Light Topics for February

[WildflowerMom]

4 hours ago, Scarlett said:

Too much work?  Hmm….I make super simple Shepards pie….to the point I think, is this real food?

Idk, we used the recipe from America's test kitchen.   It took about an hour but was a lot of steps, several pans, etc.  

[HomeAgain]

3 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

Idk, we used the recipe from America's test kitchen.   It took about an hour but was a lot of steps, several pans, etc.  

I love ATK  (our favorite short ribs recipe comes from there) but they're good at making a really tasty version of something and not the simplest.

Shepherd's pie is one of ds13's favorites.  I should make them in patty pan batches for the freezer for him.  BUT, when I make it I definitely cut down the steps and it's usually after a meal from earlier in the week where I made mashed potatoes.  Leftovers for the win.

[WildflowerMom]

2 minutes ago, HomeAgain said:

I love ATK  (our favorite short ribs recipe comes from there) but they're good at making a really tasty version of something and not the simplest.

Shepherd's pie is one of ds13's favorites.  I should make them in patty pan batches for the freezer for him.  BUT, when I make it I definitely cut down the steps and it's usually after a meal from earlier in the week where I made mashed potatoes.  Leftovers for the win.

Ahhh, now see I hadn't considered using leftover mashed potatoes.   Dh & I decided we won't cook it again and we'll just go to the restaurant and get it.  However, with the mashed potatoes done another night, it would relieve a little bit of the burden.   
and yes, it was really tasty.   But not exactly a meal I'd make if I was trying to get something on the table quickly.  

[Guest]

16 hours ago, Pawz4me said:

I think it's a great idea!

I don't have anything funny, but I'm sitting here mulling about painting the inside of our garage. Do I want to go with the traditional (boring) white or do I want something different? I'm thinking different but nothing crazy--maybe a beige or very (very) light yellow. But will that be weird? Definitely a first world problem. 😉 

During the shut-down orders of 2020, my stir-crazy dh painted the interior of our garage Iron Horse Grey, with a red and white detail stripe. (These are his company colors.) It was time consuming because of the detail and making level guidelines, then taping off. But it turned out good and kept him occupied. 
 

 

[ScoutTN]

7 hours ago, ***** said:

MercyA, we would love to have an update on little Peep!  And a photo would brighten up our day?!

Oh yes! May we please have a Peep pic, @MercyA?

[ScoutTN]

Bluebirds, robins, cardinals, and mourning doves are nesting in my backyard!!

[WildflowerMom]

16 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

I got a beginner crochet kit and I’m going to give it a try.  Prayers are appreciated.  🤣

Quoting myself.    
 

guess what?   It's too hard, I've already given up.   I put it back in the package and I'll give it to my niece when she's a bit older.  

[HomeAgain]

We finished Dog Gone finally.  DS shares my reluctance to watch dog movies because the inevitable often happens in some form or another, so we have been working on this movie for a solid week.  It was very, very sweet, and sparked an interest in him to hike the Appalachian trail with me (well, part of it). I'll give him another year of growth and then we'll see what we can do.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, WildflowerMom said:

Quoting myself.    
 

guess what?   It's too hard, I've already given up.   I put it back in the package and I'll give it to my niece when she's a bit older.  

Great solution. It's important to honor our limitations without guilt 🙂  (I could never crochet either, I tried knitting but it was *so* stressful!)

Edited February 14, 2023 by MEmama

[Guest]

1 hour ago, MEmama said:

Great solution. It's important to honor our limitations without guilt 🙂  (I could never crochet either, I tried knitting but it was *so* stressful!)

I loom-knit and I got pretty advanced with that but don’t do it much now because time. I have made several attempts at crochet, though, because I want to make the little crochet toys. Also, crochet is much more portable than loom-knitting. It’s hard to start back at the beginning, though, knowing I am already at a higher level with looming. 

[math teacher]

4 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

Ahhh, now see I hadn't considered using leftover mashed potatoes.   Dh & I decided we won't cook it again and we'll just go to the restaurant and get it.  However, with the mashed potatoes done another night, it would relieve a little bit of the burden.   
and yes, it was really tasty.   But not exactly a meal I'd make if I was trying to get something on the table quickly.  

You can make it even easier by having the meat prepared ahead of time. I usually have prepared cooked/deboned chiken in the freezer as well as prepared ground beef. It make life a lot easier.

[MEmama]

12 minutes ago, math teacher said:

You can make it even easier by having the meat prepared ahead of time. I usually have prepared cooked/deboned chiken in the freezer as well as prepared ground beef. It make life a lot easier.

