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

[Snowysmom]

Welcome Stephallo

We use Corelle dishes for every day. I bought my first set at Zayre's back in the 70's just before we got married. They are white with green flowers around the edge. Some have broken over the years and we have replaced them from the Corelle outlet store in North Conway. We added white dishes with blue around the edge. The green has been long gone. I have a set of china that we use for holidays but we didn't use them this year as it was only DH and I.

Toto is so cute and sweet looking. We used to give our previous terriers hamburgers for a treat. Jasper is fat and lactose intolerant, just a sensitive digestive system. We give him thin and trim turkey or boiled chicken. Since he has been sick I have been making him boiled chicken every few days so I can put a few pieces on his food every meal. I feel bad for him so I am spoiling him.

I am off for the rest of the week thankfully. I asked my manager if I was still needed to work 40 hours a week come January and he said for the first couple of weeks at least and then we will revisit it. I feel bad because everyone else in my group is still at 24 hours a week for the foreseeable future. I just got picked for the special project because I used to do that work. I am sure I will be back to the 24 hours a week soon enough.

We had my DGS's zoom birthday party last evening. He loves birthday cake so we first watched him blow out the candles after we sang Happy Birthday to him. We watched him eat his cake too. Then he opened gifts. DS said the 2 boys spent the rest of the evening fighting over the new toys. Sounds like a typical evening with a preschool and toddler.

Thanks for the info about the EZ Pass. That is really strange.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

@easyas123, so odd about the EZPass. Thanks for posting. We have the pass but no SiriusXM.

I saw on Facebook that @apirateslifeforme is having trouble logging into her DISboards account and has been locked out. I hope she makes it back soon.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

That melted my heart, my Pop had a Boston. Teddy was his name...Teddy got a plain hamburger and a scope of Bryers vanilla every evening! Teddy died the same day Pop passed away (they shared a urn until buried at sea as is our family custom!!), and so your photo of Toto enjoying his burger just warmed my heart!


That is amazing - she made those? I'm in awe of that kind of creative talent. I have none...that set is very, very impressive.



Nice!



Good!



Fancy...we tried the newer mexican joint across the street from Walmart - that new shopping center w/ the Dairy Queen. It wasn't to bad at all - the usual fare. Every two tables/booths empty, waiters friendly and welcoming. Considered going to CFA so my husband could have one of those peppermint shakes if they still had them, but he decided he didn't have a sweet tooth. It was a last minute decision as we came into town and were passing it - "hey I forgot that was there, do you want to try it?" kind of thing.
Cabelas wasn't that bad. Only one person working returns, but my wait was less that 15 minutes so really can't complain about that. Went into Dicks for a new bike seat, no wait there. Marshalls was a bit busy BUT - speaking of dishware - they had two plates from a Spode collection I like to collect, so that was a huge get to me. Walmart was...horrid. How many levels of Hell are there? I think they are all in this Walmart, and I'm almost sure we waded thru each one! Also noticed when I was checking out that as of January 1 they are eliminating the use of plastic bags at that store (Delaware mandate- state wide evidently) , it was a small sign at the checkout computer - did not see the notice anywhere else. Guess they'll start encouraging folks to bring their own bags again? And have paper available. So if you are in Delaware or frequent the state for shopping, heads up on that. Good reminder for me to keep my bags in the car, I'm terrible about putting them back in there.

Found something out last week that I meant to share with you guys - if anyone here frequents any of the E-Z pass roads on the east coast that have the automatic charging to your E-Z Pass (or tag) when you go under it/don't have to stop to pay tolls - I've had something interesting happen to my vehicle. I am often listening to my SiriusXM radio, and if it is on when I go under the toll thingy it does not pick up the E-Z pass and they send you a toll bill! I had gotten 2 or 3 in the mail and when we called, after making sure the pass was in working condition/had $$$ on it, the toll folks told us they've had a lot of people get caught up with billed tolls if they have the XM radio on when they go thru the toll! Told me it was so common that it's the number one reason people people are getting billed at the moment even though they have a pass. So I sent thru two tolls today and turned off my radio prior, as a experiment. We will see in a month or so if I get billed. Ha! We will see in a month or two if I remember and can't figure out why I got the toll bill for a while!

Wow! Interesting about the tolls! I was getting inundated with toll bills for a while there and I couldn’t figure out why! That could be it! Plus I paid online and I still got billed, and they doubled it as it was “late”! Then even paying them by mail on time I was getting re-billed! I literally had a pile of bills from EZ Pass in various states! So thanks for sharing. I wonder, too, if it applies for SunPass in FL. I always have the Sirius radio on in the rentals!

