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Post by staytuned on Jul 3, 2023 12:41:21 GMT
Good morning, everyone! Half a year gone already. Tomorrow's the 4th of July so hoping people go to watch professional displays or watch online and think about the animals who have to deal with the noise from backyard boomers. Also, for Twilight Zone fans, SyFy is running a marathon with 2019-20 episodes on the 4th. I realized last night (and apologies to jesmelric, I was wrong) we do get Heroes and Icons channel that started the original Twilight Zone series yesterday and marathon runs til noon on the 4th. Hope everyone has a cool day, literally, especially those with dangerous heat index, to find a place to stay cool. Stay hydrated, everyone!
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jul 3, 2023 17:50:08 GMT
Well, the tiny chair is being returned. The original box was pretty much demolished in shipping, but I found one at Uhaul that should work. At $7.95 it's still cheaper than paying return shipping (Overstock has free return shipping if you take a store credit instead of a refund to method of payment). I have a mid-size cat tree in the closet that I'm going to put together and put in the bedroom. Or maybe the office and move the office tree to the bedroom. Who knows LOL. I guess it will depend on the finished size and how much the kitties use the new tree in playtime The office cat tree is short and wide and perfect for napping.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 3, 2023 18:09:05 GMT
Sorry about the chair. Wasn't going to work out with the kittehs sharing? I got a surprise when I left this morning. there was a FedEx package outside (must have subs because regular drivers can access inside and leave under mailboxes) with my name on it. I was expecting a larger one today and thought, "It couldn't be" and yup, it was a package that shipped from UT on June 14th, went to CO and back to UT and last update the 16th and no movement showing. There was a label over label and for whatever reason, it had my correct address on it including apartment number and went to "suspected fraud" office in MS. ?? No original label so who knows, maybe GW, who promptly refunded and was filing missing package, gave them my address to confirm it's legit instead of wanting the package back.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,761
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Post by val2525 on Jul 3, 2023 18:45:51 GMT
Sorry about the chair. Wasn't going to work out with the kittehs sharing? Although advertised as an adult chair, it is a kid chair. Simon and Twila aren't all that big and it was too small for them to curl up together in it. Plus, the more I looked at it the smaller it looked It actually looked pretty stupid in the bedroom. Since that corner is for the cats anyway, I don't care if it's a chair or a cat tree as long as it's something they'll use. Off to the grocery store in hopes of scoring some nice meat cuts since folks will be grilling tomorrow.
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 3, 2023 19:45:17 GMT
My daughter had one of those chairs and the darned thing was huge. I think that I must have sold it at a garage sale.
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 3, 2023 19:56:19 GMT
Garden stuff...my porch railing veggies are doing well. I have been harvesting green onions, iceberg lettuce, cukes, peppers, green and yellow beans and strawberries. Not a lot of anything since they are just in containers. My cherry tomatoes aren't ripe yet and they are about 6 feet tall since they hit my porch ceiling. Will need a step ladder to pick them. I have 4 pots of zucchini and squash behind my butterfly bushes, but they apparently aren't being pollinated because of the lack of bees. So I am doing the pimp-thing and pollinating them myself.
However, my driveway squash has been a failure, thanks to voles or chipmunks, I guess. Last year, as soon as my daffodils were done, I threw in zucchini and squash seeds. They did petty well.
But this year, I put down newspaper and mulch and Miracle-Gro potting soil, planted seeds 4 times and they disappeared. I do have 2 little plants that migrated 5 inches away from where I planted them, though. So I threw in cuke and green bean seeds and some are coming up. I read to use chili powder, garlic powder, cayenne or red pepper flakes to deter the critters. I have all of those spices and mixed up a batch and that might be working. I also have little baskets from the dollar store over top of any little plants. Yep-would be much easier to just buy the stuff at my local produce guy's place.
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Post by Desire on Jul 4, 2023 0:18:26 GMT
Denise - Yeah, it's a lot easier to just buy it all at the grocery store, but nothing beats going outside and picking your tomatoes and cutting fresh lettuce for your dinner salad. I usually have a small basket of baby grape tomatoes on my island counter and in the summer they are the hand-picked ones that I grow. They last 5x as long as what I buy at the grocery store during the winter. I always hate to see my tomato plants die off in September.
