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

[bobbiwoz]

@tazdev3225 , I think you’ll love the MNSSHP, we absolutely did!

Pre parade, the headless horseman!

 

[PollyannaMom]

I decided to go to the Halloween Party in Magic Kingdom during my trip. My "costume" is a Hocus Pocus T-shirt. The Sanderson sisters are flying across the moon. I decided to paint the moon with glow in the dark paint. Silly I know because that paint never "glows" very long but it's fun on some of the rides with a black light type of light.

Definitely do it!! (And please share a pic if you get the chance.)

You can't tell in this photo, but the shirt on the right had glow-paint outlines around the purple Mickey heads. It was noticeable on several rides and really fun to wear! ~

 

[tazdev3225]

The second box arrived and it was HEAVY! My 70+ year old neighbor brought it in the house for us. I did help some. In am so excited as the color matches the end tables perfectly. I am not looking forward to assembling it though. There are 32 pages of instructions. I have built a few pieces of furniture, including 2 computer desks so I know I can do it. I am just thankful everything appears to be here.

While I was in Lancaster, I called my mom to see if she wanted anything. The "argument" she and my dad had had me laughing. First, they argued over cantaloupes and watermelon. Dad said he doesn't like them, and mom started telling him he does. He agreed he likes them but said he didn't want to choose, I got them a watermelon. Then there was the discussion over whoopie pies. Mom said not to get any this trip. Dad said he wanted them. Mom argued he didn't eat the last ones they had, so she had to eat them. Dad responded, "How could I eat them when you ate them all?" They do keep me guessing.

Hope everyone has a great rest of the night.

 

[AuntieMe3]

Happy Wednesday all...

Another HOT day but it's humid today so it feels really gross. Can't wait for Saturday...lol Such a drop in temps, it's going to feel amazing.


Had to drive down an hour to pick up some sleep study equipment for tonight. Got some lunch and stopped at Target on my way home. I have to drive it back down tomorrow morning for them to download the info. I don't think I have sleep apnea but my Dr wants me to to do it so I am. Maybe I am hoping I do have it so I have some reason for why I'm so tired all the time. LoL All the other blood tests I've been doing are coming back normal but I feel sooo drained all the time, so it would be nice to have a reason why I'm feeling the way I am.

Hope everyone has a good evening.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good evening.

Survived the day with Tessa. Made banana bread in 3 small loaf pans so I gave Tessa one to take home. She said she didn't like it and wouldn't eat it but liked smelling it and her mom and dad would eat it. She seemed sad to leave it behind.

After we dropped her off at her mom's work, DH and I went grocery shopping. Came home to dinner of turkey burgers, sweet potato, and zucchini.

Tomorrow I plan to go to the library and not much else.

Same here, sometimes I don't have anything new to add so I just read.

Add me as another to this group.

Answering a few emails then heading to bed.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Good evening everyone,

It's still warm and dry around here. Very grateful for AC. I'm truly sorry to those of you who have gad negative customer service experiences of late. Dad got wonderful customer service from Target Circle Customer Service earlier. We're still learning how Target Circle works in store. He learned this afternoon that it's not enough to just see an offer has been "activated" on your online account. In store, you have to make sure an offer is in your Target App wallet and have the bar code scanned for that at the register. Online, of course, the system automatically gives the offer discounts. He explained that he was still learning and that he realized the discount he should have gotten was under $2. He sincerely was wanting to understand what he should do next time. He did say that if there was a way to credit his red card back the $2, he would appreciate it but would understand otherwise. A kind customer service lady ended up crediting his account with a $5 gift card because she didn't have a way to refund the actual discount. He will have that in his "wallet" to use next time he goes to Target.

I also finally got the free cheese coupon Kraft had promised to send. We also got 2 coupons from Pepsi that are of no use to us, but we'll donate in some way, of course. Dad had called last week about a case of Aquafina. The packaging of their cases lately has changed to where the bottles are not straight inside the plastic wrapping. That almost always guarantees they will topple right over either at home or even in-store where they can even open up in the packaging. Dad had that happen to him! Aquafina apologized and promised to send him a free product replacement coupon plus inform their packaging department. What we got were two free coupons for individual bottles of soda. We do not drink soda! I only drink water. Dad likes his Bai flavored water or flavored Perrier water. He will call them tomorrow. Worth doing so because I'm one of their very best Aquafina customers!

