[Market Research] Okay forget mediocrity. What's the fanciest thing you own or do?

@OnionSoup I too am part of this ritzy crowd!

@OnionSoup no way! I have one too! In fact, I’m making a swing for it in the new shop/studio less murdery shed thing.

@cbatte
Either way it sounds nice if you use it.

@Star2236 It is but expensive even though it is paid for. No one told me exactly how expensive the maintenance fees would be.

@cbatte @Star2236 Ooof.

@cbatte
We’re just looking into selling the timeshare we inherited a couple years ago. I don’t think it’s worth it at all! But of course ours isn’t in Maui so there’s no points for the bougie factor!

@chienfou hahahaha! I was about to say the same thing. Though I’m not as fancy as you. You have to leave the pool to get in the hot tub. Everyone loves coming to swim and comments on how much they’d love a pool. Pool’s are like boats. They’re better when your friends have them. They’re just expensive and frustrating to maintain. Though in the summer, nothing beats a swim on a hot day.

@chienfou
Looks very nice and relaxing.

@sillyheathen
We have a saltwater system which I find pretty easy to maintain. The pump is on a Wi-Fi enabled timer which I can control from anywhere. And yes… Jumping in the pool after mowing the lawn is great therapy.
There was also the fact that when my grandkids were younger it enticed them to come down more often and was actually the one thing that helped make mom and dad’s decision to move closer to us a reality.

@Star2236
Thanks. We like it. We tried to make it a tropical haven to encourage us to not flit down the beach so often!!

@chienfou Meht-up at chienfou’s!

@brainmist @chienfou Cannonball!

@brainmist @capnjb @chienfou
My backdoor neighbors put a pool in several years ago. It got used a lot the first year. Barely used now - even though the entire month of July it never got below 90 and the heat index was usually 100-115.

Perhaps the lady of the house sunbaths topless at the pool - can’t see that from here. Not much swimming going on though. They put up a tall wood fence and planted fast growing tall bushes to block the view. Smart move. Prior to the pool she used to sunbath on their roof topless facing the apartment building. Umm how dumb is that? My next door neighbor owns binoculars and used them a lot (I could see him from my window). This place is 5 stories tall and we are on 4. I went to her house to tell her. She and some landscaper came to my apartment to see what you could see after the pool was built. The landscaper made good choices.

@brainmist
Come on down… But make sure you call first.
The pool is secluded enough that I will frequently dive in to cool off while I’ve been working outside. Depending on what work cloths I’m wearing I may or may not leave them on when I dive in. (Today has been a not leave them on day).
You have been warned!

@brainmist @chienfou skinny dipping is the best!

@sillyheathen
Even better when you have company! Occasionally I can convince SWMBO to join me “au naturel”…

@chienfou it took me ages to convince the Englishman how amazing it is. He grew up in a large Northern working class city and had never experienced it until we moved into this house. I couldn’t even convince him in Yosemite in some of the amazing swimming holes. Now it’s his favorite past time.

@chienfou
I’m currently debating between a swim or a nap. I have had zero energy this afternoon. Maybe it would wake me up.

@sillyheathen
I’m sure the “scenery” helped to convince him that skinny dipping was a pleasurable activity!!
And “swim or nap” is NOT mutually exclusive! I think swim AND nap sounds ideal…
Spent 3 hours clearing out a section by the driveway that had gotten totally overgrown. I have a pile the size of a small SUV on the side of the road for the city to pick up on Monday. Sure was nice having the pool handy today.
Came in to take a shower after my last dip. Just put a couple turkey tenderloins from Aldi on the smoker for dinner. I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to prepare the eggplant that I harvested 20 minutes ago. I think I’ll probably bread it & bake it but don’t think I’ll go to the trouble to put marinara sauce on it. Also pulled some jalapenos that I’m making into poppers with some of the uncured bacon left over from the breakfast I made this morning and some smoked cream cheese. Chocolate martinis are waiting to be mixed. Dinner is coming together…

@chienfou he used to complain about the garden incessantly. The last few years though, he’s actually started helping out. He sometimes actually encourages me to buy the plants. Well only sometimes. I have a problem. It is known.

