Ignore this thread!

[Critterfixer]

I'm authing. DH and I have decided that I need to spend more time in front of waterfalls. Evidently they inspire me in some way. Very, very productive writing session this afternoon.

[Slache]

I'm authing. DH and I have decided that I need to spend more time in front of waterfalls. Evidently they inspire me in some way. Very, very productive writing session this afternoon.

Any form of moving water is inspiring. I prefer the ocean, Pocahontas likes rivers. It's a thing.

[Susan in TN]

what's wrong with it?

It will heat up once in a while. We know it's not working when the house starts smelling like gas. Sometimes we can turn it off and on a few times and it will work. The appliance repair guy has ordered the part and will hopefully get it fixed some time this week. In the mean time, I keep forgetting that it probably won't work and plan meals that require its use. Doh. You'd think after 3 months of this I would learn my lesson. <roll eyes>

[Jean in Newcastle]

Any form of moving water is inspiring. I prefer the ocean, Pocahontas likes rivers. It's a thing.

 

She could sit in front of the shower. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

It will heat up once in a while. We know it's not working when the house starts smelling like gas. Sometimes we can turn it off and on a few times and it will work. The appliance repair guy has ordered the part and will hopefully get it fixed some time this week. In the mean time, I keep forgetting that it probably won't work and plan meals that require its use. Doh. You'd think after 3 months of this I would learn my lesson. <roll eyes>

 

House smelling like gas is very scary.  I forbid use of the oven until it's fixed! 

[Critterfixer]

 

She could sit in front of the shower. 

 

It's not the same. I did try writing in the bathtub once. That didn't go so well.

[Jean in Newcastle]

It's not the same. I did try writing in the bathtub once. That didn't go so well.

 

It worked for Agatha Christie.  She would come up with plots while sitting in her Victorian bathtub, munching on apples. 

[Critterfixer]

Now that summer is fixing to really heat up it won't rain any more and all the waterfalls will dry up. And I'll have to sit in my dark cave without waterfalls and mourn. :sad:

[Critterfixer]

 

It worked for Agatha Christie.  She would come up with plots while sitting in her Victorian bathtub, munching on apples. 

 

Maybe if I had a bathtub with a built in waterfall... :laugh:

[Jean in Newcastle]

Maybe if I had a bathtub with a built in waterfall... :laugh:

 

Oh my goodness!  Now I want squillions!  I googled rain showers and waterfall faucets and look at this one at this fancy schmancy lodge!  http://www.sunriverrental.net/waterfall.html

[Critterfixer]

 

Oh my goodness!  Now I want squillions!  I googled rain showers and waterfall faucets and look at this one at this fancy schmancy lodge!  http://www.sunriverr.../waterfall.html

 

:drool5:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't want an instant pot.  I want a million dollar home makeover. . .! 

[Critterfixer]

 

I don't want an instant pot.  I want a million dollar home makeover. . .! 

 

You and me both. DH suggests winning the Powerball.

[Jean in Newcastle]

You and me both. DH suggests winning the Powerball.

 

It would help if I actually played the Powerball. . . .  :lol:

[Critterfixer]

 

It would help if I actually played the Powerball. . . .   :lol:

 

Me too...but I don't. My luck is so bad that if I even bought a scratch-off, it would say, "hand the cashier another five dollars." DH swears they don't make tickets like that. They would if I bought one.

[KrissiK]

I don't want an instant pot. I want a million dollar home makeover. . .!

I don't need a million dollars even. Maybe just 50K. I just need my walls repainted and this nasty carpet removed and decent flooring put in. Well, now that VBS is over it is my mission in life to get the carpet out of my bedroom and put in laminate. I have just about convinced dh (Mr. Why-pay-someone-else-to-do-it-if-I-can-do-it-myself) to have it installed. Just a little more work on him and then I'm off to the flooring place.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I'm doing these free online hidden object games.  The one I'm doing now reads best in a Russian accent, I think.  (It was very obviously not put together by a native English speaker.)  I just found the "woki toki" (walkie talkie) that it wanted me to find.  :)

[Junie]

PSA:  Today is National Ice Cream Day!!

[Critterfixer]

 

PSA:  Today is National Ice Cream Day!!

 

Oh, good. I always like a reason to celebrate with ice cream. And I did. :D

[Susan in TN]

PSA: Today is National Ice Cream Day!!

