Small Talk: Only 2 Ounces Of Commenting Allowed

[ProTourist]

6 hours ago, Londoner said:

Hi everyone 

First post here, love the show .. soooo frustrating that we are drip fed episodes in the UK ... I have to use TLC uk which is way behind, Amazon Prime or iTunes again so behind.

But love reading your posts, especially the updates, I first found this forum looking for updates on Kandi and Brandi and have been reading my way through the live chats... brilliant 

But I have had to use google to work out what some of the foods are ... like grits, biscuits and gravy(that confused me because our biscuits over here are your cookies).

I am amazed at the amount of different varieties of take aways and drive throughs, we only have McDonald’s and KFC ... have always wanted to try Taco Bell (I know But it’s for research purposes only😂)  but we have maybe one in the whole country. I couldn’t get over one (Marla I think way back) deep fat frying in bed😱.

anyway just thought I would join and say hello 

Welcome, Londoner! Thank you for joining, I do hope you will continue to join in the discussions. I've been to the UK, spent most of the month of August 1991 in England, Scotland, and Wales, and got to Northern Ireland a few years later. I loved everything about it except the lack of air conditioning, even in some of the hotels. People tried to explain that it's only hot like this a few weeks a year, but those were the few weeks I was there! 😃

Kandi and Brandi are two of my favorite poundticipants, and they've done so well. Yes, Marla was deep-fat frying in bed, Penny did that too.

There has been quite a proliferation of fast food restaurants in the past few decades. When I was a kid, in the sixties, all we had was McDonald's and KFC too. Although there was another chicken fast food place, which is long gone, called Chicken Delight ("don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight"). But in NYC, where I lived (and still do) we could also pick up pizza, whole or by the slice, and sandwiches from the delicatessens.

Fast food restaurants tend to vary by region. In the early seventies my family lived briefly in North Carolina, where they had a few fast foods that we did not have in New York, including a good burger place called Hardees. A place we did have was Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips (which I loved, "the meal you cannot make at home"). It was the first time I ever put vinegar on french fries (chips).

A british person once told me he thought the closest thing to an american biscuit would be a scone. I suppose so, but they are rather different.

Some british television series I like include Black Mirror and The Crown. I am dying for the third season of The Crown, though it will be bittersweet when it does arrive as I know I will miss terribly the actors who have portrayed the young Elizabeth, Phillip, and Margaret. Can't understand why a british series would have cast the american John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, but he worked hard at it and I think he did pretty well. I've learned a lot about recent british history from The Crown. 😊

Cheers for now, and please come back soon!

[Carboncat]

8 hours ago, Londoner said:

Hi everyone 

First post here, love the show .. soooo frustrating that we are drip fed episodes in the UK ... I have to use TLC uk which is way behind, Amazon Prime or iTunes again so behind.

But love reading your posts, especially the updates, I first found this forum looking for updates on Kandi and Brandi and have been reading my way through the live chats... brilliant 

But I have had to use google to work out what some of the foods are ... like grits, biscuits and gravy(that confused me because our biscuits over here are your cookies).

I am amazed at the amount of different varieties of take aways and drive throughs, we only have McDonald’s and KFC ... have always wanted to try Taco Bell (I know But it’s for research purposes only😂)  but we have maybe one in the whole country. I couldn’t get over one (Marla I think way back) deep fat frying in bed😱.

anyway just thought I would join and say hello 

Welcome!  I was just going to post this anyway, and here you are!  Serendipity!

I made biscuits and country gravy today....  Since becoming a pounder I can never look at the stuff the same.  Stirring it I see visions of the full-plate large waffles smothered in sausage country gravy  (Justin's episode, courtesy of his mom?)  I thought heroin addicts lose their appetites (snark!)

I make a version of Chicken-a-la King with fresh chicken breast, peas, carrots and celery over broad egg noodles that my 26 yr old son has forever christened "chicken nu-nu".

He would rhapsodise about it in his letters home from Marine's Boot Camp, where they had 90 seconds to eat and they grabbed away the plate.... "You're DONE!".

I used to make my own white sauce, but the biggest hit are the "secret ingredients":  a can of Campbell's cream of celery soup, and country gravy.

It's a recurring theme on  M600lbLife:  After the agonizing clear-shower curtain scene the pounticipant ploomphs into the recliner while the enabler fries up 20 sausages and a carton of eggs and 12 biscuits looking like they've got a gun to their head.  They all then dourly gather around the poundticipant in the living room (God forbid they sit at an actual dining table!) and  look on with silent disapproval (when the majority are only slightly less obese themselves) We are then treated to close-ups of frantic shoveling of food into poundticipant's mouth.  And it's all covered in Country Gravy!

Edited July 28, 2019 by Carboncat
spelling and spelling again

[Carboncat]

9 hours ago, Londoner said:

Hi everyone 

First post here, love the show .. soooo frustrating that we are drip fed episodes in the UK ... I have to use TLC uk which is way behind, Amazon Prime or iTunes again so behind.

But love reading your posts, especially the updates, I first found this forum looking for updates on Kandi and Brandi and have been reading my way through the live chats... brilliant 

But I have had to use google to work out what some of the foods are ... like grits, biscuits and gravy(that confused me because our biscuits over here are your cookies).

I am amazed at the amount of different varieties of take aways and drive throughs, we only have McDonald’s and KFC ... have always wanted to try Taco Bell (I know But it’s for research purposes only😂)  but we have maybe one in the whole country. I couldn’t get over one (Marla I think way back) deep fat frying in bed😱.

anyway just thought I would join and say hello 

Hello! and pull up a chair...!

