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

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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ECM1231

ECM1231

Back in the day I taught at an all-girls Catholic high school. We had a mixed faculty of lay teachers and nuns. As a public school student, my only interactions with nuns prior to this was my religious instruction known as CCD. That ended around 8th grade. Anyway, the sisters belonged to the Sisters of St. Joseph. One St. Patrick's Day we had a little party after school. I'd never had Irish Coffee before that, and boy was it delicious! I was kind of shocked that the sisters were drinking alcohol. Even more shocked to see them smoking.

My Italian American family had corned beef and cabbage every March 17th and I continue that tradition. My husband enjoys corned beef sandwiches for lunch quite often. I'm not a huge sandwich person, or even lunch person, but my absolute favorite way to eat corned beef is a Reuben sandwich. 

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

(edited)

I got a whole corned beef on sale at Stop and Shop for $6.44!  Reduced from $26!  I made it with cabbage and carrots and potatoes. Yum!  I had never made it before it’s very easy. Just simmer for three hours with pickling spices then simmer for another hour with the vegetables added. 

Edited by EtheltoTillie
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Mrsmaul2021

Mrsmaul2021

On 3/15/2025 at 10:53 PM, Cloud9Shopper said:

So ever since I rejected the guy who kept asking me out a few months ago, I thought he had gotten the hint and backed off, as he didn’t try again after that. Well, until tonight that is. He messaged me asking me if I wanted to share a room with him on a church group cruise in the fall and how he’d be OK with separate beds and he’s already paid for most of it. Fortunately I was able to say no with the reasoning that I have a vacation of my own planned in the same month as the group cruise and can’t take nearly a whole month off work for vacations. (Much as that would be nice.) 

I cannot for the life of me understand why this guy just doesn’t get it. Why would you ask a woman who you have no romantic relationship with and are not related to to share a room with you on a vacation? I think I know why he’s single and it has nothing to do with me. And I know people are going to tell me to explain it to him and just tell him to back off but given the age difference at play (I’m 17 years younger than him), that is not my job or responsibility. A man that much older than me should know how to talk to women and what is and isn’t OK. I’m not going to baby him.

This is part why I think ghosting is OK in dating in some circumstances. I know a lot of people are on their moral high horses about the topic and how you should always “give someone closure” and “be polite” or “be an adult.” Sometimes people don’t deserve that. And I know a lot of single men think they are owed explanations for why women don’t want to date them so they can “improve.” God knows if the roles were reversed and I couldn’t stop asking a guy out when he told me no, everyone would tell me I looked desperate and the man would just get away with ignoring me because “he’s just not that into (me).” Well I’m going to do the same. 

Ick, who does that? Book the room and then ask and you are not even his GF.  Ew that's creepy.  No telling what else he had planned. I literally just watched the documentary about Laura Black and Richard Farley and this man(stalker)  had the same entitled behavior. 

90 Day Fiance Ew GIF by TLC Europe

 

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ECM1231

ECM1231

7 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I got a whole corned beef on sale at Stop and shop for $6.44!  Reduced from $26!  I made it with cabbage and carrots and potatoes. Yum!  I had never made it before it’s very easy. Just simmer for three hours with pickling spices then simmer for another hour with the vegetables added. 

I cook mine in the slow cooker on the low setting. My mom used to add potatoes and cabbage, but no carrots. A few years back I decided that carrots would be a good addition.  Glad you enjoyed your dinner!

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Yeah No

Yeah No

14 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

One of my best friends in high school who lived just a few blocks away was one of 8 kids whose Irish Catholic family had moved to the burbs from Chicago. 
I don't know whether or not it was St. Patrick's Day when they invited me to stay to dinner, but I remember they were surprised that I liked the corned beef. 
Corned beef was already a treat to me on rye. 
Hmmm…
It just occurred to me that being from The City, maybe they’d learned that Jewish people ate corned beef too, and were surprised because I didn’t “seem” Jewish.
Regardless, I enjoyed spending time with them. One time I helped paint a couple of rooms.

Speaking of that, I once read that Irish immigrants started making corned beef on St. Patrick's Day because beef brisket was cheaper and more available in the U.S. than Irish bacon. Other than one specialty shop I know of in Manhattan I never saw Irish bacon in NYC, but beef brisket to this day is everywhere. So that makes sense.

