Small Talk: Out of Genoa

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, FairyDusted said:

I don't even do Halloween and I want a Jack in the Box Alice Cooper for my amusement. We did our yard all up and had exactly 1 T or T'er. What a bummer. 

I have to own up to watching Christmas in July. I've seen them so many times it puts me right to sleep. Gives my DVD player a break;) I also buy things throughout the year if I see something. I'm giving out lots of adult coloring books with a good set of colored pencils this year. The more offensive books the better.  

I have been tempted to do the adult coloring book thing. I'd want to do florals and fairies and stuff like that. How do you get the most saturated colors? I don't want anything pastel.

[FairyDusted]

2 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

I have been tempted to do the adult coloring book thing. I'd want to do florals and fairies and stuff like that. How do you get the most saturated colors? I don't want anything pastel.

I found the fairy one, cuz you know I had to have that, at Walgreens but Amazon has them. I also got the pencils on line. I got a good deal on high pigment pencils with case and sharpens. And got to shop in PJ's;)

[peacheslatour]

20 minutes ago, FairyDusted said:

I found the fairy one, cuz you know I had to have that, at Walgreens but Amazon has them. I also got the pencils on line. I got a good deal on high pigment pencils with case and sharpens. And got to shop in PJ's;)

Are the pencils better than the razor point markers?

[FairyDusted]

6 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

Are the pencils better than the razor point markers?

I'm thinking the markers but since I hadn't had the opportunity to feel the quality of the paper used, I opted for the pencil route. Now I'm getting the markers for myself to try out! 

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, FairyDusted said:

I'm thinking the markers but since I hadn't had the opportunity to feel the quality of the paper used, I opted for the pencil route. Now I'm getting the markers for myself to try out! 

Oh, if you don't mind, do tell how they work out. That's been one of the things holding me back. I don't want to spend a bunch of money trying out different mediums and I didn't have anyone to ask. Thanks in advance.

Edited September 16, 2018 by peacheslatour

[FairyDusted]

My pleasure @peacheslatour! You've got it.

[Snaporaz]

Is George back to his old self, Petunia?  You said he was under the weather a few weeks ago.  

And good luck in the new job!???

[valleycliffe]

oh yeah, today is the first day of the new job isn't it petunia....

like snap sez, good luck.

[OhioSongbird]

Happy baking kiddies!

1 stick butter at room temp

1 c sugar (I throw a little brown in the cup and fill the rest of it with white)

2 eggs

1 1/2 c unbleached flour (or part white and part whole wheat if you prefer)

1 t baking soda

1 t salt (kosher is good)

1 c mashed ripe bananas

1 t vanilla

1/2 c sour cream

1/2 c nuts (walnuts, pecans, whatever) 

1 bowl:

cream butter & sugar (I use my whisk 'cause I hate to drag out the hand mixer)

add eggs one at a time

mix well

2nd bowl:

mix flour, soda, salt....add to butter mixture and mix well

add bananas, sour cream and vanilla...mix...then add nuts if desired

Bake in loaf pan for 1hr appx at 350-375...check with skewer

Enjoy!

 

side note...peaches I had some of your toasted pecans left over one time, chopped them up and used them.  Delish!

 I've used blueberries before, too (boy child doesn't like nuts in anything)...also tasty.

[peacheslatour]

That sounds very tasty. I usually use Fannie Farmer's recipe from the Old Boston Cooking School cookbook. This sounds way better. Richer, moister and more complex in flavor. Can't wait to make it! Thanks, Songbird!

Edited September 17, 2018 by peacheslatour

[PatsyandEddie]

That sounds so good! I just happen to have blueberries and a few bananas in the freezer ?

[Tippi]

This looks like an excellent recipe!  (I don't like to break out the hand mixer either.)  I often add cinnamon and chocolate chips to my banana bread.  I haven't tried it with sour cream--I'm looking forward to trying that.

[ByTor]

@OhioSongbird, that is similar to the recipe I used to use when I was a kid, but it was 2 sticks of butter and no sour cream.  Your recipe sounds like it could be better than mine, I must try it!  Thanks :)

[Capricasix]

You Muricans and your odd abbreviations! Is a “t” a tablespoon or a teaspoon? Here in Canuckistan, we use “tbsp” and “tsp”.

[peacheslatour]

2 minutes ago, Capricasix said:

You Muricans and your odd abbreviations! Is a “t” a tablespoon or a teaspoon? Here in Canuckistan, we use “tbsp” and “tsp”.

t is teaspoon. T is tablespoon.

