Zola
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Posts posted by Zola
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I bought some old lesbian pulp fiction paperbacks from my local book shop. The majority of which were written in the 1950s and 60s by author Ann Bannon. Of course back then gay and lesbian novels were very much frowned upon, but it makes for a good read.
Anyway, her first book on my list is "Odd Girl Out"
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31 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:
Were they the Heinz beans? I love beans on toast. Hmm I have a can in the pantry. I might just go have that. Lol...you’ve made me hungry.
Your breakfast sounded delicious. How lucky these people are to have a wonderful hostess, treats for meals and you’re caring to make their stay with you as good as possible. Very lucky.
Yes, they were Heinz baked beans - absolutely delicious with toast.
My two friends have now continued on with their journey of the UK, and will be returning to the US next Monday I think. However, I will see them again when I visit the States for 5 weeks in October - so I have asked them to cook me some traditional British recipes - Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner, toad-in-the-hole and Coronation Chicken! And I wonder if there are any fish & chip shops in Hartford, Connecticut?
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4 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:
@Zola I’m jealous because at that breakfast they’ll be getting the back bacon unlike the striped kind served here in America.
Well we've just eaten our Full English brekkie, and we're all officially full!
We had unsmoked back bacon, scrambled and poached eggs, hash browns, sausages, baked beans, tomatoes, black pudding, toast; orange juice, apple juice, tea and coffee!
I don't dare get on the scales!
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5 hours ago, Petunia13 said:
google removed "view image" button from search results.
Yes, it happened a few days back and was related to the subject of copyright images.
Getty Images, insisted that rather than a user being able to view an image in isolation, it must now do so from the hosting site. This would generate more traffic hits and thus more ad revenue for the hosting site as well as credit the image itself.
There are alternatives - Bing and Yahoo, I think. But they too might end up going the same way as Google.
I've started using "Startpage" - which you can bolt on to Google Chrome and does very much the same job as "View Image"
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Well the Pot Roast went down a treat, much to my relief! And the leftovers I will turn into soups or steak bakes for tomorrow when my two friends continue their journey into deepest, darkest Cornwall.
The chocolate chip cookies were okay, although I think they were a little too crunchy for my liking. But the S'mores were a success. And I shall make a point of making some more for my own consumption next weekend.
Tomorrow I shall be serving them a Full English breakfast by their request. I will have probably put on a couple of pounds by the time they leave, lol
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41 minutes ago, harrie said:
Sounds like a great success, @Zola. So glad you all had a good time.
Thanks.
Am now cooking the pot roast with roasted veg and spuds. My guests are hovering over my shoulder wondering when it will be ready.
No pressure, lol
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7 hours ago, Bastet said:
There's no one or distinctly American tradition for that, but most people would toast on an occasion like this - gathering to dine with friends you don't often see. Typically, you as the host would do it (after the drinks are poured and before you start the meal), but at a casual gathering like this it could also be a guest, toasting you for your efforts. It's a simple, straightforward thing - say a few words about how happy you are to be together, clink glasses, drink, and dig in.
My friend's mom is Christian, and she says a prayer before meals, but only those she's hosting in her house - she doesn't do that at a restaurant or when she comes to my house, or anything like that. In more religious areas of the country, this "saying grace" tradition would be more common, as noted, but I still wouldn't think it would be anything your guests would expect of you.
I hope you're having a nice time.
It was a very good evening last night. My tacos were all eaten, along with most of the toppings. And the dessert of Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie, was also gratefully consumed in rather large quantities! And I don't think there's been any ill-effects as we're all now eating some breakfast cereals and coffee.
I did make a toast (albeit one I stole and memorised from the internet). A little bit corny perhaps, but I felt I needed to do something :)
QuoteI wish you health, I wish you wealth, and happiness galore.
I wish you luck for you my friends; what could I wish you more?
May your joys run deep as the oceans, your troubles as light as its foam.
And may you find, sweet peace of mind, where ever you may roam.To friends!