Yikes, Lynn! Big hug and I give God tremendous thanks for navigating you safely! He did likewise for dad and I last year when I needed to drive dad to a doctor’s appointment that would be a couple hour visit. On our way, it was coming down buckets! God got us safely there for which I thank Him again right now for! No words of thanks enough at the time extra because I honestly could barely see. I kept praying inside Thank you, Jesus for being with me and of course, He was! I had the heater and defogger on. I absolutely should have pulled over. I have done just that before and/or parked and gone inside somewhere for a bit to wait it out a little. This was pre Covid, of course that I had that option. Something else to I will never take for granted again! Anyway, I thank God also for clearing the skies on my return trip a few hours later. That was a harrowing morning drive. Oh, and prices sure keep going up here as inventory is still hit or miss at even places like the 99 Cent Only Store! Target this morning didn’t even have the Act Mouthwash dad had a coupon for. Extra grateful right now, of course, for what dad is able to get and for Amazon, Target, and Walmart online!

Taz, hooray that at last the rest of your order came and was exactly what you wanted! God Bless your neighbor! I would have needed assistance with that, too. I’m also so glad that both of you enjoyed breakfast. Getting a birthday freebie does make an outing more fun. It is always smart to buy at an outlet to save. Dad and I get most of our sneakers from Skecher Factor Outlet Stores. Plus, they have a rewards program that allows you to eventually earn $5+ gift certificates to print out and bring to the store, Not very good customer service at all from the Store.

Great picture, Bobbiwoz! That’s wonderful that you have gotten to enjoy MNSSHP. Have fun when you go as well, Taz. I wouldn’t be interested in that. all of you who may go have a safe and enjoyable time

How very fun, PollyannaMom, especially on the rides! I did one time have glow in the dark shoelaces that I had got at Dollar Tree. I don’t know whether they still these or not. IIRC, it was only sold briefly toward the end of the year, so possibly starting next month. I did wear them on a dark DL ride. How did the twins first day of school go? I pray well and that all of you did get to enjoy an after-school treat. Still love that you did that for them and thank you for it.

AuntieMe3. Please stay safe, cool, and hydrated! It looks like usually my weather is 2 or 3 degrees cooler than yours. Not always though. It did get up to 103 at least here on Monday and so humid, yesterday it was also. Today it got to 98. Saturday, to make you feel better, according to weather.com on my by 2 degrees warmer here with the same storm. that you get some sleep
Kids can be funny and particular that way, Carol. I hope Tessa does enjoy some of the

Sweet dreams to all!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I am really glad some of the heat is letting up for those of you in CA! Ben thinking about you. Ugh.

Happy Birthday to your DH, taz. Glad you both had a nice day! DH and I are celebrating, too.

DH had his follow up with the surgeon today, who took down the dressing completely for the first time since the surgery. Surgical area where stitches are is pink, so she started him on antibiotics. (All I could think of was the hasty shower Saturday morning! Ugh!) So we picked those up and he started them tonight. Now stitches can’t come out until next week. DD and I got to go back to the store we enjoyed the other day since we were nearby (as there were a few things she’d wished she bought), then we took the dogs for a walk in the woods, it was a nice day. Oh, and I took Grady into Petco for the first time, and I think he thought he was going back to a shelter with the smells, dogs barking inside, and cement floor, etc. He tensed up. I told him it was ok, I wasn’t going to leave him there, and we let Toto go out in front to lead the way and he was happy to follow him and do what he did. Ultimately I think it was a positive experience, thankfully. Poor thing, how scared he must’ve been when they dropped him off at the shelter. He’s very sensitive.

When we got home I couldn’t stand the corner cabinet another minute as it was overly-full, so we cleaned that out and two fridges really well, it’s nice to have some room in there again. I kept some things in mind that need to be used up fairly soon so that gives me something to focus on when I shop. I did find two cans of cream of celery soup and two cans of cream of mushroom soup. I must‘ve bought them for something because I don’t usually buy those. Does anyone have any ideas what I can do with them, maybe something in the crock pot?

Have a good rest of the evening, everyone, and a good sleep!

 

[AuntieMe3]

For the cans of cream of mushroom...not crockpot but pretty quick and easy.