[OhioSongbird]

Yeah...what peaches said.  Sorry about that.

[Capricasix]

Hey, no worries ??

[valleycliffe]

18 hours ago, OhioSongbird said:

Happy baking kiddies!

1 stick butter at room temp

how much is 1 stick of butter?

is that like 1/2 cup?

i don't get my butter in sticks...it comes in a 2 cup brick with  measurements on the side where to cut.

[OhioSongbird]

Yep...1/2 c = 1 stick.  I buy my butter in quarters.

....had to edit since the interwebs duplicated my answer....

Edited September 18, 2018 by OhioSongbird

[Cupid Stunt]

Many thanks for the recipe Ohio!

I emailed it to Mr.Stunt (who is an excellent baker), and he pulled out all the frozen bananas to thaw and drain. We had a function to attend last night, so he made 3 loves with different add-ins (blueberries, chocolate chips, chestnut praline) this morning while I ran to offset staying up too late.

HEAVEN!

Oh, baby that's good stuff … Moist, cakey, rich and indulgent … I'm going to make recipe for Christmas!

Edited September 19, 2018 by Cupid Stunt

[OhioSongbird]

Why, thank you ever so much!

.....*doing my best Shirley Temple curtsy*.....

 

eta......chestnut praline. I've had pecan and peanut but never tried that.  Sounds goood.

Edited September 18, 2018 by OhioSongbird

[Cupid Stunt]

I use this praline recipe from Southern Living magazine (it's the same as my grandmother's recipe), by substituting the same amount of chestnuts chopped in a rough dice and toasted in a dry frying pan on low heat until fragrant. Stir constantly because chestnuts scorch easily. Remove from pan to cool and follow the rest of the recipe. When the candy is set and cold, put it in a bag and smash it with a heavy pan or rolling pin to crush into crumbs.

The praline recipe twists are delicious, and are excellent with hazelnuts, too. Pralines are a very easy candy to make, and are welcome hostess gifts. 

Edited September 18, 2018 by Cupid Stunt

[Cupid Stunt]

Editors Choice Pictures -- Tue Sep 18, 2018

[peacheslatour]

So glad they rescued the kitty. Fantastic pics, some heartbreaking, some inspiring.

[Petunia13]

Yes there were many many stranded animals most trapped in locked barns or bolted sheds. Many are peoples pet dogs and cats ?? I don't know if you saw the pictures of 400 pigs left who attempted to swim as they drowned. People are such bastards.

i started my job today and George is doing well. I honestly think @peacheslatour was onto something that he gets separation anxiety still sometimes and, perhaps, my mom  worsens it when she has her mood swings. Besides the times he occasionally gets withdrawn and lethargic; every once in awhile he seems agitated and almost hysterical to get away from her or be with me cuddling and walking. As terrible as sporadic anxiety is, I hope it's that and nothing physical.

It's exciting to have a new job and do new things, I think I will be challenged to learn a lot and help others constantly, which is right up my alley. 

You guys posting all of your Fall baking ideas and recipes are making me hungry ?

[valleycliffe]

my laptop crashed last night so this morning i tried to get my settings back and for some reason, my google search engine comes up, it now has all my hubby's bookmarks instead of mine...guess i will wait until dh gets up so maybe he can figure out what happened...i may have to do a recovery and then reinstall everything..  the only problem will be that i will lose all my passwords to the different sites i belong to.....ayyy yi yi

[OhioSongbird]

That sucks mightily....

My dh keeps a card file (3x5s in a cardboard box...real high tech..;-) ) for all that stuff that he keeps hidden just in case he forgets....which happens often.  He has so many for bills, insurances, doctors, investments etc it impossible to remember them all.

[PatsyandEddie]

I do that too Songbird. I have a small journal with all our passwords in it. Hubby is calling me constantly because he forgets. He also likes to change it sometimes when he doesn’t remember which is fucking annoying! There, I said it! 

[OhioSongbird]

Amen, sister!

[Petunia13]

a happy outcome. ?What kind of pieces of crap abandon their dogs and cats and livestock in this? How many not saved? 

Im not a member of peta, I just loved seeing this dog's reaction and rescue. 

[PatsyandEddie]

Lost one of my furbabies today ? She had had a partial retinal detachment and her BS was way too high. Her bloodwork came back all wonky and the vet figured it was cancer. She spent two days at the office and became very lethargic. Hubby and I had her put down. She passed very quickly in my arms. She was only 13 and I will miss her quirky personality. So sad right now. ?