BTW, that specialty shop is still there and I miss it so much! They have the best meat pies I've ever had. My mom discovered it years ago, that's how long I go back with it (she's gone 24 years now). I used to go down to the city with a cooler to stock up.

Myers of Keswick:

https://myersofkeswick.com/

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StatisticalOutlier

StatisticalOutlier

We were talking upthread about using a Sharpie to write on an appliance the date it was bought and things like that.  I mark pretty much everything, and have also, for years, used my car keys as a reminder.  Like if I'm at somebody's house and take off my jacket, I put my keys in the jacket pocket so I'll be sure not to leave it behind.

So today we drove the motorhome and car to Whataburger, and both got refills on our big drinks to take home.  We were leaving the moho in the parking lot and taking the car to go to a movie, and when it was over, Mr. Outlier was going to drive the moho and I was going to take the car to the grocery store and meet up afterward.

We weren't taking our drinks to the movie, so I put my sweet tea in the bottom of the refrigerator, where it can ride without tumping over.  But there wasn't room for Mr. Outlier's drink down there, so I put it on a shelf and put the keys to the moho next to it, so he'd be sure to take the drink out before driving off.

We go to the movie and afterward I drop him off at the motorhome and go on my way, and after about 5 minutes he calls and says he can't find the keys.  He'd forgotten they were in the refrigerator.

It worked!  If the keys hadn't been in the refrigerator, he would have just started driving and 32 ounces of Dr Pepper would have spilled all over the inside of the refrigerator.  I feel like a genius.

 

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Annber03

Annber03

It was 60 degrees here yesterday. 

Today? We're getting a raging blizzard :p. I'm not even joking, we've got heavy, wet, damp snow falling like crazy outside right now, the winds are gusting, visibility is...not great, the roads are incredibly slick (I actually left work early today because they're removing the plows from the roads right now, it's that bad). 

Also, this morning, when I woke up, there were severe thunderstorm warnings for counties just south and east of mine. And it was raining when I left for work, and that rain has, naturally, since turned to ice because of the blizzard coming through, hence part of the reason for the slick roads. 

Iowa weather in March. Ya gotta love it. 

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SweetieDarling

SweetieDarling

Quote

The sweetest part? With each order of the Shamrock Shake, 25¢ is donated as a gift to Ronald McDonald House Charities®, thru 3/23.

 

from:https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/shamrock-shake-medium.html?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw-e6-BhDmARIsAOxxlxVfdoN_7UMaJBtPUYUACgIXYVj6FwNdJzJ8KTFE4C0cclfDyaPAu3YaAkfKEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

roseha

roseha

I don't think I've ever had corned beef and cabbage but I loved the seafood chowder and brown bread that are served all over Ireland.  Just last month I found a small family bakery on Etsy, Baking with the Brennans, who sell Irish brown bread, scones and more at a reasonable price.  So I had some brown bread and a scone on St.  Patrick's Day.   I still wish I could find seafood chowder somewhere in New York.

Caoimhe

Caoimhe

5 hours ago, roseha said:

I don't think I've ever had corned beef and cabbage but I loved the seafood chowder and brown bread that are served all over Ireland.  Just last month I found a small family bakery on Etsy, Baking with the Brennans, who sell Irish brown bread, scones and more at a reasonable price.  So I had some brown bread and a scone on St.  Patrick's Day.   I still wish I could find seafood chowder somewhere in New York.

I love brown bread and made it for years (when I didn't buy McCambridge's!), but it doesn't agree with my husband and I've given up bread so I don't do it any more. One thing I miss was the packs of mixed smoked fish I could get in any supermarket, it made fabulous meals and one of the things I used it in was a chowder. 

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PRgal

PRgal

 

3 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I would like to have fish, but my condo building’s vents apparently don’t go outside? I thought it was just me and my super-sensitive sense of smell, but the president of the board said it’s actually a design flaw (from the early 70s).

 

How bad is the smell?  I've only found that fish stinks if you microwave canned ones.

 

 

fastiller

fastiller

7 hours ago, Caoimhe said:

I love brown bread and made it for years (when I didn't buy McCambridge's!), but it doesn't agree with my husband and I've given up bread so I don't do it any more. One thing I miss was the packs of mixed smoked fish I could get in any supermarket, it made fabulous meals and one of the things I used it in was a chowder. 

I miss my Mum's brown bread.  A close replacement was Odlum's mix, but it didn't do quite the same thing as Mum's. 

