under pressure for 6min and immediately release the pressure and remove the lid. stir in fresh baby spinach to wilt and grated parmigiano to finish. sometimes I'll also throw in some chopped broiled asparagus for more veggies. basically, I make a loaded risotto and it's delish. 

ETA - meh. it's close enough to 1c. I just won't add any water to the can of broth that comes up just short of 2c. it will be fine. yay, risotto tonight!!

[azucena]

Jan 12, 2024 12:29:29 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Got myself a couple of instant pot cookbooks.  One is a beginner one with step by step instructions then I got a William Sonoma one for some more complex/interesting recipes.

Maybe I've asked you this before, but do you like to visit the library? You could browse and borrow cookbooks to your heart's content in a nice quiet environment. Might be a good way to decompress. I think you're hitting the parent luxury stage when your girls can stay home alone for a couple hours. Library trips have been added back into my time. I didn't realize how much I missed them when post-pandemic life got hectic again.

Just my two cents.

[andi9899]

Jan 12, 2024 12:14:11 GMT -5 minnesotapaintlady said:

Jan 12, 2024 11:55:47 GMT -5 Cookies Galore said:

Ghost flush? Time for a new flapper?

What the heck is a ghost flush?!  The flapper is only about 6 months old, but I replaced the whole arm assembly at the same time as well with a different type and I don't really like it.  Maybe I need to swap that out.

I don't know what a ghost flush is, but I had that happen at the house. I replaced the whole toilet.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jan 12, 2024 12:33:00 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

Jan 12, 2024 10:41:18 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Well Wilbur and Charlotte have decided they are never pooping again.   Can't say I blame them.  Wilbur wouldn't even walk out the door.  Charlotte made it out then turned right back.

It’s 5° out.  Harriet refuses to go out to pee.  I think we are going to see exactly how large a bladder she has.  

Well, she managed to hold it until noon.  It’s only 3° warmer.

[Pink Cashmere]

The heat is fixed and I am back home. That is a HUGE relief!

Thank you countrygirl2 and others for all the tips and advice to try to protect the pipes from freezing.

[chiver78]

I needed to step away from my laptop for a little while, and the pups needed to get out of the house (the walker ghosted us again....I think I'm all set with her). so, we went for a drive to nowhere in particular, exploring smaller roads that wind through the woods and around the ponds nearby. I very rarely pull out my phone for a map, figuring that I can almost always simply turn around and backtrack if we get lost. we ultimately ended up in the neighborhood where I lost a bidding war around the holidays, just before landing the last house. we went up and down every side street bordering the water, except those with big signs saying "private road". I'm not an asshole, just taking the pups on a drive.     LD just put himself back to bed, and Punk is shredding a small paper bag from the corner market. I'll log back in and do a couple more hours of work while they nap. and if they wake up earlier than expected, I'll just put the laptop away and log in some other time this weekend. we were gone about 2h, and most of my company signs off around 2 every Friday anyway. it's fine. 

[countrygirl2]

It was 23 out when I went to bed. I think the heat pump has been running all night. It's ok, a bit cooler in here than we are used to. But I have a heater I can put in the living room, but honestly with a lap blanket on I'm comfortable. I lay on the living room floor last night to see if it was cold and its not, so this place is ok. Hubs said in really cold weather heat pumps are not real efficient. He said I could enable the electric furnace if I want to get warmer if I'm cold. We even had snow here!

It's only 25 out now so the temperature is falling it was warmer a few hours ago, Wow.

Going to have to go to the store, I'm out of bread, milk, all kinds of basics, I hate to buy anything, but also if grandson comes here I have to have food to keep him full. He is a little bottomless pit! So need to make a list and try not to over buy.

The park manager called this morning and said they are going to be fixing our fence. I told her a lot of it is rotten, she said she knew, and also that the wind takes a toll on it. I think the only reason they keep a good fence around here is because the well house is in our yard.  The rest of the park is just chain link and not so high. But also along the end of the road here is a high fence with barbed wire on top. It would help anyone coming in from this side behind the convenience store. That guy keeps it mowed and clean as can be in and out, so that's good. And there are no loiters around it either. Good neighbors.

Time to get ready and go before it gets colder, durn, just went to 24, ouch.

