Community Chat

[Winifred]

Hi everyone - I KNOW I have been here since it shows - I never am absent that long - my goodness - but recently I have had posts disappear. Today, however is another story. Took me until perhaps an hour ago to get here. Been fighting either the Q , or IE or whatever all day long - very frustrating. There were a zillion updates last night when I shut my pc down and today the Q was obviously doing something - the two did not mix. Had to change a setting on my PC and was not happy about that but it worked. Will now be a tad nervous. But earlier was able to traverse the entire Q site AND ORDER, but could not get into the Forum.

Beautiful day here today. Am super tired as past few days have worked very hard trying to clean my carpets. Unfortunately had to buy a NEW Vac and a NEW shampooer. Not happy at all but they are working fine. I am just way too old to push and pull heavy equipment AND to move heavy furniture. I need to stop whining. Carpets look a bit better but not good as they are streaked. My oh my. Anyway, the vac and shampooer are BOTH Bissell and both are for pets - sure made a difference. Will miss my Oreck as it was lightweight which I could handle but finally figured out it was not picking up all the critter fur. This new one sure does and I had no idea these carpets were so impacted with that fur.

Need to check my food in the slow cooker - you all are invited. Roast, baby carrots and a BIG sweet onion. Cooking separately are small red taters for mashing an petite peas. Can hardly wait.

Hope all had a great day.

[possummink]

Winifred, I was getting ready to shut down for the night and saw your post. I wish I was close enough to run right over and have some of your supper. It sounds so good. Love food fixed like that.

I shudder to think of what the braided rugs look like back home. Probably haven't been vacuumed since I left there on Jan 4th. My brother is not a housekeeping type. He just doesn't see clutter or dirt. Thank goodness it's only Mattie, my kitty, who's probably starting to shed her winter layers of fur. Anyway, I know I'll be doing lots of sweeping and vacuuming when I get home. Ought to open the doors and windows and turn on the leaf blower. Of course, I'd have to cage Mattie first.

Sleep well and sweet dreams. Hope Stripes is being a good boy.

[Bird mama]

Bird for the weekend - Baltimore Oriole

female

male

together

[Winifred]

Possum, you would have been more than welcome. Tonight am nibbling on some more of that roast as there is a tad left of all except the peas - have some collards on the stove as a go with for later. Hmn, makes me hungry just to think of it. I LOVE good basic food - never have been much of an experimenter with food. I cook like my Mother and she cooked like her Mother - talk about good food. Now my "baby brother" - he is 15 years younger than me, perhaps 16, would have to think some more about it but at any rate he is a great chef and does all his family cooking. He experiments with everything. Not me. Had to chuckle a few years back, however, as he asked if I had it written down on how to fry squash, cabbage and cook "Southern style" - which he grew up on. He said he really needed to get back on basic food eating. LOL. Well of course I had nothing written down but did take the time to do it.

Quite warm here today - in the 80s. Those of you still in the frozen atmosphere, stay warm.

Hope all had a great day!

[possummink]

Winifred, I was raised on Southern cooking too. My mom was from Arkansas and had 11 brothers and sisters, that lived, plus parents and so the girls learned early how to cook and cook a lot. I love all vegetables, including rutabagas, turnips, brussel sprouts, all squash, hominy, etc. I prefer the good basic Southern style of food, but have tried all kinds of different ethnic foods. Love rices, pasta, almost all seafood, but usually gravitate back to basic foods when I cook at home.

My mother in law was from Tennessee and my father in law from Kentucky. So my husband loved the same types of food as I grew up on. My mother in law, cooked lots of field peas, crowder peas, flat dumplings( I make the fluffy drop dumplings). Her fried chicken was wonderful, but different from my mom's which was wonderful too. Can't explain the differences though.

My dad was from Kansas and his mom was Irish, and an expert pastry cook, well known for her angel food cakes baked in a wood stove. I got my love of cooking and eating from all my forebearers. My maternal grandmother was from Switzerland and she ran the family winery while the girls cooked and the guys farmed.

