October 2020 Chit Chat

Donnamarie wrote:Try a glass of wine (or two if necessary) before you tackle your table and chairs Katie.  Cheers!

Thanks Way2 for your take on ‘Knives Out’.  So a bit clever, odd and engaging.   Sounds like it’s worth a look.

I too hope Joanna is ok.  She has the most lovely spirit and it shows in her posts. She’s really missed here.

I've got to say, I didn't think Knives Out was particularly good. Felt it was a little over-acted and there's a stupid plot device involving vomiting that's just too dumb for belief. But that's not to say it's bad exactly, more that it's not particularly good. That's a shame because it's got a great cast and the location is stunning. To my mind, it just doesn't deliver as expected.

Hooray! Had the tv aerial installation bloke round today and I've now got 162 free channels!!!!!! Makes a change from the 15 I could pick up pre-aerial days. Excuse me while I go and sit myself in front of the goggle box . . .

Chris Wallace last month talking to Trump about his dementia test....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zXc-yH6s3Y

And with George....

https://www.thelist.com/252710/details-about-chris-wallace-and-george-clooneys-friendship/

and in Como

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2187539/Stacy-Keibler-enjoys-romantic-dusk-cruise-Lake-Como-George-Clooney.html

Right, as this is my first Halloween in my new home, I thought I'd go all out (sort of) and actually carve a few pumpkins and put them in my front garden. The good news is that with Covid19 there aren't supposed to be any trick or treaters, so I think I'll be safe from unwanted visits!

The question is, what to do with the pumpkin innards? I know I can google recipes, but any US posters here who have a fail-safe recipe I could try, using fresh pumpkin?

https://www.academiabarilla.it/en/ricetta/pumpkin-ravioli-cappellacci/

Love this

Cook pumpkin into oven
It will get dry and tasty 

The result has to be sweet and hard
Firm
Solid

Or into hot water it will melt and escape out

You can add amaretti
Or simple no butter bisquits

Katie - I'm not a fan of pumpkin, but you can rinse the gunk off the seeds, toss them with a little oil and salt and toast them in the oven. The toasted seeds make a good snack.

Sure
Healthy too
I guess

I think that depends on how much oil and salt I put on them!!!

Thanks folks, still open to more recipes if you have anything tried and tested.

Tell me I'm not the only one who's spent hours on Amazon looking at prime deals and can't find a single damn thing that I need?? Want, yes. Need, no.

Quite, Katie. Not sure that I need to make Mr Bezos any wealthier either..........

I'd have agreed with you up until 3 days ago when planned obsolescence struck. I have a ton of CDs that I play on a SONY boom box that I've had for @ 4 years. I love the thing because it's a radio, tape and CD player that I can take anywhere because it's light-weight, works on batteries or it can be plugged in. 90% of the time I'm playing CDs on it - or I was until the CD player died. The radio still works. The tape player still works. The CD player is dead!!!! Now what???????????



I spent all day yesterday looking for a CD player on Amazon. I know CD players tend to have problems, so I didn't want to spend too much on an unknown quantity. Anything that got decent reviews seemed to cost almost as much as the SONY products - or more. Any guesses on what I ended up with?

(Also, this week, my desk chair committed suicide and my lady shaver stopped shaving. If everything comes in threes I should be o.k. for a while, but I'm not holding my breath.)

Gosh, Lizzy, that's a bad run of luck with electronics. Don't tell me you got a Sony Walkman (diskman?)

Well, I didn't get a Walkman but I did get a SONY. It's pretty much the same as the boombox I had and was actually less expensive. I'm not sure if that was because of Prime Day or because they've come out with fancier models that cost more. Whatever, it's supposed to arrive on Saturday so I'll get a good look at it then. Fingers crossed it will work at least as well as the old one. I've been told that having a CD player last 4 years is something of a minor miracle. Hmph! Whatever happened to pride of workmanship? It's no wonder there's more plastic in the ocean than fish!

Admin wrote:Right, as this is my first Halloween in my new home, I thought I'd go all out (sort of) and actually carve a few pumpkins and put them in my front garden.  The good news is that with Covid19 there aren't supposed to be any trick or treaters, so I think I'll be safe from unwanted visits!

The question is, what to do with the pumpkin innards?  I know I can google recipes, but any US posters here who have a fail-safe recipe I could try, using fresh pumpkin?

Hi!    If you've never played with pumpkin seeds, this site may help you

https://www.jessicagavin.com/how-to-roast-pumpkin-seeds/


The big secret is to wash them, and DRY thoroughly

Have fun, oh and remember- carving pumpkins are not sugar pumpkins- they don't cook well in recipes.

PigPen wrote:Have fun, oh and remember- carving pumpkins are not sugar pumpkins- they don't cook well in recipes.

I didn't know that! Thanks. In the supermarkets here, they're just selling 'pumpkins', so no idea what kind they are!

"pumpkins"= carving pumpkins.. If they are sugar pumpkins  #1  the sign will indicate sugar  #2  sold by the pound, and usually more expensive than the big ones typically sold at a flat rate.  Hope this helps

Thanks.  You learn something new every day!

Happy world menopause day, everyone!

Gotta say, I can't wait till I hit menopause.

