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

[NYCgrrl]

Tonight's dinner was cornmeal batter dipped sweetbreads with lots of lemon and capers as a main under a bed of salad greens. Dessert was the ever popular poached pears this time with a spiced lemon sugar syrup and vanilla ice cream. I told DGD there was two more nights of the dessert to go and she seemed happy at the thought. Going to look if there is ingredients to make a small spice cake to go with it by Friday at least.

Question of the day 4/27: Are you an outdoor person?

Do you like to hike or walk on trails? Are you out wandering on a bicycle? Sleep under the stars?
I'm a lazy out door person. I love to sit out on the deck and just be. I can hike but it's not up or down the Grand Canyon although I hiked my fat behind out of Carlsbad Caverns! I don't recommend it. I love to go out and see. I love National Parks and hope to hit new one this summer. I asked my husband what he thought about us camping. He started laughing..that's fair. Maybe we can just rent a cabin..

Wuvvvvvv the great outdoors and will travel near or far to enjoy it. After my divorce, I hiked part of the Appalachian Trail; it was mind saving. Have enjoyed various forms of camping for much of my adult life: bicycle camping throughout Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard; car base camping on the shores of Long Island Sound, summers of tent camping at state parks to lower living costs in college, caravaning in parts of Europe, lean-tos within the Adirondacks. Enjoyed every experience and wish it would go on forever. Still want to visit the American West but time will tell.

 

[Nox]

I like the outdoors.

The outdoors doesn't like me.

I don't care if I bath in 90% DEET, every mosquito in a 387 mile radius is going to find me and bite me.

 

[lynxstch]

I am not at all an outdoor person. I burn easily...I've had 6 2nd-degree sunburns, one even while wearing SPF 50 sunscreen. I hate bugs. I hate dirt. I hate sweating. I have raging year-round allergies. And I am NOT at all interested in camping.

That said, I go outside with my son every single day that the weather is agreeable. I do like to take photos of pretty flowers, sometimes we'll see something interesting...even the clouds can be beautiful. I'm not a fan of the woods or plain old hiking trails, but I like nice landscaped parks - like we have Forest Park in Springfield, MA. I like playing mini golf and that's outdoors. I don't like going to the playground with my son because even if there are other kids around, he wants me to play with him. I'll do it for him, though - and frankly, I'm the only mom who gets up there on the playscapes with my kid, while the other 20-something moms sit on the benches and play with their phones.

I've thought about taking up geocaching. That would get me outside and there would actually be something to do.

Hey apirateslifeforme..you are from my " old neck of the woods"! I was born in Holyoke, grew up in Agawam, and then lived in Chicopee for a lot of years. Used to go to Forest Park all the time when younger.!Back when they still had the monkey house, the polar bears, etc. I assume those are all long since gone? It used to be a really nice place to wander around!
I am outdoors person as far as loving to be outdoors. Used to go camping a lot in my younger days, but old age and a stiff back prohibit that anymore. Never was much of a hiker. I love to sit out back and watch the birds, take care of our garden, and take short walks around the neighborhood. Not a big fan of bugs though, and I don't have allergies to bother me.

Grateful that we are getting some Spring rains, but bet we get no rain in the Summer when we need it.
Grateful that noone I know is sick, and that everyone is trying to remain in good spirits
Grateful that I got the house cleaned today, and was able to take a long relaxing hot bath, while hubby was on a 2 hour phone meeting with work .

 

[HeatherC]

I love being outdoors. It is what calms and grounds me. My favorite place to be outdoors is at the beach. I automatically feel the stress diminish with the sound of waves and salt air. I also love the mountains and hiking and hearing the trees blow in the breeze and seeing the squirrels and chipmunks leap from tree to tree and hearing the birds chirping.

I live in New England, so we don’t have great weather all year, but I still get out in it almost every day.

Spring is wet and muddy and rainy right now, but I am still getting outside every day for walks and hiking a lot with my two daughters who are home now because of quarantine and my husband who is working mostly from home.

I think part of why I love being outside is that there are no technological distractions. No tv. No phones ringing, etc..
I think my brain needs that break for even a little time each day. I’m much happier on the days I spend outside.

 

[hereyago]

I like selective outdoors:
I don't mind walking the nearby parks nature trail.

I'd rather be in water (preferably that I can see through) but I can't sunbathe on the beach. I can't stand that.

Camping: forget about it.

 

[easyas123]

Dinner tonight was Chicken Salad casserole.

I've never heard of this!? Can you tell us more about it? I haven't had good chicken salad in a long time....

We are outdoors type people, although not campers. When kids were little we camped for several years, kicked around getting a camper but never took the leap, which was a good thing. Camping never really was for us - We will gladly rough it on a boat for 10 days though!

