Among Friends

[MsLomo]

@Q-Anu , I am so sorry for mixing up you and Ruth Ann and the shoes and the dress! Some days, especially at the end of a long one, it feels as if my mind has stepped on the brake and cannot process anything more. Anyway, you are all "Gentle Souls" to me!

I wear a 7-1/2 in Gentle Souls, and my favorite, most comfortable, style is Bay Unique. I currently own a new pair in black leather, and I've owned them in black suede and gray suede, and a metallic pale color. I have GS Bay Braid and also a GS plain flat. Hard to find them. I keep them for years and wear them into the ground. I wish they weren't so expensive, but the good shoes do cost more (e.g., Gentle Souls, NAOT).

I do not get HBO (I refuse to pay for premium channels, but I should spring for one or more because of all the good shows I hear about!)

Haven't tried the Creamsicle-dipped cones. Oh my goodness, who thinks of these delicious combos?! LOL about the banana split with granola -- yep, sounds like a healthy breakfast to me! 

I hope your job is going well and that you have rested from the bar exam prep and the test itself. I occasionally have dreams (not as many now, thankfully) that I can't find the room where an exam is about to take place, AND I realize in the dream that I haven't taken even one class all semester (for some reason)! Yikes! 

[agnesann]

Ruth Ann, I'm so sorry to hear that your widowed neighbor has died, but it sounds as though she was done with this life and longing for the next. May she Rest In Peace. 🙏

I wish you luck with finding the perfect shoes for Gwen's wedding. MsLomo knows her shoes and I value her advice - on everything. I'm praying they find a house in time and don’t have to rent first. I have a feeling that Steve would especially hate that. He has a head for finances, and though he earns a terrific salary, as a nuclear physicist, I'm sure.....he's not frivolous with money. He told us how he's been saving up for a good down payment and that he and Gwen know exactly what they want. 

You were asking about, I assume, Scanpans. You can go to scanpan dot com and check out the entire line. As Anu said, they are top grade, so expensive. 

—Scanpan 8-Piece Nonstick Classic Cookware Set (not the latest) at BB&B for $400. When I say “not the latest,” it's still superior to any other brand I've owned.

—SCANPAN TechnIQ Nonstick Fry Pan Set, 8" & 10" (the latest) at Williams & Sonoma for $130.

—We use this so often: SCANPAN Classic Deep Saute Pan also at W&S for $130. ✔️

I feel as though if they receive one or two, they'll love them so much that Steve will invest in the rest to suit their needs. 

You may want to check eBay, reliable cookware sellers for Scanpans and Bunn brewers in stainless steal.

Calphalon Elite is very nice cookware at a more reasonable price. I'm one who thinks All Clad is over-rated. Le Creuset - too heavy for my liking - is still good, but check to be sure it's made in France. Many are not with subpar quality. I just threw a saucepan away. Ill-fitting lid that had steam constantly dripping on my stove-top, and must have caused the staining, then cracking of the exterior finish. Made in Portugal. I took a chance since the price was so low and it was the smaller size I needed.

Happy shopping! 

I've yet to print my digital pics out, because I had to buy more photo paper. I'll get them to you soon. Ruth Graham's huge prayer garden is completely handicap assessable! In fact, I was noticing that everything at the Cove is. I was wishing you were there with us, but I hope you get to go soon. It would be a nice road trip for a group from your lovely community. 👍 

I just love Smokey sitting up in the truck with his vanilla shake - like a boss! 😅 He's such a good boy. 

Take care and God bless! ❤️

[MsLomo]

@agnesann, fun reading your news! Lots going on!

Had to LOL at this:

" ... I also sat up my Smucker's ice cream toppers bar and MsLomo, you'll not be surprised that the Magic Shell Chocolate was a huge hit, with both kids and adults! Some of the kids were fascinated by watching it get hard and shiny. One little girl asked, “is it really magic?” A boy answered straight forward - condescending professor style: “No, it's got silicone plastic in it.” 

Hilarious! I can see and hear that!

I have great memories of that Magic Shell Chocolate. I wish I could have heard the "real" explanation of how it works, as I've wondered myself! I've learned to take VERY SMALL BITES of anything that looks that good. I was in the grocery store the other day, and they were giving out small samples of vanilla ice cream on top of a Pillsbury brownie (the pop-in-the-oven kind found, I think, in the refrigerated section).

They had chocolate syrup, too, and of course I had to make sure it was OK for the other shoppers, so I poured on a little bit. Ugh, one small taste, and I found a trashcan far from the nice lady who was in charge of the samples. When you make from scratch, the "shortcuts" taste terrible! Yeeesh, although I did enjoy the bit of ice cream and chocolate syrup! I think the Magic Shell goes on top of the list with the DQ-Dipped.

[MsLomo]

Dear Snappy,

Nooooo. You have been through FAR TOO MUCH. The house situation with the pipes and now the sewer smell -- it's got to be overwhelming for you and DD#2. Then, Shirley's fall. 

