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

[PRgal]

31 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

So the Toronto Maple Leafs won last night and for the first time in years have advanced to the next stage of vying for the Stanley Cup. 

Which has enraged my uncle who loathes the Leafs with the heat of a thousand suns.  But man my Mother would have been happy!  They were her team and she rooted for them almost as passionately as her brother rooted against them 😄.

If they actually make it to the finals I'm going to have to actually :sigh: watch the finals in her memory.  Greater love hath no daughter as I Do Not Like Hockey (unless my grandson is playing!)

Your uncle a Habs fan?  Well, they certainly did well this year... 

[kristen111]

We are retired and have nice checks coming in every month.  Lately, for the first time, each month we withdraw from the bank.  The prices of food in the supermarket has gotten ridiculous.  It’s only the two of us, but I just can’t imagine how a household of kids do it, especially boys who are always hungry.  Every damn thing has gotten so expensive, but we always buy what we want no matter the cost.  Husband always likes a full stocked kitchen.  I feel bad that families are struggling.

[ECM1231]

9 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

@annzeepark914 I recorded Crossing Delancey last night! I remember when it came out. Here is a recent Vanity Fair article about Amy Irving and Crossing Delancey I came across last night.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/04/amy-irving-is-crossing-delancey

eta I am verklempt (slight hyperbole) over being able to again view movies I remember from the 70's and 80's on TCM, lol. But when I do the math, yeah, they are now classics I guess. Ha! 

That was a great read; thanks for posting it. I watched Crossing Delancey last night, too, but I'd seen it many times before. I hadn't seen it when it was first released, though. It's funny because TCM aired a Burt Lancaster/Peter Riegert film immediately before Crossing Delancey, called Local Hero. 

I'd first seen Riegert a few years before as Boon in Animal House. Quite a different role. In Crossing Delancey, he's swoon worthy. 😍

Also, I never knew Amy sang. 

[Browncoat]

There is snow in our forecast for Wednesday!  Just flurries, but still.  I am not pleased!

[EtheltoTillie]

11 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

That was a great read; thanks for posting it. I watched Crossing Delancey last night, too, but I'd seen it many times before. I hadn't seen it when it was first released, though. It's funny because TCM aired a Burt Lancaster/Peter Riegert film immediately before Crossing Delancey, called Local Hero. 

I'd first seen Riegert a few years before as Boon in Animal House. Quite a different role. In Crossing Delancey, he's swoon worthy. 😍

Also, I never knew Amy sang. 

I watched Local Hero Saturday for the first time in a long while.  I had watched Crossing Delancey on a recent airing.  Bill Forsyth was such an indie favorite at that time (starting with Gregory's Girl).  I looked up Peter Riegert, and it seems he never married until recently and is married to a mystery writer who calls him Animal Spouse. 

Edited May 1, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

I like Amy Irving, but we once walked out of a show she was in.  The Road to Mecca by Athol Fugard.  In the 80s.  So tedious. 

[ABay]

I'm currently window shopping houses for when I (fingers crossed) retire and move in a year and a half. So many pink carpets. So many walls of mirrors. So many houses that look exactly the same. The problem with mirrors, btw, is if you can see out, others can see in. The house I currently inhabit has a honking great mirror on a wall and I've blocked it with bookcases because it faces a big window. And the baseboards. I hate baseboards. Also, doors that open directly into the living room. All the walk-in showers are in basements. Way too much, actually, is in basements. 

My ideal doesn't exist but it's this: single story with attached garage; entry way; all bathrooms on the main floor; first floor laundry; walk in shower; family room with a sliding door onto a covered deck; forced air heat; central AC; kitchen appliances in the triangle design; work space to the left of the stove; space away from side neighbors; no rear neighbors unless they're buried--I'm OK with a cemetery; backyard not too big, ending in woods or other wildlife-friendly area; shallow, rocky babbling brook at end of yard. If the place is on one of the streets on the edge of my home village, most of the above doesn't matter.

