Small Talk: The Prayer Closet

[bythelake]

17 hours ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

All my first cousins are half Irish, and I envy them that heritage. My parents and their siblings all ended up settling in England (from Poland) after WWII, where they all found Irish spouses. Except for my parents who married each other. Being 100% Polish is not quite as interesting

My grandchildren are part Lithuanian on their mother's side. My granddaughter plays up this fact because when she tells people this, for some reason they think she's exotic. I had a neighbor for a number of years who was Irish, married to a Pole. She learned from his mother how to make the best pierogies, swimming in melted butter. She would bring some over, but would never part with the recipe. Darn, I miss her and those pierogies.

[MunichNark]

On 04/09/2017 at 4:45 PM, Arwen Evenstar said:

Your Nark brand of snark has been missed.

You know, this is nearly the nicest thing anyone's said to me for ages:-)))

 

Ireland was lovely. The weather was to my liking, ie, not roasting hot, and I got to visit my old haunts.

 

@bythelake, which troubles? The ones in the 70s? If your family is from the North, trying to trace ancestry will probably have to go through the UK. I hope you will be able to go someday. It's a lovely country

[bythelake]

5 hours ago, MunichNark said:

You know, this is nearly the nicest thing anyone's said to me for ages:-)))

 

Ireland was lovely. The weather was to my liking, ie, not roasting hot, and I got to visit my old haunts.

 

@bythelake, which troubles? The ones in the 70s? If your family is from the North, trying to trace ancestry will probably have to go through the UK. I hope you will be able to go someday. It's a lovely country

Sorry for the confusion, I meant the potato famine. They left in 1847. Some were able to scrape up the passage to the US, but others landed in Nova Scotia because passage to Canada. was a little less expensive. Sadly, few of them could read or write, so their name was so distorted that it's almost impossible to find. 

[Jynnan tonnix]

21 hours ago, bythelake said:

My grandchildren are part Lithuanian on their mother's side. My granddaughter plays up this fact because when she tells people this, for some reason they think she's exotic. I had a neighbor for a number of years who was Irish, married to a Pole. She learned from his mother how to make the best pierogies, swimming in melted butter. She would bring some over, but would never part with the recipe. Darn, I miss her and those pierogies.

I make pierogi (it's plural already...like ravioli) using my mom's recipe. She makes them with a ground beef filling which is my favorite, though not exactly traditional. There are lots of recipes online for the dough. I haven't tried any alternates, but I'm sure they probably come out similar. What did your neighbor stuff them with? I also make them with a potato/farmer's cheese filling and with a mushroom filling adapted from a traditional Christmas tortellini type thing which I can never get enough of - the bigger format appeals to me! 

[bythelake]

2 hours ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

I make pierogi (it's plural already...like ravioli) using my mom's recipe. She makes them with a ground beef filling which is my favorite, though not exactly traditional. There are lots of recipes online for the dough. I haven't tried any alternates, but I'm sure they probably come out similar. What did your neighbor stuff them with? I also make them with a potato/farmer's cheese filling and with a mushroom filling adapted from a traditional Christmas tortellini type thing which I can never get enough of - the bigger format appeals to me! 

lol, I even looked up how to spell it, and it  still didn't look right. My neighbor filled some with potato and cheese, but the best ones were filled with chopped sauteed cabbage and bacon,(maybe a little onion,too)  They were out of this world.  As I said, she would not share her recipe. The mushroom filling sounds delicious, Mushroom ravioli and tortellini are so good.

[ariel]

There are some Catholic churches near me that make & sell pierogis for charity. They make some damn good pierogis'. You might want to check it out if that's available where you live.  The ones I've been to are very nice & they don't try to convert you.

[bythelake]

1 hour ago, ariel said:

There are some Catholic churches near me that make & sell pierogis for charity. They make some damn good pierogis'. You might want to check it out if that's available where you live.  The ones I've been to are very nice & they don't try to convert you.

 They wouldn't have to convert me, I'm Catholic ! and grew up in an area that had a large Polish population so I know a few Polish churches there, but they're not close to where I now live. Recently I found a Polish deli that has home made peirogis, not as good as my neighbor's, but pretty close. 

[Love2dance]

Thinking about all our Florida and southern states Small Talk friends who may be hunkering down or getting ready to evacuate from Hurrucane Irma. Stay safe, our thoughts will be with you.

Texas and Louisina friends, hoping things are better for you and getting back to normal will be as smooth as possible. Scary times.

[ChiCricket]

My daughter, husband, their 3 kids and their German Shepherd just this morning left the 45' sailing catamaran they live on in West Palm Beach, to evacuate for hurricane Irma.

