Off-topic weekend natter thread, anyone?

[crispini]

Yes, all the other threads seem to get off topic too but this thread has absolutely NO purpose other than to drop by and say HI :hi: to everyone! And to point out that I am much less hung over than I thought I would be this morning after I wound up going out last night to see a band and drinking far more than I intended to do, so Yay for me!

I have absolutely nothing I *must* do today! It's faboo. Maybe I'll go garden or ride my bike later. What are ya'll up to this weekend?

[greenmutha]

1. Hi crispini!

:hi: Thanks for catching the first use of Estrogen Brigade for me.

Hey... if you notice that I've omitted anything or any of the "regulars" first posts in a thread, will you reply just like you did above and make note of it for me? (If you happen to notice... I really don't mean to leave anybody out, but my eyes get swimming staring at the computer so long!) :crazy:

Thanks! (That goes for anyone else who finds something I missed, too!) :grouphug:

[crispini]

5. Well we know what YOU'RE doing today, heh! nt

[RevCheesehead]

2. Gardening in March?

Well, let's see...
I just updated my snarky responses on last night's thread. I'm checking in here to see what's up, before I go and finish scraping the sidewalk clear. And there are a few people I should visit, or at least call.

But right now, I'm enjoying watching Carolina have its ass handed to them by Georgia Tech. Then my guys are playing NC State (State beat Wake Forest last night!!!).

I'll check in again later tonight, just to see who's having fun without me. :)

[crispini]

4. It's seventy degrees here.

snarf snarf snarf. :evilgrin:

I just got back from the farmer's market with a load of tomato, pepper and cuke plants. plus FOUR parsleys this year -- the swallowtail butterflies like the parsley, I found. Hi ho, time to go dig the beds!

Don't worry, you can make fun of me in June, July and August when it's pleasant there and it's 110 here, for the 50th day in a row....

[RevCheesehead]

7. I will remember.

BTW - Wake Forest beat Carolina!!!! Yeah!!!!!!

Duke's school motto: "Go to hell, Carolina, go to hell!!"

[Gogi]

3. I'm online crispi.

Avoiding housework, ignoring the cat (who's asleep anyway!) and thinking about getting my snail mail from today and yesterday. It's a full life I have going here! Best thing about being on disabilty is my time is my own. Certainly don't miss my supervisors and the dreaded performance reports.

[crispini]

6. Avoiding housework

is always a fine thing. :7

[gkhouston]

8. hey, I'm avoiding housework, too

and proud of it! Actually, I just mopped the kitchen floor, so I'm allegedly just popping in for a few minutes while it dries. The kids from across the street are coming over to play tonight, so I'll probably be cleaning the same floor again tomorrow... or not. }(

And yes, Rev, we're well into the Spring Monsoon season here.

[Catchawave]

9. Hi-di-ho !

I'm plotting a "friendly separation" (not quite ready to use the D-word yet) from my a*hole spouse of 36 years. So actually, yes, I'm having a really fun weekend, and I don't mean that sarcastically.

Not to worry ya'll, I'm fine. We've always had a "mixed" marriage, that is Democompassionate v.Refuckyoulican. Think Carville/Matalin, but cuter :) A*hole beats me with words, since this last election (thank you very much Team ROVE), he's been framing all his debates via Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter. HOW COULD HE. Plus he's racist and homophobic too, and see where that got us...::::sigh::::..President (not my) Bush.

Kids are grown and self-supporting, including my "handi-man" who has lovely SS bennies...so far, so he'll definitely come with me and help pay rent :)

Should I live in Fort Lauderdale, Norfolk, (downtown, cute little mini-nyc but affordable)VA, or NYC ? That, my friends is MY Friggin' problem. The rest is just details....

Ok, so how's everyone else's weekend going. Thanks Crispi for letting me vent a little. To stay On Topic for the Group, however, my dh thinks KO's a jerk. THE FINAL STRAW I TELL YA's....(snork)

[gkhouston]

10. hmm, spoiled for choice.

NYC has the coldest winters but is closest to KO. :9

I've visited Norfolk. Nice place, and you could drive up to the DC area if you wanted to catch some museums or other "big city" attractions now and then.

Ft. Lauderdale's got the hottest climate which makes for the mildest winters, and the worst summers, and you'd be living in hurricane country.

