You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Off Topic Chat
>
Watcha Doin' - 2017.1 edition
Hahaha...yes, Sandra and Lisa. Your avatars are much too sexy. LolI agree with being able to share opinions on here. I love how everyone discusses their views even when they're different with acceptance. I have felt attacked by others on other social media, particularly Facebook, but I never get that feeling here.
I've even felt attacked on Facebook without needing to comment because people will just attack a whole group of people (liberals/democrats vs conservatives/republicans) for what they think are common beliefs within the group. It's really sad that people feel it's ok to be nasty to others just because their beliefs are different. We seem to have a huge division between parties right now for no other reason than alignment with a party.
Yeah, probably I should lower my profile and just put a picture of my b**bs. :)
Sandra wrote: "Yeah, probably I should lower my profile and just put a picture of my boobs."Thanks for making me laugh Sandra!
Kristie wrote: "Hahaha...yes, Sandra and Lisa. Your avatars are much too sexy. Lol"I know! I never realised my cat was sexy. I decided not to tell him of his appeal, his ego wouldn't have handled it. Lol!
Sandra wrote: "Yeah, probably I should lower my profile and just put a picture of my b**bs. :)"Lol, Sandra!
Hahaha! You ladies are cracking me up today. :)
Lisa wrote: "I know! I never realised my cat was sexy. I decided not to tell him of his appeal, his ego wouldn't have handled..."He certainly looks intriguing, smart and contemplative.
Janice wrote: "I'm feeling the love in this group even though the majority of the conversation was a couple of hours ago. LOL!I was sad to learn that one of the victims in London was a Canadian. It demonstrates..."
I was sad to hear about the Canadian victim too, Janice. A French national was also killed and I think several other foreign nationals were injured, including at least one Australian.
Sandra wrote: "Lisa wrote: "I know! I never realised my cat was sexy. I decided not to tell him of his appeal, his ego wouldn't have handled..."He certainly looks intriguing, smart and contemplative."
Aww, thanks Sandra. I better not tell him that though, in case his head gets bigger from all this praise ;)
I only just found out about being able to make poached eggs using clingfilm. Why did I not already know about this? I love poached eggs! But I don't get on with the poach pods and you end up loosing loads of egg when putting it straight in to the water even with vinegar. On the day I had to go to the dentist, I treated myself to breakfast which consisted of smashed avocado on sourdough toast with poached eggs (and chilli flakes). It was yummy and the eggs were poached in clingfilm. I tried it at lunchtime today and it worked really well.
Sarah wrote: "I only just found out about being able to make poached eggs using clingfilm. Why did I not already know about this? I love poached eggs! But I don't get on with the poach pods and you end up loosin..."I didn't know you could do that either, Sarah. I don't like poached eggs but I know people who do and I'm willing to bet they don't know about this either. I will have to tell them.
that is a great tip,, Sarah.
My partner will be pleased too as he always moans about soggy eggs when I make poached eggs.
Speaking of people that haven't been around in a while... I haven't seen anything from Stephanie in a while either. I hope she, her husband, and Blake are still doing well in Hawaii. I'm trying to plan a vacation for late summer/early fall and I'm thinking of going somewhere in the Caribbean. Has anyone here been and have a recommendation of where exactly to go or avoid? I know that is during the peak of hurricane season so we may put the trip off until a little later. Right now I'm just trying to pick a destination.
KimeyDiann wrote: "Speaking of people that haven't been around in a while... I haven't seen anything from Stephanie in a while either. I hope she, her husband, and Blake are still doing well in Hawaii. I'm trying t..."
Yes, I was wondering about Stephanie recently too. Hopefully she is okay and has just been too busy to spend time on Goodreads.
As for Marnie, I seem to remember her saying that she had been called up for jury service and the case they were dealing with was a pretty disturbing one. That was a good couple of years ago though and there has been no sign of her since. I hope all is okay with her.
I can only contribute Kimey that I went to Grenada (pre the hurricane which devastated it) and it was very lovely. I guess it depends on what you want to do. We stayed in an all inclusive hotel and spent the whole week there. It had it's own beach so we were sorted. Ok if you like that kind of things. It was my first holiday abroad and I knew no better but something like this now would not suit me. I like to explore more now. We did go out for one day and had a guide. Not sure what it's like safety wise travelling about on your own. No idea what the regeneration has been like since the storms either. I think a few people have been to places in the Caribbean. Rusalka. Peggy. Not sure about others.
