Chit-Chat: What's On Your Mind Today?

[oliviabenson]

I quit going to Trader Joe’s because mostly I bought was snacks/junk…

[Gramto6]

33 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

I quit going to Trader Joe’s because mostly I bought was snacks/junk…

There isn't a Trader Joe's in Montana at all...occasionally I get something of theirs from Amazon but it is usually something like mustard or a spices or something along that line. I haven't looked if Amazon has any of their snacks.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Gramto6

[annzeepark914]

1 minute ago, oliviabenson said:

I quit going to Trader Joe’s because mostly I bought was snacks/junk…

I was just there & bought lots of good stuff: a bag of big lemons, swordfish, 4 cans of Spicy Chai Tea (love that tea with fat-free ReddiWhip squirted on top 😁), a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano, Guilt-free Mac & Cheese, a bouquet of Alstromeria, a pckg of vegetable spring rolls, I think that's it... ☺️. 

[stewedsquash]

How are the vegetable spring rolls? How do you prepare them? 

[kristen111]

4 hours ago, Leeds said:

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before, but this is a good stress reliever, with or without your husband.

https://www.facebook.com/JeanneLaughs/videos/351806438730571/

Yes, I saw it last time.  Hilarious!  So true, lol.

[peacheslatour]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I was just there & bought lots of good stuff: a bag of big lemons, swordfish, 4 cans of Spicy Chai Tea (love that tea with fat-free ReddiWhip squirted on top 😁), a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano, Guilt-free Mac & Cheese, a bouquet of Alstromeria, a pckg of vegetable spring rolls, I think that's it... ☺️. 

Ah yes, alstroemeria AKA the florists friend.

 

[oliviabenson]

3 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

There isn't a Trader Joe's in Montana at all...occasionally I get something of theirs from Amazon but it is usually something like mustard or a spices or something along that line. I haven't looked if Amazon has any of their snacks.

Be careful. Make sure they are not overcharging for the items.

[annzeepark914]

2 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

How are the vegetable spring rolls? How do you prepare them? 

Haven't tried them yet but according to the directions you can bake them in an oven 15-17 minutes or thaw in microwave & toast in counter top oven...or thaw in microwave and then cook in a skillet for 4 minutes to crisp them up. They're filled with kale, edamame, mushrooms and shredded tofu (this will be interesting!) It says they're vegan (I didn't see that, but it will be a culinary adventure).

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, oliviabenson said:

Be careful. Make sure they are not overcharging for the items.

Since it is my only option, don't have much choice.

[annzeepark914]

33 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Since it is my only option, don't have much choice.

Even if you have Prime's free shipping, when you order TJ's or Penzey's items from Amazon, you have to pay shipping. But as you said, this would be the only way you could get Trader Joe's goods.

[theredhead77]

10 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

when you order TJ's or Penzey's items from Amazon, y

There is no reason to order Penzey's from Amazon. Sign up for their emails, they're always having a sale and they offer fair shipping if the order doesn't qualify for free shipping.

Edited April 11, 2023 by theredhead77

[EtheltoTillie]

18 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Even if you have Prime's free shipping, when you order TJ's or Penzey's items from Amazon, you have to pay shipping. But as you said, this would be the only way you could get Trader Joe's goods.

I believe the TJ products on Amazon are sold by third-party sellers, so they are marked up.  If anyone has any other information, I'd be curious.  It's the only option, though, as you all stated, for fans of the specialty products who don't live near a TJ. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[isalicat]

On 4/10/2023 at 12:45 PM, peacheslatour said:

Is that the one where he sings Thank Heaven for Little Girls? 

Yes...🙄  I'm surprised this movie is still being shown, frankly....

20 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

Ah yes, alstroemeria AKA the florists friend.

 

My back garden is full of these...I can't take any credit because whomever lived here previously clearly planted them, but they are lovely and the hummingbirds and bees really like them!

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Yes...🙄  I'm surprised this movie is still being shown, frankly....

So am I.

[Suzn]

On 4/10/2023 at 2:45 PM, peacheslatour said:

Is that the one where he sings Thank Heaven for Little Girls? 

I've always found that song very pervy!  And then we have Maurice Chevalier leering at girls.

[EtheltoTillie]

Gigi is a very troubling story overall.  But it won best picture!  Oh, well, based on Colette novel. 

 

[ABay]

Yes, yes, the pervy opening song, the age gap between Gaston & Gigi, not to mention between Honore and his various "heavenly creatures". But Hermione Gingold! Beautiful costumes! Paris in the spring when each solitary thing is more beautiful than ever before! Gaston dumping champagne down Lianne's dress! Aunt Alicia!

