What’s on your mind?

[Scepticalscribe]

Butter was on my mind; inexplicably, I realised that I was running low (which, usually, never happens), and that the idea of running out of butter at a time of the year when one's cooking calls for butter in generous quantities was not to be entertained.

Anyway, that deficiency has since been remedied, and butter has been purchased.

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

It's barely 0600 here and I've been awake for several hours.
Today is Christmas Eve, the day I will spend the afternoon with my two daughters, my SIL, and my 2.5 grandchildren. We will do gifts at my place, then gifts at my oldest daughter's next door, then we will all go out to lunch and have a visit I rarely get with all of them at once. Afterwards, they attend another gathering at their paternal grandmother's and I will be alone with a nice cup of coffee (with a little Irish creme) and, hopefully, some football or a favorite Christmas movie.

For any of you that celebrate, I wish you the happiest of holidays...if you don't, I wish you peace for the coming new year, and if you're gathering with family as I am, with children who are over-excited about gifts and have eaten too many sweets, I wish you patience. Cheers!

 

[Apple fanboy]

@The-Real-Deal82 is absolutely right; this is totally unacceptable, unprofessional, discourteous and disrespectful.

And judgmental; people should think a bit before they open their stupid mouths to give voice to a snap judgment, and be mindful that the lives - and lived experience - of others can be very different.

Well, while I'm not so sure that I'd go so far as to say 'sociopathic', it is thoughtless, insensitive, entirely inappropriate and utterly unprofessional and disrespectful for someone (irrespective of their rank, or grade) to act or behave in such a way.

Fair enough.

Sounds unpleasant.

It was. Now it’s more awkward than ever. Hopefully the NY can bring around some changes.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

It was. Now it’s more awkward than ever. Hopefully the NY can bring around some changes.

Let us hope so and the very best of luck with it.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Chilly and windy out there.
Been raining on and off.
After giving the bathroom floor a good scrub I did my cross trainer session. On top of my run this morning that’s my exercise mostly done for today.

Time for another cup of tea.

 

[Herdfan]

This year someone was telling me I was a miserable so and so for not joining in. I explained I lost my daughter at Christmas and that’s when it stopped for us. They still were insistent I should join in. Totally inconsiderate.

For some people it makes them uncomfortable when you aren't doing what they want/think you should be doing.

Screw them.

I am actually looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years. Because it is just the wife and the offspring and not going to the inlaws. A fact the MIL is still a bit salty about. But she brought it on herself so there's that.

 

[Apple fanboy]

For some people it makes them uncomfortable when you aren't doing what they want/think you should be doing.

Screw them.

I am actually looking forward to Christmas for the first time in years. Because it is just the wife and the offspring and not going to the inlaws. A fact the MIL is still a bit salty about. But she brought it on herself so there's that.

Agree with the screw them comment!

Hope you enjoy yours.

Live and let live I say. People should let people do what they want to do. Not try and force people to follow your beliefs and traditions.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Chilly and windy out there.

Yes, it is.

I was surprised at how cold and windy it was when I headed to the local shop for butter and a couple of other things an hour or two ago.

Been raining on and off.

Last night (and early morning) were wet, and still threatening between brief bursts of a slightly brighter sky.

After giving the bathroom floor a good scrub I did my cross trainer session. On top of my run this morning that’s my exercise mostly done for today.

Relax.

Time for another cup of tea.

Enjoy.

I'm debating another coffee, myself.

Have just prepared (as in finished the prep work; it is now in the oven) a roast apple and quince dish, which is easy to do, seasonal (well, more redolent of autumn, than of winter, but an oven with apples and cloves and butter and sugar will always have a divine aroma), tasty, with an amazing aroma, and is a dish that I like.

Peeled and thinly sliced cooking apples, and a peeled and thinly sliced quince put into a small roasting dish; grated lemon rind and the squeezed juice of that same lemon added; brown sugar (organic), added, along with a few cloves.

Then, this lot is dotted with butter, and placed in the oven where it will roast for at least 40 minutes; I'll check it in half an hour, give it a stir, and see how it is getting on.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Yes, it is.