  Katie, be careful what you wish for!!!!!!!!!!!

In this mad world I thought you all might like to see this:

https://twitter.com/JanaHisham/status/1317391879646924800

PAN - Comes back as "not available to you". I don't know if it's a US/UK thing or me.

This groom surprised his bride by having her students with Down’s syndrome be the ring bearers and I’m a puddle of tears on the floor pic.twitter.com/PKv1SduZv4

— Jana Hisham (@JanaHisham) October 17, 2020

This groom surprised his bride by having her students with Down’s syndrome be the ring bearers and I’m a puddle of tears on the floor

Thank you, Katie!

If that happens and you're not on Twitter, Lizzy - and I'm not - if you leave the site via the

arrow to the left at the top and then press the right arrow again and go back into it, it seems to

happen!?? No idea why....

Thanks, PAN. I'll give it a try when I get through mopping up the tears!!!!!

OMG! How wonderful that was, Katie! I worked with Down syndrome children for a few years and it's wonderful to see them included like that.

(PS - Just tried the link to Twitter post and it worked without help. Sometimes I think the internet is just some giant  frustration experiment.)

That is a wonderful groom.

Far be it for me to blow my own trumpet (ahem), but I've got to say I really love it when George is doing publicity for a new film.

So many George stories in the forum this week!!

It's about time! I guess we can thank PR for the movie for most of it. I wonder if the political stuff would have gotten as much coverage if he wasn't promoting the film.

I think it kind of all snowballs together.  He's done a few virtual appearances, he's giving interviews (his statement on the confederate flag is one I'm still considering whether or not to retweet - have enough grief with people convinced he's a paedo and/or terrorism supporting anti-Azerbaijan person) and so on.  Then people dig out old stories about him.  

It's nice to see there's so much about him at the moment, even though I admit they're only just tiny little snippets, rather than actual news about George.

Mmm. I think that this is what he often does, except it's usually on a red carpet about all things

topical and the journos know he's always happy to discuss issues of the moment and that they'll

get a story so it works both ways and also benefits the film....

He's also happy to hold formal press conferences in, say Washington, for The Sentry etc if he

has something to say - so two bites of the cherry - at least! Of course it could be that he regards the red carpet lark as a necessary evil and thinks that

he might as well another benefit out of it to make it worthwhile............


'Gravity' red carpet -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2pL8RoP4AKw

Not bad to look at.....

Thanks PAN. That was nice. I'd almost forgotten what he looks like without the facial fuzz.

It says something about the level of respect given him that media outlets seek him out for his opinions even when he isn't making the red carpet/pr rounds.

All began Oct 27th  as the No Name Storm...


https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/perfect-storm-hits-north-atlantic



1991October 30
[size=43]Perfect storm hits North Atlantic[/size]







On October 30, 1991, the so-called “perfect storm” hits the North Atlantic producing remarkably large waves along the New England and Canadian coasts. Over the next several days, the storm spread its fury over the ocean off the coast of Canada. The fishing boat Andrea Gail and its six-member crew were lost in the storm. The disaster spawned the best-selling book The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger and a blockbuster Hollywood movie of the same name.
On October 27, Hurricane Grace formed near Bermuda and moved toward the coast of the southeastern United States. Two days later, Grace continued to move north, where it encountered a massive low pressure system moving south from Canada. The clash of systems over the Atlantic Ocean caused 40-to-80-foot waves on October 30—unconfirmed reports put the waves at more than 100 feet in some locations. This massive surf caused extensive coastal flooding, particularly in Massachusetts; damage was also sustained as far south as Jamaica and as far north as Newfoundland.
The storm continued to churn in the Atlantic on October 31; it was nicknamed the “Halloween storm.” It came ashore on November 2 along the Nova Scotia coast, then, as it moved northeast over the Gulf Stream waters, it made a highly unusual transition into a hurricane. The National Hurricane Center made the decision not to name the storm for fear it would alarm and confuse local residents. It was only the eighth hurricane not given a name since the naming of hurricanes began in 1950.



Meanwhile, as the storm developed, the crew of the 70-foot fishing boat Andrea Gail was fishing for swordfish in the Grand Banks of the North Atlantic. The Andrea Gail was last heard from on October 28. When the boat did not return to port on November 1 as scheduled, rescue teams were sent out.
The week-long search for the Andrea Gail and a possible cause of its demise were documented in Junger’s book, which became a national bestseller. Neither the Andrea Gail nor its crew—David Sullivan and Robert Shatford of Gloucester, Mass.; William Tyne, Dale Murphy and Michael Moran of Bradenton Beach, Fla.; and Alfred Pierre of New York City—was ever found.

Coming up to 30 years ago now.

Hi everybody,
I had decided to do some 'digital detoxing' for a while since I was so tired of all these constant news.
Now I have to get through about 100 threads...

Hahaha! Sorry, not sorry!

Oh, and welcome back to the forum!

Hi Carol hope your detox was relaxing.

My favorite thing of the week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBQOQVsdzbE

Wow

Sean Connery passed away aged 90. IMHO the best James Bond - and I'll never forget his performance in 'The Name of the Rose' . Plus, of course, Indiana Jones' father and his very short appearance in  'Robin Hood'.