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dirty ethel rackham

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Everything posted by dirty ethel rackham

  1. Dh is making dinner while I finish some last minute preparations for our NZ trip. He had me taste the gravy for the pork roast. It tasted good, but different than usual and I had trouble figuring out what it was. He started laughing and told me that he accidentally put powdered sugar in the gravy instead of flour, since they were in similar canisters (but large size discrepancy.) 🤣🤣. What weird mistakes have you made that didn't turn out too badly?
  2. Wonderful news! Wishing you a peace and good spirits as you recover.
  3. I developed rosacea during the pandemic at age 57. I just thought it was "maskne" from wearing masks for 8-10 hours a day. I had some lesions on my face that weren't healing so I was concerned that I had more basal cell carcinoma ( I had mohs surgery 5 years ago on my face and am super paranoid about it.) So I went in for a skin check with a new dermatologist and she diagnosed me with rosacea acne. She prescribed a sulfur-based cleanser and a metronidazole cream. I use the cleanser once a day with my Paula's choice cleanser and use the metronidazole cream twice a day. My face has significantly cleared up since. I don't think I changed anything else ... maybe reduced some stressors, but the diet is pretty much the same. I haven't had anything more than an occasional blemish and my skin definitely has less redness, even though I am back to wearing masks at work and in crowded places.
  4. Glad to see this update. I hope they follow through as promised.
  5. Grandma Sig - sewing gorgeous caftans and making fabulous Barbie clothes from the scraps! Grandma Anne - apple strudel. She and my mom didn't get along that well, but Mom was more than happy to turn over the kitchen to her to make strudel. Uncle Ted was a woodworker and made a lovely schoolhouse clock for our wedding present as well as child-sized chairs, rocking toys, pull toys, etc. Aunt Mary was known for her potica, roski cookies, and "Mary cookies", which were these giant anise flavored pizzelles. Uncle Lor was known for his goofy magic tricks that he would do with all the little kids - pulling a quarter from behind your ear or a nickle from your nose. When all the grown ups were being boring (sitting around and talking), you could always count on Uncle Lor to make things interesting. My mom was a talented sewist. She made most of our clothes growing up - before clothes became cheaper to buy than make. She made my sister's wedding dress, piecing together a neckline from this dress, sleeves from another, bodice from another, etc. She also made all the bridesmaids dresses for both of my sisters weddings (I didn't ask her to for mine since it was only 2 months after one sister's wedding.) My BIL is a talented jazz pianist. He is really good at taking a piece of music and making it his own by playing with the chord structure. He is also a lovely piano teacher who can make kids fall in love with making music. Not a create a concert pianist kind of guy but great at finding out what makes a kid tick and being the teacher that a kid needs.
  6. 😭I was so sad to find out this morning. I first saw him at Summerfest in Milwaukee in the late 80s and became a big fan! I've been to several of his concerts and they were so fun. I had been meaning to get to a concert again, but it never worked out. When I need a pick me up, I ask Siri to play him on Spotify when I'm driving. My sister is unexpectedly in town this weekend. Our menu tonight:" Cheeseburger french fried potatoes dill pickle onion slice And, of course, margaritas (virgin for me.) Speaking of Jimmy ... anyone heard from @Parrothead? She hasn't posted here in a while that I can see.