@sillyheathen
I wasn’t referring to the garden scenery…
/giphy naughty bits

@chienfou wow. Yeah. Right over my head. I’d say it’s because I’m tired but even if I wasn’t I still would’ve thought plants.

@sillyheathen
Je suis francais allors…
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@chienfou je suis cajun français mais je ne le sais pas, mon ami.

@sillyheathen
Bravo ma chere

@chienfou you and SWMBO definitely have to swing by next time you’re in the PNW!

@chienfou though we can’t be friends if you call bacon uncured. Marketing BS drives me nuts and I immediately bristle when I see “uncured” cured things. It’s asinine. It is literally the curing that makes it bacon. They call it “uncured” because they use celery powder or celery salt to cure the meat. What’s quite funny is a friend of mine, who had a butchery/salami business, made two salamis with the same batch or forcemeat. He used celery powder in one and salt peter in the other. Then had them tested by a lab for nutritional information. The celery powder “uncured” salami had significantly higher levels of nitrates. So it’s not necessarily healthier which is why most people buy it. The Englishman sometimes purposely brings it home because he knows it drives me up the wall.

I’ll climb down from my soap box now.

@sillyheathen
Okay so the uncured thing is secondary to the fact that it’s absolutely the thinnest that can be found. SWMBO requires thin crispy bacon so that makes my wife (and therefore me) happy! Plus, their “never ever” line also means no antibiotics or hormones. Last thing I need is for my wife to grow a beard! (I don’t need the competition…)

@chienfou @sillyheathen Hey Chienfou, I double dog dare you to tell her about your toaster!

@capnjb @chienfou Look Captain Whitney! Don’t you make me come over there!

@capnjb @sillyheathen
I’m generally the toaster… And this is one of my favorites (old French cavalry toast).

“A nos femmes, à nos chevaux, et à ceux qui les montent!”

@capnjb @chienfou now I do make a rather amazing rendition of eggy bread!

@capnjb @sillyheathen
ISWYDT!

@Star2236 How about a bling photo?

@Cerridwyn

@Cerridwyn @chienfou bravo

@chienfou @sillyheathen
grin
something like this

save the wood is black and the red is leather not cloth

@Cerridwyn @chienfou @sillyheathen
That looks like one of my couches

@capnjb
Fucking classy

@Star2236 Heh… when your hotel room has a staff entrance in the butler’s pantry, you know you’re not at a Motel 6.

We’ll be back there in two weeks. I doubt we will get that room again, but the Intercontinental aways takes good care of my family. Even the bellmen give me hugs I think I’m the only person who wears a cowboy hat in DC, and they remember that… lol

@capnjb @Star2236 Motel 8?

@Star2236 @yakkoTDI Motel 9 3/4

@Star2236 @yakkoTDI And it’s got a tub with a view

@capnjb @Star2236 @yakkoTDI Did you ever figure out which country singer they think you are and which daughter of that person your wife is?

@Kidsandliz @Star2236 @yakkoTDI Heh… I’m just Whitney Morse when I’m in DC And parking has gotten stupid at the Willard ($240 for a two night stay) so I’m just going to jump out of an Uber black SUV with my guitar case and make them keep guessing

edit - And I’ll be saving money!! heh

@capnjb @Star2236 @yakkoTDI Why a girl’s name?

@capnjb @Kidsandliz @Star2236 @yakkoTDI Whitney historically is a gender neutral name but has been predominantly feminine in more recent years. It’s kind of amazing getting upgraded because they think you’re a country singer.

@Kidsandliz @sillyheathen @Star2236 @yakkoTDI Eli Whitney was my great-great-great grandfather and Samuel F.B. Morse was as well. Both on my mother’s side. F.B… Finley Breese. Coolest double middle name ever

Now on my father’s side… that’s where it gets interesting

@Kidsandliz @Star2236 @yakkoTDI And Whitney is actually my middle name. It was my mom’s maiden name.

