I guess I should have said: Anyone out here still alive?

"Anyone still living out here" could be interpreted as someone actually spending all their time out here, lurking and waiting and basically having no life at all. My bad. We donÂt do that anymore.

Hey, Kevin--got myFlavor Saver a couple of weeks ago and wasn't able to post a message for some reason or other until tonight. Haven't been able to try it out as my husband has had a fourth stroke and has taken all my time. Round the clock hospice care at home, but it is like a zoo. He will be admitted to a nursing home with hospice care on Monday and I bet I use the cooker the next day! looks simple enough. Will post my first experience later. With limited counter space, it was a major achievement just finding a spot for it. Too bad it can't go outside with the orchids!!

Hi Alberta, sounds like life is tough, so i hope things get a little better for you. Sorry, do not know what a flavor savor is, so cannot comment on that.

agree, that things have gone all quiet here, but really there is nothing to discuss without annoying someone.

Had to go and buy a new car today because our car mechanic told us the old one could expire at any moment. Now this is a task fraught with danger because of the bul...t involved, the haggling etc. etc.

Now i know that i probably offended car lovers in a previous post, but really all a car is.....is something to get you from A to B.

One of the financial gurus around here tells you to buy the cheapest car that your ego can stand.

Anyway, the task is done, the dragon woman is happy. No more bulldust for another six years or so.

Having a glass of Cab. Sav. to celebrate.

P. S. Had to edit a word because of the profanity check. Sorry about that, You are all so pure over there

Alberta - I agree, it does sound like life is rough for you right now. I sure hope your plants can offer a nice distraction now and then. We all need that. Also hope you like your Flavorwave and my offer for any tips on cooking still stands. I made ribs, chicken and burgers in it this week. All were great.

Arthur - I'm with you on cheap cars and only the basics. I can't believe all the gadgets everyone seems to feel are necessary these days. Just give me a seat belt, a heater and maybe AC. As far as the cat thing goes, I generally just skip those posts. If I read them, I would want to comment. If I comment, I would offend someone. I keep quiet. With that said, there was a woman on some talk radio station the other day asking folks for donations. She picked up an injured cat along the road  most likely a feral one. Anyway, it was in really bad shape and she had run up $4000 in medical bills so far to save it. Just a few weeks before that, one of the stories in the local news was how many unwanted cats folks were bringing to one local shelter - an average of 46 per day. I know, I know itÂs a free country.

Turkey Day is next week. I have to bring dessert. I think I'll make Apple Dumplings with Caramel Sauce. Never tried them before.

Kevin, they are all asleep, or something.zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
I know its about food, but guys, do you really eat turkey on turkey day?
How did cats get into the equation? I do not mind cats. They are freeloaders, but at least you do not have to take them for walks. Owning a dog is a lot more work.
Talking about pets. The Galahs had a happy event. They dug a hole in cage floor, laid a couple of eggs and raised a chick which has now gone to new home.
Yes, and we have people here too who spend thousands on their pets. Heaven help us if the one cat that thinks it is a dog should ever need herioc surgery. The Dragon Woman would shell out heaps. Though at the moment, it (the cat) is locked up in the laundry room in disgrace.
That's all for now zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yes, we eat turkey but I'd much prefer chicken.

I'll be dining at my sister- and brother-out-law's home. Blowing off my own family means I can't get out of xmas with them, though.

And speaking of $4000 for a feral cat's medical bills, here is a list of food items our local food pantry needs most:

tuna, jelly, peanut butter, complete pancake mix, syrup, 100% fruit juices, cereal, meals in a can (soups, pasta, etc.), tuna/hamburger helper, potatoes (boxed/dehydrated), complete mac and cheese dinners, dry pasta, tomato/spaghetti sauce, canned fruit and applesauce, crackers, beans (pinto, black, kidney), rice

I didn't know what a Galah was so had to look it up. Pretty bird, but I'm not a bird person. Had a couple of finches once and was ready to strangle them within a week. I do like the birds in the garden though. That's probably why I am not a cat person. They kill all those things.

I also don't have problems with folks spending big $ on pet medical care. My sister spends zillions on her dogs and I think it's fine. We've done enough nasty stuff to animals in general, so they deserve a break.

Shady - you must try turkey in the Flavorwave, but I agree about chicken. It is better. How did we get these specific foods for certain holidays? Turkey for Thanksgiving? Ok I guess that's a no brainer, but why goose for Xmas or ham for Easter?

Send me the address of your shelter. I'm sure I have dozens of extra cases of hamburger helper. You do to don't you?

I moved so I've been too busy to visit this site. The move is a story all it's own. Presently, I'm right outside of Orlando, living with the ex temporarily. I don't think he's cleaned in the past year.