  7. I'm so happy to read this update! Praying for you, your family and your medical team.
  8. My own family gave me a hard time for even breastfeeding past 6 weeks, let alone doing so in public. I remember going to a mall with my mom and needing to stop and nurse my oldest. She acted all uncomfortable and asked if I shouldn't be doing that in private. I told her that if she wanted to eat her lunch in the bathroom, then maybe I'd consider it. (We were well covered - not a nip or skin in sight.) One time I was at my parent's house and my niece and nephew were there - probably preschool and kindergarten age at the time. As I was feeding my son, they asked me questions about what I was doing - "why is your baby eating your b00k?" I just explained what they were for and that some babies nurse and some drink from a bottle. My sister (the kids' mom) had a cow ... she was livid that I would be "so gross" around her kids. This is the sis who had no problem swearing like a truck driver or having a TV show inappropriate for young kids on. After a while, my family got used to my granola ways and got over themselves. One actually defended me to this nosey old bitty who told me that I needed to feed my baby in the restroom during a family anniversary party at a clubhouse that we rented out. My name was on the check and she wasn't even supposed to be there. In 2001, a friend was threatened with a ticket for nursing her child at our local swimming venue - filled with lots of teens wearing next to nothing (no judgement, just an observation of the cognitive dissonance.) Lucky you. When among like-minded friends, I felt supported in my choice to feed my child whenever and wherever necessary. However, in the general public, if someone figured it out, I got nasty looks, mothers ushering their kids away from the scary "exhibitionist", etc. I tried to give a knowing smile when I saw a woman breastfeeding in public. Not a big calling out, but a silent "you got this!"
  9. This. After 10 years of pregnancy/nursing and very large weight fluctuations, the books have moved to the bottom shelf. I feel like I look more put together with a decent fitting bra. Also, after nursing for so long and feeling so "touched out", I can't stand lots of motion. I feel weird walking around my house without one. The only time I have felt real discomfort from a bra is when it was the wrong size (too big or too small) or when I had bruised ribs. Before children when I had next to nothing on top, I wore bras to 1) hide the nipples and 2) attempt to balance out my chest to my hips (which weren't big, just that my chest was that small. I once toyed with the idea of giving up shaving, but then I hit perimenopause and my pits smelled really bad. Shaving seemed to cut down on the hormonal sweat stink. I had to get rid of most of my shirts from that time because I couldn't get the smell out. I never got really comfortable with the idea. I first shaved at like age 9 or 10 because I started to get more noticeable leg hair and was very self-conscious about it and worried about getting bullied by other girls. I stole my older sister's razor and had lots of cuts and nicks. She had to teach me how to do it right. DD23 rarely shaves her armpits. But she is one of the few. She has never said it was to rebel against the patriarchy, but that she can't be bothered. Her boyfriend is a swimmer and he shaves more than she does.
  10. I am so so sorry for your loss. I pray that you find rest and healing in the hard days ahead.
  11. I don't just hate the name of that program ... I hate every single thing about it! Bad theology (Jesus suffering on the cross is why we should not comfort our crying children when they become inconvenient!). Complete ignorance of infant and child development. And the cult-like way it was railroaded into churches. The shunning of people who dared to question it. The only thing good about that program is that it forced me to study up to understand why I was so icked out by it. I dove deep into infant and children's nutrition, psychology, discipline, etc. I started going to Bible study at our Catholic church to get more scholarly understanding of what the Bible really says about parenting, not just cherry-picking verses here and there. And I learned who my real friends were and who were not. To the original question ... people ignoring what the Bible says or twisting it to fit their own needs is as old as the Bible itself. Wars have been fought over these differences for millenia. What I find interesting is that the people I have met who seemed to have put in the most actual study of the Bible (my evangelical acquaintances) are the people who were the first to jump into the white Christian nationalism movement. The cognitive dissonance is mindboggling. These people would be all to happy to criticize us Catholics for not knowing the Bible as well as them (because they could cite chapter and verse as opposed the the Catholic typical response of "somewhere in the Old Testament" or "I think it was one of Paul's letters").
