(((Jean)))

Hello, welcome! No rules that I know of. Some people list everything, other just highlights. Some update during the day, others don't. So, whatever suits you is fine, I think. One quirk is that most posters generally try to like all the other posts, if they have time, lol. At least that is what I've noticed. ETA It's pretty common for someone's goal to be what they didn't get to the day before, lol.

Happy St Patrick's Day First item on my agenda is to go back to sleep, lol. I really, really was looking forward to sleeping in today, but dd has an early morning track practice. It's 25 degrees out, ouch. Poor child! But she enjoys it. Make Guinness Cake with cream cheese frosting. It's supposed to look like a glass of Guinness with white foam on top, but you'd never guess this without being told. Make Cheddar-chive Guinness bread, which we like better than Irish soda bread. (Cake and bread recipes are from kitchn.com.) Corned beef, colcannon, carrots, horseradish cream. Finish making napkin rings. We painted them green last night, have to add shamrock ribbon trim and then modge podge. Faithr, I wanted to add that I admire what you are doing. It sounds as though you are making a wonderful evening for a lot of people. I hope you post about how it turns out, looking forward to details.

I don't actually use her system, but I enjoyed reading the threads. I 'liked' them, but didn't have a lot to contribute. I hope you keep up the threads, especially if you enjoy the posting.

That sounds about right. Meeting this evening. I like to get out and see friends, but I miss my leisurely dinner hour. Today is chilly, low 30's, and windy, but sun is out, and it is beginning to feel springlike. Dinner -- planning cod in a red curry sauce, spinach and brown rice. We have to be reasonably healthy before tomorrow's corned beef, lol.

Waiting for important phone calls is one of the most frustrating things, imo. I hope you get a call soon.

Amazing. We have a friend who is a top swimmer. I am simply in awe of the work that goes into that level of achievement.

Errands. I've been shuffling china around, putting some on shelves, other bits in Container Store dish storage cases (the sturdiest brand, imo). And something I enjoy (though not everyone might) -- cataloging china, taking pix, looking up marks. I love learning the history of different china (in an amateur sort of way) and am enjoying my new book on German, Austrian, and Bohemian marks. That's the fun part of my day. I also have to do some mind numbing sorting of papers on and about my desk. Calendars, emails, bills. Dinner -- we haven't had fish in a while, so will see what is looking good today.

Jen, congrats to both your children, great achievements. And to you too, for encouraging them and , presumably, doing quite a bit of driving, lol. Started the day by doing some tidying and rearranging and almost forgot to post. Will continue with the house stuff. Chilly out, but sunny and cheerful. We had a 7 lb roast chicken last night, with sage-Apple stuffing and gravy. Lots left over though, so I am thinking some kind over stir fry with broccoli and red pepper, brown rice. But truthfully, I am sort of bored with that. If I have time, I'll see if Google has any better ideas.

The Hoboken idea, below, makes sense. Commuting from NJ can be painful if you have to take a bus -- busses take you to the crowded and rapidly deteriorating Port Authority bus terminal. ETA I don't really have words to describe the awfulness of the bus terminal -- buckets catching water from the leaking roof, changing locations of busses without announcements, and so on. Not to mention delays, both coming and going. Busses go through the Lincoln Tunnel, often slow, slow, slow. Path train is different from Bus terminal. I just looked up the Hotel Pennsylvania, on 34th street. I have never stayed there, and the reviews are not stellar. I only mentioned it because prices came in under your budget when I plugged in a random date. Ds goes there for chess tournaments and says it's ok. Tournaments used to be held at New Yorker Hotel in same area, not sure of prices. Both once used to be grand old hotels, emphasis on used to be. Both hotels are right next to subway stops. Personally, I like to be able to pop back to my hotel room during the course of a day, even if the room is not great, but ymmv.

I do a lot of baking. Mostly one cake at a time, normal sized batches of other things. My 5 quart mixer does knead dough for two, 9" loaves of bread though. The 5 quart is perfect for me. One thing I have found to be extremely helpful is to have two bowls, especially if you make the kinds of desserts that require egg whites to be beaten separately from other ingredients.

Jean, you have so much to take care of. Stay strong! Selkie, glad you are feeling a bit better. It's been a long time.

We did camps in January too. Peace of mind.