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33 minutes ago, deaja said:
I think Americans see the glamour of the Royal Family while many subjects see the fact that they cost a ton and the younger ones do ridiculously low amounts of work. When you’re outworked by a 96 year old who retired after half a year, you’ve got a problem! :)
I keep seeing commercials for the show Mom, and AJ’s role is so not-CJ that even the commercials throw me!
I think you've hit the nail on the head. The Royal Family is incredibly large and layered, most of them we've never even heard of, yet we have to support them via our taxes. But I suppose they're good for tourism, and I would guess our Royalty is perhaps the most popular of all the royal families around the world. And the benefits probably outstrip the costs. But I am pleased the younger generation of royalty - namely William and Catherine, seem more in-tune with all Britons, and not just the upper classes.
Anyway, not wishing to take this thread too far off-topic: I really hope AJ gets recognised at next month's Oscars. Not that I'll be watching because I do think these award shows have turned into soapbox agendas by the rich and famous.
And one thing I love about AJ, is her height! She's 6ft tall (according to IMDb). And its not often I find women that tall! I myself am 5ft 11 in my bare feet, so it would make a nice change looking UP to another woman rather than having to look down, lol
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28 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:
I agree with @DeLurker. More of a pre meal toast. I live in the south and most people always say grace but I haven’t seen it as often in other parts of the country. Doing what she suggested should be enough. Don’t try to please so hard that you lose sight of what this should be for you...fun.
Thanks for the tips. And you're right, it should be about fun rather than formality. But my problem is that I always over-think my obligations when having guests round: I just aim to please while forgetting to enjoy myself at the same time.
Anyway, thanks again!
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58 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:
I can’t imagine them not loving you for it. When traveling for long periods of time people miss their comfort foods and you have such a wonderful assortment of good dishes planned. Remember first though that they are coming to see you, their friend. All that good food is icing on the cake so to speak. Have a wonderful time with them.
Well they should be arriving at my home in the next hour. I have got all the ingredients for my Taco Buffet later this evening, and while shopping I bought some Oreos and an "Apple Pie Ice Cream Pie" for dessert tonight. It's taking one huge effort not to dip in before they arrive, lol
11 minutes ago, DeLurker said:I don't know about others, but having s'mores is always a great treat and not one that happens too often (at least not around here). I would think your friends should consider themselves lucky to have such a considerate hostess!
I love that word "S'mores". Another word is I like is "Guacamole" - might try my hand at that alongside tonight's taco choices.
Just out of interest, and this may sound like a dumb question. but do Americans still give thanks before a meal? And if so who gives it, what does one say, and should it be said for any particular meal or a proper cooked dinner like a pot roast? (it's not a custom in the UK, but I wouldn't want to appear rude if my American friends were expecting it)
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9 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:
Cool. For some reason, I don't think the recipe links (first 2) are working right. I'm trying to fix that. If I don't get working links, just Google "oven s'mores recipe" &/or "s'mores dip recipe"--only without the quotes (LOL).
3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:That's very nice of you to go to all that effort to feed Americans some food that they're familiar with. I hope they also get to try your country's various foods as well (like the real deal fish & chips and all those cream cakes at a fancy tea). As it is, you're making some yummy food!!
My two New England friends have been in the UK now for about 10 days sightseeing and checking up on other friends of theirs. I think they've already sampled most of our local foods including good old fish & chips. So I figured they might be getting a little home-sick for some American recipes, hence the ideas for this weekend. Which reminds me, I really need to get a shopping list together and get ready for a quite intensive shopping spree looking for all the required ingredients (and there is a local store that sells Graham Crackers, yay!)
Should be an interesting weekend - I just hope they like what I have to offer :-)
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5 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:
If you can convert the oven temps from F to C, here's a whole page of recipes from Google http://oven smores.
Or this might be easier/less intimidating: http://oven smores dip. You get the idea of s'mores, only this might be easier to do; the dip is the chocolate & marshmallow part & you dip the Graham crackers (or Graham cracker substitute) into it.
This article actually talks about someone (an American ex-pat, it turns out) trying to make s'mores in the UK. Apparently you have almost all the necessary ingredients available there, though you may not have the same brands that might be mentioned in any recipe from the US; EXCEPT you apparently don't have the Graham crackers there (unless things have changed since this article was written, I think it said, in 2009, or unless you have some sort of store which carries foods imported from the US & they might carry Graham crackers).