  12. I've been avoiding this thread until I could see the movie. I didn't want to go opening weekend because, well, ... people. I tried to get dh to go, but he was stalling. Dd went right when it came out ... her friends had a Barbie party and they all went (guys and girls) dressed in pink. They loved it. I was all prepared to go by myself. But, this weekend, dd convinced dh that he and I should see it with her and her boyfriend. Dh and I loved it. He could not understand why so many people were so opposed to the message. They could not have been more clear that patriarchy as a system was harmful to women AND men. Not "men are bad." I pulled out my Barbies from the crawl space and had forgotten that I gave my Malibu Barbies "feathered bangs." 😁 Ken's head was held on by masking tape. And there were several torsos and legs ... as if Sid from Toy Story got a hold of them. 😂 It was fun showing my daughter all the clothes that my grandma had made using scraps from fabrics she bought on her world travels. As a kid, I didn't appreciate these haute couture clothes as much as I should have. I was so sad to find that my "Growing Up Skipper" doll wasn't in there. I think it made it into my sister's collection. As a kid, I thought a doll that grew bOOks was the coolest thing ever, but as an adult, I'm scratching my head about who would have thought of such a thing! 🤣 I totally agree. My daughter insisted I watch Everything, Everywhere All at Once and I audibly sobbed. Now, she leaves googly eyes all over the place as little love letters. Watching America Ferrera's character longing for that relationship with her daughter really got me. All of this!! My daughter said it made her cry, too. I could feel her pulling away in high school. She is the reason I went back to school. When we were looking at colleges, I made too many jokes about how nice the dorms were compared to back in the day and how I wanted to go here. She told me in front a group of people that I "needed to get my own life." Ouch. The truth hurt. She knew that I was struggling to let her go. She sees that time through adult eyes and cringes. I see that time as a painful reality check. I think it was meant to be disturbing. I got the reference, understood the point she was making, and I found it hilarious and disturbing at the same time. I totally didn't see many of the references at the time and only got them when pointed out or after thinking about it later. I thought the men on horses thing was funny, but I didn't get the reference until dh said "coconuts." Aha! For dh, Monty Python is his "Godfather"! 😂
  13. I just finished listening to Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear. I needed an audiobook for my commute and it fit the bill. It's a British police procedural where the main character is investigating a murder that has ties to her childhood. She grapples with her family relationships torn apart by this past event, with keeping her personal life and professional life separate, and solving this mystery. This one kept me guessing until the end. I just found out that it is a series so I may give the other ones a listen. @Ottakee, I can't wait to listen to the Long Steep Path. I'm a big Catherine Ryan Hyde fan and hadn't seen this one. This month, I did check out a couple books from the library, but I just can't make myself read unless I'm in bed and that means my Kindle. Since I have to get at O'dark thirty for work and have sleep anxiety, I have to not read in bed or I will stay up til the wee hours.
  14. Congratulations! You've got this! (From a recently graduated "mature" college student. )
  15. Sometimes I rage clean ... usually making lots of noise so that everyone knows I'm rage cleaning. Probably learned that from my mom - a huge rage-cleaner. But mostly I rage eat chocolate chips. Cleaning would be healthier.
  16. I feel your pain. I've paid for many missing library books over they years. When each kid would take out 10-12 library books each visit, it was a lot to keep track of. I once found a missing library book on our shelf several months after I paid for the missing book. It was inside another book! Another time, I was so frustrated trying to find a book that the library said was not returned and I thought I had returned it. I combed the house several times. A few weeks later, I was at the library looking for another book in a similar subject and found the missing book on their shelves. The (new to me) librarian tried to accuse me of putting it there to avoid the late fees. Another librarian who knew our family gently suggested that it was highly unlikely due to my previous history of paying fines and lost book charges. From then on, I returned all our books to a librarian and made her check them back in while I watched.
  17. I love this guy! He appeals to the side of me that would love to have the nerve and cleverness to be able to respond instead of just stand there uncomfortably gobsmacked.
  18. OMG!! "Calculator math!!"" 🤣🤣 Best euphemism ever!! Our bedroom door does not shut all the way (older house with some settling.) But it makes a noise when you have to shove it open. Dh and I learned to be very quiet (like not on the bed since it might make noise.) He has this terrible fear of anyone hearing us. If any of our kids saw or heard anything, they've never mentioned it. Our youngest would often crawl into bed with us and I wouldn't notice until my back was killing me. I'm surprised she never walked in on us. My middle child was (is) a terrible sleeper and I wouldn't be surprised if she heard things despite dh's almost pathological need to be very very quiet.