 

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I would like to have fish, but my condo building’s vents apparently don’t go outside? I thought it was just me and my super-sensitive sense of smell, but the president of the board said it’s actually a design flaw (from the early 70s).

 

31 minutes ago, PRgal said:

How bad is the smell?  I've only found that fish stinks if you microwave canned ones.

I missed that @shapeshifter was responding to @Caoimhe & thought it was about fish in a tank.  Like, as pets.  I was confused. I probably ought to take a nap.

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EtheltoTillie

EtheltoTillie

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Is it just me or have ads taken over this site? There's an ad after each post.

Have you tried Duck Duck Go?  Completely eliminates the problem.  I feel like no one has been posting about this lately.  A couple of years ago it got impossible to navigate, but then I changed to the Duck Duck Go browser add on.

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annzeepark914

annzeepark914

(edited)
1 hour ago, Absolom said:

There are ad blockers for Android.  Also I highly recommend Duck Duck Go browser.

I've used Duck Duck Go for years. A few years ago someone suggested using an ad blocker for Android. I used it but kept seeing ads. Is there a really good ad blocker today for Android? TIA.

Edited by annzeepark914
Cloud9Shopper

Cloud9Shopper

Has anyone else ever felt like they had a hard time getting it together, so to speak? 

I made some mistakes with my taxes this past year and had some freelance work on the side (it was a short contract and I earned less than $2,000 in total), but it was just enough money earned to trigger needing to do a Schedule C. With this short contract I hadn’t tracked exactly how much Internet I used while completing this work over four months so I knew I couldn’t deduct my full Internet bill but had to try and guess an amount I could put down. While I want to believe the IRS won’t come after me over a side gig that lasted less than six months, I’m afraid they will and I won’t know how to explain why I put that amount down. 

I know this was my mistake for not setting aside the deductions and the taxes during the year. But until I got promoted in November, I wasn’t making enough money to survive on one job only so I needed every penny I could make. I really don’t understand how I’ll be 40 in a few months and still screwing up my taxes and not being able to predict how much I might owe. Not to mention I was fine with money for a few months and now a tax bill plus still paying off a new laptop (which I did not buy unnecessarily; my old one broke), I’m having trouble again. Most people who are about to be 40 can plan for these things and understand their finances. 

The thing is, my tax bill is less than $1,000 so it’s not as if I can’t get on a payment plan, and I’m sure there are people who owe a lot more. It just feels like it’s the end of the world right now. 

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annzeepark914

annzeepark914

Well, after I went searching for an ad blocker, all of a sudden I got a warning when I tried to return to Primetimer.  It said it wasn't a secure site and I couldn't get rid of the warning.  I took my phone and laptop over to the Geek Squad at Best Buy this afternoon and one of the youngsters (yup) showed me how to get rid of the warning and be able to get to this site (he said it was from Duck Duck Go). So, I just now had a chance to fire up the laptop, clicked on Primetimer, got here and up at the top in the URL it says in red letters: Not secure and the https is also in red & has a line drawn through it.  WTH?? 

shapeshifter

shapeshifter

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

Has anyone else ever felt like they had a hard time getting it together, so to speak? 

Yes.

2 hours ago, Cloud9Shopper said:

I really don’t understand how I’ll be 40 in a few months and still screwing up my taxes and not being able to predict how much I might owe.…

It's not a competition, but you are light years ahead of my 41-year old daughter. Would your mom want to trade for a year?
</kidding. sort of>

 

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Cloud9Shopper

Cloud9Shopper

1 hour ago, fastiller said:

It's me!!! I've been in my apartment nearly 11 years & still haven't redecorated/renovated.  I'm just paralysed by thinking of what I need to do.  I need a project manager for my life.

Analysis paralysis describes me perfectly. I’ve only just now been able to figure out where I might like to go in my career, as there was a time period where everything sounded interesting to me, from medical coding to marketing to law school to accounting…it was so overwhelming and I felt restless. I think getting promoted and feeling like I was establishing myself helped clear a lot of that up. 

I also catastrophize a lot, and I have no idea why, as all this terrifying stuff I imagine never seems to come to fruition. Like for example, this tax situation is having me in a tailspin worrying about being audited and finding out I made a major mistake and owe even more. Or I’ll be on edge that I’m bad enough at my job to get a performance improvement plan and be eventually fired, but I haven’t had a PIP since three jobs ago. It’s often hard for me to see things calmly and rationally. 

