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HazelStone

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Posts posted by HazelStone

  1. What I described was in a regular grocery store. If you have a warehouse store membership you see far fewer items out of stock. Hand sanitizer and cleaning stuff is hard to come by, of course.

     

    The Asian grocers are mostly ok, too. They've put item limits on things like eggs or rice, though. Even if one piles up storage foods, getting your family to eat it is a different matter. This week I made up a nice batch of dal makhani one of the things I always get a bit of when we go to an Indian buffet nearby. And I did a good job if it, if I do say so myself. Served it up with some steamed brown rice... my husband politely ate some, shoved the last third of his bowl at me, and went to reheat some leftovers. The next night, he sous-vide-ed a ribeye for us.

     

    I will try doing up a rajma masala with dried beans, and I know he'll eat the chickpeas, too...the man is just spoiled.  We can well afford meat, and lots, so why not? seems to be his attitude. He won't touch canned meats/fish, either. I could see this becoming the subject of much bitching/bickering if the normal trappings of civilization ever became harder to get.

    • Like 3
  2. Lentils, oddly enough. Red and black lentils (urad dal?) invariably gone. Sometimes brown, and always the green remain. You'll know sh*t's gotten real if the green lentils are gone. Normal, short grain rice gone; brown rice and fancier rice varieties (jasmine, etc.) sometimes remain.

     

    Pasta, forget it. Tortillas- touch and go (time to get out the ol' tortilla press).

     

    Yogurt- gone in a flash. Tried looking for steel cut oats and those were gone, too.

     

    And, of course, any sort of chicken.

    • Like 2
    • Sad 1
  3. 11 minutes ago, Littlesister said:

     

    We have only put a small dent in the freezers so far.  Not buying anything now. Just going to use up our stock and then replenish a couple of months from now.  Though I heard we are in a recession now. So prices of food, paper goods, clothing and other things will go way up as the value of the dollar drops to nothing. 

    We'll be okay so long as US currency/bonds is seen as the prettiest horse in the glue factory. Other countries have fired up the printing press too, so we might not see as much of a decline given US' relative position to its neighbors. Those who want most to undercut the USD would be doing it on the power of oil and hey, guess what was just gutted as well?

     

    I mean, the next year or so will be no fun, but I don't think things will be pay-for-groceries-with-silver level. Though the grocery store yesterday reminded me of Polish immigrants' description of the Communist days...

    • Like 1
  4. 11 hours ago, Jeepers said:

    LOL. 

    Wife #1 doesn't look too impressed. 

     

    Wife #2 Well, I'm impressed she got him to help with dishes! Or else she is just holding there at the sink.

    Chore-Play?

    • Haha 3
  5. 10 minutes ago, Mt_Rider said:

     

    Glad to see you back, HazelStone!  Always loved your lil' kitty.  :)  Do you have those in your area?  We do and I like pics better than the real ones for neighbors.  :o  

     

     

    Yeah, and they don't think of that aspect when giving us a hard time.  But we're gracious and forgiving, right?  But we're also hoping that they....all of the "they" in our lives.....learn and prepare for the next time some hooey hits fan.  Cuz these BIG hooey situations need a lot of folks who are prepared and know how to use our stuff.  It takes us mostly out of the shopping equation by the time things are seriously scarce.

     

    I imagine old timers are getting popular all over the planet about now.  "Grandma, how do I make bread since there is none in the store?"

     

    MtRider  :wave: 

     

     

    Gaaahh, still trying to get the hang of the new forum. Moderate IT arcana going on the work machine, and on my own I'm cursing under my breath trying to get the quote to work...

     

    I live waaaaay too far east for the big kitties to roam. We've only recently gotten coyotes. I got to pet a cheetah once, and that's as big as I'll go.

     

    Anyway, my family taught me to prep, really. We lived way out in the country when I was little, and I was one of those weird kids who actually listened to their grandparents.

     

    Though even if you know how to make bread, the flour and yeast were gone quick. Pay no attention to that white bucket in the pantry closet. :whistling:

    • Like 6
  6. It is funny how Fate turns, sometimes. I had a major injury that left me using a walker for a while. Y'know what I have a lot of left over from that time? HAND SANITIZER. Because I couldn't risk washing my hands and slipping/falling from a bit of soap residue...

     

    I consider myself lucky to be on the side of the equation where I'm delivering items for vulnerable friends rather than being among those stuck and  scrambling for help.

    • Like 5
  7. Been away a while. Lots of crap over the last couple-few years. Some good stuff, too, and right as we were going to relax the purse strings a bit and go on a major trip... this happened. Right as I was trying to get the pantry re-sorted after the Drugstore Beetle Fiasco did in our stored pasta and we felt rather stupid for letting it snowball like that.

     

    I'd been following the current mess since December, thought it only a matter of time, and started re-stocking our current staples. Husband commented on it. I told him it doesn't hurt, and it was just in case. Started picking up extra things at the international market, or at Trader Joe's...waving aside my husband's comments.

     

    Late January the pandemic started being discussed at work. I'd mentioned that I studied a lot of logistics for my degree and learned that civilization really was 3 meals from anarchy, it was winter anyway, so why not pick up a few extra things? And I left it at that. And kept picking up a few extra things. And rebalanced some investments.

