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JTMacc99

By JTMacc99
in Everything Else

Mod-Tigerkatze
Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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Mountainair
Mountainair

Whew… I know I don’t post often enough to leave a mark on anyone’s memory here but I just got cell service back today after dealing with Helene.   Was finally able to watch news coverage and the dev

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Bethany

We have to take my late sister's dog in to be put down today.  He's really suffering and it's his time.  But that doesn't make it any easier.  I know this sounds silly but it's like having to say good

Moose135
Moose135

We went out in search of the Northern Lights. We're visiting family in Kansas City, so we headed north until we found some good darkness, then drove down several roads in the middle of farm country. D

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SoMuchTV

SoMuchTV

4 minutes ago, dleighg said:

a relative of mine checked her gas station receipts. Even for me, who is fairly obsessive, that's beyond....

I only recently (relatively) stopped calculating my mpg from each fillup. My “new” (2007) car displays my mpg but I still manually calculated it for a few years until I was confident in the car’s calculations. 

In hindsight, I think I was traumatized by a VW Rabbit I had in the early 80s that was supposed to be super fuel efficient, but in reality got something like 15 mpg. 

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Ancaster

Ancaster

1 hour ago, SoMuchTV said:

I only recently (relatively) stopped calculating my mpg from each fillup. My “new” (2007) car displays my mpg but I still manually calculated it for a few years until I was confident in the car’s calculations. 

In hindsight, I think I was traumatized by a VW Rabbit I had in the early 80s that was supposed to be super fuel efficient, but in reality got something like 15 mpg. 

The Rabbit.  Enough said.  (At least for those of us who lived through those years.)

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Yeah No

Yeah No

8 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Shake and Bake. I'm now remembering the commercial for this product. Two kids were featured, who were using the product (alongside their mom). They said, in unison: "Shiike 'n' biike, and we hiilped". When I moved down to NC, I eventually heard people talk this way while working on a project in New Bern. If one travels even farther east in NC, one hears the "hoigh toiders". I guess these old accents came from English settlers in the coastal areas.

LOL, every time I make Shake and Bake my husband says that in just that way. I went to NC often as a kid because my paternal grandfather retired there. My grandmother died before I was born and he later married a woman from NC. She and her family were very colorful southerners and had that accent.

Shake and Bake is one of those things I grew up with that I still make as a comfort food. 

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Baltimore Betty

Baltimore Betty

39 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

In the 18 months I had it, that thing went through two radios and three engines. (Or maybe vice versa? I’ve tried to forget.)

In 1979 I got a Champagne Edition Rabbit, I had about seven years and 2 clutches, I loved it, it was a fun car to drive but if the air conditioning was running it was like throwing out the anchor, lol.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)

An email I just sent 🙃😄

Quote

Regarding the Hess 2024 - 60th Anniversary Fire Truck with Car and Motorcycle:
After unjamming the car ramp, I now have 2 extra screws—

When putting away her 3-year-old's birthday presents, including the Hess 2024 - 60th Anniversary Fire Truck, my daughter accidentally put the ramp and car in backwards, which, as you are now aware, is a poor design issue. 

My daughter was afraid the only solution was to break off the ramp lip, which I guess many other parents and kids have now done.
But I offered to take it home and fix it without breaking anything.
Yesterday, Sunday, I was able to get the ramp out after I unscrewed all of the screws on the bottom of the truck, including those holding the wheel axles, until I was finally able to slightly move the white plastic below the red ramp, providing enough wiggle room for me to extract the  car and ramp. 

It is now reassembled and functional, including all of the lights and noises, however, I wound up with 2 screws left over. I took the bottom off again but could not see where they should go.

Today, Monday, I called Hess customer support at (844) 437-7869 in hopes of getting a diagram of where the screws all go.

I spoke to LaShonda who told me there is no such diagram available, but there is another method of extracting the jammed ramp involving a butter knife, but I did not want to re-jam it to try it. 
Of course, if it gets re-jammed, I will call back. 

I hope this information helps you resolve this issue. 

If you have any additional information for me about the 2 left-over screws, please contact me.

Thank you…

 

 

Edited by shapeshifter
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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Don't mind me...I'm just sitting here, munching on my Lemon Drop cookies that our neighborhood Girl Scout just delivered. They are so good (with a bit of lemon glaze to keep them from getting too sweet). Once a Scout, always a Scout 🍀

I wish I still had my sash with the badges sewn onto it.