Our biscuits are a white-flour type of roll, but because it includes shortening, it flakes. 

Grits are made from ground hominy corn, a type of "hot cereal", like oatmeal, cream of wheat etc.  Healthy in themselves, but are basically a vehicle for butter, salt, sugar, cream, and in the case of grits, cheese.  There are innumerable ways to "doctor" grits, as my grandmother would put it.  In the South they use it as a base for shrimp and other dishes, kind of like rice or polenta.

What we call "chips" are your "crisps"

What we call "fries" are your "chips"

Hear it's been insufferably hot in UK recently,  hope it cools down soon.  I've been there;  it was always foggy and chilly, always caught a cold.  Buildings there are not designed for hot weather. Although as a Californian I marveled at the blindingly green, green grass.  Here it takes dedicated hose work to keep it from turning into clay pan;  it doesn't rain from March to November.  Realised the same thing on recent trip to New Jersey.  It rains all the time!  Here we anxiously await the "first rain"...late October, November ?  and the newscasts of constant car spin-outs from cars hydroplaning on oil-soaked freeways and drivers that won't keep defensible space and slow down.  Then there is the constant anxiety..."yeah, it's raining now (November), but will it stop next month?" It has done that;  dry December, January, at that point it's all over.  We also don't get frost anymore;  didn't have to de-ice car once this year. All winter rainfall totals are at top of newscast,  as well as tracking of dreaded "high pressure dome"  the one that created the East Coast "polar vortex" leaves the West high, dry and smoky from wildfires.

Hope you cool down soon! "Chill!"

Edited July 28, 2019 by Carboncat
remembered something

[Carboncat]

Just heard from  foster family of Cabo and Leifa my prospective blind kitties....with whom I've fallen in love… head butts and cheek-rubs all around.  I can visit and hopefully adopt Tuesday evening at 6:00.  It's inconvenient to drive all the way to Berkeley after driving home (inland) from Oakland at 3:30.  But gosh, I'll be there!  I've shed tears and drank too much all weekend over these cats!  New donut beds are waiting, as is the new cat tree:   Carboncat loves it ;  it's navyblue, but it's going in the newcat room temporarally.

[Londoner]

16 hours ago, ProTourist said:

Welcome, Londoner! Thank you for joining, I do hope you will continue to join in the discussions. I've been to the UK, spent most of the month of August 1991 in England, Scotland, and Wales, and got to Northern Ireland a few years later. I loved everything about it except the lack of air conditioning, even in some of the hotels. People tried to explain that it's only hot like this a few weeks a year, but those were the few weeks I was there! 😃

Kandi and Brandi are two of my favorite poundticipants, and they've done so well. Yes, Marla was deep-fat frying in bed, Penny did that too.

There has been quite a proliferation of fast food restaurants in the past few decades. When I was a kid, in the sixties, all we had was McDonald's and KFC too. Although there was another chicken fast food place, which is long gone, called Chicken Delight ("don't cook tonight, call Chicken Delight"). But in NYC, where I lived (and still do) we could also pick up pizza, whole or by the slice, and sandwiches from the delicatessens.

Fast food restaurants tend to vary by region. In the early seventies my family lived briefly in North Carolina, where they had a few fast foods that we did not have in New York, including a good burger place called Hardees. A place we did have was Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips (which I loved, "the meal you cannot make at home"). It was the first time I ever put vinegar on french fries (chips).

A british person once told me he thought the closest thing to an american biscuit would be a scone. I suppose so, but they are rather different.

Some british television series I like include Black Mirror and The Crown. I am dying for the third season of The Crown, though it will be bittersweet when it does arrive as I know I will miss terribly the actors who have portrayed the young Elizabeth, Phillip, and Margaret. Can't understand why a british series would have cast the american John Lithgow as Winston Churchill, but he worked hard at it and I think he did pretty well. I've learned a lot about recent british history from The Crown. 😊

Cheers for now, and please come back soon!

Thank you for a lovely welcome,😀 and thank you for explaining some of the food terms... 

I have been to Canada but never to the states buts it’s on my list to do, quite fancy Maine.

Our weather is so weird, last Thursday we had 38 Celsius (approx 100.4 Fahrenheit) but yesterday it was 69.8 Fahrenheit .. no wonder we all have colds, hardly anyone has aircon, it’s quite expensive and it probably would be used for 2 weeks a year 😂.

I must admit I’ve never watched the Crown, but some US series I enjoy watching are Blacklist, the Good Doctor and some others. Have you watched Killing Eve that’s a US UK collaboration.  

I do however refuse to start watching any US series that is only one series in as I have got absorbed in a series only to find much to my chagrin that is had been cancelled after one series☹️

Well cooked fish, chips and mushy peas is truly a delight ... up north of the country they tend to put gravy or curry sauce on chips .. but us southern softies as our northern cousins fondly refer to us have Ketchup tomato sauce and Tartare sauce.😀

[Londoner]

20 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I read your entire post as though it were being spoken with a delightful British accent.  Welcome from an Arizonan whose favorite city in the world is London.

20 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I read your entire post as though it were being spoken with a delightful British accent.  Welcome from an Arizonan whose favorite city in the world is London.

Thank you 😊 for a such a warm welcome ...   So pleased that you enjoy coming to London, I must admit I do take it for granted sometimes and fail to notice the beauty as I am rushing around hopping on one tube to another 

[Carboncat]

24 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Thank you for a lovely welcome,😀 and thank you for explaining some of the food terms... 

I have been to Canada but never to the states buts it’s on my list to do, quite fancy Maine.