 

[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-bye to my sister once again.  Kind of appropriate that it's am overcast, rainy day - totally suits my mood.

[kristen111]

3 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

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-bye to my sister once again.  Kind of appropriate that it's am overcast, rainy day - totally suits my mood.

Oh Geeze.  They put my daughters two labs to sleep last year .. “Tank & Lucy”, brother and sister.  The day after my Son in law came home from Iraq, he went upstate to get them.  One black, one blonde.  He buried them both in their backyard.  I still cry when I go to their house.  You don’t sound silly. 😪

 

[Kitty Redstone]

2 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

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-bye to my sister once again.  Kind of appropriate that it's am overcast, rainy day - totally suits my mood.

It's not silly at all, @Elizabeth Anne. What a wonderful sister you were to take over the care of your beloved sister's pup. I'm so, so sorry for your loss.

[JTMacc99]

On 4/29/2023 at 6:30 PM, Quof said:

The goal should always be $0.  If you get a refund, that just means you have loaned government your money, interest free, for a year. 

Because of that exact reason, I shoot for having to send a few bucks to the federal government on tax day. (I missed the mark of "a few" by wide margin this year. Oops.)

[ECM1231]

I'm so sorry, @Elizabeth Anne. It's never easy. 

[Bastet]

4 hours ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

I know this sounds silly but it's like having to say good-bye to my sister once again. 

That's not at all silly, and it's in fact exactly what every single person I've ever known to take in a loved one's pet after their death said when it was time to say good-bye to the pet as well.  You have memories, you have pictures, you have inanimate objects of hers, and you'll always have those, but that dog is your last living, walking, barking, loving connection to your sister.  Losing a pet is devastating under any circumstances.  To have the added emotion of your circumstances is a lot to endure, and you're in no way silly.  My condolences.

[Bethany]

Thank you for your kind words and condolences.  It's over now.  In the end I just couldn't go, my husband and Dad took him.  They got home a while ago with the collar and I just lost it for a few minutes.  But honestly you lovely people really helped me.  Thanks again.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[peacheslatour]

31 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Thank you for your kind words and condolences.  It's over now.  In the end I just couldn't go, my husband and Dad took him.  They got home a while ago with the collar and I just lost it for a few minutes.  But honestly you lovely people really helped me.  Thanks again.

I couldn't go with Nathan either. My husband took him and we cried together when he got back. I still hear him sometimes. He used to sit by my chair and mew ever so softly and I swear, I can still hear him. I'm so sorry, Elizabeth Anne. Gentle internet (((hugs))). 🤗

 

[PRgal]

I'm so sorry for your loss, @Elizabeth Anne

[annzeepark914]

38 minutes ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

They got home a while ago with the collar and I just lost it for a few minutes.  

Whew. This sentence got me teary-eyed. But as the saying sort of goes, this is the price we pay for having love in our lives. Our pets, our little "furry kids" provide us with so much love. I bet your sister and her beloved pet had a joyful reunion ❤️.

[kristen111]

3 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

Whew. This sentence got me teary-eyed. But as the saying sort of goes, this is the price we pay for having love in our lives. Our pets, our little "furry kids" provide us with so much love. I bet your sister and her beloved pet had a joyful reunion ❤️.

Pets should have a longer life.  It’s too painful when they go.  😪

[luv2lurk]

And just to pour salt on wounds, Gordon Lightfoot passed away. 

I can sing along with every song they play with the news. Amazing that 40-50 years later the lyrics are still in my head.

RIP to the incredible Canadian singer/song writer.

[annzeepark914]

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is such a haunting tune. Whenever it was played on the radio, you could almost feel that cold water.

[PRgal]

ChatGPT doesn’t know who I am if I just type in my name, but does recognize me as a blogger (of a blog I haven’t updated in 5 or so years) if I ask it whether I’m a writer. 

[peacheslatour]

45 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald is such a haunting tune. Whenever it was played on the radio, you could almost feel that cold water.

"Fellas, it's been good to know you."  RIP great storyteller man.