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emma675

emma675

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Don't mind me...I'm just sitting here, munching on my Lemon Drop cookies that our neighborhood Girl Scout just delivered. They are so good (with a bit of lemon glaze to keep them from getting too sweet). Once a Scout, always a Scout 🍀

I'm currently recovering from surgery with a stash of Thin Mints in my fridge from my local neighborhood Girl Scout.

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Bastet

Bastet

I wish the Thin Mints weren't made with palm oil.  Or at least that I didn't know it was in there.  It's frakkin' everywhere, so I've inadvertently purchased things that contain it, but when I know, I won't buy it.  I don't eat a lot of cookies and generally don't care for packaged (rather than fresh baked) cookies, or crunchy cookies in general (I like soft), but Thin Mints I like.  I'm not sure I've ever had any of the other Girl Scout cookies.

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ECM1231

ECM1231

(edited)
1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

I wish I still had my sash with the badges sewn onto it.

Back in the mid 1960s there was a huge blackout in NYC and the metro NY area. We lived in suburbia, about a 30 minute drive from the city and were affected. I had chosen that night to earn my cooking badge. Fortunately, being around 8 or 9, the menu was hot dogs. We had to light the stove burner with a match and eat by candlelight, but I was able to complete the task. 

I've never seen GS lemon-ups cookies. I'm allergic to lemon, so they would not be on my shopping list. My favorites are the Thin Mints and Samoas.  MrECM prefers the Trefoils. 

 

Sending healing thoughts, @emma675. 

Edited by ECM1231
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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

(edited)

Check this out, @shapeshifter

I see I never sewed on a couple of the badges, and my sewing was terrible!  The ones nicely sewn were done by my mother, of course. 

sash.jpg

9 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Back in the mid 1960s there was a huge blackout in NYC and the metro NY area. We lived in suburbia, about a 30 minute drive from the city and were affected. I had chosen that night to earn my cooking badge. Fortunately, being around 8 or 9, the menu was hot dogs. We had to light the stove burner with a match and eat by candlelight, but I was able to complete the task. 

I've never seen GS lemon-ups cookies. I'm allergic to lemon, so they would not be on my shopping list. My favorites are the Thin Mints and Samoas.  MrECM prefers the Trefoils. 

 

Sending healing thoughts, @emma675. 

I remember that blackout.  We had an electric stove, so we couldn't cook anything. 

Does anyone recognize any of those badges?  I know the one with the rag doll was something about toymaking.  The one with the paintbrushes is art.  There's swimming and outdoor camping or cooking.  I know I had a first aid badge, but I don't know which one it was.  I have no idea what the pirate's chest is, or the coffee cup, or the fireplace. 

Edited by EtheltoTillie
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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
46 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

the coffee cup

My guess is it's a teacup for hospitality, and, yes?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364343050368
I am not readily finding a list online, which seems odd, but maybe not, since at that time girls' achievements were so undervalued at that time?
Also, it seems like there were variations over time and perhaps geographically.
So, yes, maybe this will have them:

36 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Well, it appears I can buy a used copy of the 1965 Junior Girl Scout handbook on Amazon for $6.28.  I think I will take the plunge. 

 

 

Edited by shapeshifter
Ohiopirate02

Ohiopirate02

11 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Sheesh...they're Lemon-ups 🥴. I'm sorry!!

Or Lemonades. There are two different companies who make Girl Scout cookies and one of them has the trademark to some of the names. Samoa, Tagalong, and Do-Si-Do are trademarked and some of us have to buy Caramel DeLites and Peanut Butter Patties. The only two cookies that are the same are Thin Mints and Trefoils.

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

4 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

My guess is it's a teacup for hospitality, and, yes?: https://www.ebay.com/itm/364343050368
I am not readily finding a list online, which seems odd, but maybe not, since at that time girls' achievements were so undervalued at that time?
Also, it seems like there were variations over time and perhaps geographically.
So, yes, maybe this will have them:

 

 

Yes, that's the book I had as a kid.  It will have all the badges. 