Our weather is so weird, last Thursday we had 38 Celsius (approx 100.4 Fahrenheit) but yesterday it was 69.8 Fahrenheit .. no wonder we all have colds, hardly anyone has aircon, it’s quite expensive and it probably would be used for 2 weeks a year 😂.

I must admit I’ve never watched the Crown, but some US series I enjoy watching are Blacklist, the Good Doctor and some others. Have you watched Killing Eve that’s a US UK collaboration.  

I do however refuse to start watching any US series that is only one series in as I have got absorbed in a series only to find much to my chagrin that is had been cancelled after one series☹️

Well cooked fish, chips and mushy peas is truly a delight ... up north of the country they tend to put gravy or curry sauce on chips .. but us southern softies as our northern cousins fondly refer to us have Ketchup tomato sauce and Tartare sauce.😀

Was a big fan of "Inspector Morse", with his Jag-u-arr.!  The potato "chips" Lewis's wife prepared we would call "home fries".  Pity that the author and the actor both died.  I myself would love to visit Maine;  I love the East coast; it's almost as far away from me as you!

[Londoner]

15 hours ago, Carboncat said:

Hello! and pull up a chair...!

Our biscuits are a white-flour type of roll, but because it includes shortening, it flakes. 

Grits are made from ground hominy corn, a type of "hot cereal", like oatmeal, cream of wheat etc.  Healthy in themselves, but are basically a vehicle for butter, salt, sugar, cream, and in the case of grits, cheese.  There are innumerable ways to "doctor" grits, as my grandmother would put it.  In the South they use it as a base for shrimp and other dishes, kind of like rice or polenta.

What we call "chips" are your "crisps"

What we call "fries" are your "chips"

Hear it's been insufferably hot in UK recently,  hope it cools down soon.  I've been there;  it was always foggy and chilly, always caught a cold.  Buildings there are not designed for hot weather. Although as a Californian I marveled at the blindingly green, green grass.  Here it takes dedicated hose work to keep it from turning into clay pan;  it doesn't rain from March to November.  Realised the same thing on recent trip to New Jersey.  It rains all the time!  Here we anxiously await the "first rain"...late October, November ?  and the newscasts of constant car spin-outs from cars hydroplaning on oil-soaked freeways and drivers that won't keep defensible space and slow down.  Then there is the constant anxiety..."yeah, it's raining now (November), but will it stop next month?" It has done that;  dry December, January, at that point it's all over.  We also don't get frost anymore;  didn't have to de-ice car once this year. All winter rainfall totals are at top of newscast,  as well as tracking of dreaded "high pressure dome"  the one that created the East Coast "polar vortex" leaves the West high, dry and smoky from wildfires.

Hope you cool down soon! "Chill!"

Hi thank you too for a wonderful welcome 😀

Yes it was over a 100 degrees last week now it’s 69 degrees... we have the most illogical weather.

Thank you for the food descriptions 😀, It sounds as if the biscuits are just flaky puff pastry maybe?

I know that your jello is our jelly

and your jelly is our jam

Being an avid Stephen King reader I had to research Twinkies, Slim Jims among others 😂

Twinkies are almost like our Swiss Rolls

Slim Jim’s are our pepperarami  I think.

The only episodes I cannot watch are the  Assanti brothers especially Stephen, he just makes me feel sick

and the ow my legs can’t remember his name but he was 🤢

I always worry for the pets, they always have extremely small dogs and cats and I’m always scared that they will sit on them and the poor animal will disappear in to the crevices never to be seen again.

[Londoner]

6 hours ago, Carboncat said:

Just heard from  foster family of Cabo and Leifa my prospective blind kitties....with whom I've fallen in love… head butts and cheek-rubs all around.  I can visit and hopefully adopt Tuesday evening at 6:00.  It's inconvenient to drive all the way to Berkeley after driving home (inland) from Oakland at 3:30.  But gosh, I'll be there!  I've shed tears and drank too much all weekend over these cats!  New donut beds are waiting, as is the new cat tree:   Carboncat loves it ;  it's navyblue, but it's going in the newcat room temporarally.

Aw good luck with the adoption.. they sound so gorgeous .. I’m a big animal lover 

I have a british lilac cat who is 12 who outwardly put up (but secretly loves) our boisterous 3 year old boxer dog 

[Carboncat]

Dogs and cats can be best friends. 

[Londoner]

28 minutes ago, Carboncat said:

Was a big fan of "Inspector Morse", with his Jag-u-arr.!  The potato "chips" Lewis's wife prepared we would call "home fries".  Pity that the author and the actor both died.  I myself would love to visit Maine;  I love the East coast; it's almost as far away from me as you!

California always makes me think of beautiful beaches and lovely weather, 

I am always amazed that the 600 pounders have so much land around where they live...  they all seem to rent and can upsticks and move at a moments notice.

It’s seems every piece of available land is built on over here and a 100 foot garden is considered big .. well in the London boroughs anyway.

[ProTourist]

6 hours ago, Londoner said:

It sounds as if the biscuits are just flaky puff pastry maybe?

Not quite puff pastry, biscuits are a little more substantial. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, if you have a few minutes a video like this one might make it a bit clearer:

I would just add that I don't know how common it is to pour molasses over the biscuits, as this fellow shows at the end. I think many people would just put butter, unless they are going to make the white gravy for them.

People will east biscuits by themselves for breakfast, or as part of dinner such as with fried chicken or stews.

[ProTourist]

7 hours ago, Londoner said:

I have been to Canada but never to the states buts it’s on my list to do, quite fancy Maine.

