ECM1231

That's a great deal! Pizzerias around here are now charging $25 for a NY style Neapolitan pizza. NY pizzas tend to be larger, I think, than in other places, but still, the cost has increased dramatically. Pre-pandemic we were paying maybe 15 bucks. @Yeah No, welcome back! I'm so delighted to hear about your marvelous cruise and that you didn't get sick at all. I've taken that same NYC to Nova Scotia and St. John, twice, but never on the QE2. And how fun to be in Canada on Canada Day and in Boston on Independence Day!

Just discovered this show the other day. We're almost finished with season 2. I haven't read any of the comments yet because I don't want to be spoiled. So far, I am really enjoying it. My husband has a hard time with accents, and he misses a lot of dialogue and keeps asking me what was said. This is annoying, because then I miss the next few bits of dialogue as I explain. Even I don't understand Scottish Chris most of the time. And sometimes I don't understand Fergal, either. I don't mind using CC but obstinate hubby refuses. He doesn't like CC because often it's not in sync with the actors as they speak. 🤷‍♀️ Do we ever meet Jeffrey?

So did my mom, although she wasn't at Mass most Sundays. My mom was a very sickly woman for most of her life and died at the rather early age of 55. She did insist, however, that my sister and I attend Mass each week, which we did, mostly by ourselves. Our church was only about a 4-block walk from our home. I honestly can't remember if our dad took us when we were too young to go by ourselves. Perhaps my mom was in better health in those years, and we walked together. Dad, curiously enough, got way more religious in his 60s after he remarried. He and his wife became Eucharistic Ministers in our church and distributed the Eucharist weekly. or at least a few Masses during each month. We never said Grace before meals, although the Irish Catholic Reagan family on the show Blue Bloods, does.

Being on the south shore of Long Island, it's much cooler here b/c we are right off the Atlantic Ocean. My friends in Staten Island (which IS an island), well, they've been having temperatures of 90+ degrees for the past few days. I'd imagine Manhattan is about the same. Yesterday it topped out at a high of 80 and today it only reached 84 degrees. My son is 120 miles north of here, at a much higher elevation, and he's had 93-degree weather the past few days. It's even hotter at our mountain home in the Poconos. This is a big reason why I love where I live so much. Hate the taxes but love the climate.

In my case, 23 and Me lists my first cousin, once removed, as my first cousin. I know her very well, but it was cool to see her pop up as a relative. I haven't had anything strange pop up, and mostly all of the related people are cousins from way, way back. A few of my cousins' children (my 1st cousins, once removed), have shown up as related people. I did correspond briefly with the daughter of my mom's first cousin. It was interesting b/c apparently this cousin moved to Florida in the late 50s. I remember his mom, who was my grandmother's younger sister. My grandma was the 2nd oldest of 7 and so my mom had LOTS of cousins. Well, this particular cousin remembered my grandma and she got very excited when I started naming names as my mom's family would give weird nicknames to the kids. For example: there were cousins named Chickie, Googie, etc. Well, this cousin shared photos with me of her dad and of her grandma , my great aunt, on her wedding day. Our correspondence was bittersweet for her, as her parents were gone, and she told me she would have wanted to share this information with him.

Bon Voyage, @Yeah No. I hope your cruise is nothing but smooth sailing for you and Mr. Yeah No! Have a wonderful vacation; you deserve it! 🚢

I liked realtor Sam! I'm really bad at figuring out ages, and at first I thought this couple was a lot older than they really were. Not that they looked old, but when they mentioned being together 8 years, I thought they were in their 30s. Come to find out they started dating sophomore year of high school. Perhaps they were 16 and now are around 24. I can understand Xande's hesitancy about getting engaged and/or married, as they are still quite young. Brooke must really love him to want to live that lifestyle.

I've seen those videos of how to fold fitted sheets, but never have mastered it. My husband helps me fold the sheets once out of the dryer, but the fitted ones are still lumpy. After I got engaged, my mom started buying items for my trousseau. I had been living on my own, but everything in my apartment was hand me downs. Mom was buying bed linens left and right, until my aunt intervened. My mom had been given a dozen sets ( full, not queen), when she married, so she thought she had to do the same for me. My grandparents were dirt poor, but apparently back in the late 40s there were peddlers who came around with all sorts of merchandise and you could buy by putting it on lay away. My aunt convinced my mom that 6 bed linen sets were plenty. I've always had at least a half dozen since married. I've switched to queen size mattress in 2 guest bedrooms, so that my son and his wife are comfortable and so, extra sets come in handy. My 3 y.o. grandson looks lost sleeping on a queen mattress, all by his lonesome. 😂

Is project manager Scott related to Jon's family? I never saw season 1 of Farmhouse Fixer, so I don't know what the relationships are and/or how he knows Scott and Cristina? They all seem close.