5 ingredient beef stroganoff

2 lbs: Ground beef or turkey
1 tbsp: Garlic powder

2 (10.75 ounce) can: Cream of mushroom soup

1 (16 ounce) package: Egg noodles

1 cup: Sour cream

Brown ground meat, season with salt and pepper.
Boil egg noodles while the meat is cooking.
Mix mushroom soup with browned meat and add garlic powder.
Once you drain the noodles, add the browned meat and soup mix to the noodles. Add the sour cream and stir everything together. I usually serve with corn and always with garlic bread.

It's really good...a big hit in our house.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

For the cans of cream of mushroom...not crockpot but pretty quick and easy.

5 ingredient beef stroganoff

2 lbs: Ground beef or turkey
1 tbsp: Garlic powder

2 (10.75 ounce) can: Cream of mushroom soup

1 (16 ounce) package: Egg noodles

1 cup: Sour cream

Brown ground meat, season with salt and pepper.
Boil egg noodles while the meat is cooking.
Mix mushroom soup with browned meat and add garlic powder.
Once you drain the noodles, add the browned meat and soup mix to the noodles. Add the sour cream and stir everything together. I usually serve with corn and always with garlic bread.

It's really good...a big hit in our house.

Thank you, Auntie, that sounds really good!

Good luck with the sleep study, btw!

 

[Judique]

Good morning! Just finished my catch up on the thread. Have I ever mentioned I refresh and read backwards? At least I get updated along the way if I haven't read in a while, by the good folks who do quotes! I know I miss some stuff, but I prefer this to being constantly behind.

Nothing new here except a bit of rain and cooler weather. That's definitely welcome but at the same time it's sort of saying autumn is here and it won't be long until winter.

Meanwhile I have another couple of nights booked at the beach. I had two free nights that would expire. One by month's end and one by year's end, so I was checking out what might work for a quick trip. Was able to get the beach front hotel with them for a Sunday and Monday night. No family this time as school is on. Still debating on whether I should hold the end of the year night for my November ride down 95 to Orlando, and pay for a night here with other points.

The other thing that is on my mind lately is buying another hybrid vehicle. I want a larger hybrid for my trips. Toyota Highlander has come to mind but it's just a thought at this moment. It's MPGe is 35/36 which is certainly acceptable (to me) for that size vehicle. I want to stay 50K or under. Not in any hurry by no means. I guess I need to start visiting dealerships and look around. I'd buy electric if I could get a higher range, but with about 900 plus miles to Orlando, we are looking at too many charges to make me feel comfortable with what's out there right now.

I would sell my other two vehicles if I found the right size hybrid.

Anyway I absolutely realize I'm rambling on but feel free to skim and move on!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Big hugs to Grady, Pea! And I hope the antibiotics prevent any further complications for your DH.

As for cream soups, I don't use them often, but for holidays, I do make a pea casserole by mixing cream of mushroom soup with frozen peas and French-fried onions. I microwave it for a few minutes, then put more of the onions on top and bake it for a bit.

 

[Judique]

EZ Pass Sun Pass - all so crazy!

I've had a Delaware EZ Pass forever! I had run through the wrong lane when entering onto Route 1 so I pulled into the service center to explain my mistake and to ask what I could do before getting the $25 fine. This was maybe 10-20 years ago.....like I said it's been forever. So they sold me an EZ Pass and loaded $25 and no fine!

Anyway, then I bought a Sun Pass at a 7-11 or somewhere in Florida not long after. I lost the thing. It was one of those temporary ones you stick on the windshield.

Both get loaded when necessary. My Delaware one no longer has a working battery but I just use the lanes and the account gets charged. The Sunpass only exists virtually as I lost it, but the account still exists and takes my money when the system looks for a way to pay my tolls.

In July I went to the beach and used 200 a few times, the Fort McHenry Tunnel, Hatem Bridge, Dover Plazas.

Hatem Bridge got charged to SunPass. The rest got charged to Delaware EZ Pass.

In April I used a lot of toll roads in Florida - same deal. Charges everywhere. Not overcharged, maybe undercharged.

In the past I've had 200 charged to Sun Pass. It's like whatever pops up gets charged. I keep forgetting to get a Maryland Pass so I can have a working pass! Plus some roads would be a few cents/$ less expensive.

I've tried in the past to sit on the phone and cancel out at least one pass and it's hours and then get disconnected. I need to get to zero funds and then buy Maryland, and actually talk to a customer service rep who can fix it for me.

