Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[lynxstch]

Good morning everyone...
@easyas123 Please be extra careful at your 'thing' tonite. Would hate to see you or anyone else get sick from attending. Such 'things' are kind of being frowned on around here at all. Rather be safe than sorry myself!

It was another 32 degree morning, sun and mid 60's this afternoon

Hubby gets to listen in on a phone interview with the 2 applicants for his manager's job. One is from in house, one is from another agency. They usually hire in house first, and that woman has much more experience working with this company that the other one, so should be interesting , I will listen in also, lol

This afternoon the insurance broker will call back, and hopefully the website she needs to access to enroll us is working. Nice time for any insurance website to be down, when people only have till Dec 7 to enroll or change!

I just finished vacuuming the whole house, later when it warms up I have to go outside and change a set of lights that goes around the garland on the porch railing and steps. There are lights out, and I am not bothering to try and play with bulbs to see which one is the culprit, I bought a new set last weekend and will just replace the whole set.

Dinner was chic-a-filet last nite. We do not get it from there often, but they just remodeled the closest one to us, and had a 30 nuggets Thursday promotion. (you get 2 large waffle fries free). We went at 4:30 to get there before dark, and before the 'dinner rush'..we were the only ones there, lol. Took all of 5 min to drive thru, place order, pay, and pick it up. They were very good, but way too much food for 2 people. Have enough for another dinner for both of us, loll His turn to pick tonite, maybe by 2 pm he will decide?

Have a great Friday everyone!


Have a great Friday everyone

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning.

DD said that her husband was getting take home tests for them for next week. When I asked her about that, apparently he was getting them from the school where he teaches.

Thought I’d post two pictures from our trip to Ronny‘s.

Out in front of the store with DH.

I was taking pictures and texting to DD who wanted garland but this shows some of the store and looks Christmasy.

 

[easyas123]

@easyas123 Please be extra careful at your 'thing' tonite

Oh we will - it's at a winery that has to practice all the same social distancing/mask wearing/ reduced capacity as all restaurants in area are. Being that it's a winery and we own a vineyard it's a bit of a work thing as well.

 

[easyas123]

QOTD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?

I thought I'd pose this question for fun - I usually stuff the turkey* but this year we are frying our turkey ** and I'll be baking the stuffing. I don't plan on making it any different, I'll just put in a casserole & bake. I've done this before and had not issues but I've been reading thru some recipes that call for mixing a egg or two into it and baking. Anyone else do this and care to offer any suggestions to me if I should give that a try? My stuffing usually consists of cubed bread, butter, celery, onion, mushrooms and sometimes dried cranberries...pretty basic.




*yes, I know but I haven't killed anyone yet and it's how we prefer it
**yup, know all that, too

 

[easyas123]

Good morning.

DD said that her husband was getting take home tests for them for next week. When I asked her about that, apparently he was getting them from the school where he teaches.

Thought I’d post two pictures from our trip to Ronny‘s.
View attachment 539374
Out in front of the store with DH.
View attachment 539375
I was taking pictures and texting to DD who wanted garland but this shows some of the store and looks Christmasy.

Every year my husband wants to buy a giant nutcracker like that, and I have to talk him out of it!

 

[lynxstch]

QOTD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?

I make 2 kinds..first is Pepperide Farm..the only kind hubby likes. I just make it in a saucepan, and then put it in a casserole and add it to the oven the last half hour of the turkey baking.

The second one I make ,is what my great grandmother used to call 'French stuffing/dressing" -- its more like a meat pie filling. Brown ground beef, ground pork, onions, celery. Drain well. Make mashed potatoes. Add meat to potatoes , add some chicken broth and Bells Seasoning, mix well and heat in a casserole, just like I do with the Pepperidge Farm one. It's my favorite after the holiday meal. That stuffing on buttered white bread with a slice of 2 of cranberry sauce on it. And that reminds me, I need to add ground beef and ground pork to my shopping list for tomorrow!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good Morning Dis Family,

Thank you for posting love and prayer extra to Tina, Pea! She has been missing for a long time now. Tina and

Nice to "see" you and your DH Carol, thanks for posting that picture!

AuntieMe3, I have enjoyed watching Long Lost Family on TLC. I was not adopted nor do I (think) I know anyone who directly who was. It's just interesting and a Blessing to see people who want to be reunited get to be so.