More frequently for me because the a/c is cranked up and just makes me so cold, which contributes to more frequent bathroom trips. My husband suffers from motion sickness; one time, I kid you not, he got motion sick relaxing on a pool tube in our above ground swimming pool. That's how bad he's got it. Being the good sport he is, he did take several cruises with me. Our first left from NYC and went to Canada, stopping also in Newport, RI, and Portland, ME. This was in the month of June, way before hurricane season, but the Atlantic is usually rougher than the Caribbean. No shot in the infirmary, or any OTC remedies work for him. He finds it best to just wake, eat breakfast and stay off the ship as long as possible. 😞

***BE FOREWARNED. GROSS PHOTO BELOW. Well, we came home from our mt home a little while ago to find that the aforementioned black crowned night heron is no more. He/she was dead in our driveway. 😞 Although I'm not a bird lover, it still was sad to see. I don't know if the babies have flown the coop, but there still was a disgusting mess of bird poop. I erased the dead bird from the photo.

🤮

We're currently at our mountain vacation home, trying to beat the heat, but it's actually cooler at home (according to a weather app) than it is here. After dinner we went to a nearby campground that has a general store and they allow non- guests to make purchases. There's a little window from which they sell ice cream, so we went to get some and sit by their manmade lake. My husband's extended family would gather there in the Fall for a reunion weekend. Anyway, there's a little enclosure where 3 male peacocks reside. They sure make a racket! Well, the birds are allowed to roam freely and I started to get agitated noticing how close one was getting to me. My mobility is not great, so running away was not an option. Fortunately, he didn't approach so I didn't have to use my cane to shoo him away.

I thought she said she was designing playgrounds? I loved house #1 the best as the views were stunning. The windiness was crazy! I'd have to keep my long hair tied up.

I've never heard of cowbirds. I've been afraid of most birds since I was a small child and watched Hitchcock's The Birds. I have no idea why my mom let me watch it, but I've been more or less petrified of birds ever since. I've been known to cross the street to avoid coming into contact with pigeons. So no, I'll never be one to put up a bird feeder in my yard. About 2 weeks ago or so my son and his family were visiting. My DIL noticed a rather large nest high up in the trees and she identified the birds as black crowned night herons. She said they are fairly rare in this part, but I couldn't find any info on that. The tree limb where the nest hangs is right over our driveway. They are pooping all over the driveway and I've not seen anything like it in all my life. I mean it's huge splotches everywhere. So, so gross. My husband washed our cars twice and finally we gave up and parked the cars on the street. My car is newer, bought in 2022 and I hate to put the car out on the street, but the bird poop was just horrific. I have no idea when these birds are going to fly the coop, but I hope it's soon.

That's my favorite Wendy's salad, too, @annzeepark914.

What's Cookout? Is it a fast-food chain? I never get the meal deal b/c we don't drink soda and I'll usually buy a medium sized fry to share b/c I'm not all that crazy about fries. The other day I went to the BK drive in and got their special Whopper Jr deal. 2 Junior Whoppers for 5 bucks. I was starving and ate both, and so did my husband. The fries were awful as I had forgotten that BK fries generally are awful. I much prefer McDonald's fries. As far as chains go, I do like Wendy's. Their salads are very tasty.