And Dawn. And toppler Joe. Guy who usually showed up for the week long toppler maybe an occasional challenge. Still haven't seen him in a long time.
KimeyDiann, I went to Barbados about 14 years ago with my parents. We stayed in an all inclusive hotel which was lovely. We went out on a couple of trips, one was a boat trip with some snorkelling thrown in and on another day, we hired out a car and drove around the island. We felt safe on the whole but we didn't leave our hotel at night and when we were out on our car trip, we ended up in this little village and had just pulled over to look at our map and this group of men suddenly surrounded the car and started banging on the windows and shouting for money. My dad had to reserve back up the road pretty quick as they were very intimidating. That was just that one incident though. I guess we were just unlucky. The island was very beautiful with some lovely beaches and wildlife. We went in July which is obviously in hurricane season but the weather was fine.
It's like what Sarah said: it depends on what you like to do. We go to Aruba every year in February around Carnival time. It's a pretty safe island (no fears about going out at night), weather is always lovely (80 degrees), but it can get windy and it has been known to rain in the middle of the night. We stay at the Lowrises (quieter, good restaurants, some shops, close to the center of Orangestadt, a casino and incredibly beautiful sandy beaches) but if you want more action there is the other end of the island (Highrise big name hotels, lots of shops, casinos and restaurants). Like any Island there are boat excursions, cars for hire to tour the other side of the island, snorkeling. We have enough stress at home so we enjoy vegging out on the beach with a book and an ice cold beer, but I know others want more excitement.
My husband and I visited Bermuda for three days last month, Kimey. We loved it. It is a beautiful place. We used public transportation all the time, except for the trip from and to the airport (not suitcases allowed on the buses, so we used taxi), and it was easy and safe. Even at night. I can't recommend it more.
@Sarah, I've been looking into some all inclusive resorts because I really like the idea of all the meals and adult beverages already being paid for. But I'm like you, I want to explore. I like some time to relax and be lazy on the beach, but not all day long every day. I want to explore, see the sights, try the food, meet the people. And my husband is not good at idle. He'll laze on the beach for about 20 minutes, then he's ready to go do something.
I haven't looked at Barbados or Grenada yet. There's just so many islands, I don't know how to chose one!
Those that have been to all inclusives, do you feel they are worth it? Especially if you want to do things outside of the resort.
My spouse and I have enjoyed numerous very fun trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We have also had a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico. Mostly spent in San Juan, the capital though we did rent a car for a day and drive to El Yunque National Rainforest. Highly recommend both!!
Btw, Stephanie is no longer a member of this group. She withdrew for personal reasons some months back, but we still stay in touch. I'm sure she be happy to hear from friends from YLTO if you feel like saying hello.
Tejas Janet wrote: "Btw, Stephanie is no longer a member of this group. She withdrew for personal reasons some months back, but we still stay in touch. I'm sure she be happy to hear from friends from YLTO if you feel ..."Oh, that's a real shame. I hope she is doing okay. Thanks for letting us know, TJ.
Have also visited other Mexico destinations. Puerto Vallarta is by far my favorite. Not too big, not too small. Just right : )
Tejas Janet wrote: "Btw, Stephanie is no longer a member of this group. She withdrew for personal reasons some months back, but we still stay in touch. I'm sure she be happy to hear from friends from YLTO if you feel ..."Hope all is well with her. Please let her know we were thinking of her.
The only islands I've been to are Key West (the main strip is small with a beach on each end and is walkable. We really enjoyed it) and Bermuda (plenty to do, beautiful beaches, very expensive at least as far as food goes). I've never been to Punta Cana, but I have several friends that swear by it and have visited many times. It's one that I'd like to visit.
Tejas Janet wrote: "Btw, Stephanie is no longer a member of this group. She withdrew for personal reasons some months back, but we still stay in touch. I'm sure she be happy to hear from friends from YLTO if you feel ..."I'm sad to hear that. I've thought of her and Blake several times. Especially Memorial Day weekend when I got to play with a golden retriever for a few minutes. When you talk to her again send her my well wishes!
Tejas Janet wrote: "My spouse and I have enjoyed numerous very fun trips to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We have also had a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico. Mostly spent in San Juan, the capital though we did rent a car for..."I've done a little research on Puerto Rico and I really want to go there. If for no other reason than they have the biggest zip line in the world! LOL.
My niece went to Cancun recently and she said she loved it. Have you been there, TJ? Is Puerto Vallarta better?
@Kristie, Key West is on my bucket list and I haven't even looked into going there yet! smh
@Kimey - Now I want to go to Puerto Rico just for the zipline!