Thanks, Luckyrabbit for the dental information! That does make perfect sense that an elective (usually) cosmetic procedure such as extra teeth whitening would not be allowed whereas a routine cleaning would be. I'll let all of you what happens.

Keep warm and safe everyone please.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Hubby got a call this morning from his Drs office about something unrelated to our tests but he asked if they had the results for both of us, the nurse looked them up....thankfully we're negative. Still no symptoms and we'll test again next week just to be sure. Hubby sent a text to DD to let her know...I took a screen shot to share... These two crack me up. Like I said before, she likes to stay in her room.

Tests seem to be in the price range of $100-$150, and I'm not sure if that cost includes the lab costs as well, or is just the test itself.

When I was reading about local testing, outside our insurance, most places said the county would be billed for $250 to cover the test if no insurance was provided and that included results.

We've got a 'thing' this evening, it's 2 hours away. Trying to look forward to it, and normally I would. But driving 2 hours each way on a Friday afternoon/night down roads surrounded by fields in the middle of the rut when I'd rather be at home having a glass of wine in front of the fireplace w/ the mutts sounds better to me right now. We'll go, we will have fun, we will be tired when we get home!

Have fun and be safe, especially on your long drove both ways. Make sure you take a picture of the sloths to share with us. LOL

Good morning.

DD said that her husband was getting take home tests for them for next week. When I asked her about that, apparently he was getting them from the school where he teaches.

Thought I’d post two pictures from our trip to Ronny‘s.
View attachment 539374
Out in front of the store with DH.
View attachment 539375
I was taking pictures and texting to DD who wanted garland but this shows some of the store and looks Christmasy.

I would love to go to that kind of place....we have nothing like that around here, that I know of. When I was younger, there used to be a huge Christmas store down near my grandma's and we would go every year. I loved it....we would get a personalized ornament but I really just loved looking at all the decorations. It was in LA so once we saw Robin Williams in there and Arnold Schwarzenegger another time.

QOTD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?

I thought I'd pose this question for fun - I usually stuff the turkey* but this year we are frying our turkey ** and I'll be baking the stuffing. I don't plan on making it any different, I'll just put in a casserole & bake. I've done this before and had not issues but I've been reading thru some recipes that call for mixing a egg or two into it and baking. Anyone else do this and care to offer any suggestions to me if I should give that a try? My stuffing usually consists of cubed bread, butter, celery, onion, mushrooms and sometimes dried cranberries...pretty basic.




*yes, I know but I haven't killed anyone yet and it's how we prefer it
**yup, know all that, too

I always make my stuffing like a casserole but no egg like I always see in recipes too. I usually use Mrs Cubbisons for cubed bread, I use the corn bread one. First I fry some bacon, then in the bacon grease I add butter to saute onions and celery, throw in some chopped mushrooms. When thats done, I mix it in a large bowl with the cornbread and add chicken broth to make it moist. Then I chop up that bacon I used to make the grease and mix that in. I think I usually cook it at 350° for about 20 minutes covered and then uncover for about 10 minutes. Mmm...its soo good. I can't wait to eat it next week.

The last time I had a stuffed turkey I ended up with food poisoning. I blame my mom but its a funny story we remember every year. It was my first Thanksgiving married, my mom worked in a restaurant at the time and was going to work that Thanksgiving. She asked if I wanted to pick up my sister to spend the holiday with us and she would make the turkey for us, we would just have to warm it up when we got home. I also had to work that day so I picked her up the day before and putpe everything in the fridge when we got home. I worked at a drug store at that time and worked a couple hours that morning. Hubby was in the Marines at the time so he invited some guys that didn't have anywhere else to go and they got everything ready while I was at work. We all ate when I got home...after we ate, I realized they forgot to take out the stuffing and since it was my favorite I had to have some and was the only one ate it. A couple hours later I was soo sick...I almost barked on someone coming out of our only bathroom. After being sick all night, hubby decided to take me to the ER. They did some labs and the Dr ended up coming in saying "you're positive", Hubby said "so she does have food poisoning?" And the Dr said, "well yes but you're also pregnant." Which was a shocker because I had been on BC at the time.... We still joke about the stuffing getting me pregnant.

Every year my husband wants to buy a giant nutcracker like that, and I have to talk him out of it!

Our neighbors have two that stand beside their front door. LoL I think they have lights on them too.