Yes, Maine is beautiful, I have been several times. A long coast line with rocky beaches, light houses, parks, fresh seafood. Best time to go is summer and early autumn, as later in the autumn can be quite cold, like winter already. You might like to include Vermont and New Hampshire and make your first trip to the US to visit the northern New England states. 😍 The Green Mountains of Vermont are something special, as are the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 😊

[Londoner]

14 minutes ago, ProTourist said:

Not quite puff pastry, biscuits are a little more substantial. As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, if you have a few minutes a video like this one might make it a bit clearer:

I would just add that I don't know how common it is to pour molasses over the biscuits, as this fellow shows at the end. I think many people would just put butter, unless they are going to make the white gravy for them.

People will east biscuits by themselves for breakfast, or as part of dinner such as with fried chicken or stews.

Thank you so much .. I see the comparison now between them and scones except scones aren’t puff pastry and usually have currants in them. Sometimes we have savoury cheese scones but the favourite is with clotted cream and jam😍

[Carboncat]

6 hours ago, Londoner said:

 California always makes me think of beautiful beaches and lovely weather, 

I am always amazed that the 600 pounders have so much land around where they live...  they all seem to rent and can upsticks and move at a moments notice.

It’s seems every piece of available land is built on over here and a 100 foot garden is considered big .. well in the London boroughs anyway.

Here in this part of San Leandro lots are 50' wide by 100' long.  Our wood-frame house was built in 1939:  charitably can call "bungalow"   Basic working-class house"  2 bedrooms, livingroom, kitchen, and tiny bath.  Yes, the bathroom door is 24" wide,  600lb' ers wouldn't fit.  Just had argument with Mr. Carboncat;  he wants bigger TV (Why always bigger!) but anything bigger would occlude either the window or mail slot.  Thankfully we are both small people, anything larger than our "full" formerly "double" bed would require us scooting around 6"of space to get into it.

It's the "starter" house you can never leave.  790 square feet.  Because we are on a corner lot detached, Model-A sized garage is accsessed only by swinging out big wooden gates onto sidewalk.  Driveway is too short for car.  Of course the garage, affectionately called the "shed" is jam-packed with the detritus of 28 years of marriage, and 2 kids.  I'm sure vcrs of "I Love Toy Trains! #5"  are either decomposing into goo out there or are feeding "wildlife".  It's sometimes easier to buy a new tool than go through trying to find it in the garage.

We have had perpetual construction on our street since March.  We have no place to park.  If I bring home Cabo and Leifa will give my best smile to the young sign-bearer... "Got kittens here!" Please let me park for a while.  Am on tenterhooks.

[Hellga]

I second adding New Hampshire to the list of must-see locations!  It is wonderful, such a small state packs a lot of variety, the mountains, the lakes, the coast...  

And definitely a must-try food in Maine (besides lobster) is clam chowder.  That's a soup that can make you 600 pounds if eaten frequently (unless you are doing heavy physical labor for 16 hours a day as a fisherman, I suppose), but oh so delicious when made right. 🙂 

Here in the suburbs of New York I am far enough away from the city that typical lots are 1/4 acre and up, plenty of 1/2 acre and 1+ acre properties unless you are in the center of the village.   I love having all the greenery and wildlife around me (I see deer pretty much every day if I care to look) yet I am only 7 minutes drive from the village with all the shops and restaurants I need, and only an hour away from everything New York City has to offer.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Hellga

[ProTourist]

On 7/28/2019 at 6:27 AM, Londoner said:

our biscuits over here are your cookies

Just one clarification for you here, Londoner. Your sweet biscuits are our cookies, yes, but your salt biscuits are our crackers.

I know that crackers are something entirely different in the UK, not even food at all.  😄

[Carboncat]

33 minutes ago, ProTourist said:

Yes, Maine is beautiful, I have been several times. A long coast line with rocky beaches, light houses, parks, fresh seafood. Best time to go is summer and early autumn, as later in the autumn can be quite cold, like winter already. You might like to include Vermont and New Hampshire and make your first trip to the US to visit the northern New England states. 😍 The Green Mountains of Vermont are something special, as are the White Mountains of New Hampshire. 😊

Thanks for that.  Am trying to wind down working...husband is retired and I know he wants to travel more while he can still see (he has diabetic glaucoma).  Northern California too has rocky coasts.  The brutal smashing of cold, green ocean water on sharp rocks is something to see, especially when you know sea creatures are tucked away under all of that.  What I like about the East coast is seasons.  Here it's so subtle you might miss it.  "Cold Snap" is 55 degrees high. Break out fuzzy Uggs boots!

Always want to see upstate New York and New England.  Only time I've ever been there has been high summer.  It snowed here last in February 1975, and stayed on ground for maybe 45 minutes.

Worst memory was Thanksgiving 1995.  Was in the 80's, smells of cooking turkey and fixings just heated up house, was revolting.  Had to fill kiddie pool.  

[Carboncat]

35 minutes ago, ProTourist said:

Just one clarification for you here, Londoner. Your sweet biscuits are our cookies, yes, but your salt biscuits are our crackers.

I know that crackers are something entirely different in the UK, not even food at all.  😄

Oh, crackers are my weakness! I somehow rationalize that the calories don't count when I eat them with my coffee!

[Carboncat]

1 hour ago, Hellga said:

I second adding New Hampshire to the list of must-see locations!  It is wonderful, such a small state packs a lot of variety, the mountains, the lakes, the coast...  