My mom was a Whitney, her mom was a Morse. I think they work well together

@capnjb @Star2236 @yakkoTDI You’d think they’d compare what you look like to the name you are using on google or something.

@Kidsandliz @Star2236 @yakkoTDI It’s kind of a fun bit to make people wonder. But I never lie. If people ask me what my name is, I say Whitney. Which really is my middle name. If people ask me if I’m a musician, I say, ‘well, I do own a few guitars’. I do have three

And I’ve probably told this story before but there was this woman who was so convinced I was a country singer and asked me, ‘you look so familiar, where do I know you from?’. I said, ‘Ma’am I’m a nobody’. She looked me up and down and replied, ‘I don’t believe you, but I’ll respect your privacy’ HAH!

@capnjb
People WANT to believe…

@chienfou And now all I hear is X-Files music

@capnjb LOVE that hotel, and I love DC!

@werehatrack
Sorry to hear/not hear that…

@werehatrack I dabble in photography, good camera equipment is quite expensive. I have a mirrorless Sony Alpha. Sony leads the pack in mirrorless technology.

@kittykat9180 Would you consider a mint Speed Graphic as being “fancy”?

@werehatrack I’ve never heard of it

@kittykat9180 4x5 sheet film camera, one of many types commonly used by newspaper photographers (among others) in the 1930s through the 1950s. They fell out of favor when 35mm cameras with decent glass came along. In the movie “Airplane!”, in the scene where a bunch of reporters have asked their questions and one of them says “Okay boys, let’s get some pictures”, one of them is holding up a Speed Graphic briefly.

@tinamarie1974 I take my tea seriously as well. I have an OXO kettle that I spent $100 but then I saw one on Adagio that I like more. But my current kettle is only about a year old so I can’t find the justification to spend another $100 on another new kettle.

@tinamarie1974 Perfect tea is such a simple perfect joy. Money well invested!

And the bagpipes are very cool… although may counter the effects of the facial treatments.

@brainmist @tinamarie1974

@brainmist 🥹

@brainmist @tinamarie1974
Driving an older vehicle does tends to free up a bunch of disposable income. What you choose to do with that income will hopefully bring you pleasure.

@brainmist @chienfou @tinamarie1974 I drove my 2010 Murano into the ground. Loved it, but eventually ended up giving it to a local high school that had an amazing automotive program. I did see it on the road recently

@brainmist @chienfou @tinamarie1974 And I’m thankful that my next door neighbor is also my veterinarian.

@capnjb @chienfou @tinamarie1974 lol. My veterinarians are probably thankful they’re not next door.

I’m on year 17 in my Hyundai Sonata, and goodness, it’s been a trooper. Except the last two weeks. But there when I needed it most.

@brainmist @capnjb @tinamarie1974
Current daily driver is a 2011 RAV4. Barely broken in with 120,000 miles. I’m starting to have some AC issues though… damn it! Of course even if I spend $2, 500 on that and a new set of tires spread out over the next year that’s only about $200 a month in “car payments”. (Plus my insurance is cheaper than on a newer car…)

@brainmist @chienfou @tinamarie1974 I bought a used car earlier this year with silver bars I don’t like car payments

@brainmist @capnjb @tinamarie1974
Exactly!

Oooh… and I see you got the one with the fish cooker option…

@capnjb @chienfou @tinamarie1974 same here. I want no strings. And it sounds like newer vehicles are display heavy. I do want a hybrid though.

@brainmist my last dog had an enlarged spleen and had to get a splenectomy. He went down hill quickly after surgery and was gone a few days later. I spent $11k trying to save his life. I would have paid anything to save him.
He was only 6.5 years old when he passed.

@brainmist @capnjb @chienfou @tinamarie1974 Our latest vehicle is a Toyota hybrid SUV - it was a (24-month) lease return. The dealership did a complete detail+service, including a new set of tires. We paid cash - at a significant discount vs. new - so no loan payments/interest. So far (1 year in), it has been great - I expect many more years of use.