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Anduin

Anduin

1 hour ago, fastiller said:

It's me!!! I've been in my apartment nearly 11 years & still haven't redecorated/renovated.  I'm just paralysed by thinking of what I need to do.  I need a project manager for my life.

You know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break the task down into small pieces if you think that will help. One wall. Then the next wall. Etc. Don't consider the whole thing in one go.

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lookeyloo

lookeyloo

54 minutes ago, Dimity said:

Once a week for me.  I couldn't imagine only once a month.  Fresh sheets are one of life's little pleasures.

Fun fact or unsubstantiated rumor. Jackie Kennedy napped every day and wanted fresh sheets. Also fresh sheets at bedtime.  And that her maid had to get every hair out of her hairbrush. 

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)
2 hours ago, Is Everyone Gone said:

So how often do you wash your sheets? I try to wash them once a week, and a friend looked at me like I was nuts. She said she does it once a month, if that.

I too try to wash them once a week, but if I can only manage every 2 weeks, it's okay, because I sleep alone and wear clothes to bed, including socks and a hoodie except in summer. 
However:

2 hours ago, Dimity said:

Fresh sheets are one of life's little pleasures.

This! I always sleep better on a fresh set of sheets. 

1 hour ago, lookeyloo said:

Fun fact or unsubstantiated rumor. Jackie Kennedy napped every day and wanted fresh sheets. Also fresh sheets at bedtime.

I often imagine Cher gets fresh sheets every night. 
(Cher is my go-to person to imagine must be living life as I would if I had her talent and got paid for it.)
I currently have 2 sets, so I could wash them, say, every other night, but that seems like more trouble than I want, especially since my daughter gifted me her enormous (to little old me) Queen size bed. 

But I had a friend decades ago who said she only washed hers once a month. And I'm pretty sure my 3 adult daughters are closer to the monthly than the weekly schedule. 
To each their own. 

In the 70s I slept in a sleeping bag for about 5 years, often on the ground or floor.
However, I sewed a sheet liner for it that I probably washed once a month…or so.
I was a civilized hippie in my own way.

Edited by shapeshifter
typos, of course
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roseha

roseha

On 3/22/2025 at 9:04 PM, Anduin said:

You know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Break the task down into small pieces if you think that will help. One wall. Then the next wall. Etc. Don't consider the whole thing in one go.

this is what I am currently going through with the big declutter so that I can have my apartment living room painted later this year.  The bedroom was hard because of all the falling paint, but there was less ultimately to get rid of and it's done and repainted now with even a new bed (with a lot of help from my super).  The living room has so much stuff, I have had the building guys take out a good 12 or so bags of recycling or junk (I tip well!), not counting the paper shredding which I can toss.

Just today I gave one of my young relatives my stereo receiver, turntable, speakers and maybe a hundred records.  There's a lot of great recordings there  including classic blues artists but I hadn't listened to them in years and no longer have room for them. He's thrilled.  Young people love retro stuff.  I am really glad it could go to someone who wants them.

But @Anduin that is so right.  In my mind I wish I could finish this overnight, but it doesn't work that way.  It's a process than can feel painful at the time but better afterward.  I've gotten a lot more ruthless with asking myself, can this be replaced? So let it go.

Hoping that in a few more weeks I will be there and have the contractors look at things that they will need to do later in the year when I can go away and let them do their thing.

Regarding sheets I tend to go with the every 2 weeks most of the time (I wear pajamas in bed) but this winter I ended up getting a very large comforter which I'm going to wash and retire for the season soon, so have to take things like that into account.  Treking the larger stuff down to the laundry room is always a separate job.

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ABay

ABay

I'm in the process of moving and trying to declutter as I go. Some days I'm in a more purging mood than on other days. My plan, such as it is, is to get as many boxes to their ultimate designation by car, hire junk removal, rent Uboxes for the big furniture, and hire local to load and unload them. I haven't called UBoxes or junk places yet. This week I need to finish the bedroom closet and start the kitchen. Then I have to face the basement. Moving date is the last weekend in April.

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Dimity

Dimity

Has anyone else had random books just start showing up on their kindle?  It was really creepy.  I had already put my Amazon account on pause and had stopped using it but this motivated me to just pull the plug completely and delete my account.  I guess this was an overreaction but I figured there wasn't any point in changing my password or whatever for an account I wasn't using.