The second one I make ,is what my great grandmother used to call 'French stuffing/dressing" -- its more like a meat pie filling. Brown ground beef, ground pork, onions, celery. Drain well. Make mashed potatoes. Add meat to potatoes , add some chicken broth and Bells Seasoning, mix well and heat in a casserole, just like I do with the Pepperidge Farm one. It's my favorite after the holiday meal. That stuffing on buttered white bread with a slice of 2 of cranberry sauce on it. And that reminds me, I need to add ground beef and ground pork to my shopping list for tomorrow!

This sounds delicious. I'm going to have to try it sometime.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Slipping thread!

AuntieMe3, many prayers all of you are negative! Thanks for the laugh on the text!

QOTD: I'm not a stuffing person so no answer lol.

I watched the rest of Deliver by Christmas this morning. It was all right, nothing great. I'm recording tonight Christmas at the Plaza which I remember watching some of last year. Tomorrow night The Angel Tree is premiering. That looks good will DVR that as well.

Friday to all.

 

[Snowysmom]

TD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?
I make Pepperidge Farm stuffing and add chopped onion and celery. Then I bake like a casserole. Younger DS makes a great stuffing with challah bread and chicken sausage.

We did more shopping this morning, this time at Walmart. I also did some on Amazon. The grandkids are done! Now to work on the kids.

Jasper did well at his vet appointment. The pneumonia is gone but he does have chronic bronchitis. He is now on 3 meds, a bronchodilator, cough suppressant, and inhaler. This is to start. The vet thinks Jasper can eventually stop the cough suppressant once the other 2 meds work and even those may be able to go to every other day. The inhaler is crazy expensive so I used one of the discount websites to get a coupon. $58 a month just for the inhaler med. I told DH no more wine at dinner when we eat out. That money goes to the dog's meds! We will buy a bottle of wine at the store and have a glass at home. They had to sedate him to take the xrays this time. Shows he must be feeling better as he was feisty. He was very loopy. He also did not cough at all until this morning, probably because the sedation wore off fully.

I am sorry to hear about the covid death. It is so tragic.

Yesterday it was 14 degrees in the morning at 6 am. It did not get out of the 30s all day. Today it is 60. Crazy weather.

Happy Friday.

 

[lynxstch]

The insurance broker managed to get both of our Part D's electronically submitted, and we have confirmation on both. She attempted to do both Part N's, but said the Aetna website is still throwing fits for her today. She said she had to call the help desk, and rather than have us sit here and wait, she'd call us back. It's been over an hour, so I don't know if she had any luck, or if she's going to call and say she will have to call us on Monday and then try again. We wanted this all done and taken care of so we didn't have to think or worry about it all weekend, but it's not looking so promising right now
On the positive side, we have beautiful sunshine and the temp is up to 73!

Update:--I find it a little annoying (and rude) that the broker never did call back. She should have called and said she got no help from the help desk, or had to try again Monday, or that she would call us Monday and let us know what was going on, but nothing!
Have a nice evening everyone,,it's still 66 and warm outside here!

 

[apirateslifeforme]

I thought for sure I'd be able to post yesterday. I had no intention of going to Josh's gymnastics class, as only one parent can go in and I thought it was too cold to sit in the car, but we had a long enough drive with the heat on that I was able to survive sitting out there. I was going to post during that 50 minutes but ended up in a texting session with my SIL

So I'm thinking of the genealogy and that's something I'm really into, but unfortunately I've hit the wall. Many, many years ago, my grandfather's cousin was able to research back to Germany in the 1830s, on my grandfather's mother's side. I can't find anything regarding my grandfather's father, as he left his family and "disappeared." I don't even know if the name I have for him is correct. On my grandmother's side, we lose the trail with my great-great grandparents from Scotland, and I haven't been able to find anything further back than my grandmother's father's parents. Then on my father's side...I know my father's father's parents came from Hungary (and possibly Romania). And that's where I hit the wall...apparently my great-great-grandmother came with them, but in the census records, for some reason her maiden name is reported as her husband's first name. I have a possible birth year for her, but apparently back then in Hungary they didn't do birth certificates, they did baptisms instead. Do you know how many Maries were baptized in Hungary in the last quarter of the 1800s? I gave up after skimming about a thousand... Then on my father's mother's side, her mother only exists in census records. Absolutely no other information about her. No birth record, death record, marriage, etc. So I'm kind of stuck where I am.

