Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group discussion
What are U doing today?
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What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread)
I FINALLY feel decent again!!! Yay!!! For almost 2 weeks I've been sick as hell with a bad sinus infection that turned into bronchitis. The cough medicine ruins my gut, even a kid's does once a day. On top of that, the antibiotics I got last Wednesday were tearing my gut up. I'm finally all done with it all, though.I was still feeling pretty punk last night, but started going around the yard cleaning up old leaves on the Japanese iris & other plants. I got the entire east fence line of the back yard done in about 1.5 hours. Those old leaves are so tough that I have to cut them with hand pruning sheers. I have a windrow of them a foot high. The rest of the yard should go quicker since it just has lilies & their leaves are easy to pull out. Once I get them out, I'll mow over them & blow the resulting mulch back on top of the plants.
Linda wrote: "Hi All, seems I flit in and out on this site. One day I will be a regular again (when I retire, which I am strongly considering). I am so very happy not to have to drive in slush, ice, sleet, sno..."
Good to hear from you, Linda.
Jim wrote: "I FINALLY feel decent again!!! Yay!!! For almost 2 weeks I've been sick as hell with a bad sinus infection that turned into bronchitis. The cough medicine ruins my gut, even a kid's does once a day..."Glad to hear you're feeling better, Jim. Take care of yourself.
I am having laptop battery problems. Hope I will still be able to post here.
Joy H. wrote: "Jim wrote: "I FINALLY feel decent again!!! Yay!!! For almost 2 weeks I've been sick as hell with a bad sinus infection that turned into bronchitis. The cough medicine ruins my gut, even a kid's doe..."Good news but take care not to overdo now. Take it easy or is that the pot calling the skillet black?
I am thinking this can't be February. It is supposed to be seventy nine today and we are having to water our tree and bushes as we've had no rain and only three inches of snow since last Dec.
Nina wrote: "I am thinking this can't be February. It is supposed to be seventy nine today and we are having to water our tree and bushes as we've had no rain and only three inches of snow since last Dec."Amazing weather!
Nice sunrises. Good to leave work at 5pm and see light and sun. Feel the warmth. Waking up to 43 degrees in late February is so odd yet wonderful.
It was 60 here this morning. My daffodils along the road are now blooming. Just started yesterday. Wow.the horses aren't eating their hay any more, either. It's tough for us to see, but apparently the grass is coming in enough that they're finding it & they'd much rather eat it than hay.
Linda wrote: "Nice sunrises. Good to leave work at 5pm and see light and sun. Feel the warmth. Waking up to 43 degrees in late February is so odd yet wonderful."Hope this mild weather continues!
Jim wrote: "It was 60 here this morning. ... Wow. the horses aren't eating their hay any more, either. ... apparently the grass is coming in enough that they're finding it & they'd much rather eat it than hay."Interesting to learn that horses are connoisseurs!
The temps plummeted today. I think we were close to 80 yesterday, but didn't make 40 today & the wind was wicked; strong & very cold. Now it's 30 degrees out. Brrr. I hope it doesn't kill off too many of the plants. The daffodils are in full bloom. They actually beat the crocuses this year. The forsythia is just starting to bloom. There are few yellow flowers opening on all the bushes. Bummer.
Our winds today were wicked too. All you needed was a sail and roller skates and you wouldn't need to walk. :)
It's 20 degrees out this morning & dawn is still an hour away. It was 21 when I woke up an hour ago, so it could drop some more. We're supposed to warm up into the 40s today & then drop into the upper 30s tonight, but generally stay well above freezing the rest of the week. An entire night in the 20s is probably going to kill all the buds on the forsythia & such. Daffodils will probably lay down & lose their flowers, too. They should pop back up with the warmer weather, though. Bummer.
You got to enjoy the flowers for a little while. As you say, they should pop back up once the warmer weather returns. Got up at 630am, looked outside to see a light coating of snow on the ground. Very very light flurries outside now.
Going to stay indoors this afternoon and make lasagna with sausage and a meat sauce. Just need to go out and buy the mozzarella and ricotta. I add a little wine to my sauce, and yes, I'll have a small glass of wine while cooking!
I don't stand all day when I make my lasagna but overall it takes me seven hours. Old recipe from a friend whose mother from Sicily gave it to her. My friend originally came to my kitchen to teach me how to make it. Wish I was at your kitchen Joy tasting your version. And sampling a glass of wine. Do you use Chianti?
This morning a few snowflakes brushed my cheeks when I walked out of church and last week I was wearing t-shirts. No flowers up in my yard but busy watering bushes as no rain at all this month or snow.