You win the prize!!

 

Uh, which is a virtual trip to "Waterfall Shower Lodge" assisted by Rocco.

Edited July 18, 2016 by Susan in TN

[Susan in TN]

House smelling like gas is very scary. I forbid use of the oven until it's fixed!

Wish I could fit a whole turkey in the IP. I bought some chicken and salmon this week, so I can try those out. I need good chicken recipes that do not involve soup or bell peppers or chili peppers.

[KrissiK]

I'm dehydrating peaches.

[KrissiK]

You win the prize!!

 

Uh, which is a virtual trip to "Waterfall Shower Lodge" assisted by Rocco.

Ooooh, I want that prize!

[KrissiK]

I hate getting old. I have to wear special shoes now. I can't wear the carpy $0.98 flip flops from The Walmart anymore. I think it's an arch problem because every morning when I get up my feet hurt so bad I can barely walk to the bathroom. The pain does go away as I walk around, though. So, I bought some expensive Vionics flip flops a friend recommended. Hopefully it'll help.

Edited July 18, 2016 by KrissiK

[Susan in TN]

I'm dehydrating peaches.

You also win the prize! But first you get to share some peaches with me, pretty please?

[Susan in TN]

I found an IP bbq chicken recipe with pineapple and coconut milk. Mmmmm.

 

Since we start school in 2 weeks, I decided I'd better get our materials ordered. At least that's done. Now I have to start printing things out and making book lists.

[Slache]

I used my IP 4 times tonight as Whole30 prep. I used my ninja more though. :D We spent less than $100 a week on food which is waaaaay better than our first time which ran short due to expense. We're better at Whole30 cooking now.

 

I think I'll start Tai Cheng tomorrow. I'm still tired but I feel so much better.

 

Hmmm. Not much else to report. Things are boring here. It's nice.

[Jean in Newcastle]

One freaked-out-by-a-spider kid.

 

One barfing kid.

 

One less-than-thrilled-Mom to have all of this happening at 11:30 at night. 

[Another Lynn]

(((Jean and barfing kid and freaked-out-by-spider kid)))

 

An early Monday good morning to everyone.  

 

Up at 5:30, at the pool by 7:00.  Fun day ahead!

 

Our team won dive yesterday, now we have three days of swimming.  I probably won't post much, but I'll try to stay ketchupped.  

[ikslo]

Our team won dive yesterday

 

:party:

[ikslo]

I got up at 5:30 to exercise this morning.  Why do birds have to communicate so loudly, and all at the same time?

[Slache]

Stuff & things.

Lynn, what do you want from a fitness tracker? I downloaded the Fitbit app but I don't have a Fitbit yet. I entered my name, age, gender and weight. :svengo: It gave me a calorie goal and I can log my food, exercise and water. An actual Fitbit would log my steps and sleep, but I don't care about steps and I think I've already learned all I can about my sleep. I think people who don't sleep well would benefit from an actual tracker.

 

Fitbit Flex is available through Groupon for $40 off with an additional $10 off your first purchase if you're interested. I think the discount code is WELCOME. It's all over the website so if I'm wrong it'll be easy to figure out.

[Susan in TN]

Good morning!

 

I have done all the morning things.

 

We are babysitting two really super kids for a couple of days.

 

We had an overflowing toilet incident this morning.

 

I figured out how to put the dishwasher on delay timer.

 

Now I must do some work.

 

(((Jean))) hope your people have recovered this morning.

 

Ikslo, the birds are cheering you on! They are very friendly that way.

[AMJ]

Hi, gang, I'm back.  DD15 enjoyed her birthday weekend.  We went to a local Japanese hibachi steakhouse for supper on her actual birthday, and had a family party with cousins over the weekend.  One cousin (younger) slept over at our house, and another cousin (older) filled in during the dinner out since only one invited friend could make it.  Turns out the cousin who attended the dinner had never been to a Japanese hibachi steakhouse before, and quite enjoyed it.

 

 

Nope.  It won't work.

 

I have a crockpot, a deep-fryer, a Ninja, a Kitchenaid mixer.  I never use any of them.  Ever.

 

I occasionally use the Belgian waffle maker.

 

An IP would require planning ahead.

 

Nope.  It won't work.   :)

 

 

ETA:  What an awesome I Never Did Yield to Peer Pressure BOOYAH!