Yes to freezing meat ahead of time, and if mashed potatoes take too long (spoiler: they do), have you tried trader Joes frozen mashed potatoes? They are ridiculously good, better than any homemade I've ever had. I'm not even embarrassed by that truth. 🙂 

[WildflowerMom]

2 hours ago, MEmama said:

Great solution. It's important to honor our limitations without guilt 🙂  (I could never crochet either, I tried knitting but it was *so* stressful!)

You're awesome.  I feel better about it.   I just have zero coordination.  I couldn't even hold the string tight.    Even after I went back over the video over and over.   

[WildflowerMom]

15 minutes ago, MEmama said:

Yes to freezing meat ahead of time, and if mashed potatoes take too long (spoiler: they do), have you tried trader Joes frozen mashed potatoes? They are ridiculously good, better than any homemade I've ever had. I'm not even embarrassed by that truth. 🙂 

We don't have a Trader Joe's unfortunately.   😔😔😔

[MEmama]

24 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

We don't have a Trader Joe's unfortunately.   😔😔😔

😞

We used to drive 6 hours to our nearest Trader Joes and Whole Foods to stock up on favorite items, then brought them across the border lol. Not saying you should go such extreme lengths for mashed potatoes, though! Lol. 
 

Maybe there's another brand? I'm all about simplifying cooking nowadays and will take almost any shortcut. 😉 

Edited February 14, 2023 by MEmama

[Kassia]

28 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

We don't have a Trader Joe's unfortunately.   😔😔😔

We don't either.  Have you tried Bob Evans mashed potatoes in the refrigerator section? They are very good. 

[Jaybee]

4 hours ago, WildflowerMom said:

Quoting myself.    
 

guess what?   It's too hard, I've already given up.   I put it back in the package and I'll give it to my niece when she's a bit older.  

My mother crocheted a ton. She made afghans for sooo many people--all of us kids, all the cousins (that's a ton of people!), etc., etc. So a couple of times I have tried a project. Even last year, I bought some yarn to make a nice throw in the living room. Ugh. I just can't seem to crochet evenly. So I never bought more yarn to finish it. I may eventually take out what I did and make a couple of scarves, but I don't have a lot of hope of making it work.

[WildflowerMom]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

We don't either.  Have you tried Bob Evans mashed potatoes in the refrigerator section? They are very good. 

Never tried them, but I have seen them.   I just figured they wouldn't be good.   I'll have to try them!

Edited February 14, 2023 by WildflowerMom

[Pawz4me]

6 hours ago, Quill said:

During the shut-down orders of 2020, my stir-crazy dh painted the interior of our garage Iron Horse Grey, with a red and white detail stripe. (These are his company colors.) It was time consuming because of the detail and making level guidelines, then taping off. But it turned out good and kept him occupied. 
 

 

That's awesome! I'm thinking we won't be doing any stripes--we're not that stir crazy right now 😉--but I kinda like the darker color. And it would hide dirt and scuffs better than a lighter color. 

4 minutes ago, WildflowerMom said:

Never tried them, but I have seen them.   I just figured they wouldn't be good.   I'll have to try them!

My MIL loves them. She's in her upper 80's and not able to do a lot of cooking any more. She keeps Bob Evans mashed potatoes and mac and cheese on hand all the time.

[Kassia]

19 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

 

My MIL loves them. She's in her upper 80's and not able to do a lot of cooking any more. She keeps Bob Evans mashed potatoes and mac and cheese on hand all the time.

Same with mine!  That's the only time we ever ate them was at her house.  For a crowd, she heats them up and keeps them warm in her slow cooker. 

[stephanier.1765]

So this morning, I was feeling a bit beat up after a lot of stress yesterday. Today is the only day this week where I'm at home and not running to appointments and I had a lot of the deep cleaning projects I wanted done on my to do list. Then my DIL texted me saying that she took a mental health day and did I want to go out to lunch to help get her out of her own head. Why yes, yes I would. I can't even tell you how much better I feel now than I did a few hours ago and I don't feel the least bit guilty for skipping all those chores. And hopefully she is feeling a bit better too. I think she was.

[MEmama]

1 hour ago, stephanier.1765 said:

So this morning, I was feeling a bit beat up after a lot of stress yesterday. Today is the only day this week where I'm at home and not running to appointments and I had a lot of the deep cleaning projects I wanted done on my to do list. Then my DIL texted me saying that she took a mental health day and did I want to go out to lunch to help get her out of her own head. Why yes, yes I would. I can't even tell you how much better I feel now than I did a few hours ago and I don't feel the least bit guilty for skipping all those chores. And hopefully she is feeling a bit better too. I think she was.

How lovely!