And definitely a must-try food in Maine (besides lobster) is clam chowder.  That's a soup that can make you 600 pounds if eaten frequently (unless you are doing heavy physical labor for 16 hours a day as a fisherman, I suppose), but oh so delicious when made right. 🙂 

Here in the suburbs of New York I am far enough away from the city that typical lots are 1/4 acre and up, plenty of 1/2 acre and 1+ acre properties unless you are in the center of the village.   I love having all the greenery and wildlife around me (I see deer pretty much every day if I care to look) yet I am only 7 minutes drive from the village with all the shops and restaurants I need, and only an hour away from everything New York City has to offer.

My husband is from Morristown, NJ.  We have visited often.  Besides the feel of lush green grass under my sandaled feet, I love the greenery.   So close to NYC!  But the on-and off ramps in New Jersey are truly scary...this from a Californian!  Missed the walled-off offramp twice and had to decompress in an industrial parking lot before continuing.  It was dark then.  I was totally sober after family cook-out, but totally freaked out.  Here we have "cloverleaf" on and off ramps, they are predictable.  Not only that, but this last time the rental car we got in Newark had West Virginia plates on it.  Total regards to West Virginia Pounders!  but that was almost worse than California plates as a cop magnet.

[Londoner]

2 hours ago, ProTourist said:

Just one clarification for you here, Londoner. Your sweet biscuits are our cookies, yes, but your salt biscuits are our crackers.

I know that crackers are something entirely different in the UK, not even food at all.  😄

Crackers can mean about three different things 😂

One is your salt biscuits (Jacobs cream crackers, Ritz biscuits etc.

Another is a Christmas cracker (piece of paper twisted at the ends with a toy and a piece of gunpowder paper) so it “cracks” when pulled 

another is a to describe an eccentric crazy person i.e “She’s totally crackers “ 🤪

2 hours ago, ProTourist said:

Just one clarification for you here, Londoner. Your sweet biscuits are our cookies, yes, but your salt biscuits are our crackers.

I know that crackers are something entirely different in the UK, not even food at all.  😄

 ally 

[Londoner]

2 hours ago, Carboncat said:

.  Here it's so subtle you might miss it.  "Cold Snap" is 55 degrees high. Break out fuzzy Uggs boots!

Always want to see upstate New York and New England.  Only time I've ever been there has been high summer.  It snowed here last in February 1975, and stayed on ground for maybe 45 minutes.

Worst memory was Thanksgiving 1995.  Was in the 80's, smells of cooking turkey and fixings just heated up house, was revolting.  Had to fill kiddie pool.  

I feel your pain, we do get snow in London but it’s usually not much 😢... up North in  Yorkshire (North Yorkshire is stunning)l where I have relatives gets loads ... plus they always get a white Christmas which I am insanely jealous of.

1 hour ago, Carboncat said:

My husband is from Morristown, NJ.  We have visited often.  Besides the feel of lush green grass under my sandaled feet, I love the greenery.   So close to NYC!  But the on-and off ramps in New Jersey are truly scary...this from a Californian!  Missed the walled-off offramp twice and had to decompress in an industrial parking lot before continuing.  It was dark then.  I was totally sober after family cook-out, but totally freaked out.  Here we have "cloverleaf" on and off ramps, they are predictable.  Not only that, but this last time the rental car we got in Newark had West Virginia plates on it.  Total regards to West Virginia Pounders!  but that was almost worse than California plates as a cop magnet.

Yikes thought our roundabouts were bad 

[Londoner]

2 hours ago, Hellga said:

I second adding New Hampshire to the list of must-see locations!  It is wonderful, such a small state packs a lot of variety, the mountains, the lakes, the coast...  

And definitely a must-try food in Maine (besides lobster) is clam chowder.  That's a soup that can make you 600 pounds if eaten frequently (unless you are doing heavy physical labor for 16 hours a day as a fisherman, I suppose), but oh so delicious when made right. 🙂 

Here in the suburbs of New York I am far enough away from the city that typical lots are 1/4 acre and up, plenty of 1/2 acre and 1+ acre properties unless you are in the center of the village.   I love having all the greenery and wildlife around me (I see deer pretty much every day if I care to look) yet I am only 7 minutes drive from the village with all the shops and restaurants I need, and only an hour away from everything New York City has to offer.

That sounds perfect 👌.. what are the property prices for a decent amount of land ? It’s ridiculous around where I am .. you are talking about £500,000 for a semi detached house with a 60 ft square garden 

[Londoner]

2 hours ago, Carboncat said:

Here in this part of San Leandro lots are 50' wide by 100' long.  Our wood-frame house was built in 1939:  charitably can call "bungalow"   Basic working-class house"  2 bedrooms, livingroom, kitchen, and tiny bath.  Yes, the bathroom door is 24" wide,  600lb' ers wouldn't fit.  Just had argument with Mr. Carboncat;  he wants bigger TV (Why always bigger!) but anything bigger would occlude either the window or mail slot.  Thankfully we are both small people, anything larger than our "full" formerly "double" bed would require us scooting around 6"of space to get into it.

It's the "starter" house you can never leave.  790 square feet.  Because we are on a corner lot detached, Model-A sized garage is accsessed only by swinging out big wooden gates onto sidewalk.  Driveway is too short for car.  Of course the garage, affectionately called the "shed" is jam-packed with the detritus of 28 years of marriage, and 2 kids.  I'm sure vcrs of "I Love Toy Trains! #5"  are either decomposing into goo out there or are feeding "wildlife".  It's sometimes easier to buy a new tool than go through trying to find it in the garage.

