*WE LOVE TO CHAT 7/30*

GOOD MONDAY MORNING, and here we are, once again, starting a new weekly collections of conversations.  Hooray!  ...  It is just past 5:00am, and it is already 83° outside.  You can imagine how hot it will be later when the sun comes up.  Even the kids don't like to be outside.

Lilly, I did read your posts from yesterday, and saw the pictures , and  like Birdy, my mouth started to drool for those BBQ short ribs,  And, how nice that the whole family could be together to say good-bye to the kids before going off to their new jobs.  

Birdy, sand hill cranes are quite common here in parts of Florida where there are lakes or ponds...  we see them so often that I hardly give them a second glance anymore.  So, it seemed unusual for someone to drive 20 miles to see them....  everything is relevant, isn't it? 

We had a nice visit with Jen and her family yesterday afternoon....  just a few snacks on the table, a few games of ping pong, and mostly just lively conversation, catching up on some of things they saw and did on their cross country trek that didn't get reported in their blog (mostly for fear of worrying me)....like the two flat tires, Claire having been sick for three days, etc.  And, lots of funny incidents, things that can only happen if one is sharing facilities at a campsite in the middle of the night....

Today, Eric and his friend Ian are coming here to spend some lazy Beema Day time watching TV and playing video games...  and we will probably go out for lunch, unless they want McDonalds...  we'll see.

Time to get things rolling in the right direction around here this morning, so join me for a cup of coffee, and I will return later to chat some more.  Have a great day, everyone.... 

Good Morning All:

Temp this a.m. is 66.5° and I don't see the sun behind the trees yet.  Air is very still and I hear that train whistle to the north.

Hope this week on here is as chatty as last week.

Lilly:  I too enjoyed your late post so see some of us keep checking the posts.

Mac: Hope your hubby is feeling better and the nurse's visit is pleasant enough. 

Quote from Birdy to Beema--your friend may not have found your comment about "at least not being nude" funny, but I certainly did! Why have a lifeline connection if you're not going to use it?! And believe me, I can imagine those first responders have seen everything in every possibly way.  Kind of reminds me of how my mother would always make sure we went out with good underwear on "just in case." I still find myself thinking of that even to this day! 

Made me think of this: “Bill Cosby  and - clean underwear” - strong line winds going west from here to California back in 1984 – pickup pulling about a 30 foot or so trailer swaying first one way then the other way – semi pulled up along side him and he finally got the trailer settled down and pulled off the road. I had seen it from the passenger side of the car – and  “ohhhhh someone’s going to wreck” (I just knew he was going to flip that trailer) – DH backed off because he knew from my reaction I was seeing something serious. After we got pass that area DH said “I wonder if he has on clean underwear” and we both about cracked up.  I still have to smile when I think about that. 

Last night I tried the shredded potato and zucchini "hash brown". I added a little bit of chopped up red onion. The pattie I made was very tasty.  I had a pork chop and sliced cucumber.  Simple but good evening meal.

Check this out sounds interesting and a good way to get rid of more of the zuks.  Only mine aren't doing real well. Too dry even with watering I guess.  Just enough to not have to look for "unlocked cars"!!!  

Whole Wheat Zucchini Herb Bread-Bread Machine

http://www.food.com/recipe/whole-wheat-zucchini-herb-bread-bread-machine-87129

Time to feed Cali.  Need coffee.  CUL

Good morning, everyone. We had a relatively cool night last night and a lovely clear sky this morning. That'll be it for good weather this week. The remaining part of the week has showers and thunderstorms predicted in varying degrees with moderate heat. Oh, well. We still need rain to catch up for the deficit so I shouldn't be complaining.

Mac--I hope both you and your husband are feeling better today.  

Beema--you're right about getting excited about bird species being relative. Breeding sandhill cranes were extirpated (non-existent except for the occasional wanderer) in NY for a very, very long time. It was big news when a nest was discovered at the head of the Finger Lakes about 10 years ago. That same pond did have a glossy ibis Sunday--again not something that would be unusual for you but very unusual for us. Sightings of that bird in some upstate NY counties can be counted on one hand. On the other hand, a Snowy Owl showing up in Florida would have birders from all over the south heading for that spot on the double! 

