Small Talk: We'll Be Right Back

[QuinnInND]

Some animals do well with the gravy.  Dogs and cats. My doxie loved Gravy Train. But it gave her the runs. At least cats hopefully make it to the litter box and not make a brown puddle in the middle of the hall. Not that I would know anything about it. 

[Bastet]

The ideal diet - replicating what they consume in the wild - for cats is very low in carbs, high in protein, and moderate in fat.  That's hard to come by in commercial cat food (and damn near impossible in prescription cat food, which uses junk ingredients at gourmet prices; unconscionable), because protein is more expensive than fat or carbs (especially species-appropriate protein, meaning meat rather than vegetable).  Like humans, though, genetics mean cats can die young on this ideal diet or live long and prosper on a lesser but adequate one; feed the best you can afford that your cat will actually eat and move on, because none of it is poison.

But, if you're looking for the ideal, all but one of the dry food formulas exceed the carbohydrate component of ideal caloric composition, and most by a significant margin; even the healthiest dry food options (Nature's Variety Instinct, EVO, and Wellness CORE) are nearly or double the ideal carb content, even though still well below the average, and there's one only dry food formula (Young Again's Zero) that is within range, but it uses inferior ingredients, so most canned (or, even better, raw) formulas are better than most dry food formulas, and among canned food options, the gravy-heavy formulas tend to be higher in carbs than the rest.

But, again, cats can do perfectly well on any of them.  It's just something owners should know if they have the entire field of options from which to choose.

Edited February 28, 2018 by Bastet

[mmecorday]

I live in a house with seven cats and I was concerned that one of them -- our mackerel tabby Chloe -- wasn't getting enough to eat (I was feeding all of them dry food). So I started giving her canned food at night. Well, it didn't take long before the other six caught on that she was getting special treatment and demanded that they get moist food as well. Now whenever I'm in the kitchen and they hear me open one of the cabinets, they act like New York tourists who think I have deeply discounted "Hamilton" tickets.

[chessiegal]

My kitty and I are back from her annual wellness visit and shots this morning. We're working on getting her weight down. She's gone from obese 3 years ago (from me feeding her however much dry food she wanted for a year) to slightly over weight. She's been on Hill's Metabolic canned for the last 2 years. The vet pointed me to this website - catinfo.org. She said at this point I could find a canned food that would do as well as the prescription food, just to make sure it has 10% or fewer carbs.

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

I live in a house with seven cats and I was concerned that one of them -- our mackerel tabby Chloe -- wasn't getting enough to eat (I was feeding all of them dry food). So I started giving her canned food at night. Well, it didn't take long before the other six caught on that she was getting special treatment and demanded that they get moist food as well. Now whenever I'm in the kitchen and they hear me open one of the cabinets, they act like New York tourists who think I have deeply discounted "Hamilton" tickets.

I love this! What a visual.

[funky-rat]

Our female ginger mackerel tabby is the big bruiser in our house.  I don't know exactly how much she weighs, but it's at least15 pounds.  Some of it is chub, but she is also just a large framed cat - big paws, big legs, thick tail.  She's very powerful, and strong.  The problem is that we also have small framed male Tuxie who is perfect weight, and so diet food really isn't something I want to be giving him.  She prefers kibble to cans.  She will lick the gravy off of her half can, and the cheese bits, and the Tuxie (who prefers wet food) will clean up the rest.  She also will not eat treats - she doesn't like them (Tuxie likes Sheba Meat sticks).  We put out kibble in to a Neater Feeder, and they can graze as they wish.  Tuxie eats some kibble, but I have a feeling the Tabby is eating most of it, and she's probably getting too much.  We feed Blue Buffalo with hairball control (as the Tabby is a compulsive groomer).  I won't feed any kibble that isn't grain free.  Our elderly female Tuxie who died when she was 17 was in kidney failure, and the vet said there are so much carbs in dry food that he recommended grain free, and that's where we've been ever since.

