csziggy
csziggy's JournalA red shouldered hawk fledgling has been screaming just outside all afternoon
The parents are around and it keeps screaming for food - I'm not sure if they are still feeding it. It's in an oak tree, about 20 feet outside the upstairs room where my husband keeps his computer and it's driving him up the wall.
I got some pictures, but I have to do something to my website to be able to post them here. Maybe I can get it done tomorrow.
Pandemic Lockdown Thoughts (from my sister)
I hope they give us two weeks notice before sending us back out into the real world. I think we need the time to become ourselves again. And by "ourselves" I mean lose 10 pounds, cut our hair and get used to getting up before 10 a.m.
New monthly budget: Gas $0 Entertainment $0 Clothes $0 Groceries $2,799.
Breaking News: Wearing a mask inside your home is now highly recommended. Not so much to stop COVID-19, but to stop eating.
Low maintenance chicks are having their moment right now. No nails to file and paint, roots to dye, eyelashes to re-mink, and thrilled
to be able to wear pajamas or sweats every day!
When this quarantine is over, let's not tell people.
I stepped on my scale this morning. It said: "Please practice social distancing. Only one person at a time on scale."
Not to brag, but I haven't been late to anything in more than 8 weeks.
I wanted zombies and anarchy. Instead I got working from home and toilet paper shortages.
Those car commercials where there's only one vehicle on the road - don't seem so unrealistic these days ...
They can open things up next week, but I'm staying in until July to see what happens to all of you first.
Appropriate analogy: "The curve is flattening so we can start lifting restrictions now" = "The parachute has slowed our rate of descent,
so we can take it off now".
People keep asking: "Is coronavirus REALLY all that serious?" Listen y'all, the churches and casinos are closed. When heaven and
hell agree on the same thing it's probably serious.
Never in a million years could I imagine going up to a bank teller wearing a mask and asking for money.
Home school Day 1: I'm trying to figure out how I can get this kid transferred out of my class.
Okay, the schools are closed. So do we drop the kids off at the teacher's house or what?
For the second part of this quarantine do we have to stay with the same family or will they relocate us? Asking for myself...
Coronavirus has turned us all into dogs. We wander around the house looking for food. We get told "No" if we get too close to
strangers and we get really excited about going for walks and car rides.
The spread of Covid-19 is based on 2 things: 1. How dense is the population. 2. How dense the population is.
The dumbest thing I've ever bought was a 2020 planner...
I'm in a long line at 7:45 am today at a grocery store that opens at 8 am for seniors only. A young man comes from the parking lot and tries to cut in the front of the line, but an old lady beats him back into the parking lot with her cane. He returns and tries cutting in again but an old man punches him, then kicks him and pushes him away. As he approaches the line for the 3rd time he yells, "If you people don't let me unlock the door, you'll never get in!"
Enjoy your day. You have nothing else to do.
American Carnage at Lafayette Square
I've watched a few of Legal Eagle's videos. I'm not sure how good of an attorney he is, but his commentary from a legal point of view is always interesting.
OK, which DUer posted this on Craigslist back in 2016?
We will seize illegally held land and use it to establish a herd of free range cats from which to harvest wool. Malheur is the purrfect site for cat ranching the way God intended. It has an abundance of natural food, water, and a mild climate. Birds are plentiful. Catnip should thrive. We will develop a new breed: the Harney County ranch cat. We need hardy breeding stock such as Maine Coon, Manx, 'merican Bobtail, and Persian (natural born only). No hairless cats unless neutered/spayed. A few lions would be useful for defensive purposes. We don't expect them to breed with ranch stock. Artificial insemination might work but who wants to try that with a male lion? Our ranch will create sustainable community jobs and a quality organic product for the domestic market. We will have a low carbon footprint because felines produce little flatulence.
More: https://www.craigslist.org/about/best/bnd/5418481859.html
Huh - COVID-19 Survey From Carnegie Mellon University
Just went onto Facebook (please don't tell me to avoid it, I know all the arguments) and was asked to participate in this survey. Questions about any symptoms I might be experiencing, exposure to others, activity outside of the house, and of course, age, sex, and location. Interesting.
NY Capital District EGA Chapter's stitches serve as background for NY Governor's Press Conferences
Posted on the Embroiderer's Guild of America website:
The lovely goldwork on green and burgundy draperies that can be seen in the background when New York Governor Andrew Cuomo gives his press conferences from NYS Capitol, Executive Chamber, was stitched by the NY Capital District Chapter of the EGA.
