how about drinking?
Comments
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During the evening national news tonight, the tragedy in Texas hit me hard - started crying when they were interviewing a little girl who was a witness. It's the first time in a while that I thought it could happen to me - I've been in the schools for over 30 years and I know that schools are for the most part are safe but tonight I felt vulnerable. I have my float team meeting at 9:00, then I'm taking the rest of the day as a comp day - but I'll end up. writing reports. Then I'm taking my last day off next Thursday - and all my paperwork will be done - a lot of it on my own time!!!
Everyone stay safe.
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My heart goes out to all of you who work in the schools after what has happened. Again. I just have no words for any of this.....
We have a bad fire in town down near our river. This is about five miles from where I live (the homes in this photo not my development). But we are nervous.....
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Thirsty Thursday! This latest school shooting has really got people worked up over gun control and gun rights. Personally, I think we need to be doing something differently. It's clear that making schools gun-free zones isn't working. I think we need to be paying way more attention to the person pulling the trigger. This last shooter posted on social media that he was going to shoot his grandmother, then posted that he did that, then posted that he was going to shoot at a school. Someone must have seen these posts, did anyone report them? The gun used was stolen, so gun sales and registration requirements couldn't stop this one.
On a happier note, I finally found a fridge that will fit my space and has the features I want, now we start the process of getting it delivered and installed and the old one hauled away. I'm looking forward to that!
Karen--the shooting does make for a hard ending for the school year.
Goldie--I can imagine how taking care of things DH usually did can bring on a sad day. The lack of manners from the granddaughter certainly didn't help. The ranch trip sounds like fun.
Chi--I agree that growing up with social media and video gaming has eroded children's ability to understand and relate to others. I overheard some of the kiddos talking about this latest school shooting, saying it must have been just like being in Call of Duty or Fortnite. I'm not sure if I should be relieved or appalled that the kiddos didn't seem to realize that real people their own age died.
Emac--the world really has changed a lot in the last few decades. Sometimes it's frightening.
Jazzy--that smoke must be very scary to see so close to home. Praying you stay safe.
The Smoked Cherry
Ingredients
For the Cocktail
- 1.50 ounces bourbon
- .50 ounce honey brandy
- .50 ounce vermouth blanco
- 1 bar spoon or Tbsp Campari
- .25 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
- .50 ounce sage simple syrup
- 4 dashes cherry bitters
- cherry wood for smoking
Instructions
Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice.
Stir until chilled.
Place a large ice cube into a rocks glass.
Strain liquids into the glass.
Place glass in a container for smoking.
Smoke the cocktail with the cherrywood.
Cheers!
From <https://www.gastronomblog.com/the-smoked-cherry-a-bourbon-brandy-cocktail/>
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Sandy, the kids were rude and disrespectful when we were in Moab, and sat in the car during part of their maternal great grandma's funeral. They sat in the car quite a bit while in Moab too. Mom does make them send hand written cards, but usually just one sentence.
Emac, rudeness and entitlement! The parents are the children and the children are the parents. Not made to do anything and never any consequences.
Karen, sorry about the tears. I can see where it would hit you and NM, working in a school.
Jazzy, that fire is too close for comfort. Stay safe!
NM, glad you found your fridge, I just hope it doesn't take too long to get it! Why don't they install doors that are locked on the outside, but those inside can open them. This is a horrible situation.
It makes me glad that family of mine lives in CA. They want to come visit next month, I don't even want to see them. It's getting to the point that I can't stand to be around them. I don't say much, as they are not my kids. But you can be damn well sure, that if it were my kids, they would be getting an ear full!
My MIL has been in and out of the hospital from falls and UTI. REFUSES to use a walker or wheelchair, and even a cane, which she will use occasionally. However, I tell my sister in law to keep me updated, but she doesn't. The last time I called to see how she was doing, she had fallen and broke her hip, and just got out of surgery. Now WHY did she not call and tell me this? Again, I asked her to keep me updated. Haven't heard from her in 4 days! What is wrong with people???