[Gam2]

Going back to the cruise topic: We’ve been on several but the very best one by far was last August. We flew from Atlanta to Amsterdam to Budapest. Spent 24 hours there and arranged a private, guided tour around the city. It was fascinating! Boarded the AMAWaterways ship late that afternoon and cruised up the Danube for 7 days. There were 150 guests and 50 staff. Everything was perfection—the rooms/bathrooms/balconies off of every room, service, food, staff (our luggage was not flown from Amsterdam which happened regularly we were told so we wore the same clothes for 3 1/2 days). The staff gave us sleeping clothes, toiletries and shirts from the guest shop. Every night, they collected our clothing, washed it and returned it by 6:00 am free of charge. The villages/towns we docked at were wonderful places to explore and eat. We could not recommend this cruise more highly! It was not inexpensive but we’d do it again in a heartbeat. Best cruise line ever!

[Spunkygal]

A friend of mine is going on a river cruise in France in September (sorry, don't know the name) but there are only 8 passengers on board! That's a little too cozy for me. @Gam2, the one you describe sounds perfect! 

[friendperidot]

doughnuts, hate cake, love glazed, especially the kind that just melt, yeah they probably are lard and sugar, but yummmm. I like KK, but there's only one in town, it's too far to get to and it's in a very busy area of town. My friend calls the area 71st & Congestion, perfect description.

I went to my old grocery store today, I almost bought the V8, I had forgotten about the low sodium option, but I used to drink that because I've kind of gotten over too much salt in everything. I still have to go to Walmart because I couldn't get everything I needed at the other store, so I still may pick up a bottle. I'm also wondering if the old store might be closing, I've never seen them with so many empty shelves and they had no super dooper bags of dog food or cat food (I can only buy once a month, and with 2 big dogs and I don't know how many cats my sister feeds, we need lots).

I saw something that looked interesting, but a little too much money to spend today, hot chocolate mixes (the dried kind in envelopes) that were Tootsie Roll and Junior Mint. I hadn't seen those before.

[Amethyst]

I love cake donuts, especially chocolate.  The only glazed kind I like are KK, but the one near my house closed.  :(

Dunkin’ Donuts has a great new flavor called white chocolate mocha.  I’ll take that over any of the Girl Scout flavors.

I tried V8 recently and hated it.  It tasted like cold tomato soup.  Actually considered heating it up and adding some herbs to make more palatable.  I’m guessing it’s an acquired taste?

[SuprSuprElevated]

2 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I’m guessing it’s an acquired taste?

That's possible.  I've been drinking it since I was a kid...trust, that's a long time.  My hubs won't touch it, but he likes standard tomato juice.  Maybe if it didn't have the word "vegetable" on the label, he'd be in, lol.

[Brattinella]

After discussing this here, hubby and I have decided to start drinking V8 again.  We both love it, and our diets are not the healthiest by any means.  I know there is tons of salt in it, but we don't use salt on anything else, and the vitamins and fiber from V8 should just fill in the cracks.

[friendperidot]

V8 also has a Bloody Mary mix, in the juice aisle, in some stores, not Walmart, at least not on the poor side of town Walmart. 
But I really do like that Bloody Mary mix. I don't drink alcohol, have too many alcoholics in my life, I just hate what it does, so I made a choice many years ago to not drink. However, when I did that, I discovered that the drinks I liked best were all the frou frou drinks, Pina Coladas, Daquiris, etc. and Bloody Marys. I don't like the taste of alcohol, I like all that other stuff that went in it. So that's what I still like and drink if on the rare occasion I'm in a bar. So V8's Bloody Mary mix is an easy choice for me. If someone offered a good Pina Colada or Daquiri or Marguerita bottled mix, I'd probably try them. I'm open to suggestions. I want something easy, pre-made, no powdered stuff. And unfortunately, offered at Walmart, it's the easiest store to get to without a car. 

