What are you doing right now?

[dubiousbystander]

The library in my U.S. hometown set up book discussion groups that meet on Zoom. In 30 minutes starts one on the book The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, by Julia Stuart. I was able to borrow the digital audiobook, so am happy to be able to discuss it. Good book, by the way. Emotionally driven, detailed, moves smoothly among the characters and fleshes them well.

[Khye]

Listening to vaporwave while holding a 7 month old. Puts her to sleep real quick.

[LamBear*]

Interesting article. I think I'll give it about 6 months to see if all my efforts seem to be paying off. If something disastrous happens before then, I'll know I've been had.

[dubiousbystander]

We ate every superstitious food we could today hoping to ward off a year like 2020. My family actually lucked through the year without serious illness, but unfortunately way too many lives were affected and suffered much. Good luck to you all!

In Japan, a supernatural legend revived in popularity. It's kind of neat. Found this article about the Amabie!

http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/2020...er-going-viral

[LamBear*]

Happy New Year everyone! Truly hope this year finds its way back to “normal” with vaccines going out and possibly bringing this pandemic to a stand still.

We had a couple of inches of snow New Year’s Eve here in the middle of Texas, which is extremely unusual for this part of the world. It was fun seeing it again after living many years in Colorado. The cat, fair weather critter that she is, wasn’t as thrilled.

We ate every superstitious food we could today hoping to ward off a year like 2020. My family actually lucked through the year without serious illness, but unfortunately way too many lives were affected and suffered much. Good luck to you all!

[dubiousbystander]

I am so sorry. Good on you for being careful! Hugs!

[Perfect Warrior]

Mom & I chiseled the rules so hard just now.

She has a key to my place, so I hear the rattle of the lock. She comes in and sits on the chair at the entrance that is there to take off shoes & the such. I pulled up a dining room chair.
& we had a good talk- 20 minutes or so. (I wore a mask, hers was down on her chin.) We both unwrapped presents, I got a box of chocolates down and she chose two. The cinnamon buns weren't baked yet, so I sent her home with one of the calzones from yesterday.

I didn't dare hug her, though. We live on opposite sides of the river and go to different shops & all. Daily multiple deaths are pretty much the statistics these days.

[dubiousbystander]

Today I found out that one digit of an address to which I sent a Christmas card was wrong, and that other cards people sent to that address have been coming back. It may be a while before mine does, so I grabbed a new card and addressed it correctly. I will go to the post office right away and send it off!

[Perfect Warrior]

Right now some calzones from a subscription kit are in the oven. (Chef's Plate) I did up their pizza dough into buns & put their filling into my favorite empanada dough.

I'm meh about how the buns turned out, so I'm starting a batch of overnight buns. When I used to make them regularly some would usually end up elephant ears in the morning. That may happen, or the dough might end up cinnamon buns. (Hey, both are bread dough with cinnamon and sugar.)

Mom & I are doing a door package exchange tomorrow- some baking might get sent with her. (anyone getting the impression I'm getting the fidgets from *not* doing Christmas baking?)

Binge watching is history channel. (That 'eating history' show is a hoot.)

[dubiousbystander]

I'm binge-watching Bones Season 11, which I never saw before.

[Perfect Warrior]

I paid $10 more for a turkey yesterday than I normally would. A free-range grain-fed turkey, so there's that at least for the extra money. (Not the boozed up one I was considering.) It'll be thawed by boxing day, on the lowest shelf of the fridge. Running the meal's-worth math I don't think it's cheaper than pork or hamburger. (Until now the holiday specials have been.)

Carrots, onions, parsnips in with it, I figure. No stuffing- mom's more into that than I am, and it results in less drippings for gravy.

Since I went grocery shopping on my birthday I bought a steak and some asparagus. Mom did call & sing happy birthday, but your own cooking at your own table just isn't the same as a restaurant meal. (Dad is in the habit of taking me out to a nice place for my birthday, so that's a stronger meep against covid than the usual.)

Packages sure are more gummed up than usual, eh? I've had one subscription sitting for 10 days at a sorting centre according to tracking. (UPS)

[MidnightBlue]

Well, hopefully you haven't gotten to the point where I am, starting talking to myself out loud, hahaha.

(My birthday is on the 21st)

Happy belated birthday!


I've been waiting for water to boil as I make lunch.

[dubiousbystander]

I live alone, but splurged this winter. I ordered a Christmas dinner from a restaurant called The Pink Cow. It ought to arrive on Christmas Eve. Roast Turkey, homemade stuffing, creamed mashed potatoes, natural gravy, cranberry sauce, chef's medley of vegetables, peas in a cream sauce, baked sweet potatoes, and a Christmas dessert box.

So there certainly is going to be an element of surprise to this one. I know (trust) that it's going to be delicious, and also keep me in food for at least a week.

[Perfect Warrior]

& school's done! :snoopydance: (I just uploaded the last answer to my last exam.)