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Goldie, It's so hard not to know what's going on. I'd be angry too. Sounds like your MIL and my DH fell from the same tree. He has parkinson's and refuses to use the walker (we have one) and will only use the cane if I make him when we go out. He won't take his meds either which would make moving a lot easier. I can't fathom his reasoning.
How did teaching go from being a benign occupation to life threatening?
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Good afternoon- just a quick update, the fire is out, but it got a bit scary last night with some pretty inferno like video coming out of the burn area last night. That fire was far enough away for me to be on alert but not having to worry about evacuating. They did initially alert some residential areas down by the burn area they needed to be preparing, but then called it back. That being said, Goldie is right, too close for comfort. Twenty years ago there was a fire not far from the same area and I was living nearby (like a 1/2 mile away) and saw the flames from my then apartment. These fires now are different, bigger, go longer and move very fast. All is okay here in NM.
My heart goes out to everyone who is struggling after the latest school shooting. It's beyond me that we are still in this place after so long. Last year when I was visiting a friend in Denver, we visited both the Columbine Memorial as well as the King Soupers in Boulder (it had only been a few months at that point). So many communities and so many innocent people, so many children. To the parents, grandparents, teachers and school staff, and concerned citizens, I am truly sorry the only thing offered are empty thoughts and prayers.
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Jazzy - glad that you are out of harms way.
Kim - congrats on finding a fridge.
Lori - you've sure had challenges with that side of the family. Sending you hugs.
One more week - I took most of today off, but did right a report early this morning then did some other paperwork in the afternoon. I will do more tomorrow and throughout the week-end to get it all done.
Today at one of the high schools in my large urban district was on a lock down, then the kids were evacuated. Two **** kids brought a paint ball gun to school. I had turned on the noon news and it was the top story. The email we received as staff said nothing!!! So traumatic. The world is upside down.
Have a great Friday
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy TGIF day! Dragging my butt out of bed this ayem, not sure why I'm so tired this morning, other than having had weird dreams all night. I must have tossed and turned a lot last night, when the alarm went off Colt was curled up in a basket of laundry sleeping! Got the fridge delivery and installation set for June 8th. So there's an end in sight for that.
Goldie--the fridge installation is set, they will let me know if they have any cancellations and can do it any sooner, but getting a day off on short notice may be a challenge. But I'll deal with that when/if it happens. Family can be a huge source of frustration and upset, can't they? I wonder why the sister-in-law won't keep you updated on the mother-in-law? It's not like it's that hard to do, after all. And you are so right about parents not parenting and kids running the show at home, and then they expect they can run the show at school.
Wren--some people are just so stubborn. The world sure has changed in my lifetime. Sometimes I wonder where we as a society are heading.
Jazzy--glad the fire is out, and glad you didn't need to prepare to evacuate.
Karen--what were those kids thinking? Or maybe they don't think, or don't think about other people.
Hello Friday
Ingredients
- Ice cubes
- 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons spicy ginger ale (such as Blenheim)
- 1 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) 100-proof bourbon (such as Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
- 1 teaspoon Angostura bitters
Directions
Fill a rocks glass with ice cubes; add all ingredients. Stir gently, and serve.
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Wren, my SIL finally called me last night, after I texted her of course! Trying to get MIL into assisted living, but I can tell you, she won't have it and they can't make her. My DH did not fight about using any assistance, not even the electric wheel chair when he couldn't stand long enough to walk with the walker.
Jazzy, glad the fire is out! However, fire season is just beginning and we aren't even into monsoon season. Fingers crossed.
Karen, challenges with that side of the family, is an understatement. Don't get me wrong, I love them, but I could do without seeing them. Again, I'm glad they all live in other states! We had 2 threats here in AZ.
NM, I guess June 8th isn't too far away. Glad it isn't any longer. You'll be starting your new job soon!
Anybody got plans for the weekend? Not this girl, just another day, every day. Some time in July, I'm going to make a trip out to Moab, I may have told that already! Doing anything outside has to be done early, as it gets too hot.