[peacheslatour]

Sorry, I've never been in a Walmart. What about Amazon?

Edited March 1, 2018 by peacheslatour

[Spunkygal]

2 hours ago, friendperidot said:

V8 also has a Bloody Mary mix, in the juice aisle, in some stores, not Walmart, at least not on the poor side of town Walmart. 
But I really do like that Bloody Mary mix. I don't drink alcohol, have too many alcoholics in my life, I just hate what it does, so I made a choice many years ago to not drink. However, when I did that, I discovered that the drinks I liked best were all the frou frou drinks, Pina Coladas, Daquiris, etc. and Bloody Marys. I don't like the taste of alcohol, I like all that other stuff that went in it. So that's what I still like and drink if on the rare occasion I'm in a bar. So V8's Bloody Mary mix is an easy choice for me. If someone offered a good Pina Colada or Daquiri or Marguerita bottled mix, I'd probably try them. I'm open to suggestions. I want something easy, pre-made, no powdered stuff. And unfortunately, offered at Walmart, it's the easiest store to get to without a car. 

We love Zing  Zang's Bloody Mary mix. It's so zingy and zangy but rather high in sodium. I can have only one Bloody Mary because vodka gets to me quickly but, boy, that is a darn good mix! It's available at Walmart.

[Brattinella]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Sorry, I've never been in a Walmart. What about Amazon?

The first time I was in a Walmart, I squealed with joy!  It was so amazing to me, food, books, clothes, housewares, everything!  I know that was dorky, but it was astonishing to me.

[friendperidot]

I'd rather not be obliged to go to Walmart, and they can be overwhelming and fascinating. I remember my first time. I'm over it now. But I live on the poor side of town and have no car, I can walk to Walmart and if I have heavy stuff, like 50 lbs of dog food and 30 lbs of cat food, I can take a taxi home, if I just have to get a little, I have a shopping cart, mine is bright blue and has a matching cloth bag on the inside. I have had insults shouted at me by entitled young assholes who think they are being clever. I put a curse on them that one day they should be old, disabled with no money and no car. But I'd like to see a bag lady with such a nice cart! I got it on Amazon. But a better story is one day I was leaving Walmart & walking up that long hill, two older ladies were walking down the hill. They stopped me and wanted to know about my cart, I proudly showed off all it's features, the extra basket, the matching cloth bag with cover, the net bungie cord thing that I can put over the entire thing to keep things in place. Young boys talk cars, but we old ladies know what's really important! And I use it in the store instead of a grocery cart, I ask the cashiers to not bag most of my groceries, ice cream and meat I have bagged. 

And I do use Amazon, this month's order included a case of toilet paper, I watch the price, if it's over $17, I won't buy it, I'll pick up a smaller package at Walmart, I buy a lot of my over the counter meds on Amazon. I wish I could get the dog food, but at this time I'm cannot afford anything more expensive than Purina and it's cheaper to buy at Walmart. If I had more income, I might try Chewy, but right now, I just can't pay for the food they sell.

One of the things I miss most about having a car is I can't get to thrift stores. I like to buy X large men's tee shirts for sleeping, I can pick up 4 or 5 for around $10, they may be funky colors or have some weird advertisement, but I'm sleeping in them, I don't care, they are cheap and because they are funky colors or have advertisement, or are a promotional item, they're brand new, may have been worn one time to the event, then donated. I wash them, then wear them for months, with more washing, but when I have 6 or 7, I can change out of them often.

[riley702]

20 hours ago, Amethyst said:

I tried V8 recently and hated it.  It tasted like cold tomato soup.  Actually considered heating it up and adding some herbs to make more palatable.  I’m guessing it’s an acquired taste?

I have to confess I don't like it chilled, so I drink it lukewarm. It's also great to pour some into a homemade soup, or even over roast/potatoes.

[janie jones]

6 hours ago, Brattinella said:

The first time I was in a Walmart, I squealed with joy!  It was so amazing to me, food, books, clothes, housewares, everything!  I know that was dorky, but it was astonishing to me.

