annzeepark914

Having just gone through this conversation with the mom of a neighbor yesterday, I know how Ina feels when asked. It's rude & annoying. Not everyone wants to have children. Not everyone has the patience or interest in them to be good moms & dads (but unfortunately, too many people go right ahead & have them anyway & aren't the kindest or nicest parents). Sorry to go off but I guess this experience is fresh in my mind.

Last night I roasted chicken breasts and they were delicious. I'd heard Bell & Evans chicken is really good so I decided to try them (bought them at Whole Foods). They had skin on them (which we removed after cooking)...if I'd been more energetic I would've removed the bones but they were great as is. Very little fat under the skin but just enough to keep them moist.

Good thing Dixie was wearing work boots when he stepped on that nail.

Several years ago we had problems with our system & it wasn't beeps--it was the full blasting alarm. It even brought the fire truck to the house. The next night the thing went off again (of course Mr P914 was at a mtg that evening & I was alone). I called the security company and they gave me a vague description of where the battery was located. I found it finally: in the basement's bathroom closet! I tore that thing apart and finally had peace and quiet. The tech came the next day and fixed a faulty alarm that was setting everything off. Geez...these things are great when they're working properly but when something goes wrong, my nerves can't take that noise.

My only concern about this wonderful gang of friends/workers is that no one wears work gloves. Maybe they do when they're not on camera?? I wonder how long that bldg will last (with all the nasty storms we've had in the recent past).

I think it's time to make Ina's Italian Wedding Soup but I'm waiting for Whole Foods to have chicken sausage with cilantro in it (instead of Italian chicken sausage...don't like them!) I just read at another cooking website (I think it's called Once Upon a Chef) that the name, in Italian, means a marriage-type soup, that the ingredients marry each other to make a great taste. Those chicken meatballs are soooo darn good!

Is anyone else watching this show? I feel lonely here! Watched the season 2 opener last night and was absolutely stunned at how they transformed a total wreck of a bldg to a weekend getaway.

Does anyone have any info' on why Bradie has been missing from the GP series until age 19? Geez, I don't even remember her from any previous Nationals. Why would a 19 year old want to do a Disney character program? Heck, when Michelle was barely 16 she was skating as Salome (remember how indignant some folks were re: her costume and make-up?)

Yup. I've been an Ashley fan for years but she should've stayed in California, taking care of her injury. She took a lot of lumps back in 2014 (through no fault of her own) when the federation replaced Mirai with Ashley, so why invite more negativity? Someone said she said she wanted to defend her Skate America title--is that true? That's absurd. Defending a National's title or a World's title, maybe. Not one of the Grand Prix titles. She had to have felt the pain during warm-ups. That was also a good time to drop out. Let's hope Bradie doesn't let the attention get to her and that her support team keeps her focused on having two excellent programs at Nationals.

After hearing about Satoko's many physical issues today (just before she began her LP), I became quite concerned for her and other skaters. So many of them now have issues with hips, ankles, backs, shoulders, etc and I bet it's from practicing these triple-triples (ladies) and multiple-quad programs (men). I, for one, am sick of all the jumps in programs. I realize it's a sport and there have to be some jumps but there are other aspects that should be focused on (e.g., change-edge spiral is quite difficult; inside-edge death spiral is a lot harder and gets more points than an outside edge spiral). At least these moves don't pound the heck out of one's body. Loved that the Shibutanis won the gold today and that Cappellini/Lanotte, and Sinitsina/Katsalopov are on the podium too. Three of my favorite ice teams.

I'm a newbie to this show as I never watched it until the past few months (been watching some of the marathons, catching up). I like it when Joanna goes to those unusual shops and flea markets, buys something very off the wall, and then uses it in the newly renovated houses (I tried to do that over the years and was never really all that successful at it). Did not like those book shelves with the "raw" edges. I was watching the young couple closely because I felt they weren't all that thrilled (but were trying to look delighted). Maybe I was just imagining that.

I watched it (well, the second half hour). They improved the house but not to my liking (well, it wasn't done for me so there's that!). While watching it, I thought that the clients must get together with the Gaines ahead of time to let them know what their tastes are, right? Some of her decorating is nice but it's too "country" for me. I need soft and calming colors and fabrics. That dining room with the dark teal ceiling/half walls was really creepy IMO. Actually, about the only thing I liked in that house were the doors (front door and that big arched black double door inside). I would have preferred the brick exterior to be painted as I don't like beige/yellow bricks. I'm not sick of Joanna - wish she'd get her own show without her dorky hubby.

