Jenny...
... yes never a truer word spoken " surreal " the loss of Mary Ann and our world as it is in utter turmoil...

Good morning, Jackie and every Bait and Tackler looking in this morning.  I hope all are well and able to have some time outside if it's sunny at your location.  I'm planning a walk soon and will enjoy being outside.  The younger residents in my neighborhood work outside their homes so I don't expect to see anyone.  However, schools are not open and I have seen and talked with one young girl who was walking the family dog.  As a former school teacher, I'm sure the teachers especially those with young children are glad to be home with them.

Have a nice day, Every Buddy and be careful if you are able to walk outside!
Sue

Today is a bright sunny day.  Yesterday I sat out on the back porch and the birds didn't seem to mind as long as I was still.  I got a couple of pictures of the bluebird in the bluebird feeder.  The feeder looks like a cage but the bluebirds and a few smaller birds go in to get dried mealworms.  The larger birds can't get in and eat all the mealworms.

Marilyne, will be interested to hear how things are going with AJ and you.  So far it sounds good.

Joy, good to hear that you are doing OK and getting some exercise.  We used to get exercise by going to Walmart or Publix several times a week and get some exercise while shopping for a few groceries.  Now we only go when absolutely necessary (with our masks and gloves).

An interesting article in the Post today about the young (30s, 40s, 50s) having light symptoms from Covid-19 later having strokes.  It is a much worse virus than people realize.

Jenny, a few years ago I got into the "Creative Memories" photo albums and sorted out many of our pictures.   We were doing some traveling then and I would include journaling in the pages.  It was a fun hobby.  Every now and then I do get the albums down and remember some happy times.  I made one large album of my mother's photos of our family, and another of Larry's family.  I've got about 14 albums and one day the kids might enjoy seeing some of these old pictures.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Good Afternoon Everyone,
from the partly sunny and warmer
rocky coast of Maine. 

I managed to stay up until
Midnight and get an order in
to my Hanaford store so my
daughter can pick it up Sunday
between noon and 1.   

I stay up until Midnight because
all of the space for pick up
will be taken..  I don't usually
stay up that late but once  a week
or more isn't too bad.. now that I
know how to get my order in and get
a time slot.  If I order a 12  midnight
(late Friday) I can have it picked up
on Sunday at noon. 

I also set up my CVS account so
that they will  mail me my
prescriptions.  So now my
daughter doesn't have
to go into to drug  store or
the grocery store. 

I am getting spoiled but also
concerned about "cabin fever" setting
in...  When the weather gets a bit
warmer and less windy I will go out
and get some walks in.  Kelly also said
that we could go to the beach, weather
permitting but still keeping our
distance from people. 

I will be ready for a nice long
ride out and about as soon as
it is feasible. 

Best wishes to everyone .

love Sandy
 

Sue - Everyfriend..
... it is nice to get out and about and to speak to others...
...I have a lovely daily phone volunteer who checks up on me, my safety, my loneliness, my isolation, my welfare, who is-was a barrister, who now spends several hours of her day tutoring her children whilst our school closures are in operation...
...I do try to get a short downhill walk in, as and when my Multiple Sclerosis body will allow it..sadly not as much as i would like it to...Our UK weather has been dry, pleasantly warm and sunny for the past three or so weeks here in UK..
...If and when i can walk down the bottom, a steep downhill slope with the help of the brakes of my rollator, i can then sit on a bench near to a small woodland area with high trees and watch and listen to our birds, a tranquil few minutes spot that takes me away from our now world troubles and situation...a little peace of escapism..
...Sue, thank you for my " good morning, " sending the same back to you..

Good Morning to everyone looking in.

More bright and beautiful weather - perfect for planting some colorful annuals, or a tomato plant or two, but alas, that won't be happening.  All nurseries still closed here, and everything else as well.  Grocery stores and restaurants available for order and pick up and other essential businesses are the only things open.  We haven't driven our cars in a couple of weeks, so I'm hoping the batteries aren't dead. 