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Lori - no plans for the week-end. Looking forward to reading in the sun tomorrow. Need to do paperwork on Sunday and Monday.
Kim - I couldn't sleep and was up and out of bed by 5:00 am. Met a gf at 8 to walk. Not sure what I accomplished today but not as much as I planned. Oh well!!!
One more week!!! It can't come soon enough, yet so much to do!!
Have a great week-end.
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Aaargh! Site ate the long post I did last night! So here goes again:
Brutally long travel day yesterday for what was to be a 90-minute flight. Up at 6, out at 7, at the airport 7:45 (had to wait till 8 for Porter’s check-in desk to open). Had a big greasy breakfast (sausage/egg/cheese on brioche, ate the top of the bun) and black coffee. Flight ETD was 10:10am—when we got to the gate, the 7:45 hadn’t left yet due to a ground-stop in Toronto (heavy fog & rain), so our flight wasn’t even up on the gate monitor, Porter has only one gate at Midway, so our plane couldn’t board or even reach the gate till the earlier flight had gone. The 7:45am left at 2pm! Our plane spent an hour taxiing around the airport waiting for the gate to open—we didn’t depart till 3pm.
Onboard I had a decent Pinot Grigio from the Niagara Peninsula—lukewarm, but good & free. When we landed, we had to wait half an hour for a gate—a whole bunch of earlier delayed flights were ahead of us and only one flight at a time was allowed into the customs/immigration hall. The old system of the post-baggage customs room itself being a 90-second ferry (circa 2013) has been replaced by an actual ferry boat—or an underground tunnel with moving walkway, a 5 minute walk. No contest. But when we got to the ground transport area, there was no line of waiting taxis—everyone was using rideshares (or the lucky ones with no big suitcases took the free downtown shuttle). We had a 10-minute wait for a taxi to finally show up. We have found that in Toronto, cabbies resent credit cards—so we lost a bit in the exchange rate by using US$.
Originally, we’d expected to hit the hotel by 1pm and kill lots of time before our 9:15 dinner reservation. Instead, we didn’t get to our room till 7:30pm—just enough time to unpack, unwind, freshen up/change clothes and take a cab to Canoe, atop the TD Tower.
Amazing view, but the food & wine pairings were even better. Began with a Henry of Pelham (Niagara Peninsula) Catherine’s Brut NV. (With an oyster). Then an Austrian Gruner Veltliner (wagyu/swordfish/mussel “seviche), Valpolicella Classico from the Veneto (sweetbreads), Quails’ Gate Okanogan (BC) Chardonnay (halibut), a River del Duero from Spain (smoked veal with foie gras) and a red Cocchi Brachetto d’Acqui Spumante from the Piemonte, which had a hint of strawberry flavor to echo the wild strawberries in the dessert.
Today thus far black coffee and then a short almond milk cappuccino from S’bux. (Nice to just use my app to pay). Tonight we’re going to a Portuguese seafood place—will report back. Off to dim sum lunch
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Tonight at Adega (Portuguese seafood): a Fita Azul Espumante Brut (metodo Classico), which was more like an Extra Dry, with our intro bread & olives. With dinner (app & entree), a 2019 Contacto Alvarinho (same grape as the more familiar Spanish & American Albariño). Bouquet like a Sancerre but less acidity & more body. Very well-balanced. (With dim sum lunch at Treasure Palace, green jasmine tea)
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Sandy - what a hassle getting to Toronto, but sounds like you are having a nice time and good food. Enjoy the rest of your trip.
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Sunday Funday! Looks like it will be a beautiful day here. I will probably go visit Mom later today, if she's home. Colt got tired of Zoe chewing on his ears and now he has Zoe by her collar and is dragging her around the living room. It looks wild and crazy but is almost totally silent! It's the weirdest thing how they will wrestle like mad but make almost no noise.