It will be fun to look at the book as it will have all the steps we had to take to get the badge. 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

52 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I have no idea what the pirate's chest

The red chest is Collector: https://www.ebay.com/itm/231367945738?campid=5338981177&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&toolid=10050&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0

See more: https://www.ebay.com/b/Collectible-Girl-Scout-Badges-Patches/13892/bn_3115912

The fireplace is "My Home"??? https://www.etsy.com/listing/178707911/hearth-fireplace-necklace-my-home-girl

Hopefully the handbook will shed some light on what you had to do to earn the "My Home" badge.

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

8 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

The red chest is Collector: https://www.ebay.com/itm/231367945738?campid=5338981177&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&toolid=10050&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0

See more: https://www.ebay.com/b/Collectible-Girl-Scout-Badges-Patches/13892/bn_3115912

The fireplace is "My Home"??? https://www.etsy.com/listing/178707911/hearth-fireplace-necklace-my-home-girl

Hopefully the handbook will shed some light on what you had to do to earn the "My Home" badge.

I have no recollection of doing a collector badge.  Was I a junior hoarder?  Does that explain why I still have the sash? 

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PRgal

PRgal

(edited)

I was allowed to bake using a mix when I was in Brownies (they recently changed their name to Embers to be more PC since some children of immigrants come from cultures where being called a "brownie" is a slur) but had to bake from scratch in Guides.  Until then, I had NEVER baked from scratch because my mom never taught me!  She had to find a recipe from a magazine and I followed that.  I made chocolate chip cookies.  There were separate baking and cooking badges.

Edited by PRgal
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Yeah No

Yeah No

11 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Back in the mid 1960s there was a huge blackout in NYC and the metro NY area. We lived in suburbia, about a 30 minute drive from the city and were affected. I had chosen that night to earn my cooking badge. Fortunately, being around 8 or 9, the menu was hot dogs. We had to light the stove burner with a match and eat by candlelight, but I was able to complete the task. 

I've never seen GS lemon-ups cookies. I'm allergic to lemon, so they would not be on my shopping list. My favorites are the Thin Mints and Samoas.  MrECM prefers the Trefoils. 

 

Sending healing thoughts, @emma675. 

I remember that blackout vividly. I was about 7 at the time. I remember going up and down the stairs in my apartment building with my parents with candles and flashlights. As a kid it was great fun. My grandparents and my great uncle lived in the building with us so we all got together and pooled our resources. It felt almost like "camping out" at home. I remember we lit the stove with a match, lol.

I earned my Girl Scout cooking badge making a "one pot meal" that could be cooked while camping. It was the first dish I ever cooked and I remember I really got into it to get the seasoning just right. It was a macaroni and beef dish, kind of like "Hamburger Helper" but not made from a mix. Fortunately I didn't have to do it over the blackout!

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Does anyone recognize any of those badges?  I know the one with the rag doll was something about toymaking.  The one with the paintbrushes is art.  There's swimming and outdoor camping or cooking.  I know I had a first aid badge, but I don't know which one it was.  I have no idea what the pirate's chest is, or the coffee cup, or the fireplace. 

I don't remember any of the badges, but that's so cool that you still have your sash! I don't think I do but I know I still have the handbook. I just don't know where it is right now. It's in any of a few plastic tubs in my garage. I know I have a few artifacts from scouting. You're making me want to go look through those tubs, lol.

When going through my parents' apartment a few years ago I found a suitcase full of my baby clothes, shoes and toys that my mother had saved. I had no idea. They are in beautiful condition and she made a lot of the clothes by hand. Treasures. 

8 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Maybe seashells? Coins? Stamps? 

Oh, that may be it! I know I had a shell and a stamp collection and I think I may have used one to get that badge! These are very dim memories by now.

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Browncoat

Browncoat

I never made it to Girl Scouts.  I was a Brownie for a while in 1972 -- until we had a mock election and I was the only one who did not vote for Nixon.  I quit that day.

Meanwhile, I am taking the day off work today.  I just got back from the dentist, where I had a filling replaced, and my face is still completely numb.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

15 hours ago, PRgal said:

was in Brownies (they recently changed their name to Embers to be more PC since some children of immigrants come from cultures where being called a "brownie" is a slur)

“Embers” is a lovely sounding, evocative word. 
The runner-up name was “Comet” (npr.org/2023/01/12/1148705587/canada-girl-guides-brownies-racism-racialized-embers-name-change).
Tough choice. 
My most treasured experience is still seeing a comet while living far away from any light pollution. 
And the light of the comet did outlast any single ember in our woodstove at that same time.

