how about drinking?

Jazzy, I can't have petunias, the mice eat the flowers! Are the hot springs you are going to at a higher elevation, where as they are more likely to get the snow? We had a little bit of rain last night, not much, but every little bit helps.

Sandy, my grill is in my Shady Lady, so I can grill all year 'round.

Karen, I'm sorry your trip was canceled, yet again! At least some countries are being pro active against Covid, unlike the US.

NM, I got a chuckle out of your comment "Not my circus, even if the monkeys are in my care 5 days a week." Wow, the National Guard! How embarrassing to have the Sheriff come out, I think I would be FURIOUS.

Got my shots, got the pallet of pellets, 50 bags, 40 lbs ea. I got 30 of them off the truck and stacked in the barn. Will get the other 20 today.

DOTD for NM's "little monkeys". The Chunky Monkey

Ingredients

• 1/2 oz. Kahula
• 1 oz. Amaretto
• 1 oz. Banana Rum
• 1 tbsp. Cream of Coconut
• 1 oz Caramel sauce
• 1 oz. Half & Half
• Half of a Banana
• 1 cup Ice
• Chocolate fudge, Banana slices, Cherries, Caramel piece & whipped cream for garnishes

Instructions

1. Drizzle chocolate fudge on the inside of your glass and set to the side
2. Combine the first eight ingredients, and the ice, into a blender.
3. Blend until its smooth and well combined
4. Pour into your favorite cocktail glass, garnish

oh, oh, oh Goldie - that drink is a week's worth of calories. Looks delicious, But I think I'll go ahead & switch out half ice for ice cream & just go for broke.

NM - so sorry about your Mom. I'm of an age before cell phones. In fact, long distance was prohibitively expensive. And no one had 'answering machines'. My Mother's rule was you had to call every Sunday because the rates were lower - rain or shine. She sat by the phone waiting. She didn't take into consideration we might be on a picnic at the zoo or painting the house... So I was roundly scolded if my call was later than she preferred & if I wasn't up to talking for 30 minutes or an hour.. She wasn't as critical as your Mom, except when it came to religion - and then I was ALWAYS wrong & ruined her entire life, and the digs were endless. One of the reasons I chose to live across the country!! And I was also the one who was supposed to make my brothers pay more attention to her. I do understand my Mother was lonely & really believed she was a failure, and I couldn't make her happy. I never succeeded in feeling less guilty even though intellectually I knew it wasn't my fault. But she never called the cops... Some of her church friends might hear our private "family business" and embarrass her even more.

Y'know, my mom's been gone 15 years now--but every time I travel (most recently in July for an overnight trip to NYC), my first instinct whenever I check into a hotel or get home is to call to let her know I've arrived safely. She was always so proactive about our travels that she'd often know my flight was delayed or landed early even before I could call her. Once when I had a massive reaction to sulfa and ended up in the ER on a Benadryl drip, the nurse handed me a phone and it was Mom on the other end, asking how I was doing. (My HK must have called her--Bob had driven me and Gordy was still a toddler back then).

Speaking of phones and long distance, anyone here remember a giving a phone call "signal?" There were two kinds of long-distance (aka "toll") calls back then: the standard station-to-station (direct-dial) and the more expensive person-to-person (which required an operator--remember operators?). If you couldn't reach your party on a person-to-person call, you weren't charged. So the way we had to let Mom know we'd arrived was to give her a "signal" by placing a person-to-person call and have the operator ask for us. Mom would reply "she's not here, but expected shortly." The operator would hang up, as would we--and then we'd immediately call Mom directly.

DOTD was Beaujolais Nouveau with dinner. Just got this afternoon's mammo results back a few minutes ago: bilateral BIRADS 2 (benign), repeat in a year. Too close to bedtime to open a bottle of bubbly (alcohol too close to bedtime makes me wake in the middle of the night), so I cracked a can of Bubly (cherry) instead.

Sandy, I don’t know if you’ve tried it but my DH prefers Simple Truth unsweetened regular and vanilla almond milk from Kroger. I don’t drink milk but have enjoyed both with the rare bowl of cereal.

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Saturday!Waking up to another dusting of snow and predictions of snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain as a warm front moves through. Glad I don't have to go anywhere today.

Chi--don't you just love the way the weather changes this time of year? I love that you grill in all seasons.

Karen--I don't blame you for cancelling the trip with things changing so much so fast right now. What would happen if the borders close while you are in Israel? Would that mean you have to stay or would they let you leave? I think I'd be terrified if I was out of the country and the borders closed.

