May 2020 Chat Thread

[Bean]

I've just realised we don't have our chat thread for May. I think we're all losing our usual sense of time at the moment, so I've probably done well getting to it as early as the 5th!

Anyone up to anything exciting this month?! No?!

[amber89]

Oh, i haven't really been aware that it's May. I mean, i know that we had Labour Day and hubby was free (no work from home), but somehow, once the 1.st of May was over, it slipped my mind. The days now merge into each other and even if something happens, it is so irrelevant what month it is. My schedule is only about when the next online courses or online meetings is taking place, which exercises sheets i am supposed to finish by the end of the week and so on...

I am working at vollgas with my uni stuff. Even though at some point the group was ahead with the TB vaccine report, once i moved to Vienna we started lagging behind. It seems that if i was not calling for an online meeting, no one else did. We are now settling for meetings every 2-3 days to pick up speed with the project. With the other course I am also a bit behind. 
Once i came back home i lost my routine that i had in Copenhagen and it took time adapting to the new environment. 

On a lighter note: next Saturday my 14-days mandatory quarantine will be ending. Finally i can get out of the apartment. We are planning on Saturday, after the usual food shopping, either a short bike tour around one of the irrigation channels, or a trip to the local animal shelter to drop off some GP bedding that we don't need.  

[bazookagoof]

Oops, I totally forgot about the month change myself!

The only day that is different for me is Thursday, aside from that all the days run together!

[3piggles]

I totally lost track of the month changing. I remembered to change the calendars yesterday, and didn't even think about the monthly thread. We are slipping 🤗

[Bean]

Our May Day bank holiday (always a Monday) was moved to the Friday this year, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day. So that's caused loads of confusion as many people were saying that yesterday was bank holiday Monday! But then because Thursday was the end of the working/ school week this week, many people felt like yesterday was Saturday!

What didn't escape anyone's notice in our house was that I failed to do my customary baking for the weekend this week - either on the Friday or on the Thursday! That caused a bit of disappointment!

During the week, my son mentioned wanting to bake some monstrous creation he'd seen a recipe for online, which is like a brownie traybake with cookie dough in the middle?! So perhaps I knew that was coming and thought that would tick everyone's sugar allowance for the weekend? But it's probably more likely to be related to losing any sense of time!

[bazookagoof]

May 9, 2020 6:19:48 GMT Bean said:

What didn't escape anyone's notice in our house was that I failed to do my customary baking for the weekend this week - either on the Friday or on the Thursday! That caused a bit of disappointment!

During the week, my son mentioned wanting to bake some monstrous creation he'd seen a recipe for online, which is like a brownie traybake with cookie dough in the middle?! So perhaps I knew that was coming and thought that would tick everyone's sugar allowance for the weekend? But it's probably more likely to be related to losing any sense of time!

Oh, that sounds marvellous! This lockdown is preventing me from indulging in any cakes or other baked sweets, which I suppose is a good thing.

My wife and daughter make a trip occasionally to Culver's (not sure if you have them across the pond, but they're a fast food joint that brings the food to your table.) and whenever they do, I've been asking for a milkshake. Definitely a guilty pleasure! 

[Bean]

Haha, I wish I could send you a slice rather than watching them stuff it all down their gullets! My son didn't have time to bake yesterday, but I did some - coffee and walnut cake and chocolate chip cookies. I only baked about 1/3 of the cookie dough, saving the rest ready for his creation!

I've never heard of Culver's before. Just had a quick google and see frozen custard (rather than ice cream) is one of their lines. I suppose one of the common methods of making ice cream does involve making a custard, but I've never heard it called frozen custard over here.

We had a Thai takeaway last night, it was really good. It's a place that usually has a restaurant as well as doing takeaways, but of course that side of things is closed. They still look to be doing a roaring trade though. I got there a few minutes early to collect my order, so was watching (from the outdoor seating area for customers only - several chairs spaced metres apart) the social distancing procedures for all the uber eats and deliveroo riders/ drivers - they had to shout their number and then drop their insulated bag on a table before stepping back for someone from the restaurant to drop it in without touching the bag. If their orders weren't ready they had a separate area to space out in while they waited. It was quite amusing!