[Suzn]

2 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Gigi is a very troubling story overall.  But it won best picture!  Oh, well, based on Colette novel. 

 

I love vintage movies and I do not want to see censorship make old movies inaccessible, but there are ones that are not merely politically incorrect, but truly offensive in some way.  I don't have a complete and satisfying solution to movies that promote racism and sexism.  For me personally, it is weighing elements and being able to say that on balance there is still enough to value in Gone With the Wind to watch and to watch a movie that has Fred Astaire in blackface. So there things that make me cringe and things I have to fast forward through.

[Gramto6]

17 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

There is no reason to order Penzey's from Amazon. Sign up for their emails, they're always having a sale and they offer fair shipping if the order doesn't qualify for free shipping.

I have for a long time ordered directly from Penzy's. Love that store! But I have so many spices I don't order much at all any more.

I also have an ulterior motive for ordering from Amazon. The diabetes forum I help moderate gets a cut of the orders if you place them through the link on the site. Between the members, we help pay for some of the fees incurred for the site. 

[PRgal]

1 hour ago, Suzn said:

I love vintage movies and I do not want to see censorship make old movies inaccessible, but there are ones that are not merely politically incorrect, but truly offensive in some way.  I don't have a complete and satisfying solution to movies that promote racism and sexism.  For me personally, it is weighing elements and being able to say that on balance there is still enough to value in Gone With the Wind to watch and to watch a movie that has Fred Astaire in blackface. So there things that make me cringe and things I have to fast forward through.

Speaking of PC, some 30 years ago, there were huge protests of a Showboat revival in Toronto, with some (mostly Black) people wanting the show pulled.  I was only 13 or 14 at the time and remember it having to do with the use of the  “n” word and stereotypical characterization of Black characters.  But at the same time, it addresses racism at the time (and today as well).   You kind of have to portray it somewhat realistically.  I think they ended up making some slight changes since the show wasn’t cancelled.  I think it ran for almost two years. 

[RealHousewife]

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I’m thinking of getting a subscription to Victoria and was curious what the cheapest place is to start a subscription.

I don’t even own a home, but their pictures are so dreamy. I must be getting old, because Cosmopolitan and whatnot no longer appeal to me. 

[EtheltoTillie]

47 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I’m thinking of getting a subscription to Victoria and was curious what the cheapest place is to start a subscription.

I don’t even own a home, but their pictures are so dreamy. I must be getting old, because Cosmopolitan and whatnot no longer appeal to me. 

I subscribe to New York Magazine, The New Yorker, Atlantic, and Harper's in print and also read them on line.  I read the daily newspapers on line only (NY TImes, WSJ, Daily News, NY Post, Daily Mail, the Guardian).  I subscribe to Vogue Knitting and Threads and Cook's Illustrated, as I like the hard copies for craft related things.  

I no longer read a lot of the other magazines I used to like.  I used to work in the women's magazine field and subscribed to all of them, but now most of them are defunct.  I used to love Martha Stewart's magazine, but I don't bother with it in whatever incarnation it is now.  It may be on-line only.

I stop in at the public library and scan other magazines.  Just now, by coincidence, I was looking at Vanity Fair at the library.  Vanity Fair went way downhill for me when Graydon Carter retired.  It's just not as interesting.  So I stopped subscribing. 

As for cheap subscriptions, most magazines have always given cheap introductory rates, and you can probably Google their subscription web site.

Yes, Cosmopolitan and Glamour--the young women's magazines--are no longer of interest. 

Edited April 12, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[Bethany]

49 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I do have some subscriptions but they are all online.  Vanity Fair and a few others because I got tired of being behind pay walls when I wanted to read an article!

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I bought my dad a delivery subscription to Scientific America and I take advantage of the virtual subscription.

[oliviabenson]

I don’t subscribe to any magazines. A lot folded or online only. 
 

There used to be sites to get free magazines too. I got them for free years ago.

[nokat]

17 hours ago, PRgal said:

You kind of have to portray it somewhat realistically.

We can't just pretend this didn't exist. Or there is enough positive in there that it shows how we shouldn't portray characters, if that makes sense.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

Not as many as I used to, but yes:  The Week, The Nation, Mother Jones, and Ms.

[EtheltoTillie]

44 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Not as many as I used to, but yes:  The Week, The Nation, Mother Jones, and Ms.

Ha, I read one article in The Nation at the library this morning.  Since the Nation comes out every week, when I used to have a subscription, they would pile up.