[raeoflyte]

I'm so tired. I honestly think I might be able to sleep during my mri this evening.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Abby and I go to the library all the time.

I'll check out cookbooks sometimes. The cookbook selection is very hit or miss.

If I really want to use one I buy because I'm hell on cookbooks you can easily determine my favorites.

I regularly frequent the new fiction and non fiction and check to see if the library has books I want to read first unless it's a book I REALLY want or part of a series I already own part of.

I just read too fast to justify constant buying. Plus I just want to support the free exchange of knowledge that library's represents. It's one of the few areas left you can congregate without being expected to buy something.

[giramomma]

Jan 12, 2024 13:44:39 GMT -5 azucena said:

I think you're just bumping up against the alarming stupidity that seems to run rampant in our country today. 

Do you know how many conversations I have had with folks in the past few weeks, who don't believe I am right, just because they are in more authority positions than I am?


It goes like this:

Them: I want to do it MY way....
Me: Well, there is policy, precedence, and procedures that we have to follow and as it stands now, we are not following it with this product. 

Them: But I did it MY way last time.
Me: Here's an example of a product that made it through the processes very recently. Note the policy, precedence, or procedures we followed to get the product approved.

Them: Oh come on! You are Joshing me! "They" don't really look at the policy and procedures when approving a new product. We'll do it MY way,
Me: OK. Let's have the product reviewed.

Product review comes back, and notes where the product is not following policy, precedence and procedures. 
Me: Politely suggests that they should follow policy, precedence and procedures.

[azucena]

For some weird reason, I've finally found my work mojo this frigid Friday afternoon, before I have Monday MLK holiday off no less. So I've hidden myself in Teams so no one bothers me and cracked a bottle of wine and continue to crank out work. Two of my long annoying projects wrapped, more to go.

[Pink Cashmere]

Our weather forecast is dreadful. The detail keep changing, but it’s still dreadful.

After tomorrow, the temps won’t get above freezing again until Thursday afternoon. And there is currently a 70% chance of snow on Monday. Idk how much snow they are predicting, but it doesn’t take much to shut the whole area down. Especially since I am guessing that the ground will be cold enough for even a little snow to stick instead of melting when it reaches the ground.

Mister has been saying he wanted to make sure the Jeep and the Tahoe both had full tanks of gas, and his plan is to take care of that when he gets off work today. After the back end of the Tahoe got loose the only time he’s driven it on snow and ice, and started sliding when he was at a red light I’m pretty sure he intends to drive the Jeep instead. He HATES the Jeep, but he has been forced to acknowledge it’s his best bet when there is snow on the ground, ever since the day his car got stuck in the driveway as soon as he got it out of the garage and all 4 tires were on snow, and it took some work, involving a shovel, just to get it back in the garage. When he finally got it back in the garage, he said let’s see if the Jeep can get out, and was really being petty, because he hates the Jeep.  But we got in the Jeep (I always back it down the driveway), and it rolled right out, like an champ, even though our driveway isn’t flat, and you have to go “up” to get out. So guess what he drove to work the next day. The Jeep that he hates.

The Tahoe has 4WD too, but it is a lot bigger than my tiny 2 door Jeep. So, even though they both have 4WD, it matters that the Tahoe is much longer, especially if it’s light in the ass (no weight in the back), while the Jeep doesn’t even really have an ass in the first place. 

Imo, ice is different and all vehicles are shit when it comes to ice.

Anyway, I filled the Jeep’s gas tank on my way back home today, so that would be one less thing he has to do, and since I’m pretty sure it’s going to be his vehicle of choice if there is snow on the ground when he goes back to work Tuesday. Me personally, I am still not going anywhere if there is snow on the ground. My nerves don’t care that I have a Jeep to drive, and I don’t trust Mister’s driving. I  did drive it to work last year after the snow had started melting and some of the streets were clear in spots, but every time I got to a long stretch of snow, I still freaked out and my heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest. It seems that I am traumatized for life, from my experience trying to get home from school when I had drove to school and they let us out early because it was snowing so much. My brain won’t let me forget the sheer terror I felt when I’ve had a car sliding out of my control. I’ve tried it since then, and lost control often enough, even though I was being careful, and that just reinforced how much it scares me, so I mostly just don’t even try anymore when I know the streets are bad.