Goldie--Glad to hear the SIL finally got in touch. June 8th isn't that far away, a week and a half, it's been more than 2 weeks without the fridge now, and I've gotten pretty used to it. I'm really beginning to look forward to starting the new job. No particular plans for the weekend, I don't like getting caught up in a lot of traffic and crowds, so I generally stay home. Often the neighbors will put on a fireworks show during holiday weekends.
Karen--getting out for a walk is a major accomplishment to my way of thinking! Good for you!
Chi--wow, what a lot of waiting you had to do! I'm glad you did get to Toronto in time for your dinner reservation.
Traveling Light
Ingredients
- 1½ OZ. VODKA
- 1 OZ. FRESH LEMON JUICE
- ¾ OZ. HONEY SYRUP (2:1)
- 2-3 DASHES ORANGE FLOWER WATER
- 1 OZ. EGG WHITE (PASTEURIZED, IF YOU LIKE)
- 2-3 MINT LEAVES
Preparation
Shake the first 5 ingredients in a shaker without ice until the egg white is emulsified. Add the mint, then hard shake with ice. Double strain into a coupe, then add a few drops of Angostura bitters drops on the top.
From <https://imbibemagazine.com/recipe/traveling-light-vodka-cocktail/>
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Going to see the new Top Gun tonight - sticker shock on the price of a movie ticket - and no senior discount!!!! We haven't been to a movie theater since before 2020!
Have a great Sunday
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Quite the day Sandy, enjoy your trip.
NM, I guess it's a good thing that the pups are rather quiet when playing! Is your nice weather here to stay yet?
Karen, enjoy the movie. I still don't go anywhere except groceries and doctors, unless I'm traveling.
Pulled my fridge out yesterday, to clean the floor and vacuum the coils. Pulled the cover off the bottom front to vacuum the coils underneath, best I could! They don't give you much room to work with! Today, maybe I'll tackle the upright freezer. Still very windy here!
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Karen - went to the movies recently and a senior ticket plus a small popcorn was $18
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I think I goofed and bought a regular price ticket!!! Oh well, too late now.
Lori - I still mask everywhere except outside. Will wear a mask to the movie theater and if no one is around us, we will probably take it off.
Cloudy overcast day today.
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Couldn't sleep much last night—too much wine (yeah, there's such a thing) plus a double espresso at 9:30pm. Not smart. Up too late online. Anyway, I was awakened first by my aching calf & knee, and then had a nightmare: I was being feted for my birthday (which is in January!) in the hotel at the suite of a couple of professors, and realized my COVID test appointment was in only half an hour (20-min walk from the hotel, and I was still in my PJs). I ran to the elevator—but none of them were working, Then to the stairs—which were flooding with water coming in through a cracked skylight. I began to cry, realizing I would be stuck in this Toronto hotel for 10 days. Fortunately, I woke up, took a brief nap, went to breakfast and we made it to our test appointments—negative! (Whew).
Bob, relieved, wanted a beer, so we found a pub (The Queen & Beaver) with a patio. He had a red cask ale, I had a brut rose cava. (We also ate way too much for a late-ish lunch, but that's for another thread). We went back up for a short nap, then walked around some more to burn off some of lunch, exploring Nathan Phillips Square before heading to Lai Wah Heen in the hotel for an early-ish (for us) dinner. Unique DOTD was a Niagara peninsula Riesling-Vidal Blanc blend. (Vidal & Seyval Blanc are two “hybrid" varietals of vinifera (Euro) and labrusca (N. American). It was OK but nothing to write home about, considering the wines we've had since Friday. It was a decent match for Cantonese food
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Memorial Day! I'm planning on a nice quiet day here at home with the puppers.
Karen--I hope the movie was worth the ticket price!
Goldie--I think the nice weather is here to stay now. You were ambitious moving the fridge and cleaning the coils!
Jazzy--Yikes!
Chi--wow, that was some nightmare! Glad it was just a dream.
