iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 17, 2022 23:16:30 GMT
Heavily! LOL
There is a sweet corn festival close to me. They have a giant pot of melted butter. They dip the ear in it, and hand it to you. Mmmm...
We don't grow any sweetcorn anymore. It is a lot of work to keep the raccoons and other critters out. Electric fences at several heights, and they still find a way in! One of my friends raises it to sell, and I just buy my freezer corn from him now! He picks it and brings it to me right out of the field! Woof -- that is one busy day when that comes! Tastes great all winter!
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 16, 2022 15:01:13 GMT
I do a little.
I don't tip a full 15%, but I add a couple bucks onto my order. They have to package things up, and if it is a place that I know takes care in how they do it, and not just slap things in a foam box and it all soaks together, I tip. I tip if they have to seal alcoholic drinks, like margaritas.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 16, 2022 14:59:01 GMT
No!
I was hoping after the whole pandemic shut down, people would learn to stay home when they are sick.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 15, 2022 22:34:36 GMT
I went to buy new cushions for some outdoor furniture. It was cheaper to buy new furniture!
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 15, 2022 21:56:21 GMT
Pretty glassware is my weakness. I have some old Fostoria crystal. A friend gave us a set of Waterford. DH has some Baccarat that he bought.
I loved the Pioneer Woman Adeline pattern clear glasses. I bought the iced tea size at Walmart several years ago, along with some other pieces of it, and have now found other pieces in matching pattern, that are not PW, but an exact match, so I have gone a little nuts.. I have iced tea, low ball, a rounded bottom low ball, medium size iced tea, berry bowls, sundae cups, water goblets, martini/margharita, punch cups/bowl, coffee cups, candy dish, and more.. it's a problem.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 15, 2022 21:47:46 GMT
dh said it would be an easy fix, if we could find the glass for it. I'm skeptical like you. I think just buying a new one would be worth the hassle and cost. Mine shattered, but it was a 2 piece glass top. So one piece shattered when it blew out in a storm. I took the second piece in to our local welding shop that carries sheet metal. I had an aluminum piece cut to replace the top. I don't know why I only had one side done, and left the other side glass - but I had that piece blow out and land in my lane and shatter. God that's a mess to clean up! But now I have two sheets of aluminum in it to replace the glass. I MUCH prefer the aluminum! It's very sturdy, but still lightweight. It will not ever break. It cleans easily. If it gets weird, I just sprinkle it with Bar Keepers Friend and scrub it clean. Way better than glass. You might have to take the whole table to a sheet metal place, so they can make the pattern. But it is a better alternative than glass. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 15, 2022 20:52:06 GMT
When we would visit my aunt in the summers, she always made pancakes with chocolate gravy - like you said, it isn't like chocolate syrup, it is thicker and oh so good! I need to ask her how she made that.
My Mom made THE best homemade chocolate fudge. Real cream and butter. She used cocoa powder in it too. She would cook it to 'soft ball stage', I think, for it to be come fudge. Once it got to that stage, she would use a wooden spoon to whip it and then pour it into a buttered dish to harden into fudge... SO GOOD! But she used the same recipe and would just not cook it as long, and that became ice cream sauce! That kind of sounds like your chocolate gravy. My mom would make 'white gravy' for biscuits... but it was sweet. I think it was mostly just powdered sugar frosting with butter and more milk. It was good! |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 13, 2022 14:17:22 GMT
Ours would be boring also You'd be surprised sometimes. I have had a short convo with my husband recorded. It was no big shakes, but if you had something sensitive to discuss....shut those puppies down. We also have a family member with a name that sounds close to Alexa. That's fun. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 13, 2022 12:49:27 GMT
I was shocked at how much personal information can be purchased about me. Current address, telephone number, and the names of my parents and siblings and their addresses. Very scary. Any angry person can do what they want. It is available free too. I can find all that info pretty easily for people, without spending a dime. I see a lot of vigilante justice happening on TikTok. There are content creators that go after people who behave badly. They find their workplace and contact employers. They haze that person and post all that info on TikTok so other people go after them too. Some of these people did some pretty crappy stuff, but the vengeance in which people have going after someone is scary. I remember one time, them getting the person wrong. Same name, same city, similar look - wrong person. The TikTok creator immediately took steps to rectify, but the damage was done. I won't do a DNA test though. I draw the line there. I did do a genetic workup for my cancer but I chose the anonymous information sharing option (though that could be breached I suppose) to help with future research. I won't do a DNA test either, but one of my siblings has done it and made it available. I wasn't super happy about this, but what can I do. It was done as a genealogy project, but I feel like my privacy has been breeched because of it, along with my children. I have specifically told them to never submit to a DNA test without a court order. So much for that. If someone at Amazon is listening in to me, they'll be awful bored. Do you have an Alexa device? You can go in and check the voice history. I am surprised sometimes what gets recorded. Most of them are me and Alexa having a little argument though. LOL |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 12, 2022 23:05:48 GMT
All I know is they are smooth as heck! Our friend has one with a huge motor. That thing sails like glass! He can pull a bunch of skiers behind it too!