How are you fixed for friends/relatives in those locations?

I'd like to offer condolences on the separation, but I can't say I feel that sorry. So glad we're having this conversation in the time-out-free zone. }(

[Catchawave]

11. thanks gk....

My daughter lives in NYC, son's in FtLa, hence Norfolk, since it's right in the middle, much more moderate climate and affordable, and my really good friends are here too!

And yes, it's nice to have an OT zone to have a "news dump" !

[crispini]

14. wow, even I'm sure you'll be fine...

here's a hug anyway. :hug:

I'd vote for VA or Florida, but then I'm not a big fan of the cold! :)

[Catchawave]

24. thank you crispi :)

hugs are good, for any occasion :)

[RevCheesehead]

23. wow.

sorry to hear it's turned out so bad, but I'm also glad to hear you can manage an amicable separation. Not everybody can, and some divorces are just butt-ugly.

How nice to have many wonderful places to live! I'm sure you'll find what's right for you.

Also glad to know you've got someone who's supportive of you. Life sure has its strange twists, doesn't it?

[Catchawave]

25. Thanks Rev....

...all you KOEBies are the bestest friends. I may make some more over in the Mental Health, Loners and Surviving Divorce groups too...LOL. I just love DU people, it's a whole different mindset, that is, unconditional love :loveya:

[bunny planet]

12. Hola Vixens.

:hi:
I have nothing to do today either (not really but almost). Girls's night out last night, lots of organic wine and too many carbs but so much fun. Out with a comedienne/teacher/writer, singer/teacher, and social worker/ filmaker/artist.

Went to an open organic garden tour in my town yesterday. Awesome garden, with lettuce, beans, peas, tomatoes, bok choi, cabbage, broccolli, kale, arugula, apples, strawberries, blueberries, apples, kiwis, rasberries, grapes, and anything else you could imagine. This woman cured herself of myasthenia gravis, and fed a family of 6 (4 teenage boys)from her garden exclusively for the past 28 years. It was awe inspiring.

Crispini, I see you on the Garden group thread. I am new to gardening, just bought some books. I really want to start one this year, after all I live on Garden St. in the Garden State, it is in my destiny. My grandmother has the green thumb, my mom has the thumb of death (plants would hang themselves from their little macrame nooses when they saw her approaching), maybe the green thumb skips a generation. Any tips on getting started. I want to live off the land. I don't even know what zone I'm in, in NJ. I will be lurking on the Garden group, until I acquire some gardening chops. What kind of garden do you have?

[crispini]

15. I'm still kind of new to gardening too.

But it's in the family, my aunt owns a nursery and I've always liked plants. This year I'm trying tomatoes (again) and peppers and I'm not sure what else. I always have shitty luck with tomatoes. I think the squirrels get them. So I'm putting them right next door to the neighbor's front porch where their cat hangs out. :) My aunt always says that you don't know how to raise a plant until you've killed it at least three times, so I'm taking that as my motto. :) Really, I just sort of mess around and read books and try stuff. Last year I got a LOT of peppers. I've only been in my house a couple of years and I haven't tried a winter garden yet, but I think I will have to do so. Everyone that I've talked to in the area does winter gardening because everything pretty much dies off during the hot hot summers here.

I'd recommend organic as well. If you meet people in your area who do it they can tell you what works for your climate. And it's not that much more difficult than chemicals and so much better for you.
I have an asparagus bed which is really going to come into its own this year -- four years later, and it seems to be going well. However, not a single stalk has ever made it into the kitchen. I just get hungry when I'm out working in the yard and eat it right off the plant! the advantages of organic, you know it's safe. and sooooo yummy.

Anywhoo.... as soon as I finish my nice cup of tea and get off of DU it'll be off to the garden store!

[gkhouston]

26. getting good tomatoes in Texas is hard

or so my mom used to say, back when she lived in Austin. I'm a thumb-of-death person, myself, although I suppose things might grow if I watered them, LOL.

I used to have a friend who had pretty good luck with the snack-size tomatoes, though -- you know, the little ones that grow in hands of 5 or 7 tomatoes. You can start them indoors in February or March and them move them out into the yard in late March. Nothing happens for a while and then all of a sudden, they just start crapping little tomatoes right and left. Sweet-tasting little yummy goodies, even in August, when the beefsteak tomato plants are all wilted-looking and their fruit tastes off.