If you can't find "the real deal", the article suggests substituting Lotus Caramelised Biscuits (though they apparently might need to be bigger, according to the author) or McVittie's Digestive Biscuits, which are big enough, but may not taste quite right compared to a s'more made with Graham crackers... Substitute anything you'd use to make a "Graham cracker crust" on a cheesecake, if you don't have real Graham crackers. The writer of the article thinks the Lotus Biscuits taste better (closer to a Graham cracker taste) than the McVittie's; there are also some who say the McVittie's taste close too. If you're doing the dip, I suppose (if you can) you could get a package of Lotus biscuits & a package of McVittie's & let everyone try it with 1 or more of each biscuit or with whichever individual brand they like.
Hope this helps, & you find a reasonable cracker substitute.
@BW Manilowe Thanks so much for this incredibly useful information!
I have only skim read it at present because I'm due to go out clubbing shortly (its 9:15pm here), but will definitely read it in greater detail in the morning (hangovers permitting)
Thank you again for taking the time and effort!
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To be honest I have kind of lost track with Allison's output since TWW ended in 2006. In much the same way as I have for the likes of Martin Shaw, Richard Schiff, Rob Lowe and Bradley Whitford.
This may sound completely dumb, but when the show ended i could never imagine these fine actors to be in any other subsequent show! It just wouldn't be the same for me. because I would always see TWW character in them rather than the character they're supposed to be playing - so perfect were they in their West Wing roles.
I haven't seen I, Tonya yet, but I hope to do so because I am gradually getting over that West Wing short-sighted view point.
As for our Royal Family - i always find it quite a paradox that Americans - by and large - seem to love our Family more than we our selves do, and yet you are a republic! lol
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I will be entertaining a couple of American friends over the weekend, and have been Googling like mad trying to find some traditional American dinner recipes.
So for Saturday evening I will be putting together a "Make Your Own Tacos Bar" idea, which will involve Chipotle Turkey Taco Filling, Pork and Bell Pepper Filling, Yellow Pico de Gallo and various other toppings.
And for Sunday I am going to step up to the challenge of cooking Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables.
And for desserts - well, I quite fancy making some chocolate brownies, or chocolate chip cookies. But I'm also tempted to try those "S'mores" things. But I don't know how to cook those in a kitchen (aren't they eaten on open flames at camp sites?)
Anyway, i hope they like what I have to offer.
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Another bugbear - financial websites with happy, smiling "ordinary" people on the home page, all of them seemingly having orgasms as they look at their bank statements because they belong to such a wonderful caring and "understanding" bank!
Same with more corporate-based websites, and the usual smug crowd of suited-up whizz-kids all gathered in an open-plan meeting room, with a desk adorned with laptops and phones, along with some other anushole pointing to the ubiquitous pie chart on a big computer screen!
But the reality is quite different of course. IF you need help try getting through to the "happy clappy" customer support team; got money worries, try dealing with the debt collection department of that same smiley bank!
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1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:
Given that I live in the UK and am therefore deemed a "subject" to the monarchy, I really don't have much time for our Royal Family, especially the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and all those hangers-on that no one has ever heard of.
That said the younger generation of royalty does have some appeal to me, especially William and Kate; both of them are far more relaxed about stuffy old royal protocols, and I would guess Kate wasn't too fussed about being called "honey".
It would have been totally cool had Kate replied by saying something like "Thanks CJ. Or should I say, Flamingo!" lol
I hope Allison wins an Oscar next month - she deserves it!
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14 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:
I'm not even going to look up dogging, but there shouldn't be explicit sexual activity in public, period. And while I'm obviously someone who will take things into her own hands, I wouldn't confront a group of people out in the middle of nowhere, especially ones doing something like that because there's obviously something wrong with them.
So calling the cops is all a person can, or should, do. Maybe surreptitiously note some license numbers; the odds of them following up on something like that are about zero, but it would fall under the "I did what I could" category.