I'm curious about this.  Are there no other stores in your area that have all of those things under one roof?

Oh by the way, my husband and I had a craving for donuts recently and decided to go to Krispy Kreme since it was nearby.  (It's not where we normally get donuts.)  I was so disappointed in my cinnamon donut that I did the survey on my receipt just so I could complain about it.  The bite of my husband's donut was decent, and the glazed ones people bring in to my work are good, but I'm probably never going to Krispy Kreme again.  Mom and pop donut shops are always much tastier.

[Brattinella]

2 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I'm curious about this.  Are there no other stores in your area that have all of those things under one roof?

I had just moved from California.  I had never been in any Walmart up until that day.  The only other store I had encountered like it was Fred Meyer, decades earlier.  I think the kicker was that it is only 2 blocks from my house!

[LoneHaranguer]

13 hours ago, Brattinella said:

I had just moved from California.  I had never been in any Walmart up until that day.  The only other store I had encountered like it was Fred Meyer, decades earlier.  I think the kicker was that it is only 2 blocks from my house!

From your tone, it sounds like you got lucky. Walmart doesn't seem to have any quality control. The one nearest me is abysmal, but a mediocre one is a reasonable drive away, and there's a better one I can swing by if I'm in that area for other reasons.

[mmecorday]

Quote

Sorry, I've never been in a Walmart.

Oh, but your missing out on all the great Pioneer Woman stuff! [/sarcasm]

[xaxat]

9 hours ago, mmecorday said:

Oh, but your missing out on all the great Pioneer Woman stuff! [/sarcasm]

Fun fact! Ree Drummond is one of the top thirty landowners in America.

[mmecorday]

Wow, Pioneer Pennywise is doing well for herself!

[Maharincess]

Mmmmm. I love V-8 juice with a lot of black pepper in it. Yummy. I need to buy some next time I'm shopping. 

I could never go on a cruise. I have too many stupid fears/phobias. I don't like big crowds,  I'm claustrophobic and I have an insane fear of water where I can't see the bottom. I also don't drink alcohol and the thought of being trapped in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of drunks makes me feel queasy. 

I've been in Walmart twice, both times when I was doing shopping for a long time family friend after she had a leg amputated. The only reason I went then is because she insisted I shop there for her. I didn't love it, didn't hate it.  I do love my local Kmart though. 

[Prevailing Wind]

From the Favorites thread, the discussion about kids' jokes:

Mine was "What's the best way to keep the water out of the house?" "Don't pay the water bill."  ...which made no sense in our situation; we didn't have "city water," we had a well & an electric pump, thus no water bill to pay.  When the hurricane warnings said to fill the tub with water, we did, or else we wouldn't have been able to flush.

[Browncoat]

8 hours ago, Maharincess said:

I do love my local Kmart though. 

You still have a Kmart?  I'm a little jealous -- all the ones local to me closed months and months ago.

1 hour ago, Prevailing Wind said:

we didn't have "city water," we had a well & an electric pump, thus no water bill to pay.  When the hurricane warnings said to fill the tub with water, we did, or else we wouldn't have been able to flush.

When I was looking for a house to buy, I actually took this into consideration, and chose to be on city water.  So if the power goes out, I can flush, but I won't have hot water.

[janie jones]

4 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

From the Favorites thread, the discussion about kids' jokes:

Mine was "What's the best way to keep the water out of the house?" "Don't pay the water bill."  ...which made no sense in our situation; we didn't have "city water," we had a well & an electric pump, thus no water bill to pay.  When the hurricane warnings said to fill the tub with water, we did, or else we wouldn't have been able to flush.

I was quite surprised that people had to pay for city water.  I had no idea as a kid!  If we didn't have time to prepare before a power outage, we'd fill a bucket up from the creek behind the house and keep that in the bathroom.