[jewel21]

I'm so sorry to hear that, Patsy. It's never easy losing a furbaby. *hugs*

 

This showed up in my facebook memories. Taken six years ago. I forgot how gray he was!

[boes]

3 hours ago, PatsyandEddie said:

Lost one of my furbabies today ? She had had a partial retinal detachment and her BS was way too high. Her bloodwork came back all wonky and the vet figured it was cancer. She spent two days at the office and became very lethargic. Hubby and I had her put down. She passed very quickly in my arms. She was only 13 and I will miss her quirky personality. So sad right now. ?

Oh patsyandeddie, I'm so sorry.

It's awful.

[AngelKitty]

Oh, PatsyandEddie, I'm so sorry. ?

[Snaporaz]

((((@PatsyandEddie))))  It's the worst feeling.  So sorry...???

[Cupid Stunt]

((((PatsyandEddie))))

Their love is unconditional … I'm so sorry.

[OhioSongbird]

((((( from me too)))))

Lost my Squeak last year to brain cancer.  About 6 mos ago a stray we named Casper (because he would disappear at random) finagled his way into the house (dh is a total softie) and I swear she has reincarnated herself.  He acts so much like her.

Man, cats are psychic.  As soon as I typed his name he jumped up into my lap!

Another one will find you.  The best ones always do.....

Edited September 21, 2018 by OhioSongbird
....spelling...that's what I get for posting without enough caffeine....

[Cupid Stunt]

Yesterday my new phone abandoned its pre-programed authoritarian activity. I had to take it back to the Mothership to get a new phone and start all over again. Grrr ...

There was a meeting with the sales department and a perennially repellant, banned customer I put on the black list years ago (He and his company are disgusting, and the ad copy is porny). I Ohm-ed myself to be civil through every manager's nightmare, and allow for the sales pitch; I was told that sales had written less offensive copy and the customer agreed to the editing. The sales meeting never got that far. 

*Due to the subject I will refrain from specific names to stay within forum parameters*

I walked into the conference room with the potential customer in the middle of an insulting, misogynist diatribe about a "bitch" in a news episode where it was stated that an accuser would beat a polygraph because they were a “psychopath or sociopath.” The sales people were blankly nodding like bobble heads.

I snapped, "Which one are you? Or does your pathology reside in its own section of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders?"

<crickets>

Then a foul wind rose up. The sales department tried to stanch the bleeding. I looked at the salespeople, said the meeting was over and to walk "this person" out the door. In my office I told them there is a reason I won't allow that man, his fat wallet and his revolting business to be part of our programming, and I'm not changing my mind. If you want to sell for the skin trade, I suggest you do it somewhere else. "We.Don't.Sell.For.PIMPS."

The sales manager stayed behind to be ground up into sausage. It was strongly suggested that the offender be handed the cold call book to either starve or survive.

A true waste of lipstick and a new suit.

Today is better. 

 

The fall equinox is Saturday: 8 things to know about the first day of autumn

[Petunia13]

@PatsyandEddie I'm so so sorry for your loss ❤️ 

Their love and spirits are truly gifts from God.  You and your family are in prayers and thoughts ❤️

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Then a foul wind rose up. The sales department tried to stanch the bleeding. I looked at the salespeople, said the meeting was over and to walk "this person" out the door. In my office I told them there is a reason I won't allow that man, his fat wallet and his revolting business to be part of our programming, and I'm not changing my mind. If you want to sell for the skin trade, I suggest you do it somewhere else. "We.Don't.Sell.For.PIMPS."

Brilliant of you to handle the creep like that. And I hope the sales manager learned a valuable lesson, they're lucky you didn't fire their ass.

[OhioSongbird]

Cliche I know but.....

             ..........YOU GO GIRL!

[peacheslatour]

Hurray! From Southern Living:

We’re thrilled to report that the herds of wild horses that roam North Carolina’s Outer Banks have emerged from Hurricane Florence unscathed.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Corolla Wild Horse Fund both confirmed on social media over the weekend that their equine populations are safe and sound following Hurricane Florence’s lashing last week.

Corolla Wild Horse Fund herd manager Meg Puckett told The News & Observerthat the wild herd found higher ground and grouped together against the wind and rain. People on the island also kept an eye on them.