[PRgal]

I don't subscribe to anything, but I'll pick up food and health/fitness magazines at the supermarket from time to time.  

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Since the Nation comes out every week, when I used to have a subscription, they would pile up.

Yeah, that happens to me sometimes; the articles aren't exactly light, breezy reads.  But I always wind up reading through the backlog at some point when it happens.

Newsweek used to be my weekly news magazine, for eons, but then I switched to The Week after getting a free trial of it.  Now that's a quick read!

I let The Progressive, Utne Reader, and several newsletters lapse, but I'll still read articles online.

[roseha]

I read the NY Times, Washington Post, Guardian and other newspapers online.  I have a bad habit though of subscribing to a fine art monthly and then forgetting to download it.  Let's see, there's Medium Format Photography, Aperture and the Noir City Newsletter that I get for donating to Eddie Muller's Film Noir Foundation...

Some of these were the subs I had to check when my credit card got hacked but fortunately I had put most of them on Paypal anyway.

[ebk57]

11 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I used to subscribe to Gourmet and Bon Appetit, but one went out of business and the other just wasn't interesting to me.  I also subscribed to Newsweek but not anymore (didn't they stop publishing for a while? Otherwise, I don't know why I would have stopped).  Now the only print magazine we get is The Week (which I love, even though they try to overcharge me every year).  I read the New York Times (mostly for theatre) and the Baltimore Sun online, and get the Sunday Washington Post delivered. The rest of the week, I read it online.  I also got a year online subscription to The New Yorker during a public radio pledge drive, and a year subscription to the LA Times for a dollar through AFI. 

I feel like I need more time to sit on my couch and read.

[PRgal]

8 hours ago, roseha said:

I read the NY Times, Washington Post, Guardian and other newspapers online.  I have a bad habit though of subscribing to a fine art monthly and then forgetting to download it.  Let's see, there's Medium Format Photography, Aperture and the Noir City Newsletter that I get for donating to Eddie Muller's Film Noir Foundation...

Some of these were the subs I had to check when my credit card got hacked but fortunately I had put most of them on Paypal anyway.

Oh, I DO subscribe to digital editions of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. 

Edited April 13, 2023 by PRgal

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

Oh, I DO subscribe to digital editions of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Globe and Mail and Toronto Star. 

The only physical publication we get is The Seattle Times. It's kind of expensive but I can't give it up. There is something so satisfying about getting up, grabbing a hot cup of tea and picking up the newspaper off the front porch.

[Browncoat]

My newspaper just decided to increase my subscription for the print version to the ridiculous (to me) amount of about $350 for three months.  I've downgraded to an e-edition only for $22/3 months.  I'll miss the crosswords, but I can buy a LOT of crossword puzzle books for $300!

[Bethany]

2 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

My newspaper just decided to increase my subscription for the print version to the ridiculous (to me) amount of about $350 for three months. 

Did you mean $35.00 because otherwise that is just insane!!

[Browncoat]

5 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Did you mean $35.00 because otherwise that is just insane!!

Nope.  $350.  $35 would be a bargain!

[Bethany]

12 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

Nope.  $350.  $35 would be a bargain!

Reminds me of cable companies/TV networks who complain that people are giving up cable/mainstream TV and the way they "reward" those of us who haven't made the move yet is to make most shows more advertisement than program.

[annzeepark914]

On 4/12/2023 at 12:06 PM, RealHousewife said:

Do any of you subscribe to magazines anymore?

I subscribe to the NYT (digital); the Washington Post (home delivery, so digital is free); and Washingtonian magazine. I loved Gourmet & was crushed when they closed. They'd review new restaurants all over which was great for us tourists (one memorable restaurant--Rose Pistola in North Beach, San Francisco). I used to subscribe to more but hated tossing them in the recycling bin when no one wanted them. Used to like Bon Appetit but it has changed.  Uh-oh...need to be careful with my posts today. I initially typed Bob Appetit 😆.

[nokat]

I get a free local paper but I don't subscribe to any. I used to get some magazines from the UK about photography and 3D modeling. The exchange rate made them a bit pricey and they were moving to digital only when I dropped subscriptions.

[RealHousewife]

Thanks for all the magazine feedback everyone!

On another topic, what are everyone's thoughts on the culture changing throughout the years?

There are some things I like and some things I dislike.