But that said, I do wonder what the hell was happening there!

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athousandclowns

athousandclowns

On 3/22/2025 at 4:18 PM, fastiller said:

It's me!!! I've been in my apartment nearly 11 years & still haven't redecorated/renovated.  I'm just paralysed by thinking of what I need to do.  I need a project manager for my life.

Me too. I’ve had to move3-4 times since I moved back to my home town after my husband died . This last move ( which was just one year from previous move)  I couldn't unpack my boxes because the seller had 10 IRS liens on this place.

My son would take some to his garage but my mind keeps thinking the rug will get pulled out from under me again, so although I have some art  hanging I have numerous ones leaning against walls . In addition since I adopted a shelter maladjusted dog I have bins on open shelving cabinets  loaded cases where I always had objects de art. The clutter is  out of hand and I’ve started with a therapist 3 weeks ago.  I used an organizer twice during unloading a move in and she helped organize 5 years later to prepare/ downsize to move again.  I highly recommend  them , but at this point that thought is even too much for me. 

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fastiller

fastiller

18 minutes ago, athousandclowns said:

Me too. I’ve had to move3-4 times since I moved back to my home town after my husband died . This last move ( which was just one year from previous move)  I couldn't unpack my boxes because the seller had 10 IRS liens on this place.

My son would take some to his garage but my mind keeps thinking the rug will get pulled out from under me again, so although I have some art  hanging I have numerous ones leaning against walls . In addition since I adopted a shelter maladjusted dog I have bins on open shelving cabinets  loaded cases where I always had objects de art. The clutter is  out of hand and I’ve started with a therapist 3 weeks ago.  I used an organizer twice during unloading a move in and she helped organize 5 years later to prepare/ downsize to move again.  I highly recommend  them , but at this point that thought is even too much for me. 

So weird: my move to my apartment was after my husband died.  And, while I was moving within the same borough, I was moving much closer to where I grew up in that borough, so kind of like 'back to my home town' - I guess more like 'back near my home neighborhood'.

And I'm quite certain that I didn't dive into renovating right when I moved because it was only 6 months after mr.fastiller died.  I was deep in grief/mourning then and that feeling has lessened somewhat but I'm still kind of low-key depressed.  Depression -whether clinically diagnosed or just deeply sad- is one hell of a weight.  Also, renovating is the kind of project that he & I would've done together.  It really is easier w/ a partner: 'what color should we paint this room?' 'blinds or curtains?' 'what kind of lighting do we want here?'

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shapeshifter

shapeshifter

(edited)

In other news. I just finished filing my taxes. 
I trust that if I made a mistake I can apologize my way out of it with a bit of sob story about how I'm probably too old to be doing them myself anymore, but blah blah blah.

I'd like to go for a little walk because it's above 50ºF today (in the 40s with wind chill) and will drop 10 degrees tomorrow through the next week, but the wind is howling, and I'm too lightweight and frail to not get blown around.
Maybe there will be a colder but sunny and not-windy day when I can just bundle up.

 

1 hour ago, athousandclowns said:

I have some art  hanging I have numerous ones leaning against walls .

So much this. And it's all mine. If I had a permanent home, I'd probably buy a few pieces from fellow artists, LOL. 
The storage room off the garage is filled with empty boxes in hopes that I'll find a better place to move, but, the market…sheesh.
And now I feel I have to wait and see if my SS income is being ripped out from under me/us.

Edited by shapeshifter
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roseha

roseha

My artworks, meaning mainly my framed photos that were shown at the art club, are also a major part of my need to re-organize.  I don't sell that often, and there's only so many times I can reuse the same frame and mat, so I have a number of framed pieces sitting carefully in special bubble bags.   I don't intend to junk them, so they are going to have to find a space.  I think that they and the cameras are going to partially re-locate in the furniture that housed all the stereo equipment that's now gone.  Just this week and next we have an auction and I have 2 small pieces in it, and I really hope they sell and I don't have to bring them home.

I have to finish the taxes also, although I've used Turbo Tax for years and almost never have had a problem.  One time I did get a notice from the IRS that I owed them a couple of hundred dollars via an investment firm I no longer had an account with.  I just paid it.  I think also I got a small refund one time for having overpaid.

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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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