In Portland, Oregon, the sidewalk next to city hall had become a popular place for homeless people to roost--them and all their stuff, which was crowding the sidewalk. They'd leave all their stuff there during the day, and one of them would stick around to watch over it. The city decided that wasn't acceptable, and ran them all off and put a flyer on a window right by there (which is how I know all this). The flyer had a list of problems at that location, and one of them was that people were having sex on the sidewalk. The flyer added that having sex on any sidewalk is not acceptable--not just this one.
I thought, "That's what we've come to? You have to point out to people that having sex on a sidewalk is a no-no?"
I know that homelessness and mental illness sometimes go hand in hand, and that's definitely a challenge. But still.
You don't have to be literally outside the reach of the internet to not use it, and you don't have to have use a TV/DVR/DVD player just because you have one. In fact, in your situation, you could bifurcate your life into work and non-work strictly by use of technology. It wouldn't solve the problem of needing to carry the thing because you're on call, but it would be the ONLY reason you're carrying it, and you could live the other part of your life however you want.
The police did get in contact with me later yesterday afternoon to inform me that a police officer had attended the scene and had given a public indecency warning to the "active party" (their words). And that's all they would say before closing my crime number.
So clearly it wasn't rape (unless the police chose not to reveal that level of detail), but I don't think I will be taking that route again!
And in hindsight, perhaps I should have made a mental note of the car number plates at the time, but it was just too dark and I was still shocked/surprised to even think that far. But I wonder what that woman was thinking to want to do something like that, in public and with up to 5 men (strangers, for all I know)? Perhaps she was drunk or high, or perhaps that's what she gets off on. But whatever the reason it was incredibly disturbing, and I hope to never see that kind of thing again.
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Here's a new one (for me at least)
I regularly go out for an early morning run of between 5 and 16 miles, and have been doing so for about 8 years now. I try to vary my route every other day in order to make it interesting/challenging. Sometimes it could be just a flat run around a few blocks, or going up and down hills in the countryside; or maybe a mixture of both.
This morning I opted for the countryside, which involved going through a wooded area, which I'm quite familiar with. Anyway, roughly 8 miles into my run I go through a thicket and notice 4 or 5 cars parked up in particular spot (which is most unusual on previous experiences). I slow down a little (this is at 6:15am and it's barely daybreak, so things are a little on the dark side), and I notice a woman stretched out on her back on the bonnet (or hood), legs in the air, getting "banged" by a guy, with another 4 or 5 other men standing round her.
I was about 20 meters away from them. I don't know if they noticed me as I ran past. But then it left me in a quandary: was she being raped, or was it one of those new things called "dogging" (don't know if you guys outside of the UK have heard of the term, so here's more https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogging_(sexual_slang))?
For the few seconds I was there the woman didn't look all that distressed, but that doesn't really prove anything. So I ran a little further along and called the police on my mobile phone, explained what I had seen and gave them the exact coordinates of where this was happening using a running app on my phone.
I was told that that particular area is "quite popular" for that kind of activity (dogging), but they will send someone out, and that was that.
I decided to carry on with my run, but I really couldn't focus because I was worried about that woman; so after about 20-25 minutes I headed back to the spot, but they were all gone, cars as well. Had it not being for the tyre tracks and footprints it would have been hard to prove anything had happened there.
So either the police did arrive and warned them off. Or they just took off after having their "fun on the hood"
I still feel quite shell-shocked even now. I just hope the woman wasn't been raped; but then dogging isn't exactly my idea of fun either!
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A friend recently asked me quite a difficult question. She said "if you were straight, can you name five film actors you would like to <you know>!"
It was a difficult question because I really don't look at male actors for their looks but more of for their acting skills and their overall personality. So I had to give it some considerable thought. However, in no particular order I went for :-
- Idris Elba
- Gerald Butler
- Jason Statham
- Damian Lewis
- Jude Law
My friend remarked that it was clear I preferred the "older" man, but to be honest I never even gave that a thought. They all just come across as nice guys - both on-set and off it.