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PRgal

PRgal

6 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

“Embers” is a lovely sounding, evocative word. 
The runner-up name was “Comet” (npr.org/2023/01/12/1148705587/canada-girl-guides-brownies-racism-racialized-embers-name-change).
Tough choice. 
My most treasured experience is still seeing a comet while living far away from any light pollution. 
And the light of the comet did outlast any single ember in our woodstove at that same time.

I still can't believe that "Comet" made it to the final round.  I get that they wanted to emphasize STE(A)M for girls in some sort of way, but it takes away from the historic "woodland creature" theme they had.  I also wasn't a fan of the media portraying the fair skin vs dark skin issue as 100% colonialism based (okay, this is probably more for a Feels post) because I KNOW my ancestral cultural history on ideal beauty.  And it goes back way too long to really blame it only on the west.  All I can say is that there's a reason why Once Upon A World set their version of Snow White in Japan (which culture was greatly influenced by China).

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Cementhead

Cementhead

(edited)
22 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I dunno.  Embers sounds like something that will soon be extinguished, sort of negative connotation for me. 

I just googled this out of curiosity and embers was apparently chosen because the word signifies potential that is just waiting to be unleashed. 🤷‍♀️

I was a Brownie as a young girl here, in Canada, and I am 51 years old now and have never once in my life heard anyone be called a "brownie" as a slur, in fact, I didn't even know that was a thing until the big announcement that the name was changed because it was derogatory.  Not saying it isn't a thing, but it was news to me .

Edited by Cementhead
added another sentence.
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PRgal

PRgal

(edited)
35 minutes ago, Cementhead said:

I just googled this out of curiosity and embers was apparently chosen because the word signifies potential that is just waiting to be unleashed. 🤷‍♀️

I was a Brownie as a young girl here, in Canada, and I am 51 years old now and have never once in my life heard anyone be called a "brownie" as a slur, in fact, I didn't even know that was a thing until the big announcement that the name was changed because it was derogatory.  Not saying it isn't a thing, but it was news to me .

I wonder if these communities are going to want the snack to be renamed.  I guess snacks aren't people, so different story.  I grew up with a grandmother who said tanning wasn't "lady-like" but that, like I said, goes back millennia in my ancestral culture.  I just didn't like how they painted it as if ALL "racialized" communities (i.e. anyone with non-White heritage) got the idea ONLY from the west.  I felt my heritage being erased (mods:  if it's an issue here, feel free to move it to the Feels thread).

Edited by PRgal
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annzeepark914

annzeepark914

I loved being a Brownie, wearing a cute little light brown uniform & a brown beanie. Our troop leader & family lived in a renovated former chicken shack on the grounds of her parent's big ol' Victorian house. There was a little pond that we looked into during our initiation...my favorite memory! (I think what we said was something about looking at a reflection of ourselves?) Oh, & marching with my troop in our small city's Memorial Day parade. My mom, bless her heart, walked briskly, unseen by me, behind the parade watchers, from one end of town to the other...had to be at least a mile 🤎

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fastiller

fastiller

(edited)

That mid-60s blakcout was on 09 Nov 1965.  I know this because it's my birthday (different year), and I kinda 'collect' facts about things on my b'day throughout history.  I also 'collect' names of people born on my b'day (famous & not)*, and one of my sister's childhood BFFs was born on that date/year, during the blackout.

*Famous people born on the day (a small list):
Hedy Lamarr, 1914
Dorothy Dandridge, 1922
Anne Sexton, 1928
Sandra Denton (aka Pepa or Salt -n- Pepa), 1969

Edited by fastiller
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StatisticalOutlier

StatisticalOutlier

The first time I went over to Mr. Outlier's house, we were poking around in closets and came across his boy scout uniform.  He was an eagle scout so the sash had a LOT of badges.  We were looking at them and one of them was a flame of some sort and he paused and said, "I think this is the book burning one."

Obviously I'm still with him 25 years later.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

37 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

The first time I went over to Mr. Outlier's house, we were poking around in closets and came across his boy scout uniform.  He was an eagle scout so the sash had a LOT of badges.  We were looking at them and one of them was a flame of some sort and he paused and said, "I think this is the book burning one."