@brainmist @chienfou @tinamarie1974 Well, I just found out that is has a refrigerated glove box But way too many buttons Gimme a 5 speed 67 Camero any day

@brainmist @kittykat9180 Aww… poor doggo

@capnjb He was the best dog I’ve ever had, and I miss him every single day. He was an Anatolian Shepherd mix, weighing around 105 pounds—about the same size as the Neapolitan Mastiff I had before him.

@brainmist @capnjb @chienfou @tinamarie1974
You serious? It has a refrigerated glove box, that’s pretty cool.

@brainmist @chienfou @Star2236 @tinamarie1974 I mean, it’s not truly refrigerated, but it does route the AC into the glove box and you can set how low you want it to go. I don’t think it ever gets cold, but you could certainly keep a sandwich and a beverage cool

@brainmist @capnjb @chienfou @Star2236 I recall having a rental car in the early teens that had a cooled glove box. May have had soda and beer in there. It was kinda cool but not really practical

@brainmist @capnjb @chienfou @tinamarie1974

I managed to get a dodge grand caravan to last long enough to enjoy an antique auto license plate for 3.5 months before it blew an engine bearing. Getting 25+ years out of that was not expected for sure. My current minivan has 17 years on it. And except when you hit the periods of time with expensive things wear out you are right it frees up money.

I am sorry to hear about your dogs. I had a cat with cancer. Paid for surgery and she was in remission for 2 years. Paid for surgery again and about a month later I had to put her down as she was starting to be in a lot of pain and the surgical wound wasn’t healing. She was only 13 when she died. She was such a sweet kitty. My sympathies to you for having to do this not once but twice. It’s hard on our animals and hard on us.

@kittykat9180 Poor baby. That’s very young.

I wish there was more we could do to keep them healthy and happy.

@Kidsandliz It really is. And thanks. I’m sorry about your kitty.

@Kidsandliz It takes big balls bells to play a carillon That’s really freaking cool

@capnjb I also arrange music for it (from existing classical pieces) and the retired for a number of years dominion carillonneur of Ontario, Canada wanted a copy of two of my arrangements and played them in his concerts occasionally which thrilled me to no end as I am a nobody in the carillon world.

@Kidsandliz You just leveled up on my coolness meter

@Kidsandliz

carillonneur

I do enjoy learning new words

@capnjb Most people have no clue what a carillon is let alone a carillonneur. I guess I should have told people a carillon is make up of cast bells in a tower, tuned (although they have a minor 3rd overtone in the tuning), usually 4 octaves with a few extra bells (like low B Flat and low G below the 4 octaves in the foot pedals. You pay it with your fists (pinky finger end) unless you need two bells at once with one hand in which case your hand is open. Keyboard looks sort of like a piano keyboard. Wires go from the keyboard to the carillon bell clappers and pull the clapper against the inside of the bell. There are some that are automated, and some that are ‘fake’ recorded sounds, but the rest have keyboards and pedal boards.

This is more or less OK
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carillon

Further down there is a several centuries old carillon piece being played (I can play that piece - that composer’s music isn’t very hard). Where you see the keys go down with no hands touching them that is where his feet are playing those notes on the pedal board. Near the end of the video you can see him using the pedal board.

@capnjb Of course from the ground you don’t hear all the mechanism noise.

And you can play whatever you want -

From the nutcracker

Someone arranged The sounds of Silence.

I love that so much. Music has always been a part of my life. I find it centers me. I love it in every and any way it can be presented

@capnjb I know. It has been part of mine too. I play a number of instruments from the “normal” kind to things like this. And like my dad I can play by ear although unlike him I also learned how to read music.

Once when I was working in outdoor adventure I was playing the piano in the emply cafeteria there and someone came in and asked me to play that song again. I had to laugh as I was making it up as I went along and had no clue how to play it again. The very first piece of “furniture” I purchased as a young adult was a piano. I had no chest of drawers, my mattress was on the floor, my one living room chair (rocking chair) came from the curb but I had a piano (and guitar, flute and violin, tin whistles, thumb piano, Appalachian lap dulcimer and probably a few others I have forgotten).

