Petty Vents

[Cheryl J]

Next time, stick it in the freezer with the receipt Cheryl. Take it with you when you shop next, and they will give you a credit for being unacceptable. We've done that several times with the meat department, and it works.
By the way, we only buy bacon by the pound from the meat case. It goes on sale often, and is far superior to pre packaged bacon.

I'd have done that Kay, but I bought it on impulse when I stopped for coffee and a gallon of milk at a 'Drive Thru Dairy' we have here. They don't give itemized receipts so I couldn't prove I bought it there, plus I'd have had to wait in line behind a bunch of cars to return it and make the people behind me wait. LOL. Later, I thought I should have fried it all up anyway just for the bacon fat. I'll see what Farmer John's has to say, just for the heck of it.

I usually buy bacon from the meat case at the grocery store, too - never have been disappointed in the quality.

 

[Cheryl J]

I started doing that too.

The price per pound is usually higher than prepackaged bacon but it actually works out to be cheaper and healthier for me because I only buy a 1/4 pound at a time. I do that with other fresh meats, deli meats and cheeses when I only need a small amount. I'm becoming the customer that everyone hates to be behind at the deli counter, you know the one "two nice slices of turkey, 1/4 pound of mozzarella sliced thin, 3 slices of lean ham sliced thick..." !!!

You sound like me at the grocery store deli counter, AB! A quarter to a third of a pound is the usual weight I request for most deli meats and cheeses for sandwiches - unless I'm expecting family to join me.

I usually find the bacon at the meat counter less expensive than pre-packaged though, and as you say it's handy to buy less than a pound at a time. Usually though I just get a pound, portion it out in several slices, and freeze.

Taxy - I bet that young man you talked to at the store will remember that tip from now on - the deli counter is SO handy for buying for one, and as mentioned, better quality.

 

[Souschef]

That happened to me years ago when my tried and true Dr. finally retired. He hooked me up with a young Dr. in the practice assuring me I'd like him. He was right. This guy is just right for me except for no sense of humor. SO even switched over to him. So you could be in for a pleasant surprise.

Kayelle cracked up after that post. Her family Dr., who delivered her younger son retired some years ago, and we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.

 

[Kayelle]

Kayelle cracked up after that post. Her family Dr., who delivered her younger son retired some years ago, and we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.

AND let me add our new Doctor is soooo enthralled with his laptop, not only does he have no sense of humor, he is annoyed when I interrupt his typing train of thought. I feel like I'm intruding on his time. Just not my idea of Marcus Welby, for those of us old enough to remember him. Sigh.

 

[Andy M.]

...I usually find the bacon at the meat counter less expensive than pre-packaged though, and as you say it's handy to buy less than a pound at a time. Usually though I just get a pound, portion it out in several slices, and freeze...

I buy 4 pounds of bacon at Costco and freeze it. Frozen bacon thaws quickly. I cook two pounds at a time in the oven and freeze the excess rolled up in paper towels. It's simple to unroll the paper towel and take out the number of slices I need and nuke it for 10-20 seconds.

Of course, I save the bacon fat in the fridge for cooking.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

That happened to me years ago when my tried and true Dr. finally retired...So you could be in for a pleasant surprise.

It looks like the new doctor isn't too young. He graduated from Med school in 1991, so I'm figuring he's one side or the other of 50. Certainly won't be wet behind the ears! I'm already figuring I'll like him - he's Polish. However, we won't be talking to each other in Polish since it seems the only words my Mom ever "taught" me were the ones you don't say in polite company.

...we now have a very competent younger Dr., who gets busy typing everything on the computer. My last Dr.was like that, but it was a new experience for her.

Our retiring doctor is a year younger than I am - 63. He's used a laptop to take notes the last 3-4 years. Before that, paper and pen.

AND let me add our new Doctor is soooo enthralled with his laptop, not only does he have no sense of humor, he is annoyed when I interrupt his typing train of thought...

Meanwhile, our doctor interrupts his own train of thought when he's taking notes! He'll say to me "now where were we?". He's a talker. And has a great sense of humor. I hope the new doc makes me forget all about Dr. Jeff.

 

[Addie]

The plan was my daughter would pick me up at 1 p.m. She arrives 15 minutes early. (vent #1) I rush out the door and forget my handicap plaque. I tell Pirate to finish the laundry and keep an eye on the corn beef in the slow cooker, put the veggies in when the time is ready.