This year I cut back a lot, no in-ground garden, just the deck pots like you do. I have baby pickling cucumbers growing really well up a trellis that I put into a big pot. The Miracle-Grow moisture potting soil in the blue bag seems to be the best for me. I also use the Miracle-Grow shake fertilizer granules in the green jug on all my flower pots and veggies - gives them a big boost that is really noticeable.
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 4, 2023 0:50:36 GMT
Desire- I agree with that! At least I know that my veggies have no preservatives. I am on gardening Facebook sites and I do learn a lot from them.
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val2525
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Posts: 30,761
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Post by val2525 on Jul 4, 2023 15:05:29 GMT
Wishing everyone a fun and safe holiday! No grilling here. Too hot, plus we aren't allowed to grill on the patios. Bummer. But not all is lost, I have a pork roast in the slow cooker with a balsamic mustard BBQ sauce. I discovered I was out of apple cider vinegar, which almost never happens, so I had to improvise.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 4, 2023 15:34:17 GMT
It's illegal here to use a grill or hibachi on balconies or patios. I'll just be glad when it's quiet at night again. Someone kept setting off fireworks last night from 10-11pm and one at midnight. It will probably be worse tonight. I'll just watch fireworks online in the comfort of a/c.
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Post by frakinfashion on Jul 4, 2023 16:45:28 GMT
Happy 4th everyone!
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,761
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Post by val2525 on Jul 4, 2023 16:58:36 GMT
Dang. I'm out of Liquid Smoke too I can tell I haven't been cooking lately. Placing an HEB order as I type I should probably check all my condiments before I finish the order, eh? For anyone who prefers a mustard based BBQ sauce, this stuff is really good (I add apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar and Liquid Smoke to give it a BBQ flavor). It's actually good as is, especially with smoked sausage, grilled chicken, etc: store.jelly.com/collections/four-star-provisions/products/fredericksburg-brat-haus-beer-mustard-dipBest part is the mustard dip is also pretty low in sodium. And this is good with fish or chicken: store.jelly.com/collections/four-star-provisions/products/four-star-lemon-dill-capers-sauce-10-4ozOK, fine. ALL of their sauces are really good. A lot are also fairly low in sodium. But many are fruit based, so they make not work with anyone on a low carb or sugar free diet. They used to make an onion blossom horseradish dip that's really good with onion blossoms, onion rings, and even keto "fried" onions. But it appears to have been discontinued. Guess I better order a couple of bottles while HEB still has some in stock.
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Post by chapeaunoir on Jul 5, 2023 2:45:22 GMT
Hey everybody - hope you're all having/had a great 4th. We were gone to Vancouver BC for 4-5 days and had a blast. The DH pulled out all the stops for my big 7-0 and we stayed at a really nice place right downtown - this is the view from our suite on the 15th floor. We had a nice dinner, then the next day decided to go on a hike - since it was going to be in the upper 60s, maybe lower 70s, we decided to do a harder hike (before it warmed up). Ughhh.... it was character building, that's for certain. This was the trail for close to 1500 feet of elevation gain over about 4 miles. Yeah, there's a trail there. We were at times going up with hands and feet, kind of rapelling ourselves over heavy tree roots, steep rocks, etc. There were a couple of times when we were right at the edge of the trail at the edge of the mountain and I was thinking "You know, one slip and you're done for, it's a long way down." Like I say, it was character building - turns out we did it 'the hard way' - you're supposed to go up the OTHER side and then down - well oh well, the entire thing was really hard. Hours passed and we ran out of water, I started cramping up - then we wondered if we'd miss the last bus out of the big park/trail head and have to hoof it back into town. After 9 miles of this (including a technical downhill) we got to the trail head and saw a bus! I started running for it and placed myself directly in front of it - turns out the driver was stretching his legs and we had about 2-3 minutes. Oh gawd, that was a bit too much brinksmanship for me, though. But the view from the top!: Apparently that trail is well know for putting people through the wringer, and we got to share some stories with others. OTOH, I feel blessed to be able to still do stuff like that, and that the DH is, as well. Next day we had a boat trip on the water and visited museums and took naps lol. Day after that we did a nice, flat hike of maybe 7 easy miles around Burnaby Lake - really pleasant. The DH is still having trouble getting down steps he's so stiff. Next time we go (Vancouver just isn't that far from us) we'll take in the Cathedrals and the maritime museum I wanted to see, plus I want to take a longer boat trip. But we will not be doing that bone breaking hike again!