“So far it’s been business as usual for them, out grazing in all the normal spots,” Puckett said. “The horses are back out at all their usual haunts.”

[Cupid Stunt]

I don't deserve congratulations. I failed.

My political stance was pure, my attack was pointed and nailed a pig to the wall, but my execution was dismal. I knew who/what the rejected customer does and what he sells, and I didn't stop the process when I had the opportunity.

I didn't say no to the sales meeting with the black listed customer/business when it was presented to me. I barely kept my contempt in check as I unceremoniously ended the meeting, because I was offended by the customer and the sales people agreeing with the subject of his conversation. The real failure is that the sales rep tested out a black listed customer presentation, and wasn't stopped from the very beginning. He got hung out to dry, after thinking his hours of hard work would be rewarded by management support. The sales rep is bent, and very likely looking for another job.

I'm disgusted by his willingness to go along with any disturbing message a potential customer might have in order to make a sales commission. Generally, impolitic/offensive opinions don't get aired in advertising copy. A sales rep pursuing black listed customers is a red flag on the field, and I didn't deal with it until it was too late -- That's on me.

[valleycliffe]

i respect you more than i can say....

and all i can say is, next time you won't....

i offer you a standing ovation cs...i respect you.   i admire you..

[peacheslatour]

12 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

i respect you more than i can say....

and all i can say is, next time you won't....

i offer you a standing ovation cs...i respect you.   i admire you..

I agree. But CS, what was your thinking in regard to having green lighting the meeting? Did you have reason to believe the vendor had changed, maybe you forgot who he was for a minute? Otherwise I don't know why you are beating yourself up.

[Cupid Stunt]

1 hour ago, valleycliffe said:

i respect you more than i can say....

and all i can say is, next time you won't....

i offer you a standing ovation cs...i respect you.   i admire you..

(((Valley))) Thank you. 

It's been a wake-up call. I checked a month of work, emails, and calls over the weekend, and spoke to my AA to question anything that looks off or needs clarification. "Whatever it is, point it out to me right away."

1 hour ago, peacheslatour said:

I agree. But CS, what was your thinking in regard to having green lighting the meeting? Did you have reason to believe the vendor had changed, maybe you forgot who he was for a minute? Otherwise I don't know why you are beating yourself up.

My sales manager made a compelling pitch that the business had been bought out and had cleaned up its act. Other than that, I don't know why I agreed to it -- Where was my head? -- That thoroughly frustrates me. I've searched my computer history and calendar the day the meeting was set up, and the day of the meeting (Why didn't I question it then?) … and I've got bupkis.

The night before the meeting was scheduled, I had a long phone call with my sister (her marriage is in it's annual autumnal drain circling), but the work day itself wasn't any busier or stressful than any other. Was my brain ruminating over her grief? I can't be sure ...

I have a full physical with my endocrinologist next week that I'm not looking forward to. Perforated, irradiated and scanned … OH, MY!

[valleycliffe]

so, my dh was out in the backyard tending to his plants.

then he came in and got his camera and asked if i would like to see a preying mantis...

i had never seen a live/real one before, only in pics etc.

i thought they were green but this one was brown..dh said he thought it was a dead branch and was going to pick it off when it moved...

they're really ugly...and i was surprised how large it was...probably just about 3 inches....guess he eats the aphids..

[peacheslatour]

1 hour ago, valleycliffe said:

so, my dh was out in the backyard tending to his plants.

then he came in and got his camera and asked if i would like to see a preying mantis...

i had never seen a live/real one before, only in pics etc.

i thought they were green but this one was brown..dh said he thought it was a dead branch and was going to pick it off when it moved...

they're really ugly...and i was surprised how large it was...probably just about 3 inches....guess he eats the aphids..

You're right they're ugly as sin but you are blessed if you have them in your yard. I wish we had them up here. 

[valleycliffe]

15 minutes ago, peacheslatour said:

You're right they're ugly as sin but you are blessed if you have them in your yard. I wish we had them up here. 

really?  LOL  don't know much about them, just that they eat/kill their mates after mating with them...i think phyl has been compared to them..

[peacheslatour]

9 minutes ago, valleycliffe said:

really?  LOL  don't know much about them, just that they eat/kill their mates after mating with them...i think phyl has been compared to them..

They eat all kinds of other insects which are harmful to people and plants. I grow roses and I get aphids so bad you can't believe it. I hate using pesticides because they're harmful to bees and other good pollinators so having mantis' would be great for me.