Nina wrote: "I don't stand all day when I make my lasagna ... Wish I was at your kitchen Joy tasting your version. And sampling a glass of wine. Do you use Chianti?"That was Linda's post, Nina. I don't cook. :)
Jim, sorry about your flowers.
We had some horrific storms blow through here yesterday morning. I made it to work in between squall lines, but Marg wasn't so lucky. According to the very latest weather reports, the big squall line was 2.5 hours away, but it hit in 25 minutes. Luckily, the elementary school buses were just arriving at school, so they were all told to stay there.
Marg & the rest were picking up middle & high school kids, so they were into their runs, though. Marg had picked up 2 kids already & was told to go home as school was delayed for an hour & she needed to get off the road NOW. What to do with the kids? Take them home with her. I was glad to see she returned them. (Old joke between us. Our birthdays are in March & 2 of our kids were born in November, so we joke that we gave each other kids for our birthdays.) Anyway, one kid was a diabetic & his numbers went through the roof by the time Marg got him to school.
She wasn't the only one bringing kids home. Another bus driver had 16 or 20 kids on her bus, so she stopped at her house & they all waited in the basement while the storm blew over.
Another guy had 10 kids & was just picking up one more when the call came in. So did the wind & it knocked over a 16" cedar tree right in front of the bus blocking the entire road. He was about 4 miles down a 6 miles long, windy road with no place to turn around, so he sat there with the kids for an hour in the lee of a hill until it blew over. Then the father of the last kid came out & the bus driver & he cut up & moved the tree out of the road so they could continue on.
No local deaths, but a lot of property damage. None on our place. Just south of us, an old collapsed barn roof jumped the road & almost squished a house trailer. Other trailers were rolled, roofs ripped off, & a couple of tractor trailers were blown off the road.
Exciting day for some. March definitely blew in like a lion this year.
Jim wrote: "We had some horrific storms blow through here yesterday morning. I made it to work in between squall lines, but Marg wasn't so lucky. According to the very latest weather reports, the big squall ..."Jim, that's quite a story about the wind's effects there! We had a lot of wind here last night. I could HEAR it! This morning, as I looked out at our yard, I saw lots of stuff blown around. Glad we still have power.
We were so hoping that storm would bring us some much needed rain. It showed some lightening and no thunder and then was gone. We were disappointed to get no rain but also relieved we weren't in the worst of the storm as there were tornadoes east of us in MO that did considerable damage and I think no lost of lives, thank goodness. Your Marge had a time of it too.
Jim wrote: "We had some horrific storms blow through here yesterday morning. I made it to work in between squall lines, but Marg wasn't so lucky. According to the very latest weather reports, the big squall ..."
Good thinking on Marge's part as well as the bus driver. Get out of harms way.
To think March has just begun. Always brings weather surprises.
Everyone safe.
Lasagne - to answer Nina's question. I add Cabarnet Sauvignon to my sauce. A tablespoon at first. After the sauce cooked for a few hours I taste the sauce. I'll add another 1 to 2 tablespoons as needed and cook another hour.
Tonight we are going to make meatballs to use with the extra sauce not used with the lasagna. I used to fry the meatballs. Now, we cook the healthier way. Put all the meatballs on a cookie sheet and bake. Turns out great!
Since it's Friday night, I'll have a glass of wine while my husband Fred and I make the meatballs.
For dinner we will have hamburgers and salad.
Bon appétit, Linda! :)
Linda, That adding wine to the sauce sounds like a good move. For my lasagna I do brown the meatballs then drain and pat dry and add to the sauce with the Italian sausages. Later after they cook in the sauce for about an hour I retrieve the meatball and sausages and mash with a potato masher until crumbly and then use for the layers of meat in the lasagna.. Everyone to his own device, as they say.
Nina,Do you mash all the meatballs? This is an interesting concept.
We did end up lightly browning/frying the meatballs then cooked on a cookie sheet at 350 for 30 minutes. Voila! Meatballs.
Yes, I mash the meatballs and the sausage and mix them together and that is the meat portion of the lasagna. Different than browning hamburger and using it. I usually save a few meatballs for using with spaghetti and sauce later on in the week and also save some chunks of Italian sausage after these are cooked in the sauce. This smashing of the meatballs and sausage makes a wonderful tasting meat combination rather than just plain meat. I am going to try adding the wine next time/like next fall when I make the lasagna.
And, I may try your mashing technique next time!
Going to see a murder mystery / dinner theatre tomorrow. Should be fun. Just getting household tasks done today. Dinner out tonight. Living in a tourist town, many restaurants close down for most of the winter season. We go into the next town where there are a combination of chain restaurants and local owner open year-round restaurants.