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Just now, fairffaxx said:
Thanks, Zola -- I used to make Welsh Rarebit with English muffins (are those known/used in England at all?). I'd forgotten about it, but it's such a good meal for cold weather*, & so easy (for extra protein, add some kind of egg, or sausage/bacon for carnivores). I always like recipes that require just a little beer or Guinness, so that I can follow the advice of the late, great Peg Bracken to figure out something to do with the rest of the bottle ....
* I'm in the San Francisco Bay area, where last night's barely freezing temperatures have caused hysteria among TV meteorologists & outdoor cats are looking puffier than usual.
oh yes, English muffins are hugely popular over here, that and scones with whipped or clotted cream and a dash of strawberry jam.
In fact you have just encouraged me to make my own. Will do some shopping tomorrow and bake both scones and muffins.
Thanks!
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Since I will be on my own tonight I have decided to go for something very simple and very basic - Welsh Rarebit, which I will make myself and consists of:-
Cheddar Cheese,
butter
Worcestershire sauce
mustard
flour
black pepper
a splash or two of ale or Guinness
toasted wholemeal bread
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Just now, Tom Holmberg said:
According to the book, HBO was going not going to renew the show every year, but in the end decided to renew. Apparently Season Two was the season with the highest ratings.
The book is fast reading. I finished it over a weekend.
Season 2 was a strange one for a lot of fans expecting more of the same as S1, but instead got a whole new storyline involving the dock workers and an early introduction to the Greeks and their drug importing business.
When I watched that season for the first time i just could't get into it. But after a couple of repeat viewings i regard it as my 2nd favourite season after S3.
Am just pleased the bosses at HBO kept the faith and didn't cancel. And even surprising was the lack of any major awards for the show back then!
Anyway, will be looking forward to reading that book to help me fill in a few blanks
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31 minutes ago, Tom Holmberg said:
Just finished the book and thought it was worthwhile reading. Interesting that Dominic West was fairly unhappy throughout the making of the series (not so much about the series, but being "stuck" in the US away from his family), even more so at the end.
That book is next on my read-list; an currently reading "Difficult Men: Behind the Scenes of a Creative Revolution: From the Sopranos and the Wire to Mad Men and Breaking Bad" by Brett Martin, which goes behind the scenes of some of the top TV dramas, and the difficulty working with some of the lead men in each. A fascinating read!
As for Dominic, I did read someplace that initially he didn't think the show would see a season 2, but when it was given the green light he had to commit and awful lot of his time over in the States of seasons 2 and 3, but worked out a deal to scale back his appearances in S4 in order to be with his family back in London.
He did a fine job!
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It looks like Google is taking steps to reduce the number of adverts in its Chrome browser, that will be of benefit to all users with tablets, smart phones and laptops etc. Btu be aware, not all ads will be blocked by Chrome - only those that don't meet necessary regulatory standards set by the "Coalition for Better Ads" . The most annoying ads are these, and according to Google the owners of these ads will be warned to make changes or face being blocked:-
Mobile:
- Pop-up ads
- Prestitial ads
- Mobile pages with more than 30% ad density
- Flashing animations
- Poststitial ads that require a countdown to dismiss
- Fullscreen scrollover ads
- Large sticky ads
- Auto-playing videos with sound
Desktop:
- Pop-up ads
- Auto-playing videos with sound
- Prestitial ads with a countdown
- Large sticky ads
However, those ads that do make the grade, will still appear on your device, albeit less intrusively, otherwise without advertising a lot of companies will lose substantial revenue in order to exist. So unfortunately these "approved" adverts should be considered a necessary evil. Unless you go to the next level and use something like AdBlocker Plus, to block even those ads from your online experience.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/14/google_chrome_ad_blocking/
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What Did We Eat Today?
in Food & Drink
Thanks for the fish & chip feedback. It would be nice if such an authentic place did exist over in the US, but it wouldn't quite the end of the world if there wasn't. And tartar sauce is quite popular here too, but I prefer malt vinegar and a small pinch of salt.
As for toad-in-the-hole. Well I think the UK version differs quite a lot compared to your MiLs. Over here we use pork sausages baked in batter (plain flour, eggs and milk), and then eaten with gravy, spuds and veg. Gorgeous!!
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1572643/sams-toad-in-the-hole