An article about Hannah from my local newspaper today: "She made it to the final six on Food Network's Italian-cooking competition “Ciao House” before her elimination Sunday. But Montauk private chef Hanna Haar says it ain’t over till it’s over. “I have more shows in the works coming out, so keep your eyes peeled on Food Network,” Haar, 29, who has run kitchens at Lake Grove’s Le Vin and at The Montauk Beach House, says by phone two days later. “And I would say stay tuned to 'Ciao House' because it definitely gets more interesting. There might be some exciting things happening next weekend. So I'll say that much,” she teases. The show, in which 12 chefs prepare dishes in competition while living together in a villa in Italy’s Puglia region, awards its winner a culinary education from Italian masters billed as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity." Sunday's episode was down to Haar; Ivan Barros, of Los Angeles; Austin Cobb, of Playa Grande, Costa Rica; Devan Cunningham, of Phoenix; Phuoc Vo, of Tampa, Florida; and Stikxz Williams, of Queens. (Haar's elimination episode will be rebroadcast Wednesday at 2 p.m.). Broken into two teams of three in the episode, each team in turn prepared a three-course dinner for chefs Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabe Bertaccini and the three other contestants. Haar worked with Vo and “capo” (team leader) Barros, who, noting her experience as a pastry chef, assigned her dessert. He liked her suggestion of a grape and bergamot gelato with a garnish of roasted grapes. But the judges felt the grapes weren’t roasted enough and that the cream and fruit blend in the gelato had not fully mixed. With fault also found with the other two courses, Barros’ team lost the challenge and had to choose someone to leave. Complaining that Haar worked her dessert independently and did not feel like part of the team, Barros and Vo voted to eliminate her. “I really thought I was doing my team a favor by handling one entire course on my own and giving them one less thing to worry about,” says Haar, who was born in Bethpage and raised in Islandia. “If they needed help with the other dishes, they could have asked me and I would've done my best to help them. … I kept saying. ‘I have hands,’ which is kitchen talk for having free hands. … But three chefs working on one dish sometimes is too many cooks in the kitchen, as we like to say.” Haar for each episode has held a viewing party at Montauk’s Inlet Seafood, owned by local fishermen. Continuing to work for private clients, she says she is writing a “Kitchen Confidential” type of book and has “a few international culinary residencies this winter” on her plate. As well, “I’m going to be producing my own culinary series on my social channels.” Competing on “Ciao House” was “just a phenomenal experience,” Haar says. “It taught me to cook intuitively, to use all my senses. It taught me cooking competitively. It's taught me to look back to move forward. It taught me about myself as a person and as a chef.” She adds, “All the chefs were really talented, so to be able to make it that far undefeated, including being capo twice and winning those rounds, I feel good. It was a good run.” Montauk chef eliminated on Food Network's 'Ciao House' - Newsday

Yep.

Is it weird that there's a Trader Joe's at the far end of town and I never, ever go? Like maybe twice a year. Their parking lot is always full. The staff is lovely and very attentive, but I just find them very limited as far as being a grocery store and I don't feel like popping in and spending money on specialty items that I just don't need. Their eggs and dairy are pretty cheap, but I don't feel like making a special trip just for that. They have or used to have a brand of vegetarian sausage links that I'd buy for my son that were very good and very inexpensive, but he's married now and on his own. Their meat isn't cheap, nor is their produce. They do have nice greeting cards and fresh flowers.

Beautiful post, @Notabug. And I'm sorry about the loss of your nephew at such a young age.

I don't feel bad for him as I thought he was obnoxious and I don't believe all his talk about the "bro love" he has for some of his fellow male contestant chefs, either. Look at how fast he turned on Phuoc! His team's pizzas were awful. Apparently, his dough balls were too large and besides the crusts being so badly charred, the pies themselves were uneven in thickness. I was shocked that he thought they were okay to serve to not only the guests, but the judges themselves. I thought the judges were too kind in their critique of his team's cooking.

Too funny. My grandsons are 3 and 10 months old and look nothing alike. Both were C- sections and my son was present at each birth. My son and DIL are brunettes, as are all their family members, and their eldest son is blonde as can be. There's no mistaking that he's his Mama's, as he looks just like her. Grandson #2 is brunette but to me he doesn't resemble either parent, although he does have his dad's cleft in his chin. Both boys have their dad's gorgeous eyelashes. Grandson #1 appears to have a double set! I'm pooped. My son's family came in for a family wedding a week ago Saturday. My DIL left on Wednesday with the baby to attend a family function back in Texas and returned Sunday. My son works remotely. My husband and I were in charge of babysitting the 3 year-old while my son was working. When they come from upstate to visit, they also bring the dog and the cat. They finally left at 7:30 pm last night. I welcomed the silence. 😂

Seriously,my mind was blown by that episode. How could those "shacks" have cost so much? Sometimes I wonder if these foreigners are getting bamboozled.