I've stopped watching the news on TV and on my computer.  Just too depressing, as the numbers of cases of C-virus, as well as deaths, keep climbing every day. I don't see an end in sight anytime soon.

Yesterday I talked to daughter Sandy, on the phone for a long time. We were both complaining about the lack of staple items in the grocery stores, such as flour, yeast, butter/margarine, coffee, and all the items that we take for granted.  I remember the War years when we were unable to get those same things, plus many many more. Does anyone else remember the Ration Books, with those little stamps?  I was elementary school age during those years, so old enough to be aware and remember a lot.

Hope we hear from all of our B&T regulars today?  Patricia, we haven't heard from you in a long time?   I heard that Alaska is one of the states lifting the Shelter-in-Place mandate?

We also are having a warm sunny day.

This stay at home coronavirus has brought out the cook in me that I didn't know was there.😁. I made enough fried rice yesterday that will be for our dinner again today.  I cooked some snickerdoodle cookies and now I have bread rising.  So far I haven't gained any weight which is surprising as I'm not exercising.

We do need to don our masks and gloves to go to the market for milk and eggs.  That will get us a little exercise—-a big store.

Marilyne, i know the news is distressing but I can't stay away from it.  But I get most of my news from the major newspapers on the internet and not much TV news.  Reading is much better for me because images on TV are too much for my brain to handle.

When the doctor did the last laparoscopy(?) on my grandson, they found a little good news resulting from the immunotherapy.  We are thankful for any good news however small.  He is home now and able to enjoy a little time in the backyard fresh air.

Jackie, were you able to have your walk today?  Are your legs healing?

Sandy, hopefully we will be getting better news soon and you will be able to get outside for a short walk and some fresh air.

Have a good day everyone.

FlaJean..
... no morning walk today, nor yesterday...unsure about my right leg, still looks different to my left leg and at one time both looked the same with the same amount of brownish skin staining, they dont look identical now, deeper colour and higher up the leg...i am sure it is still going to give me future trouble..

Jean, there you go, a chef in the making..what is " snickerdoodle " cookies, i will have to look these up, a new word on me..

Edited: they look like a pancake yet done in the oven, not a frying pan...

Marilyne...
... i too cant watch our tv news, we have a daily C Virus two-three plus hours of updates with members of parliament speakers, i cant even watch those...all i seem to keep hearing is there is no let up in sight until we have a vaccination ready which will take a good year...

Marilyne, i hope your hubby is now on the mend and thankful he is now back in his own home ( not hospital ) and back with you...

Sandy...
...we do what we have to do to secure a delivery food slot order...it has now become a sign of our times, nothing now will be what it once was...Now what was it that happened to Cinderella when the clock struck " midnight " didn't her coach turn into a " pumpkin "

I just drove a mile to pick up a prescription refill at the drive-up window.  Felt as if I'd been on a Major Expedition...gathering up hand sanitizer, wipes, mask, etc. etc. to take with me.
 Had to hunt up some shoestrings to tie the mask behind my head because by the time I put in my hearing aids and put on my regular glasses plus the dark ones that fit over them, there's no room behind my ears for the straps.

Jean, for your Snickerdoodles, do you make balls and dip or roll them in cinnamon sugar before baking?  They're my grandson's favorite cookie - even better, he says, than chocolate chip.  Best thing I like about them is that I usually have all the ingredients in the pantry.

Jackie, try them sometime.  They're cookies - not at all like pancakes.

For my celiac granddaughter, I make cookies that take  1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, one egg and one teaspoon of vanilla.  Mix until creamy and form into balls.  Bake at 350ºF  for about 10 minutes.
When I read the recipe, I didn't believe they would ever hold together.  But they almost melt in your mouth.

Our governor announced last week that hair salons, barber shops, mani/pedi salons, and gyms could open on the 24th (last Friday) .  The news has centered on how many calls the salons were getting.  My hairdresser called me to see if I wanted my usual spot and, of course, I said, "YES"!!!!