We just saw Book of Mormon at the Kennedy Center (I'm sure you've all discussed it way back in this thread). My husband thoroughly enjoyed it. I disliked it...especially the lyrics to one song (re: raping babies so we don't get AIDS). I did like the dancing and altho' the songs weren't memorable, IMO, the casts' voices were great.

Wow - 953 reviews! I love Gruyere, Swiss & Emmenthal. I love to read the reviews since I get good ideas on what to put in the dish. Someone (at the top of the 953 reviews) said to rinse the macaroni with cold water or the cheese sauce would dry up. Is that so? I've never done that with a macaroni dish that would be baked. But to answer JTMacc99's question, last night I started saving several mac and cheese recipes in one folder so I don't know which one I'm going to make (maybe a little bit of each one to make it interesting!)

Bubbie's Meatloaf (a Dave Lieberman recipe but with my own topping); whipped potatoes, and those wonderful French green beans (haricot vert?) Good ol' comfort food. After reading the previous posts, I'm thinking it's time to make Ina's mac and cheese next.

@Snarklepuss: Glad it was a hit for you. For years I never bought ham steak, thinking it was too salty. I guess they've reduced the sodium in it because for the past 10 years it's been really good.

About twice a year I go through the piles of recipes I've found online (with a lot of "What was I thinking??" comments to myself) and either keep or toss into the recycling bin.

Thawed leftover Ina's Italian Wedding Soup (love those meatballs!) and made a salad. Also, I made some scalloped potatoes with a little ham today to use up some potatoes before they went bad. I used a recipe I found at All Recipes and added some seasonings, and stuff. It was verrrry good. Crazy supper but it worked for us.

@riley702 Thanks! This is just what I need :>)

Once again, on a rainy day, I've found myself cursing current day umbrellas--the kind that pop open when you press a button. That's all fine and good when you're getting out of your car. But when you get back into the car, it's a whole different matter trying to close the da*n thing. Are there any small Totes/other brand umbrellas that open and close w/o the button popper? The interior of my car gets all wet as do my clothes. So, I voted today so that was good, and rain is good to have. But I just need a small, easy to close umbrella ;>(

This is the first show I've watched from beginning to end in I don't know how many years (maybe since the Will Farrell, Molly Shannon, et al era?) I'm a fan of Larry David's stand up comedy (but not Curb) and of course, he reminds me of George Costanza. I always love it when he recalls his years as a chauffeur (especially being on the lookout for a future hangout over the grates when he becomes homeless--he was such a drama boy back in his youth). Loved "Angel" the wife of every boxer in every boxing movie (or whatever the title is). I wonder if Heidi wrote that sketch? It was such an accurate depiction of all those sobstory wives in all those miserable movies. I liked Fresh Takes but didn't care for the creepy teacher character. Hopefully they'll continue with this but omit any faculty rep.

Hmmm...Mr. P914 has been wanting to go to Red Robin (he's been there several times with friends and likes it) but I figured it was just another fast food place. I guess I was wrong because that 4 cheese mac & cheese sounds wonderful. We have one near us so maybe I need to check it out. I always learn something from this forum!

Happy Halloween, everyone! We're eating whatever we can get our hands on easily as the neighborhood kids will soon be ringing the doorbell. BOO!

Flan. I've never figured out why people LOVE this stuff. It's wet and gushy. Whenever I watch the episode where the Barefoot Contessa makes panna cotta in a heart shape with raspberry sauce, I always want to make it because it looks so beautiful. But I've never had panna cotta and have a suspicion that it too will be jiggly and really OTT moist. Oh, blech--cauliflower. There is just a nasty taste to the stuff and it comes through no matter what you do with it--even deep frying it (like tempura). Ptooey!

DELURKER: That's a good response! I must try to remember that. But I don't often get asked OTT personal stuff so I may forget (or forget because I freeze when put on the spot). Re: not having children? I never had any, never felt the biological clock ticking, didn't get married until I was over 40 (didn't find the right guy until then) And when a few of my divorced friends would ask, "aren't you worried about not having kids?" or "don't you miss not having kids?" I'd reply, "Not a bit" and smile. They looked shocked. I knew I didn't have the patience to be a good mommy + my sister provided the grandkids so, no pressure. But I feel badly for the women who do really want to have children and are struggling to get pregnant. "Why do you ask?" is a great response and I hope they remember to use it.