Spent all day fighting the dogs for sofa space and blankets while trying to get over this damnable cold. Patsy Marie (pictured above) sleeps with her eyes half open, like Gandalf. It’s creepy.
Tomorrow my sister and I are getting up early to go pick blueberries. I’m not sure what I’ll do with mine, aside from scattering handfuls in pancakes, salads and champagne punch. Cobbler maybe?
Gin & Tonic
Fill a clean jar with blueberries, sprinkling in some sugar as you go along. When the jar is full, pour in vodka, until it’s full of liquid. Close the jar and put in a cool dark place for a few months. The blueberries will then be great on vanilla ice cream. The leftover liquid can be consumed as an accompaniment.
Patricia Kayden
Not creepy, just unique.
ruemara
I didn’t do too bad today. I made a white wine citrus cupcake and sour cream green onion biscuits. The cupcakes have a blackberry jam filling and tomorrow, I make the lemon buttercream frosting and a white wine and pear cupcake that’s vegan and gluten free. You could make blueberry cake with merlot, how does that sound? I seem to be in a wine phase.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: One can that with just about any fruit. I still have a bit of homemade and probably illegal stuff made with Romanian sour cherries (and Romanian moonshine).
Omnes Omnibus
@ruemara: I need those cupcakes now.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Indeed one can. In fact, one has.
Howard Beale IV
A good elixir for what ails you.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Now that I think of it, you are in what, IIRC, is the leading state for sour cherry production.
Mike in NC
Been talking with the neighbors about the damage done by the ice storms in February. We lost a 7 foot tall butterfly bush in the back yard and possibly 2-3 palm trees, but will wait a few more weeks to verify.
Yatsuno
BUCKLE!!! Cuz cool name!
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: I could make my own and stop hoarding my diminishing supply. Cool.
@Howard Beale IV: I thought you were going to plug Lydia Pinkham’s Medicinal Compound.
jeffreyw
fried pies!
Betty Cracker
@Gin & Tonic: Excellent idea. I’m on it!
@ruemara: Wow, that sounds incredible!
I’m watching some BBQ pit masters show…TX brisket. Now I’m hungry.
Billgerat
@Howard Beale IV: Granny’s Rheumatism Medicine.
NotMax
Folk truism regarding colds is that it takes 3 days to catch them, 3 days to keep them and 3 days to get rid of them.
(Whereas if one tries modern remedies, the whole run is 9 days .) :·)
Two words: chicken soup. Always felt that intravenously would be great, but is is so hard to get the noodles through the tube.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Eh, my bad, it’s Michigan. Here’s the Cherry Marketing Institute.
Omnes Omnibus
@ruemara:
You also seem to be happier. If so, good for you.
Omnes Omnibus
@Gin & Tonic: Wisconsin still makes the list.
RobertDSC-Power Mac G5 Dual
The wind here in LA has turned me into a sniffle machine. I’m sitting here blowing my nose every five minutes and am exhausted from sneezing and expelling snot. Bleh.
NotMax
Just finished making 2 lbs. of cheese-stuffed strawberries to bring to tonight’s gathering
Too stingy to spring for mascarpone (last week’s wildly successful fishfest kind of broke the budget), so used neufchatel mixed with powdered sugar, vanilla, and anise extract instead.
Violet
@Betty Cracker: You can make a blueberry chipotle sauce that would go quite nicely with some of that brisket. Model it after this one and you can’t go wrong.
danielx
@Howard Beale IV:
It does sound like it would cure any number of ills, possibly by putting one down for a germ-and-virus-immune dirt nap. But it does sound like it would be an interesting thing to try once, as with many other things in life.
In other news, proof positive that at least one gun owner is not only dumb, and not only an asshole, but an off the scale stupid, roaring, screaming, flaming asshole, and all courtesy of the geniuses in the legislature of the great state of Georgia. (The USA Georgia as opposed to the former Soviet state, that is, although at this point I’m sure that many in the USA Georgia lege would prefer CSA instead.)
Yep, supposing I wanted to win people over to my point of view. Showing up at a Little League game while flaunting a firearm, scaring kids and parents alike, irritating the local cops and just generally being a dick sure sounds like the ticket. Wait a minute…no, I lie, he wasn’t interested in winning people over to his point of view, he was just being a dick. Almost like he took lessons or something.
lamh36
I’m mad that I won’t be going to Jazz Fest this year. I had planned on going to the last day of the Fest to see Frankie Beverly and Maze (R&B Philly Soul Legend and NOLA staple!) but my friend decides to have her baby shower on that day (and basically the exact time when Frankie’s set would begin). I was very bad timing to schedule it during Fest time. I swear I’m tempted to just buy gift off registry and tell her I can’t make it.
Ugh. Well the only saving grace I guess is that Frankie’s vocals haven’t been up to par lately, due to age and some past surgeries, so at least I can console myself by knowing my love won’t be tainted by bad LIVE singing…but still…ugh
Omnes Omnibus
Cold-wise, I have really just gotten over one that kicked my ass of a good two weeks. I have been told of a remedy that I have never actually tried: If you feel a cold coming on, run a bath with water as hot as you can possibly stand. Get in with a bottle of brandy or whiskey. Drink slowly but steadily until the water reached body temp. Then go to bed. Supposedly, in the morning, one will feel better.
NotMax
@danielx
Predictable. Sorely predictable.
And the Georgia bill doesn’t become law until July 1. Gonna be an – interesting – Fourth of July in parts of the Peach State.
catclub
@Yatsuno: Shoofly pie, and apple brown betty,
make my eyes light up, and my stomach say howdy.