However, the mayors and city councils of OKC and several surrounding suburbs said, "No; wait until April 30". I tried to call her yesterday but got the message that "the person you called is not accepting calls at this time."  Haven't tried again and am wondering if she will decide to take a chance on opening Tuesday or wait three more days.

It's a lovely day and forecast is for storms tomorrow.  Off I go for some patio time....

Callie, yes, I do roll them in cinnamon sugar before I bake them.  They are my youngest daughter's favorite.  I wrote down the simple recipe For the peanut butter cookies..  I love peanut butter.  The egg probably holds them together.

Jean,  I wrote the peanut butter cookie recipe from memory.  Decided to double-check.

Please change baking temperature/time to 325º for 15-18 minutes. 

Yes, I'm sure the egg is the binder.  I questioned what would happen when they baked.

I use the large end of a melon scoop (heaping) to size the balls.

You girls are talking my language with snickerdoodles, peanut butter cookies and somebody mentioned chocolate crinkle cookies the other day, not sure in here. Used to bake those all the time as well as the chocolate chips.... Can't remember when I made them last. Got a question, do you smash the peanut butter cookes with a fork? My aunt always did. I roll the others in a ball, roll the Snickers in sugar and the choc crinkles in powdered sugar. Boy, they sound good.

I had to go to the store today, had a couple bills to mail & no stamps, didn't even shop for anything else. Was hungry & decided to drive thru Kentucky Fried Chicken for the "$5.meal fill up" or whatever it is, comes with drink & chocolate chip cookie, works for me. I save the biscuit for breakfast & make a little milk gravy to go over it & an egg. We never ate biscuits except for breakfast in MO, but do love them with gravy.

I've been out & about quite a bit after hearing that Walmart sanitizes carts as they bring in and takes all employees temps when they come to work. I carry Clorox wipes in a zip loc bag & wash my hands before wiping my drippy nose (allergies are the worst ever this year), & wipe the hands after touching groceries, etc., when I get back in the car. At 85 I figure if "IT" is gonna get me it will, but I do take all reasonable precautions.

Daughter called & I was telling her about the "cookie talk". She will be making them tomorrow, she does keep busy. She is a great cook (unlike her mother) & cooks all the time since she retired. She wears me out with all she does every day, always been like that. She says she is like MY mother but her father also had that kind of drive. Not me, I'm basically lazy & easy going. On that note I'd better say good night! We were about 75° today. Even with all the rain yesterday & night before, ground was dry enough to go down & feed the fish. Must have at least 20 or more regulars, catfish & few carp all about 2' long. They flop & splash right at my feet so I talk to them the whole time. Doesn't take a lot to keep me happy.

Shirley,  DO NOT "smash" these peanut butter cookies like you/we do the "traditional" ones. 

These have no flour or leavening (like baking powder) because Miss Ellen is extremely gluten intolerant.  I came across this recipe in my well-used Beta Sigma Phi cookbook and tried them just for her.  She likes them...and so does everybody else.

P.S.  Try adding cinnamon to the sugar you roll the Snickerdoodles in,  Yummy!

Callie, I told my daughter about the peanut butter cookies & she "took note". She has a problem with gluten but not as bad as one of her daughters. My recipe for snickers did include cinnamon but I'm not big on cinnamon, bring on the sugar! Glad I asked about smashing, you can guess that I am not a natural born cook! 

Hope everyone enjoyed their Sunday.  We sure did.  We finished up a jigsaw puzzle we finally got back to yesterday after finishing up the pictures I worked on all week.  We decided we would go pick up a pizza and drive to a spot and watch planes coming and going at one of the smaller airports near us.  That pizza tasted SO good to me.  It felt so good to be out of the house. 

JEAN, I am sure pleased to read that your grandson had a bit of good news after his surgery.  No matter how little the news is, it is a GREAT thing to hear.  I hope and pray he continues to do well at home this time🙏🙏. Your picture albums sound very nice and the family will enjoy them for years. 