My son, like his dad, loves to cook and does most of the cooking when he's home. He's the experimenter, making up some of his own sauces for rices, pastas and usually including seafood, several times a week. My husband cooked like his mom and my mom, basic meals like pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy and creamed corn. One of my all time favorite meals. I love squash, corn, cabbage etc. anyway they are fixed. I usually add red pepper to cabbage, it as I love pepper and spicy hot foods. Love Tex-Mex or Southwestern cooking. I am not too much into Far Eastern cuisine, but like some items. No raw fish for me, no sushi or sashimi etc.

I guess my problem, weight wise, is that I love food period. Can't think of a better breakfast than eggs and sausage and/or bacon, with gravy and biscuits. Could throw some grits in there too. I love cooking soups, stews, chilis, roasts,(esp. a good pork rib roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and gravy. I add sweet potatoes to the mix sometimes and fried apples. I could go on for hours and hours about food and what I love, which is just about everything, vegetables in particular. I do like fish and crayfish, chowders and I won't even start on desserts, esp. pies. ~~~

I have typed myself into a hunger stage now. Anyway, like I said, if I lived close to you, I'd have joined you for supper or had you over for some Southern style cooking. Wish my son would cook more vegetables. But he's great at what he does fix, and I don't have to do it so, that works for me. When he's out of town, DDIL and I cook together as we both love pretty much the same stuff even though she's from CO. We feasted on asparagus last week while DS wasn't home.

I hadn't planned on yakking so much about food, but it's a subject that's near and dear to me as it is for lots of folks.

Guess I'd best quit for now before more thoughts of food take over my mind.

It's supposed to snow again at home tomorrow. DD said today that they were going though 3 seasons of weather in 2 days in St. Louis, It was summerlike early today, then spring like this afternoon and tomorrow, winter roars back in with sleet and snow + cold.

Wishing all my Birding Friends a peaceful and relaxing weekend. Stay safe and well.

[Bird mama]

Happy St. Patrick's Day Birding Friends ~

I watched the news this morning. Possummink please take care as it looks like severe weather is headed your way. Winifred, I understand there was an earthquake in CA this morning. 4.7 sounds bad to me, did you feel it?

Bird of the Day - Black Throated Green Warbler.

[Bird mama]

[possummink]

Hi Birding Friends, Taking a bit of a break from peeling potatoes, carrots and cutting the cabbage to add to the corned beef that's been simmering on the stove for about 3 hours. Smells so good.

Birdmama, You had that right about the severe weather warnings for this area. We have been having some much needed rains coming along with some rocking and rolling thunderstorms and now we are under a tornado watch till 11:00pm. Lightning has been "dancing" all over the place and my phone keeps sending me messages about all the weather going on + lake wind advisories.

I haven't heard much about any damage due to the earthquake in LA. I did hear that some news anchors took cover under their desks. I'd have been right there with them, for sure. If you've every seen a plate glass storefront window do the "shimmy" due to an earthquake, you run for cover. I dislike having the ground, rolling and cracking around me about as much as I hate tornadoes, hail and ice storms. We have occasional tremors in the St. Louis area I guess due to the New Madrid fault in SE MO. It's about 150 or so miles south of St. Louis.

I hope you all have had a nice Monday, hard to believe March is half over. I need to get cracking on my income tax stuff!

A pretty photo of Ireland I copied off of Facebook. I'd love to visit there and see the places where my Great Grandparents lived and worked. It'd be fun to explore the old abbeys and castles and see the beautiful land of Ireland. I know that'll not happen for me, but one can dream about it.

[Bird mama]

Bird of the Day - Brandt's Cormorant

Hard to see, bird has blue eyes

[Winifred]

Hi everyone!!!! Another very nice day today - nights are still somewhat frigid but the days are great. A tad too much wind but other than that - very bnice. We still need water!!!