So...whats for dinner?
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Wild photo, Special! It took me a while to realize that the flesh under the carton was a hand! Great looking eggs!
I really like the idea of “potato eggs” and next time we find white potatoes in our “veggie” box I might try to pass that along with a nice big salad and some crusty bread for a filling dinner. Since DH is always happy with my occasional dinner omelettes, this should be good, too. Of course I’d have to restrain myself from adding onions, peppers, and mushrooms? That would be a deconstructed omelette!
Special, are you using a super mask for your outing? Three layers, or N95, KN95 or a really good filter In your cotton mask?
if I need to head to a shopping place, I use polypropylene filters in my cotton mask...and that’s with really low Covid incidence here now.
I’m worried about you venturing out.....please stay safe!On a more humorous note, I guess....wait until DH retires....then the days will really blend in together!
I realized last month that the quarantine period reducing both of the work/volunteer activity structure we previously had in our lives, resulted in no sense of where we were on any calendar day...and it continues....Carole, I think I missed wishing you a Happy Anniversary! Glad it soundslike things are going well for you in MN, despite our weird summer.
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Lacey - Your Friday cocktails on the beach sounds wonderful. Enjoy your lake visit - sounds like you have some good food options.
Special K - Love the colors of those eggs. Agree that FL sounds scary. In re: Roth IRA - What I am toying with is rolling over conventional (pre-tax) 401K $ to my Roth IRA & taking the tax hit in 2020. Since I am not filing for SS until 2021, this will be a low income year. I have too many conventional 401K $ that someone will eventually be taxed upon. Either me when I start RMDs at 72 1/2 or whomever inherits. Since the IRS passed the SECURE Act, if DD inherits she can only spread out $ over 10 years (used to be over remaining life expectancy). However, since the Roth IRA I have is not doing too well in the current market, I am reluctant to move the $ in there.
Had to go out twice this week - once for long overdue eye exam on Mon & then initial root canal dental visit on Weds. Now have my AI scrip refill to pick up at Walgreens, but they have a drive through. Next Fri., is MO visit, already postponed from April. Felt pretty safe with precautions at eye Dr & Dentist and MO visit will utilize same precautions - notify when in parking lot, wait for the OK to enter, mask on, enter, get temp taken, hand sanitizer, etc.
DH and I take turns venturing out for groceries & only go to certain stores that are less crowded & have good precautions, or we get Whole Foods delivery. Very happy that KY now requires masks to enter grocery, drug store, etc.
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lacey - if DH buys eggs I keep the carton for DD so she can fill it with eggs. This one is clear plastic and had a paper lining that she pulled out. I realize now looking at the photo that my hand looks weird underneath it, lol! I found the month that DH was working from home confused me - I am so geared to the M-F things I need to stay up on - setting up coffee, packing a lunch, getting laundry done and clothes ready, particularly now that the mandate in his office is to wear washable clothing only. When I didn’t need to do those things I struggled with day orientation. I also found I was eating a lot more, DH is more of a three meal a day person, I’m a grazer. Not going to the gym combined with that has been a problem!The masks I have made are three layers, and I actually just received some new yardage of Oly-fun, the polypropylene liner material, from my neighbor In a front porch hand-off. I plan to make some additional masks from it, but had been using the washable shopping bags made from the same material. I have been home for two weeks, have gone nowhere, and my outing on the 4th was to DD’s. It’s probably been a month since I’ve actually been in any kind of retail or enclosed environment, or been around anyone besides DH and DD. I got a call the other day from the car dealer telling me it was time for the regularly scheduled oil change on my six-month old car. I laughed and said it only has 2400 miles, so...nope.
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Special thank you for the offer. I would love your chicken curry recipe. I'd like to try again. Thanks!
Stay safe everyone. I just bought new masks to add to my collection. Maryland is in an ok place so far but we venture out only very carefully also.