A resort community in the mountains about an hour north of me had an interesting development this weekend. A candy shop on the main street had evidence that someone had been trying to break into it several nights in a row. The last time, the shop owner caught the culprit--a good-sized black bear that was drawn to the irresistible aroma of their homemade candy and donuts. The bear literally stripped off the lowest wood siding on one whole side of the building (about 20 feet worth). The owner called the DEC and they showed up with a tranquilizer gun, captured "teddy" and transported it far, far away to be released in a wilderness area with no candy shops. If course, it might be back. They've actually had reports of bears being released 80 miles away and showing up again the next week. And if it has a hankering for chocolate . . .

It is not unusual for deer and bears to wander around this community at will. Bears are an Adirondack icon. There are huge lighted signs as you enter from outside the park reminding people that it is illegal to feed either one. Of course, the tourists and even residents ignore it and it causes problems. With a drought, the bears aren't getting wild berries as easily and are starting to wander. I even had one in my own part of town about 8 years ago--but I wasn't home because I had gone to Alaska to see the bears! 

The deer actually have learned to use the crosswalks in town. We watched one wait for traffic at a crossing, cross the road, and then wait again to cross the side street at the crosswalk. The last we saw it, it was walking down the sidewalk just like any other resident of town. If I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed it.

Time for more coffee. Talk to you later.

Hi everyone,

Boy it's hot & humid here today.  We had an early tee-time this morning but even at that I only played 9 holes - that was more than enough for me.  I drove home and showered and changed then went back to pick hubby up.  I think he is totally exhausted We did go out to lunch, to the local cidery that we couldn't get into last time we tried.  That glass of cider barely touched the sides as it went down.  Really good, tho"

Now we're back home and I really don't foresee too much being done here the rest of the day.

Birdy, hope "your" bear doesn't co me back to town for more chocolate - not what they need to acquire a taste for

I'm probably going to need to make some bread in the next day or 2 Geema and think I'll try the Whole wheat zucchini that you posted the link for.  That strikes me as being good with a winter soup but I don't want to wait that long to try it.  Must go back and investigate that site some more.

Glad you had a good time with the family yesterday Beema.  I'm sure Aune would enjoy it too.

Mac, hope all is going well for you and hubby.  Take care and take it easy.

What did you guys think of the opening ceremonies for the Olympics?  While I could see what they were trying to do, I really thought it was overboard.  I would really love it for a host country to go back to the origins of the games and remember that sport is what it's all about - not how much money a country spends and thus, how much debt they incur.  Showcase the athletes.  I have a funny feeling that I am in a minority but that's the way I feel.  I'm sure the younger generations won't see where I'm coming from but if any nation, and I'm not singling out Britain, took the money they spent on an Olympic games and put it towards reducing poverty in their country, feeding hungry kids  or helping seniors who cannot afford even basic health and nutrition needs, I would be much happier.  Now I'll jump down off my soapbox (that's my athletic contribution to this discussion)

No idea what we'll eat tonight.  I'm trying to empty the little freezer over the fridge and just use what's there along with produce from the garden.  So far we've done OK and I still have some fish, hamburgers, stirfry beef and Italian sausage.  That should do us for the week.

Tasty

Good Afternoon, Everyone...  took the boys to lunch, had a little 15 minute nap, and now I'm good to go.  I put some country ribs in BBQ sauce to braise away until nice 'n' tender, and I think I will bake some potatoes to go with.  My veggie bin is just about empty and what's left is rather useless as a side, so I think I will toss that into a stew pot to make some veggie broth for the next time I need it for soup. 

Geema, my grandmother was the one in our family who was worried about clean underwear...  she would keep one pair hanging on the bedpost, as the "clean" ones to wear if she went to the store, and then she'd put on her everyday panties for working around the house. 

Birdy, when my family was in New York a few weeks ago, Ray and his sister went hiking in the Catskills and came across several bears, in different locations.  They seemed restless, as if they were caged, pacing a bit, and Ray thinks they were too hot and thirsty.  Rather sad... 