It took them days and days to secure the sails and pack up as much as they could into their mini van.  They're headed to Ocala and then to inland Georgia to ride out the storm. I hope they have a home(boat) to come back to. :/

PS they have plenty of gas and reservations in both places (both will take a big dog.)

[lookeyloo]

Having moved recently from south Louisiana my heart is still always in my throats around these storms - lived through more than a few  - knowing what others could face. Thought I would be done with them here but apparently there is some risk from this one although nothing like Florida is getting. Hoping all stay well and @ChiCricket we would help if necessary. Love those German Shepherd dogs!!  

[Arwen Evenstar]

Love and prayers to all in the path of Irma. Its going to be ugly. Stay safe, my friends.

 Our fam and friends in PR did OK. Thankfully, the eye missed the island, but we're sad for islands not so lucky.

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, Arwen Evenstar said:

Love and prayers to all in the path of Irma. Its going to be ugly. Stay safe, my friends.

 Our fam and friends in PR did OK. Thankfully, the eye missed the island, but we're sad for islands not so lucky.

 All of my husband's family in Puerto Rico are all ok, but none of them have any water and electricity right now.  

[ariel]

I hope all that in harm's way ( and their loved ones) are safe & ok.

[bythelake]

Adding my good wishes to those who are in the hurricane's path. Stay safe and out of harm's way.

[GeeGolly]

Ugh, these storms. I have a friend who rode out the storm on one of the USVIs. I have many family throughout FL, and they're ALL staying put. After seeing what Harvey has done and what Irma is doing, I'm continually on edge. Safe vibes to all.

[lookeyloo]

I bought Sterno and am making ice.  Plus have food we can eat without cooking.  Oy.  I wish these things would blow out to sea.

[ChiCricket]

Thought I'd share a pic from a few months ago. Oh, please let Irma go out to sea, and leave everyone and everything alone! (And Hurricane José can stay away too.)

Their dog Nala is just a year old..but she's a seasoned sea-dog already :) 

 

[ariel]

5 minutes ago, ChiCricket said:

Thought I'd share a pic from a few months ago. Oh, please let Irma go out to sea, and leave everyone and everything alone! (And Hurricane José can stay away too.)

Their dog Nala is just a year old..but she's a seasoned sea-dog already :) 

 

What a beautiful family you have.  I have a soft spot in my heart for German Shepherds.  I'm praying they are safe & their boat is too. 

[ChiCricket]

I'm feeling very relieved. They made it to Ocala, Florida and are in a hotel room. A drive that usually takes 3½ hours took almost 8.

 0_o

[ariel]

I read that due to Irma, hotels are accepting pets too.

Edited September 7, 2017 by ariel

[Arwen Evenstar]

There used to be a website called petswelcome,com.  I don't know if it's still active, but friends of mine who wanted to take their pets with them would use it.

[ChiCricket]

1 hour ago, ariel said:

I read that due to Irma, hotels are accepting pets too.

I thought I read that also! But when they got to their hotel, they said no pets. But nothing deters my SIL, who just said "she's a service dog." I usually can't abide people who fake that, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

  But when they get to Georgia tomorrow, it will be in a very dog friendly place, with fields for her to run in (she's not going to want to return to the boat, if it survives Irma.)

[ariel]

These are indeed desperate times & beloved pets should be welcome.

[Jynnan tonnix]

3 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Ugh, these storms. I have a friend who rode out the storm on one of the USVIs. I have many family throughout FL, and they're ALL staying put. After seeing what Harvey has done and what Irma is doing, I'm continually on edge. Safe vibes to all.

We rode out Super-typhoon Omar three days after getting stationed in Guam...that was one of the scariest nights of my life, but thankfully,  24 years later it's all become just part of family lore with no major repercussions. I wish the same for everyone in Irma's path now!

[emma675]

Ugh, it looks like Irma is right over Turks and Caicos right now. I saw pics of Barbuda and Antigua and it looked so bad; there was just no way to escape from it. My company has an office in Tampa and I was in a conference call with them today and their office is closing Friday through Tuesday. They said there is very little gas, water and food left in stores there. After Harvey and the wildfires, FEMA is going to be stretched to the breaking point with Irma. 

[lookeyloo]

Well it is heading straight up Georgia. We are in metro Atlanta and none too thrilled. Not as bad as Florida but still unusual around here.  

[Love2dance]

22 minutes ago, lookeyloo said:

Well it is heading straight up Georgia. We are in metro Atlanta and none too thrilled. Not as bad as Florida but still unusual around here.  