It was also my first experience of being around people wearing face masks, and it's much harder to hear them or understand what they're saying without being able to read their facial expressions!

[3piggles]

That's pretty much how I imagine out take out businesses are running, though the insulated bag may be a plus we're not getting.

I googled frozen custard v ice cream, and they're not the same, though one of the ways of making ice cream starts with a custard base. I think frozen custard is a bit softer than ice cream, which can be extremely hard. Hood is one company I think makes a custard-based ice cream, as it's about the only one I've ever been able to get out of the box without power tools! I just got a recipe for it, from a cooking show, so I'll try it, and let you know how it is.

I think getting the treat periodically is probably better for us, while we can't get in the exercise we like to do. It also makes it more of a treat, when it's not always readily available.

We had some boxes of pudding mix that are starting to get a bit old, and they call for whole cows milk to make them set. I also have a recipe for making yogurt using oat milk. The yogurt recipe calls for adding tapioca flour and xanthan gum, so I tried adding those to the pudding mix, and using the oat milks. The pudding set up the way it was supposed to. Next, I'll try using almond milk with the tapioca flour and xanthan gum, and see of that works. Lots of carbs in out milk, so not a milk I want to use on a regular basis. I think the lack of the tapioca flour and xanthan gum could be why the almond milk yogurt never set, so also plan to try that again, once the yogurts we have are gone.

Hubby bought me some beautiful Mother's Day flowers 💝

[Bean]

Oh what lovely flowers, he's a good egg! Happy Mothers' Day! (We had ours in March so it wasn't on my radar!)

It still looks pretty wintry there - very pretty, even if it's not so great for spending time outdoors. We're having a cooler week this week, but no snow as far as I know. There was some news story this morning about how we're in for the coolest summer in years - it doesn't bode well for the veg patch!

[3piggles]

As much as I'm loving it, our cool Spring continues. We've had some warm days, and not every day is jacket weather, but it hasn't been good for getting seedlings started, or any typical planting things. Instead of temps regularly in the 60s, they've been in the 50s, which is quite a noticeable difference.

Hubby found the stacking planter we tried once before, but it didn't work very well, and a hydro kit we also tried once before. The stacking planter was supposed to have a PVC watering pipe down the middle, which was apparently in another kit I had to buy, and didn't know it. When I went back to find that kit, I couldn't, so we're going to build our own. It needs a base for all the planters to sit on, and holes drilled in a piece of PVC pipe so the water in the center pipe comes out in the planting sections. We can also put the whole thing in a tub with a small pump, keep the water in the tub, and pump it up to the top of the pipe.

The other one is a box with a flat top that has holes in it. The box holes about 5 gallons of water. Each hole has a strainer insert to hold plants, no dirt needed. The problem was, full, the thing was too heavy for me to pick up, and even hubby had trouble carrying it to the sink to drain it. The water tended to get nasty, quickly, and smell, plus the plants didn't thrive in that yucky water. Again, it turns out there's a pump and hose kit that goes with it, not included, that will circulate the water and keep it cleaner. It also allows us to change or add to the water without having to lug the whole thing to the sink to empty it.

Those we could start indoors, though I really don't want to have to move anything as heavy as those will be, once they're full of dirt or water. We also just don't have the space, as we're trying to get rid of stuff to make more space, not add stuff.

Ultimately, I think the plants didn't do very well because we keep the house too cold in the winter. I know basil needs 70F, and our 62F just wasn't good enough. I can't even keep it near a heat source. The heat doesn't come on all that often.

I don't know if we're going to have a good growing summer, or not. Temps have been known to radically change overnight, so summer could arrive with a vengeance. As it is now, hubby takes the house plants out during the day, and brings them in at night. Mother Nature is watering them, as I type

[Bean]

Sounds like you've tried all sorts! I just stick with forgetting to water stuff (which I thought I'd be much better at with lockdown, but I'm still not great!).

I need to repot some seedlings I have in my mini greenhouse very soon. They're not quite large enough to be plated out and resist slugs, but it's not warm enough yet either.