Or maybe just go ahead and buy the Maryland transponder and be done with it.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning all! Rained again overnite (not a surprise), and is cloudy now. They say the sun will come out and only be mid 70's. I need to get those gutter filters on asap. I just had to get the ladder out (not an easy trick trying to get it down from over the window , where it's on big J hooks), and navigate around the riding mower and tiller. I had to move a few things out of the way, and they all went in the trash, lol. Pickup is today, so I didn't worry about how much I was putting out at the curb. That walnut tree dropped so many leaves in it from the rain, that they couldn't even all wash down. And I don't want them just sitting there. So a 10 minute job turned into a 45 minute one. Mr L's leg is a little stiff this morning,,but the scratches look much better. I am off to put laundry in and then relax for a little bit. Want to clean the bathrooms and wash the floors today

@Pea-n-Me --no suggestions for the cream of celery soup, but the only 3 things I use mushroom soup for are tuna casserole, mushroom minute rice, and my Mom's old standby. I put a chuck roast in the crockpot (or oven), spread the mushroom soup over it, and then a packet of lipton onion soup mix. If it's in the oven I cover it all with foil. It makes it's own gravy that way and it's a good change every now and then. Poor Grady, he really must have had some flashbacks about the shelter when you took him to PetCo. Glad that Toto was the leader and Grady felt safe enough to follow him!

@tazdev3225 so glad the rest of your credenza came. Wonder why both parts didn't arrive at the same time though. I looked at tv's yesterday and have narrowed it down to either a Samsung or a Vizio. Will buy the tv first and then the credenza. Not looking forward to having to put it together,,so will have stepson do it the next time he comes down. I don't have the patience I used to have for doing things like that!

@AuntieMe3 --glad your temps are finally going to cool down



I hope everyone has a nice day..

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Big hugs to Grady, Pea! And I hope the antibiotics prevent any further complications for your DH.

As for cream soups, I don't use them often, but for holidays, I do make a pea casserole by mixing cream of mushroom soup with frozen peas and French-fried onions. I microwave it for a few minutes, then put more of the onions on top and bake it for a bit.

Mmm, that also sounds good, thank you! We have some fried onions in there, too, and DH loves peas! (Do you think the cream of celery would work with it?) I realized a lot of the things stuffed in there were things that DS’s ex-girlfriend bought as she used to cook here a lot. We had so much rice and so many weird concoctions that I don’t generally use. Some were outdated and some were still unopened or good so I’ll have to try to use them up. We also had three boxes of Corn Flake Crumbs, that’s on us - we generally use those for baked scallops and once in a while, chicken. DH made a big bag for the birds. I’d rather not have that stuff outside as I think it attracts skunks and stuff, but he has his way of doing it and assures me that won’t happen. I suppose it’s no different than seed, really, right?

A little sad this morning, got word a relative we really liked on DH’s side passed. And one of the dogs in the family got hit by a car and didn’t make it. (At least the driver stopped and took the dog to a vet.) Which reminds me, I have to send some cards today. I don’t send a lot of cards these days, but I do send Sympathy cards. I might also try to bake a cake for DH. (Not nearly as good at it as he is, but it’s the thought that counts, lol.)

@Judique, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota. The Highlanders are very nice. Not sure if they’re still hard to find, and I know prices have gone up quite a bit. (I know someone who’s been looking for a gently used one, was helping him look.) My brother’s been looking for a truck for quite a while, it’s been out of stock. He’s holding off until he can find the one he really wants rather than settling for something he doesn’t really want because that’s all they have. I hope you can find what you’re looking for!

Enjoy the day, everyone!

ETA I like that suggestion, too, Lynn! Thanks!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Good morning! Finally a day without rain and high temperatures, so, we went for a bike ride. It was our first in quite a few weeks.

I use a cream soup for a chicken bake recipe The Campbell soup recipe book is from the 1980’s!

If you use it…the ingredients on top are all used, but you use one from each column in the chart.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Good morning! Finally a day without rain and high temperatures, so, we went for a bike ride. It was our first in quite a few weeks.

I use a cream soup for a chicken bake recipe The Campbell soup recipe book is from the 1980’s!

If you use it…the ingredients on top are all used, but you use one from each column in the chart.

View attachment 700629

Thank you! NIce of you to pull that up for me, Bobbi!

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Good morning.