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 12, 2022 21:55:18 GMT
Well my husband loves the Star Trek series. He also is loving the Joe Pickett series, based on the books. I love Joe Pickett books. Didn't love the show.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 12, 2022 21:54:11 GMT
One that I have found absolutely entertaining and endearing is "Were You Raised By Wolves" ..
It is an etiquette podcast. I am not Miss Manners, but I love listening to the two hosts, Nick Leighton and Leah Bonnema. They just click.
It's one of those podcasts that will make you smile. It's not heavy, but it keeps me listening. The quality of the production is great too.
This weeks topics were; eating soup dumplings, navigating airport security, waving while driving. Things you never knew you need to know how to handle the etiquette on! FYI - I have been eating soup dumplings all wrong!
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 12, 2022 21:44:34 GMT
For complete gravy failures, as myself, about 2 Tablespoons of fat left in the pan ? TIA. If you are using the gravy mix - that is plenty. You could leave less. If you are making the gravy from scratch - the fat is pretty important to it. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 12, 2022 14:18:27 GMT
Sounds great. Do you drain the fat after browning the sausage and before adding the mix? If your sausage is really fatty, spoon some off. You want a little fat, but not swimming in it. I use Farmland sausage (comes in a blue tube) and it is not fatty at all, and has a great, but mild flavor. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 11, 2022 14:40:20 GMT
Ok - this one is really cheating, but everyone who has it tells me it is the best they have ever had. LOL  I brown the sausage nicely. Then I sprinkle the gravy mix onto the browned sausage (make sure your skillet is deep, and not super hot when you do this). The package calls for water, but I use milk. You can do half of each. 1 cup milk, 1 cup water - but I do all milk, and thin with water if I need to. But stir the gravy mix into the browned sausage, and then add the milk and stir well under medium heat until thick. So good! Homemade biscuits are amazing - but frozen Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits are great too - just put as many as you want on a baking sheet and bake. They are far better than canned ones. Nest them kind of close together for software biscuits.  *McCormick also has just a regular Country Gravy mix and a Peppered Country Gravy. Those work too, but for the best biscuits and gravy - the Sausage Gravy mix is good. I am a 'from scratch' cook, for the most part. But dang, I like these country gravies! The Peppered one is great with fried chicken (chicken strips, nuggets, whatever). |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 11, 2022 14:35:14 GMT
Other - rough. LOL
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 10, 2022 16:50:43 GMT
Frost free freezer? That can really ruin frozen food. But just a week difference is surprising.
I don't store anything long term (more than a week or so) in my regular frost free freezer that is in my refrigerator. I take anything that I plan on keeping longer (frozen) to my basement deep freeze which is NOT a frost free. You never want a frost free deep freeze.
The short amount of time you have stored this makes me question if this is really the issue though. Usually a few weeks is OK in a frost free. Is it possible your freezer could have gotten warmer, then refroze at some point?
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 9, 2022 15:47:44 GMT
I'm sure it differs from state to state and athletic unions, but I would not do anything that goes on the uniform, is worn on the person, or helmet. Which pretty much eliminates everything.
In my state, no jewelry can be worn, and nothing that is not pre-approved by the High School Athletic Union can be placed on the uniform. They are pretty picky about what brand logos can even show.