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reader - I grew up eating chicken curry but once I left home I didn't make it much myself. I used curry in chicken salad, but not often in a hot dish. This recipe was the result of something thrown together and I was smart enough in the moment to write it down! I don't always and then can't recreate it later, lol!
Chicken Curry
1 Tbsp curry powder, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1/4 c. chopped onion, 2 cloves minced garlic, assorted vegetables (I used julienned red peppers and carrot), 1 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 can full fat coconut milk, 1 Tbsp cornstarch, 2 Tbsp water, cooked chicken breast, chopped cashews, chopped green onion, cooked rice.
Add olive oil to a large skillet and stir in curry powder. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add onion and garlic. Cook until tender, add tomato paste, ginger, and vegetables. Stir in coconut milk, cook several minutes. Make a slurry of cornstarch and water and stir into coconut milk and vegetables. Cook until thickened and add chicken. Heat through, spoon over cooked rice and top with green onion and chopped cashews.
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Brunch was a classic rolled French omelette (1 jumbo and 2 small eggs, Gruyère & Boursin cheese, minced herbs--chives, thyme, parsley & tarragon) and 2 "heels" of a loaf of low-carb bread, toasted with salt butter and a tiny bit of Stevia-sweetened apricot spread.
Had my bloodwork (results came back swiftly: all normal) today and made my CT scans appt. for tomorrow afternoon. All things considered (especially since I've been able to diet down to 141), I decided I deserved to eat what I wanted for dinner. We went to Cellars and dined on the patio (nice lake breeze again, cool enough for me to break in a new pair of jeans). We both started with gazpacho (haven't had that in >1 yr). I had the fish & chips with slaw (packed half of it to take home even before digging in. Bob had the seared ahi with Asian slaw & fried wontons (he snagged their last portion). Came home and for dessert I had a decaf breve cappuccino and small square of very dark Swiss chocolate.
Need to eat breakfast early--likely a single fried egg. As I will be NPO after 11am tomorrow, "lunch" will be oral contrast solution.
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Thank you so much Special. I'll definitely give this a whirl. It looks delicious.
Sandy in your pocket today for your tests. Glad you had a nice dinner out.
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Special - thanks for posting the chicken curry. I'll put it on my list to try too. Sandy - Hope your tests go well. Lacey - I did add onion to the 'potato-eggs'. It doesn't "feel" like an omelette.
I'm still using my "Buffs" from the days of no hair to cover my mouth & nose. But then I'm not going anywhere except the grocery store every 10 days. And I'm still wearing gloves. I do have one N-95 mask that my brother mailed me when this all started. I'll wear it when I have to go to the medical center for blood tests on 7/30 - the only appointment I haven't cancelled in 4 months. I can't get my Prolia shot in August w/o results of calcium & Vit D blood work.
Today was day #108 of my walking 3-1/2 to 4 miles every day. Yup, I still hate early mornings, but it's marginally cooler than nights. Is 85 cooler than 100 when the humidity is 99%?
Some time ago I bought a bag of "Ancient Grains", but it migrated to the back of the cupboard after one use & I forgot about it. It's a blend of Rice, Bulgar (durum wheat), Barley, Wheat Berries, Oats, Red Rice and Quinoa. Boil then simmer 10 minutes in vegetable or chicken bouillon and add garlic, onion & butter. It's quite good as a side dish or in a salad so I made up a big batch to have cold & ready. Late night I stir fried some with chicken, mushrooms, water chestnuts, more onion & a touch of soy. There's enough for 2 more meals. I took the rest of the un-adulterated grain mix and froze it as a trial. I forgot exactly what you said Special, but after it was cold, I flatted and froze in a zip-lock bag.
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minus - that is the operative question, right? Does 85 really feel any cooler when you factor in the humidity. As a fellow Cali person you can appreciate the conversation I have with my BFF as to which of us is hotter - me with 85 F and rain, or her with 108 and dry, lol! Sounds like the grain freezing experiment will work based on something I buy from my frozen food guy - five grain pilaf. Works great - I can nuke it with a tad bit of extra water and a pat of butter, or cook it in a pan on the stove with same
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I'm installing a new water heater in the garage. It's going to be 110F and that's getting "kinda hot", even if it is dry. :-) The water heater has a 8 year warranty against leaking and it was installed in 2005. It's not leaking, but I'd just as soon do it when I have time rather than having to make time.