Dumb question though, I thought it could be “too cold” to snow. The high Monday will be only 22°, the day snow is predicted to fall.

[minnesotapaintlady]

Jan 12, 2024 16:58:10 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Dumb question though, I thought it could be “too cold” to snow. The high Monday will be only 22°, the day snow is predicted to fall.

It can be too cold to snow, but 22 degrees is definitely not it.   We get lots of snow at that temp and lower.  It's 18 right now and been snowing all day.  Once it gets single digits or below zero snow is a lot less common, but even then it still happens.  It's my favorite snow because it's light and fluffy! 

I remember a New Years Eve night when we got freezing rain when it was colder than 20 which was super weird.  I ended up in the ditch that night just trying to go a half mile to get home.

[giramomma]

They think it's going to take more than 12 hours to completely plow out my city.

Which is really bad, because temperatures are dropping very quickly tomorrow. Whatever is stuck on the streets is going to freeze.

[TheOtherMe]

State plows are being pulled off the roads as I write this and will go back out at 5 AM.  Some roads are expected to be closed overnight do to blizzard conditions.   Just check the state road condition map.  There are no plows out.

I can't go anywhere if I wanted to because there is a 5 or 6 ft drift behind my garage and I have to wind around a drift to go out the front door.

I seriously doubt if any furniture is leaving here tomorrow.  This entire storm is because DN3 and his wife picked this day as their closing day on their house because it is a 3 day weekend.  

I will watch my basketball team tonight and hope the Indiana women's basketball team manages to get here so they can play Iowa tomorrow.

The Iowa men's team is going ahead with their game tonight because the other team is already here.  They have warned campus roads are a nightmare and park wherever you can find a spot.  Take that big donors.  First people who manage to get there get the close in spots, not you.

One of the players tweeted just leave the doors open and not take tickets as they won't get a good crowd.  

Ice is the big problem in my county along with visibility.

[chiver78]

I'm so sorry many of you are freezing and getting snow, when I had my door open most of the day for the pups. winter weather is nutty in recent years, and is only going to get worse. I hope the cleanup isn't awful for all of you. 

[Pink Cashmere]

Mister is on his way home, stopping by the house to drop his work stuff off before he goes to me the girls for dinner. They are leaving in the morning to go back to school. I think bad weather is forecast for where they go to college, but classes are to resume Tuesday.

I was not interested in going to dinner (and wasn’t invited anyway), but I did ask him to bring me a to go order. They are going to a steakhouse, and I like steak.

[alabamagal]

My boss came into my office area at 4pm and asked me and my coworker if any of us wanted a hamburger that was delivered in error (probably at noon). That was the only time all week that he even spoke to me. Worthless POS.

[soupandstew]

We are currently forecast for overnight lows Monday and Tuesday of 20 and 19 respectively.  At this moment, it appears the freezing precipitation line might be slightly north of my area.  

Today I watered the potted plants in the shop and put a double covering over them.  We also double covered the one plant in the front beds I want to keep alive.  At the forecast temps, it's iffy if any plants will survive.  I'm just hoping the electrical grid holds, and that the generator runs if the grid dies.  And that the water pipes don't blow and/or we go under a boil-water notice.


countrygirl2 Hope your grandson's musical performance was enjoyable.


Pink Cashmere Great to hear the heating thing is fixed.  


NomoreDramaQ1015 Your new IP is also wonderful for producing safe water if your community issues a boil-water notice.  I figure 30 minutes at high pressure with natural release kills anything and everything.  Mine got a real work out back in '21

[soupandstew]

We're on the calendar to begin the sewer rehab February 19, if all the stars align.  Weather and municipal inspectors allowing, it will take 10 days more or less.  I called to ask about how to make the initial deposit and final payment without my bank charging me a wire transfer fee (we'll probably use ACH)  and then I got bold and asked for a cash discount as they are saving $$ on a $33,000 credit card merchant fee.  I got a $200 discount 

[wvugurl26]

Sometimes the library has electronic versions of cookbooks. I check out books that way and read magazines. I also have Kindle unlimited right now. I keep saying I'm going to cancel it but I have a lot of books stacked up right now. I do buy some things but most stuff I read too quickly for that. I'd be buried in books. If I really want it and can't find it electronically, I try to find a used version now.