What began as a 10 month project evolved into a 4 year charge and over 6,000 hours of research, designing, planning and organizing and concentrated stitching. Actual stitching began in April 1988 with completion in October. There are 10 panels each measuring 20?x50?; each required about 500 hours of exacting embroidery by 28 Golden Girls! Great job ladies!
– Marge Kelly, Metropolitan Region Director
https://egausa.org/ny-capital-district-chapter-ny-governor-press-conference/?fbclid=IwAR0L4UAFVHPuO0xb9g7XuxCx6rL7NFQQuB7VdCg5WVHlCfIb2Zel4X1qCCQ
https://time.com/5827733/new-york-state-coronavirus-deaths/
Fisherman's Pie from leftovers and pantry things
After reading a thread in GD about a meatless May, I thought this would be a good one to post. As a senior who has trouble keeping her protein levels up and with no time to research a vegan diet, I will try to stretch the proteins I have as far as possible.
Looking at what I had in the freezer, fridge, and pantry today I decided to make a (bastard) fisherman's pie. What I had on hand:
large salmon fillet
8 ounces of cottage cheese
4 ounces parmesan cheese
eggs (I used 2)
10 ounce steam in bag carrots
1/4 cup chopped onions
1 small shallot
1 clove garlic
dry dill leaves
1 pack of Idahoan instant mashed potatoes (see https://www.democraticunderground.com/115791373 for a laugh)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
I sauteed the onion, shallot, and garlic with spray oil, removed them from the pan and sauteed the salmon on the skin side, flipped it, turned off the heat to finish steaming it. Mixed the eggs, cottage cheese, parmesan, onion mixture, and eggs with my immersion blender. Cooked the carrots in the steam in bag, used about 2/3 of the bag, chopped slightly. Broke up the salmon (with skin), sprinkled some dill over (maybe 1/2 tsp) and mixed it with the cottage cheese and carrots, put into a casserole dish. Then mixed the potatoes according to package directions, let sit for a few minutes, stirred in the cheddar cheese. Spread the potatoes over the top, sealing edges, raked the top with a fork to make a texture. Baked for 30 mins at 350 F in convection oven, turned off oven and let sit for ten minutes and it was ready to serve.
It's probably about 6 servings and turned out delicious. Since I seldom cook with salt in a dish, it needed a little salt on top, but was otherwise great! So one large serving of salmon with leftovers plus odds and ends made three meals for my husband and me - along with a salad.
Question about a long expired product
Digging through my pantry I found a pack of Betty Crocker Roasted Garlic instant Mashed Potatoes. Since I seldom use them and never buy them - my husband picks them up sometimes - they are long expired. The date on box (it was a two pack and I must have used one in the distant past) is 21Sep2010.
I need some mashed potatoes to make a fisherman's pie and while I have two other (also expired, but only last year) packs, this is the oldest. Sooooooo, what are the chance they are still good? The pack is still well sealed, no tears or breaks, the contents still feel flaky.
The contents are potatoes, salt, sugar, garlic, and a nice assortment of chemical names. What could go bad? What should I watch for? Should I even take a chance?
Playing with no-knead bread
I started with the recipe in this video:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp yeast
14 ounces cool water
But adapted it for my longer bread pans. I did a volume estimation for the 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pans versus 9" x 5" versus my 11 1/2" x 5" pans. 9" x 5" are 20% bigger than the ones used in the video; 11 1/2" x 5" are 50% larger. Since I wanted to make a whole wheat version, I increased the recipe by 50% and got this for my recipe:
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 tsp salt
3/4 tsp yeast
21 ounces (2 2/3 cups) cool water
The first I made the bread, I thought the dough was too dry and added more water - which was a mistake. The dough was too wet and the bread came out very dense but with a nice chewiness and very good structure, but so damp it won't toast at all. So I am trying again today. I used only the amount of water I'd computed and the dough is about the texture of that in the video.
Unfortunately, three and a half hours after I began the first rise, it has nearly doubled. I'd planned to bake the bread in the morning but I'm afraid that it will overflow the bowl by then!
I suppose it would be OK to punch it down before I go to bed tonight and let it rise again overnight if it looks too big at bedtime?
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Gender: Do not displayHometown: Leon County, Florida
Member since: Tue Feb 12, 2008, 10:18 PM
Number of posts: 34,136