[luv2lurk]

"If you could read my mind", "Sundown", "Rainy Day People" to name a couple of other songs. Apparently there are about 500 -  many of which are covered by a bunch of other artists including Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash, Anne Murray, Jim Croce, Bob Dylan and Sarah McLachlan.

For me, he was part of my teenage years. I was learning to play the guitar so learned his songs. Or the radio was playing as I did homework.

[annzeepark914]

Well...I'm waiting for Jeopardy to start and once again (for many weeks, months, etc.,) I'm wondering why Wheel of Fortune needs a very attractive young woman to open letters by touching the big old screen. She's walking back & forth, over & over & over, etc., again. What's going on here? Did Wheel of Fortune not realize that times have kinda changed?

[kristen111]

27 minutes ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well...I'm waiting for Jeopardy to start and once again (for many weeks, months, etc.,) I'm wondering why Wheel of Fortune needs a very attractive young woman to open letters by touching the big old screen. She's walking back & forth, over & over & over, etc., again. What's going on here? Did Wheel of Fortune not realize that times have kinda changed?

Very attractive YOUNG woman?  Is Vanna White gone?

[SoMuchTV]

1 hour ago, annzeepark914 said:

Well...I'm waiting for Jeopardy to start and once again (for many weeks, months, etc.,) I'm wondering why Wheel of Fortune needs a very attractive young woman to open letters by touching the big old screen. She's walking back & forth, over & over & over, etc., again. What's going on here? Did Wheel of Fortune not realize that times have kinda changed?

 

1 hour ago, kristen111 said:

Very attractive YOUNG woman?  Is Vanna White gone?

Right? Vanna is approximately my age (not that you would know that by looking at us) and I’m on Medicare. 

Anyway, I think her main purpose is to have a reason to give the contestants a few extra seconds to think. 

[kristen111]

11 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

Right? Vanna is approximately my age (not that you would know that by looking at us) and I’m on Medicare. 

Anyway, I think her main purpose is to have a reason to give the contestants a few extra seconds to think. 

Plus, she still has a great body for gowns, and a nice smile.  I love that it’s not out with the old and in with the new.  She’s classy.  Now, I will watch another classy show .. Housewives of New Jersey.  Yikes!  Total opposite.  Lol.

Edited May 3, 2023 by kristen111

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, kristen111 said:

Plus, she still has a great body for gowns, and a nice smile.  I love that it’s not out with the old and in with the new.  She’s classy.  Now, I will watch another classy show .. Housewives of New Jersey.  Yikes!  Total opposite.  Lol.

I just started season 1. Saw the infamous table flip. Had Teresa's new "bubies" even healed enough for her to lift the table? 

4 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

What's going on here? Did Wheel of Fortune not realize that times have kinda changed?

My dad is the worst. He thinks only young and beautiful people belong on TV. No wonder I am such a mess. 

[nokat]

10 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

My dad is the worst. He thinks only young and beautiful people belong on TV.

Does he include men in that category?

[RealHousewife]

31 minutes ago, nokat said:

Does he include men in that category?

He does, but I think he is harsher on women. If my dad were a public figure, let’s just say he would have been canceled a LONG time ago. He has a big heart, but he says things that are hurtful and wrong. 

[PRgal]

5 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

He does, but I think he is harsher on women. If my dad were a public figure, let’s just say he would have been canceled a LONG time ago. He has a big heart, but he says things that are hurtful and wrong. 

So would someone like Ryan Reynolds be considered past his prime at 46?  Or do you have to be much older?

 

I also think different generations and cultures have different standards of what’s considered attractive.  If you ask my dad, he’d say that J.Lo is unattractive because she’s very muscular.  

Edited May 3, 2023 by PRgal

[RealHousewife]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

So would someone like Ryan Reynolds be considered past his prime at 46?  Or do you have to be much older?

 

I also think different generations and cultures have different standards of what’s considered attractive.  If you ask my dad, he’d say that J.Lo is unattractive because she’s very muscular.  

Last time I saw Ryan, I thought he was still handsome and looked great. To my dad, he’d probably be on thin ice. 