MARILYNE, the news is not something I like to watch either, but I do so I can keep up with what is going on here.  Sounds like AJ continues to do well.  You two take care now and be safe.  Our N. California Family will be leaving their home there this coming Wednesday headed for Colorado for a unknown period of time.  We worry about them being on the road, but they will be as careful as possible and we can not wait to have them here.  We do not know when we will get to see them as they will be staying with his in-laws, and we will  just have to wait and see when we feel we can get together.  We have not been with any of our family in over 6 weeks.  😩😢😢  We miss not getting out to walk around the mall,  etc. 
I have not been in a store for 44 days today.....UGH!  We are going to start having some businesses open tomorrow here in our county......it is a scary thought....and I sure hope we are not pushing it too soon.  Other counties around us are not opening anything for another two weeks. 

JACKIE, it does not sound good the way you tell about the color of your legs.  Will you be seeing a home care nurse again, I hope?  I hope you can get out for your walks as much as possible...very proud of you for doing this as it is good for you in so many different ways.  HUGS

I wish you all a good night of rest. 

Jenny

Callie  -  I'm going to try your peanut butter cookie recipe, as soon as I can get a new jar of PB.  The one we have is almost gone, and unfortunately, that's one of the items on my grocery order list, that is never available!  That, as well as self rising flour.  I'm anxious to get the self rising, so I can try a recipe called Ice Cream Bread that my daughter made. 

 It has a slight bit of sweetness from the ice cream, but otherwise it just tastes like fresh bread. Here is a link to the recipe, in case anyone is interested in trying it.  Sandy did NOT add either the sprinkles or chocolate chips, which is probably why hers was more like bread.
https://tasty.co/recipe/ice-cream-bread#.yv6ERbyDD
 

Marilyne,  Good luck with the cookies. Miss Ellen is coming some time this week to help with a bit of housecleaning and I plan to make some for her. 

I think I've mentioned the half gallon of Listerine son brought due to his interpretation of my request for a "large" bottle.
Now I'm dealing with a 2 pound jar of peanut butter!!!    It wouldn't fit in my jar opener so I whacked it on the sink while muttering in my best schoolteacher tone   - and finally got it open. 

The Ice Cream Bread sounds interesting.  I have some self-rising flour in the freezer and don't remember why I got it. This would be a good excuse to get some ice cream next time I'm in the local dairy store.

A beautiful day here in northwest Florida.

Marilyne, I wish I had looked at the forum before I went to the market.  I would have gotten a small bag of self rising flour to make that ice cream bread.  But I did see in the search engine that you can whisk 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 ½ tsp baking powder and ¼ tsp salt to make your own.  I might give it a try.

I did get two tasty quarts of strawberries today.  Got them all rinsed and capped and sugared and ready for some whip cream!  Larry likes his with ice cream.

Yesterday I saw a bluebird sticking his head into one of the bluebird houses.  I haven't seen them taking any weeds in to build a nest so maybe he is just looking it over.

Hope everyone is having a good day.

Jenny - When I saw your post earlier, I wrote a message here, but then I somehow hit the wrong key on my computer, and it disappeared!   I get so upset when that happens, that I have to take a break from the computer and do something else for a few hours!  I can never seem to put my message back together the same way again!     Nothing that important, and I can't remember most at this point . . . but I did want to say that I'm happy for you that your California family is returning to Colorado!  I know that will make you a happy Grandma!   On the other hand, it's sad that your son has lost that great job, and I guess they will be selling their house in Rancho Cordova?

Jean - I just noticed that the ice cream bread, requires regular ice cream, not low fat or dairy free.  I'm glad I saw that, as I do often buy almond milk ice cream.    It was good to see that Jason is doing better.  I have read a lot of promising things about the new immunotherapy.  I will light a candle in his name on the virtual site tonight, with a prayer that the new treatment will work well for him.

