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

[Snowysmom]

Lynn Glad you are feeling back to normal now.

Good morning. It is 49 degrees here and cloudy. Some rain coming in then sunny later, highs around 65.

Now I am off to make coffee and get ready for work.

Have a good day!

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning..the smilies are back! That was a happy surprise this morning @theluckyrabbit--thanks for the post about it!
Here's a surprise,,it's raining, again. Started last nite, stopped around 3. Sprinkling now, and supposed to be 70 with a chance of rain all day. It will be 80 tomorrow! Glad I got all the yardwork done. Think I started something. After I mowed mine, 4 other neighbors dragged their mowers out, lol. The guy next to me, the guy 2 houses over, the guy behind me, and the lady next to him. Only ones who haven't are the pain neighbor next door (the other side), and the guy who has a lawn service..they are late this year!

I was undecided about what to make for Easter dessert. I thought carrot cake,,then I thought Blondies..but we decided on Pig Pickin' Cake. It's tasty, it's Springy, and it's easy to make.

Off to make grocery list for tomorrow, gather trash, and I plan to relax today, now that yardwork is done. More spring cleaning can wait till Thurs and Fri when I have to clean the house for Easter company anyhow

Have a great Tuesday (Mona ,thanks for the card!)

 

[PollyannaMom]

Yeah for the return of smilies!!

 

[easyas123]

Pig Pickin' Cake. It's tasty, it's Springy, and it's easy to make.

I’ve never heard of that, I had to look it up! Looks good/

Figured out where to find these after I read that they had been reinstated, have a good day everyone!

 

[footballmouse]

Happy Tuesday!

Would have liked to have cut the grass yesterday but it rained so that was a no-go. Maybe tomorrow.

Watched the CMT awards last night. Didn't really hold my interest, too much talking from the hosts (who were trying to be funny and weren't). Little confused as to why people choose to wear the outfits they do. Just not flattering.

Reds opening game today, yay! Cincinnati takes their baseball very seriously on opening day. Downtown streets shut down for a big parade, the streets around the stadium are blocked off for pre-game festivities

Kids finally decided on what they wanted to do for Easter. We're going to a brunch at 10:00 (so really a breakfast) at a golf club. Should be nice, hopefully they know that I'm not paying for everyone. That's just so awkward to tell people. Anyway, we're finally going to meet Ds3's girlfriend, they've only been dating for 7 months. Guess I need to make up another basket for her. Ordered everyone's dogs some treats and toys for their baskets, cats will just get treats.

Had some excitement next door yesterday. Seems that one of the crackheads who live there OD so the police, fire truck, ambulance all showed up. I was waiting for the coroner's truck to pull up too but the paramedics must have gave him a dose of Narcan and then they all went on their way. One of these days, they're going to call 911 a little too late. I just wished the owner would sell the place and someone will move in that will actually take care of the place. My other neighbor and I have a bet on when I'm going to have to call the township about the crackheads not cutting their grass. It usually gets as tall as my fence each summer. I wanted to tell the paramedics that they should put on a haz-mat suit before going in.

I'm in the office today and people are actually starting to come in, way too early for people to be here (besides me). Guess I better start looking for some work to do. Have a great day! (can you tell that I'm excited for the emojies to be back again )

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning.

Electrician here today replacing the ceiling light/fan in each upstairs bathroom, installing a light in the pantry, installing lights over the pool table, and installing a receptacle in the cellar. I'll be leaving in a bit for my shift at the church. Doing laundry now. Yoga later. Supposed to be warm and beautiful the next few days.

Good News:

@theluckyrabbit for making us aware.

After I mowed mine, 4 other neighbors dragged their mowers out, lol.

Around here we call that the call of the mowers. Will probably happen this weekend.

Pig Pickin' Cake.

I’ve never heard of that, I had to look it up!

I hadn't heard of it either and had to ask Mr. Google. Sounds familiar though.

hopefully they know that I'm not paying for everyone. That's just so awkward to tell people.

In this situation, before we go, we tell the kids it is Dutch Treat.

My other neighbor and I have a bet on when I'm going to have to call the township about the crackheads not cutting their grass.

Unfortunately we don't have any ordinance like that here. I called the county last summer about a house near us that has not cut the grass in several years. You can barely see the house through the brush growing. They said there is nothing they can do.

And just because I can now.

 

[footballmouse]

Unfortunately we don't have any ordinance like that here. I called the county last summer about a house near us that has not cut the grass in several years. You can barely see the house through the brush growing. They said there is nothing they can do.