[friendperidot]

Quote

I have an insane fear of water where I can't see the bottom. 

Oh me too! I'm terrified of man made lakes where towns and buildings, roads, bridges were all just left when they dammed up the area to make the lake. I think I may have drowned in a flood in a previous life time. As a kid, we went to Lake Norfolk in North Central Arkansas, I spent a lot of childhood there, rode the ferry, road our boat around the ferry, picnics, it was all fun until my dad told me that the bridge he used to cross a river was under the ferry route. I refused to go out on that lake. A few years later we were visiting family in Springdale Arkansas, went to this area, there was an old hotel, all the fixtures and stuff had been removed, the walls, the stairs were all still there, and we visited an amphitheater that day, a few years later those were all at the bottom of Lake Bella Vista. After I was married, my ex-husband and I took a vacation in Branson, Mo., rode the Ducks, was having a great time until we were in the middle of Table Rock Lake and our driver/tour guide started telling us about the village he grew up in which we were on top of. I told my husband to get me out of there, now! He just had to keep calming me down until we got off the water and back on dry land. I just cant' stand it! 

But what is kind of funny, I grew up going to a small man-made lake near KCMO and if I won one of the huge lottery jackpots, (unlikely, I only buy 2-3 tickets a year), but I would build a house at that little lake. I wouldn't go out on the water, but I'd build a house near it.

[peacheslatour]

I'm terrified of being stuck on bridges over freeways. There was one spot on my daily commute where you had to drive over I-90 that had a traffic light at the end of the overpass so many mornings we'd sit there for what seemed like hours looking down on the freeway below. I was sure the thing was going to collapse any minute throwing us down on cars doing sixty miles am hour.

[Browncoat]

When I drive across a long bridge over a body of water, I keep one hand on the button that opens the window.  So I can open the window on the way down -- once the car hits the water, I won't be able to open the window or the door.

I am also terrified of pedestrian suspension bridges.  I went zip-lining once -- had no problems with the zip-lines, but in the middle of the course, there was a suspension bridge.  It was maybe ten yards long, and at most about three feet off the ground, but it took everything I had to even step on it, much less cross it.  I managed, but only just.  And it's okay if you laugh when you read that -- I laugh about it myself because it's so inane.  The zip-lines were way higher and longer and didn't bother me at all!

[Annber03]

6 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

When I drive across a long bridge over a body of water, I keep one hand on the button that opens the window.  So I can open the window on the way down -- once the car hits the water, I won't be able to open the window or the door.

I like this idea! I used to have a bit of a fear of bridges as a kid, but haven't really been bothered by them since...but yeah, if I'm in a car that's crossing a bridge that's over water, I can totally understand the nervousness.

The thought of flying over water freaks me out the most. Which sucks, considering how much I'd love to travel to other countries someday. 

[ABay]

Another past-life drowning victim, here. Towns under water, shipwrecks, GAH! I can't even read about marine archaeology. I used to swim in Lake Erie when I was kid and never had a problem with deep water but now just the thought of water where I can't see the bottom gives me the willies. For a while I wouldn't swim in a pool alone because, and I'm not making this up, I was afraid of sharks. I could manage a pool now but ankle deep is as far as I'll go in a lake or the ocean. On a vaporetto in the Venice lagoon, I spent the whole time calculating whether I could swim to the nearest land if the boat capsized and I could keep from thinking about what was in the water with me. On boat rides in the Thousand Islands, I'm great until they start talking about rumrunners who went down in Prohibition and the 18th and 19th century warships so beautifully preserved in Lake Ontario.

[peacheslatour]

Don't ever read any Joseph Conrad. His depictions of shipwrecks are panic attack inducing.

[AuntiePam]

4 hours ago, peacheslatour said:

I'm terrified of being stuck on bridges over freeways. There was one spot on my daily commute where you had to drive over I-90 that had a traffic light at the end of the overpass so many mornings we'd sit there for what seemed like hours looking down on the freeway below. I was sure the thing was going to collapse any minute throwing us down on cars doing sixty miles am hour.