Shirley doesn't give up, but with this fall, she has got to be still and rest, and hopefully that will be good for her. And it does force the issue of the pets and her son and how to manage all that. Sounds like those plans are happening now. I feel bad for her and for her son, and for all the family, including you, who are impacted.

[agnesann]

MsLomo, I'm glad you could picture it and get a big chuckle from the Magic Hard Shell Chocolate convo! I stood there dumbfounded, thinking: “Why you sharp-tongued, know-it-all buzz-kill!” The truth is, it's just formulated to react to the cold temperature of the ice cream. Wish I could explain it as well as that gentleman - one of the parents who seemed well vested in the “magic” (science) behind it. I nearly applauded him, as the mouthy kid turned red and slunk away with his PLAIN ice cream waffle. 😜 Quite a moment! 

Oh, ITA.... love ice cream over a moist, fresh baked, home made brownie, but those refrigerated ones - especially if “baked” in a microwave are gag-worthy. Well, you did your civic duty! 👏

I wanted to tell you, I enjoyed your comments on dreams. I agree, they're mostly about ourselves. Like our subconscious brain trying to help our conscious brain figure things out. Often we'll awake and find we comprehend something much better - even if we forget the dream. As a teen, I had a book on translating dreams - it was encyclopedia big! I looked up all my dreams - many by the symbols. As a kid I had strange, vivid dreams. (Less than ideal childhood.) Sometimes nightmares..... then after having Jacob and later learning he was on the autism spectrum, my stress over being able to meet all of his needs alone (his father couldn’t cope and left us - Darrell is his step-dad, my current husband) my vivid dreams turned into repeating ones. Even after moving to VA where Jacob has great doctors, including therapists, and guidance at school - and after marrying Darrell.... I worried obsessively over what would become of him if both Darrell and I died. Marcia told me to choose god-parents, so I did, but the repetitive, vivid dreams persisted. (Like a situation that poor Shirley and family are dealing with now. 😰) So Marcia taught me a technique where you visually and mentally change the ending of that dream before going to sleep each night. After about 5 times, it worked and those dreams have never returned! Of course, the technique can’t change the future, so I still worry a bit while awake, but at least I can get my sleep, so better deal with the stresses of the day. 

I hope Marcia can visit soon and join in on the discussion before it rolls away. I know what she's so busy with - plus helping that recently released prisoner with some Christian counseling now, too. All pro bono. Some of those other ranch hands have been prayer-shaming him, and obnoxiously harassing him about his bible study. Bullies, in a word. So she's helping the poor guy with regular CBT and now Christian counseling, including some of the best Christian Apologentics books. He's new to the faith and I hope those guys won’t succeed in breaking him. It'll be downhill from there, I'm afraid - back on drugs, etc. 😟

I’m sorry to hear your tasks of the days have you exhausted by night. You're not alone - I totally empathize with you, but for other reasons. Yours are harder. You and your hubby remain in my prayers. 🙏

For sure, none of these ladies mind a mix-up! Don't give it another thought. This board makes it powerfully hard to carry on a decent conversation, but I'm thankful for it and everyone who contributes. 

❤️ to you. Hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday. 

[Rowan72]

Hello to all friends here. 💙

I've read all of your posts; have prayed (and will continue to); I offer my deepest condolences to Joy on the loss of her dear aunt. 

Must get dinner prepared now, but will return soon. 

For both Rob and Shirley’s son: 

Love & Peace of Grace to all, 

Rowan 💚

[Q-Anu]

@snappyfrappy... 💔 It's understandable why you don’t feel up to being here as often, with so much going on. You and your family are always on my mind and in my prayers regardless. 

I hope Shirley's son, after hearing the facts, and having some time to absorb them, will calm down enough to see reason. If he can, poor guy. He’d be abruptly losing everyone and everything familiar to him. That's hard enough for those without his disabilities. Hard enough for his mother to never return to their home. Some of his anger may be part of his grief cycle already beginning. The social worker should know if he needs counseling and/or meds. 

I'm so sorry Shirley had this fall and broke a vertebra. She was already so uncomfortable with the side-effects of the cancer treatments... The thought of wearing a brace, and taking PT, too - too many travails for one person to bear. TG for her DD, who I'm praying for also. 

I'm glad that you and DD made it to Sunny's birthday party. Sorry they didn’t open the gifts. Sometimes the planners thinks it takes up too much time. Others worry that very young children, who don't fully understand will feel left out with no gifts to open. We recently attended one that was held at a pizzeria, with the stipulation to ship or drop off any gifts to their house first. There were all those arcade games there for the kids to enjoy. They did have the cake and balloons, though. Sent Thank You cards with pics of their son opening each family's gift. Must have been at least 50. In my son's case that would have taken all of 7-minutes. In my daughter's case... we might still be there! She saves the ribbons and bows, too. 

Hope all your plumbling issues are at least under repair now. Such a mess! The old pipes maybe couldn’t handle so much rain this year. The tremors from the quakes didn’t help. 

Love & Hugs,

Anu 💞

[Q-Anu]

@agnesann, thanks for sharing all the news. I knew I had not heard from Joy - no wonder. 😥 She must be exhausted, as well as mourning her aunt, who she was so close to. It's as if the aunt was just hanging on - waiting to finish up her last bit of business on earth, before letting go. Prayers for all who love her. 