I would be so mad!!!

I usually call twice every summer. It takes over a month for it to be resolved. They have to check out the compliant, bring it to the township board meeting, put up notice that they are accepting bids, accept a bid and then wait for the landscaper to cut it. It's a whole process but it eventually gets done. The bill is rolled into their property tax.

 

[Kirby]

Good morning everyone! Count me as one who is glad the smilies are back. Not that I use them all that much, just glad they are there in case I want to.

Still haven't made Easter plans, waiting to see if the kids want to go to brunch or not.

I haven't either. DS and fiance will not be coming over. He is flying to New York that day to start his new job. Lil Joe will be with his dad this weekend. My sister and her husband is going out of town so the usual group will be quite small, just me, DH, DD and Lou Lou. Maybe we'll go to brunch after church instead.

65 and mostly sunny. Lawn is mowed and looks so neat (especially compared to the rest of the neighbors who haven't done theirs, lol). It was nice to be able to mow and not get short of breath or too tired..so I guess I am pretty much back to normal. Off to cool down, make some lunch and then relax. Have a nice afternoon

DH has mowed a couple of times this year so far. So glad that you are feeling much better.

I was undecided about what to make for Easter dessert. I thought carrot cake,,then I thought Blondies..but we decided on Pig Pickin' Cake. It's tasty, it's Springy, and it's easy to make.

I haven't made that cake in such a long time. It is tasty and light. I got that recipe back in the 80's. Seemed like everyone was making it and bringing it to church suppers back then.

Reds opening game today, yay! Cincinnati takes their baseball very seriously on opening day. Downtown streets shut down for a big parade, the streets around the stadium are blocked off for pre-game festivities

The Rangers opening day was yesterday. One year I would like to go to an opening day. We haven't been to a Ranger game in years. They have a new indoor stadium that the roof opens up on nice days.

Today is possible rain day and storms maybe later in the day. Will be in the 70's and 80's for the rest of the week.

Lou Lou woke up with a temperature this morning. Poor thing, her cheeks are so red. She didn't want to change out of her favorite shirt so I could wash it but after I told her she could stay in pajamas all day she relented. I know that she will be asking about it soon. If she is not wearing it, she is carrying it around.

I should probably get to work. Have a good day!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Good morning everyone! Count me as one who is glad the smilies are back. Not that I use them all that much, just glad they are there in case I want to.

I also just noticed that the user names pop up if you start typing them again! (I think we lost that in the last upgrade) - very convenient!

Lou Lou woke up with a temperature this morning. Poor thing, her cheeks are so red. She didn't want to change out of her favorite shirt so I could wash it but after I told her she could stay in pajamas all day she relented. I know that she will be asking about it soon. If she is not wearing it, she is carrying it around.

Poor little one!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Lynn, you can’t drop a name like that without telling us more about it - like that it’s also called a Pea Pickin‘ Cake! It does look good! And since I was going to make a lemon cake for Sunday, I might try it this year, as well! I love citrus anything, and this is a good time of year for it. Thank you.

https://www.thecountrycook.net/pig-pickin-cake/

Not a lot going on here. DH is making me Swedish Meatballs tonight. He bought all the stuff yesterday while I had a staff meeting online. He’s not really a fan but I like them. I don’t think we’ve ever made them before (or maybe once many, many moons ago), but I saw it done on IG and sent it to him and it must’ve piqued his interest enough to try it out, lol. So looking forward to that as it’s something different. I think we’re doing carrots with them, as well. (And maybe mashed potatoes?) Someone recently mentioned the Swedish Meatballs from IKEA. I like those, too!

Went to Longhorn last night and for the first time, I was disappointed. Which stinks because I’ve always gotten good meals there. But the salad had way too much dressing on it, I could barely get it down, and the steak was a little undercooked for my liking. All that wasn’t a deal breaker, but I decided to eat the ends of the steak (more cooked, and I usually take half of it home anyway) but the second end had a funny taste. I had to chug down some Diet Coke and bread to get the taste out of my mouth. Ugh! I told DH that’ll be a while for me to go back. He was disappointed because it’s a favorite for us, and we have gift cards. Should’ve stuck to the rule you don’t go to restaurants on Mondays! (And yes, I could’ve said something or sent it back, but I just didn’t feel like going down that road. Too emotionally exhausted, if you can understand what I mean. I want peace and Zen when I eat out.)