I’m glad you enjoyed the dog picture. I like the visual of your Dad with his Boston having a hamburger every night!

Our WalMart went to paper bags a couple of years ago, and they are the cheapest bags imaginable. They always break as we’re taking in groceries which wind up all over the driveway and front yard! I keep bags in my car but I always forget to bring them in.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Welcome Stephallo

We use Corelle dishes for every day. I bought my first set at Zayre's back in the 70's just before we got married. They are white with green flowers around the edge. Some have broken over the years and we have replaced them from the Corelle outlet store in North Conway. We added white dishes with blue around the edge. The green has been long gone. I have a set of china that we use for holidays but we didn't use them this year as it was only DH and I.

Toto is so cute and sweet looking. We used to give our previous terriers hamburgers for a treat. Jasper is fat and lactose intolerant, just a sensitive digestive system. We give him thin and trim turkey or boiled chicken. Since he has been sick I have been making him boiled chicken every few days so I can put a few pieces on his food every meal. I feel bad for him so I am spoiling him.

I am off for the rest of the week thankfully. I asked my manager if I was still needed to work 40 hours a week come January and he said for the first couple of weeks at least and then we will revisit it. I feel bad because everyone else in my group is still at 24 hours a week for the foreseeable future. I just got picked for the special project because I used to do that work. I am sure I will be back to the 24 hours a week soon enough.

We had my DGS's zoom birthday party last evening. He loves birthday cake so we first watched him blow out the candles after we sang Happy Birthday to him. We watched him eat his cake too. Then he opened gifts. DS said the 2 boys spent the rest of the evening fighting over the new toys. Sounds like a typical evening with a preschool and toddler.

Thanks for the info about the EZ Pass. That is really strange.

I remember Zayre’s! And we usually go to the Correlle outlet in Kittery!

 

[lynxstch]

I remember Zayre’s! And we usually go to the Correlle outlet in Kittery!

I remember Zayre's too.. I used to ride my bike down there from my house when I was a young teenager. I also remember Lechmere which another poster mentioned earlier . Also Paysaver ( that's where our wedding rings came from with the ex). Anyone else from MA remember Bradlees? I worked there as a front end supervisor for a number of years. There was also a Caldors at the other end of what used to be Fairfield Mall in Chicopee. My old memory can remember a lot of things from back then,,,but walk into the kitchen to get something now, and I have to look around to remember what I went in there for,,lol!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

God Bless your Pop and Teddy, too, Easyas123! So you and Carol almost saw each other yet again! Post plague, I hope you truly are able to meet

Yikes, I'm sorry about the tolls!
Always love happy dog pictures and stories, too!

ETA: I have a PM from, Apirateslifeforme. She was having account trouble but (I hope) is back now!

 

[Snowysmom]

I remember Bradlee's. We did alot of clothes and toys shopping for the kids. Caldor was also a store we went to alot. I miss them.

 

[Kirby]

It's interesting to hear ya'll talk about the different stores that you go to. I wonder what would be comparable down here. I don't shop a lot, usually just grocery store and Dollar Tree for cards.

It's gotten cold and rainy here. We'll be under a flash flood warning later this evening and through the night. We're expecting rain until tomorrow evening. We were predicted to have bad weather, possible tornados but it changed and I'm very thankful for it. Five years ago an F4 tornado crossed a highway at a mixmaster not far from us and threw cars off the bridges. Nine people died from that. And then in went through the town next to ours. It happened the day after Christmas that year.

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Yes, I'm here now! Not sure what happened...I kept getting the message that I was locked out because of too many failed login attempts. But it was the first time I tried to log in since my last post! I've changed my password now

I'm trying to catch up and as a result have really only skimmed the posts. to all.
@lynxstch, I hope things are going better with your DGD.
@Breezy_Carol, I hope the backyard is in better shape!
@stephalloo,

If we're still talking nativities, this one is mine. I'm not sure how old it is, but I used to play with it when I was a child, so it's at least 40-45 years old:


I also took a photo of my MIL's, which she received as a gift when she was a little girl. So we're assuming it's about 70 years old:


Close up:


Flatware - I'm not sure what kind we have. I want to say Oneida. The handles are rectangular. Nothing fancy. I think I had a previous set from my first marriage when DH and I got married, so we used those. Then when we moved back to my mother's house, she had just bought this current set not too long beforehand, so we started using those and sold my old ones.