I likely drove the people crazy as I played every piano in both stores and in their warehouse of the specific model I wanted (full sized Baldwin upright which was the best I could afford at the time). I was looking for a specific tone (tone varies by piano because the grain of the wood varies and the species of wood they make the case out of which affects the tone). I didn’t care what the piano looked like. I wanted a specific tone.

It is a talent passed on through the family. I told my niece’s (brother’s daughter) son, when he was playing by ear on the piano in the room we had lunch in after mom’s funeral this last June, that his great grandfather is where he got that talent from (my brother, his grandfather, played the flute and as he was murdered at 24 I have no idea what he could have done musically beyond that). I was so glad to see that talent passed down in the extended family.

@capnjb And here is a piece (well a movement from) from one our modern, really good composers and fantastic carillonneur, Ronald Barnes (he is now dead and unfortunately went blind from macular degeneration which cut his career shot). It is played by a student but he does a decent job of it. Ronald Barnes was one of the pioneers in the USA spreading the carillon and helping build the Guild of Carillonneurs in North America.

@capnjb career short not shot… missed the edit window as I was listening to the piece I had just posted.

@capnjb And actually since we are really off topic on this thread I accidentally ran into this looking for a good piece to post from one of our modern composers.

The kids playing the violin are incredibly talented.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dOyKBnrQ0FE

@capnjb @Kidsandliz

Most people have no clue what a carillon is

There is one just across the bay in St. Pete and then there is that Bok Tower thing in Lake Wales.

@capnjb @yakkoTDI The Bok tower usually has some of the best carilloneurs in the country working there.

@capnjb @Kidsandliz @yakkoTDI

When I was a stupid at UCR, back in the dark ages, you could actually go up into the tower. It’s a fascinating thing

@capnjb @Cerridwyn @yakkoTDI

I had a key to go up the one where I went to college but I had more fun breaking in with my engineering buddies. We did it carefully never breaking anything.

One day we were up there and went fishing for people with the really, really old style elevator (the only one that went into the tower). It had the brass door inside you manually had to close. It only responded to whom ever pushed the button first (call button or floor) which is why we cold go fishing. Oops. One of the times we got a library employee.

@capnjb @Cerridwyn @yakkoTDI

When I was a stupid at UCR, back in the dark ages, you could actually go up into the tower.

That would be U of CA Riverside? I have played that carillon in the dark ages. I was so shocked, after a short rain one night, to see there were mountains at the horizon. The air pollution was so bad when I first got there. I have also played the one at Stanford.

@capnjb @Kidsandliz @yakkoTDI that is the one. Got my first college degree from there back in 1976. A BS in biology

@Kidsandliz be still my little band nerd heart! I love playing any instrument I can get my fingers on. I’ve been trying to convince the Englishman that I need an English horn. They’re insanely expensive sadly. I also tried to explain that a bassoon, bass or contra any reeded instrument would do, but methinks we’re just not on the same page sadly.

@capnjb @Kidsandliz That’s awesome! Though they’re both fantastic, that younger girl has it all over her big sister.
I feel sorry for the other kids there. They went home with their parents screaming at them, “What’s wrong with you! Why can’t you do something like that!” lol

MEALS! DEALS! EELS! AWESOME!

@capnjb @Cerridwyn @Kidsandliz @yakkoTDI

When I was a stupid

Did you really mean to write that or did text-to-speech just decide to insult you?!

@sillyheathen You tell that Englishman of yours that you will learn how to play the bagpipes (I once owned bagpipes. They reetty easy to play - easy like a tin whistle easy which is easier than a recorder. The easiest instrument I have ever played though is my hands - and as a benefit that is a free instrument you will always have with you) if he won’t let you get an English horn. I doubt he’d want a Scottish instrument in the house.

@capnjb @Kidsandliz @Kyeh @yakkoTDI Voice to Text of course it’s the stupid one

@Kidsandliz @sillyheathen We have family friends who are world ranked pipers. They were even pipers at WWE events for Rowdy Roddy Piper They were also very involved in the youth ministry at the church I grew up in. I’ve known them most of my life. Charlie actually played at my dad’s inurnment (that is such a weird word). Bagpipes are REALLY loud in a columbarium (another weird word). He played Amazing Grace and then, at my dad’s request, he wrapped it up with ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’. I wept, but it was a perfect celebration.