I'm the opposite -- I'd be fine on the bridge, but I'd be nervous on the freeway below.  I used to drive the viaduct in Seattle -- lower level going north and nervous every minute.  Upper level going south, no problem.  Didn't you see the photos of that pancaked freeway from the SF quake in 1981? 

The other driving situation that makes me nervous is in winter, the thought of going off road into a snow-filled ditch, and landing upside down. 

Lately I've had to fast-forward parts of House Hunters -- long narrow hallways and small rooms with no windows, especially if they're on the upper level.  How do you get out in case of fire? 

[mmecorday]

Quote

Don't ever read any Joseph Conrad.

This is why I couldn't become an English teacher. I knew I'd have to teach a unit on this overly wordy pretentious windbag at some point and couldn't in good conscience see myself doing that.

[bilgistic]

I am also very spooked by the towns that are evacuated and flooded. Some of the setting in the movie Deliverance is now covered by Lake Jocassee in northwest South Carolina. As in the movie, the area was to be flooded to build a reservoir and dam. Most of the buildings were demolished beforehand. The Attakulla Lodge remains largely intact, as does the church cemetery.

[peacheslatour]

15 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

I'm the opposite -- I'd be fine on the bridge, but I'd be nervous on the freeway below.  I used to drive the viaduct in Seattle -- lower level going north and nervous every minute.  Upper level going south, no problem.  Didn't you see the photos of that pancaked freeway from the SF quake in 1981? 

The other driving situation that makes me nervous is in winter, the thought of going off road into a snow-filled ditch, and landing upside down. 

Lately I've had to fast-forward parts of House Hunters -- long narrow hallways and small rooms with no windows, especially if they're on the upper level.  How do you get out in case of fire? 

Oh god, the Viaduct. That thing is the most terrifying stretch of road I've ever had the misfortune to drive on. My sympathies if you had to drive that thing to get to work.

[AuntiePam]

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

Oh god, the Viaduct. That thing is the most terrifying stretch of road I've ever had the misfortune to drive on. My sympathies if you had to drive that thing to get to work.

Nope -- drove it to get to mom's.  But I'm almost sorry to see it go -- there was such a good view of Elliott Bay.  (We moved in 1990 but I visit every few years.)

My other fear is tunnels, but I was okay with tunnels until I read The Stand.

[Brattinella]

17 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

Didn't you see the photos of that pancaked freeway from the SF quake in 1981? 

Yes, I lived nearby then.  That earthquake scared the bejeebers out of me!  Our house didn't have much damage; only the chimney.  Up until then, I poo-pooed smaller earthquakes!

[chessiegal]

They closed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the height of the recent wind storm. I always drive across that bridge white knuckled. I read a CSX train lost 4 cars crossing the Susquehanna near Perry Hall. No wonder Amtrak cancelled service from DC to Boston.

And the wind storm knocked out our power for 8 hours, and when it came back on, our Verizon box was fried. No TV, internet, or land line. Repairman is coming early afternoon on Tuesday. I didn't realize how addicted to TV and the internet I was. Spending my afternoons at the library for internet.

[Brattinella]

28 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

They closed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the height of the recent wind storm. I always drive across that bridge white knuckled. I read a CSX train lost 4 cars crossing the Susquehanna near Perry Hall. No wonder Amtrak cancelled service from DC to Boston.

And the wind storm knocked out our power for 8 hours, and when it came back on, our Verizon box was fried. No TV, internet, or land line. Repairman is coming early afternoon on Tuesday. I didn't realize how addicted to TV and the internet I was. Spending my afternoons at the library for internet.

I'm very glad that your power did come back on!