We have had perpetual construction on our street since March.  We have no place to park.  If I bring home Cabo and Leifa will give my best smile to the young sign-bearer... "Got kittens here!" Please let me park for a while.  Am on tenterhooks.

Wow Is it so crammed because of where it is ? Is it a suburban built up area .. if you were to to move  a different part of the country would you be able to get more for your money?... over here the London prices are ridiculous... but at least we can move (eventual plan) and get more land further out.

[Carboncat]

6 minutes ago, Londoner said:

I feel your pain, we do get snow in London but it’s usually not much 😢... up North in  Yorkshire (North Yorkshire is stunning)l where I have relatives gets loads ... plus they always get a white Christmas which I am insanely jealous of.

Yikes thought our roundabouts were bad 

We have a mini-roundabout at out corner intersection; an ill-conceived idea they set up about five years ago.  Another reason kitties can't go outside.  On July 4th day a car shot through the wrong way round at 50+ MPH (no braking heard) and T-boned a minivan.  Spectacular crash, but thankfully no-one seriously hurt.  Another WTF moment, gotta wonder....

[Londoner]

4 minutes ago, Carboncat said:

We have a mini-roundabout at out corner intersection; an ill-conceived idea they set up about five years ago.  Another reason kitties can't go outside.  On July 4th day a car shot through the wrong way round at 50+ MPH (no braking heard) and T-boned a minivan.  Spectacular crash, but thankfully no-one seriously hurt.  Another WTF moment, gotta wonder....

Are you able to fence off your garden for an outside run ? 

[Carboncat]

3 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Wow Is it so crammed because of where it is ? Is it a suburban built up area .. if you were to to move  a different part of the country would you be able to get more for your money?... over here the London prices are ridiculous... but at least we can move (eventual plan) and get more land further out.

Yes it's over built-up and expensive here in Bay area.  My job at a family-servicing non -profit is here;  I love the job and people, they do great work with needy families, especially immigrant families caught up in current politics.  I myself am Facilities, not a counselor, but don't want to move until I retire.  We are looking at retiring to Las Vegas;  I know, when I toured Hoover Dam it was 125 degrees, unreal,  but housing is affordable, they don't have earthquakes (at least 'till recently!)  and if I adapt to cactus gardening and have pool and AC should be ok.  Can even get part-time job that doesn't mess with Social Security...…"Hi!... Welcome to Walmart!..."

[Carboncat]

20 minutes ago, Londoner said:

Are you able to fence off your garden for an outside run ? 

Possibly could build enclosed "catio".  Need to get a better feel for what cats want to do. Current cats are ok indoors, but they are"mature".  These new kitties are 9 months old, but sight-impaired.  Thing is, for such scent-oriented animals like cats, this may not slow them down much.  I did set up night-lights for them.

Edited July 29, 2019 by Carboncat
finished thought

[AZChristian]

1 hour ago, Carboncat said:

We are looking at retiring to Las Vegas;  I know, when I toured Hoover Dam it was 125 degrees, unreal,  but housing is affordable, they don't have earthquakes (at least 'till recently!)  and if I adapt to cactus gardening and have pool and AC should be ok.  Can even get part-time job that doesn't mess with Social Security...…"Hi!... Welcome to Walmart!..."

Check out Mesa, AZ.  We live in a nice double-wide in a senior park.  No earthquakes, but you can buy a place for under $40,000, and then pay the lot rent.  We have TWO pools, and AC.  And two Wal-Marts within 5 miles.

[Carboncat]

2 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Check out Mesa, AZ.  We live in a nice double-wide in a senior park.  No earthquakes, but you can buy a place for under $40,000, and then pay the lot rent.  We have TWO pools, and AC.  And two Wal-Marts within 5 miles.

will do! 

[AZChristian]

6 minutes ago, Carboncat said:

will do! 

PM me if you have any questions.  We love it here!!!  Beautiful view of the Superstition Mountains whenever we're driving home.  And a bunch of nice retirees who make a habit of walking the local mall every morning to avoid the heat!!!

[Hellga]

3 hours ago, Londoner said:

That sounds perfect 👌.. what are the property prices for a decent amount of land ? It’s ridiculous around where I am .. you are talking about £500,000 for a semi detached house with a 60 ft square garden 

It varies greatly depending on the town and the neighborhood and the house and how far you are from the city.    Lots of variables...  $500,000 can get you a 1,500 square foot 3-bedroom house on a 1/4 acre in good condition in many towns about an hour north of the city.  Don't forget to add $20,000 in annual property taxes to your mortgage payments.  At least our home insurance premiums aren't bad... my Mom's is getting to be crazy - but then with the hailstorms they have been having, she has replaced her roof three times in ten years...  

Edited July 30, 2019 by Hellga

[Hellga]

4 hours ago, Carboncat said:

My husband is from Morristown, NJ.  We have visited often.  Besides the feel of lush green grass under my sandaled feet, I love the greenery.   So close to NYC!  But the on-and off ramps in New Jersey are truly scary...this from a Californian!  

I lived in New Jersey for three years and I still drive there about once a month... never noticed anything scary about the ramps there... the first time I drove on the Turnpike in heavy rush hour traffic was something, though.  And my GPS had a weird affinity for US-1, kept sending me there whenever it could justify it, and that's about the worst congested road in central Jersey.  Once I learned my way around, I would just purposefully ignore it and avoid US-1 unless it was very late at night or very early on a weekend morning...

Morristown is a cute town!  I only visited it a couple times, and the only time I actually had some free time was in the winter - I should go there on a weekend day this summer. 