I got housecleaning and lots of laundry done yesterday, but never made it to the grocery store. So headed out in a little bit. Will probably pick up the ham for Sunday as well as the stuff for the cake. Getting low on fruit, need lots of that. DD made a big bowl of Mediterranean salad last night which is good on pita for work. (Headed into a stretch starting tomorrow.) Only the two of us like it. Nice change from cold cuts. I am a little late putting out my Easter decorations so going to get that done before I head out.

Have a nice day, everyone!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

back to the smilies, my friendsGreat morning surprise and blessing to see a post by our friend, Luckyrabbit, too!

Good morning dear Quacker family from very windy LA. It's breezily cool this morning here. Dad is doing laundry followed by Ralph's. This afternoon may call for hotchocolate There is no hot chocolate smilie, so I made my own lol. Wow we can also search for smilies, again! That is awesome. Thank you, so much to all tech people on these boards who made that happen.

I found such a fun text on my phone when I turned it on earlier. Barbara Ann had taken a picture of a shocked Terri after Bible study last night looking at her surprise birthday basket! Terri's face is priceless. Barbara Ann said other pictures were taken and that Terri would share today. I look forward to talking with them both later today. Such a blessing to have been a small part of making happen.

Stay warm and well everyone and have a good Tuesday!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Should’ve stuck to the rule you don’t go to restaurants on Mondays! (And yes, I could’ve said something or sent it back, but I just didn’t feel like going down that road. Too emotionally exhausted, if you can understand what I mean. I want peace and Zen when I eat out.)

I've never heard of that rule! (...other than some restaurants are closed on Mondays. - That's bitten me in the butt a couple of times when I wanted to buy gift certificates and thought I'd avoid the crowded weekend. )

I definitely get you about the not sending it back, though! The food has to be reeeeeealy horrible to me for it to be more unpleasant than that particular social interaction.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I've never heard of that rule! (...other than some restaurants are closed on Mondays. - That's bitten me in the butt a couple of times when I wanted to buy gift certificates and thought I'd avoid the crowded weekend. )

I definitely get you about the not sending it back, though! The food has to be reeeeeealy horrible to me for it to be more unpleasant than that particular social interaction.

Lol I think the thought is that it’s a lot of leftovers from the weekend, and food orders/trucks don’t usually come in until Tuesday! Or something like that!

QOTD: Describe a bad food (or other) experience you’ve had at a restaurant!

 

[PollyannaMom]

QOTD: Describe a bad food (or other) experience you’ve had at a restaurant!

We had arrived in Florida for vacation one year when DS was little. The drive from the airport to my folks' place was about an hour, but for some reason, always made him queasy. He was OK after a while, though, and we headed out to dinner.

That was a mistake.

It was just a short ride to the restaurant, but the carsickness caught up with him with the first bite of appetizers. We did clean up as much as we could with the paper towels we asked for, but still...biggest tip we ever left!!

 

[AuntieMe3]

Yay....the smilies are back....

It's back to cold weather again here....last week we were in the high 80s and right now its only 49. Wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so windy....ugh the wind is soo annoying to me but I live in the desert so you'd think I'd be used it it by now.

Yesterday , I cleared out DDs closet for her while she was a work. She wants to add some shelving units in there to free up some room space. Now that's she's working from home 3 days a week and soon adding on possible OT Saturdays, she says she feels like her room is too cramped. I guess when she was just in the a couple hours a day if didn't feel so bad. LoL She wants to get rid of her very large dresser for a smaller bookcase type thing and put all her clothes in her closet on the shelves.

Doing that for her, I found out one of my shop vacs isn't working. It's my favorite and I haven't seen any others like it when I've gone to home depot or Lowe's. Not even Costco where I got this one. I don't use a vacuum because ee have laminate wood floors and tile and with the two German Shepherds, our dog hair situation was insane. LoL Our vacuum would fill up so fast, I'd be emptying it a few times in just one vacuum so we went with a shop vac with a vacuum attachment. I'm thinking now with just the one dog, we could go back to vacuum and get one for hard floors but I really liked how the shopvac worked, maybe DH can find me another good one.

Easter will be quiet for us again this year. Last year, my mom was in the hospital and DH was out of town so it was just DD, my dad and I. This year, DH should be home so there will be 4 of us. I'll be getting a ham and scalloped potatoes from Costco, so I'll make those with roasted veggies, rolls but still need to think of something for dessert. I went out yesterday and got some Easter goodies for DD, DH and myself. DD gets her own basket, DH and I share one. This afternoon, I need to go to Dollar Tree to get the other "kids"(our best friends adult children) their goodies.