Sandy, "in your pocket".
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Eric - no fun!!!
Here's my rant about how things are just not made as well as they used to be... My water current heater was installed in 2008 and (fingers crossed) it's still OK. But I did notice the 8-10 year predicted life. The previous water heater worked like a champ for 30+ years.
Same with my washer & dryer experiences. A washer that I bought used in 1970 when my son was born, made the move to 5 different houses & was still working when he finished college - and some years after. When I had it replaced, the installers wanted to know if it was full of water since it was so heavy. I just laughed. Not made with plastic of course. But then if products didn't have built in obsolescence - the manufacturers & stores couldn't sell more. Buy, Buy, Buy. (can you tell I'm not a shopper?)
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I'm all done with the water heater. I started around 11:00am and finished around 3pm. The new water heater is about 1 inch taller than the old one and that was enough difference to require I modify the piping to make it all fit. What amazed me was that I only had to make two trips to the hardware store; one to get the water heater and one to get the stuff needed to connect it into the pipes. For plumbing projects, I usually need to make 4 or 5 trips to the hardware store to get "all the little parts" that I either forgot to get or I found they really needed to be replaced.
Today the 1957 truck got to be more than a "toy". The water heater has to be transported upright and the shell on the new truck wouldn't allow the water heater to stand upright. The old truck has no shell so it was an easy fit. Unfortunately the old truck has no air conditioning and it's a cab over engine design...which means that when I'm driving it, the engine is beside me, shielded only by some sheet metal, and the heat from the engine subtracts from the comfort level. :-)
Besides more water, I'm not sure what's for dinner tonight. It was 112F degrees in the garage and in four hours, I went through more than a gallon of water. The gallon obviously wasn't enough as I'm still very thirsty.
Minus, I agree with your "rant" about how stuff is built....don't get me started on my own rant about this!!!!!!!!! :-)
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The rant goes for furniture. We bought a couple of chairs for the family room that the salesperson described as 7 year chairs, saying that's how long they are built to last. Since they were for extra seating and we weren't likely to use them ourselves we went ahead and got them, hoping they would last longer than that. It is looking like they won't unless we get creative about providing better support for the seats.
Dinner here sounds like a winter meal, meatloaf, baked potato, and asparagus. But using the Instant Pot and microwave for all the cooking the kitchen didn't really warm up.
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Well, birds and eggs....guess I remaIn on that theme...before joining the appliance rant theme I just read here. I wrote the post below yesterday afternoon before heading to the beach to re- connect with neighbors.
In my last post, I spoke too soon about the hummingbirds giving up on us. Shortly after I wrote that, I looked up to see one fly up to our slider that leads onto the deck and just hover for a while. Hint taken! The feeders are all filled and everyone is happy!On Friday, when I mentioned Special's fresh eggs to DH he got the urge to hunt some down. Since we knew of one farm stand that was open (Some local ones are more like "stands" with inconsistent hours and offerings, and the private homes who keep chickens seem to change from year to year) he popped over there and got his fresh eggs. He also selected a beautiful head of red leaf lettuce, some fresh onions with great tops, and some garlic since I forgot to pack it. So for dinner, we had leftover hot and sour soup (ordered way too much two nights ago since the restaurant was new to us), and a frittata with caramelized fresh onion, chopped onion tops, and mushrooms and some Monterey jack cheese. The red leaf lettuce made for a great salad once I washed all of the dirt and small inhabitants out of it....obviously organic!