I was surprised at how cold and windy it was when I headed to the local shop for butter and a couple of other things an hour or two ago.

Last night (and early morning) were wet, and still threatening between brief bursts of a slightly brighter sky.

Relax.

Enjoy.

I'm debating another coffee, myself.

Have just prepared (as in finished the prep work; it is now in the oven) a roast apple and quince dish, which is easy to do, seasonal (well, more redolent of autumn, than of winter, but an oven with apples and cloves and butter and sugar will always have a divine aroma), tasty, with an amazing aroma, and is a dish that I like.

Peeled and thinly sliced cooking apples, and a peeled and thinly sliced quince put into a small roasting dish; grated lemon rind and the squeezed juice of that same lemon added; brown sugar (organic), added, along with a few cloves.

Then, this lot is dotted with butter, and placed in the oven where it will roast for at least 40 minutes; I'll check it in half an hour, give it a stir, and see how it is getting on.

We have a quince shrub in the garden, but it’s not producing any fruit yet. It’s only a couple of years old. Enjoy.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

We have a quince shrub in the garden, but it’s not producing any fruit yet. It’s only a couple of years old. Enjoy.

I love quince; it is an old-fashioned fruit (and, unlike others, such as apples or pears, or plums), it must be cooked, for, it cannot be consumed, or eaten, raw.

However, it pairs well with any sharp cheese, (and any pork or bacon dishes, including sausages) and is superb when roasted with any combination of apples, pears or plums.

 

[C0ncreteBl0nde]

Sorry @Apple fanboy ...I didn't know. I will stay out of this thread since I'm not in the "clique." Best wishes.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Sorry @Apple fanboy ...I didn't know. I will stay out of this thread since I'm not in the "clique." Best wishes.

Absolutely no need to do that. Like I said I have no issues with people celebrating Christmas or whatever traditions they remember. It’s not a problem. I just won’t be doing the same.

 

[rm5]

This year someone was telling me I was a miserable so and so for not joining in. I explained I lost my daughter at Christmas and that’s when it stopped for us. They still were insistent I should join in. Totally inconsiderate.

Oh my, that is incredibly discourteous. Actually, I wish I could think of a better, more powerful word, because that is beyond disrespectful.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Oh my, that is incredibly discourteous. Actually, I wish I could think of a better, more powerful word, because that is beyond disrespectful.

Indeed. Some people just don’t think before they speak.

Here bins are on my mind. Our bin day has been pushed back a day (due to the holidays. No big issue as it’s rarely 50% full. But how f do ones that work? Do they just do more bins on the days they are working? If so why has some pen pusher not made that a permanent arrangement?

 

[Herdfan]

Indeed. Some people just don’t think before they speak.

Here bins are on my mind. Our bin day has been pushed back a day (due to the holidays. No big issue as it’s rarely 50% full. But how f do ones that work? Do they just do more bins on the days they are working? If so why has some pen pusher not made that a permanent arrangement?

Can't speak for how yours works, but ours run M-F. So if it needs pushed back a day, it is made up on Saturday.

One thing that has messed me up since we moved is that there are two collection companies here. So I get up and pull out of my driveway in the morning to see the neighbors bin sitting there with the lid open and for a second think we forgot. Then remember they use the "other" company.

------------

My parents & I had a house at Smith Mountain Lake and there was no trash collection. Instead as part of your county taxes, the county had what they called convenience centers which were areas around the county where there were dumpsters. Lots of them. And you just took trash when you had it.

At first it could be messy, but I ordered a couple of cargo mats from Weathertech and that fixed any spillage issues. Really preferred this system since you could take what you had when you wanted. And really as much as you had. And once a quarter, each area got 2 large 40 yard dumpster for household cleanout. Those were there for a week. Wish every place had something like this.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Indeed. Some people just don’t think before they speak.

Here bins are on my mind. Our bin day has been pushed back a day (due to the holidays. No big issue as it’s rarely 50% full. But how f do ones that work? Do they just do more bins on the days they are working? If so why has some pen pusher not made that a permanent arrangement?