Oh my goodness, Lookeyloo. Take care and stay safe. Doesn't @Happyfatchick live nearby, too? You all will be in our thoughts as at gets closer.

[lookeyloo]

We haven't heard from HFC since she moved. I'm sure she is  battening down her hatches too   Thanks for thinking of us. 

[BitterApple]

18 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

Thought I'd share a pic from a few months ago. Oh, please let Irma go out to sea, and leave everyone and everything alone! (And Hurricane José can stay away too.)

Their dog Nala is just a year old..but she's a seasoned sea-dog already :) 

 

Is your daughter interested in adopting? I like boats. And dogs!

[Lisa418722]

20 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Well it is heading straight up Georgia. We are in metro Atlanta and none too thrilled. Not as bad as Florida but still unusual around here.  

I work in MIdtown Atlanta and we were getting emails from the building management today about moving things off balconies, etc.  My office is on the 3rd floor with no windows, so no worry about that for me personally.  I rescheduled an appointment my boss had for Monday afternoon just to be on the safe side.  

[ChiCricket]

 My daughter and her family are now in a cabin in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Georgia.

Yay! <<<<- (I'll never be able to type that word again without thinking about this forum) ;-) 

Thanks for all of your well wishes. :)

p.s. The drive was supposed to take about 8½ hours..it took twenty

 

 

Edited September 9, 2017 by ChiCricket
reasons

[Arwen Evenstar]

@ChiCricket, glad your family are safe!

[Temperance]

@ChiCricket I'm glad to hear it. Good news! I hope everyone else is hanging in there. 

[lookeyloo]

2 hours ago, Lisa418722 said:

I work in MIdtown Atlanta and we were getting emails from the building management today about moving things off balconies, etc.  My office is on the 3rd floor with no windows, so no worry about that for me personally.  I rescheduled an appointment my boss had for Monday afternoon just to be on the safe side.  

Well I know where midtown is.  We have a few back ways to get there from here.  I've heard the grocery stores in Atlanta proper are bare. Do you know?  Here they were chock a block full at 4 p.m.  I guess we are off the beaten path.

@ChiCricket glad to know and it is just beautiful up there.  We go for day trips.

[pinkie]

I live about 12 miles from HFC (tho we don't actually know each other) so I'm guessing her situation is pretty crazy busy right now...

Florida evacuee traffic means the roads are in a state of gridlock near me, but I'm v glad that people were able to come here & find shelter.

I hope that the people who had to stay in Florida for whatever reasons, stay safe, & get help quickly if they need it.

[Love2dance]

3 hours ago, ChiCricket said:

 My daughter and her family are now in a cabin in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains in Georgia.

Yay! <<<<- (I'll never be able to type that word again without thinking about this forum) ;-) 

Thanks for all of your well wishes. :)

p.s. The drive was supposed to take about 8½ hours..it took twenty

 

 

 

So glad they are safe, but OMG, twenty hours. That is unimaginable. Hoping everyone is safe in the south.

[MunichNark]

I hear about it on the News, but it is very difficult to fathom for me, as we do not have such forces of nature. I cannot really comprehend it.

I hope everyone is safe and the loss of limb, property and life will be minimal. Very scary stuff.

[Lisa418722]

9 hours ago, lookeyloo said:

Well I know where midtown is.  We have a few back ways to get there from here.  I've heard the grocery stores in Atlanta proper are bare. Do you know?  Here they were chock a block full at 4 p.m.  I guess we are off the beaten path.

2

I'm heading to the grocery store this morning (because Saturdays are my normal shopping day), so I'll know more later this morning.  I had to laugh because I put water on my shopping list. Not because of the hurricane, but because I ran out.  As long as I can fill my car up with gas so I can get to work (because my employer doesn't care if I can get to work or not, I just have to be there), I'm OK with no water.  

[Sew Sumi]

Stay safe, Florida Keys and western coast Floridians! 

For fun, here's a name popularity list. What will Joy name her spawn? How popular was your name when you were born vs. now? I'm 23/900. Officially old lady name that even hipsters don't want to come back. LOL Hubby's name is still huge in Europe (in different forms; it's a saint's name), but has plumetted to 200 in the States. Fascinating stuff. eta: scroll down the page a bit to play. :)

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html

Edited September 10, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[ChiCricket]

15 hours ago, Sew Sumi said:

Stay safe, Florida Keys and western coast Floridians! 