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jul 5, 2023 15:13:32 GMT
I'm glad you had such a great birthday Chap! Have any more pics? You're braver than I am. I wouldn't even go over the suspension bridge when we were in Vancouver. Moves to much for my taste **shudder** The BF at the time was laughing at me for being such a wuss. I got the last laugh though. We went to a year-round ski resort the next day, Cypress Mountain maybe? We rode the ski lift and the BF was the wuss this time. He's like, "sit still, don't move, this thing isn't enclosed" while I'm sitting there pointing out all the wildlife below us . As we started coming down, ground fog rolled in and it was like being above the clouds in the stratosphere. BF didn't like it at all. I thought it was really cool.
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Post by jesmelric on Jul 5, 2023 17:54:10 GMT
I'm glad you had such a great birthday Chap! Have any more pics? You're braver than I am. I wouldn't even go over the suspension bridge when we were in Vancouver. Moves to much for my taste **shudder** The BF at the time was laughing at me for being such a wuss. I got the last laugh though. We went to a year-round ski resort the next day, Cypress Mountain maybe? We rode the ski lift and the BF was the wuss this time. He's like, "sit still, don't move, this thing isn't enclosed" while I'm sitting there pointing out all the wildlife below us . As we started coming down, ground fog rolled in and it was like being above the clouds in the stratosphere. BF didn't like it at all. I thought it was really cool. I am the queen wuss lol. No bridges of any sort for me and no ski lifts either lol. And no hiking anywhere I might fall down Oh to heck with it; no adventures at all just a good book.
Hope everyone had a nice holiday. VV did 1/2 off over the weekend. We hit two locations and didn't find much. Neither store seemed to have turned their inventory much at all. And the second one on Sunday, it was CROWDED!!! We had a nice visit with mom Monday and that afternoon I spent a bit of time in my new blow up Aldi's pool. It's a little small but just enough to fit a couple of Dollar Store floats and cool off. DH made a brisket and it came out great. Then Tuesday he promised me he would get in the pool with me but it rained Monday evening and the water was colder and he chickened out. But he sat on a crate beside it and put his feet in and we just chatted for an hour or so. Then then sky went dark and the wind came up and thunder started, so we got out and drained the pool. And then of course it didn't rain. But we got some good rain yesterday evening, and more chances today and tomorrow as well. We surely do need it.
Denise, my neighbor has a great vegetable garden, BUT. She also has a raccoon problem because of it. So I just buy mine at the store lol. They were getting in my backyard at one point and the poop was bigger than Janey's! I literally thought someone came in my backyard and pooped, it was as big as a human's. So I just grow flowers.
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 5, 2023 22:14:09 GMT
Dang Chap! You are amazing! And I fall down for no reason. If I have to walk for a distance, I have to take my cane. Ugh. Love the pics! Ski lifts never bothered me when I used to ski. But I have never been strong enough to hike.
Jes-Sounds like you are really enjoying that pool. It must be pretty big to accommodate rafts. I haven't seen any raccoons around here for years.
I don't know how you guys do it in the hot states. It was 89 today and took my breath away. I have a lot of weeds to pull, but don't know when that will happen.
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Post by Emerald_Door on Jul 6, 2023 12:43:04 GMT
When we lived in Austin, the heat was more bearable. Then we moved to NC in the summer and the humidity almost knocked me out. I like cold weather.
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Post by sunsetpainter on Jul 6, 2023 15:09:54 GMT
I hate being hot. The humidity does me in. I'll take crisp fall temperatures any time. DH and I do any yard work that needs to be done early in the morning. Then I can stay inside the rest of the day. He doesn't mind the heat though.