Obviously I'm still with him 25 years later.

So he was making a Dad-type joke?
Because he’s the opposite of a book burner?

My Dad was an Eagle Scout in the 1930s!

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lookeyloo

lookeyloo

16 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Back in the mid 1960s there was a huge blackout in NYC and the metro NY area. We lived in suburbia, about a 30 minute drive from the city and were affected. I had chosen that night to earn my cooking badge. Fortunately, being around 8 or 9, the menu was hot dogs. We had to light the stove burner with a match and eat by candlelight, but I was able to complete the task. 

I've never seen GS lemon-ups cookies. I'm allergic to lemon, so they would not be on my shopping list. My favorites are the Thin Mints and Samoas.  MrECM prefers the Trefoils. 

 

Sending healing thoughts, @emma675. 

Fond memories of the blackout.  I was a young married and working downtown Manhattan when at around 5 p.m. several coworkers and I got into the elevator, and it blinked and bobbed, and we got out.  Then everything went dark. We made it down many flights of stairs to the street.  All dark.  Someone let us into a Schraftt's to use the phone, odd, but, yes.  I managed to call ex Dr. lookeyloo who was in medical school in Brooklyn. Somehow he managed to navigate the dark streets.  Before he got there the Schraftt's lit some candles and started giving away food.  I was with a co worker.  We were lucky to get I can't remember what and a dish of melting ice cream.  ex Dr. lookeyloo finally found us and said he would drive co worker home.  She always took the subway and only knew her address, not how to get there.  No maps, no google, no light, etc.  Somehow we got her home.  then made it back to Brooklyn and had to climb 11 flights of stairs.  We went to bed.  Then hours later the lights came on, and my mother in NJ called to tell me, as if we wouldn't know.  It was quite the experience.

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

28 minutes ago, Anela said:

I actually got my seeds started last night.  Spring onions, which I keep forgetting that I can just grow at home.  Strawberries, a Chinese cabbage, that I may be too early with, and eggplant.  

Are you growing them entirely indoors?
Or just starting them now to transplant? 
Or moving to a balcony (like I should do)?
My son-in-law bought a bunch of grow lights and racks a few years ago, and his Dad helped him make raised beds in their backyard. They had great lettuce and tomatoes. 
Last year with 2 babies he just threw flower seeds in the beds.
This year with 2 toddlers, it will probably be the same.

isalicat

isalicat

21 hours ago, emma675 said:

I'm currently recovering from surgery with a stash of Thin Mints in my fridge from my local neighborhood Girl Scout.

If you all please, check the box of your Girl Scout cookies. Last I looked, they still were using palm oil, which is sourced from Indonesia and harvested by (basically) indentured labor girls and women. There was a significant NY Times expose on this issue and the Girl Scouts had indicated they were going to use a different oil in their cookies, but I don't know if that has happened as yet. In the meantime, I will not buy their cookies as it would be pretty much the opposite of what the Girl Scouts are supposed to be all about.

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BooksRule

BooksRule

On 1/27/2025 at 6:06 PM, annzeepark914 said:

Don't mind me...I'm just sitting here, munching on my Lemon Drop cookies that our neighborhood Girl Scout just delivered.

One of our staff members put an order sheet in our staff lounge a couple of days ago.  I ordered my usual Thin Mints and whatever the shortbread ones are called.  I usually get 5 or 6 boxes (gotta support the Girl Sprouts!) and put them in the freezer.  I can make them last for a long, long time.

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Mountainair

Mountainair

My nieces used to be in Girl Scouts and I would order cookies from them but I’m not a big fan of “sweets” so I never ate them. Even my kids who love sugar wouldn’t eat them. They just aren’t that good to me and like others I prefer a homemade cookie. They aren’t in scouts anymore so I don’t have to buy them now lol. 
I was a Girl Scout as a kid and it was the most miserable time of my life. I never even suggested my daughter participate. 

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Mod-Tigerkatze
Message added by Mod-Tigerkatze,

We all have been drawn into off-topic discussions, me included. There's little that's off-topic when it comes to Chit Chat, so the only ask is that you please remember that this is the Chit Chat topic and that there's a subforum for all things health and wellness here.

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