 

[lynxstch]

Meriweather--Would you please share your chicken salad casserole dinner..I have never heard of it either, but it sounds interesting. TIA~

 

[monkeydawn]

I like the outdoors but my knees and ankles appreciate a nice solid, even pavement to walk on. At the beach I stick to the wetted down sand for walking longer distances. Even for bike riding I prefer my cruiser to my mountain bike. But I am outside almost every day year round here, either gardening, walking or biking. We also just go outside to sit and enjoy too.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Hey apirateslifeforme..you are from my " old neck of the woods"! I was born in Holyoke, grew up in Agawam, and then lived in Chicopee for a lot of years. Used to go to Forest Park all the time when younger.!Back when they still had the monkey house, the polar bears, etc. I assume those are all long since gone? It used to be a really nice place to wander around!

YES! I live just over the border in CT. DH is from Ludlow; when we met, he had a condo in Agawam and we lived there for 3 years before moving back to my childhood home in CT. In Agawam, we lived about halfway between the Big E and Six Flags (which pales in comparison to RIVERSIDE PARK!). I spent a lot of time in my youth at Riverside...

I don't think the monkey house and polar bears are at Forest Park anymore, I haven't heard anything about them, but people rave over the zoo. We've been wanting to take DS but of course they're closed right now. We took him to Forest Park last year in an attempt to get birthday photos. He liked the mausoleum area with the sphinxes...

 

[Pea-n-Me]

What a handsome young man @apirateslifeforme !

 

[lynxstch]

YES! I live just over the border in CT. DH is from Ludlow; when we met, he had a condo in Agawam and we lived there for 3 years before moving back to my childhood home in CT.

. I spent a lot of time in my youth at Riverside...

I don't think the monkey house and polar bears are at Forest Park anymore, I haven't heard anything about them, but people rave over the zoo. We've been wanting to take DS but of course they're closed right now. We took him to Forest Park last year in an attempt to get birthday photos. He liked the mausoleum area with the sphinxes...

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We lived off River Road, which was maybe a mile or so from Riverside Park. There used to be a roller skating rink just outside the park. That was my home away from home in my early teenage years. I took lessons there, skated in competitions, and spent most of my time there. I might give away my age on this one, but I remember going to Riverside Park and seeing Bobby Sherman,David Cassidy, a VERY young Donny Osmond , The Grass Roots, and the Monkees in concert there, lol! I have heard that Six Flags is really lame! Riverside Park was so much fun when I was younger! I love that picture of your son..so cute!

 

[mrodgers]

I rode 580 miles on a bicycle fully self supported camping for 11 days. Yes, I'm an outdoors person. I bicycle, tour on the bicycle, camp, and ride a motorcycle. Can't do any of that indoors, but I can do all of it by myself.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Just getting caught up.

Yesterday was laundry day but I enjoy doing laundry. I can see what I've done. Dinner was steamed shrimp, baked potato, and salad. Used the last of the lettuce so no more salad for a while.

On the good news front, DD had an ultrasound this morning. Baby is 7 lb 11 oz. He/she will be here in 3 weeks or less. All is well.

Question of the day 4/27: Are you an outdoor person?

Definitely an outdoors person. We are lucky to live 4 miles from a large state natural resource area with miles of trails. We have been going there often. DH and I like to bike ride. I like flat rides and we are near a canal and not too far from the ocean so ride at both of those places. Unfortunately both are in DE and we are in MD so not really supposed to go right now. I just got a tune up and new gears on my bike and really want to ride.
Given the choice of a museum inside or national park outside, I'll take the park every time. Our last over night trip was two nights on Skyline Drive. Stayed in the rustic lodge there with beautiful views. Lots of hikes. Last time I tent camped was when DD was a Girl Scout in 8th grade. I do NOT see that in my future. I'll take the rustic lodge or cabin.
And the ocean. I need to see the ocean. Again, we are fortunate to be only 2 hours drive away. Thankfully we went there for my birthday lunch in February or I would be in withdrawal. All going well we will be at the Outer Banks in August along with DD, SIL, DGD, and new grandbaby.

Gratitudes:
Good night sleep last night after a wakeful night the night before.
New grandbaby healthy and growing.
Spoke on the phone last night to a church friend.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I love being outdoors! At home we have a screened porch which is my little hideaway. I can have coffee or wine out there, visit with friends, or may take a little nap, etc. We also have a front porch and back deck, and a pool and large fenced yard, so we have a lot of usable outdoor space, especially in the warm weather, which we're headed into soon, thankfully.

I also love all the things mentioned, biking, skating, volleyball or whiffleball, swimming, etc. I love hikes in the woods and went a lot with my German Shepherds. But not as much anymore since I have a little dog now and coyotes are bad around here (known to attack and eviscerate dogs and cats). I would not want anything to happen to him. Instead we'll walk the beach or other local spots that aren't in the woods. Dogs get you out a lot!