Edited July 30, 2019 by Hellga

[Carboncat]

3 minutes ago, Hellga said:

I lived in New Jersey for three years and I still drive there about once a month... never noticed anything scary about the ramps there... the first time I drove on the Turnpike in heavy rush hour traffic was something, though.  And my GPS had a weird affinity for US-1, kept sending me there whenever it could justify it, and that's about the worst congested road in central Jersey.  Once I learned my way around, I would just purposefully ignore it and avoid US-1 unless it was very late at night or very early on a weekend morning...

It seemed to me that the freeways were walled off and you drive past  your destination with no way to get off and get to it.  Maybe just the paranoia of being in an unfamiliar place.  And everybody drives so FAST !  Can't remember, but the on-ramps and merges were confusing..  Maybe I'm just a rube, but I did navigate us around New Jersey and back to Newark in one piece.

[SuzieQ]

I don't know exactly what thread this belongs in, but here seemed as good as any.

Question: If these people can lose 50-60 lbs a month, staying on a diet before WLS, why do they get it? I would think being able to do it on their own and avoid the risks of surgery, would be a huge win.

Anyone? What am I missing?

[crazycatlady58]

16 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

I don't know exactly what thread this belongs in, but here seemed as good as any.

Question: If these people can lose 50-60 lbs a month, staying on a diet before WLS, why do they get it? I would think being able to do it on their own and avoid the risks of surgery, would be a huge win.

Anyone? What am I missing?

I think it is because they can go a month on the reduced calorie diet because its only a month. During that time yes , they are always hungry but it is for a short time. To spend the rest of their lives feeling always hungry is not something they could do. 

[ProTourist]

7 hours ago, Londoner said:

Crackers can mean about three different things 😂

[1] One is your salt biscuits (Jacobs cream crackers, Ritz biscuits etc.

[2] Another is a Christmas cracker (piece of paper twisted at the ends with a toy and a piece of gunpowder paper) so it “cracks” when pulled 

[3] another is a to describe an eccentric crazy person i.e “She’s totally crackers “ 🤪

The second was the one I had been thinking of. The first I didn't think you used -- that is our definition -- I thought you always used 'salt biscuit'. The third, well yes we use that too. 😇

6 hours ago, Londoner said:

Yikes thought our roundabouts were bad 

As a pedestrian in London I found the roundabouts quite challenging. I'm used to traffic lights that make the cars stop so that the people can cross the street! The city where I had the easiest time crossing streets was Auckland, New Zealand. They had three-way signals at all the intersections I found, so that pedestrians never had cars turning behind their backs (one of the hazards in NYC). But they made up for it in the steepness of the hills; some of them were so steep I had to take them at a run or I wouldn't have got up them at all! 😧

[Carboncat]

4 hours ago, ProTourist said:

The second was the one I had been thinking of. The first I didn't think you used -- that is our definition -- I thought you always used 'salt biscuit'. The third, well yes we use that too. 😇

As a pedestrian in London I found the roundabouts quite challenging. I'm used to traffic lights that make the cars stop so that the people can cross the street! The city where I had the easiest time crossing streets was Auckland, New Zealand. They had three-way signals at all the intersections I found, so that pedestrians never had cars turning behind their backs (one of the hazards in NYC). But they made up for it in the steepness of the hills; some of them were so steep I had to take them at a run or I wouldn't have got up them at all! 😧

The hardest thing about London is cars coming the "wrong way" at you. 

[AZChristian]

One thing I loved about London was that at each crossing, there was a painted indicator on the concrete sidewalk:  "Watch for traffic," with an arrow pointing to the way the traffic would be coming."

[Londoner]

17 hours ago, Carboncat said:

Possibly could build enclosed "catio".  Need to get a better feel for what cats want to do. Current cats are ok indoors, but they are"mature".  These new kitties are 9 months old, but sight-impaired.  Thing is, for such scent-oriented animals like cats, this may not slow them down much.  I did set up night-lights for them.

Aww bless them, hopefully they will not want to roam too far. I would have thought that they would want to keep to the same areas where they are comfortable and with familiar smells 

[Londoner]

11 hours ago, ProTourist said:

The second was the one I had been thinking of. The first I didn't think you used -- that is our definition -- I thought you always used 'salt biscuit'. The third, well yes we use that too. 😇

As a pedestrian in London I found the roundabouts quite challenging. I'm used to traffic lights that make the cars stop so that the people can cross the street! The city where I had the easiest time crossing streets was Auckland, New Zealand. They had three-way signals at all the intersections I found, so that pedestrians never had cars turning behind their backs (one of the hazards in NYC). But they made up for it in the steepness of the hills; some of them were so steep I had to take them at a run or I wouldn't have got up them at all! 😧

We tend to have a lot of zebra crossings where cars are meant to stop once a person puts a foot on the crossing.  We also have the Lollipop lady,  a female of considerable stature  who pounces and shoves a round sign on a stick in front of your car  demanding that you stop for anyone who is within 3 miles of actually crossing 🤔

Interestingly i have never heard crackers referred to as salt biscuits in the UK  .. I was under the impression that it was an Americanism 😂

[Londoner]

6 hours ago, Carboncat said:

The hardest thing about London is cars coming the "wrong way" at you. 

6 hours ago, Carboncat said:

The hardest thing about London is cars coming the "wrong way" at you. 

Ah but we would say it’s the right way and everyone else is wrong😂

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

One thing I loved about London was that at each crossing, there was a painted indicator on the concrete sidewalk:  "Watch for traffic," with an arrow pointing to the way the traffic would be coming."