[Patsy Stone]

13. I'm painting baseboards

I've put it off forever. The weather's so perfect, I had no excuse not to. So, I paint.

:hi:

[crispini]

16. so, post pictures! :)

:hi:

[Patsy Stone]

17. no digital camera

but I'll post photos when it's all done and bee-yoo-ti-ful. :)

[Shopaholic]

18. I went shopping yesterday--

I swear I just went into the store to buy an address book. I emerged with a cute little short-sleeved silk shirt, a tank top to wear under the silk shirt, and a pair of $65 pants marked down to $16. Then, figuring the shopping gods were with me (I like to call it Shopma--Good shopping karma)--I ventured on into the next store where I scored two pairs of capri pants and a pair of Gucci sunglasses for $22.

Today I'm avoiding paying bills and internet surfing and hosting my parents for dinner. I've already made the cheesecake (main entree: lasagna).

[Patsy Stone]

21. Wish I were you.

So much better... Congrats on your Shopma!

:)

[crispini]

28. oo, you go girl.

sounds like a productive day!

[seito]

19. Well, I have the paint, the brushes, the drop cloth etc.

They have been sitting in my dining room since June :evilgrin:

[Patsy Stone]

20. Mine only since December

It's taken years to buy them, and the last step was painting. I, too, have been looking at them for an embarrassing amount of time. :)

At the moment, I'm 2/3 of the way through them. Then I'll have to paint the quarter-rounds. It's 3 p.m., and since they're out on the balcony and it's a sunny day with a good and constant breeze, they're drying fairly quickly. Really, not too terrible.

Try it, I highly recommend the satisfying feeling. When it's all installed, I may just die from the sense of fulfillment. :)

[RevCheesehead]

22. You guys are so creative.

I need inspiration just to clean the damned place! That inspiration hit last night, as I was getting ready for bed (when I really needed my sleep instead).

I tried gardening one year, but I got moved and couldn't reap the benefits of what I had sewn. My folks used to have a big garden, and summers were filled with the sound of canning jars pinging. Snapping beans was one of my favorite activities (I'm weird, OK?). But there's something wonderful about fresh veggies - and RASPBERRIES!

Now I just feel fulfillment by getting my hair cut. (weird, I tell you, just weird!)

[Shopaholic]

27. I love gardening--or did until I developed a severe allergy to---

fireants. And I swear, then know when I'm outside and they come looking for me! I have the epi-pen, get allergy shots for them---it's terrible. So I miss gardening. But it does give me more time to shop!
:evilgrin:

[SharonRB]

29. Hi, everyone

Sorry I missed you all this weekend. I, too, had an uneventful weekend -- nothing I had to do all day Saturday, so I watched movies all day and didn't get dressed, until one of my friends called at 3:00 and asked if we wanted to get together with her and her husband -- Sooooo, at 4:00 I finally showered and dressed and we went to their house, brought in Chinese food and watched "Cellular."

I would have logged on at some point, however, as you know I've been eagerly waiting for my DSL. Well, when hubby installed it, the whole computer stopped working and he spent all weekend trying a million different things to get it back in working order. He's a computer expert, too, and usually can solve everyone else's problems. When I left this morning, he had removed all of the DSL stuff and was just trying to get the damn thing working again before reinstalling it and calling SBC. He thought it was just the video, so he bought a new video card yesterday -- no go. He had already added more memory last week. I'm at my wit's end -- we just don't know what's causing it. It comes up partway, gets to a certain point and then just sits there. You may never see me again during KOEB hour!

I'll keep you updated during the day right here in the rec room.

:argh:

[gkhouston]

30. Give software have a chance and it will screw you every time...

give it no chance at all, and it will screw you anyway. (I think the windows in the building I work in don't open for a reason -- they want to prevent any unscheduled flight tests of the computer equipment!)

[SharonRB]

31. Well, I got one update from Hubby

He removed the new video card and now at least has the computer running. He went back to an older version of the display driver (I think) and is now trying to get the resolution right before he tries installing the DSL again. He's going to return the video card; I'm not sure if he's going to try a different one or not.

Keep your fingers crossed!

:argh: