Canadian Buffoon's Hi Low Vacation - South Central Musings

[pkondz]

I have changed my mind and would like to go with my first pick - I think that nothing happens except they take your order and you sit and wait for it while eating the free peanuts.

Okay. Noted.

(I would love to say
"points changed"
just to make you think...
"Did I get some? Or lose some?"

But I'm not gonna do that.
Points may or may not have changed.

 

[franandaj]

We used to order broth with a citrus twist to it. We would have cheese, a salad, entree, and chocolate as part of the 4 course meal our local place shows on their menu......and we would be stuffed sausages. We were looking for the experience one night and knew we really didn't want an entree. We ordered 2 different cheese courses, a salad, and chocolate....yum yum yum. Now when we go - that's what we do.

Is this at the Melting Pot? That's down near you. We've gone there a few times and we leave totally stuffed. I think I'd be good with cheese, salad and chocolate. Either that or we bring three people and get two entrees.

 

[pkondz]

All one machine, button on the left makes wet. Button on the right makes dry. I chose poorly.

I was amazed at how many people remembered that from my TR!

And I didn't!
I don't think it sunk in.
Or rather, I pictured something like this:

Honestly the few times I've had it, I got dressed, fed the cats, made it, (usually muffins and bacon or sausage) and brought it to Fran in the bedroom. Then I took off my shoes and got back in bed.

That is not breakfast in bed.
At least, not for you.

The only times I've ever had a meal served to me in my own home, it has involved me having to do some serious cleaning in the aftermath, so I now discourage that.

Again... That is not breakfast in bed.

The only effort breakfast in bed
should require,
is lifting up your cutlery
and/or beverage of choice.
Preferably a Mimosa.

Not at McDonald's. They have Egg McMuffins, but nothing like blueberry, chocolate, bran or such like that. For a while they had pastries, but I think that was a limited time only thing.

I seldom go to McDonalds.
hmmm.... 2-3 times/year?
so the muffins may be gone.

See I have to be in the right mood for eggs. Normally I'll get the Egg White Delight as I don't like hard cooked yolks.

Never heard of the "Egg White Delight".
Then again, I wouldn't look for it.

I like yolks.
Hard.
Soft.

I love a good yolk every now and then.

The Sausage McMuffin is also OK, but strangely unsatisfying.

Interesting comment!
That's the one I prefer.

When I order the sausage McMuffin with egg, I have to "do surgery" on the egg and I remove the yolk from the sandwich. I put the yolk into the hash brown holder to prepare it for the trash can.

Can't you order it without?

Most of the time I just get a yogurt parfait and a hash brown

Yogurt parfait.
That I like.
The hash browns have an odd....
oily? fake? taste to them.

but if I were on vacation I might consider the Hotcakes and sausage. The Big Breakfast used to be a favorite of mine, but the last time I ate one, the egg and sausage sat in the pit of my stomach and I felt gross.

Not a fan of hotcakes,
even when they're well made.
I'll eat them...
but prefer other fare.

If I were on vacation,
McDonalds is always a last resort.
"Okay. I haven't eaten in over a day...
I'm starving... ugh... there's a McD's."

And almost never for lunch or dinner.



But I do love their fries.

They have premade packets of fondue in our grocery stores. I bought it a few times to make dinner easy. Fran asked if we could make it in the future since we bought a cookbook at a fancy fondue place. So much for easy.

Are those premade packets any good?
I've always shied far away from them.

Did you plan at the time how it would be used?

I knew at the time
that I wanted a photo
of the Finding Dory shirt
for the TR.

Well that's good. It would be covered in fuzzy green mold by now.

Or freezer burned.
Assuming I had anywhere
near that kind of foresight.

I need to get there. At least Canada is a safe place to travel.

So far, not too bad.
Only had those two incidents
that I can recall.
And I think only one could
really be called a terrorist act.

I'm trying! You have no idea how much research I did on my contest answers this round!!!!!!

Maybe you're trying too hard!

And maybe you don't have to.
@Steppesister said she would
make you a deal.

Apparently she doesn't want
what I'm possibly (if she wins)
sending her.

Yeah and the day that I wrote this I couldn't get noodles out of my mind. I ended up with a big bowl of Beef Pho for lunch.

Yummm...

 

[QueenJen]

Just to clarify.
You ordered a broth fondue
with cheese (not melted)
or a cheese fondue?

Cheese fondue is the starter - They whip it up table side, it melts and you dip. We usually get the one made with a beer/lager or schnapps. served with bread cubes, apples, and veggies. If I could only have 1 fondue - it would be cheese - yes, I would skip the chocolate for cheese fondue.
Broth fondue is for the main - you cook your meat and other veggies. (instead of broth, you can order oil or wine based)
Chocolate fondue - our favorites are the milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter or the 'Flaming Turtle' - milk chocolate, caramel, pecans, and flambeed - served with various treats for dipping - yum. usually super rich and can't be finished.

Is this at the Melting Pot?

Yes. Sadly, Irvine is out closest location now - we used to love the on in San Clemente as it was less crowded.....well, that's probably why it is not there anymore. I'm happy we are all chatting about fondue - reminds me that I have a $25 off coupon that expires this month.....gotta go.

 

[pkondz]

I only took it off the table b/c I figured the nice Canadian guy wouldn't try to trick someone. I'm pretty sure you broke some Canadian law.

Trick you?
Moi?

I simply gave you an opportunity
to win a schwack of points.

I was sharpening a big knife in preparation for cutting into a brisket that I had spent 12 hours carefully smoking to perfection. The sharpener I was using is the kind you hold against your knuckles and has a hand guard. On the 4th swipe, the knife slipped out of the the sharpening groove and went sideways. I guess my index finger was extended b/c the knife essentially filleted the last part of my finger. No more finger nail ever. Kitchen looked like a murder scene. Luckily I had some friends over that remained calm, since my wife was about to lose it. Kids were still in the swimming pool, so none of them got freaked out at all.

Long story short, they couldn't attach the missing piece, and just said to let the skin grow back and see how it does. The hand specialist I saw said this type of cut is very uncommon. Most people cut the whole finger off or the pad side, so he couldn't really suggest anything with real certainty -- other than to say the body fixes itself most of the time. He thinks I should get all the skin back within 6 weeks though...so that's good news. I thought it would be 3 or 4 months.

I didn't hit bone or nerves, so it should be fine long term. It's just painful now if I hit it on anything. And typing takes forever. It could have been much worse though -- so I'm fortunate in that respect.

Geez, that was cringe worthy
to read.

That doesn't surprise me
that it hurts to hit it....
and I'm sure you're doing that a lot.
It just seems to work that way.

Glad the kids didn't see, too.

And I have seen the single load washer/dryer combos before -- don't remember where. They'd be good if you're single and they could switch automatically from wash to dry -- but if you have multiple loads, it would take longer since you can't be washing while the other load is drying. I'm assuming you'd only see them where space is at a premium.

That seems to be the consensus.

I suppose it's better than nothing,
compared to lugging everything
to a Laundromat?

 

[pkondz]

HEY THERE! Semester is finally done kicking my a...butt! Love what I'm catching up on!

That must be a relief!

The semester being over...
not the TR.
That's torture.

 

[pkondz]

In answer to your questions, no I have never tried escargot. The horror! Jim loves them. It is really hard to watch him eat them. I'm not sure why because I love steamer clams in the shell - same thing pretty much - but I don't see clams crawling around in the garden sliming all over everything.

hmmmm...

I will have to add on
to my next chapter, I think...

 

[pkondz]

Can't get the quote thingy to work on my IPad

I've totally given up with
multi quoting on mine.
Definitely not designed for that!

but a little note to prevent the iPod tragedy, take a picture with a phone contact (and possibly your pic) and use it as your wallpaper on lock screen. My phone has my sisters and DHs phone numbers. (There are apps to help you do this)

Nah.
I'll never lose it.


<cough> <cough>

(actually, I just might do that.)

 

[pkondz]

Cheese fondue is the starter - They whip it up table side, it melts and you dip. We usually get the one made with a beer/lager or schnapps. served with bread cubes, apples, and veggies. If I could only have 1 fondue - it would be cheese - yes, I would skip the chocolate for cheese fondue.

Whoa! High praise indeed!
Never had the cheese one.

Would like to some day.

Broth fondue is for the main - you cook your meat and other veggies. (instead of broth, you can order oil or wine based)

That's what I normally do
(broth, I mean)
Never do veggies, though.
Always beef and chicken
(can't do seafood as Ruby
is allergic.)

Chocolate fondue - our favorites are the milk chocolate with crunchy peanut butter or the 'Flaming Turtle' - milk chocolate, caramel, pecans, and flambeed - served with various treats for dipping - yum. usually super rich and can't be finished.

Not decadent at all.

Love chocolate fondue with fruit.
I usually serve it with a dish (each)
of whipped cream.

Spear a fruit, dip in chocolate,
scoop up whipped cream.

I'm happy we are all chatting about fondue - reminds me that I have a $25 off coupon that expires this month.....gotta go.

 

[pkondz]

Okay, folks. I think that's it.
Should be all caught up on the shout-outs.

But if I missed you, let me know!

I have a bunch of TRs
to catch up on now.
But will start writing
the last update very soon.

So if you don't have your guesses in yet...

Get 'em in!

 

[Mac Brew]

Hi Mac!



I had to Google Mince and Tatties. I'd eat that! Looks good!
How do you like your mince?
With or without veggies?

I am trying to quote this I hope it works

I sometimes have peas (of the birds eye frozen type ) peas cooked from frozen with the mince and tatties and of coarse if you are the luky one and it's your turn you get to have the whole onion that's been cooking in the steak mince for the previous 3 hours minimum.We normally have this dish once a week for tea.The peas should be cooked separately from your mince.Sometimes if you are feeling adventurous you can add carrots and peas to the steak mince during the cooking of the said mince.

 

[Mac Brew]

The quote worked I shall have to try it again next Time

 

[pkondz]

I am trying to quote this I hope it works

The quote worked I shall have to try it again next Time

I sometimes have peas (of the birds eye frozen type ) peas cooked from frozen with the mince and tatties and of coarse if you are the luky one and it's your turn you get to have the whole onion that's been cooking in the steak mince for the previous 3 hours minimum.We normally have this dish once a week for tea.The peas should be cooked separately from your mince.Sometimes if you are feeling adventurous you can add carrots and peas to the steak mince during the cooking of the said mince.

Whole onion? As in not sliced or chopped??

And... 3 hours!!! That must really blend the flavours nicely.

I would think the peas would be separate.
Otherwise they'll be nothing but mush
after 3 hours.

 

[franandaj]

Or rather, I pictured something like this:

I thought I quoted the picture, but yes that is what is found in most DVC units.

That is not breakfast in bed.
At least, not for you.

Well if you grow up your entire life being told that a hamburger patty is a steak, and that's all you have had, you don't know any better!

Again... That is not breakfast in bed.

The only effort breakfast in bed
should require,
is lifting up your cutlery
and/or beverage of choice.
Preferably a Mimosa.

Silly! Things like that only happen in the movies! No one in real life does that!

I seldom go to McDonalds.
hmmm.... 2-3 times/year?
so the muffins may be gone.

Unfortunately we go way too often. It's the whole "Fran has a hard time getting out of the car, so we eat at drive throughs". McD's is her favorite since it's cheap. Any time we have to be somewhere relatively early (ie. Saturday band rehearsal) breakfast is courtesy of McD's, but of course it's not on the house!

Never heard of the "Egg White Delight".
Then again, I wouldn't look for it.

It's a diet thing. Only 250 calories. And with all this discussion I got an idea. Order the egg white delight, a sausage patry and put it on the sandwich!

Interesting comment!
That's the one I prefer.

The one with just sausage and cheese between two halves of English Muffin?

Can't you order it without?

That's the one I described as being relatively unsatisfying.

The hash browns

Yes you said they were greasy. As soon as we leave the drive through I put a couple napkins on the arm rest and set the hash brown on it to "degrease". I also salt it while there is still some grease to hold the salt.

Not a fan of hotcakes,
even when they're well made.
I'll eat them...
but prefer other fare.

I like them when I'm in the mode where I don't care about calories and usually prefer them from other establishments.

If I were on vacation,
McDonalds is always a last resort.
"Okay. I haven't eaten in over a day...
I'm starving... ugh... there's a McD's."

That's how I feel most always, but there's the whole "happy wife...." situation. Often times I'll say, "how about the Ham and Cheese Croissant place? I'll even walk in and get them!"

And almost never for lunch or dinner.

For us it's more like a snack off the dollar menu.

But I do love their fries.

Did you know you can order them and say, "please make sure they're hot" and they'll do it. You may wait a little but it's better than soggy ones!

Are those premade packets any good?
I've always shied far away from them.

I did too until my sister served oNE when we were visiting. It was pretty good, so I started trying them at home. They're not as good as mine, but really easy! I just get some of the Lil' Smokies, an apple, some celery and a few musrooms. Chop them all up and voila! Low carb dinner!

I knew at the time
that I wanted a photo
of the Finding Dory shirt
for the TR.

Just curious how far in advance you plan this stuff.

Or freezer burned.
Assuming I had anywhere
near that kind of foresight.

Nah, it would take another couple years for the freezer burn to set in. I'm making a standing rib roast today that was frozen back in Dec '15 and it looks OK still!

So far, not too bad.
Only had those two incidents
that I can recall.

It's not terrorists I'm afraid of. It's supporters of the Orange one who shall not be named!

Maybe you're trying too hard!

Story of my life. Is it wrong that I used Google maps to find each of the potential locations for my guesses?

And maybe you don't have to.
@Steppesister said she would
make you a deal.

Apparently she doesn't want
what I'm possibly (if she wins)
sending her.

She still cares about her figure. I think I saw somewhere that she wants to look good in a bikini this summer. I gave that up 30 years or more ago.

Yes. Sadly, Irvine is out closest location now - we used to love the on in San Clemente as it was less crowded.....well, that's probably why it is not there anymore. I'm happy we are all chatting about fondue - reminds me that I have a $25 off coupon that expires this month.....gotta go.

Irvine is the closest for us too. There is a place in the SF Valley, but that's even farther. With the way our money is going, I better just make some at home.

 

[Mac Brew]

Whole onion? As in not sliced or chopped??

And... 3 hours!!! That must really blend the flavours nicely.

I would think the peas would be separate.
Otherwise they'll be nothing but mush
after 3 hours.

Hi Pkondz
yes one whole onion left whole and normaly three further onions chopped and added at the start of the cooking time. Every one has a different way of cooking mince here it just depends what your preferance is .It may be a surprise but when the carrots and peas are cooked with the mince for the total cooking time they don't turn to mush because of the low cooking temperature that's why it takes so long to cook.It's the cooking smell for so long that builds up your apitight.

 

[mustinjourney]

That sounds so painful! It is making my toes hurt! Not sure why it's my toes. Hope it heals well for you.
Brisket? Are you in Texas?

Yup.
Houston, Tx

 

[afwdwfan]

Other than capacity,
what else did you not like?

Definitely the extra time to do one load of laundry with the same machine.

But also the fact that large appliances made now, pretty much suck. And if you have one machine that has so many moving pieces that does extra things... just seems like a recipe for disaster. I'd rather work on or replace one machine if it craps out on me than have to replace 2 in 1.

 

[Tracy161]

No.
But she got an honorary membership
in the Perturbed Wife Club.

I mean... um,

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

But how was your trip???

Most excellent!
We got to do pretty much everything that was on our list, saw some of the new shows, tried out some new dining options, spent more than I ought on knick-knacks and some excellent booze, saw a couple new Florida sites along the way and generally had a mighty fine time. We missed the grand opening of “Pandora” by one day, but I’m ok with that. It ended up being the madhouse that I suspected it would be and I know us; we’ll be back, so I’ll see it then.

I’d write about it, but truth is I can’t get myself motivated enough to finish the TR I’ve got open and honestly, not that many folks would care all that much. There are many far better (and more reliable) writers around here.

I'm glad to hear that
you've got some good TRs
to take your mind off things.

So... why are you here, then?

Because you foolishly allow me into the club house.
It’s your own fault.

Yup.
Hasn't happened often, luckily.

In the last five-ish years I’ve had credit cards hacked three times and at least two accounts falsely opened on either my or DW’s name. Luckily, it all got caught quickly by either us or the institutions so no major losses incurred yet.

I know that nothing out in cyber-world is completely secure (and never will be) so staying on top of what’s going on and being skeptical of bleeding-edge tech is the only real option.

Nope!
If I write it on a piece of paper,
it's too easy for me to lose it.

With my iPod I always.....



oh.

And there’s the rub.
Now when “they” start integrating electronics directly into our brains at birth, that’s when things will be different. Unless, of course, we forget to make the notes in the first place despite the “onboard” enhancements.


I do feel your pain here though.
I recently misplaced a thumb-drive that had a whole lot of my notes and research on it.
I was smart enough to back it up elsewhere, but…
I hadn’t done so recently.
Needless to say, the bulk of that data is still available but there are a lot of newer bits and general enhancements that I’ve lost.

At least your iPod did turn up.

And I'd be curious to know
which one of us is more...
antiquated.

Being of a 1962 vintage I suspect it’s me.

Pestilence.

If that wasn’t a virtue before, it certainly has come to be seen as one in recent years.

What's the first??

“Kittens” of course.


Feel free to replace that one with whichever euphemism strikes your fancy.
Heck, make a contest of it. There are some clever folk ‘round here.

Funny. About 2 days ago,
Kay asked if I had a copy
of that book.

Imagine my surprise
(horror, really)
when I realized I didn't.

But you’ve since rectified that situation, correct?

Or stupidity.

And at times, there’s not really much difference between the two.

I think most people are decent.

Maybe…
up to a point.

Not really a fan of their
breakfast sammies.

Ahhhh…
None around these parts so I’ll have to trust your experience here.

As soon as I saw it
without the hyphens....


...I filled out the form

“Here’s your sign”…

An old I/T & Tech Support joke, that one.
It often shows up as a resolution code on incident reports explaining the problem that an end-user was having with their computer. Another one is: PEBCAK

Sure.... let's go with that.

It seemed the most acceptable synonym available for the situation at hand.

Colourful! Descriptive!
Entertaining!

Sure.... let's go with that.

Phew! A true fan!!!

Of course “fan” is derived from “fanatic”, so my mental state (or lack thereof) may need to be taken into account here as well.

Oh, that's easy.
The one that's going up.

I have.
Never again.

Felt sick for at least 30 minutes.

Well then I take that back.

I find it interesting how that particular attraction affects so many folk who are normally not bothered by simulators or coasters. I wonder what it is that’s so different about that one.
It might make for some interesting medical research.

It's Canada, not Britain!

I was treating the sidewalk as a road.
In that scenario, he’s in the right place.
He still looks foolish, but he is in the correct “lane”.

If more people would apply road rules to sidewalks, then navigating through crowds would certainly be a lot easier.

Nope!
I ain't gonna risk not
having room for the Keg.

Well... maybe pie...

A good exception, to be sure.
Of course, your car’s trunk works like a cooler, so you could just simply have taken any leftovers along with you and had them as a midnight snack.

Boy the way Glenn Miller played
Songs that made the Hit Parade.

Guys like us we had it made…


And truth be told…
I wouldn’t mind having an old LaSalle
Of course I’d replace the engine and drivetrain, install proper restraints, an aftermarket A/C and a decent sound system, but still…

Come to think of it though, were I do that much renovating to a clunker…
I’d probably start off with a Nomad.

 

[pkondz]

I thought I quoted the picture, but yes that is what is found in most DVC units.

You may have posted...
but it didn't sink in.

Well if you grow up your entire life being told that a hamburger patty is a steak, and that's all you have had, you don't know any better!

Hey! I happen to love hamburger steak!
Especially with gravy. Yum!

Silly! Things like that only happen in the movies! No one in real life does that!

(tbh, it's been a while, though.)

Unfortunately we go way too often. It's the whole "Fran has a hard time getting out of the car, so we eat at drive throughs". McD's is her favorite since it's cheap. Any time we have to be somewhere relatively early (ie. Saturday band rehearsal) breakfast is courtesy of McD's, but of course it's not on the house!

Yeah, I get that.
The convenience factor
is pretty darned high.

It's a diet thing. Only 250 calories. And with all this discussion I got an idea. Order the egg white delight, a sausage patry and put it on the sandwich!

There you go!
I'm here to solve
everyone's problems.

The one with just sausage and cheese between two halves of English Muffin?

Oops! No.
Sausage and Egg McMuffin.

That's the one I described as being relatively unsatisfying.

okay.

Yes you said they were greasy. As soon as we leave the drive through I put a couple napkins on the arm rest and set the hash brown on it to "degrease". I also salt it while there is still some grease to hold the salt.

Ah!
I'll have to try and remember that
and give it a try.

I like them when I'm in the mode where I don't care about calories and usually prefer them from other establishments.

Gotcha.
But if I'm not worrying about calories...
I'll go someplace better.

Hello, eggs benedict!

That's how I feel most always, but there's the whole "happy wife...." situation. Often times I'll say, "how about the Ham and Cheese Croissant place? I'll even walk in and get them!"

Sure!
Oh. Wait.
That wasn't an offer for me, was it.

For us it's more like a snack off the dollar menu.

I get that!
Not my idea of a good dinner.

Did you know you can order them and say, "please make sure they're hot" and they'll do it. You may wait a little but it's better than soggy ones!

I did know that!
Just learned it the other day.

I did too until my sister served oNE when we were visiting. It was pretty good, so I started trying them at home. They're not as good as mine, but really easy! I just get some of the Lil' Smokies, an apple, some celery and a few musrooms. Chop them all up and voila! Low carb dinner!

Not bad!
I'll have to try it then.

Do you put it in a fondue pot?
Or just a regular one?

Just curious how far in advance you plan this stuff.

I'm always thinking of the TR
when I'm on trips.

Nah, it would take another couple years for the freezer burn to set in. I'm making a standing rib roast today that was frozen back in Dec '15 and it looks OK still!

Yeah, but that's because you plan better.
If I freeze something,
there's a good chance it will sit there....
Forever.

It's not terrorists I'm afraid of. It's supporters of the Orange one who shall not be named!

Story of my life. Is it wrong that I used Google maps to find each of the potential locations for my guesses?

Nope! I expected it!

She still cares about her figure. I think I saw somewhere that she wants to look good in a bikini this summer. I gave that up 30 years or more ago.

I did see that post.
I too am never again
going to wear a bikini.