Goldie--Both times Mom has called the sherriff's department to check on me I was furious. The deputies were polite and kind, but I could tell they thought it was a waste of time to be sent out to check on and adult that Mommy couldn't reach by phone for a couple of days. Neither time did she ever call where I work or try to email or call a neighbor. She tends to jump straight to the extremes of things. WOW, that is a lot of lifting and carrying! Good for you! Love the Chunky Monkey!

Morning, Illi!

Minus--I remember the days of long distance rates and waiting for a certain time of the evening or the weekend to make long distance calls because it was cheaper then. Sometimes I wish I had the nerve to move to Las Vegas or N. Carolina or someplace.It sounds like our mother's have similar characteristics. I'm supposed to be making my brother and SIL call and text and email more often, I've told her over and over I can't run their lives. I do get sympathy from them. Mom is so good at making me feel responsible for everything bad that happens to Mom, or that Mom thinks happens to her. Intellectually I know it's not my job, even possible for me to make her happy, but boy can she twist the knife. I'm sorry she's lonely, I wish covid didn't make it so hard for her to find things to do and places to go where she can be with people.

Chevy--you make a good point about talking helping us understand our Moms better. It does help to know I'm not alone in this situation. I just wish there was some magic something that would fix things for her, to make life the way she wants it to be.

Chi--I do remember the phone signal thing, calling someone and asking for myself to let them know I was home safe! And calling home, letting it ring twice and hanging up, then calling again, so Mom would know it was one of us kids calling.HOORAY for the good mammogram report! I am amazed at all the cows milk alternatives out there and how different they are from each other. What a challenge to find one that tastes good and fits the dietary preferences!

queen mother

Serves 1

1 part gin

2 parts Dubonnet

Orange or lemon twist to garnish (optional)

Pour one part gin and two parts Dubonnet over lots of ice and stir. I like it ungarnished but many people have a lemon or orange twist (or both). Dubonnet, incidentally, was originally designed in the 19th century as a way for French legionnaires to drink quinine to protect against malaria – in the same way that tonic was. I have found this a useful counter to people who have been outraged at my mixing an alcoholic spirit with a fortified wine.

From <https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/feb/01/queen-mother-cocktail>

Ha ha NM, we both posted mom drinks! Thanks for swim

Sandy, I meant to say that my DH is also allergic to Sulfa. Came down with Stephen (Steven) Johnson's Syndrome, where his skin was litterally burning from the inside out.

Good morning friends- waking up to a COLD morning here in New Mexico. I think winter has arrived, we had some rain and snow on Thursday here in the state but it moved along quickly. Cold wind moved in yesterday and brrr. Anyways, whatever was left in my longer than normal garden season must be finished now.

Chi- your mom sounded really nice and supportive. I never shared as much with my mom because of our relationship, but she intuitively knew when something was not okay with me. How sweet that your mom tracked your travel to be sure you were okay. Your mom sounded special.

MinusTwo- our moms sounded a lot a like but for different reasons. I came to a better place with her later in her life when my sister and I had to take over her care and finances for her. I won't say we were ever close, but I will say we got to a place that was as good as it was gonna be for us in this lifetime. My mother was adored by many and when family goes on and on about her, I just remain slient. There is for sure a thing with mothers and daughters sometimes. I miss my dad the most, we were much more in tune.

Oh and the phone call thing. I lived in TX for grad school in the early to mid 1980s and my first time really paying bills and living off a budget. I used to have to time phone calls back to the family on the east coast to catch the lowest rates. As a grad student who was also working but making little money, I had to carefully plan phone calls to catch the best times/rates and also time the calls to not talk too long. At the end of the family calls, I would always plan when we would talk again. Most of the time my family called me as they knew I was a cost constrained student but I would call friends too. If I remember correctly, Sat night and Sun AM were the lowest rates? Ahh the memories.....

Karen- one of my coworkers and her husband are from the middle east and she has family overseas who were going to be coming for Xmas but now have decided not to because things are changing quickly. I hope you can get to Israel again soon. This travel thing is so unstable and I am staying off planes until I go back east for a family reunion that is

Goldie- thank you for the updated on Cami. I expect you got the same cold we have here?

NM- your mom is something else, but I have some of those too. I think the Sherriff's office is hip to her tricks. The bad thing about this stuff is if you really had something happen (and we folks who live alone always do know the risk here), you might need that sort of help and they won't react. I was thinking of you this week knowing it must have been tough to get through work and with all that has gone on. I hope you can get some good self care in this weekend.

Got a breakfast to get to and the typical weekend errands. Have a good day all!