J.Lo is probably someone my dad would say is the exception because she doesn’t look her age. He’s a big fan of her in general. As soon as I started to get a butt, he told me to start watching my weight, even though I was thinner than J.Lo. He also sees no problem with her attire, but he said I was naked if I wore shorts and a tank top in the summer. 

He’s a nice guy who sometimes says boneheaded, misogynistic things. My sister and I both get really worked up. My mother is used to it and tries to focus on his good qualities. I know it doesn’t sound like it from the above, but he’s a good person. 

[oliviabenson]

I held out on going to Trader Joe’s for 4 months… I broke down my resolve and went yesterday.

I spent $100 on basically junk food and snacks. Typing this while eating peanut butter brookies and banana biscotti with coffee.

[RealHousewife]

Just now, oliviabenson said:

I held out on going to Trader Joe’s for 4 months… I broke down my resolve and went yesterday.

I spent $100 on basically junk food and snacks. Typing this while eating peanut butter brookies and banana biscotti with coffee.

That sounds delicious! Enjoy it. You deserve it. 

[oliviabenson]

How do people buy groceries for a family with kids?

[oliviabenson]

28 minutes ago, RealHousewife said:

That sounds delicious! Enjoy it. You deserve it. 

Both are too good. I pretended they are calorie free lol.

[PRgal]

50 minutes ago, oliviabenson said:

How do people buy groceries for a family with kids?

Budgeting wisely.  I know approximately how much I spend a week for groceries (a lot) and buy only what we need.  We limit treats to special occasions or make our own (mashed bananas or applesauce + rolled oats = delicious "cookies").  And frozen produce.  Lots of that.

Edited May 4, 2023 by PRgal

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, RealHousewife said:

As soon as I started to get a butt, he told me to start watching my weight, even though I was thinner than J.Lo. He also sees no problem with her attire, but he said I was naked if I wore shorts and a tank top in the summer. 

Those are horrible things to do to a girl/woman, especially one's own daughter.  I'm sorry that happened to you, and that you still deal with the effects of it.

Home for me was a place where the sexist messages about physical appearance I was bombarded with on the outside were soundly debunked.  And that didn't magically make me immune to those messages, but having the two people who love me most be among those subjecting me to them would have been incredibly difficult to overcome.  None of my close friends were dealing with that in real time, but I've met a disturbing number of women as adults who were subjected to it in their youth.  It did some real damage.

[RealHousewife]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

Those are horrible things to do to a girl/woman, especially one's own daughter.  I'm sorry that happened to you, and that you still deal with the effects of it.

Home for me was a place where the sexist messages about physical appearance I was bombarded with on the outside were soundly debunked.  And that didn't magically make me immune to those messages, but having the two people who love me most be among those subjecting me to them would have been incredibly difficult to overcome.  None of my close friends were dealing with that in real time, but I've met a disturbing number of women as adults who were subjected to it in their youth.  It did some real damage.

Thank you, I appreciate. It's unfortunately not the worst stuff that's affected my relationship with my body or my looks. 

I'm so glad you were raised in a healthy environment. We really need more people like your parents. 

[theredhead77]

4 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

How do people buy groceries for a family with kids?

I live and die by my budgeting app You Need A Budget. 

[peacheslatour]

5 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

How do people buy groceries for a family with kids?

We survived as a young family with eating at home, making large batches of spaghetti sauce and chili and freezing them and Costco roasted chicken. 

[SuprSuprElevated]

[Bethany]

10 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

We survived as a young family with eating at home, making large batches of spaghetti sauce and chili and freezing them and Costco roasted chicken. 

Same.  And my parents and even more so my grandparents managed on less even better than we ever did.  I have every sympathy with anyone going through hard times financially, been there - but what is happening right now has happened before, and likely will happen again. 

The attitude I see in the media (and not just from those too young to remember previous recessions, depressions, economic down times...) is odd to me. It's like there was never a time when money was tight and times were tough. 

