The Vent and Rant Thread

[CRussel]

Let's hope PeterT only has a cold, not the flu. Colds are unpleasant. The flu makes you seriously ill. (And yes, I got my flu shot this year, as I have every year since 1991 I believe. )

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Let's hope PeterT only has a cold, not the flu. Colds are unpleasant. The flu makes you seriously ill. (And yes, I got my flu shot this year, as I have every year since 1991 I believe. )

Here's how I know I'm getting senile--as the years sorta blend together, I honestly CANNOT remember if I had my flu shot this year or not. I always get them at the drugstore, rather than the doctor, because that's when I think of it ("oh, look, flu shots today, I'll do that..."), so natch, I have no reliable record. And I've found them to be very efficacious, at least for me. Bugger. (And the pneumonia shot, the one you're supposed to have every 5 years? Oh, fuhgeddabout knowing if I've had that one anytime in that period or not!)

Hitch

[CRussel]

Here, it's automatically added to your medical chart. It's a provincial thing. And it's absolutely free if you meet any of the following conditions:
1.) Old or very young (>=65 or <=??)
2.) Have a chronic condition such as asthma
3.) Work with poultry
4.) Are a primary caregiver for someone who meets any of the above conditions.

I win on all four counts. I always go to the first opportunity to get my flu shot, which is usually a one-day clinic down at the Legion. Though this year I was out of town that day, so went in to the health centre the day I got back and got it.

The Province posts the clinic dates in October for various locations around the Coast, and they're in the local newspaper. So it's easy to keep track.

[Rumpelteazer]

For tonight and tomorrow snow is predicted. In the south of the Netherlands up to 10-15cm will fall. In the middle (where I live) 5-10cm and for the north wet snow is predicted. Most of the time with these types of predictions it's usually not as bad as predicted.

However, just in case it will be "bad" the Dutch Railways (NS) have already cancelled almost half of the trains for the south and central areas of the country. I'm glad I'm not dependant on the NS anymore and I only have to go down a couple of stairs to get to work.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

My family hates my cooking. My wife complains that everything I make seems the same and my grandson doesn't like all the vegetables. Thomas Jefferson's attitude toward food is my own: just enough meat to season the vegetables. And to make sure my grandson gets vegetables in his diet, I make a lot of casserole style dishes. He'd eat nothing but Pizza and Anytizers if we let him, and my wife isn't much better. For her it's spaghetti, hamburgers, and more spaghetti. Notice I didn't mention fish? I think it would be easier to convince them to have an elective root canal rather than a dinner of fish. Well, tough. I'm the housewife in this family, and I say we eat healthy.

Tonight it will be a chicken casserole with mixed vegetables, broccoli, and rice topped with fried onions and cheddar cheese. As usual, I'll be the one eating the leftovers over the next few days.

They must be eating it if they are bitching

I rarely cook anything unless I think it is delicious, although occasionally I make something I don't like for family on request.

Hopefully when they are the ones doing the cooking they try to hard to accommodate your preferences

Your casserole sounds delicious.

Helen

[CRussel]

My wife and I have a pact. Neither of us ever complains about a dish the other cooks. However, we've both gotten quite adept at reading the faint praise to decide "well, that was a loser. Won't try it again." We've found that not commenting negatively improves domestic harmony.

Actually, though, we're both pretty good cooks, though she does somewhat more of it than I do if you only count dinners.

[speakingtohe]

When dealing with a bank or Credit card company, the always say "for faster service enter your Bank/Credit card number now".

Then you have to re-enter it 1-4 times during the process, being it activation, or some other service.

Almost as bad as the hospitals in BC which seem to keep no records of previous visits even if you have been there every day for 3 months.

Helen

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

My wife and I have a pact. Neither of us ever complains about a dish the other cooks. However, we've both gotten quite adept at reading the faint praise to decide "well, that was a loser. Won't try it again." We've found that not commenting negatively improves domestic harmony.

Actually, though, we're both pretty good cooks, though she does somewhat more of it than I do if you only count dinners.

That's kind of our rule here, too--if someone else is making it, unless it's literally inedible, no bitching. ;-)

Hitch

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by CRussel

My wife and I have a pact. Neither of us ever complains about a dish the other cooks. However, we've both gotten quite adept at reading the faint praise to decide "well, that was a loser. Won't try it again." We've found that not commenting negatively improves domestic harmony.

Actually, though, we're both pretty good cooks, though she does somewhat more of it than I do if you only count dinners.

Hah! I have always appreciated a man who would start coffee in the morning on occasion. A man who cooks better than opening a can of beans is a treasure.

Helen

[WT Sharpe]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

They must be eating it if they are bitching

I rarely cook anything unless I think it is delicious, although occasionally I make something I don't like for family on request.

Hopefully when they are the ones doing the cooking they try to hard to accommodate your preferences

Your casserole sounds delicious.

Helen

My wife cooked the Christmas dinner, and it was delicious. Thanksgiving and Christmas are times she makes healthy meals with not just meat, but fruits and vegetables as well. She's a good cook, too; her lasagna is worth killing somebody for, but except for the holidays, she doesn't prepare many really healthy meals. Since she's still working, however, I've become the major chef in the house.

One good thing since my retirement is that—unless we're on the road—we hardly ever eat food that comes through a window these days. It's almost impossible to find healthy food that comes through a window.

Originally Posted by Hitch

That's kind of our rule here, too--if someone else is making it, unless it's literally inedible, no bitching. ;-)

Hitch

Old joke of unknown [to me] origin:

There men are spending a month out in the woods with only a campfire to cook over. At the start they draw lots to see who will do all the cooking for the three of them The deal that they agree to is that the one selected will continue to be responsible for cooking all the the meals until some one complains, and then the complainer must take over as cook.

So by luck of the draw Adam winds up as cook. A week goes by with him preparing meals with no complaints. So he is fed up with doing all the cooking and the next night before the evening meal he goes out into the woods and finds a pile of moose sh**. This goes into the pot together with some potatoes and vegetables. Adam anxiously awaits reaction to the meal but his two companions begin eating without saying a word. Finally one of them can restrain himself no longer and blurts out “This tastes like moose sh**!” Catching himself quickly he adds “But good moose sh**.”

Usually when I have heard this the men have been French Canadians. That explains the moose I suppose, but not why French Canadians specifically.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

One good thing since my retirement is that—unless we're on the road—we hardly ever eat food that comes through a window these days. It's almost impossible to find healthy food that comes through a window.

Oh I don't know on a hot day last summer I had all my windows open and a head of lettuce and a couple of tomatoes flew in.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I've no idea how long our luck will hold. I've had my flu shot, but the odds-makers were a bit off this year as to which strains would be the most likely to make an appearance.

Last January, my SO and I attended a large social function in January in Boston. She had a flu shot, and I didn't. She came down with a strain of flu her shot didn't immunize against, courtesy of a mutual friend. (And I think he got it from his kids.) She has not yet let him live it down.

We'll be going up for the same function again in a couple of weeks, (and have both had shots this time), and are crossing fingers. (I did come back from that event one year with a nasty cold, but have otherwise dodged the sickness bullet.)
______
Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Hah! I have always appreciated a man who would start coffee in the morning on occasion. A man who cooks better than opening a can of beans is a treasure.

I was historically the best cook in my household. I learned in self defense: my British mother followed the stereotype. She was a superb baker but a mediocre cook, with a horror of spice and a tendency to overcook meat. A former roommate who was an artist wondered how I did it, and I explained "You combine shapes and colors to produce art on paper. I combine smells, tastes and textures to do it in a kitchen. I may start with a recipe, but I can improvise and substitute as desired because I've done it enough to know how." The late mystery writer Nicholas Freeling was a chef before turning to writing full time. He wrote a lovely autobiography of his days as a chef called "The Kitchen". At one point in it he took to task the women writing advice columns for home cooks, saying "The secret is not in following the recipe. It's in doing it until you learn to do it right!" I quite agreed.

These days I've lost my hand. My SO is a gourmet quality cook, and is happiest preparing food and feeding people, so aside from assisting in prep and cleanup I stay out of the way. She's simply better at it than I am.
______
Dennis

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

Hah! I have always appreciated a man who would start coffee in the morning on occasion. A man who cooks better than opening a can of beans is a treasure.

Helen

I cook breakfast every single day, and I usually remember to turn on the Kuerig.
Even though I usually have tea.

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

One good thing since my retirement is that—unless we're on the road—we hardly ever eat food that comes through a window these days. It's almost impossible to find healthy food that comes through a window.

Too true. We also avoid almost all prepared foods, preferring to make from scratch where we know the provenance of the ingredients.

[WT Sharpe]

And now a different rant.

MY FOOT HURTS.

My right foot, specifically. It's been a long time since either of my feet were in pain, but I guess I over-did the walking the last couple of days. Well, it's suppose to rain the next couple of days, and I do have that new exercise bike, so I guess I'll lay off walking until the weather gets nicer.

Sorry, Norton.