& school doesn't know when they can register people for classes yet. They start January 11th, but the computer doesn't know who is starting what when. (Apparently it's mainly an accepting payments thing. Of course that's where ransomware hits hardest.)

I finally literally *saw* dad on Wednesday- a package swap at my door. (My birthday is on the 21st) He looks good. Haven't seen him since February, I think.

Covid-wise deaths have doubled since December 2nd. So Christmas is basically cancelled. If you don't already live with people, you can't have dinner with them. The Sobey's flyer is listing a bourbon and butter marinated turkey. Turkey sandwiches, casserole et all would be enhanced by bourbon, I'm starting to think. (Since the bird ends up in the freezer in pint containers afterwards, none fed to, or sent home with, family.) Turkey root-vegetable stew though? Chicken (sub turkey) Polynesian style I'm doubting the most.

[Perfect Warrior]

School's working, mostly. Assignment due dates have been pushed back by a week.

Last Sunday we had a foot of snow. The civic election was the next day. Did it hit international news at all how the voting cutoff was pushed back at the literal last hour until Friday? (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.) I can imagine certain political commentators snickering. The buses were still running way late and not connecting yesterday. Incumbent landslide, BTW. Previously defeated mayor and a previous provincial MLA trying to unseat him, snark about how the present administration handled the snowstorm, but no snark about the appropriateness of counting mail-in and Friday votes.

306 new covid cases today. A record. I hope the snowstorm throws a 'circuitbreaker'

[LamBear*]

I am currently procrastinating from cleaning.

A fellow procrastinator. Cool.

I am currently trying to get motivated to get back to work on a Friday afternoon after driving into town earlier (32 miles each way) to run errands.

[MidnightBlue]

& classes are cancelled for three more days. (They're admitting the hack publicly today.) *sigh* I wonder if we get an extension on when the quizzes are due? Next one is the 15th. Right now I'm supposed to be doing stuff about 'strategic investments'. (AKA hostile takeovers/ influence on associates through share purchases.) I *do* have the print textbook. Read ahead, I guess.

So weird how everything now has to adapt to online mode. I wonder if studies will be done later on about education disruption during the pandemic.

I am currently procrastinating from cleaning. What motivated the thought of cleaning is that I cannot find my glasses ...

[dubiousbystander]

I recently checked on the Amazon Japan Prime videos. I'm binging Chuck Season 1.

[Perfect Warrior]

& classes are cancelled for three more days. (They're admitting the hack publicly today.) *sigh* I wonder if we get an extension on when the quizzes are due? Next one is the 15th. Right now I'm supposed to be doing stuff about 'strategic investments'. (AKA hostile takeovers/ influence on associates through share purchases.) I *do* have the print textbook. Read ahead, I guess.

[Perfect Warrior]

My school is under a ransomware attack at the moment, and we've got an e-mail asking us not to log onto various certain things. That means I can't do my online schooling.
I'm not all that worried- they *teach* cyber security, afterall. If marks get wiped I hope they'll take my word for what I've written down in my notebooks. (Low 90s, nothing to put me on track for the award for top mark.)

Yesterday I got some pork on special, and the cuts are larger than usual. I wonder if that's the consequences of the processing plant getting a covid shutdown & clean? Animals waiting = older animals, = bigger chops and roasts? (So I have a 9 pound shoulder roast in the oven at the moment. That store usually sells them at an average of 6lbs.)

[Colleengael]

I just use a small tupperware snack cup with a lid and fill it with my own blend of nuts and dried fruit. You could also see if your grocery store or dollar store carries Kars nuts and snack packs. They come in a variety of blends and you can buy a big bag or individual portions.

[Ceridwen]

It's weird what's out of stock, isn't it.

I can't get the snack protein packs: Cheese/nuts/craisins. Haven't had them in the store for months. What the hell else is small enough - and not a Take 5 - to pack in my courier bag?

[dubiousbystander]

Catching up on the message boards. We had an unexplained Media blackout in my county and the neighboring one yesterday. No stories at all on the news why the cable, internet and phones all went down for eight to fifteen hours on a day when they ran a test of the Emergency Alert System and a day after a big political rally had the candidate yelling lock her up and incited violence in my state. Some of those accused domestic terrorists are from these two counties. Their families and friends are a bit ticked off. The power was back on for all those media outlets by this morning but still no explanations given online or on the news today as to what caused it.

Wow! I'm glad you're posting, because that means you're okay for now, I hope. Hugs!

[Colleengael]

Catching up on the message boards. We had an unexplained Media blackout in my county and the neighboring one yesterday. No stories at all on the news why the cable, internet and phones all went down for eight to fifteen hours on a day when they ran a test of the Emergency Alert System and a day after a big political rally had the candidate yelling lock her up and incited violence in my state. Some of those accused domestic terrorists are from these two counties. Their families and friends are a bit ticked off. The power was back on for all those media outlets by this morning but still no explanations given online or on the news today as to what caused it.

[dubiousbystander]

Posting information from The New Watcher Chronicles!