Edited May 4, 2023 by Elizabeth Anne

[nokat]

Way back when I was young and we raised dinosaurs for meat on the farm 😉 we had a huge garden and chickens. A lot of work over the summer tending the garden (potato bugs, ick, tomato worms, bigger ick) and then harvesting and canning. We had a lot of fresh vegetables, fruit, and eggs of course so I got used to eating that way. It helped with the costs of feeding the family.

I call myself a hayseed. A person who grew up rural on a farm.

I laugh now at parents who can't get their kids to take time away from games to do a simple chore like taking out the garbage. We worked on the farm as kids. No such thing as an allowance, we earned pocket money by working picking fruit at neighboring farms. 

We also walked uphill both ways through snowbanks to school. Now get off my lawn.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, Elizabeth Anne said:

Same.  And my parents and even more so my grandparents managed on less even better than we ever did.  I have every sympathy with anyone going through hard times financially, been there - but what is happening right now has happened before, and likely will happen again. 

The attitude I see in the media (and not just from those too young to remember previous recessions, depressions, economic down times...) is odd to me. It's like there was never a time when money was tight and times were tough. 

The media just wants eye balls, clicks and advertising revenue. Apparently bad news sell ad space or something.

[PRgal]

Things were more budget friendly when I was growing up.  Mortgage rates were really high when I was a child and the house we lived in was on the higher priced end for my parents.  Yet, we managed to always have food on the table, not just for the three of us, but my maternal grandparents as well.  And enough for me to have extra-curricular like piano and summer camp…and at least one dim sum meal a week.  My parents never packed their lunches for work, either (ate in Chinatown).  They were better off when I was a teen, thanks to a slight career change for my dad and loads of promotions.  
 

also:  parents can be weird, especially dads.  My dad once thought I was weird when I mentioned I often say grace before dining alone.  The term he used was “jok jong” which more or less translates to being “over dramatic” 

Edited May 4, 2023 by PRgal

[Bethany]

27 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

The media just wants eye balls, clicks and advertising revenue. Apparently bad news sell ad space or something.

So true.  We had a recent strike here in Canada and two days after the strike started the headlines were "strike drags on".  I mean, seriously?  After 2 days?  It's like there had never been a strike ever before in the history of the world and they didn't know how strikes work.

[JTMacc99]

15 hours ago, oliviabenson said:

How do people buy groceries for a family with kids?

Once you're out of the baby stages, and assuming that money isn't really tight, it's a lot of stockpiling things when they are on sale and not spending money on expensive stuff. (And most children don't have expensive tastes, so just stay away from giving them a liking for things like name brand junk food.)

The stockpiling works, because most kids are super okay with eating the same stuff over and over again. 

So if they eat Cheerios, wait until it drops from $3.99 to "$2.00 each, must buy 4". And then when they suddenly decide they don't like Cheerios anymore, you need to develop a taste for Cheerios as that's going to be YOUR breakfast for the next two months. 

[peacheslatour]

14 minutes ago, JTMacc99 said:

Once you're out of the baby stages, and assuming that money isn't really tight, it's a lot of stockpiling things when they are on sale and not spending money on expensive stuff. (And most children don't have expensive tastes, so just stay away from giving them a liking for things like name brand junk food.)

The stockpiling works, because most kids are super okay with eating the same stuff over and over again. 

So if they eat Cheerios, wait until it drops from $3.99 to "$2.00 each, must buy 4". And then when they suddenly decide they don't like Cheerios anymore, you need to develop a taste for Cheerios as that's going to be YOUR breakfast for the next two months. 

Yep. My son was perfectly happy eating roasted chicken, rice and peas. He never got tired of peanut butter sandwiches and scrambled eggs. I never bought junk food, sugary cereals or soda. Hence he never developed a taste for those things. Of course by the time he was older, we could afford nicer things but we still ate at home and I kept the food very simple. My mom had a degree in Home Ec. and she taught me well.

[oliviabenson]

3 hours ago, SuprSuprElevated said:

Weather sucks in nyc,