 

Nope, no IP here.  I have a multi-tasking rice cooker (bigger than my old one and more versatile, but somehow doesn't make rice quite as nice as my previous, very old, very small one did) that during holidays also serves as a crock pot; a small crock pot; a large crock pot; a deep fryer; a pressure cooker; a griddle; a panini press; a waffle iron; a bread machine (actually DH's); a stove with two ovens; pots and pans (including a pressure cooker); a microwave; and a DH who quite willingly will cook most anything outside on his smoker/grill.  Foods are primarily cooked on the stove, on the grill, or in the ovens (usually the smaller oven since there's just 4 of us), with some things warmed up in the microwave.  Most plug-in-the-wall cooking appliances only get used occasionally, sometimes only at holiday gatherings once a year.

 

If certain dietary changes become rest-of-my-life permanent some of these might be going away.  After all, if someone really wants a flattened sandwich we can use the griddle and a cast iron pan, and my dutch oven would work for what little deep frying we might be doing in the future.  And I don't remember the last time we actually made waffles from batter -- might be before DD12 was born.

 

 

I even have learned to make do with just two burners on my "5-burner" stovetop.  It turns out there's a flange at the back directing the ovens' exhaust vent output up, and this flange sticks out over the back burners somewhat, making the back burners only useful for smaller pots.  All larger pots must go on the front two burners, where they block access to the back burners.  And what about the 5th burner, you ask?  Stupid design -- it's a small burner placed at the 4-corners spot, and everything is tight enough that if you use the middle (5th) burner you can't use any of the others!

 

We paid a lot of money for that stove, and only realized certain drawbacks after we had it home and used for a while and couldn't return it.  Lesson learned:  When shopping for a stove take along your BIGGEST pots, at least as many as the number of burners you are considering, put them ALL on top of the stove you are considering, and check to see if they are centered over burners (or pushed off to the side) and if you can get to each one without burning yourself on any others.

 

Then also measure not only the unit itself but how much room in back it needs for cords, gas lines, and anything else.  Ours needs more room behind it than our previous stove did, and so it sticks out past the cabinetry.  Our oven handles also have open ends (the part that fastens to the oven door is not on the very end of the handle) -- looks pretty, but tends to snag pockets and aprons of anyone passing, causing injury and oven doors being opened unintentionally.

 

 

I find it amusing that even though we have more developments and "conveniences" in cooking technology than our parents and grandparents did I quite often still find myself using OLD cooking strategies I learned from them.  It's just simpler and less hassle much of the time....
 

[Ellie]

I'm not even going to try to get ketched up.

 

:seeya:

 

My hula class is going well. I have nine new students, only three remaining from before, so 10-12 dancers weekly. They all love me, and they are all working hard to become awesome dancers. How kewl is that?

 

Planning for a family reunion next year on the Outer Banks.

 

Trying to keep cool in the hot Texas summer. Ugh.

 

That is all.

 

:grouphug:

[JoJosMom]

Just caught up.

 

Read Lynn's post and thought, "Oh, that's right. It's swim season now, so she'll be soooo busy."

 

We now have a history with knowable seasons. :huh:

 

Wow.

 

Must go brave terrifying roads.  Wish me luck...

[KrissiK]

Good Morning! It's the first day of the rest of my summer. I am so glad I have nothing to do for the next 4 weeks. Well, I have stuff to do, but nothing big to prepare for. Family Reunion is past and so is VBS.

 

Ellie, it was so good to see you back! You have been seriously missed!

You also win the prize! But first you get to share some peaches with me, pretty please?

I'd be more than happy to share.   

I found an IP bbq chicken recipe with pineapple and coconut milk. Mmmmm.

Since we start school in 2 weeks, I decided I'd better get our materials ordered. At least that's done. Now I have to start printing things out and making book lists.

that recipe sounds very yummy! And this week Ima gonna work on school stuff,too.   

One freaked-out-by-a-spider kid.

 

One barfing kid.

 

One less-than-thrilled-Mom to have all of this happening at 11:30 at night.

 

oh Jean, I'm sorry!   

(((Jean and barfing kid and freaked-out-by-spider kid)))

 

An early Monday good morning to everyone.  

 

Up at 5:30, at the pool by 7:00.  Fun day ahead!

 

Our team won dive yesterday, now we have three days of swimming.  I probably won't post much, but I'll try to stay ketchupped.