Tasty, many of us have been discussing the Olympics and the opening ceremonies, comparing the Chinese and the British versions, and we have all come to the same conclusions that you did - it has become a Hollywood type production instead of a showcase for the athletes, just as you suggested.  At lunch today, Eric and Ian were watching some snippets of the events, and Eric even said "where do they the money for all this showy stuff?"  Amen.

    I just came across an idea I have never seen before....  maybe it's old hat to those of you who are regular bakers, but my Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking For Two, by Ellen Brown, suggests making individual cakes using washed out 14.5 or 15. oz cans, greasing the insides as you a cake pan, dividing the cake batter among the cans, baking at 350° for 35 or 40 minutes, using a toothpick to test doneness.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then insert a long thin bladed knife around the inside of the can, turn out onto the rack and continue to cool...  then slicing it in half, and icing it as you would a regular two layer cake.    The concept seems simply enough, except that the recipe she used fails to say how many cans needed for the amount of batter the recipe would produce....  What do you think of this idea?

There are some pretty healthy storms north of us, and it appears that we may get some of the tail end of that rain later this afternoon...  sure hope so.  And, my goodness, the weather site says there is a massive heat wave, producing temps over 100 in some areas of the midsection of the country. 

Hope everyone has a pleasant evening...  talk with you in the morning.

Beema

Bi    I just came across an idea I have never seen before....  maybe it's old hat to those of you who are regular bakers, but my Complete Idiot's Guide to Cooking For Two, by Ellen Brown, suggests making individual cakes using washed out 14.5 or 15. oz cans, greasing the insides as you a cake pan, dividing the cake batter among the cans, baking at 350° for 35 or 40 minutes, using a toothpick to test doneness.  Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then insert a long thin bladed knife around the inside of the can, turn out onto the rack and continue to cool...  then slicing it in half, and icing it as you would a regular two layer cake.    The concept seems simply enough, except that the recipe she used fails to say how many cans needed for the amount of batter the recipe would produce....  What do you think of this idea?

 

You can bake in cans (I have a whole stack of salmon cans for quick breads - they are slightly smaller at the bottom so they will sit inside each other for a tall stack - great for Boston Brown Bread (or Zucchini, etc.).  If I was making a cake in cans I would look for fat - squatty cans - in other words something with a larger diameter - like jumbo muffin size.  Go for it!!!!  I have Grammy's Boston Brown Bread recipe that we make when we have Red Kidney Baked Beans (Yankee food).  I must make them when the weather gets cold - my kids would like that. It depends on what is in a 15 oz can as to the actual size of the can.  Check the different sizes of 15 oz cans.  Do you know what I mean "Vern"!!! 

I will share that recipe if any of you want it.  You have probably seen Brown Bread in cans in the grocery. It is 7 ingredients including raisins.

Don't recall ever seeing up here, north of the border, Geema so would love to try it, pretty please

Posting the Brown Bread in our Cooking for 2 recipes.  Look for it there.

Good Evening! This will be short and sweet since it is late and I need to start to relax if I am to get a good night's sleep.

Thanks for looking at my pics! It was a decadent home cooked meal. I think it could become our new Christmas dinner! (At least those short ribs....)

I have not thoroughly read today's posts but will tomorrow. I stopped in to tell you that I just resigned from the Clinical Coordination job at the college. Gasp.

I will continue to teach if they wish to have me. I will continue leading the AHA (American Heart Association) program (huge) if they wish to have me. Other than that I will watch Sid and care for my home. I may pick up an occasional shift at station if it comes up that there is a need or someone needs relief.

I will give you the down and dirty tomorrow - and boy it will be an earful....but basically it goes back to role clarification, lack of a job description and not supporting me after I have been told to do a job. I am very sure this is going to be a ROYAL PITA for my boss and for the program. The last time this position was empty for three years before I took it and the last person quit for the same reason. Boss is concerned about getting his tenure this fall - think this will any any affect?

Ahhhhhhh. :)

Lilly

Good Tuesday Morning, Gang....  boy the system is soooooo slow this morning.  But, then it is early, maybe they are doing some maintenance.  Sleep ran out at 3am, so I read for a while, and finally got out of bed at 4, and I am already dressed, have a cup of coffee at my side, and rarin' to go. 

