DeLurker

@icemiser69 - that’s really irresponsible pet ownership. Are there leash laws in your area? If you can, vrecord the dog roaming free and owner being negligent and send it to animal control. I let my dog off leash when I take him on the local green belts where it is common if your dog is not aggressive and doesn’t get snarly with other dogs on the trails. But otherwise he’s on the leash for both his safety and so other people don’t have to worry about whether the least intimidating looking dog in the world is going to stay that way (he’s a white floofy guy, but he is big). He wouldn’t hurt anyone, but he’d go charging after squirrels and ducks if he had his way.

I just got some belated presents and this is the best! It raised a lot of questions when it showed up on my list, but it makes me happier than it should. It is a hedgehog table brush for sweeping up crumbs.

Just spotted this with the Jello in the grocery store... I guess because it was tough to find the ingredients to make Jello shots?

Got an email from about a food recall PetSmart where I buy Kook's prescription dog food from Hill's. Voluntary Canned Dog Food Recall: United States None of the cans that we bought were on the list, but just in case anyone else buys the prescription food...

Last night we grabbed some to go food since I had various errands to run. A local pizza place has a couple of stores and makes an amazing salad with artichoke, feta and chicken in it so I got that and chicken fettuccine for my daughter. The same plaza has a couple of drive throughs and so I picked up Jack In the Box for my son. I have two of the pizza shops near me and it is splitting hairs which one is closer. But at one of them, I consistently get a much larger serving of the salad so I choose that one. Since I eat it as a meal, I get 2 servings out of it.

From the article - Snacks such as cookies and granola bars are generally overpriced as well, says Greutman: "All of those are impulse buys and I think specifically packaged to be quick buys, and you spend a lot of money." ~~~~ Have to disagree with them here. Some of the cookies at TJs are amazing and I don't really think there is a comparable grocery store product to them. The Triple Ginger Snaps and Quadruple Almond cookies certainly don't have competition. The Speculoos are cheaper than the Biscoff brand. My kids have a strong preference for the Joe-Joe's and chocolate chip cookies from there over brands carried in grocery stores.

Just got done giving my big floofy dog a bath at the new pet place that opened up recently. They have grooming by appointment and two self-wash stations. For $12, you get a station, hot & cold water, shampoo & conditioner if you want it (I brought my own), endless towels (!) and a dryer. As an added bonus, you don't have to clean up the place after and you don't have to wash the towels. Since Kook is a practitioner of passive resistance when it comes to baths, he was not thrilled. I, on the other hand, was quite pleased not to have to bend down to wash the dog and to be able to wash him in an environment designed for washing dogs. It did take me a fair amount of time - probably 75-85 minutes, but I was new to this kind of set up and did not want to turn the water nor the air up too high on Kook since he is already stressed out when getting a bath. The only potential issue was when I was getting him ready to get out of the tub. I unhooked him from the tether that keeps dogs secure when being washed and was putting back on his regular collar. He decided he should start to walk out of the tub, meaning to walk over and down the ramp. He's tall enough to where he could probably do it without problem, but I did not want to chance it.

@hoosier80 - Your mom is a handful to say the least. Is there no one left that has some influence over her? Because she probably has physical conditions that are causing her discomfort that have been left untreated and chronic pain can take its toll on even the most pleasant of people. If you have a difficult person to start out with, well that just amplifies their personality. Would it be possible to specifically refuse to visit until she has had a check-up and/or go with her to the appointment? It might appeal to her vanity that her daughter insists she see a doctor (she'll probably still rail at you, but she'll be able to tell other people how concerned you are about her health). I'm really sorry.

I'm confused and/or under-caffeinated. Why are you replacing your existing mattress if you are not ready?

Chickpea Update: There was barely enough room to slide the dried chickpeas in between the two dishes, so that was a concern. I had put them in and added cold water to soak around 2 PM yesterday. I checked on things a couple of times in the evening and things hadn't become unstuck so I was thinking this may not work. I checked this morning and it looked like the soy sauce dish had shifted just a bit - really just a smidge - but I decided to see if it was enough. And it was! So very happy!

Was washing some dishes last night that can't go in the dishwasher. One was my really big cup I use for soup and another was one of my small soy sauce dishes. Somehow the soy sauce dish managed to get into the cup and is now stuck. I've tried a variety of ways to get them separated, but no luck so far. Someone on the internet says to put dried chickpeas in between and add water. The theory is as the chickpeas re-hydrate, they will expand and push the dishes apart. I'll be buying chickpeas this morning.

I can’t even imagine expecting people to pay as much as it would cost to attend one.

Pumpkin Spice next fall.

Last night I tried baked Greek chicken and Greek fries. The marinade for the chicken was easy - yogurt, olive oil, lemon zest & juice, garlic, oregano, parsley...but it turned out a bit blander than I was hoping. I saw some recipes using balsamic vinegar instead of yogurt, so I may try one of these next time. The baked Greek fries turned out well and will be making future appearances at my dinner table.

I know not everyone can work from home or otherwise miss going out in this weather, but be safe. I’m just catching news & stories on tv, but it is scary. Granted, I haven’t lived where it snowed since I was in elementary school so would be completely ill-equipped to handle any of this.

He said this to you? Because he should try being less of an asshole if he did.

I usually love Trader Joe’s Winter Blend coffee to the point where I buy a few extra cans so I can have some later in the year since it is seasonal. The first can I got this year was underwhelming, but I thought maybe I just got an off batch without the right balance of seasoning. I eventually bought a second can and that was pretty much the same as the first. It is really disappointing.

I’m so sorry @AgentRXS - that has to be devasting.

Primarily to get the dog to stop trying to eat the cat poop from the litter box. I never thought about the dog going to the toilet to retrieve it, but Kook stays as far away from anyplace someone might try to bath him and my downstairs bathroom is really quite small.

Ask her how I get the cat to drink tequila?

My daughter and I were really distressed when they changed the English muffin recipe.

I'm not blown away by the vocals, but that is probably because that song is so tied to Brian Wilson. That being said, that is a beautiful acoustic version of the song - I had no idea Paul Simon was that good!

That's site full of some fun recipes! And I so want to try the Cubanos - yum!

Anyone try toilet training their cats? If so, are there any products that you would recommend?

Ahhh...understood. My Dad was naturally a bit nosey so the more people were around, the more he tried to keep track of what was going on. When it was just Mom most of the time, he would start to slide a bit and her trying to get him to do things he needed to do became more difficult.