@Kidsandliz well my family name is McMichael so maybe I say English horn or bagpipes? I’d be happy regardless.

@capnjb what’s a topic

@jouest That place in the Carribean. Wait. That might be the tropics.

Can we talk about galvanized nails for a minute?

@ItalianScallion Cool that you do that!!

I had a friend who went to all those dress in chainmail outfit gatherings (well and whatever else was time appropriate for both sexes). She used to make chainmail to sell there.

I used to volunteer at Jamestown foundation. Although we didn’t have to “dress up” on volunteer days since we were doing actual maintenance on the boats, we had to dress up when the Susan Constance (name of one of the boats) was part of a movie the park service was making on the James River. It was supposed to be the discovery by white people of Puerto Rico. How southern VA would pass as there I do not know. But it was fun. Costumes were provided. I was really glad I didn’t have to wear that stuff in real life.

Two other ships were there and we had fun while the movie crew was on the shore doing whatever they were doing. We rowed donuts to the other ships and used our funnelator (giant sling shot tied to rigging) to shoot them. Hit the side of the Pride of Baltimore with one (most landed in the water) and left white donut sugar on their black hull.

No idea if they knew what we were doing anchored on the river or if any of that got in the movie. I never saw the finished product. But they kept telling us not to swing back and forth on our anchors with the current. And we were supposed to do that how? Clearly they had no clue how “tall ships” behaved on the water.

@ItalianScallion @Kidsandliz used to do SCA and I know how much work some of those clothes are. No matter how many modern shortcuts you can do that don’t show. We had a hard time because triple digits is common here. And most of the clothes that people want to emulate are intended for that little mini ice age that was the tutor. I think I quoted the hotter than the Winds of hell. Sauron’s home since Mordor fell. That was used to describe the weather here in the summer. I’ve actually seen people pass out from it. Not fun. I’ve won 13 14th and 15th century clothes and probably early 16th now that I think about it. And for women it’s a lot of clothes.

@ItalianScallion this is SO cool!!

Also I am always a fan of being able to pull a shot at the same time as the steaming of the milk but my budget only allows for the less fancy version.

The hand made reenactment clothing has me giddy. I love making anything that I can. This is really impressive so bravo!

@Kidsandliz Great story! It must have been so much fun to dress in historical kit and be part of a movie. (Reenactors like me are sometimes extras in Colonial-era movies and documentaries.) You think producers can’t make one place look like a totally different one, but it’s really impressive what they can do. We did reenactments of both the 225th (in 2000) and 250th (two months ago) anniversaries of the Battle of Bunker Hill in two different locations that aren’t anywhere near Bunker Hill, but have a terrain that is enough like the real place to make it work.

@Cerridwyn We have people in my group who started “reenacting” in the SCA. We work very hard to be authentic as possible, for example, using actual clothing from the period to guide us. The wool we use to make our reproduction soldier’s coats comes from the same fabric mill that made the wool used for the actual coats during the War! We suffer through the heat, but George Washington didn’t want his soldiers dropping on the field so he had linen hunting-type shirts issued as a summer replacement for the wool coats. Of course, we make those for ourselves too! Unfortunately, those who portray the King’s soldiers have only their red wool uniform coats and yes, a few of them do get stricken by the heat sometimes and taken to a local hospital to be checked out.

@sillyheathen Thank you for your compliments! I do really enjoy sewing my reenacting clothes, but it’s such a process to get everything set up to lay out, measure, cut, and iron the fabric that I keep putting it off. I started new breeches two years ago and still haven’t finished them and I really need a new shirt and a linen coat for summer wear. (I portray a civilian rather than a soldier, so I can have several if I want.) I also have a lovely lavender silk brocade that I will someday use to make a matching coat and breeches and maybe a waistcoat if I have enough of it.