We go to eat Fried clams and scallops. Each dish cost $50!!! I would have rather gone hungry than have her pay that much (#2). And that was cheap. The only reason she mentioned it was because we were discussing how expensive seafood has become because it is winter. Then we head out to Assembly Mall. Fortunately we found a handicap spot and she used her own plaque. She forgot that it was in the glove compartment. But it was quite a way from the leather store she wanted to bring me to. (#3) So I start walking and fortunately found a bench I could sit on to catch my breath and rest my hip. We sit for about five minutes and continue on. To buy a leather coat for me I would have to get an "Omar the Tent Maker" size. Leather does not stretch too well across my top.

We start to leave and I spot a rack with blue coats. My whole house is in blue, most of my clothes are blue, etc. So we stop and try one on. IT FIT! And it is so pretty. Has snaps along with buttons. Easier on my fingers. I can reach the bottom of the pockets. It has a detachable hood. A belt long enough to tie instead of fooling with the buckle. Just the perfect length on my arms and body. And on and on. I LOVE this Spring coat. I have never had a coat for Spring. Only Winter.

I get home and there is the laundry not done. (Big #4) And the corn beef is cooking away to almost nothing. Veggies still in the fridge in the pan of water. (Bigger #5) I go into Pirate's room. He has his blanket and mine on him and he is shivering. I put my hand on his forehead and he is burning up with fever. I calm down. (All gone #'s) What in heaven's name has he got.

I head out to the kitchen and take care of the corn beef and tackle the laundry. Then I start to remember buying the perfect coat and the staff and customers in the store. They had just put the coat out last night after the store closed.

My daughter had been in the store just a couple of days earlier to get a coat for herself. Because of her return as a customer, she got a 20% off the sale price. I asked the gentleman that was checking us out to remove all the theft articles because I wanted to wear it out. I mentioned that it was my birthday today and the coat was a present. He started to sing Happy Birthday to me and soon others also. Before you knew it even the customers in the store joined in. I started to cry. I am welling up right now thinking about it. Oh, and he gave her an additional 10% off for my birthday. But he forgot to remove one theft prevention piece and as I walked out the door wearing my new blue coat, sure enough the warning went off. I had to laugh. I have never had that happen before. Who cares about Petty Vents.

 

[CharlieD]

I don't know either to complain or to be thankful. Our refrigerator died the other day. Everything got defrosted. Had to throw some stuff away. It was fixed the same day, thank G-d we have service, but the best part refrigerator now is absolutely clean and organized.
I don't think it was that cleaned when we bought it 18 years ago.

Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Last Wednesday I found my basement flooded with about 3 inches of water. I tried to find teh cause of the problem and pulled the sump pump from the sump whole. The float was stuck on it. A piece of debris has been caught between the pump motor and the float. I removed the debris and the pump turned on properly when submerged. Still, the water didn't seem to be draining. But I figured that it was probably not noticeable as there was a lot of water to drain. Thursday morning, I got up and checked the basement. The water was deeper, but I had to go to work. Thursday afternoon, I removed the drain pipe from the pump discharge and found a stuck check valve. I removed the check valve and let the pump shove water through to the discharge pipe and out into the yard, underground drainage. I checked Friday morning and the basement was clear of water, but the furnace had quit working on Thursday night. I took the day off. I then troubleshot the furnace and after a few hours was able to get it to work, except for the main blower motor. Further troubleshooting revealed that the motor had been damaged by the water from the flooded basement. I now get to find the correct motor from my furnace, and order it to the tune of between $97 to $150. And I have to lay this 60 year old body on the cement floor, covered by a piece of unused vinyl flooring so that I don't have to lie on the still damp, and dirty cement floor, extract the old pump, order the new one, and install it.

Ah well, just another adventure in this thing we call mortality. Many people have worse problems. That's why this is a petty vent. I will get beyond this problem. I wish all of life's problems could be solved so easily.

Seeeeeeeya; Chief Lognwind of the North

 

[Addie]

Oh Chief, you definitely have my sympathy. When I was living in the basement apartment of my daughter's house, the ground water level was very high. So every time it rained, I would hear the sump pump kick on. Well one time it was an horrendous downpour and I was sitting at my computer. All of a sudden I felt cold water surrounding my feet. The water was coming in faster than the pump could handle. Next day there were two sump pumps. The first on in the closet and the new one on the furnace room. That winter, the snow melted really fast at the end of the season. The best sound I ever hear was when both pumps kicked on at the same time.