So we will head back home tonight and I will have avoided any trips to the grocery store...quite an accomplishment! DH did head into town twice for some other errands And was happy to note that most folks were wearing masks. That's a relief! Especially since NH and MA have been relatively clear of spread for the past month, and it would be easy for people to employ short memories about how we landed In lockdown in March... AND how hard it was to work our way out of it. But the virus may well travel up the coast and we could find ourselves in the previous situation again. So I appreciate the mindfulness (old meaning) of the residents and visitors here. And our state officials did a great, if unpopular job.
My good friend in South Florida is just about having a stroke that her gov is so relaxed about instituting more preventative measures there. She is basically isolated at home with her disabled husband unable to leave the safety of their small house to prevent the tentacles of the surge from seriously impacting them. They cannot even leave for his specialist doc appts(!) per his PCP's orders due to the danger of becoming infected in public. Today (Sunday) I saw theIr gov boasting about how wonderful it is that he was able to procure tons more drugs (remdesivir?) for the infected folks who are hospitalized (and for those who are going to be!). Did he never learn the concept of preventative measures to curtail the spread of illness?! To me this defies reason! I will get off my soapbox now.....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Off to the beach for the first time this summer.
My router is not working, so will post this later if it "gets better".
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Sandy....jumping in your pocket again.We are back home ...late night trip drive after enjoying the day being with our lake neighbors on the beach...and then a quick but satisfying lobster roll dinner on our porch, a car packing, and house close up.
I was glad, and not surprised, to find reasonable social distancing among our beach crew....not so much with some of the families with adolescents and the younger adult crew. I can see how easy it is to feel healthy and out of harms way on the beach, and yet in my chats, I learned of many out of state relatives of neighbors who experienced Covid-19. I guess unpleasant thoughts get carried away with the lake breeze. Prior to this, I have known no one infected...maybe because we were so strictly isolated In MA and not connecting beyond our family and close neighbors. I was relieved to learn that most of my lake neighbors are also experiencing the “What day Is it anyway?” disorientation that we’ve had recently.Appliance rant...
Our 33 yo refrigerator at the lake house (which had a boost of a new compressor twenty years ago) was sporting two layers of mold on its floor under the empty veggie drawers. So after that was cleaned (credit to DH who is not allergic to, nor grossed out by thick multi colored mold), I noticed that the food wasn’t seeming very cold despite a very cold setting. So I thought, maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and replace the old guy. Oh dear...what a frustrating journey! Our old style unit Is now offered as one that is a couple of inches wider and taller, with smaller cu ft capacity. Jeesh!!! Beyond that every place we looked indicated no current items in stock! DH insists we continue the search, while I am starting to wonder if we should see if our oldie but goodie can finish up our remaining years with a Freon fix?? Am I crazy, Eric? Not sure the larger version of what we have will even fit in our assigned fridge space. Ugh! Fortunately, 33 years ago we were “gifted” an old Fridgedaire (sp?) monster that chugs away in our basement there...so we can take our time deciding how to resolve this (and will burn calories running up and down the stairs).Temps heading to the upper 90’s here today, and we are heading to DS2’s later for an early “distanced” outdoor dinner and “wading pool watching party“ so we can see their home projects progress and most importantly stay connected to baby Amelia...from six feet.
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I have been buying eggs at the farmers market on Saturday. We are vendors and I end up spending money. Last night we had green beans cooked with tiny new potatoes. What a treat. Soon the tomatoes will be ripening.
Today we're having a respite from the heat and humidity. It's cool and windy with sunshine.
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Lacey, sounds like a compressor issue--unless the fridge is still so old that its freon can be refilled. In 2011 we found the same size & width issue--we had to remove one side of the enclosure that the last owners of the house had built in 1985 to house their side-by-side fridge and into which had still fit the two successive top-freezer models we owned, until we decided to get a French door bottom-freezer. In fact, we had to remove the soffit & cabinet above the fridge (which cabinet was so high up as to be unusable).
Today we ordered out for brunch, as restaurant patios were too soggy from earlier storms. Bob had bacon, sausage, eggs, spuds & toast; I had the usual broccoli-cheddar quiche & salad. Dinner will be my leftovers for me, and a Caprese for him (likely supplemented with some roasted broccoli).