We somehow became linked with Outback. Their food is always good. Steaks are cooked to order.
Go once every 2 weeks. Staff and Manager know us. Belong to their dine in club and after 3 visits the next visit is 50% off. A good deal.
Solve the mystery and have a nice evening.
This isn't about a western movie...A truck carrying one hundred cows to market flipped on an Interstate near here and they had to get former rodeo stars and the horses and lassos out to try and capture them. Nineteen are still missing. They are asking neighbors for help to call in case they spot any.. looks crazy seeing on this going on next to the highway. Only one cow has been injured so far.
Nina, One hundred cows on the loose. Does sound like a western movie.
Let us know when they find the other 19.
Woke up to find a very bright and sunny living room. Nice!Going to the mystery show today. " A rag-tag acting troupe is rehearsing the final act of The Bard's masterpiece when one of the actors dies under mysterious circumstances. The audience is tasked with the job of discovering the killer and determining the motive. Join us for a night of red herrings, unexpected pregnancies, and bad accents!"
Should be fun!
Linda wrote: "... Going to the mystery show today...."Here's the current link to the web page about "Murder: Stage Right - Or Who Killed Hamlet?" [performed by the Glens Falls Community Theater]
https://www.gfcommunitytheatre.org/mu...
Linda wrote: "...Should be fun!"Looking forward to seeing you there, Linda!
"Murder: Stage Right - Or Who Killed Hamlet?" [performed by the Glens Falls Community Theater]https://www.gfcommunitytheatre.org/mu...
Very good show. We were within an arm's length of the actors which added an element of excitement in a way. At least for me!! Humorous.
Good show and good food. Great company (Joy).
Today we are going up north to a Subaru dealer. Might come home with a new model. Reason for going a distance away to a dealer is our current Subaru was purchased at this location. Our Subaru is a 2008 which we bought in 2012, a trade-in for our Chevy pick up truck we no longer needed. No longer needed to pull an RV or a boat.
We want to get a new vehicle with all the bells and whistles. I'm mostly interested in the back-up camera.
Along the way, we will stop at the Marsh on Lake Champlain. Maybe the eagles will be enjoying a snack giving birders an opportunity to observe these majestic prey.
Nina wrote: "Solve the mystery and have a nice evening."Ha! I read lots of mysteries. Couldn't solve the mystery but actually didn't care. It was a hoot!
I was surprised that there were a few people who did solve the mystery. I get caught up in the entertainment, the actors and my surroundings. Enjoyed myself without overthinking!
Linda wrote: "Today we are going up north to a Subaru dealer. Might come home with a new model. Reason for going a distance away to a dealer is our current Subaru was purchased at this location. Our Subaru is ..."Linda, we like Subaru's too! Good luck in your search.
Hope you see some eagles during your trip.
About the performance by the Glens Falls Community Theater, the best part was the colorful characters. They did a good job with their portrayals.As for the mystery about who the murderer was, I didn't understand it at all. I wasn't able follow all the talk between the characters, probably because I was too distracted by all the externals (e.g., costuming and trying to figure out who was who ... and the pain in my back which I usually get from uncomfortable chairs with no arms.)
That doesn't sound like fun to me, Joy. But, Linda's trip up north is my kind of day even without buying a car.
Nina wrote: "That doesn't sound like fun to me, Joy. But, Linda's trip up north is my kind of day even without buying a car."It was fun, especially because it was a chance to see Linda again, but I should have taken some Ibuprofen before I went out. That would have helped.
Mom asked me to find or make her something to hold her book while she eats. She mostly reads hardbacks (Don't bother telling me about ereaders.) & wants something that will not only hold the book open, but can be adjusted to several different angles to reduce glare. While I could probably build something, it would likely be a PITA & not as good as something store-bought made out of plastic or metal which would be lighter weight & smaller. Any ideas?
Jim wrote: "Mom asked me to find or make her something to hold her book while she eats. She mostly reads hardbacks (Don't bother telling me about ereaders.) & wants something that will not only hold the book o..."Jim, could you build something like the one linked below:
http://josephtany.com/wp-content/uplo...
https://sc01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1RCxPHp...
Glens Falls (NY) Online Book Discussion Group
Books mentioned in this topic
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Tara Westover (other topics)Ann Howard Creel (other topics)
Ann Howard Creel (other topics)
C.W. Gortner (other topics)
C.W. Gortner (other topics)
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I am so very happy not to have to drive in slush, ice, sleet, snow, mud, salt, sand and more.
Enjoying the sunshine to and from work. Enjoying leaving work at 5pm and seeing sunshine and not a dark night sky.