Karen, hope Israel's borders can reopen in time for Tu b'Shevat. (Not a major holiday, but still grounds for a festive family meal).

Illi, I picked the Blue Diamond unsweetened vanilla because those on the Nespresso users' Reddit mentioned that it does froth well in the Aeroccino, at least on the "cold foam" setting. Nespresso says fresh 1% Horizon Organic milk works best, but they mean freshly-opened. 3 days after opening, it wouldn't froth, only heat. Not about to waste money on a milk I'm not gonna use except to froth in the Aeroccino (there is no ultra-filtered 1% dairy milk, and buying 1 bottle each of 2% & skim FairLife sounds too complicated). For awhile I was getting the 6-packs of shelf-stable Horizon and opening only one little 6-ouncer at a time, but then I went keto and stopped buying non-filtered milk. The Aeroccino is what I use when I brew with capsules and don't want to fire up the "big puppy" espresso machine and grind beans (and when I do sent it out for maintenance--long overdue since the start of the pandemic--it's my only alternative to going out and spending $$$ at Starbucks or another cafe). I generally don't drink non-dairy milk straight. Just don't like the taste & thin body. (It's ok on keto cereal or when I make low-carb French toast). The only reason I keep searching for the Holy Grail of a plant milk that froths well, tastes good, is sugar-free, and eco-friendly is when my lactose-intolerant ultra-progressive friend comes over. She can't drink dairy (and I can't drink Lactaid because it's as carby as non-filtered) and keeps pointing out that it takes 100 gal. of water to grow one almond. I tire of having to keep Oatly or Lactaid on hand when I can't drink it.

Not sure what we'll drink tonight. Bob was supposed to be off today--but it's 7pm and he's not home yet. Sigh.

Weather is crazy. I love seeing the snow pictures, I do miss the beauty of the fresh new snowfall. It has been in the 80's here in Florida this week.

I laugh a little reading about the "moms" . My mom drives me crazy and I keep thinking she wasn't like this when I was a kid and it makes me wonder if I am going to end up like her. I live close to my mom so she comes and goes a lot and she is always going through cupboards. A couple of times I fell asleep on the couch watching TV and wake up and she is here. Really kinda scary. She says things that is really an insult, but I really think she is trying to be helpful, things don't transfer from her brain to her mouth right. My sisters (Karen and Jenny) and I all laugh about it, even the grand children talk about wondering what she will come out with. I once asked her why she is always with me when she likes Karen better. She said she didn't want to ruin her relationship with her. LOL She is better when she is going to listen to music, she goes twice a week and it is all outside and when she plays her guitar. She was in a little band, but a couple of them died and a couple got too sick to play. Two of my grandchildren are taking guitar lessons and they said they want to come and play with her, she would really like that. I think that she is in her little world and that is her whole focus. She is constantly worrying about her health and she does have some issues, but really normal for her age, but she dwells on it, she calls me and tells me three times in one phone call how she slept the night before and every pain she has. Now her big thing is her sinuses and feeling like her head isn't right-sometimes a headache most of the time she feels foggy. I told her it might just be allergies, she said that was what her doctor thought.

I stay busy with the grandchildren. I sometimes get tired but I know when they get older I won't see them as much. My older granddaughters will come over sometimes and we have fun dancing or playing cards. They want to go thrift store shopping before Christmas one day.

I love all the mom drinks, maybe that's how we handle the moms, either we drink or they do.

Good Morning, Loungettes!Happy Sunday Funday! My fun today will be finishing a PowerPoint presentation for my class and catching up on laundry.With the nice gusty wind clothes should dry on the line pretty quickly today. `Mom called yesterday, all cheerful and happy, she's decided that since I don't have "that dog" to worry about I'm going to stay overnight Christmas eve and we'll have a "real" Christmas on Christmas day. Whatever that means. Since I really don't care if Christmas happens or not, and this is making her happy and shutting down the negativity, I'm going along with it. Over February break I'm going to Orlando on vacation with one of my cousins, her hubby, and her hubby's best friend who was my vacation husband for many years when we vacationed together every year. My cousin is a planner, so I don't have to do much of anything except answer some questions about preferences, so I won't have to be responsible for or to anybody for the whole week. Flying out Thursday evening Feb 17th (half day of school, I'm leaving as soon as the kiddos are gone to head for the airport), getting home on Saturday the 26th, so will have Sunday as a buffer for delays before school starts again the 28th.Which means I'll be away on my birthday, which Mom won't like but I've done several times before so I know she'll be able to cope. So all I have to do is hold everything together for a couple of months and then I get a break. We're planning on doing the Disney thing, but if that doesn't work out due to mr. covid, well, the house we're renting has a heated pool and jacuzzi, and there are a bunch of outdoor things we can do instead that will be safe enough. All of us are vaccinated and/or have caught covid or both and all of us live in a fairly small bubble of people on a daily basis, and mask in public pretty consistently, so not much threat to us or anyone else. I know some families have taken their kiddos who are in quarantine to Disney over Thanksgiving break, and some aren't letting us know their kiddos are in quarantine from a family or community exposure and sending the kiddos to school and exposing me, and more than once, so it's only fair that I get to go away and potentially but very unlikely expose them in return. I need this vacation and I need to have something positive coming up to focus on.