[3piggles]

Both of these cold definitely be used to start seedlings, even as they are. We hadn't figured out the plant set up in the dining area when we used these, last. Now, if we used the heavy one, we could always pop the plug and drain it into a watering can or pail. We do need to get some seedlings soon, or we won't get anything to harvest until late September.

I think making the planters work is high on hubby's list of priorities.

[amber89]

Also here in Vienna is quite cool...much cooler than i expected. We have turned the heating back on, but we have switched the blankets.
We also finally had some proper rain two days ago. The farmers were really complaining that the draught is threatening this year's crops.

On Saturday we took the bikes to the market. It's a round trip of 5.5 km but afterwards i was dead for 2 days.
After 2 months of not leaving my room, my physical condition dropped below sea level. I was shocked that a 5.5 km bike ride would do me such a k.o.
I don't really like taking the bike inside of the city, unless there are bike lanes, but here where i leave there are portions without a bike lane. The street is a main artery and is full of cars and trucks. As much as the drivers here are better than in Bucharest, i don't feel comfortable when a driver is breathing down my neck, getting angry that the "stupid bikes are too slow". I am also, not so secure about my bike driving; grandpa only taught me to drive straight, on a street without any cars. So, crowded places make me nervous.

I have no problem having a energetic walk of 5.5 km. Did such walk two days ago. We walked around the irrigation channel here (it's our usual bike ride).
We also managed to get a few tree branches for the pigs (Tilia, Beech, Birch and Maple), which were an absolut hit with the piggies. We got home in the nick of time before the rain caught us.

[3piggles]

It's hard the first time we use new muscle groups, I hope you get your biking muscles strengthened soon. More reasons to get out and about 🤗

Your farmers would like the rain we're getting, but not the wind.

[Bean]

The walk sounds like a more successful outing than the bike ride! It's good you can get out and about a bit more now, and hopefully some better weather will be on the way soon, for both people and crops!

[amber89]

Had today my first exam, online, a grueling time of 4 hours, all aid.
It didn't went as well as i hoped, but i think i am on the passing side.
Now, i need to lie down and nurse a nightmare of a migraine.

[3piggles]

Huge hugs for the exam and the migraine, and I hope you feel a whole lot better, really soon. The exam probably went better than you think, and it's behind you, now, so let it go, and try to get some good rest.

Wow! 4 hours! The only exams I ever took for 4 hours were the SATs!

Bean, didn't we have a discussion about over there, exams are given in a big exam room, instead of in the classroom? Over here, exams are given in the classroom, or they were when I was in college, so if the class was an hour long, the exam was an hour long, etc. Had to move out for the next class using that room.

[Bean]

Four hours is a long time! Hope you're fully rested and recuperated now, Amber, and that the results give you a pleasant surprise.

[3piggles]

Major thunderstorm came through last night crashing and flashing, blowing with torrential rain, and it was gone. Maybe lasted 10 minutes, max. Great light show, if really short.

Out folding clothesline broke a couple of weeks ago, and I ordered a new, better one. That arrived today, and was broken, so another one is on the way. That's two that broke while we were using them, and one that arrived broken. Hmmm?

[bazookagoof]

Finally got that dratted kitchen sink repaired! I went to a local hardware store that was uncrowded, and snagged two supply lines. Then I went home and tried to install the faucet, but the connector that went from the sprayer to the faucet was faulty. So I had to reconnect the old faucet again, but it sprung a leak from all the repeated connecting/disconnecting (not to mention that it was falling apart anyway from years of use) and I had to run out Saturday morning and grab yet another faucet.

However, the new faucet's connector seemed to be faulty as well! I ran back to the little hardware store and asked someone if they sold just the connector, or perhaps I could swap it out for another one? They managed to fix it- there was a tube inside it that was meant to drop out, and somehow got jammed halfway in. They tested it in the store, and I was extremely thankful that I went in with a polite attitude!

Went home and went through the whole rigamarole again (this would be the fifth time I went through this process!) and now it works perfectly.

Had I more time, I would have caulked the bathroom tub, but I didn't feel like it after putting in 3 hours of work on a Saturday. I'll save it for next week.