I'm a little intimidated by it. It is certified the longest zipline in the world by Guinness World Records. 2.5km long, 380 meters tall, and reaches speeds up to 95mph!
Okay, a lot intimidated! But I want to do it! I think.... o_O
Sarah wrote: "I only just found out about being able to make poached eggs using clingfilm. Why did I not already know about this? I love poached eggs! But I don't get on with the poach pods and you end up loosin..."wow. I should have known this as well. thanks!!!!
KimeyDiann wrote: "I'm a little intimidated by it. It is certified the longest zipline in the world by Guinness World Records. 2.5km long, 380 meters tall, and reaches speeds up to 95mph!
Okay, a lot intimidated!..."
I would LOVE it! lol As long as I'm able to breath with all that air blowing in my face! 95mph is fast!
Lisa wrote: "... I think several other foreign nationals were injured, including at least one Australian."4 Aussies. They announced another two were missing, and I still hadn't located one of my best friends and her husband, who have no doubt spends a fair amount of time in Borough Market.
I cracked, and instead of letting her contact me, I messaged her. She works for an MP, and I get this message back going "Yes. I'm fine, thanks. There is an election going on, so I am a *little* bit busy!"
Love it.
Sarah wrote: "My partner will be pleased too as he always moans about soggy eggs when I make poached eggs."How do you loose egg? And I dry mine off before putting them on the toast.
KimeyDiane, we went to St Martin/Maarten last year and loved it. French side was lovely. We stayed in Grand Case and I would go back in a heart beat. We also went to Tobago and loved it too. I'd skip Trinidad.Don't stay in inclusive resorts, we got whisked to one on the Dutch side of St Maarten for a few ours. Horrible, ostentatious, you could have been anywhere in America, it felt completely different. Just google/trip advisor/lonely planet it and look for lovely places to stay out in the communities.
Our hostel/hotel in Grand Case for example was on the street of local restaurants right on the beach, with a weekly Mardi Gras and Markets literally outside our door. We walked outside, and there was a lady selling rum from a stand for 2 Euros 4 steps away and a steel band playing across the road. No way you get that in a resort.
Rusalka wrote: "KimeyDiane, we went to St Martin/Maarten last year and loved it. French side was lovely. We stayed in Grand Case and I would go back in a heart beat. We also went to Tobago and loved it too. I'd sk..."We traded our timeshare into the Dutch side - Oyster Bay I think. was about 10 years ago. It wasn't an all-inclusive nor ostentatious. Maybe it depends on where you stay on either side.
We found some great restaurants in the area. Every morning, people would head over to the little grocery story just outside the resort, hoping to be one of the lucky ones to get a loaf of fresh baquette.
Rusalka wrote: "Sarah wrote: "My partner will be pleased too as he always moans about soggy eggs when I make poached eggs."How do you loose egg? And I dry mine off before putting them on the toast."
I used to break the egg in to a cup and then pour it in to the boiling water but quite often the white would spread out loads and I'd end up losing most of it from around the yokes. By the time I'm done, there is never much left and then it's all a bit fragile to dry in any way. Bad technique clearly.
Rusalka wrote: "Lisa wrote: "... I think several other foreign nationals were injured, including at least one Australian."4 Aussies. They announced another two were missing, and I still hadn't located one of my ..."
What a worry, Rusalka! Glad she and her husband are safe. Love her response! So typical of us Brits. Keep calm and carry on and the like :)
Janice wrote: "We traded our timeshare into the Dutch side - Oyster Bay I think. was about 10 years ago. It wasn't an all-inclusive nor ostentatious. Maybe it depends on where you stay on either side."This was in Oyster Bay as well. We must have been caught in a particularly bad one. They were trying to sell us a time share (which is not an Aussie thing) and got us there by lying about the "prize" we had won on a scratchie. The woman trying to get us into this weird pyramid scheme seemed completely confused that we would want to leave the resort and talk to real people, eat local food, explore, etc. She was like "but... look at our pool!".
Lady, every fourth house in Australia has a pool. It's not why I travel.
Sarah wrote: ""Oh no, just break the egg straight into the water. But it has to be at a rollicking boil though. But sounds like you've got this work around sorted.
Lisa wrote: "What a worry, Rusalka! Glad she and her husband are safe. Love her response! So typical of us Brits. Keep calm and carry on and the like :) "She's gone native.
Rusalka wrote: "Sarah wrote: ""Oh no, just break the egg straight into the water. But it has to be at a rollicking boil though. But sounds like you've got this work around sorted."