Re cream soup, one of my kids didn't like cream of mushroom so I used cream of celery in things like tuna noodle casserole in its place.

Going to the library this morning then got tickets for Longwood Gardens tonight. We haven't been in a while. And I finally tested negative Tuesday on my home COVID test. Never did get antigen.

I took Grady into Petco for the first time, and I think he thought he was going back to a shelter

Ahhhh, poor Grady. Glad Toto showed him that it was ok.

EZ Pass Sun Pass - all so crazy!

Oh yeah. Why can't Florida just accept EZPass like the rest of the east coast does. Driving around Orlando we finally found that EZPass is accepted most tolls. We ran one though that apparently was SunPass only or $1 in coins, which we didn't have. Oh well. Visit DH in jail. It was his car.

Off to the library.

 

[PollyannaMom]

So sorry to hear about the deaths, Pea. It's nice of you to send cards. - I do that too, and I think people do appreciate it.

I think the recipe would work fine with the celery soup. I would probably miss the mushrooms, because I've had it before, but if you've never had it with them, what's to miss? (Or I guess you could always throw some in along with the soup if you wanted.)

And I expect the birds will eat the corn flakes so fast you wont have to worry about other critters.

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

Morning all

Re the cream soups...I don't use them at all (too much sodium) but my former almost stepmonster would mix cans of cream of mushroom, celery and chicken with water, Minute Rice and some canned chicken for a cheap and easy casserole.

DH has me looking at a trip or trips to go see the grandkids. Our options are go for 2 weeks at the end of November (18th-30), to see both sets of kids for 5-6 days each or just one for part of that time and then go see the others at the end of December (26th-jan 2nd). Waiting to hear back from the girls about which dates would work best for them, and then I can start booking. DD#2 will be ok with any dates, I'm sure, so really it's about what is convenient for DD#1. Going to see DD#1 means rental car and hotel; seeing DD#2 we can just stay with her and use one of their cars if we need it (we'd have to have one of them with us anyways, if we leave Pendleton, to be able to get back on.) DS will be here to take care of the cats and house. We can do flights or DH and I can rent a car or maybe an RV and do a road trip across the US...that will also depend on whether we are going to see them both at once or not. We can drive from here to Omaha in 2 days, with one overnight stop; from Omaha to San Diego in 2 days, with one overnight; and from Pendleton home in 4 days (counting overnights), which would leave us shorter time with the grandkids, but we could bring DS's stuff back from Cali (3-4 smaller boxes of stuff), and bring the rest of DD#2's stuff to her (a couple of heavy boxes filled with DH's old comics; way too heavy to ship). Decisions, decisions.


The day started out cloudy and gray. I started mowing the front yard, got down to about 1/3 of it left, and the rain started coming down, so had to stop. Will have to finish tomorrow morning, it looks like; supposed to thunderstorms the rest of the day. I'm washing the bedding today; I cleaned the house yesterday. Dinner tonight is the rest of the three bean + chickpea salad from yesterday (I accidentally opened a can of chickpeas instead of a can of white kidney beans, so I just added them in) and an applewood smoked pork tenderloin, that I'm going to sear and finish in the oven.


Yall have a good day.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

good afternoon from warm CA.

Wow lots of updates! As always, thank each of you so much for sharing with us and letting us know you're okay. Special family we are us Quackers indeed. I am so grateful to God for all of you!

At the moment it's 86. Supposed to get up to 97! Stay cool and well, please, AuntieMe3 and anyone else in extreme heat!
dear Pea and I'm also so sorry about the deaths. Extra to Grady and Toto, too!

Well, my could have gone better but I'm very grateful the visit is done. Dentist said an old filling has broken off in pieces. He will look at it again in November. What he said would be the easiest first step would be to patch it. I had never heard of that. I am guessing what he means is to first make sure there is no decay, clean the area with a missing piece and then put some type of sealant on it. I'll definitely be asking specifics before agreeing to anything. The last time I got to see my old dentist before he retired, was when he replaced an old filling. Was very simple, too 15 or so minutes, completely pain free. Not quite understanding why the same thing can't be done now unless the broken off in pieces filling has caused damaged to my tooth. Thank God, I have had no discomfort whatsoever and was not aware of this at all. Yes, I admit, to feeling a bit of caution. I put this and all in Gid's Hands and one step at a time. All is well

Have a good afternoon, friends I'll check back later.