Monthly Chat Thread-February!

[3piggles]

I'll do it Watching the Super Bowl. I am a Seattle Seahawks fan, and they are currently winning. Still have half the game to go, though, so anything could happen. We had a nice finger dinner of shrimp cocktail, pork meatballs, stuffed clams and other things. Nice to be able to veg on the couch and just eat things with our fingers! I did pretty much miss the half time show, but hubby said Bruno Mars was fabulous. Some of the ads have been really great.

In other stupid news, the groundhog saw his shadow, but it was all rigged There was a major storm over him at the time, so the only light that could cast a shadow was for the cameras. I wouldn't put too much stock in his prediction

[Bean]

Hooray, good job 3piggles! Glad you had fun watching the superbowl with your feast!

Sad news about Phillip Seymour Hoffman, he's one of my favourite actors.

[3piggles]

It is sad news, especially that anyone with his talent was so unhappy, he needed to escape from life. He leaves quite a legacy, and I think his work will be taught in acting schools for a really long time.

[margaret6]

Yes such a shame. Drugs have no social distinction, my nephew who died in December was found in the very same way. I knew he struggled with drugs but never for one minute did I think he was injecting. Gosh he stayed with us on two occasions when we were trying to help him. Our mistake wad that we tried to change him, I wish I had Just been there for him. But his values and way of life were destructive to our life. Oh well......life goes on. Such a waste for both of them! Xx

[3piggles]

Hi, all! I'm having internet/wifi problems, and haven't been able to access Wheekers very much lately. Someone nearby in the condo complex has such powerful wifi, that when they are using it, it totally kills ours. They seem to be on their internet when I am trying to get to Wheekers, in the evenings after dinner, on weekends, etc., so I'm trying to get on earlier, when they aren't killing our signal. Hubby is off tomorrow, as we have some appointments, and he will call the cable provider and talk to them about what we can do. He put a signal booster on the bedroom level, but it's not enough to keep the other signal from blocking ours. I really hope this is sorted soon. The last two nights I've managed to post a reply or two between signal blockings. Not fun. So if I'm not on for periods, it's not for lack of trying

We got a foot of snow yesterday. Hubby worked from home, so no travel nightmares. Still waiting for the grounds crew to finish their clean up. No hurry, but we will need to move the cars one more time for the plows. Our storm was fairly short compared to what the midwest got. I hear the UK has been bashed by rain and wind. I'd rather have snow. At least it's pretty.

[Bean]

Oh no that's a major pain! I hope you get it sorted out soon - must be very annoying when a service you've paid for gets diverted elsewhere. I did think it was a bit unusual that you came on yesterday and only made one post, but that'd explain it! Really hope you find a solution.

Yes, the floods and storms here have been awful in some parts - so much serious damage that'll take a long time to put right. It's the south that's getting the battering; we've had a few windy and rainy nights, but in general it's still very mild and there have even been a fair few sunny days. Hope our luck spreads down south a bit.

[3piggles]

Hubby didn't get the wifi/internet issues sorted. It is a major pain, as I had to restart the internet connection twice to get on here just now. Hubby is going to try moving the router from the basement, 4 floors down, to the main floor only 3 floors down, and see if that only one floor below the booster, will make a difference.

Our meeting with the investment counselor took much longer than expected, but all the trust accounts are finally set up correctly for granddaughter, and we set up what we'll be doing. We are meeting with her again next Friday, but after a long info session this morning, retirement doesn't look as terrifying as it did before, which is nice.

I will get on when I can, and would have gotten on earlier if possible. The earlier or later I get on, the less chance I have of getting and keeping the connection.

[Bean]

Glad the meeting went well, but boo to the wireless problems being ongoing. Our internet always seems to play up a bit when the weather's bad - just dropping out or losing a signal so you have to reset the modem. We've had a few minor (but annoying) problems lately but I haven't bothered contacting them yet as their customer service is exasperating. I'm just hoping it goes away! The other option is that something else wireless in our house is interfering with the router. I'm not sure I like the option of investigating that much either. Bah!

Having some wet and windy weather here - it's not so bad where we are, but watching the news is a gloomy affair as so many people have been submerged for weeks and more rain is forecast.

[3piggles]

Not sure where I posted about it, but it seems internet providers lease our IP addresses, and the leases expire periodically. While the leases are being renegotiated, service is horrendous. After two weeks of whining about how useless it would be to even try, hubby went on the online chat for our provider, got the solution to the problem, changed the settings on the router, and we're back in business, more or less. Having a 4 story townhouse condo attached to others and within spitting distance of still more seems to be a problem, in general.

Hubby bought a wireless printer, at my request, because the office area we use is now up in the attic snug, but the only printer is off the old Sony laptop in the basement. Printing anything means running up and down three flights of stairs, which is not an option for me. Of course, get the computer and phones working off the wifi, and now the printer doesn't work. I finally told him to leave it for a while. We have the old printer in the basement, so we don't have to have this one working right now. I think he had reached that mental block stage trying to sort out the problems. He did commandeer the computers and internet until late last night, so I was only able to do some mobile stuff on my phone.

A bit of snow overnight. Just enough to look pretty. Meanwhile, other parts of the country and world are being devastated by bad weather. Sad! I have seen pictures of the flooding in parts of England. Not good at all. Nasty weather all around over there.