I did used to do that and it still wasn't great. That's why I used the cup. But as you say, new technique is all good :-)
Rusalka wrote: "This was in Oyster Bay as well. We must have been caught in a particularly bad one. "Yeah, the sales pitch. We got caught in that too. Normally we avoid those, but this time wanted the gift, I guess. The sales woman got real nasty... and I got nasty back. In response to my comment that we already had a timeshare based in Canada, and that we didn't want another, she tried to tell us that NOBODY wanted to trade into Canada. Why would they when they could go to St Maartens? I pulled out the Interval calendar which showed the peak seasons when trading is difficult. Canada was in the red as much as St Maartens. I told her they had one thing to offer - ocean. We have ocean, mountains, lakes, and forests, offering far more diverse tourist opportunities."
We stayed at a resort in Las Vegas that housed the main sales offices for the timeshares. Every day, they had their morning "energy-boost" meetings. The place swarmed with sales people dressed in business suits and carrying briefcases, buzzing through the lobby talking shop. I was so annoyed. I'd gone to the resort to get away from all that.
Thanks for the tips, Rus! That is one of the things I was concerned about at the all inclusives. I've heard lots of great things about them from friends, but they are the types that are perfectly content staying on the beach or by the pool the entire time they are on vacation. My husband and I are not. But the cheap accountant side of me knows how much money we can spend on food and alcohol, so the all inclusive sounds like a good deal. LOL. I guess I need to research restaurant prices and see if it really is a good deal or not.
Ah yes. But I got a cocktail for free at this horrid resort that would have cost me $10/10 Euro (Euros and US trade 1 for 1 on the island so you don't have to change your currency when you go across), but I was getting rum and beers in my street for $2. Same for food, if you ate what the locals ate (which was delicious caribbean bbq), it was a couple of dollars compared to the stakes they had to ship in from Europe or the States in the resorts.
Besides milk and wine. Both were really expensive and shipped from France.
Sorry if I blew your account brain. I think it is worth exploring further no matter where you go. I am convinced most resorts are rip offs.
I haven't been to the Carribean (or does Cuba count?) but I agree with Rusalka to avoid resorts anywhere if you can. It may be cheaper, but you miss out on so much. It's such a shame to be in another place that's so different from your own, but then still have the same all-you-can-eat buffer every night with bland food that you can also get at every streetcorner at home. And you probably will eat there most of the time because you feel like you paid for it. And it's all the same people doing all the same things, which makes you feel like sheep squeezed for money, and in the end it's like you could have been anywhere on earth because they're so identical and you really miss experiencing the culture, food, and traditions of the city/country you're actually in. Sorry, I hate resorts ;-)
If you're a bit worried about going out on your own and being sure that you end up in nice places, there are also small travel agencies that can help you find your way and which arrange authentic accomodation and interesting activities, all depending on your wishes. It's of course more expensive than a resort (which has prices that are often so cheap it's hardly possible) but it will give you a so much better experience. And like Rusalka says, websites like Tripadvisor are also very useful to plan trips or to decide where to go for dinner once you have arrived somewhere.
Cuba totally counts! I couldn't remember who it was from this group that went there. I always research reviews of locations before we go anywhere. Tripadvisor is always my first stop when planning a trip. I like the planning almost as much as the actual trip.
@Rus, your $2 rum comment before already raised my antennae! If food and drinks outside of the resorts are that much cheaper, its really a no brainer. I'm going to research a little more on some of the locations that have been mentioned here and compare prices. If the all inclusives are still cheaper (some include airfare), we may stay there anyway and just not feel guilty about what we spend outside of the resort so much. I know we won't be staying 24/7 at wherever we choose to sleep, so we'll be spending money on meals regardless.
Rusalka wrote: "Ah yes. But I got a cocktail for free at this horrid resort that would have cost me $10/10 Euro (Euros and US trade 1 for 1 on the island so you don't have to change your currency when you go acros..."I wonder if we were at the same resort. When I was there, it wasn't an all-inclusive though. But things change in 10 years. Most of the time, we ate outside the resort. There was a lovely restaurant across the bay in the French side that we really enjoyed. Our resort was just inside the Dutch/French border.
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Proof: The Science of Booze (other topics)The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (other topics)
The Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles (other topics)
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (other topics)
The Little Prince (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Michael J. Sullivan (other topics)Joe Hill (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
Kazuo Ishiguro (other topics)
More...
Lol @ reference to Sandra's avatar!