Speed Queen: The Life (and Death) of Internet Commentators' Favorite Machine https://thewirecutter.com/blog/speed-queen-washer/ Thought the SQ owners here might enjoy the link, even though author is not as huge a fan as we are. ( Wirecutter in a NY Times company. I generally like most of their reviews.) The most interesting part to me was that, according to the article, standardized tests for washers do not measure cleaning on really dirty clothing. The new SQ may not get dirt out, but it should perform well on standardized tests with lightly soiled itty bitty towels. I have objections to standardized tests in education; now I have to add standardized tests for washers to my don't-like list, lol.

We are having our third nor'easter in a short space of time, but it looks as though we will escape serious snow, as the storm is tracking east of us. It just started snowing seriously shortly before 8 am. The car was suddenly covered enough that I needed to get out the brush and sweep snow away. But the poor people in Boston and the rest of coastal New England! No errands today, as I spent yesterday afternoon going here and there, followed by evening activity. So it's kind of nice to be at home today. Organizing, paperwork. Roast chicken with lots of roast veggies -- carrots, shallots, potatoes, fennel. No idea how I'll fit everything in the roasting pan -- maybe braise the fennel on the stovetop and add some Parmesan? I gave lots of fresh sage left over that I use to stuff chicken. 🙂 Oh, and I have Bibb lettuce and baby radishes. Simple sliced navel oranges for dessert.

I read this on my iPad and the name/photo of the poster did not show on the screen. I said to myself, "This Has to be Ellie." I scrolled up and there you were, lol. Thank you for your unfailingly good advice!

Jean, congratulations on the weight and lab numbers!

Good grief! You need my teenage son, lol. Last week, I made meatloaf with slightly over 3 lbs of meat (2/3 beef, 1/3 pork) for 3 people. The small amount of leftovers was gone before the next night's dinner. Any extra meat in our house gets eaten -- teenagers.

I'm thinking of St Patrick's Day. We are not Irish, but love the holiday. When kids were little, we always went out to an Irish bar/restaurant for food, bagpipes and dancing, but recently we have celebrated at home. So today I will check that I have non-perishables for my menu -- Guinness braised corned beef, cheddar chive Guinness bread, and chocolate Guinness cake. (I once did a chocolate chip Irish whiskey cake, bug it was far too alcoholic for kids, lol.) Dd and I will make some simple decorations, as all the ones we found were super tacky. So today, we will swing by craft store and get wood napkin rings and some kind of wide ribbon. I'm not super crafty, but I think we manage to glue something together, lol. Use the same ribbon to make bows for base of candles, since the idea of bright green candles makes me slightly nauseous. (I will make a note to self *not* to google and get jealous about table settings with Beleek shamrock plates.) Get running shoes for dd. Store was do crowded on Saturday that we left. Pick up tennis racket for ds. Call to check that it has been strung, More snow predicted for tonight and tomorrow, so stock up on fresh food.

Nice day planned. Visit public library in another town, as they have the books we need. Go antiquing, look at things prior to an auction. Dd and I love antiquing, even though we don't actually buy anything most of the time. 🙂🙂🙂 We will get beck late, so TJ Mandarin chicken for dinner.

You said literally eons ago. Back in those olden days (lol), it was much more common than it is now to go directly from high school into the work force. I think that makes a difference.

Oh, Jean, being exhausted and trying to drag through a day -- I hope you can find time for a nap. Today is okay, not super great. Hike was cancelled, snow too deep. So, in the morning, haircut for Ds followed by a trip to a speciality store to buy a new $$$ tennis racket. Then, in afternoon, trip to running store for new shoes for dd -- and perhaps myself. (Grateful that my plantar fasciitis has all but disappeared, and I want to keep it that way.) Stop by art supply for some picture framing materials, so better add measuring and making list to what I need to go before going out. And then 🙂🙂🙂, drive to poultry farm store for freshly made turkey pot pies, put them into double insulated bags, drive home, and eat dinner. (Order pies and any other chicken I want for next week this morning before they sell out.) This is a link to poultry store I love: http://www.gofflepoultry.com/about.html https://www.yelp.com/biz/goffle-road-poultry-farm-wyckoff Prices are comparable to supermarket, which is one reason why people (like me) drive long distances to shop here.

Yes, police. Give them time to get warrants for home and work. And, in the meantime, keep quiet.

Errands to do before the weekend Phone calls and desk work, update calendar Corned beef for dinner

I got out, roads are fine where I am, but others in NJ are not so lucky -- two plus feet of snow, downed power lines, etc. So I was able to go to supermarket, and dinner tonight will not be out of freezer. I'm making dd's favorite meatloaf tonight and ds's favorite corned beef tomorrow night. Picked up a package from Hungary at the post office and gave stamps to dd -- 5,400 forints worth. I'd forgotten forints were so small compared to euro or dollar.