I hope you get another kitty petting session in tonight! 😻

[rebcoola]

6 hours ago, MEmama said:

😞

We used to drive 6 hours to our nearest Trader Joes and Whole Foods to stock up on favorite items, then brought them across the border lol. 

We don't do this but it is now the norm on our friend group to ask for orders every time you go to city with a TJs.  They didn't even blink the year we walked out with 8 cases of wine and 2 dozen jars of cookie butter.

[WildflowerMom]

I did some work outside today.   I’m always proud of myself when I’m able to do physical work.   I took a million breaks but over the day I was able to trim the bottom of our two azaleas.  I’m going to trim them into trees, do a little work each day until it gets like I want it.     I want to turn out backyard into a playground for our dogs.   This is the first step.  

[MercyA]

18 hours ago, ***** said:

MercyA, we would love to have an update on little Peep!  And a photo would brighten up our day?!

10 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Oh yes! May we please have a Peep pic, @MercyA?

Yes! Also for @Corraleno, @Pawz4me, @Indigo Blue, @YaelAldrich. 🙂 

Thank you for asking for an update on my sweet little guy. 🙂 Peep is so smart and so hilarious. He is very people-oriented. 

He LOVES to show off and be praised. If he flies from one branch to another and we say, “Wow, what a good flier!”, he looks extraordinarily pleased with himself and then flies back and forth, up and down, faster and faster. If he’s feeling especially daring he will fly to the side of the cage and hang on the bars for a few moments for dramatic effect.

He is very chatty and is always ready to fly to the branches closest to us for a conversation. He makes the sweetest little peeps and squawks. When my daughter lifted the cover on his cage to say good night to him the other night, he flew to her and peeped very, very softly. 🙂 When we tell him it's time for bed and he sees his cage cover come out, he flies to his sleeping branch next to his little heater. 

He has plumped up a little bit since he’s been with us. I’m pleased that I’ve been able to convert him to eating about half seed and half pellets, which will be better for his liver health than an all-seed diet. He also loves broccoli and apples. 

He takes a good bath every day and sometimes multiple times a day. He likes warm water best.  It’s very cute to watch him splash.

Sunny used to love to watch bird videos, but although the videos do interest Peep, they also stress him out. Male birds do NOT like intruders. So, we play Baby Einstein videos for him occasionally instead and he really seems to enjoy those. He also likes pop music, video game noises, and, oddly enough, the vacuum. 🙂 

Peep loves to sing and shakes his head and tail feathers with pleasure when we praise him. Here is our one challenge with him. He is so very loud when he hits his high vibrato notes that it actually hurts my daughter’s ears. I can hear him from outside the house. (So can the wild birds, and they call back to him sometimes!). We wrapped the back of his cage and about 1/4 of each side with a moving blanket to try to absorb some of the sound. It has helped some but DD still needs ear plugs in her room. I may try adding a plexiglass front to the cage. I don’t want a full acrylic cage because it seems like that would be stuffy for him. Other ideas welcome. 🙂  

Here’s a recent pic of my handsome boy enjoying the sunshine.

[Kassia]

so cute @MercyA  thanks for sharing

[Indigo Blue]

You are such a good bird parent, @MercyA. He’s adorable. 

[*****]

Thanks for the update, he looks so happy!  I had no idea canaries had such personalities, especially liking the praises from you.

4 hours ago, MercyA said:

Sunny used to love to watch bird videos, but although the videos do interest Peep, they also stress him out.

I had a male parakeet once and placed his cage next to my very hyper finches, for 'company'.  Oh my goodness, the parakeet's new behavior just about drove me crazy!  He was flitting around like the finches, clinging on one side of the cage to the next. I moved him before he had a heart attack and he finally settled down, phew!

[MercyA]

On 2/13/2023 at 3:51 PM, BandH said:

I vote crazy.  I think the garage is the place to try out the crazy colors.  

I know this Amish dude whose garage is MAN CAVED OUT. Like, license plates and traffic signs on the wall. Nice cupboards, just a fun space. 🙂 

Also, I've seen his kids running around in like Children's Place clothes when they are at home. 😉 

(I'm friends with his wife. Not a creepy stalker.)

[MercyA]

On 2/13/2023 at 10:23 PM, Cecropia said:

My good news today is that I tried on two very-cute and two pretty-cute skirts that fit me and they were each $6.  Haven't told dh yet... He won't care, but I feel guilty about spending money on myself.  Skirts are a definite weakness of mine.  I can pass up shoes, jewelry, dresses... not skirts.

No. Just no. Skirts for $6 each? You found some treasures!