Lilly - I know that took a lot of guts and courage, and probably a whole bunch of outrage on your part for you to resign from the college.  All I can say is I AM SO PROUD OF YOU FOR STANDING UP FOR YOURSELF.  Good for you.  Time to sit back, regroup, decide on your priorities, make some personal choices, and then look forward to what may come next.  Take care of your family, and the rest will fall in place. 

Geema, yes, I knew about the brown bread (in fact, I have bought it many, many times, and it usually goes with baked beans and franks), but I didn't realize it was actually baked IN the can. Duh.  I never thought about, in fact.  Haven't bought any in ages, tho, and now when I go to the store today, I will just have to get some.  We like it warm with butter....  mmmmmm

I am still getting used to my counter top oven....  the temps and times don't seem to be producing the same results as my conventional oven.  Had baked potatoes last night, and where my regular oven would produce crispy skinned, and fully cooked potatoes in 45 minutes at 425, the countertop need close to 65 minutes at 425.  That kind of surprised me, as I thought the smaller chamber would make the cooking time faster.  But, then I keep forgetting that there is no way to pre-heat - the time starts the minute you click "on", so I guess the secret is to add 15 minutes to the cooking time you need, to allow for the oven to get hot.  

Today, I have a very long shopping list - I am just about out of everything, so I imagine It will take the better part of the morning to shop, check out, carry everything inside and then put it all away.  Nothing else planned for the day (yet...) so when that's all done, I will probably be eyeing the bed with visions of a nap in my head.  What do you think?

Have a great day...  and be good to yourself.   

Good morning everyone. DH had is catheder removed yesterday and right now he doesn;t have the feeling that he has to go, he got up and started to walk after it was removed and went all over the floor, didn't even know, went thru several pairs of underwear and then I went and bought him mens depends, of course it was hard to tell front from back as the stuff inside didn't look like the outside of the package, he slept in the bed last night and still sleeping, will go check on him after posting this. I have to pick up the grandkids and watch them for a few hrs this morning so he will be on his own but I have my cell if anything should happen. Talk later.

Good morning, all. Whew! Lots of discussion while I was offline. The site is slow today for me, too, but it has been for several days.

Mac--hope DH is feels better later today, poor guy. Such a shock to the system.

Lilly--you go girl! I know that move took courage. You have so much going on in your life right now that you need to take care of yourself. Ya think someone will put two and two together when another person quits for the same reason within three years? Your boss needs a PITA to get his attention (or someone else's) before anything positive will happen. For now, take care of your family and your home . . . and yourself . . . and recharge. From the list of options you have, I don't think you're going to end up twiddling your thumbs with nothing to do!  Look for the path that makes you most happy and follow it.

Geema--brown bread and baked beans--a New England Saturday-night tradition. My mom used to make it long ago but I never had a recipe from her so it's nice to see this. I'm not sure but I also think I have a recipe for brown bread baked in the microwave from a very old Litton cookbook which came with my first microwave back in the '70s. I'll have to go looking for it. As I recall it was just enough for one round bread and was cooked in a glass measuring cup. I imagine that the microwave version would be like a steamed bread.

Beema--don't forget that the smaller ovens don't necessarily hold the heat like a regular one so preheating will help a bit but it doesn't take that long to bring them up to heat.  But they have to cycle on and off more frequently to keep it there. I always find that I have to bake potatoes longer in my counter-top oven. Using a "potato nail" or metal skewer seems to bake the inside much quicker and I think it helps the outside get crisp--at least in my oven. Maybe the moisture from the inside escapes out the path of the skewer instead of steaming the skin? I have nothing to compare it to since I never bake them without--one of those things I learned from my mother and never questioned.

Tasty--I cooked your fake "rotisserie" chicken in the crock pot overnight. I gave it 8 hours with the skin on. Good thing I had the skin because I would have never gotten it out in somewhat whole condition without. It was so tender that the legs fell off as I was removing it.  Next time I might make a sling out of aluminum foil to help lift it. I used my oval 3-quart cooker for a 3 lb. fryer.  The chicken fit in just right.  Tonight's supper will be cold chicken with macaroni salad on the side since it's going to be hot today. I'm looking forward to it since it smelled so good when I got up.