Of course, then I went and had my DNA done. My various ancestors come from England, Scotland, Germany, and Hungary (mostly). Come to find out that I'm almost 60% Scandinavian. Very small bit of German and Hungarian in there. Guess it makes sense, with all those Vikings invading Britain way back when...

Well, I saw a lot more homes decorated for Christmas over the past few days. Several with visible Christmas trees in the windows. Josh has been asking to listen to TSO and his favorite song is Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24. I told him about when he was a little newborn baby, barely a month old, I started playing that song for him in the hopes that he would like it - and it looks like it worked! Interestingly, when I was pregnant with him, I listed to Bohemian Rhapsody and You Give Love a Bad Name quite a bit, and now BR is his favorite song and Queen and Bon Jovi are two of his favorite bands...

Supposed to be a relatively nice weekend coming up. I'm going to attempt to take Josh's Christmas photos.

QOTD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?

My mother used to make it from scratch - 3 loaves of torn-up white stuffing bread (I loved to help tear it!), melted sticks of butter, small cubed potatoes, eggs, and poultry seasoning all mashed up. No recipe, she would just continue melting those sticks of butter and adding poultry seasoning until it tasted right. But a few years ago, when we started attending the gathering with DH's family and we had to make stuffing for 25 people, she bought some Bell's stuffing mix. My SIL's partner and my BIL went nuts for it! So now we do Bell's every year. My mom adds chicken broth, minced celery, and finely crumbled pork sausage. I can't remember if it was last year or the year before, but during the dinner, I was sitting next to my BIL (Al) and SIL's partner (Bill) was across from him. Al went to the buffet for seconds and came back with his plate piled with stuffing. Bill eyeballed his plate so hard as he sat back down and told him that he better not have taken the last of the stuffing. I thought we were going to have a (good-natured) fight right there. Luckily Mom always makes 2 pans, so there was more than enough to go around. (You'd really have to have been there to see that it really was funny. Bill gets these awesome expressions on his face sometimes - he tries to act like he's mad, but he's really just giving you a good-natured ribbing )

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Yay Jasper. Continued feel better prayers to him, Snowysmom! Coughing is no fun for any of us that is for sure!

I'm sorry, Lynxstch You and your DH sure have been through the wringer with getting health care policies settled.

Apirateslifeforme, that is so cool about Josh and music you played for him both in utero and as a newborn! I have heard even little babies enjoy being read to. Now, I also know music can be carried forth as a child ages

This pandemic just seems to get more of a mess Dad said Ralph's was well cleaned out in the paper goods aisle+was packed in general. He did get 10 cans of Campbell's soup for $10! Actually $9 because we had a $1 off coupon on 4 cans. Sadly time to check the stockpile. LA is on Safer at Home. There may be more restrictions to come over the weekend. Keeping all of you, my Dis Family, in extra prayer. Please stay safe and know I and all of us here care as well!

 

[apirateslifeforme]

We just got the call (and text, and message on the public schools webpage, and email...) that we are now full remote from now through Friday, December 4th, hoping to return to hybrid on the 7th. They say it's not because of actual virus cases in the schools, but due to "extreme stress of staffing the buildings"/"lack of adult supervision." I get it, I really do...it only takes 1 exposed kid to cause the quarantine of an entire classroom of kids, 1 or 2 teachers, a bus driver, and any other adult that he/she comes in contact with...but I also felt a huge weight come slamming down on my shoulders. I'm going to end up raiding DH's blood pressure meds soon.

I'm starting to change my stance on the COVID vaccine as well. I was leery of getting it when it first comes out, but I'm feeling a bit better about it. I've been reading reports from people who volunteered for trials and I haven't read any reports of side effects, other than sore arms after the second dose. But I don't fit the criteria for those who will be first in line for it anyway - my mom is one of those people (and she says "No way am I lining up right away!" ).

 

[Breezy_Carol]

You all are a talkative bunch.

It was so nice today we went for a 3 mile walk in Fair Hill. Saw a deer and ran into a friend from church who was out riding her bike. Had a nice chat for 5 minutes.

As far as the cost of COVID testing, we have been going to the free test in neighboring Delaware. They don't even ask for insurance info.

A friend I made here on the DIS was actually involved in the testing of the Pfizer vaccine. I will be ready to get it when it is available to me.

