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[CatrionaGrace]

I can't even talk about cookies without gaining weight. My despair and chagrin at the next weigh-in will be your fault, Louanne.

 

[Louanne Learning]

So I am all cozy here, waiting for the snow storm tomorrow. I have ample food and booze. I started a story today that I am really into, so the next couple of days should be given over to eating, drinking, and writing.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

And out I go into the frozen frosty streets to meet with other intrepid members of the Saturday writers group. Tonight's fearless leader is luring us to her house with chili and cornbread. I'm taking... ice cream.

 

[Naomasa298]

Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, mixed with flour and baking soda.

The egg, vanilla, flour and baking soda are what I would consider "optional extras".

 

[Rath Darkblade]

Generally severance isn't a thing in the US, unless you're buying out some kind of agreement or paying hush money. The "At Will" covers just about everything, but unemployment claims are rarely denied. Proving "with cause" is damn near impossible unless somebody is dumb enough to send self-incriminating emails, rob a cash register in full view of a camera, or fall asleep drunk in the office. All of which happened at least 3 times a year in my experience. One idiot did all three in the same day, and had the gall to ask why he was being fired. That was one of those, "Well, as you know, Bob, we are under no obligation nor particular inclination to discuss reasons for termination, but ARE YOU FUCKING NUTS??!!!"

I hear about so-called "Bozo Criminals" from time to time, so I can easily imagine someone being that stupid. But was Bob charged with theft?

One of the milder "bozo criminals" down here was an anonymous man, several years ago, who tried to drive across one of our busiest bridges ... while also playing a trumpet at the time. Luckily he did this in the small hours of the morning, so not many cars were around. Obviously, he was arrested.

I've heard of blowing your own horn, but that is ridiculous!

 

[Set2Stun]

We have a couch and two armchairs stored in the spare room for the last several months. All in good nick, just surplus to our needs. We tried every charity shop in the locality and none wanted to take it. Quite literally, we couldn't give it away.

We could sell it though, at a very reasonable price to an acquaintance of a friend. Set for collection tomorrow.

For a while, nearly 30 years ago, my wife had a "seconds" shop, some second-hand, end-of-line, returns, etc. We noticed that the merchandise was likely to sell much more quickly when given a higher price than what we thought appropriate. Probably several reasons, distrust of something being too good to be true amongst them. Also there, methinks, was the consumer's need to feel the pain.

Humans confuse me.

I don't recall the last time it was this cold here. We're hitting -30C and now we've got another snowfall warning. I enjoy winter but my feet have been cold all day, which is unusual.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

That's pretty chilly, S2S. Sit back, wear enough clothing, and watch weather history unfold. It's a relatively balmy 5 degrees here.

 

[DLC]

So you're all wearing pants instead of shorts?

 

[Louanne Learning]

 

[CatrionaGrace]

I grew up thinking ice was something one put in tea and that one wore a coat once the temperature dropped below 70.

My children used to take off for the bus stop in a blizzard, wearing tennis shoes and hoodies. How they did not suffer ill effects, I do not know. I saw the same children take off their shoes to wade along the shore of a mostly frozen lake. At 14, my daughter splashed around in the North Atlantic breakers on Achill Island in freaking April and described the water as "brisk."

People who grow up in cold climates just have a je ne sais quoi the rest of us don't.

 

[Louanne Learning]

especially kids. They seem to have some built-in protection against the cold. When my sister first opens the pool in the spring, the water can't be anymore than 65-70 F - but the kids jump in

I need the water to be at least 85-90

 

[CatrionaGrace]

This is my 48th winter in Wyoming. I am still not convinced it is safe to walk on frozen water, even if the frozen water is a foot and a half thick.

 

[Louanne Learning]

When I was a kid, there were schoolyard rinks. I don't think they do that anymore

 

[CatrionaGrace]

O, Canada! Our home with schoolyard rinks.

 

[Louanne Learning]

A couple of years ago, I thought I would take up ice-skating again. Bought myself a nice pair of skates and a membership to public skating. But, my legs didn't like it, so I gave my skates away to my niece.

 

[CatrionaGrace]

When I was about 15, I made exactly one round of the outdoor rink in Yosemite, clinging to the low wall the whole way. My ankles have never hurt that much, before or since.

 

[Louanne Learning]

I'll stick to my swimming

 

[JLT]

I used to make them as a little girl

And already learning where the road to a man's heart leads. What a darling girl you must have been!

. very easy to make. Butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, mixed with flour and baking soda.

Almost Identical to the ginger cookies I make every year for my friends and relatives, except that in place of the vanilla I use ginger, cloves, and cinnamon as spices.

Are your cookies given an extra roll through some granulated sugar before they to into the oven? Mine are.

 

[Louanne Learning]

And already learning where the road to a man's heart leads.

I used to make cakes, too.

Are your cookies given an extra roll through some granulated sugar before they to into the oven?

nah, I just spooned the dough onto the parchment paper

 

[JLT]

When I was a kid, there were schoolyard rinks. I don't think they do that anymore

The only ice-skating I ever did was in Germany, where a nearby military base opened up a rink every winter. I got fairly competent at it it but never flashy. My dad, on the other hand, was raised in central New York where frozen lakes and ponds were common, and he could cut quite a rug on the ice.

My only other memory of that rink was when I bumped gently into a girl. When she turned and our gazes met, I was startled to notice that she had one green eye and one violet eye. She was the first such person I'd ever met with that trait. I must have stared, because she glared back at me, and not because of the collision.

Since then, I've met a few more. One is my brother-in-law, who has one brown eye and one blue eye. He says that he enjoys the reactions people get when they notice that.