Have a good day, everyone. Talk to you later.

Good Morning All:

Temp is 69.2° and sun is still behind the trees.  Oops! Looks like a little like rain as it looks like the sun may not come up after all. It is getting dark out!! I would do a rain dance but "it wouldn't be a pretty sight in the nude"!!  The made me say that!!

Mac: I am glad your DH was able to sleep "in the bed" last night. That had to make him feel better. You take care of yourself.

Beema:  About no pre-heat on your toaster oven.  Just start the baking time about 5 - 10 minutes before putting your food in it and that should make the potatoes better. Also, anything like breads, cakes, biscuits, cookies that need the oven up to temp just start the baking time about 5 - 10 minutes before you need to put them in. That should take care of the preheat.  My big toaster oven has preheat (says 7 minutes). I don't remember about my other toaster ovens. Also, Pampered Chef"s small bar pan stoneware makes a good mini "pizza stone" (never tried biscuits on it). Just don't put any frozen items on the hot stone BUT I guess you need to thaw them anyway before baking!!  I am thinking as I am typing (talking to myself). Can't you tell - more to me than you all!!  The toaster oven that I have in the basement kitchen doesn't say anything about preheat. It is an Oster also (got it at GW on 1/2 price Saturday a few years ago still in sealed box - paid $30 for it if I remember right). Also, keep a piece of foil handy to slip over the top of your foods if the top is baking too fast. FYI

I should make up "slice and bake" cookies (for freezer) and when I have a sweet tooth - just slice off a few and bake. Birdy has me "gun ho" on small cakes!!  And now Beema with the "cans".  LOL

Today I am supposed to go visit Devin and family in their new house. I haven't seen it yet. Will do my weekly grocery shopping afterwards.  I try to make all trips out count. One day this week I will have to go to Indy (westside) and pick up Cali's pills and I think I will go to Georgetown Market (health food store) and pick up a few things while I am nearby (bulk stuff mainly).

Tasty: I posted the Brown Bread on our "Cooking for 2".  I should make some soon - maybe with a small can of pork 'n beans would be good for a change.  And sliced cukes for a veggie.

Cali has been fed and I am having coffee.  CUL

My Oster toaster oven doesn't have a separate button for 'preheat', but in the little booklet that came with it it says to preheat by pressing bake, the temp that you want, and then 7 minutes.  I'm so happy with the one that I bought, in fact when my husband made his toast this morning he said that he likes this one so much better than our last one and that I made a good choice.    I made 6 loaves of zucchini bread in it so far, 2 at a time (yeah, in glass pans and they didn't even break!) and they came out great.  Made meat balls, and quite a few other things in it.  So far I only used my regular oven once since I bought the toaster oven.

Good Morning Ladies. I think I have found a group I used to chat with occasionally. When they updated (?) this site the last time, it was all messed up on my computer. I had only a narrow column in which to read or type and couldn't go to any other page unless I made a reply to move it ahead.  As I started the Grannie Neighborhood in 2001, I stayed with them and never ventured to other sites. But in the past few months, they have been chatting less and less. So I have been looking at other sites in which there is more chat, as I need company during the day.

My DH has Alzheimer's, altho' he is still aware of things and does talk some. However, the dr. say his mind is telling him not to eat and that he is not hungry, and he is virtually starving, and has become extremely weak and cannot walk steadily. He absolutely REFUSES to use a cane (says he isn't old enough at 86!), so we don't go anywhere. We live on a farm and on a nearly deserted road, with no neighbors closer than 1 mile. So I get very lonesome for interesting conversation. My friends from town won't come out, as they don't like driving on our dusty, rock roads! And I don't use the phone, as have difficulty hearing on it clearly.

I would really enjoy joining your group. I believe this was also the Reading group, which I joined, but cannot find it anywhere now. I have read 128 cozy mysteries since Jan. which I enjoy. It is my favorite hobby. 

It is hard for me to read the smaller type. So can only read a few posts at a time. I would appreciate seeing them enlarged. Thanks. Lily   I see there is another "Lilly" here also.