I use the IP risotto recipe chiver shared. It's very versatile. I keep 1 cup portions of shredded chicken in the freezer. I that and some peas in after cooking along with the parmesan.

I'm waiting on mini cheesecakes to finish baking. The dough for rolls is rising. Having Christmas finally with my dad on Sunday and these are my contributions.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Wilbur finally pooped.

In the sun room.

We decided we really can't be mad at him. I wouldn't poop outside either.

The fact he made it till 5pm before he gave up is actually pretty impressive.

[azucena]

Jan 12, 2024 17:54:12 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

Sometimes the library has electronic versions of cookbooks. I check out books that way and read magazines. I also have Kindle unlimited right now. I keep saying I'm going to cancel it but I have a lot of books stacked up right now. I do buy some things but most stuff I read too quickly for that. I'd be buried in books. If I really want it and can't find it electronically, I try to find a used version now.

I use the IP risotto recipe chiver shared. It's very versatile. I keep 1 cup portions of shredded chicken in the freezer. I that and some peas in after cooking along with the parmesan.

I'm waiting on mini cheesecakes to finish baking. The dough for rolls is rising. Having Christmas finally with my dad on Sunday and these are my contributions.

Thriftbooks.com is great for this.

[Peace77]

Jan 12, 2024 16:58:10 GMT -5 Pink Cashmere said:

Our weather forecast is dreadful. The detail keep changing, but it’s still dreadful.

After tomorrow, the temps won’t get above freezing again until Thursday afternoon. And there is currently a 70% chance of snow on Monday. Idk how much snow they are predicting, but it doesn’t take much to shut the whole area down. Especially since I am guessing that the ground will be cold enough for even a little snow to stick instead of melting when it reaches the ground.

Mister has been saying he wanted to make sure the Jeep and the Tahoe both had full tanks of gas, and his plan is to take care of that when he gets off work today. After the back end of the Tahoe got loose the only time he’s driven it on snow and ice, and started sliding when he was at a red light I’m pretty sure he intends to drive the Jeep instead. He HATES the Jeep, but he has been forced to acknowledge it’s his best bet when there is snow on the ground, ever since the day his car got stuck in the driveway as soon as he got it out of the garage and all 4 tires were on snow, and it took some work, involving a shovel, just to get it back in the garage. When he finally got it back in the garage, he said let’s see if the Jeep can get out, and was really being petty, because he hates the Jeep.  But we got in the Jeep (I always back it down the driveway), and it rolled right out, like an champ, even though our driveway isn’t flat, and you have to go “up” to get out. So guess what he drove to work the next day. The Jeep that he hates.

The Tahoe has 4WD too, but it is a lot bigger than my tiny 2 door Jeep. So, even though they both have 4WD, it matters that the Tahoe is much longer, especially if it’s light in the ass (no weight in the back), while the Jeep doesn’t even really have an ass in the first place. 

Imo, ice is different and all vehicles are shit when it comes to ice.

Anyway, I filled the Jeep’s gas tank on my way back home today, so that would be one less thing he has to do, and since I’m pretty sure it’s going to be his vehicle of choice if there is snow on the ground when he goes back to work Tuesday. Me personally, I am still not going anywhere if there is snow on the ground. My nerves don’t care that I have a Jeep to drive, and I don’t trust Mister’s driving. I  did drive it to work last year after the snow had started melting and some of the streets were clear in spots, but every time I got to a long stretch of snow, I still freaked out and my heart felt like it was trying to beat its way out of my chest. It seems that I am traumatized for life, from my experience trying to get home from school when I had drove to school and they let us out early because it was snowing so much. My brain won’t let me forget the sheer terror I felt when I’ve had a car sliding out of my control. I’ve tried it since then, and lost control often enough, even though I was being careful, and that just reinforced how much it scares me, so I mostly just don’t even try anymore when I know the streets are bad.

Dumb question though, I thought it could be “too cold” to snow. The high Monday will be only 22°, the day snow is predicted to fall.

You can add a bag of potting soil, scrap wood or whatever else you have to add weight to your vehicles.