Another pretty day.  We haven't had rain for several days so Larry watered the flowers and azaleas.  Everything looks good but the temperatures are still very pleasant——in the 70s.

It is pretty humdrum here.  Not much to write about.  But I guess that is good.  I spent all morning fooling with that new iPod.  I didn't like the way I had the songs in my playlist sorted and none of the instructions I tried worked so I deleted the playlist and started over.  I had nothing better to do anyway.😁

Marilyne, next time I go to the market I'm going to buy a pint of Häagen-Daz butter pecan ice cream to make that ice cream bread.  I wasn't hungry until I started this post.

Jackie, how is everything going with you?  Are you still having warm pleasant weather?  I read where PM Boris Johnson has recovered and gone back to work.  I hope the medication is helping with your leg?

Joy, are you still exercising?  I should do some walking, but somehow I just can't get enthused about walking up and down in our little backyard.

It is time for me to go get started on our lunch.  Today is taco salad.  Have a good day everyone.

Callie. I am trying to find the self raising flour also so as to try that bread. I think I will put raisons in it. Also found a English muffin one that can do in a skillet but it needs SRBread also.. I am beginning      to want to much sweet stuff so don't want to keep buying my favourite cookies. Use to eat just 2 a day and now eating ways to many. These are Shortbread.

Mentioning " raisins, " years ago when money was short and my daughter was young, it was cheap and quick to make, and i would often fill our bellies up with my home made version of..
... bread and butter pudding...
Sliced white bread with crusts taken off - layered in an oven Pyrex dish sprinkled with sugar over each layer, then a mix of egg and milk beaten together and poured over each layer of the sugared bread, add raisins, a sprinkle of nutmeg and bake, eat it whilst still hot...Of course those were the days when we never worried about " calories "

We had a beautiful day here in the Mile High City.  Bob worked in the small patch of grass by our back deck de thatching the grass.  Our grass is taken care of by the HOA, but we like to give ours here by our deck some extra attention😘 We are going to plant some seeds after the lawn service mows tomorrow. 

Our California Family planned to start their drive towards Colorado tomorrow, but they are not quite done packing everything up, so now they will leave on Thursday.  It will be three full days of driving and it is going to be tough with our 16 month old grandson.  He does not like to be contained at this point in his mobile life.....so I hope and pray he will settle in and do quite a bit of sleeping 🙏

Tomorrow Michele has another round of chemo.  She is still waiting for the OK from the insurance company for the MRI.  😩🙏🙏

JEAN, I hope you were able to get your playlist on the iPod redone to your satisfaction.  I know you will really enjoy it after you have it done the way you like. 

MARILYNE, thank you for your kind words about our CA Family.  Thankfully they were renting the home they lived in.  The owner was hopeful that they would agree to go ahead and purchase the property from him, but they were just not positive they wanted this to be their forever home.  It is a very nice home in a very nice area. Mark worked on the yard both front and back and it is beautiful.  The home has already been rented for the 1st of May.   They certainly did not expect this job to end this way.  No one does, as we all know, but these days nothing seems to be that secure😩

JACKIE, what a sweet story about the bread and butter pudding.  Yes, when times are hard we figure out how we can make something a little bit special with what items we have to cook with.  Hope your day will be a nice one for you.

Pleasant dreams to ALL.

Jenny

Jackie - Your Bread & Butter pudding sounds good!   I love the plain old recipes from the Depression years and War years.   I think I remember that one, or a similar one that my Grandma made in the 1940's. I might be thinking of Milk Toast?   I think that was toast, spread with butter sugar and cinnamon, in a bowl, with warm milk poured over it.

Jean - I'm looking forward to hearing about your ice cream bread?  I have plenty of ice cream, but no self rising flour.   I know you can make it by adding baking powder or soda, but substitutions never work for me, so I'll wait until I can get the right flour.  I'm not a very good cook, so when I make something I have to follow exact directions. 