[crazycatlady58]

On 3/1/2018 at 4:17 PM, friendperidot said:

I'd rather not be obliged to go to Walmart, and they can be overwhelming and fascinating. I remember my first time. I'm over it now. But I live on the poor side of town and have no car, I can walk to Walmart and if I have heavy stuff, like 50 lbs of dog food and 30 lbs of cat food, I can take a taxi home, if I just have to get a little, I have a shopping cart, mine is bright blue and has a matching cloth bag on the inside. I have had insults shouted at me by entitled young assholes who think they are being clever. I put a curse on them that one day they should be old, disabled with no money and no car. But I'd like to see a bag lady with such a nice cart! I got it on Amazon. But a better story is one day I was leaving Walmart & walking up that long hill, two older ladies were walking down the hill. They stopped me and wanted to know about my cart, I proudly showed off all it's features, the extra basket, the matching cloth bag with cover, the net bungie cord thing that I can put over the entire thing to keep things in place. Young boys talk cars, but we old ladies know what's really important! And I use it in the store instead of a grocery cart, I ask the cashiers to not bag most of my groceries, ice cream and meat I have bagged. 

And I do use Amazon, this month's order included a case of toilet paper, I watch the price, if it's over $17, I won't buy it, I'll pick up a smaller package at Walmart, I buy a lot of my over the counter meds on Amazon. I wish I could get the dog food, but at this time I'm cannot afford anything more expensive than Purina and it's cheaper to buy at Walmart. If I had more income, I might try Chewy, but right now, I just can't pay for the food they sell.

One of the things I miss most about having a car is I can't get to thrift stores. I like to buy X large men's tee shirts for sleeping, I can pick up 4 or 5 for around $10, they may be funky colors or have some weird advertisement, but I'm sleeping in them, I don't care, they are cheap and because they are funky colors or have advertisement, or are a promotional item, they're brand new, may have been worn one time to the event, then donated. I wash them, then wear them for months, with more washing, but when I have 6 or 7, I can change out of them often.

Have you thought of using  walmart.com  do deliver your dogfood? I am without  a car also snd use them for heavy  stuff, cat food,cat litter  ect. They have free delivery  for $35.00 and over. I also use Shipt for grocery  delivery .  In the long run I find it cheaper  because  when I go to the store  I don't  get just what I need,but a lot of extra  stuff.

[ebk57]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

They closed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the height of the recent wind storm. I always drive across that bridge white knuckled. I read a CSX train lost 4 cars crossing the Susquehanna near Perry Hall. No wonder Amtrak cancelled service from DC to Boston.

And the wind storm knocked out our power for 8 hours, and when it came back on, our Verizon box was fried. No TV, internet, or land line. Repairman is coming early afternoon on Tuesday. I didn't realize how addicted to TV and the internet I was. Spending my afternoons at the library for internet.

This was us on Friday!  Power went out just before I left for work (even though the Feds closed, which means our office closed, but I decided to go in anyway because it wasn't snowing and when the power went out, that sealed it because what would I do all day with no TV/internet...or coffee!!!).  It came back on just before I got home, but the cable was out.  Mr ebk chatted up Comcast and the soonest they could come out was Tuesday - just kill me now!

Saturday afternoon, I'm on the couch reading the newspaper (fortunately, we still get an actual paper!), and the TV came on!  Miraculous!!!  Stayed on until 10 minutes after SNL ended.  We'd cancelled the Tuesday appointment, so Mr ebk chatted up Comcast again and now they can come out Monday.  It's all a scam... 

Cable came on overnight, but we're not cancelling the appointment until tomorrow morning.  Can't be too sure.

Because my life without TV and the computer is totally worthless!   :-) 

[Silver Raven]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

They closed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge during the height of the recent wind storm. I always drive across that bridge white knuckled. I read a CSX train lost 4 cars crossing the Susquehanna near Perry Hall. No wonder Amtrak cancelled service from DC to Boston.

And the wind storm knocked out our power for 8 hours, and when it came back on, our Verizon box was fried. No TV, internet, or land line. Repairman is coming early afternoon on Tuesday. I didn't realize how addicted to TV and the internet I was. Spending my afternoons at the library for internet.