 

Wow, Lynn! Good luck swimmers! Just don't swim in treacherous seas!

[KrissiK]

Just caught up.

 

Read Lynn's post and thought, "Oh, that's right. It's swim season now, so she'll be soooo busy."

 

We now have a history with knowable seasons. :huh:

 

Wow.

 

Must go brave terrifying roads. Wish me luck...

Hi JJM! Good to see you, too! Yes, we do have a history with knowable seasons! We have our own little world. Good luck on the terrifying roads. Don't take unnecessary risks!

[AMJ]

You are such a rebel!

 

I guess the IP makes sense for me because I use my rice and slow cookers frequently (several times a week). And I frequently have dinner issues because I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer and my oven isn't working.

 

On the other hand, I have a blender that my kids use once in a while, and a Cuisinart food processor that I got as a gift a couple years ago and have used once. I am too lazy to clean those stupid things when I could do the same job sort of with a knife.

 

I have a blender I use once in a while, a KA mixer I love but just don't have call to use except around holiday time (especially since DH bought be a Whip It), and a food processor I tend to forget about until I have to shred or chop a LOT of stuff and start getting blisters.  At those food volumes I don't mind the clean-up of any of these, since it takes less time and effort and produces less blisters than chopping or shredding everything by hand would have.

 

I am surprised at how I simply don't use my straight-sided 10" skillets much since I received a couple 12" sloped-sided stir-fry pans.  I will keep my cast iron skillet and the enameled skillet that was my mother's.  I've already donated one 10" skillet with lid.  (DH: "But that goes with our induction hot plate."  Me: "We have other cookware that will work on the induction hot plate."  Note: induction hot plate only gets used once a year, at holiday times, when we simply must have another accessible burner.)  I really should donate the other 10" skillet, though.  (My internal argument that DH will probably also voice:  "It's part of a set."  "We don't have to always keep sets together.  The stock pot of this set is already gone (the side split), so the set is already incomplete.  We don't have to keep ALL of the set when only SOME of the set is useful to us.")

 

I have been telling eldest dear niece (and my own two DDs) that when the time comes to set up their own kitchens it would be wiser to NOT buy sets of pots and pans or other kitchen gear.  Instead they should get only the pans and lids they actually will use, as they need them.  Ditto with kitchen knives,utensils, and small appliances.  They will likely have SMALL kitchens with very limited space, and invariably sets come with pieces (usually of space-consuming size) they simply will not use. 

[AMJ]

I don't buy something unless I have a place to put it. I just recently learned that not everyone does that. I have mental problems.

 

If we all had the same mental problem we wouldn't suffer so from way-too-much-stuff syndrome.

[AMJ]

I was never a slave to trends but this forum has convinced me to do a *lot*. KonMari, Whole30, Instant Pot, Chiropractor, Cuisenaire Rods, Classical Conversations materials, Reading Lessons Through Literature, become an elephant ninja. I was a trendsetter in high school. Remember those little finger skateboards? I took the wheels off those and made earrings out of them. I was so cool. Now I'm a sheep. Not even a sheep in a jeep, but a sheep in a minivan.

 

Watch out for DD12!  "Oooooooooo, who's a cute little cuddly sheepy?  You are!  What a cutie!"  *cuddles the life out of you*

[Junie]

Hi Ellie!   :seeya:

[Junie]

Yesterday ended up being a pretty good day.  A little bit of a headache, but I was able to do things!

 

I'm feeling pretty good today (so far).  Some of my kiddos are disgruntled about doing homeschool today.  I guess it is a Monday, after all.

[AMJ]

I have decided to take away my "food processor/dust collector" and put the IP there. Or when I get rid of my rice cooker, it might also fit in its spot in the cabinet. Happy gardening!

 

If the IP will cook rice correctly you can declutter the rice cooker without losing any functionality.

[AMJ]

I just realized something about this. She doesn't buy me things, she buys her things to store at my house. She said things like "Please don't throw this away because I'd like to borrow it" when we lived out there and now she says "I'd like to use this while I'm out here so make sure you keep it." She bought me a pie cutter one (financially straining) year and I reminded her that I could cut a pie perfectly with a knife and she replied "Yeah, but I can't." I guess I'm an idiot for not picking up on it sooner. It just never dawned on me that someone would do this.