The west coast and western part of the US are also getting bombed with bad weather. The San Francisco area got over a foot of rain, causing mudslides. Even southern CA got rain. Seattle, Washington got snow. Utah had avalanches. Argh! Stay dry if you can!

In happier news, we bought a new toaster oven after years of using the old one. Wow! What a difference! I baked a loaf of banana bread in it yesterday, and it came out great. The instructions for this one say to cut cooking time by about 10 minutes, which was necessary. It is also a convection oven, but I haven't managed to figure out the cooking times using convection. I pretty much made toast in the old one, so it's nice to have one that does a lot of things.

[jolovespiggies]

We have another horrendous storm on its way according to the news. We are lucky in that we are high up, many people have lost everything and I could cry for them.

Hugs

Jo xx

[Bean]

I'm so glad to hear you're okay Jo, as I always worry about you when I see the news. Awful that so many people have lost so much though, it must be horrendous for everyone. It's such bad luck another storm is coming, I really hope the end of all this isn't too far off.

I just had to look up what a toaster oven was, 3piggles - of course I could take an educated guess, but I've never actually seen one. Sounds like a nifty piece of kit, and saves you heating the whole oven up. Go go gadgety kitchen! And I might have to make some banana bread tomorrow now you've sown that seed in my head...

[Katie]

Oh not more stormy yukkiness jo? It really is sad to see such beautiful houses and land underwater luckily Littlehampton doesnt really flood...having said that a year or so ago it got pretty bad but still a far cry from near you.
I require banana bread...although i have to make mine muffins otherwise i nibble at the loaf and it vanishes. Its all about rationing the squidgy goodness for me!

[Bean]

My bananas aren't ripe enough so I'm going with lemon cake for me and chocolate chip buns for the kids (talking about cake perked up our grey, drizzly school run!).

I expect we'll hear a lot more about the flooding now it's affecting more of London.

[Katie]

Its stupidly windy here at the moment!! and I have to walk into town! The perks of living in a seaside town

[jolovespiggies]

Feb 10, 2014 20:44:41 GMT Bean said:

I'm so glad to hear you're okay Jo, as I always worry about you when I see the news. Awful that so many people have lost so much though, it must be horrendous for everyone. It's such bad luck another storm is coming, I really hope the end of all this isn't too far off.

Thank you my darling that is so kind. We are OK here because we are high up but seeing people loose everything is heartbreaking. Homes, businesses and goodness knows what else. I am very concerned about the pets too.

I almost feel guilty for being OK when so many are sufferiing.

Hugs

JO xx

[jolovespiggies]

Feb 10, 2014 23:12:11 GMT Katie said:

Oh not more stormy yukkiness jo? It really is sad to see such beautiful houses and land underwater luckily Littlehampton doesnt really flood...having said that a year or so ago it got pretty bad but still a far cry from near you.
I require banana bread...although i have to make mine muffins otherwise i nibble at the loaf and it vanishes. Its all about rationing the squidgy goodness for me!

So they say my love yes, we have just had a downpour here but nothing like that which is being experienced on the coast. I always wanted a house overlooking the sea and where we used to live in The Fort at Cawsand, it is devastated. I just hope the insurance companies pay out, it is small compensation I know when you have lost everythng, but I hope they come through for people.

I have never tried banana bread, it sounds delicious.

Hugs

JO xx

[Katie]

Never tried banana bread??!! Jo you have to it is a joy!

[3piggles]

We each have a banana every morning for the potasium, so hubby buys large amounts. I make the left over bananas into bread. My recipe uses 3-4 overly ripe bananas. Katie, I make the loaf, eat a piece and send the rest to work with hubby. Sometimes I just send it and don't even eat a piece. I do love it, but I make about a loaf every other week, so it gets boring. I'd love to do muffins, but I'd still send them to work with him. Not sure what I'm going to do with my baked goods when he finally retires.

Here in New England, we tend to get the tail end of everyone else's awful weather, so it's never as bad. We get clobbered once in a while, but nothing like other parts of the country. Most of the country is currently having some version or horrendous weather. The southeast is getting hit again, so if any of you saw the reports of how badly the governor of Georgia or the Mayor or Atlanta managed the last snaffu, tune in for how they do this time. Hate to admit up here we tend to laugh at them trying to drive in any amount of snow down there, but they have been getting some snow and nasty cold. Anyone who remembers Merry, she lives in Baton Rouge, Mississippi now, and posted pictures of icicles hanging off the blooming flowers outside their apartment. That's majorly cold for that area.

[Bean]

Oh yes, the lovely Merry - hope married life is treating her well? I bet it's bizarre having weather so different than you're used to. It is interesting seeing how people aren't used to certain weathers cope with them - but saying that, we're well used to snow in winter but still seem to grind to a halt every time it falls!

This article in the paper made me chuckle - a fun way to pass the daily commute!

[margaret6]

Piggles what is a toaster? In Scotland we call a toaster a small machine just for toasting bread but your description sounds like a type of cooker. I was waiting on you bean giving an update? Hope weathers holding out for you, when you mentioned the internet problem I thought you were going to say it was down to the weather. Oh yes Jo, the flooding has been horrendous , I say a lady in tears on the news, her whole house was under the water, such a shame. Katie it must be lovely (most of the time) living in a seaside town. Do you live near the sea? X