Have never been big into camping but I've enjoyed it the times we have gone. DH prefers better accommodations, lol. Family has a big house and a condo where we go so it's not necessary to camp. I would love RV living I think if we could someday travel with the dog to see some places we've never been. That is a retirement dream. We wouldn't even need a very big RV, we're pretty simple people.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Tonight's dinner , lean-tos within the Adirondacks. Enjoyed every experience and wish it would go on forever. Still want to visit the American West but time will tell.

I was hiking with a novice in the adirondacks....the lean-tos made him feel safe at night as we were least likely to be tonight's dinner by a black bear...the bear seaon was a few weeks away.

adiondacks are the worst experince i hav ever had in my hiking experinec ( by Lake Placid.) The trails were dried creek beds and platforms around the 1980s acid lakes. Squirrels were horrible.

My suggestion is to not go west, for you will never hike eastern trails again, best to think that where you ar at is paradise.

 

[chickapin parterre]

Spent my entire life in the outdoors, walking a mile home very day from the bus stop in the creosote desert of the California Mohave, hiking the cascades and Sawtooths of the west, exploring the canyon of the Colorado river, Oregon beaches are for hiking and not sun bathing, catching lizards in the breaks of the umqua river system....and just last week, after spending a morning in prayer in the clear cut of an asphalt plant in the desert next to my home, on a tall compacted peak of cast off sand, I descended back home to only find a 5 foot Sonoran Gopher snake draped across the dune buggy road, his tail on one side of the road, his head on the other. gorgeous snake, camouflaged a variety of colors, but due to cancer surgery the next day, I choose not to provoke the docile snake....only to find out this morning after my first time at the desk since cancer removal, that the "Sonoran Gopher snake is very aggressive, will bite you, will raise up like a cobra and rattle its tail....warning you...if you thought a rattlesnake is tough, just wait till you mess with me.....that is why they are the number one predator of rattle snakes, their long bodies constricting the snake and no roadrunner or hawk will want to mess with them.....which explains why he was so California beach like on the road...digest the two meals I could see bulging in his belly.... he turned back into the creosote tree base and vanished!!!! his colors and markings just like the tree....which caused to pause....how many times Have I walked by that snake on the way to prayer in the desert

 

[Meriweather]

I've never heard of this!? Can you tell us more about it? I haven't had good chicken salad in a long time....

It's just cooked chicken, bell pepper, celery, green onions, cream of mushroom soup, cheese (I used mozzarella last night), pepper, a little lemon juice. Mix it all. Put in casserole dish. Cover with sliced almonds. Bake until hot.

 

[easyas123]

Thanks Meriweather!

 

[apirateslifeforme]

What a handsome young man @apirateslifeforme !

Thank you! Unfortunately, he knows it...when he's doing something he shouldn't, he smiles sweetly, tilts his head, and says, "I'm cuuuuuute!"

We lived off River Road, which was maybe a mile or so from Riverside Park. There used to be a roller skating rink just outside the park. That was my home away from home in my early teenage years. I took lessons there, skated in competitions, and spent most of my time there. I might give away my age on this one, but I remember going to Riverside Park and seeing Bobby Sherman,David Cassidy, a VERY young Donny Osmond , The Grass Roots, and the Monkees in concert there, lol! I have heard that Six Flags is really lame! Riverside Park was so much fun when I was younger! I love that picture of your son..so cute!

Oh yes, I know River Road! And the roller rink...the Rollaway? That was where I had my first roller skating lessons when I was about 3-4 years old. Now it's the Six Flags Human Resources offices...

 

[HeatherC]

I love being outdoors! At home we have a screened porch which is my little hideaway. I can have coffee or wine out there, visit with friends, or may take a little nap, etc. We also have a front porch and back deck, and a pool and large fenced yard, so we have a lot of usable outdoor space, especially in the warm weather, which we're headed into soon, thankfully.

I also love all the things mentioned, biking, skating, volleyball or whiffleball, swimming, etc. I love hikes in the woods and went a lot with my German Shepherds. But not as much anymore since I have a little dog now and coyotes are bad around here (known to attack and eviscerate dogs and cats). I would not want anything to happen to him. Instead we'll walk the beach or other local spots that aren't in the woods. Dogs get you out a lot!

Have never been big into camping but I've enjoyed it the times we have gone. DH prefers better accommodations, lol. Family has a big house and a condo where we go so it's not necessary to camp. I would love RV living I think if we could someday travel with the dog to see some places we've never been. That is a retirement dream. We wouldn't even need a very big RV, we're pretty simple people.

I am so jealous! I so want an screened porch! One of these days. Have a glass of wine for me in it!