MEMORIAL DAY DAIQUIRI
INGREDIANTS
For red layer
25ml grenadine
25ml vodka
1 handful cocktail ice
For white layer
40ml pina colada mix
handful cocktail ice
For blue mix
pre-made blue berry squash
handful of cocktail ice
INSTRUCTIONS
For each colour blend each colour until a slushy consistency
Layer immediately as you blend or blend each layer in larger batches and store in the freezer
Server in large glasses with a cherry on top
Enjoy!
From <https://www.darylskitchen.com/memorial-day-daiquiri/#tasty-recipes-1991>
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Top Gun: Maverick was a fantastic movie!!! Worth every penny we paid. 2+ hours of adrenaline - no violence at all - din't drag which sometimes movies this long do. Now I want to go back and see Tog Gun from 37 year ago again.
Nothing planned today except to relax and catch up on paperwork - making a dent in it. Three more days!!!!
Have a great Monday. Thanks to all who have family members or friends who gave their all.
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Jazzy, EVERYTHING is expensive these days!
Karen, bummer on missing out on the cheaper ticket. How was the movie? Ahhhh, I see now. NO VIOLENCE? That's almost hard to believe!
Sandy, good thing you didn't have to go in your PJ's!
NM, ambitious or it just really needs to be done! However, my ambition didn't his yesterday to do the upright! I take it you didn't go to moms? That Daiquiri sure looks inviting!
I was invited down to my neighbors this evening for dinner. Several of our other neighbors are invited as well. Having lamb and brisket.
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Lori - Top Gun Maverick was fantastic - no violence at all. But adrenaline was pumping!!! Tonight we will watch the original Top Gun on Netflix. Some said it's the last night it will be on. DH said senior tickers were only $1 less/ticket so not a big loss.
Relaxing day today. Spent a couple or three hours on paperwork for work and feeling a sense of catching up. Need to do my medicaid paperwork and write a long, long report that I hope to have done by Thursday afternoon. It is a special case, so the end of the school year doesn't impact it.
DH and I also pulled some weeds.
Three more days!!
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OMG Karen - is it really 37 years ago? I can clearly remember everything I was doing the first time I saw Top Gun. Not to mention that I still have a VHS tape of the movie. (and yes I still have a VHS player). Yup - I just looked at the tape - 1986. I can't tell you how many times I watched that movie in the 80s and 90s.
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When Gordy was 19, he, Bob & I were down in FL visiting my mom. We decided to go to the movies, and Sideways was playing. None of us were over 55, but they sold us senior tickets--they explained that the theater was adjacent to the retirement community, so it was just easier to sell only senior-price tickets!
Long day again. We got up and decided that the last thing we wanted for breakfast was heavy Cantonese leftovers, so we went downstairs for the breakfast buffet. Checked out, stored our bags. Took a sightseeing bus tour, and after a quick iced-coffee break headed to the airport.
I'm very disappointed in both Porter Air and Billy Bishop Airport. Porter used to have all-first-class leather seats and its own departure lounge with free coffees, soft drinks, snacks and comfy couches. The airport itself (on an island in Lake Ontario) used to have the post-baggage carousel room be an enclosed ferry with a 90-second ride to the city shore. That was 9 years ago. Now, Porter has replaced those roomy seats with narrower titanium ones (and more of them); now that the airport's been renovated, you can wait to take a regular ferry (still 90 seconds) or a 5-min. subterranean tunnel walk. There are good restaurants, but only on the arrivals level (makes no sense whatsoever). And that cool departure lounge is no more. No freebies--replaced by a Hudson News, a duty-free (no Screech, alas), and a small bar with limited menu restaurant. You have to wait there till your flight is called and then exit for the scramble to the gate (no seating). The only things that haven't changed are turboprop planes (runways too short for jets) and free wine & beer in-flight, in actual glasses rather than plastic cups.
To add insult to injury, when we got to CBP at Midway, we found the Global Entry System kiosks weren't talking to the database, so we were herded through the cattle-pen along with flights arriving from Mexico & the Caribbean. Took 40 minutes (at Bishop on Friday, it took only about 5--there were "floaters" working the line and directing families to automated kiosks that did work).