It is pretty common to have 'uniform rules' waved at some events, like very cold cross country meets - where they allow them to wear tights under the uniform. But our school required those to all be the same - black, no company/brand logo showing. We got pretty creative at using a sharpie to black out the UnderArmor logos. LOL
I watched a girl at the state track meet get her entire team DQ'd because of an earing. She was in the blocks, the starter readied them, then the Chief Umpire of the meet whistled and DQ'd her (and the entire relay team in conjunction) because she had not taken out an earing. Ooofff... it was a bad moment. But she and her coach should have known.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 8, 2022 15:48:27 GMT
Speed Queen commercial. Nothing compares. Mine pre-dates the mandatory "high efficiency" mandate  - but the new ones are really good yet. I think you need to use the "NON-HE" setting on them to get the really good wash. The HE machines just do not clean well. You can dispute that to high heaven with me, but they don't They will clean basic everyday laundry ok, but I have dirty, bloody, poopy, sweaty, greasy - rancher - laundry. My HE machine was a hot mess. Ended up getting the Speed Queen as a second machine. The HE sits now. I run something not very dirty through it occasionally just to keep it sound. My Speed Queen will do a load in under 30 minutes and it is CLEAN. No fancy lights or bells and whistles. Just basic clean, and made in the USA> |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 8, 2022 12:43:48 GMT
The National Weather Service also stipulates that, in addition to widespread 60 mph winds, a few significant wind gusts, or those topping 75 mph, must be thrown in as well. The one that went through Iowa in 21 was a doozy. I watched it start, and our winds were minimal, but the clouds were something to behold. It passed over without much damage to us - but picked up force as it passed across the state. I had a family member in eastern IA have severe damage with trees through their roof. Sustained winds of 120 MPH for over 30 minutes. They said it was awful. I've lost buildings and trees to high winds and small tornadoes. I have seen many nearby tornadoes and even been in a building that took a direct hit from one. The tornados are fast - boom - here and gone. But having to sit through 120 mph winds for 30-40 minutes would be awful! That one that went through the Dakota's, Minnesota and North Iowa earlier this week was just above me. I got about 90 seconds of a high wind. I was prepared and had everything put away. One lawn chair flew across my farm yard, but no branches down. Then we had some well needed rain. I was thankful we were spared from worse. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 8, 2022 12:30:23 GMT
I don't think this instance, or instances like it necessarily warrant 20%, but I do think they warrant a tip of some kind. I agree that some tip is warranted. But even the usual minimum of 15% seems high - and those are the options on the automatic. OP said it was 18%,20%, 25%. I am assuming you can enter your own amount - or as OP did, just leave a cash tip. It's a tough job, and servers are often treated like servants (at best) by a lot of people. Ummm... 'server's treated as servants" That's kind of their job!  But I think I get where you are coming from. They shouldn't be treated poorly as servants. I can realize when someone serving me is just slammed. It is beyond their control. At our Culver's we place our order with an actual person. We get our own drinks and condiments. They bring our food to us. If staff are in the dining room and wiping tables they have asked if they could take our garbage if we were done. Culvers. That's a whole different ballgame. Even the drive through workers are amazingly nice! They really train their employees well. I hope they have a higher pay scale than most fast food, because they really step up the game! |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 7, 2022 15:45:48 GMT
I think this is something that is going to need to be addressed.
If I do all the work, sans carrying a plate to my table - is it worth 20%
If my food total was $50, is it worth $10 to only carry a plate or two to my table? I know server positions pay crap, and they use the tips to make a more decent wage - but this is nuts.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 6, 2022 22:26:48 GMT
I would done just the basics - Date and place of birth/death. That’s it. I think this is a bit too much. Sometimes, the less you say, the more you say. |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 6, 2022 14:12:58 GMT
I see personal responsibility weak on both sides of the political landscape, especially the far Right and the far Left.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 6, 2022 12:56:39 GMT
Do you know any friends or associates that might have social media? You could go through them to contact him?
It is tough when there is no contact. I hope you can get a hold of him.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 4, 2022 23:31:50 GMT
I'm still putting $2.79 gas in my tank. I'm going to crap when I buy bulk this fall.
I thought it was pretty bad paying $2.79... sigh..
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 4, 2022 22:56:49 GMT
Dinner is always at noon.
Supper can be very fluid. Anywhere from 6 to 8:30, depending on the season and how busy we are.
I grew up with the word "Dinner" as the noon meal. Is that a Midwest thing? A rural thing?
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 3, 2022 14:58:07 GMT
My kids all stuck with our hometown bank, and even now still keep an account there.
Our bank did things like waiving overdraft fees, etc. for college kids. Even now, if you keep a $100 balance - everything is free.
With debit cards and paying with apps now, keeping the local hometown bank wasn't an issue.
They do have bank accounts in local to them now banks, but still keep their hometown accounts open too. Makes it easy for grandma to bop in to the bank and drop them some fun money once in a while! LOL She's a gem! And our local bank is a good one, without fees, etc. and other shady stuff you run into with big banks.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 2, 2022 22:42:21 GMT
If you haven’t bought your pickles in the fridge section of a kosher deli they’re not good. I live in BFE Iowa... LOL Kosher Deli? I don't even know if there is one in the state? Certainly not one in my neck of the woods! They sound great! |
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Jul 2, 2022 15:44:31 GMT
All pickles are not created equal. Some I like, some I can't stand. I love a Claussen dill pickle slice with a meaty meal, like roast beef. The garlicky flavor pairs well. I like good dill pickles on my hamburger, but can't stand fast food pickles. My local farmers market has a bread & butter pickle slice that is so good. It is pickled with some onion and peppers in it and I like to eat them straight from the jar. It's great on a smoked meat sandwich. I also like to dice them finely and add to my chicken salad. |
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- but the new ones are really good yet. I think you need to use the "NON-HE" setting on them to get the really good wash.
But I think I get where you are coming from. They shouldn't be treated poorly as servants. I can realize when someone serving me is just slammed. It is beyond their control. 