QOTD: Describe a bad food (or other) experience you’ve had at a restaurant!

Pea, I'm sorry you had a bad restaurant meal. I hate when that happens.

One time we went out to eat with friends and DHs food had little black things, almost like hair, around the plate. He didn't notice until he was already eating and let the server know. She took the plate to the back and the manager brought the plate back and said it's not hair, it's bristles from the brush they use to clean the plates. Uhhh....that didn't make it any better. They didn't offer DH another meal or even offer to take any money off the bill. We were with a large group of friends so we didn't make a fuss but it's probably been about 15 years and we never went back to that place. Gross.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Forgot to add...another restaurant rule from my mom who used to work in a restaurant....

DON'T order the specials....its usually food getting close to its best by date and they need to get rid of it.

 

[Judique]

I have never sold a house on my own or bought property on my own so this whole process has been daunting and thankfully I had my sons and friends to help me along as well as a good real estate agent.

I am going to debate the woman who said she wanted to live on her own before marriage so she could live alone later in life if she lost her spouse. Living alone while young and having your life ahead of you is much different from living alone because you lost your husband. Even if I had lived alone in my 20s, living alone because I lost my DH of 45 years is a much different scenario. There is grief, getting used to being alone with that special someone beside you every day, and just a profound sense of loss. I am not sure if living alone earlier in life really would have prepared me for this. I am not trying to be snarky, just trying to present a different point of view. I don't want to offend anyone.

Personally I don't find it offensive. I actually think you are spot on with your observation.

 

[lynxstch]

QOTD--bad food experience. KFC in Los Angeles, second day of a 10 day vacation. Got food poisoning and spent the next 2 days holed up in the hotel room. Wouldn't even let them in to clean up. Kind of ruined the whole trip. Then I got a bad sunburn at Sea World and was miserable for another few days.

Bad experience overall--Denny's. We were seated promptly in the back 'garden view' section. Someone brought our water and said the server would be over in a few minutes. 15 minutes later, still no one. I went and found a server, who told me it wasn't their section, and that the server would be over in a few. Another 15 minutes later. Still noone had come. Restaurant wasn't all that busy, so there was no excuse. We finally got up to leave. Went to the desk at the front where you pay, and asked for a manager. He came out and snottily asked what the issue was. I said between lack of service, and your attitude, you have lost 2 customers, and I will be sure to mention our experience to anyone who is thinking of eating here. He went behind the counter and came out with 2 $10 gift cards . They are still in my wallet, and this experience was 4 years ago,,lol! Haven't eaten in there since!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

AuntieMe3, is it as windy by you as it is here? Chilly but sunny

Pea, hug, I hope your next restaurant experience is MUCH better! I'm sorry for the other not so-good memories others have you have had. Here's to happier dining out among all dear Quackers!

I've encountered some restaurants with not so clean restrooms or buffet stations. Cleanliness needs to be high up there in the food service industry that is for sure! I also think a lot, of the time, restaurants simply need more help.

I just had a nice chat with Barbara Ann. No call yet from Terri but she'll call. Barbara Ann said again how fun this was to be part of and that Terri truly was so happy, praise God!

Quiet afternoon otherwise. I hope all of you are having a good Tuesday, too and keeping warm.

 

[Snowysmom]

QOTD Chris and I ended up with food poisoning after eating at Boma. The kids called it being Bomaed. It is one of the stories they tell when we talk about our family Disney trips when they were growing up. Chris was really uncomfortable for a couple of days. We traced it back to the filed green salad as that is in the only food we had in common. We have gone to Boma since but avoided any of the salads and other uncooked greens. I also ended up with food poisoning from Panera with one of their field green salads. I ran a temp of 102 and I never run temps. I believe it was norovirus and I just wanted to pass out and wake up feeling better. It was awful, worse than Boma. As you can tell, I generally avoid field greens now.


DS, DDIL, DGSs and I went out to dinner tonight at a local restaurant. We can walk to it from their house. It was a nice night to eat outside and I enjoyed being with them all. The kids were well behaved in spite of the little one not having a nap today. I will miss being with them but I know they need their space and need to be a family. I know I need to be in my own place no matter how hard it will be. But I have asked if I can stay the weekend every so often once I am in the condo. I can come out on Friday and stay until Sunday. I need something to look forward to now and then. I will be only 10 minutes from younger DS so he says I can come over anytime. My older DGS wants me to make chicken, broccoli and pasta so I will do that on the weekends I come out. He loves it.

Have a nice evening.