Alas with today’s plugged in generation .. they are usually glued to their phones and wouldn’t notice a sinkhole opening up on the pavement  in front of them 

[ProTourist]

2 hours ago, Londoner said:

Interestingly i have never heard crackers referred to as salt biscuits in the UK  .. I was under the impression that it was an Americanism 😂

I've based my remarks only on what I was told as a tourist back in the 90s; styles of speech may have evolved since then. But no, 'salt biscuit' is not used in the U.S. I'll have to do some research and try to get to the bottom of this. . . . 😕

[ProTourist]

8 hours ago, Carboncat said:

The hardest thing about London is cars coming the "wrong way" at you. 

2 hours ago, Londoner said:

Ah but we would say it’s the right way and everyone else is wrong😂

What's really confusing is when you visit the U.S. Virgin Islands and find they all drive on the left as in Britain, but the cars are left-hand operated because they are imported from the mainland U.S. 😟

[Twopper]

On 7/28/2019 at 12:55 PM, ProTourist said:

Hi everyone 

First post here, love the show .. soooo frustrating that we are drip fed episodes in the UK ... I have to use TLC uk which is way behind, Amazon Prime or iTunes again so behind.

But love reading your posts, especially the updates, I first found this forum looking for updates on Kandi and Brandi and have been reading my way through the live chats... brilliant 

Hello and welcome!! I have cousins in Exeter, and I think one of them has moved to London now.   My SIL and daughter returned to the states just a week ago;  they sang 4 services at St Paul's cathedral as a visiting choir.  Very exciting.   My SIL's parents are working abroad in Austria so they came to London for that weekend as well.  I  think it was between two hot spells.  A friend in Belgium complained of 105 degree weather  ( I cannot convert in my head to celsius).  

The live chats are such fun.  I think this show probably has the best ones.  I have tried a few for other programs but this is the best---especially when we announce our eating habit for the night.  I hope there is another season.   I need to catch the "Marla" episode; I just don't recall her at all.

My eating habit at lunch today was a BLT,  a half bag of popcorn, and grapes (one of the fruits of doom).

[Hellga]

I have been on a dessert spree...  On Monday, I stopped by a bakery in the town where I used to live that bakes amazing bastone bread and makes really nice sandwiches on it... I was there on business on Monday, so I walked two more blocks to treat myself to one.   I got a slice of Napoleon from them, too.  Not as good as the one my Dad's cousin bakes, but still good.  I ate half of that pastry yesterday and will eat another half after dinner tonight.  I don't normally eat that many baked desserts but just this Saturday as I was getting my hair colored, I was reading a local magazine which said there is a Japanese fusion bakery in the next village over.  I stopped by to try a Japanese sweet potato tart... rather heavy but also delicious.  If I do get extra pounds that way - at least I am not eating the boring packaged sweets that poundticipants tend to prefer!

Edited July 30, 2019 by Hellga

[Twopper]

53 minutes ago, Hellga said:

  I got a slice of Napoleon from them, too.  Not as good as the one my Dad's cousin bakes, but still good.  I ate half of that pastry yesterday and will eat another half after dinner tonight. 

A Napoleon?  you had a Napoleon?  It has been years since I have had one.  I used to go to a pastry place in the French Quarter called Four Seasons in the 70's to buy them.  And there was another one in Carrollton that was close to a street car stop near my house.   I have a cookbook with a recipe for them, but I just don't have the energy and I think it makes more than we need to eat.   Sometimes I can find them in the more upscale supermarkets.

[Londoner]

3 hours ago, ProTourist said:

What's really confusing is when you visit the U.S. Virgin Islands and find they all drive on the left as in Britain, but the cars are left-hand operated because they are imported from the mainland U.S. 😟

 Yikes I think I would last five minutes on the road there😱

[Londoner]

1 hour ago, Twopper said:

Hello and welcome!! I have cousins in Exeter, and I think one of them has moved to London now.   My SIL and daughter returned to the states just a week ago;  they sang 4 services at St Paul's cathedral as a visiting choir.  Very exciting.   My SIL's parents are working abroad in Austria so they came to London for that weekend as well.  I  think it was between two hot spells.  A friend in Belgium complained of 105 degree weather  ( I cannot convert in my head to celsius).  

The live chats are such fun.  I think this show probably has the best ones.  I have tried a few for other programs but this is the best---especially when we announce our eating habit for the night.  I hope there is another season.   I need to catch the "Marla" episode; I just don't recall her at all.

My eating habit at lunch today was a BLT,  a half bag of popcorn, and grapes (one of the fruits of doom).

Yes we had a two day heatwave last week ...back to normal now .. 😂

just watched the Marla episode ... good grief what an ..... interesting .... character 

small car though 

[Hellga]

40 minutes ago, Twopper said:

A Napoleon?  you had a Napoleon?  It has been years since I have had one.  I used to go to a pastry place in the French Quarter called Four Seasons in the 70's to buy them.  And there was another one in Carrollton that was close to a street car stop near my house.   I have a cookbook with a recipe for them, but I just don't have the energy and I think it makes more than we need to eat.   Sometimes I can find them in the more upscale supermarkets.

I am lucky (well, lucky for my taste buds, not so lucky for my waist/hips and wallet) to live in an area teeming with bakeries.  French, Italian, Portuguese, American, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Colombian, Mexican, Middle Eastern - you name it, we've got it... and it's all delicious.  And then there are chocolate shops that make their own chocolates on premises...  I like to bake myself, too, but prefer not to do it when it is 90+ outside.  Though I am planning to bake salmon with teriyaki sauce and broil brussels sprouts for dinner tonight, regardless of the heat and humidity outside.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Hellga