Coulda been worse--we could have been flying domestically and on Delta, which was still cancelling flights like crazy today due to weather and crew shortages.
Next time, we will give ourselves a week to drive, including to Niagara Falls.
DOTD in that garden-variety lounge: Jackson-Trigg Inniskillin (Niagara) Brut NV. Pretty good--tastes more like a champagne than a prosecco. Jackson-Trigg is also the Pinot Grigio & Cabernet Sauvignon served on the plane.
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Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Twofer Tuesday! Waking up to a rainy and gloomy day today. The weekend was beautiful, I loved just chilling on the deck watching the puppers running around and wrestling.
Karen--8 more kiddos in school days, 9 more work days on the contract, and counting!
Goldie--no, didn't go to Mom's. No answer on her phone, so not sure if she was home or out or what. Needing to be done is a good motivator for getting things done.
Morning, Minus!
Chi-- wow, you really had a hard time with your trip home. It must have been terribly disappointing to see those changes at the airport.
Recess Thyme
4 ounces lemonade
2 ounces agave wine or tequila
1 ounce muddled fresh berries
½ ounce thyme simple syrup
About 1 ounce lemon-lime soda, preferably Sprite
1 thyme sprig
2 fresh blueberries for garnish
2 fresh strawberries for garnish
1 slice orange for garnish
In a shaker, combine the lemonade, tequila, muddled berries and thyme syrup. Pour into an ice-filled glass and top with the soda. Garnish with the fresh thyme sprig and a skewer threaded with the berries and orange (1 blueberry, 1 strawberry, the orange slice, another strawberry and the last blueberry) placed over the rim of the glass. Serve immediately.
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Ready for the school year to be over. Kim you are done earlier than friends and my daughter back east. They are done 3 weeks after me. Not sure if I'll see my usual kiddos or do paperwork and be available as needed. 3 days and counting!!
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Karen, glad it was only $1.00, but geeze, is that all they can offer for seniors, one dollar! Good luck on all that paperwork! Wow, 3 more weeks of school?
Sandy, you sure had your share of problems on your trip!
NM, glad the weather held off until a work day.
Minus2, I have not seen Top Gun, but you watching it so much, reminds me of my DH, he watched City Slickers ll I think a million times!
Dinner at my neighbors was nice. Good conversation and the food was great. Been a long time since I've had lamb. May be heading out later to go get my Faslodex injections and get the ultra sound on my kidney.
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Kids hit a bit of a rough patch--Gordy got Montezuma's Revenge on Sat., Leslie today. They did get in every place they wanted to see in Madrid, though. Heading to Barcelona for the rock festival tomorrow. As for us, the bus tour gave us an idea what to see (and where to eat) on our next visit. Sunday's CNN "Nomad" with Carlton McCoy episode about Toronto got our mouths watering again, and we have vouchers for a free harbor cruise. The bus tour--we were on the top deck--was full of tantalizing aromas wafting from all the ethnic restaurants in the neighborhoods we drove through.
Gonna try to seek out whatever Canadian (BC, ON) wines make it across the border--they're excellent but probably sell out up there.
Gonna have a decent Pinot Noir tonight, as I'm picking up the first of the season's Copper River fillets tonight.
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Lori - I done Thursday, but many schools back east aren't done for another 3 weeks, but they start later than we do. The lamb sounds good. I haven't eaten lamb in years = don't remember the last time.
Made a dent in the paperwork. Got about 1/2 my medicaid paperwork done - will finish the rest tomorrow. Tonight I'll start on the report for the legal case and try to finish on Thursday but it might take me longer and then of course the attorney always makes changes!!!
It's been raining for about 2 hours and should rain through the night. Hope it slows down enough to get a walk in - actually would like 2 - one before and one after dinner, but I think I'll be lucky to get one.
Sandy - DD#2 went to Barcelona with a girlfriend for 3 days/2 nights a couple years ago. She loved it. Hope the kids feel better soon and are able to enjoy the rest of their trip.
Have a good Tuesday night
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