Goldie--I saw that pic online somewhere, it is hilarious!

Jazzy--I suppose the cold had to come in sometime. I bet different phone companies had different rate drop times. I remember that long distance calls were cheaper after 9 peeyem, and Mom complaining about having to stay up so late on a weeknight to call family who lived in other time zones and so didn't understand why Mom wanted to call so early, and there were different rates at different times on the weekend. Sunday evening was one of the lowest times, when I was in college I called home collect on Sundays between 6 and 8 peeyem--after the rate dropped and before baby brother's bedtime. The Sherriff's department does have those calls on record and that record is pulled up when a call comes in. Here in Maine they are required to respond to all welfare check and 911 hang ups, but they do use the history to prioritize those follow ups. So it won't get totally ignored, but response may be delayed. That is one of the risks of living alone, and one I'm willing to accept. I figure it's along the lines of choosing to live alone in a quite rural area without local police and a volunteer Fire/EMS system with a longer response time than an urban, staffed system. And I am taking care of myself this weekend. I'm crying when I feel like it, napping when I feel like it, and puttering around the house when I feel like it. I'm still stopping and saying goodbye to Sadie when I leave the house, I expect that will hang on for a while.

Minus--thanks for thinking of me! I'm just going to roll through Christmas this year, let Mom do what she wants.

Chi--I'm still SMH over how many non-dairy milk alternatives exist! I find it hard to believe that 1 almond needs 100 gallons of water to grow. I mean, how many almonds are on a single tree? How much water can a single tree take up in a season? But what do I know about growing almonds. . .

Karen--at least you could get home if the border closed while you were there, but they do seem to be quick to react to changes in the pandemic landscape. Good heavens, what a time onhold you've had with those tickets! Reading your post I just realized that I am a Rainbow Baby, mom had 2 miscarriages before me. Brother is adopted as Mom couldn't have more after me due to damage from my big shoulders.

Misty--Your description of your Mom living in her own little world really resonates with me. My Mom kind of does that, too. Every time Mom calls I know I will hear about the latest problem with getting her phone number ported to her new/simpler phone, she still hasn't found her good jewelry box that she knows she packed specially to make sure it got to the apartment and didn't go into storage, at least one other item she is sure she brought to the apartment with her but can't find, and how she plans to decorate the bedroom once everything is unpacked and all the boxed cleaned out. I swear, sometime I am going to get into her apartment when she isn't there and go through those boxes in the bedroom and find that jewelry box, and if it's not there, I'll get my cousin to let me into the garage where Mom has a raft of boxes of stuff stored.

Chi--Homemade caffecello? Now that sounds fascinating!

Slightly Windy

Ingredients

• 3 oz Ginger Dry sparkling soda
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 2 dashes of Angostura Bitters
• 1 1/2 oz dark rum

Instructions

1. Combine lime juice, simple syrup, bitters and dark rum in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice and top with Ginger Dry Sparkling soda. Stir.

From <https://www.greyisthenewblack.com/slightly-windy-a-rum-ginger-cocktail-tipsy-tuesday/>

How's the water NM? So happy about your vacation. Love your "vacation husband". Hope to see lots of pics. Glad you are taking it easy this weekend and talking to Sadie. Your wanting to "get through Xmas" sounds just like me when I wanted to "get through TG" with DH's kids. So I totally understand.

Ok, rainbow babies are the children born after the mom has a miscarriage?

Lori - rainbow babies are any babies born after pregnancy loss - I only heard the term recently from D#1.

I haven't done anything about the ticket yet. Need to call the travel insurance again and see if Covid is a covered reason. Yesterday the person I spoke with said the claim is reviewed after it is submitted. Don't wan to cancel just yet if travel insurance doesn't cover. We will then have to take the voucher. Supposedly the voucher doesn't expire. These were some of the most expensive tickets we've paid in years. Even with travel insurance you loose money. Oh well. Going to call travel insurance once I get off her.