This is not a good time of the year for you to have furnace problems. Here's hoping that you get it fixed for the smallest cost. Good luck. Here's one for you to keep an eye on you and send you good vibes for you and your furnace.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Aww Chief, so sorry you are going through this, especially this time of year. Sending you good thoughts and wishes.

 

[Addie]

It is time for my six month checkup. I HATE this. Today I go for my physical with my doctor. I have no major problems except for this stinking cold that has left me with a cough and I am constantly bringing up phlegm. Between now and when I get there I have to decide if I am going to let him know. I just want to get this whole process over with.

 

[taxlady]

Aw Chief, that stinks. I'm sending positive vibes for a quick, easy, and as inexpensive as possible fix.

 

[roadfix]

Yeah, I hate dealing with sump pumps (sewage pump in my case). Over the years, I had to replace mine twice but it gets messy when it fails and sewage start seeping up and over the holding tank and over onto the concrete slab. I've since installed an alarm.

 

[jd_1138]

Last Wednesday I found my basement flooded with about 3 inches of water. I tried to find teh cause of the problem and pulled the sump pump from the sump whole. The float was stuck on it.

Basements are rare out west where I am from, so when we moved here to Ohio I was kinda irritated that the basement here would flood a little when it rained. Just a thin layer of water, but I don't want any water at all coming into the basement/house.

I had about 5 tons of dirt delivered that I shoveled around the foundation to slope away from the house, and it helped a little. Finally had to hire a contractor to dig out an interior french drain along the north wall of the basement. It doesn't even have an electric sump pump -- just drains to the sewer. But no more water in the basement. Wasn't too pricey -- $1,500 I think for labor/materials.

Sounds like you're getting a lot of water at the footings. Sometimes strategically placed dirt can remove a lot of that water. And of course having proper rain gutters on the roof and downspout extensions.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Chief LotN, sorry to hear about the water in your basement. Hope the sump pump issue is all fixed up and you're low is dry.

***********************

I invited SIL and her hubby over for Easter on Friday. Saturday I called to tell her I wasn't sure if I was going to have to come up with a Plan B. Why? Well, when I fished around my 1-quart Chinese soup take-out container for a little scrapper thing for cleaning the counter seams...I also found about two inches of water in that container. Upon further investigation, and a few well-positioned cell phone pictures, I decided that our disposal was leaking. As was some part of our faucet. Now the faucet is a Kohler and all parts are lifetime-guaranteed. If it needs something, they'll send something. I think I know where it is leaking, so Himself can check that come Monday. The disposal, though, looks like we're going to need a new one. That can be a job for next week. Meanwhile, I had not planned on cleaning out the cupboard under the sink but it's all washed down now. Everything is on the side that looks like it will stay dry, while anywhere that might leak has a tub of some kind to catch the water. Just so long as I can fix, serve, and clean up from Easter dinner I'll be a happy bunny.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I had not planned on cleaning out the cupboard under the sink but it's all washed down now. Everything is on the side that looks like it will stay dry, while anywhere that might leak has a tub of some kind to catch the water.

These things seem to always happen on or around a holiday!

A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans. Easy to pull out quickly and keeps the bottom of the cabinet free of rust rings and gunk spots. The downside is that sometimes they fill with water before you realize that you have a leak!

Good luck!

 

[Addie]

These things seem to always happen on or around a holiday!

A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans. Easy to pull out quickly and keeps the bottom of the cabinet free of rust rings and gunk spots. The downside is that sometimes they fill with water before you realize that you have a leak!

Good luck!

Me too. I use a couple of those wash basins you are given in the hospital. Fits perfectly under the sink.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Addie, I don't have those basins around my house. Thankfully, my only trip to the hospital was to have our kids 35 years ago. Luckily, the Dollar Store isn't far away. MUCH cheaper than any hospital stay, too.

...A tip I learned a long time ago is to keep all of the "stuff" under the kitchen sink in a pair of inexpensive rectangular plastic dish pans...

I've done that in all three of our houses. Probably did it in the apartments, too. Learned it all from my Mom. It's a great idea when it works! And it works if you have said container right where the drip will start. Sadly, I ended up with rusty water under the plastic basket, in the plastic basket, and in the quart container inside the basket under the disposal leak. Had not anticipated a need to shove something small and narrow under the faucet fittings. At least THAT leak was clean water! Small blessings.

 

[roadfix]

We have those plastic dish pans under every sink in our house.