Yes, my espresso machine was pretty costly, but it’s the last one I’ll ever buy unless it breaks enough that it can’t be fixed. (I’ve already replaced the power switch and some of the tubing from being clogged with scale because I often forget to change the water filter.) I did save some money because I bought a heat exchanger type of machine instead of a double boiler one. That saved some space on my counter too.

@Cerridwyn @ItalianScallion @Kidsandliz @sillyheathen
You are all amazing.

@Kyeh You are too!

@ItalianScallion @Kyeh well done! I have sewn the odd costume before, and a couple skirts and a vest. Its harder than it looks! You did a nice job!!

Thank you @tinamarie1974!

@ItalianScallion @Kyeh @tinamarie1974 @sillyheathen

I wish I had the skills to do that. I just 3D print things and connect them with velcro

I do, however have my grandfather’s WWI infantry uniform. And it’s all hand sown. He was 19 when he served. I never got to meet him but I’m glad he is written into my history.

And I also have his infantry hat. I never wear it because I haven’t earned the right to do so, but I love it so much.

@ItalianScallion @Kyeh @sillyheathen @tinamarie1974 The inside of that hat.

C.L.B
USA

Claude Louis Buchet

My grandfather

@capnjb @Kyeh @sillyheathen @tinamarie1974 That is beautiful hand-stitching!

@Star2236 Wow, congratulations - but sorry about your injury!

@Kyeh
Thanks, go to the hand surgeon Tuesday to if it will heal on its own or what I’m gonna need to do. I’ve been keeping it in a really tight, strick brace 24/7 and I’m pretty sick of it.

@Star2236 Is it your dominant hand? I once had an injury to my left thumb and couldn’t use that hand much for a while, and even though I’m right-handed, I was shocked at how difficult it made things. Like opening the damn pain pill bottle I got from the pharmacy after the surgery. I hope you’re able to get back to using your hand soon!

@Star2236 Dang. Now I feel like I need to send more coffee You ARE back to the top of the list

@Star2236 your face is pretty fancy!!! Also that’s a rad score for a rad human. And what @kyeh said. Injury sucks. Healing is never fast enough. Hopefully you’re not in too much pain friend.

@Kyeh
Yeah it’s my dominate hand, it’s been hard.

@capnjb
You’ve been sending coffee out like crazy then?

@Kyeh @sillyheathen
It’s ok when I keep it in the brace but the brace digs into my forearm so I have to take it out and give myself a rest and then it starts to hurt a lot. I also can’t do ANYTHING I’m the brace so if I need to cook (which is like every night) or even reheat stuff, wash dishes, wash my hands I have to take it off so I’m constantly taking it on and off a lot more than I should. They wanted me to wrap a bag around it to shower, I just take it off. That’s too much work lol

@Star2236

You’ve been sending coffee out like crazy then?

Juuuuust a little bit

@capnjb @Star2236
Did you fall? Hopefully your recovery moves along well. Had a fall years back that resulted in a ruptured Achilles tendon. Recovery from that sucked. I still have some numbness on the bottom of my foot but overall don’t notice it unless I think about it… Getting old is NOT for the weak!

@Star2236 Does your new fancy toy have a grinder built in?

@capnjb @chienfou
I honestly have no idea how I did it. I just woke up one day and I could barely move my wrist, it’s the weirdest injury ever. The only thing that I can think of is that the 2 nights before I had been so completely knocked out from not sleeping due to the nerve pain in my neck, back and other arm and sometimes I sleep in really weird portions. Ever since I’ve been a little kid I’ll sometimes curl my wrist inward when I sleep (I actually wore wrist braces while sleeping as a teen bc of this problem and wrist pain but this pain is completely different) and I know I woke up sleeping on my arm. So I don’t know if I did something in my sleep.

@capnjb
I don’t think so but I haven’t pulled it out of the package yet. With my wrist giving me so many problems I’ve been trying not to mess with anything that’s even a little bit heavy and I need to learn how to use the steamer.

@Star2236 Well… when you get it set up and you are accustomed to it let me know. Looks like it does both drip and espresso. I can send you beans ground for both types. And I promise I won’t take two years this time. LOL.