DD#1 had her baseline mammogram today. She said it was painful. Didn't ask her when she gets the results. I'm not worried, but Gd forbid anything is wrong I'd be devastated. But in my heart, I know all will be good.

In a funk/crappy/crying mood today.

Will keep you posted on the travel saga. BTW, there is talk about extending the travel ban for foreign nationals beyond 12/23 with stricter quarantine, but it's all speculation.

Have a great rest of the Sunday.

Jazzy - Thanks for thinking of me. All good here in N Ky. We just had some ferocious winds & heavy rains. W Ky got hit very badly, especially a small town called Mayfield & Bowling Green. Lots of national news coverage about this devastation and the images are just horrible.

Oh, Karen, so sad to hear of your cancelled trip.

Everyone else - hope you are enjoying some spirit lifting spirits!

Good Morning, Loungettes! Happy Monday Monkey Day! All the pretty snow got washed away in the rain over the weekend, but things are pretty dried out from the gusty winds. Temps in the 30's today, more like they should be in December.Got almost all our kiddos coming back to school from quarantine today, I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing them all again. I imagine the energy level is going to be pretty high today.

Goldie--we meet again at the swim up bar! The garden cocktail looks marvelous!Yup, that's what a rainbow baby is, one born after a miscarriage.

Jazzy--my cousin reminded me about the February trip when we were chatting the other evening, and it was just what I needed to hear. Mom lives in a duplex, the neighbors are very friendly and keep an eye on her and help her out a lot, and she has a couple of other people she can call if she needs anything, and there are family members who don't live as close as I do but who will go help her with stuff if she asks. And Christmas Day would be plenty, but I plan to use my school work as a way to put some limits on the whole thing--I have to write a paper or create a PowerPoint presentation each week, due on Mondays, she won't think that because it's a vacation week that I'll have more time to work on it during the week. Mom will insist on making a cake for my birthday either before I leave or, more likely, after I get back from vacation so she can hear all about vacation and see pictures. I am reserving the right to get upset and leave if she makes a "that dog" comment, though. Thanks for the hugs, and thanks for the understanding. It really helps. Oh my goodness, that closet story!Too funny, and so true! I think homes are like boats--only homes are a hole in the ground rather than a hole in the water into which one pours money!

Karen--I think your definition of a rainbow baby is more correct than mine, being a baby born after any pregnancy loss, not just miscarriage. Praying for DD#1's mammo report being good. Hugs and sharing the box of tissues with you.

Glad you are safe, Celia.

Chi--I am so sorry for your losses. It must be heartbreaking. I don't remember different accounts for long-distance and local calls, but I do remember long distance calls being listed on a separate page on the phone bill. It was generally a much shorter list than the local calls, which can go on for pages!

The Telephone Tag

Ingredients

• Ice
• 1 3/4 ounces bourbon
• 1 ounce Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
• 1/4 ounce Bigallet China-China (see headnote)
• 2 dashes absinthe
• 1/2 teaspoon acid phosphate (see headnote)
• Brandied cherry, for garnish

Directions

Chill a Nick and Nora glass or a coupe.

Fill a mixing glass with ice, then add the bourbon, vermouth, liqueur, absinthe and acid phosphate. Stir gently for 15 seconds, then strain into the glass. Garnish with a brandied cherry.

From <https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/telephone-tag/16019/>

Sandy - I forgot about MCI till you mentioned them.

Lori - most of my mood had to do with the canceled trip and the hassles with the airlines.

According to the airlines, it is a Covid problem not the airline problems. The planes are still flying to Israel but besides for a few exceptions to only citizens. So we took the voucher as it is the full amount of the ticket and doesn't expire. The same thing happened to my DD and SIL when they were going to come for Passover in April 2020 - same scenario, even though airline canceled flight. I asked the guy yesterday on AC and he says it depends on the reason for cancelation whether you are charged a fee, talking if the airlines cancels. Travel insurance company doesn't cover the loss as it only covers Covid related issues if a person is sick with Covid. The travel insurance is more for health insurance when we are out of the country.

DD#1 can see the results on the patient portal in 14 days. I asked her if anyone would call her and she said as long as its all good and normal she doesn't need a phone call. She's not worried, but complained her breast hurt after the mammogram, pain went away then came back at night. This was baseline one, no other concerns.

The devastation in Bowling Green and Mayfield KY is devastating. I heard one woman on the news say they didn't loose anything as they were still alive - though they lost their house and everything in it.

Only 3 more work days till winter break - not that I'm counting.