Ah, bins.

On each of the past two years, I had received a timely text message from the bin company advising me of the changes to the schedule on Christmas week on account of the way the week fell (in other words, the days that Christmas Day and the following day - Boxing Day/St Stephen's Day - fell on affected the collection schedule, which usually takes place on a Wednesday, every second Wednesday). Thus, for the past two years, the day for the Christmas week collection was changed and we were given ample notice of this.

This year, not having received a text message, I checked the website of the company, to discover that the normal Wednesday collection - which falls this week - is scheduled to take place as usual.

 

[Apple fanboy]

Ah, bins.

On each of the past two years, I had received a timely text message from the bin company advising me of the changes to the schedule on Christmas week on account of the way the week fell (in other words, the days that Christmas Day and the following day - Boxing Day/St Stephen's Day - fell on affected the collection schedule, which usually takes place on a Wednesday, every second Wednesday). Thus, for the past two years, the day for the Christmas week collection was changed and we were given ample notice of this.

This year, not having received a text message, I checked the website of the company, to discover that the normal Wednesday collection - which falls this week - is scheduled to take place as usual.

Well I suppose Wednesday is a work day. But if they are doing there normal work on Wednesday when are they catching up on Monday and Tuesday?

 

[BotchQue]

One thing that has messed me up since we moved is that there are two collection companies here. So I get up and pull out of my driveway in the morning to see the neighbors bin sitting there with the lid open and for a second think we forgot. Then remember they use the "other" company.

Albuquerque had that, and it was a lot more than two; you'd hear several trucks going thru most mornings (and don't get me started about their multiple ice cream trucks in the summer, gah!)
A single collector is much quieter and better for the environment, but it's always found that the mayor's brother runs the company, and soon the city/residents are getting soaked.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

A box, or crate, has just arrived, from the cheesemonger, delivered by a neighbour who is also a friend of the cheesemonger's. He received a similar box from the cheesemonger.

The crate was home to cheeses (Gorgonzola Cremosa, Stilton, Comte, Flaçon de Savoie, Valencay Petit), chutney, biscuits, (for cheese), olives, Italian salami, mortadella, a jar of cornichons, figs in sherry, Italian honey, a jar of artisan jam, a small box of exquisite French salted caramel and butter sweets, and two bottles of wine.

As has a tarte tatin, (which I love, but hadn't requested this year), baked by an award winning chef who is also a friend of the cheesemonger's; she dropped it into him to give to me.

 

[rm5]

Albuquerque had that, and it was a lot more than two; you'd hear several trucks going thru most mornings (and don't get me started about their multiple ice cream trucks in the summer, gah!)
A single collector is much quieter and better for the environment, but it's always found that the mayor's brother runs the company, and soon the city/residents are getting soaked.

I used to live there actually, what a coincidence! Interesting to know you used to live there too. I could hear every single vehicle outside my house though, not just the big garbage trucks. I forgot about the ice cream trucks though lol. Otherwise, it was a nice place to grow up. Where I go to college though, it's always the motorcycles on College Avenue. Probably hundreds a day, I'm not kidding. My dorm is right beside the street, which makes it even worse.

 

[Apple fanboy]

A box, or crate, has just arrived, from the cheesemonger, delivered by a neighbour who is also a friend of the cheesemonger's. He received a similar box from the cheesemonger.

The crate was home to cheeses (Gorgonzola Cremosa, Stilton, Comte, Flaçon de Savoie, Valencay Petit), chutney, biscuits, (for cheese), olives, Italian salami, mortadella, a jar of cornichons, figs in sherry, Italian honey, a jar of artisan jam, a small box of exquisite French salted caramel and butter sweets, and two bottles of wine.

As has a tarte tatin, (which I love, but hadn't requested this year), baked by an award winning chef who is also a friend of the cheesemonger's; she dropped it into him to give to me.

Sounds delicious. Do enjoy.
Here I’ve not had much to eat today as my stomach is playing up a bit.
Just reading this is making me hungry.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Sounds delicious. Do enjoy.
Here I’ve not had much to eat today as my stomach is playing up a bit.
Just reading this is making me hungry.