Even though we have a way to go, I love the progress that's been made as far as less tolerance for bigotry. I remember as a kid the racist things that were allowed to slide, how much worse it was for LGBT, how much worse sexism was, etc. I am grateful for all the strides in the right direction, so I'm not someone who looks at the past with nothing but fondness. I hear a lot of people say there used to be so much more freedom, and even with cancel culture, I think we are more free today to be ourselves. A friend of mine who is a gay man and still deals with a lot said he thinks if he were in high school today, he would have felt so much more safe if he wanted to compete in sports. He said in the past he wouldn't have fit in with the toxic masculinity atmosphere. I hope society continues to improve in all these regards. 

But sometimes I feel like an old lady clutching my pearls. For example, I am a big fan of the Real Housewives. I still hate some of the stuff that flies out of certain cast members mouths (like Brandi Glanville, Erika Jayne, etc). Even some of the so-called classy cast members can say very crude things. 

If you take out the problematic elements, I much prefer to watch old Hollywood movies over most current ones. So much more family friendly, no bathroom humor, just more elegant entertainment. I prefer Audrey Hepburn as a role mode over the Kardashians. I prefer Ella Fitzgerald to Cardi B. I feel like a bit of an odd duck as a personally conservative person who is grateful for progress. 

I have felt like this before but was reminded when I watched this YouTube channel called the Daily Connoisseur. The woman is so well-mannered, I find it refreshing. I would like to be more like her.

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by RealHousewife

[peacheslatour]

I agree completely. I'd rather see Bette Davis, Joan Crawford and Myrna Loy than most actors these days but I remind myself that they were movie stars. Television actors I do like are Sarah Paulson, Gillian Anderson and Brenda Blethyn.

[Bethany]

I've realized I don't even know who most of today's big movie stars are!  It's like I stopped paying attention around the time George Clooney and Julia Roberts were the major drawing cards and I've never really been that interested since.  I think it says it all when the movie I plan to see with my sister when she is back in town stars Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda.

Edited April 13, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[annzeepark914]

Did anyone watch the Grammy's tribute to the Beach Boys on Sunday night? IMO, it was pretty bad. More than half the artists performing the BB songs were unknown to me (& I wasn't impressed with their renditions). When they'd show the Beach Boys sitting in the balcony, Mike Love was acting like it was all wonderful. Then the camera panned to show Brian Wilson. Uh-oh. He didn't look thrilled. 

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

I've realized I don't even know who most of today's big movie stars are!  It's like I stopped paying attention around the time George Clooney and Julia Roberts were the major drawing cards and I've never really been that interested since.  I think it says it all when the movie I plan to see with my sister when she is back in town stars Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda.

I don’t either.  I don’t think anyone over 35 knows who anyone is anymore. 

[Caoimhe]

30 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Did anyone watch the Grammy's tribute to the Beach Boys on Sunday night? IMO, it was pretty bad. More than half the artists performing the BB songs were unknown to me (& I wasn't impressed with their renditions). When they'd show the Beach Boys sitting in the balcony, Mike Love was acting like it was all wonderful. Then the camera panned to show Brian Wilson. Uh-oh. He didn't look thrilled. 

We did. I had no idea who most of the performers were, but I’m old. I chose to listen more than watch (doing a coloring page on my iPad) so I didn’t see the reactions! In my head I always hear the original version so it doesn’t surprise me that I think what I’m hearing is “not quite right”.

[RealHousewife]

You know what made me feel old? The Coachella lineup. 

[JTMacc99]

4 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Reminds me of cable companies/TV networks who complain that people are giving up cable/mainstream TV and the way they "reward" those of us who haven't made the move yet is to make most shows more advertisement than program.

I work for a cable company. Cable companies aren't complaining about people giving up cable TV.

The sooner we don't have any TV subscribers left, the better. We have no control over the cost of programming and no control over what channels we have to carry in basic packages, it takes a shit ton of equipment and resources to provide the service, it requires a lot of staff to maintain and field phone calls, and it eats up a ton of bandwidth that could be better allocated to internet service.

It's a shitty business where a cable company has to sell a basic cable package for $150/month just to make enough money to not just shut the whole thing off. Hell, more than $90 of that bill just gets turned around and sent directly to Disney, Fox, Paramount, and so on.

[SoMuchTV]

21 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

You know what made me feel old? The Coachella lineup. 

You know what makes me feel old? I’m pretty sure the Coachella lineup doesn’t involve purses but other than that, I got nothing. 

[Bastet]

7 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

You know what makes me feel old? I’m pretty sure the Coachella lineup doesn’t involve purses but other than that, I got nothing. 

Coachella is a music festival.

I know Bjork.  That's about it from this year's line-up.