Dinnerware - I have Fiesta. When DH and I got married, the top half of the kitchen wall in his condo was red, the bottom half was white, and he had a black chair rail separating them. So we registered for white (which looks more ivory to me), black, brown, and the bright red (scarlet?) Fiesta dishes. For some reason, the brown ones are thinner than the white, black, and red ones. Then when we moved back here, I wanted something more colorful, so my mother gave me a few place settings in lapis (a pretty denim blue) and a pumpkin-ish color (maybe paprika). Unfortunately I'm tired of them and would like to replace almost all of them in brighter, happier colors. Would LOVE the turquoise!

I'm glad we're talking "goals" and not "resolutions" for the New Year - I can't keep resolutions! I think this year we really need to work on clearing out the house. We truly keep too much stuff. I want to get our spare bedroom cleaned up and make it into a true room, not the dumping ground that it is now. Our major home improvement this year is to replace the hatchway doors and have the stairs rebuilt. They are the original 50-year-old wooden stairs, and a few years ago, the top stair completely rotted out. Then we need to have wills made up. DH and I have been VERY irresponsible, I know, in that we have never made wills and our son is 5 years old now. Time has just gotten away from us and we really haven't been able to afford it, but for our son's sake we have to. And I also really want to get on DH's case about finally having our remaining embryos adopted out. It pains me that they are just sitting in a freezer while we dutifully pay the storage fees every 3 months. At least I was recently comforted to read the story of a baby born from an embryo that was frozen 27 years ago - gives me hope that it doesn't really matter how long they are frozen

So what have we done lately...even with school on vacation, I've kept the Monkey working on his I-Ready math and Lexia apps for school. He's almost done with level 6 in Lexia - I'm very proud of him! We've started working on his Lego sets as well; we only have one more bag left and we'll have made the entire Mars Research Station. I have no idea where we're going to put his Lego City now!

My mother's bedroom TV stopped working last night. It wouldn't turn on even with the button on the TV itself. It's an old tube-style TV that has to be 30+ years old. We had another old tube-style TV that still works and we tried to swap it. Took me a while to figure out how to get the cable stations on it, but we're still going to get her a new flat TV. She has to use the cable remote to change the channels, the TV remote to change the volume, but the only way to turn it on and off is to use the button on the TV itself. Yeah...how about "no?" (She wants to go to PC Richard, so maybe DH and I will get a new mattress while we're there. We really need it.)

Forgot about the stores! We had a Zayre's here (later Ames), a Bradlees, and a Caldor! We mostly went to Caldor - Kohl's is there now. The Zayre's/Ames is now Home Depot. Bradlees was way down on the main road in the southern end of town, then it moved to one of our strip malls, and now it's where our Barnes and Noble/Marshall's/Old Navy is. Now the only store we have in town that I would consider similar is Target. Or Walmart, which isn't right in our town but over in the next one.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Before I forget, we also use Correllware...My mother’s kitchen cabinet still holds the original gold-flower set...

My mom had the gold flower too!

I have a few of the plain white divided plates that I bought from the main store in Corning, NY. (If any of you ever get a chance to go, the glass museum is amazing!)

https://visit.cmog.org/plan-your-visit

I am often listening to my SiriusXM radio, and if it is on when I go under the toll thingy it does not pick up the E-Z pass and they send you a toll bill!

Thanks for the tip!

Anyone else from MA remember Bradlees?

Yes!

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Yay, I'm back. "Your account has temporarily been locked due to failed login attempts." I got this message as well since my last sign in on here. I did email you, Carol asking you to do me the favor of posting that this happened to me, too as an FYI to others on here. I think you can ignore that email for now--thank you, my friend. It occurred to me to pretend I forgot my password. I was able to go through that process and here I am. I just did want all of you to know should I vanish that was why and of course to go ahead as Apirateslifeforme also shared, and change your password before you get locked out! Good reminder to be on top of changing passwords every so often anyway!

Dollar Tree is so handy, Kirby! about the tornado. How awful!

So glad you are back, Apirateslifeforme. Wow, beautiful Nativities, thanks for sharing. I have truly enjoyed seeing everyone's sets!

Stay warm, everyone tonight!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

@flyingdumbo127, I just responded to your email before I checked in here. Glad you are back.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Just got this email from Mona (Flyingdumbo)

After I posted that message in our thread, I logged out. I immediately attempted log back in to make certain my new password worked. I got the same locked out message

Would you please post for me that saying "forgot password" does not resolve this issue?