What a nice birthday party you hosted for your deceased friend's daughter! When you give your word, you keep it. 

Ice cream waffles... now why didn’t I think of that. Another perfect breakfast. I can smash strawberries and bananas into the ice cream, then top the upper waffle with butter pecan topping. OMG... just thinking of it and I look like Smokey in the milkshake pic. 

This is my ice cream maker: 

Cuisinart Ice 22 Ice Cream Maker with Extra Bowl

And, of course, it's now on sale @ W&S for $80. They have extra bonus savings going on right now, too. ( @LurkyLoo see here!)

Like you, I have always taken the death of pets extremely hard, too. Makes me wonder how @LadyAnn is getting along now. Marian is taking the boys to the shelter on Sat to hopefully find another small dog to adopt. A puppy would be ideal, but there are so many older dogs there. Fine, as long as they're okay with young kids. 

No Logan and his team weren't called anywhere to help with Barry victims. Last I heard 90 had been rescued by the locals. I guess they were prepared with all the help they needed. 

I'm wondering what's up with all the black-outs. First NYC, then D.C. and CA. Right in a row. All at night when the temps decrease. So little about it on the news, too. I hope our power grids aren’t under attack. 

In any case... 

To you tomorrow!! 🎉 Every life deserves to be celebrated at least once a year. Yours no less, my sweet friend! 

Love,

Anu 💗

[Q-Anu]

@MsLomo, I hear ya! End of a long day, I have been known to dose off in my bath. Scares hubby. He wishes I'd take a shower at night, but those are for waking up in the morning, to my system.

I used to mix up you and @Issy379 in my mind, back early on this thread. Or maybe it was the “hello” thread previous to this one. I don't know why! I may have even confused you two in some posts. Nothing to forgive! We'll just blame it on Mercury in retrograde - all will right itself again in early August. 😉 I wanted to make sure that @LurkyLoo saw your info on the shoes. You, too, are a Gentle Soul. ❤️

You made me look! 👀

Zappos has the Bay Uniques in my size, but at $194. That will have me looking elsewhere first for a sale, but I would like to have them. Yep, we have to pay for quality in everything. Soon I'll be soldiering through Back to School shopping , though I did a bit with our friends here while in N.C. It's the supplies as they get older that gets my pulse going - Mia's tuition, too. We'll manage, as usual - my promotion will help. One BIG reason I returned to law school. 

I havent yet had any nightmares that I remember about the exams. At least you weren't NEKKID in yours!! 😱😂 I used to have those in Business College, where I forgot to get dressed. Just dig me a hole, please... I feel pretty calm right now (still training my replacement), it will probably hit me on my first day in Aug, in my freshly painted office. I'll be sitting there like: 

Wanting my Barefoot Dreams cozy hooded cardigan and fuzzy slippers. 😁

No HBO - I can understand. They keep on raising the rates on us, and it’s only a few weeks out of the year that prime programming is shown. If you have or get Netflix, most will be there pretty quickly. Then you can binge watch on rainy days or lazy evenings. 

I was just on my patio a few minutes - thermometer reads 102°. I saved my Roma tomatoes that were starting to blister, even before all were ripe. I'll just ripen them slowly in my kitchen garden window. This pale face can’t take much direct sunlight in this intense heat. My skin will turn to ugly lizard leather. Staying in this evening to rewatch Sunday's episode of Little Big Lies over again. 

Too many flashbacks gave me mental whiplash. 

Oh, lookie what I found us! I'll post the recipe below for those times we can’t make it out to DQ in time for breakfast - or whatever. 

Have yourself a nice, relaxing evening! 💜

[Q-Anu]

Banana Split Brownie Sunday

INGREDIENTS
* Crisco® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
* 1 (15.5 oz.) package Pillsbury™ Chocolatier Collection™ Chocolate Walnut Premium Brownie Mix
* 1/3 cup Crisco® Pure Vegetable Oil
* 3 tablespoons water
* 1 large egg
* 3/4 cup Smucker's® Sundae Syrup™ Chocolate Flavored Syrup
* 3 medium ripe bananas
* Vanilla ice cream
* 3/4 cup Smucker's® Pineapple Flavored Topping
* 3/4 cup Smucker's® Strawberry Flavored Topping
* Whipped topping and maraschino cherries with stems
* 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
1. HEAT oven to 350°F. Coat 8-inch square baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions using oil, water and egg. Cool completely on wire rack. Cut into 3/4-inch squares.

2. PLACE 3 to 4 brownie pieces into bottoms of 12 dessert dishes. Drizzle each with chocolate syrup. Thinly slice bananas. Divide evenly into dishes. Add 1 large scoop ice cream to each dish. Top evenly with remaining brownie pieces. Drizzle each with pineapple and strawberry toppings.

3. GARNISH with whipped topping and maraschino cherries. Sprinkle with walnuts, if desired. Serve immediately.

(Of course they'll be even better with @MsLomo's made from scratch brownies!) 😋