Finally saved up enough to have our crumbly old asphalt driveway redone. They started yesterday and as soon as they showed up our "Karen" neighbor came over and started yelling at the guys to NOT scratch her seal coating on the driveway (we share part of the main drive with them). The poor guy was so professional, but we felt bad for him. I would have told her to pound sand, but that's just me. Ever since she got elected to the town school board a few years ago, she's gotten to be a power mad witch! I mean, really! It's just the fluffin' school board and since our town is so small everyone really just takes turns being on it anyway! lol Some people aren't happy unless they're griping about SOMETHING! I told DH she's just jealous because our driveway will be new and will look nicer since she was too cheap to do hers correctly and it's all cracked up! lol
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Post by jesmelric on Jul 6, 2023 17:09:31 GMT
Dang Chap! You are amazing! And I fall down for no reason. If I have to walk for a distance, I have to take my cane. Ugh. Love the pics! Ski lifts never bothered me when I used to ski. But I have never been strong enough to hike. Jes-Sounds like you are really enjoying that pool. It must be pretty big to accommodate rafts. I haven't seen any raccoons around here for years. I don't know how you guys do it in the hot states. It was 89 today and took my breath away. I have a lot of weeds to pull, but don't know when that will happen. The pool is actually pretty small, it's just the dollar store floats are small, too lol. But it can fit two just to float a bit and cool off
I guess we get acclimated to the weather where we live. I don't like summers here but I'm sure I can tolerate it better than someone up north. However, give me one of your winters and I know I could not deal with it. I just can't handle too much cold for too long.
We are getting a bit of a break today with some on and off showers and highs in the lower 90s. However they are saying high pressure moving back in Monday, drying up the rain and bring highs back to the triple digits
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Post by denise15601 on Jul 6, 2023 18:51:01 GMT
That's still a nice pool, compared to what I got for my daughters before we got an above-ground one. I sure could use one of those as hot as it has been.
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Post by Desire on Jul 6, 2023 21:02:17 GMT
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jul 6, 2023 22:34:56 GMT
I have chicken cacciatore in the slow cooker. It smells really good. I sort of wish I'd thought to add some zucchini to the pot, but it's too late now
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Post by labbypaws on Jul 7, 2023 0:37:52 GMT
I am in Stow, Ohio. Headed to Defiance tomorrow. I think this will be my last time driving it. I stopped once to break up my drive. Was falling asleep. Got to see my friend today. Going to try walking in the morning.
Going to have breakfast with a cousin then head west.
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Post by Emerald_Door on Jul 7, 2023 12:24:20 GMT
My son just spent a year in Colorado and he now agrees with me that it's not cold unless the temperature is below freezing.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jul 7, 2023 13:52:51 GMT
To me, if it's dry cold like CO/NM, it's not cold just crispy and chill I can't take the humid, damp cold where it feels like it sinks into your bones and you'll never get warm. Ugh.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 7, 2023 21:34:50 GMT
I am in Stow, Ohio. Headed to Defiance tomorrow. I think this will be my last time driving it. I stopped once to break up my drive. Was falling asleep. Got to see my friend today. Going to try walking in the morning. Going to have breakfast with a cousin then head west. Didn't read this til now. Stow's around an hour southeast of me. Seems the older we get, the less we want to do those long haul drives. Hope you have a nice trip and uneventful drive back.
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Post by labbypaws on Jul 9, 2023 1:08:09 GMT
My thigh has been hurting me so the drive was agony. My cousin canceled for breakfast but luckily I could get into the hotel in Defiance early.
Had a great time but I may take a break next year. My aunt looks great. She turns 95 this month. All of her kids were here this time.
Long drive most of the way home tomorrow. Supposed to rain. Stopping a little over halfway home. Then driving the rest of the way Monday.
Got out walking the past 3 days but may miss tomorrow. It is supposed to rain here in the morning so if it is raining I will pack up and get on the road.
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Post by staytuned on Jul 9, 2023 14:20:59 GMT
Last few days we were supposed to get rain we either got a sprinkle/mist or quick, heavier shower or nothing. Hope you have a safe trip with no delays along the way home.
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val2525
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Post by val2525 on Jul 9, 2023 17:52:01 GMT
HSN has a really cool Today's Special: www.hsn.com/todays-specialFor all you cooks who need a "food processor" but don't have the counter space or enough electrical outlets. Or just flat out don't like the size of a electric one. Or the noise.
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val2525
Chaos Manager
Posts: 30,761
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Post by val2525 on Jul 9, 2023 18:22:44 GMT
Has anyone here ever baked with silicon baking mats? Did you like them?
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