[MercyA]

On 2/13/2023 at 2:58 PM, Indigo Blue said:

Okay. One more I forgot. I think this lady is my twin. I’ve been watching lots of these. The part where she cleans the hotel room before she leaves is me. Guilty. I just about died at the part where she vacuums herself out of the room. (No, I don’t do that at least.)
 

 

These peeps were on the Amazing Race! 

[Guest]

I have to add this because I think it’s cute and clever. I ordered “Magical School Outfit” doll clothes for my dd’s AG doll (but it’s for my enjoyment). The silly thing arrived without the skirt! Yes, I *could have* sent it back and so on but I did not want the bother. 
 

At the same time, I came across an old uniform skirt dd wore to private school. So I used that material to make a skirt for the doll on the fly - no pattern. 
 

I made it last night and it’s pretty cute! 

[MercyA]

Wow, @Quill, I am so impressed! The skirt turned out super cute. And your DD's AG is so pretty--is she a Julie?

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Wow, @Quill, I am so impressed! The skirt turned out super cute. And your DD's AG is so pretty--is she a Julie?

Thank you. No; she is Kaeleigh, who was a California-girl inspired special character in, I guess, 2006-ish? 
 

ETA: It’s actually Kailey Hopkins and was doll of the year for either 2003 or 2004. I forgot it was spelled that way. 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Quill

[fairfarmhand]

My dd21 went to class feeling bad and stayed for the lecture. When it came time for lab, she told the teacher she was sick. Professor says if you leave you will fail the lab. Dd stayed, coughing the whole time, (with a mask but still) and professor glared at her the whole time, every time she coughed.  Finally dd had to leave, she was so miserable.

Went to the dr and got a covid test. Shes positive Now she feels bad about exposing her classmates. Feels nothing for the professor. This lady has a terrible attendance policy (no makeups, automatic zeroes if you miss even for illness) My dd is writing a letter to the dean.

[Kassia]

4 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

My dd21 went to class feeling bad and stayed for the lecture. When it came time for lab, she told the teacher she was sick. Professor says if you leave you will fail the lab. Dd stayed, coughing the whole time, (with a mask but still) and professor glared at her the whole time, every time she coughed.  Finally dd had to leave, she was so miserable.

Went to the dr and got a covid test. Shes positive Now she feels bad about exposing her classmates. Feels nothing for the professor. This lady has a terrible attendance policy (no makeups, automatic zeroes if you miss even for illness) My dd is writing a letter to the dean.

I'm sorry about the entire situation but glad she's notifying the dean.  The way the professor handled it is terrible on so many levels!  Hope dd feels better soon.  Poor thing!  

[mommyoffive]

23 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

My dd21 went to class feeling bad and stayed for the lecture. When it came time for lab, she told the teacher she was sick. Professor says if you leave you will fail the lab. Dd stayed, coughing the whole time, (with a mask but still) and professor glared at her the whole time, every time she coughed.  Finally dd had to leave, she was so miserable.

Went to the dr and got a covid test. Shes positive Now she feels bad about exposing her classmates. Feels nothing for the professor. This lady has a terrible attendance policy (no makeups, automatic zeroes if you miss even for illness) My dd is writing a letter to the dean.

What a jerk.  I hope your dd feels better soon.

[Harriet Vane]

@fairfarmhandWhat a jerk! I hope the professor suffers for her rotten choices. And I hope your dd is feeling better soon.

[Guest]

@fairfarmhand I’m sorry your dd’s prof was such a jerk! 
 

A friend of mine’s dd, who was attending Arizona State at the time, was at the country music festival where a shooter shot hundreds of people. My friend’s daughter had to run for her life, lost her shoe and her phone, had to jump over bodies in unknown condition (dead?alive?) and had to scale a fence. She did not manage to get whatever assignment she was supposed to submit in. When she spoke to the professor for an extension due to circumstances, the professor said, “did you get shot?” Not until other students raised an outcry did the professor relent. 
 

I mean, I guess excuses are pretty common but seriously. I doubt many people would use being on site at a mass shooting as a fake excuse to turn work in late. 

[Kassia]

@Quill that is horrifying about the professor's expectations and especially the response.

Our high school had a terrible school shooting (my son was in a similar situation to your friend's dd).  There was a very demanding no-nonsense teacher there and she gave a very difficult AP exam as soon as school was back in session. The poor kids were still traumatized and grieving the loss of their classmates!  She was reported for doing that and then she got mad about being reported.  

[MEmama]

27 minutes ago, Kassia said:

@Quill that is horrifying about the professor's expectations and especially the response.