Well, the tarte tatin (which I have ordered in the past, for my birthday or, sometimes, for Christmas, - the proprietor/chef runs a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, where I eat - and bring friends and Decent Brother - whenever they show up) - which I love - will stand in for cakes and biscuits; I was never a fan of either Christmas cake nor plum pudding, and I love tarte tatin.

Anyway, as is the wonderful way of the world (and I am laughing, at the ironic hilarity of this), pure karma, in the midst of all of this largesse (I've just phoned the cheesemonger and the chef to thank them), a fraction of a filling has fallen out.

Now, it is an irksome inconvenience, rather than anything approaching a calamity, which is just as well, as my dentist will not be available until the New Year.

Actually, I remember one Christmas Day when we were children, perhaps approaching pre-teen years, when the main oven died, perished, right in the middle of trying to prepare that Christmas meal. Thankfully, at that time, we did have a small spare stove top, a set of gas rings, run on gas. While the immediate emergency was averted, I am not sure - to this day - quite how my mother managed to put a dinner - or, rather, that particular dinner, which is demanding of time, resources and labour - on the table.

Another Christmas Day, a Christmas morning, almost two decades later, by now teaching at university, and suffering from the sort of inexplicable headache that follows a jolly night of excessive imbibing on Christmas Eve, I was abruptly awakened by my father, (who was normally the soul of courtesy), who ordered me tersely to "get up" before he proceeded to inform me, in a sepulchral and tense tone, that "your mother has a nosebleed".

Having suffered from three such veritable tsunamis last year, I now have personal experience of this malady; at the time, I simply knew that that meant that she was completely hors de combat for Christmas Day.

That was the day when the preparation of the entire Christmas dinner fell to me, (ably assisted, most impressively, by Decent Brother, with whom I may have been partaking of the joys of the Grain the previous evening); from then on, I did the needful on Christmas Day, but stressed that the finer points of this demanding repast, plus many of the traditions accompanying it, were now negotiable, and preferably, discarded, - and many of them were - if I was to don my chef's apron for the day.

Turkey has never since appeared on the menu chez nous.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Can't speak for how yours works, but ours run M-F. So if it needs pushed back a day, it is made up on Saturday.

One thing that has messed me up since we moved is that there are two collection companies here. So I get up and pull out of my driveway in the morning to see the neighbors bin sitting there with the lid open and for a second think we forgot. Then remember they use the "other" company.

------------

My parents & I had a house at Smith Mountain Lake and there was no trash collection. Instead as part of your county taxes, the county had what they called convenience centers which were areas around the county where there were dumpsters. Lots of them. And you just took trash when you had it.

At first it could be messy, but I ordered a couple of cargo mats from Weathertech and that fixed any spillage issues. Really preferred this system since you could take what you had when you wanted. And really as much as you had. And once a quarter, each area got 2 large 40 yard dumpster for household cleanout. Those were there for a week. Wish every place had something like this.

This requires that you have wheels, which is an utter necessity in rural areas, rather than an optional luxury.

In Europe, many of us live urban lives where we rely on taxis and public transport to get around, and, as we do not have our own motorcars, this is why a collection system makes sense in the cities and adjacent areas.

 

[rm5]

Well, the tarte tatin (which I have ordered in the past, for my birthday or, sometimes, for Christmas, - the proprietor/chef runs a Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant, where I eat - and bring friends and Decent Brother - whenever they show up) - which I love - will stand in for cakes and biscuits; I was never a fan of either Christmas cake nor plum pudding, and I love tarte tatin.

I've never heard of (or eaten) Tarte Tatin, but it sounds lovely! Actually, if I'm brutally honest, I haven't heard of, or eaten most of the dishes you mention—I always have to look them up. Guess it's time for me to get on it!

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I've never heard of (or eaten) Tarte Tatin, but it sounds lovely! Actually, if I'm brutally honest, I haven't heard of, or eaten most of the dishes you mention. Guess it's time for me to get on it!

Basically, it is a French apple tart, (apple pie), but is absolutely delicious.