I don't know if they still do, but the Chesapeake Bridge used to have a service where they would meet your car at one end of the bridge and drive you across to the other side.

[friendperidot]

Chessiegal, I've driven that bridge a couple of times in summer months, many years ago, I kept my eyes straight ahead of me, just stayed in my lane, white knuckling as someone else said. I can't even imagine it in bad weather, nope, not no way, not no how! I do remember one ice storm in the DC area, hit while I was at work, stayed at work until about 9 PM hoping roads would improve, 495 and 95 south weren't bad, but I slid around the corners and into my driveway. Then stood there laughing because I couldn't cross the patio to my front door. Finally inched my way to the front edge, held onto the side of the house and scooted to the door and crawled up the steps, I could unlock the door from the ground. Was so glad to be home. Last big ice storm here was in 2007, still have PTSD from that one, without power for 5 days, the whole state was out of power.

Crazycatladay, I may look into Walmart delivery for dog and cat food, hadn't thought of that before. I can walk and use the cart for groceries and small stuff. That 3 mile round trip is good for keeping me in shape, but once a week is enough!

[chessiegal]

6 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

I don't know if they still do, but the Chesapeake Bridge used to have a service where they would meet your car at one end of the bridge and drive you across to the other side.

Yes, they still do. I just grip the wheel and stare straight ahead. I can’t stand going across with my husband driving because he likes to look left and right to see boats. Arghhhhh!

[Maharincess]

On 3/3/2018 at 5:47 PM, AuntiePam said:

I'm the opposite -- I'd be fine on the bridge, but I'd be nervous on the freeway below.  I used to drive the viaduct in Seattle -- lower level going north and nervous every minute.  Upper level going south, no problem.  Didn't you see the photos of that pancaked freeway from the SF quake in 1981? 

The other driving situation that makes me nervous is in winter, the thought of going off road into a snow-filled ditch, and landing upside down. 

Lately I've had to fast-forward parts of House Hunters -- long narrow hallways and small rooms with no windows, especially if they're on the upper level.  How do you get out in case of fire? 

It was '89, the Loma Prieta quake October 17th, I'll never forget it. I was getting ready to go see Stevie Nicks when it hit. I lived in San Francisco at the time. I've always been afraid of the Bay Bridge but after seeing it collapse and knowing that people were trapped between the freeways in their smashed cars, I haven't been on it since.  

Edited March 5, 2018 by Maharincess

[Brattinella]

8 hours ago, Maharincess said:

It was '89, the Loma Prieta quake October 17th, I'll never forget it. I was getting ready to go see Stevie Nicks when it hit. I lived in San Francisco at the time. I've always been afraid of the Bay Bridge but after seeing it collapse and knowing that people were trapped between the freeways in their smashed cars, I haven't been on it since.  

Oopsy, yes it was 1989.  I was at Kaiser Santa Teresa getting a prescription filled.  When it hit, I jammed myself into the doorway (with about six other people) and sprained my thumb.  I got out to my car and turned on the radio.  They said the Bay Bridge collapsed!  Never in my wildest dreams could that event have happened.  I never drove it again, either.

[LoneHaranguer]

On 3/3/2018 at 6:24 PM, Annber03 said:

I like this idea! I used to have a bit of a fear of bridges as a kid, but haven't really been bothered by them since...but yeah, if I'm in a car that's crossing a bridge that's over water, I can totally understand the nervousness.

I think everyone who's gone through public school in the U.S. has seen film of the Tacoma Bridge collapse.

23 hours ago, AuntiePam said:

My other fear is tunnels, but I was okay with tunnels until I read The Stand.

I wasn't concerned until a slab crushed a car in Boston. They blamed the glue supplier, as though using a bit of epoxy to hold a multi-ton piece of concrete to the ceiling of a tunnel, rather than supporting it on the ends, was a good idea.