@capnjb
Yeah, I know it definitly does both and espresso beans is something I definitely don’t have.

@capnjb @Star2236 First, I hope your wrist gets better soon! I can only imagine how bothersome it is from both pain and inconvenience.

Being such a coffee geek, I had to download the manual for your fancy contraption. For those who are wondering, it functions as (1) a Mr. Coffee type of drip brewer (put ground coffee in a paper filter in the basket and it brews into the carafe on the left), (2) a single-cup Keurig machine (put a Keurig-compatible capsule in the top of the part on the right-hand side) and brew into a coffee cup, and (3) a Nespresso machine (makes a single or double shot of espresso using a Nespresso-compatible capsule). If you want to use your own ground coffee for (2) or (3), you would have to buy a reusable/refillable plastic pod for whichever type you choose. Of course, it steams milk too, but not at the same time it’s making coffee or espresso. It’s a quite a versatile machine!

@capnjb @ItalianScallion
Wow that’s pretty freaking cool. No wonder the retail price on it is like $380. Im glad I never got rid of my fancy grinder, where it is, that’s another story.

@blaineg Eek! Help Spike!!

@yakkoTDI Oh no, Molly!

@cbilyak
Sure hope it’s insured. It’s super cheap (I have a lot too). I do my mine as pair and set too, so if I loose an earring I can choose to get the set remade. The insurance has paid off once. I had someone break in when I lived in an apartment (threw something through a double pane window). They stole one of my 14k diamond and sapphire necklaces (I had 2 identical for some reason). So I took the cash instead of having it remade. So now instead of putting my “nice” jewelry in my jewelry box I hid most of it.

@jouest
That’s how it works. When people lament that they “can’t travel as much as I do” I often will point out the fact that they’re driving a much newer vehicle than I am (for example).
We all make choices.

@chienfou @jouest YES! I once got back from a trip to Europe where we drove ourselves and stayed in inexpensive hotels and ate at restaurants that were nice but not fancy. And this woman I was in a class with acted all miffed and said something like “Wish I could afford to do that.” And she drove a huge truck and lived in a big house.

@jouest @Kyeh
/giphy preach sister

@Kyeh you won’t regret it. I love all of my Le creuset. I have the same grill pan in orange. It can be a little annoying to clean but it is useful. I would just recommend that whatever you’re cooking on it is “dry”. Moisture is the enemy of the browning of the things.

@sillyheathen Thanks, good to know!

@Kyeh
/giphy but of course

@Kyeh @sillyheathen
…artichaut… love it !

@Kyeh
Very nice, happy early birthday

@Star2236 Thanks! It’s 2 weeks away; if I keep on at this rate I’ll be broke.

@Kyeh @Star2236 it’s the Englishman’s birthday today! He said he didn’t want anything except to float the river, which we’re doing tomorrow. But I got him a new chainsaw and tickets to see his favorite hometown rugby team in Vegas next year. I haven’t given him the tickets yet but he was stoked for the chainsaw so I can’t wait to see how he reacts to the rhinos tickets.

@sillyheathen @Star2236 Whoa, nice! I hope you have a fun float trip.

@Kyeh @sillyheathen @Star2236

But I got him a new chainsaw

This sound oddly familiar to when I say “I got my daughter a new 3D printer for Christmas”

@Kyeh early happy birthday and congrats on the pieces. I dont have those two, but I have several other pieces that I love! Hope you enjoy them.

@tinamarie1974 Thank you! You know the sale is still going on …

@Kyeh why would you tempt me like that!!!

@tinamarie1974 Heheheh!

@Kyeh

@capnjb @Kyeh @Star2236

@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 lalala not listening!

@tinamarie1974 So … did you yield to temptation?
One thing about Le Creuset - they’re relentless with their emails! Sheesh! I’ve told them “once or twice a month” several times now but it hasn’t taken effect yet.

@Kyeh @tinamarie1974 I bought a plethora of plywood for the shop instead.

@sillyheathen @tinamarie1974
Oh, very sensible.

@pakopako Translate from what to what?

@Kyeh usually other languages to English or Esperanto

@pakopako Cool!