Jenny - I hope that the second round of chemo goes well for Michele, and that it won't be as hard on her as the previous rounds she has gone through?   I guess Mark and family will be arriving soon, and I know you and Bob are anxious to hug all three of them!  I hope the long drive has been okay for them?  I remember how hard it was to travel with a baby that age.  My kids were not good car sleepers!   

AJ's physical therapist will be here any minute, so I'd better sign off and straighten up the living room before he arrives.  I'll return later to see who else has checked in to say 'hello'.

Do you remember as a young child eating dripping sandwiches, ( wouldn't be advisable nowadays, the fat content, our arteries ) this was a luxury only for my father but, once only i got lucky and spoilt as i remember parents making one for me to try and it was lovely...I remember seeing the clear Pyrex jar with about three layers of meat dripping, solid fat-jelly-meat juice, it was so salty, i loved it but yet i never got any more, this was meant for the grown ups only...Cant remember ever having it since, well nothing to match that first one....
FlaJean...
...my leg is still giving me trouble, may eventually have to give way to calling the GP or our 111 again, the leg skin looks scared as if acid has been thrown at it, shiny, often goes red tight and burning, sore...other times less red-paler and comfortable..

...Oh my G*D, just seen how many deaths here in UK today ( C-Virus deaths ) 4,419 this cant be true...

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Good evening  We worked most of the day outside.  The grass seed is sown and now we water it and see if we did a good job or not!  It was a pretty warm day out here today......and so pretty. 

Today is Michele's 30th Chemo.....this has proven to be a long fought battle for her, but she has never swayed from her amazing positive attitude... God bless her🙏 Thank you ALL again so very much for your continued support and prayers💞💞

MARILYNE, our family did not get off today as they planned.  They will leave tomorrow morning now and will spend two nights out before arriving in CO.  They will be going to our DIL's Family home.  We are not exactly sure when we will get to see them, but we sure hope it will not be too long.  I definitely remember a milk toast.....and I loved it.  I do hope AJ continues to feel stronger. 

JACKIE, I do not remember a dripping sandwich per se, but I remember my grandma letting me put a hot dog in the hot drippings as a roast was cooking and boy did it taste yummy! I have never forgotten her letting me do it.  From the sound of your leg in the way you explained it sure sounds like you need to call the GP or 111 again.  Please do not wait too long as it sounds serious. 

Pleasant dreams to all.
Jenny

Thank he***ns they have adjusted their yesterdays figures mistake, the deaths are 795, NOT the 4,419..

Does anyone else here use the Safari browser, beside me??  Mine is not working this morning, so I switched to my backup, which is Chrome.  I hope it's just a temporary glitch, as I much prefer my old favorite, Safari.  I think I might be one of very few S&F members here who still use it?

I am a little frustrated with trying to make a grocery order online. I signed up for Peapod delivery through Giant the other week, but couldn't get anywhere near the $70 minimum they wanted. There was not much to choose from, either. The site would not let me schedule a date either. That was just before they revamped their app. Today, Peapod is down for maintenance.

Today, I tried Shipt which is what Weis Markets and Karns uses. There does not appear to be a minimum order for delivery, but they want a fee of $8.99 a month charged annually at $99 or $12.99 per month otherwise. There does not appear to be a minimum order. Here, there was plenty to choose from, but when I tried to add my Weis Rewards Card, there was nowhere to do it. They, on their own, listed Redner's (which I don't have and isn't near) and Petco (which I don't use) for me to add a card number.

So much for trying something new.

I think we are getting the pouring rain that the lakes and St. Clair River had yesterday. There are flood watches in effect for today and tomorrow.

Jackie, I forgot to mention earlier, I am happy to hear that Boris Johnson is our of hospital and getting back in action. 

Marilyne,  I also use Safari for my browser.   Having no trouble today with it. I tried Chrome but didn't care for the way it behaved.    My internet through Spectrum is off and on and that happens quite regularly.   It's about our only choice, so-o-o-o-o.