QOTD: Thanksgiving Stuffing (or dressing) - how do you do yours?
Is there a difference?

I make 2 kinds..first is Pepperide Farm..the only kind hubby likes. I just make it in a saucepan, and then put it in a casserole and add it to the oven the last half hour of the turkey baking.

I make Pepperidge Farm stuffing and add chopped onion and celery. Then I bake like a casserole.

I also make Pepperidge Farm stuffing. I just use water or broth and the butter the way the side of the bag says. I don't add onion or celery because the kids didn't like it. And it gets cooked in a casserole dish in the oven, not in the bird.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hugs, apirateslifeforme. I'm sorry. I pray perhaps your mom and/or DH will offer some Josh help. I also still think the school needs to change their online ways---too much for 5 year olds and their parents!

Carol, I'm glad you got to chat with a friend. Awesome you saw a deer as well.

Have a good evening all!

 

[easyas123]

I'm starting to change my stance on the COVID vaccine as well. I was leery of getting it when it first comes out, but I'm feeling a bit better about it. I've been reading reports from people who volunteered for trials and I haven't read any reports of side effects, other than sore arms after the second dose. But I don't fit the criteria for those who will be first in line for it anyway - my mom is one of those people (and she says "No way am I lining up right away!" ).

I'm starting to feel exactly the same way myself. At first I was hesitant...and I'm normally very pro vaccine. I don't think I'm going to qualify for the first or second wave of it, but I'll be waiting my turn when it is my turn. Youngest & my SIL will both be considered front line workers to get it first, so glad I'll have their experience to learn from.

we have been going to the free test in neighboring Delaware.

I keep thinking about this - but honestly, when I got the test in early spring it was the deep nasal swab one and I swear I can STILL feel it, it was a feeling unlike anything else I've ever felt. Not great at.all. I'd like to test before seeing my folks, if that chance arises, but boy the memory of that test...do they do the deep nasal swabs, or the not so deep nasal or throat swabs? How long did it take you to get your results back? Discomfort won't keep me from getting it, but I'm uptight about at least knowing what I'm headed for!

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

My Dressing (not stuffing because I don't stuff the birds)

Night before: make 3-4 boxes (or more if I'm feeding a lot) of Jiffy cornbread, adding salt, pepper, sage, thyme and ground rosemary to the batter. Let it overnight.

Crumble cornbread.

Cook 1 tube Jimmy Dean Pork Sage Sausage in a little bit of butter; add to cornbread. In drippings, saute onion until slightly tender; add diced celery, do a quick saute. Add sage, salt, pepper, thyme, and ground rosemary. Add more butter (just to melt it--usually a total of 2 sticks here). Add to cornbread. Add either chicken stock or turkey stock to moisten. Cover, bake until done (uncover about 15-20 minutes before done, to let top get crispy.

sometimes if I'm making a small batch (by cooking the sausage/onion/celery and freezing half of it, and making less cornbread), I'll make it in muffin tins to get more crispy bits.

--------------------------
DS got pretty sick a couple of weeks ago, and I ended up taking him to the ER (dehydrating, severe stomach pain). The ER did a flu nasal swab on him (and he said it was as bad as the nurse trying to stick him for an i.v. (first one of those too). I told him he wouldn't like the COVID one, as it goes deeper, and he said he was good with just the flu swab. All his labs came back fine, and no fever, so they said it was probably a case of food poisoning. No more food from the Chinese take out place by us. We ate there 3 days before he got sick, and that was the only time he ate food different from us for a week or so before the incident; odds are it was from there. Bad orange chicken or fried rice.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning everyone. Our Indian Summer weather comes to an end today , will only be mid 50's. I am off to do a few errands and try to fight the crowds at Walmart. Hoping they aren't packed and have people waiting outside in lines, since they are back to 50% capacity.

@Bianca and Bernard I never heard of food poisoning taking place so long after eating? The one and only time I ever got it, I had it within 2 hours of eating. But glad that you got him to the ER and got him some help.

Have a great Saturday everyone--Only 5 more days till Thanksgiving!

 

[easyas123]

My Dressing

Thank you - and everyone else - for your stuffing/dressing recommendations and tips!

I've never tried the cornbread type of stuffing, but perhaps as this year is the year of the 'small dish of...'I might make two types! I think my husband would love it.