  19. I'm glad to hear you have PT helping you out. When my mom broke her pelvis, I became her cheerleader to help her walk out that front door of rehab. I'm rooting for you! As far as school goes, is there anyone in your community that can help you out? with some short term planning? perhaps adding your kids to their homeschool for a couple weeks? When I had a family crisis, I had a couple moms step up and take my kids, supervising their work that they could do independently and then rolling them into their day. They also relied on a few good documentaries and videos. I've been able to return the favor.
  20. That may be the case, but YOU didn't know that at the time and you accepted the position on the condition that they could accommodate your prior engagements and it isn't happening. Putting it in there just makes it official.
  21. How is this a new burden? If you can learn someone's name, you can learn their pronouns. Like @regentrude mentioned, if it is someone you have known a while, it takes more effort to retrain your brain. BTDT with my transgender child (who was a they/them before fully identifying as being female. And has gone by several different names.) After 10 years, I still slip on occasion, but I think she finally understands that it comes from the same place as calling my husband my dog's name. If my hairdresser (who I see maybe 6 times a year) can remember that I have a trans child and can remember her latest name, I think the rest of society can make a wee bit of effort. Who is obliterating the female sex? This whole conversation is about either 1) calling people how they want to be called (my trans child identifies as female) and 2) not assuming a (usually male) gender to refer to a job or group of people. Using a gender is automatically excluding people. Using female terms to refer to certain jobs many times was used as a prejorative ... to make that job seem less important. Using male terms to refer to certain jobs makes it harder for females to be accepted.
  22. I am so sorry for your lost, but am heartened to hear that you had so much love and support. {{KFP}}
  23. I saw a post on our neighborhood Facebook page about their 2 year old wanting to pet puppies for her birthday. So they invited any neighbors with friendly dogs to walk by their house between 8 and 9 this morning so their daughter could see a puppy parade and pet some dogs. So we went. I was a little worried that too many dogs would be too excited, but it turned out great. There were plenty of adults to keep the chaos down. The birthday girl and her siblings were in dog heaven. Despite not having dogs themselves, they were pretty savvy around them. It was quite enjoyable for everyone who attended. So I told my husband that I wanted a dog party for my next birthday. We could set up some chairs in our driveway and have beverages and snacks for people and dogs. He looked at me like I was crazy. But hey, since they need to walk their dogs anyway, why not walk by our house for a little socialization and refreshments?!?!
  24. I'm loving everyone's garden posts and am feeling quite inadequate on that front. I'm rarely motivated to garden unless I can eat it. Dh planted butterfly gardens with native plants around our house, which I called our weed beds. He ignored the landscape plan a friend did for us as part of a school project for horticulture. He just doesn't understand that most native plants are not specimen plants - they look much better in a grouping (like more than 3 coneflowers.) They are looking more like gardens now with the coneflowers, milkweed, butterfly bush, rattlesnake master, joe pye weed and little blue stems. He planted a couple more patches late last summer. I wasn't there to supervise when he cut out the sod ... he did rectangles so they look like he buried bodies in our yard. 🤣 I don't remember what he planted there, but at least he used the template from Prairie Nursery so it should look like a planned garden in a couple years. On the plants we can eat front, our basil, oregano, parsley, and thyme are going great in their containers. We got maybe 2 meals from the cilantro before it went to seed. We are finally getting some roma tomatoes on the 3 plants that survived - we harvested 3 so far, but have about a dozen green tomatoes. I hope we can get them before the squirrels. Our cucumbers bit the dust - not sure what ate them. We have 3 surviving pepper plants and have harvested 1 bell pepper and have 1 more growing. I see lots of flowers, but am not seeing much come of that. On a whim, dh tossed some seeds for green beans on a side of the garden that wasn't doing well. We have been harvesting more than a pound every 3-4 days. This is from our 12x4 bed (that was supposed to be raised but dh didn't understand the assignment when he built it.) I was hoping to put another raised bed out there for more veggies but finding a spot that gets enough sun that isn't on top of old tree roots and not smack dab in the center of the yard is a challenge. And I'll have to choose things that we don't get from our CSA. Green beans anyone??
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