For fun, here's a name popularity list. What will Joy name her spawn? How popular was your name when you were born vs. now? I'm 23/900. Officially old lady name that even hipsters don't want to come back. LOL Hubby's name is still huge in Europe (in different forms; it's a saint's name), but has plumetted to 200 in the States. Fascinating stuff. eta: scroll down the page a bit to play. :)

https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/index.html

If you like that site, try plugging your name into this one. My first name was hugely popular in the 50's...every class I ever had, there were at least 2 other girls with my name  (sometimes there was four of us..I hated that.)

      Now I know it's an old lady name. I can't remember meeting a baby with my name, in many, many years. Yep, I'm a geezer. :'(

When I was a rx tech, I could tell someone was old by their name alone...ie Florence, Bertha, Gertrude..always was a little old lady who would come to collect their meds. :-)

http://www.babynamewizard.com/name-voyager#prefix=&sw=both&exact=false

Edited September 10, 2017 by ChiCricket

[Sew Sumi]

Growing up, I had two besties with my name. One even with my MIDDLE name as well, although hers was an alternate spelling the did NOT go with her Irish last name. My first and middle names are as about white bread as you can get. Marrying ethnic spiced it up a bit. LOL

eta: that baby name wizard is SCATHING about my name. I KNOW it's an old lady's name and I came in at the very tail of the trend. I still had 3 in my class and 2 besties growing up, one with my middle name as well (a very popular name, although I think more in England) LOL

Edited September 10, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[ChiCricket]

6 minutes ago, Sew Sumi said:

Growing up, I had two besties with my name. One even with my MIDDLE name as well, although hers was an alternate spelling the did NOT go with her Irish last name. My first and middle names are as about white bread as you can get. Marrying ethnic spiced it up a bit. LOL

Reminds me of the movie "Heathers"

[Sew Sumi]

My middle name is VERY popular. I think the Social Secuity site tracks both, but that name has never dropped out of the top 20 since the 40's. I use a child's nickname of someone very famous on my twitter. 

Edited September 10, 2017 by Sew Sumi

[MunichNark]

Im surprised to see that my european name went through a wee flurry of popularity in 1986, so there are a few namesakes about

[Sew Sumi]

I'm so embarrassed that my name was all the rage in the 40's and 50's. I'm meeting ladies at my MIL's retirement community with my name. HORRORS, since no one is coming after me. 

Then again, I looked up some family names, and they dropped out of the top 1000 for decades then made a comeback. 

[GeeGolly]

22/482. My name was at it's most popular 10 after I was born, I guess my mom was a trend setter. ;) My name is not 'old lady' nor is it rare, but I've never had a classmate that shared it. I was amazed however, when looking up an email at work that there were at least a dozen other women that had my name or a variation of it.

I just did my kids' names. Funny enough one of their names was the most popular 10 years after her birth too.

[Jynnan tonnix]

5 hours ago, MunichNark said:

Im surprised to see that my european name went through a wee flurry of popularity in 1986, so there are a few namesakes about

My Polish name came up with "this name has not been in the top 1000 in any time period". I do know a couple of other people (in Poland) with this name, but I've definitely always been the only one with it over here. I like the fact that it's unique, but have never actually liked the name. Five letters, three syllables, three different short vowel sounds. It's just too choppy. I always wanted a flowy, musical sounding name.

[bythelake]

Stay safe, Floridians, our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

My Polish name came up with "this name has not been in the top 1000 in any time period". I do know a couple of other people (in Poland) with this name, but I've definitely always been the only one with it over here. I like the fact that it's unique, but have never actually liked the name. Five letters, three syllables, three different short vowel sounds. It's just too choppy. I always wanted a flowy, musical sounding name.

I've got one of those names that was fairly popular in the 50's to early 60's.   In grade school, I was one of 3 girls with that first name in a class of about 25.  However, it is now decidedly out of fashion and anyone hearing my name can easily guess my age.  I'm kinda an expert on baby names due to my profession and I can safely say that, over 35 years and many thousands of babies, I have never, EVER delivered a baby that was given my first name (there are at least 2 boys (now men) who've got my surname as either a first or middle name.  My surname is shortened from the Polish original, but not a 'real' boys' name when spelled, although the pronunciation comes close to sounding like a traditional male name and one friend and one patient decided to use it.

[bythelake]

I was an only child so to appease both the Irish and Italian sides of the family, I was named for both grandmothers. My plain first name was probably given to half the Irish babies of that time. My Italian grandmother's name was Americanized, so it would flow better with my first name.  My granddaughter was named for her Lithuanian great grandmother who hated the name and always went by  a variation of it. I love the name; it's a little unusual, but not weird. She loves it as well and is usually the only one in her class with it. The only time I would feel bad was on a visit to a souvenir shop where she could never get a personalized item. Thank heavens for Lillian Vernon. Poor Spurgeon.