My tests & scans came back: no mets! So the ocular oncologist will order the seeds & plaque (must be slightly larger than the tumor) tomorrow, and it'll be ready in 10-14 days. So I'm looking at 2 weeks from tomorrow for the procedures.
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chisandy - so glad for you that things are not worse, hopefully things go smoothly from here on.
We have dealt with the fridge in the kitchen cabinetry - that is why we have a relatively useless counter depth side by side. I feel for anyone who is dealing with a built in - such a pain.
Dinner tonight will be Chicken Parmigiana and a butter lettuce salad
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Pretty eggs! Minus your egg dish is reminiscent of a Spanish tortilla, which I love and now will have to make soon.
Lacey we also found out that you can’t just go out and buy furniture and appliances during the time of coronavirus. We tried to purchase a love seat (well actually we did purchase it) and found that we may not get it for months. Apparently parts are in short supply due to factory shut downs. We’d unfortunately got rid of most of our ancient upholstered furniture before the move but fortunately kept two chairs. It’s a good thing we’re not doing much entertaining because seating is most definitely limited.
Having said that, DS and DDIL came over today bearing birthday (tomorrow) gifts of my favorite black mango tea and some fresh baked cherry scones (hers are outstanding) with orange glaze. We chatted at the dining room table lol.
Dinner will be grilled pork tenderloin with I don’t know what else besides applesauce. Tomorrow we are venturing to Costco in search of lobster tails for my birthday dinner. It will be my first real shopping trip there in months.
Great news on the scans Sandy. Hoping the treatments are easy.
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Happy birthday, Nancy! Hope you find the lobster tails.
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First, I'd check to make sure the coils on the back of the fridge are clean...or if the coils are in a small box, that those coils aren't clogged with line and that the fan pushing room air across the "coil in a box" is running.
The 'fridge here is one of those "coil in a box" designs" and every couple of months I clean out enough dog hair to "build another dog". Once it's cleaned, the refrigerator runs quite a bit less than before the celaning.
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Nance - Happy B-day tomorrow. Lobster tails sound like a great celebration.
Sandy - glad your eye issue isn't complicated by other health problems. I thought one had to isolate once the seeds were in place - like not even sleep in the same room with your spouse. But you're talking about an eye patch at a restaurant?
Lacey & Carole - love hearing all your news. I'm jealous of all your 'farmer's market' scores.
A friend was talking about one of her childhood favorites - fried egg sandwiches - and I remembered how much I loved those. Coming up this week in the meal plan. Likely on pumpernickel since I don't have any white bread.
I too cooked pork tenderloin. Dinner was mid-day & served with green beans and two glasses of Pinot Grigio. I'm thinking about popcorn before bed.
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auntie - Happy Birthday!
minus - yay for fried egg sandwiches - I make them once in a blue moon and always wonder why I don’t make them more often
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Sandy glad for the 'easier' way forward so far! 🙏
Nance, happy early birthday 🎁🍾
I went to the local orchard on Saturday which turned into an adventure once I realized my WALLET was home on my desk! I woke DH from his nap to pay over the phone while about 8 people in masks, gloves and wearing irritation in the 95 degree heat lined up behind me. Oh dear! I was so glad I bought a lot. Those poor workers deserved a tip i couldn't even leave!
Tonight's dinner was the hard-earned corn from the eastern shore, a baby red and yellow tomato caprese salad (mozzarella mixed in) with basil fresh from our plants and grilled barbecue chicken. I made rice-a-roni for DH, his fave. Not mine 😁. Oh, and I scored the last homemade sugar -free pie so he said waking him up to pay was worth it.😉
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Happy Birthday, Nance! Glad you are settled in your current digs to celebrate! And I do hope you get your lobster tails for the birthday dinner. I grew up knowing lobster tails and only converted to the “full animal” once I moved here. Lobster tails are certainly a more civilized dining experience!