Not sure what is going on with the boards.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It seems like the problem is widespread after a software update or something. There is a message from Alex on the login page. I can not log in from my iPad, but I can from my iphone.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning DIS family. Welcome to the last day of 2020. May this be a year that never gets repeated. Too many losses, too much sadness and overwhelming feelings. So glad that Tina (lovemygoofy), had the foresight to create this thread. A lot of us have called it 'home' over the last 9 months, and I feel like I have made a lot of new friends through it.

Still nothing out of my stepdaughter about our granddaughter, but I am not going to keep trying to chase her down for information. Hoping that she has the sense to update us when something happens.

They are giving us a storm watch for tomorrow into early Saturday morning for freezing rain and ice. Here's hoping they are wrong!

My plans for the day are to finish undecorating everything but the tree, make shrimp scampi for dinner, and defrost the pork for tomorrow
Have a nice last day of the year, and lets hope that 2021 is a much better one!

 

[NYCgrrl]

@Kirby what kind of cookware do you use?
Anything and everything to get the job done with as few pots and pans as possible . When we moved into this spaceI found myself working in a stereotypical NYC apt sized kitchen for the first time in quite a few decades. This one is about 9’x6.5’ and I just don’t have the space to indulge my love of all things to do with cooking. The largest type of pots are cast iron with all but one piece being passed down from different sides of the family. I love knowing that Im cooking on skillets at least 3 generations used before me; kind of inspirational. I gave my Nana’s”roll pan” ( it was actually a hotel roasting pan) to my oldest niece before I moved along with most of my 1970’s Cuisinart pots. Had wooden handles back then and that became a bit annoying when oven cooking on high heat although they were fine otherwise.
im writing this in shorter posts since my words keep disappearing

 

[NYCgrrl]

Ditched my roasting pans for sheet pans. I think most of them are by Chicago Metallic. For casserole dishes I use Pyrex and Revol. 2 copper sauce pans which I’ll nevah give up. One was a gift from the ex’s grand aunt who taught me much about French cuisine. The other I purchased from EBay along with a copper mixing bowl. In deference to a smaller household I recently purchased an 8” non stick All Clad skillet and it has become my new workhorse. That’s about it in current rotation. I wish I still had my double boiler but it’s not that hard to gerrymander one together.

 

[NYCgrrl]

I feel confident tonight‘s dinner will be on the table by 8 PM with a nap before hand so I can stay up, LOL. The final menu is :

guacamole, filo Swiss chard turnovers, and deviled eggs,maybe with tuna added. Decisions, decision, LOL

cup of Billi Bi soup

small dish of Campari sorbet as a palate cleanser ( how la di da is that?! )

salmon filets wrapped in tarragon crepes baked with lemon cream sauce.
sautéed green beans and butter browned gnocchi as sides.

green salad with fresh herbs.

a plate of nuts and fruit

dessert! My imagined sweets are a combo of store bought and homemade. Made meringue shells, raspberry purée, and whipped cream. Store bought Mont Blanc (an adorable meringue and chestnut purée confection that I want to use as a topper to the meringue shell), and chocolate ice cream. OK, I wanted vanilla but the munchkin wanted chocolate. Obvious who won. Should this be too time consuming to put together, the fallback will be individual cakes from the bakery. Anyway I do it we’ve enough sweets for two consecutive nights.

I have to say I’m enjoying cooking for two. So easy to rummage in the fridge and find a little of this, a little of that.

 

[bobbiwoz]

My mom had the gold flower too!

I have a few of the plain white divided plates that I bought from the main store in Corning, NY. (If any of you ever get a chance to go, the glass museum is amazing!)

https://visit.cmog.org/plan-your-visit




Thanks for the tip!



Yes!

You mentioned the glass museum, and I agree, it’s amazing. DSis visited this year and did a craft there and gifted us a drinking glass she “frosted” and gave us a Dolly Parton glass coaster. Very unique and practical!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

We made it through 2020. Here's to a better 2021 and keeping this group of friends going.

Cold (45) and raining today. Other than picking up carry out later for dinner, no plans. May finally get to watch last Sunday's church service that we skipped.

As I had posted before, we were having Christmas with both kids together on December 27, then DS had to work. Rescheduled to this Sunday January 3, and now DS has to work again. Trying again January 9 or 10. He took a day of leave in conjunction with his normal Sunday/Monday off so they shouldn't be able to force him to work. At least we saw each of them separately but they have gifts for each other and the kids. And I still have stockings. Thankfully I hadn't shopped yet for food.