 

"I'm sorry, but we simply don't have the space to spare to store things we don't use ourselves.  If you have items you'd like to use while here feel free to bring/ship them yourself, and then take/ship them back again at the end of your visit.  Anything extra you leave behind will be donated or sold to get it out of our way and into the hands of someone who will use it."

[Critterfixer]

I've caught up with chores and school planning for the week. Now I'm ready to go back to bed. Guess I ought to go get that second cup of tea. :laugh:

[Slache]

I have the weirdest dreams during second sleep. This time some random stranger who is subscribed to me on YouTube asked to be my friend on Fitbit and I found the situation so stressful I cried. :blink:

[Junie]

I have the weirdest dreams during second sleep. This time some random stranger who is subscribed to me on YouTube asked to be my friend on Fitbit and I found the situation so stressful I cried. :blink:

 

You have a YouTube channel?  That would have been nice to know when I was experiencing insomnia.   :toetap05:

[AMJ]

I just realized something about this. She doesn't buy me things, she buys her things to store at my house. She said things like "Please don't throw this away because I'd like to borrow it" when we lived out there and now she says "I'd like to use this while I'm out here so make sure you keep it." She bought me a pie cutter one (financially straining) year and I reminded her that I could cut a pie perfectly with a knife and she replied "Yeah, but I can't." I guess I'm an idiot for not picking up on it sooner. It just never dawned on me that someone would do this.

 

My Dad (and others) "gave" certain "family heirlooms" to us because I had a house and a family and "needed" them.  I was under NO circumstances to get rid of anything, because they are "family treasures" entrusted to me, which I should save for the sake of the memory of certain ancestors and pass along to my own kids someday (so they can fill their own homes with relics from people they never knew).  This, from the guy who lives alone in a two bed, two bath apartment with attached garage (used for storage) AND a full-size storage unit AND a hangar at the local airport (no plane anymore, but still keeps the hangar -- loves airplanes and flying).

 

Various items hwe have turned over to DH's extended family (who actually needed them, and since they were family Dad didn't object much).  Other items were donated to certain charitable auctions, which again, Dad didn't object to very much since he liked the causes.  Other items are just gradually disappearing away as I unearth them from whence I buried them, since Dad no longer comes to visit here and simply won't know.  Most of these items were "entrusted" to us because NO ONE in the family wanted them, but all felt family guilt over getting rid of them.  "Giving" them to us was the guilt-free method of choice for getting the items out of their own homes.

 

Some items we will continue to keep because we like them and they mean something to us.  These are enough to serve as the family museum.

 

There was a time when it made sense to save items and pass them along to the next generation, because the items were useful, lasted, and it saved precious money to do so.  There was a time to treasure souvenirs and mementos of rare travels to exotic locales brought back for one by a loving relation lucky enough to go.  There was a time when having a small collection of something simply pretty or whimsical meant that the individual and/or family was solvent, wealthy enough to afford a few extravagances beyond basic food, shelter, and clothing.

 

So many of our families have gone past this stage now, though the old habits and considerations are deeply ingrained.  It might still be considered "thoughtless" to go on a trip and not bring back souvenirs for others.  We feel we MUST buy physical objects for holiday and birthday presents, even if the recipient has no space and no need to acquire more things.  We spend long decades learning from our own experiences what is and is not useful, and we insist on "helping" our younger generations by giving them the things we found so useful, confident that they WILL discover the usefulness and our wisdom if they simply stop resisting and put the items to their intended uses.

 

And so it falls to our generation to figure out how to NOT overburden the next generation with all of our junk, while dealing with the insistent "generosity" of our older generations who feel the passage of time.  It falls to us to learn how to weed out the clutter of our lives instead of getting bigger and bigger spaces in which to store it all, and more and more containers and organizers to try to fool ourselves into thinking we don't have all that much.  It's up to us to learn how to resist the siren call of ever-constant in-your-face advertising, and see the pitfalls behind the "sensible solutions" being sold to us at every turn.

 

 

It's a good thing we can get chocolate so easily now.  I wouldn't survive this stage without it.

[AMJ]

Do you use a rinse agent in your dishwasher? What kind?

 

Jet Dry, because our dishwasher takes a LOT longer to finish cycles if that dispenser is empty.  Jet Dry is familiar from decades past and no one in the family is sensitive to it, so I don't have to do any homework into selecting something else.