Tonight (late afternoon, actually), DH and I split sandwiches for our “al fresco” dinner on DS2’s patio. One was a fried fresh caught cod with tomato, lettuce and red onion on a brioche roll, and the other was a sweet potato veggie burger with avocado and cole slaw on it. They were both delicious, and so filling that I never even ate my side caesar salad. It was great to see that progress is coming along on the house, and I was surprised to learn that they are going to start demo for their kitchen project in a month or two. I thought it was slated for next year. They are an ambitious duo...and may end up moving to our lake house during the ugliest part of that demo. What I was most happy to learn is that after three weeks, they are feeling like this house is home.
Meanwhile, little Miss 13 month old is challenging them to the hilt with her motor activity. She no longer sits to look at a book even for a second, which she used to enjoy. Even her daycare “mom” has noted her heightened level of activity. I can’t help but wonder how it might be related to her four month “Covid Incarceration” while mom and dad were remote working with her at home frequently in a safe 6’x14’ “cage” in their living room. It was painfulLy challenging for all of them, especially since she started walking before 11 months and was very frustrated being unable to explore when dad and mom were tied up in Zoom conference meetings they could not cancel. I keep wondering what the developmental psychologists are going to learn about how this Pandemic has shaped/impacted childrens’ social/emotional growth.Nance, yes, the Pandemic’s tentacles have definitely impacted the consumer supply chain for home products! DH spent all day Friday trying to track down a refrigerator in stock that fits our allotted space. Despite the age of this oldster, we may well take Eric’s advice and see if it can be cleaned/refurbished instead of continuing the fools errand of trying to locate the size unit we need. Who would ever guess that upgrading an appliance would require a construction job!
Sandy, I’m glad for you to hear your no mets news! May the procedures go smoothly
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I might be allowed to go and stay home after the insertion surgery--I will be wearing a padded lead-lined eye shield (which, if I stay home, I can probably cover with a fashionable patch). Some surgeons require staying in a radiation-isolation unit for the duration of the therapy until removal, but some others discharge the patient to home. I will ask my ocular onc. whether I must remain in the hospital; if I can go home, whether I must isolate in a separate room. (Hope I don't go too stir-crazy and can read, go online & watch TV with only one functioning eye--with a huger floater, at that).
Due to the pandemic-caused supply-chain slowdown, we're still waiting for our replacement sump pump.
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Thanks all for the birthday wishes. DH has baked a cake, lobster tails have been found and the Costco run satisfactory completed. DH is distressed that although he bought candles for the cake, the lighter used to light candles apparently didn’t make it to the apartment and instead resides in the storage unit. Suits me. I can never blow the damned things out without a coughing fit and who wants someone spluttering all over their cake anyway, especially now. I plan to grill the tails and have tiny salted potatoes and corn on the cob as sides. DH is having steak.
lol Lacey, I would gladly have the whole animal and the more uncivilized dining experience if I could find it here outside of a restaurant. The regional grocery chains used to sell whole live lobsters in several of the stores but stopped a few years ago. Our biggest seafood market also went out of business so I no longer know of a consistent source of fresh seafood other than a large Chinese supermarket. They have lots of stuff but it’s so intimidating because all the labels are in Chinese and most of the workers don’t speak English. I’ve never seen lobster there but I’ve seen lots of other things most of which I don’t recognize. It’s definitely an adventure going there.
Sandy, I really hope you can ride out your treatment at home
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Happy Birthday auntie!
Chi...I'm glad to hear no mets. Just keep reminding the doctors of what all the governors are saying, "You are safer at home". Maybe it will work.
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Dinner was left over chicken fried rice with extra mushroom & water chestnuts added. It was good, but oh the desert. Fresh strawberries dipped in sour cream and rolled in brown sugar.
Anybody have a really good strawberry pie recipe? I'm sure I can never beat my Mothers, but somehow either she didn't write it down or it was lost.
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If I can stay home, an added bonus will be a huge savings on our light bill: I'll just glow in the dark!
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