Our high school had a terrible school shooting (my son was in a similar situation to your friend's dd).  There was a very demanding no-nonsense teacher there and she gave a very difficult AP exam as soon as school was back in session. The poor kids were still traumatized and grieving the loss of their classmates!  She was reported for doing that and then she got mad about being reported.  

Who the f$#k are these people and what is wrong with them?!

The depths of their depravity is horrifying and terrifying.

[ScoutTN]

Back to light topics?!

I need new tea (to drink!) Suggestions? Herbal or caffeine free, mostly. 

 

[Guest]

45 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Back to light topics?!

I need new tea (to drink!) Suggestions? Herbal or caffeine free, mostly. 

 

Sorry. You’re right. Redirect…

I have been drinking Lemon Ginger tea before bed with Natural Calm supplement added. I’m not a real connoisseur by any means but I quite like the tea that way before bed. It does a fine job of quieting my mind. 
 

 

[Indigo Blue]

45 minutes ago, ScoutTN said:

Back to light topics?!

I need new tea (to drink!) Suggestions? Herbal or caffeine free, mostly. 

 

I’ve given up. There’s just not very much caffeine free that’s interesting to drink. I just stick with loose rooibos tea. And…I bought some seltzer water, and I’ve been adding lime juice and a tiny bit of maple syrup. Much lower sugar than soda and tastes like ginger ale. Just sometimes. Mostly it’s just plain water. 

[Harriet Vane]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Back to light topics?!

I need new tea (to drink!) Suggestions? Herbal or caffeine free, mostly. 

 

I adore tea and keep a cabinet stocked with loose leaf delights. 

Rooibos is a deep, malty, complex tea, and plus you can imagine yourself drinking it in the company of Mma Ramotswe of the Number One Ladies Detective Agency. Enjoy a rooibos combination with red fruits for a sprightly cup or mellow out with mango rooibos. I also love jasmine rooibos, but that's caffeinated. 

If you go to a tea shop, look for oolong with rose. Glorious.

[popmom]

On 2/13/2023 at 5:14 PM, Storygirl said:

I've never been a big fan of jigsaw puzzles, but I decided to put one out in our basement and work on it bit by bit, whenever I go down there to walk on the treadmill. And I really enjoyed it! I finished it last night and will start a new one. The one I finished is 750 pieces, and this next one is 1000. I'm hoping to figure out what my sweet spot is, where I enjoy the challenge of the puzzle without feeling overwhelmed by it.

It's a little thing, but kind of fun.

I'm trying so hard to picture you working a puzzle while on a treadmill. 😉

[popmom]

Back to mashed potatoes...

I keep pouches of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes in my pantry for when I need something in a pinch. I doctor it with some sour cream and butter. My kids actually prefer instant to homemade! No lumps--perfectly smooth for those sensory kids. And it works fine for topping shepherd's pie. 🙂

[popmom]

3 hours ago, ScoutTN said:

Back to light topics?!

I need new tea (to drink!) Suggestions? Herbal or caffeine free, mostly. 

 

One of my twins is living here this semester while she interns. She loves the iced green tea with peach syrup at Starbucks. She asked me to order some sugar free peach syrup, and it was delivered today. We are going to try to recreate the Starbucks drink, so she's not tempted to spend all the $$$. Green tea does have a little caffeine, but it's not much. 

[Kassia]

21 minutes ago, popmom said:

Back to mashed potatoes...

I keep pouches of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes in my pantry for when I need something in a pinch. I doctor it with some sour cream and butter. My kids actually prefer instant to homemade! No lumps--perfectly smooth for those sensory kids. And it works fine for topping shepherd's pie. 🙂

We like instant mashed potatoes a lot here (Idahoan are especially good).  When the whole family is home, we make from scratch but for just one or two of us we usually do instant and think they are really good!  (I know it makes more sense to use instant for a big crowd and do from scratch for one or two but that's the way we do it 🙂  ) 

[Pawz4me]

5 hours ago, popmom said:

Back to mashed potatoes...

I keep pouches of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes in my pantry for when I need something in a pinch. I doctor it with some sour cream and butter. My kids actually prefer instant to homemade! No lumps--perfectly smooth for those sensory kids. And it works fine for topping shepherd's pie. 🙂

 

4 hours ago, Kassia said:

We like instant mashed potatoes a lot here (Idahoan are especially good).  When the whole family is home, we make from scratch but for just one or two of us we usually do instant and think they are really good!  (I know it makes more sense to use instant for a big crowd and do from scratch for one or two but that's the way we do it 🙂  ) 

I keep the Idahoan pouches on hand, too. Mashed potatoes are DH's comfort food. I'm totally not into lots of work to make mashed potatoes for one, and he loves them. Plus they're great for thickening a lot of soups.