Violet
@danielx: Yes, he’s an asshole. But how many of those parents do you think voted for the representatives that passed the bill allowing people to carry guns anywhere they want, so long as they have permits? Elections have consequences. They don’t like it, they can change how they vote and get the law changed.
catclub
@NotMax: Well, the safest day for driving in Sweden was the day they switched from left side driving to right side, so early July might still be fairly safe. But overall, I agree.
danielx
@Omnes Omnibus:
There’s a variant that says to put a hat on a bedpost or chair somewhere at the foot of the bed. Get in bed with a fair amount of whiskey (preferably irish) and a glass, and then drink until you see two hats. When you wake up you’ll feel better.
I tried it once and found it to be misguided folk wisdom at best and at worst a marketing ploy by Bushmill’s. When I woke up I still had the cold and felt like I was hosting a little people’s drum and bugle corps performance inside my skull as well.
NotMax
@catclub says
Always heard that as apple pandowdy. (a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoo-Fly_Pie_and_Apple_Pan_Dowdy”>ref.)
NotMax
@catclub says
Always heard that as apple pandowdy. (a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoo-Fly_Pie_and_Apple_Pan_Dowdy”>ref.)
(corrected linkage)
NotMax
@catclub says
Always heard that as apple pandowdy. ref.)
(re-corrected linkage – dammit
catclub
@NotMax: Well, that _would_ rhyme.
BD of MN
I’d take about 8lbs of blueberries, toss them in the freezer, then next weekend I’d thaw them out, add 15lbs of wildflower honey and 4 or so gallons of water, and make mead. There’s a bit more to it (mainly yeast, and yeast nutrients), but in a couple of months you’ll have an awesome blueberry mead. (actually, it would be a melomel, not a mead, but you get the idea…)
(The freezing breaks down the berry’s cell walls and lets the flavor meld more readily…)
danielx
@Violet:
Hey, I’m with you. It’s Georgia, what can I say? Old buds who live in Atlanta (Decatur anyway) told me Atlanta is like an island of sanity and civilization in a sea of rednecks, some of whom are really vile, dreadful rednecks. They also said there are nice people everywhere in the state, they just…don’t manage to outweigh or outvote the shitkickers.
Omnes Omnibus
@danielx: I think the bath thing isn’t based on getting drunk; it is based making you warm and sleepy. Then letting the body do its thing while you rest. I haven’t tried it because I have a suspicion that my results willbe the same as yours. OTOH, I want someone to try it and report back.
Suzanne
Mr. Suzanne and Spawn the Elder and I ran Pat’s Run this morning. Then had a great post-race breakfast and nap, and took the dog to the dog park. Just such a great day. There are days I just realize that I have a great life, and I am so grateful.
Side note: last week, I tried out that product Baby Foot, and I will not be too gross, but let me just say that it is working awesomely. EWWWW. Hah.
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Not to mention that those with a lesser tolerance for booze might slip down under the water.
Put the brandy into a steaming mug of tea instead. Or several mugs of tea.
Omnes Omnibus
@NotMax: it might have been designed for the composer of this song.
max
I’m not sure what I’ll do with mine, aside from scattering handfuls in pancakes, salads and champagne punch. Cobbler maybe?
Uh, blueberry muffins?
max
[‘Fresh out of the oven, and slathered with butter.’]
rikyrah
Blueberry cobbler?
YES YES YES
TaMara (BHF)
I finished my glider project, before the rains begin. I think it turned out pretty good.
And Betty, can I suggest heading to my site and putting Blueberries into the search box… JeffreyW and I both love blueberries and I’d guess there are several dozen recipes that use blueberries, including a spicy blueberry sauce for steak.
NotMax
Back when we introduced candle making at summer camp as a part of the crafts program, put together a collection of about 200 different scents for the kiddies to choose from for their candles.
Far and away the most popular was Atlantic High Bush Blueberry. (My own favorite was New Mown Hay.)
TaMara (BHF)
@efgoldman: Well on a summer’s day, with a good book and a tall glass of lemonade, that glider could take you anywhere…. :-D
ruemara
@BD of MN: Trade you some cupcakes for mead.
piratedan
for all of you that have been supportive in the past, my bestest feline buddy Jake has passed. He went at home and he never complained and it was a tear filled ride to the vet to have his remains cremated. While there’s been a fair amount of personal pity partying going on, I know that we gave him a great home and that he had a great run and that he was loved and gave love in return.
no need to comment, I know that the support is there and has been there and will be there in this community. It’s how we help each other here and while I know that we share disagreements on nuance, degree and methodology at times (depending upon the topic), the folks here are good people and I just wanted to say thank you. Keep rescuing those critters and sharing your lives together and let each of you enrich the other, regardless of species.
It’s hard to type without the tears welling up because I’m just so incredibly sad that we couldn’t have had longer, selfish bastard that I am. This is the only part of pet ownership that I dislike, these goodbyes (well tbh I’m not especially fond of vet bills either, but they’re like taxes… if you want nice things, you have to expect that they’ll be some cost attached). So tonight or even this morning, be sure to hug your buddy and let them know that you’re happy to have them there with you in your life (regardless of species).
SiubhanDuinne
@piratedan:
You said “no need to comment” but I will anyhow, just to let you know I’m so sorry about Jake. It sounds as though he had a great life. I hope you have lots of pictures of him. I know you have lots of wonderful memories. {{{{Hugs}}}}
TaMara (BHF)
@piratedan: I am so sorry. And I hope you post this in a fresher thread, because I can tell you from experience, it makes no sense, but the love from the BJ crowd does make it easier. I speak from experience.
sharl
@piratedan: Sorry for your loss. Clearly you did right by Jake over the years you had him. Best to you for that, and best wishes for you in reaching that place where memories of Jake bring more smiles than tears.