For my b'day that occurred in the middle of the move, I bought myself a Nikon D80. Yippee. It should be here Wednesday. We are going to go to the beach Thursday and take pics of everything that moves (usually we see lots of sea turtles, porpoises, dolphins and all kinds of sea birds). Since we can shrimp and crab there, I suggested a clam bake on the beach for Thanksgiving dinner. That's more my style. Don't know if that's legal any more though. You can race cars on the beach but can't walk a dog, go figure.

Speaking of cats, the ex adopted one right before he came up to help me move (he thought his sister would take it off his hands, she knows how to say no), so I now have a cat. He brought the cat with him and since she acts more like a dog than a cat, a 700 mile drive didn't phase her and when she escaped, she came back. I couldn't find her a home in NC either, so she's back in Florida with us, the dog and the birds.

Alberta, I'm sorry to hear of your most recent health issues. I hope your husband gets back to normal quickly. Hospice should be a big help.

L

Surprised to see you here. I was expecting you would be missing for many months to come. So tell us some tales of your new life. Did the plants come with you (I hope)?

K

In Australia, you call someone who is a loud mouthed dill, a Galah. That is because they (the galahs) make a lot of noise and carry on like idiots.
We don't use Blowing, the word here is bludging. In a similar vein a Blow-in is someone who arrives at, say, an orchid show, wins the champions ribbon, doesn't help with security or anything else and is "Blowing" on the orchid Society. One famous Blow-in belonged to numerous orchid societies, never went to meetings or contributed in any way but would arrive at show time with one orchid that nearly always would win best in show.
That one Blow-in resulted in many societies closing their shows or imposting lots of rules re attending meetings etc. etc. A great grower but a detested Blow-In.

Double problem in the USA???? Where to go on Turkey day and Christmas. What a pain. The dragon woman has this dream of going somewhere at Christmas where the snow is falling gently outside and there are no relos present. Instead it will be the usual, at the relos with the blistering heat.
Just try breaking away from tradition and there is big trouble.

Turkey on Thanksgiving?! My tradition is lobster...I'm *much* more thankful to have lobster than turkey!!! And history claims that it's very unlikely that the early settlers would have had turkey anyway, there's a much higher probability that they actually ate seafood.

But lately, we go out. There's only DH and I here locally, and *he* doesn't want me to have to cook and clean :)

Our restaurant choice for tomorrow is likely to include more exotic stuff like wild boar, buffalo steak or alligator =:0
so who knows what we'll have!

Carolyn

Kevin, since you asked, life is interesting down here. It's very cool to be able to pick oranges, poncans, lemons, and grapefruits off trees growing wild or in the yard.

We were going to go to something called "Smash-A-Rama" Friday night but forgot. Not only do they smash cars but they have school bus races, RV races and races with cars/trucks pulling trailers. Yup, the North Carolina rednecks were downright sophisticated and I didn't even know it. Instead Friday night, we ended up at an alligator "zoo"/marina (although they call them fish camps?)/biker bar/diner combo that, frankly, defied description. I was so amused (if that's the right word), I was speechless. It was beyond tacky. I had to eat at the restaurant simply to say I had (I had gator bites). The restaurant was covered top to bottom in different colored lights with lights also wrapped around the palm trees out front, also in various colors.

Time will tell what other strange things I find here.

We did go to Canaveral on Thanksgiving and take pics. It was wicked cold on the beach though because it was really windy. I did see the space shuttle and launch pad, from about a 1/4 mile, which is as close as the general public can get (I've seen it before, of course, but only from a highway). Since we had the digital equivalent of a 1000mm lens for the camera, we got some good shots of it anyway.

If anyone is interested the Nikon N80 is sweet. It took about 5 seconds to fall in love with it, although I'm having to adjust to the different ambient light here and using my lenses on a digital camera.

Yup, the orchids came with me, at least the few I have left after last winters disaster with an unexpected frost. I just put in a big order with Andy for tons of laelia and a couple pleuros to replace those I lost and because they can stay outside all year. Laelia and pleuros had become my "thing" and that's about all I care to grow anyway. I had it going on with the cool to intermediate growing pleuros in NC, so I'm hoping I can pull that off in Florida too. Right now the temps are perfect for pleuros (average winter low is 50). My one masdie is tickled to death to be outside. I won't even try the cooler growing orchids here though, so I guess I've seen my last drac bloom on my own plant.

It really sounds like you're on a vacation and not going through a major move. I would say, that's a good thing. Other people I know have talked about these "Smash-A-Rama" type things. At first mention, it sounds really repulsive, but I think I could get into it. I don't think I would want to make it my main source of entertainment, but what the heck - I can see where it could be kind of a hoot.

Hey, Laura. Glad to run into you again. Wondering if you kept your horse stuff, after all. You're in pretty good horse country, I think.

Hope you love Florida. Sounds like you're settling right in. Nice to have someone there you know. I'll be looking for progress reports.

John