     

    Come March, all Hell breaks loose, the stores are gutted, there's a dude in a plague mask standing in front of Trader Joe's, there are purchase limits on what's left, my husband wasn't able to complete his shopping list. One of my coworkers frantically messaged me that if I didn't have food in the house, to take PTO and go get some while it was still there. I was able to say "Naaah I'm good."  And later as my husband reached for one of his staples that I stocked up on, he stopped and realized something. Then said, "Okay, Sweetie, you were right."

     

    Awesome! Thanks for acknowledging. We love to hear that admission from our spouses. Victory, yeah? But I didn't want to be right on this. I'd rather take another neglected pile of preps, and another pest problem and just look stupid again rather than this. At the very least, some other poor sot got to grab that sack of rice or bit of pasta because I had already sorted my situation.

    • Like 8
  8.  

    And computer is wheezing, grumbling. If I disappear....that would be the reason. Hope it will last a bit longer.....new computers are SUCH a pain. :0327: Too many changes now.... But I can still show up on DH's computer but can't sit in the chair too long. :pc_coffee:

     

    MtRider :hi:

     

    External hard drives and USB thumb drives are really dang cheap now. Your bookmarks, etc are simply a file you transfer over like anything else. When you get a computer, stay away from Windows 8. d**m but it's confusing. And this is from someone who fixes computers for a living. :scratchhead: Almost enough for me to say "screw it I'll focus on Unix stuff."

     

    Blessed are the paranoid, for they hath made backups.

  9. Right when I think I have things sorted for a while... a wrench falls into the works.

     

    I've got a good job, that I like. I've got potential for advancement/a raise. I've killed my old medical bills and almost have the car paid off. I'm maxing out my Roth. My depression is well managed. I've managed to drop some weight.

     

    Sounds like a good time to try for a baby, right? Nope, more fibroid surgery. More delay. I've been to this dance before. It is not fun.

     

    Though sometimes I wonder about the sort of world I'd be bringing a kid into. I don't see the economy really improving in the future. I hope I'm wrong. Hell, I'm not even pregnant yet and I worry about paying for college. Some days I feel like the job and house stuff is overwhelming. But I also want a daughter with hazel eyes. On the bright side, the prenatal vitamins have done wonders for my nails! :nail:

    I really can't do the homemaker thing, though. Nowadays once you fall off the career ladder you have a hell of a time getting back on.

     

    I just pray for guidance and ask for understanding that where I am is where I need to be.

  10. As mentioned in the other thread, I'm INTP (I have taken the full Meyers-Briggs before).

     

    I am a computer nerd by trade. I spend a lot of time curled up inside my own head.

     

    Language errors drive me NUTS (I want to smack the 'I could care less' offenders with a rolled up newspaper). I'm also very quick to make or anticipate puns, and learn other languages pretty quickly.

     

    I often will debate a point regardless of my emotional view on it, or point out logical inconsistencies in other people's arguments on either side of the debate. No, I don't have green blood and pointy ears.

     

    "haunting sense of impending failure"- Let's leave this one alone, shall we?

     

    I also love complex strategy games. I run a Dungeons and Dragons campaign and I am a recovering Civilization addict. My brother and I used to play all sorts of strategy games as kids.

     

    And I am definitely an introvert. As mentioned introvert/extravert defines where you get the energy. Large amounts of people DRAIN me. I have forced myself to be more extroverted at this job and it has paid off. However, I sometimes go hide in the server room (restricted access) to get rid of the edgy, drained feeling. :imoksmiley: Working for strongly extroverted people is just hell (not this job, but the prior one).

     

    However, small social gatherings are a different story. Most of my social circle is comprised of engineers/computer people/scientists. Most of THEM are INTP or INTJ types. It probably explains why "game nights" are so popular among the nerd set. Those are gatherings of maybe 6-8 people. Not a big enough crowd to feel nervous or getting your nerves frayed, and even an inveterate introvert needs social interaction. It also explains a lot of Internet forums- it is interaction at a "manageable" level.

     

    Have you guys seen the hamster ball analogy for introverts?

    http://stephencollins.info/a-guide-to-understanding-introverts/

     

     

     

    INTPs are pensive, analytical folks. They may venture so deeply into thought as to seem detached, and often actually are oblivious to the world around them.

    Precise about their descriptions, INTPs will often correct others (or be sorely tempted to) if the shade of meaning is a bit off. While annoying to the less concise, this fine discrimination ability gives INTPs so inclined a natural advantage as, for example, grammarians and linguists.

    INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to almost anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves.

    A major concern for INTPs is the haunting sense of impending failure. They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves. The open-endedness (from Perceiving) conjoined with the need for competence (NT) is expressed in a sense that one's conclusion may well be met by an equally plausible alternative solution, and that, after all, one may very well have overlooked some critical bit of data. An INTP arguing a point may very well be trying to convince himself as much as his opposition. In this way INTPs are markedly different from INTJs, who are much more confident in their competence and willing to act on their convictions.

    Mathematics is a system where many INTPs love to play, similarly languages, computer systems--potentially any complex system. INTPs thrive on systems. Understanding, exploring, mastering, and manipulating systems can overtake the INTP's conscious thought. This fascination for logical wholes and their inner workings is often expressed in a detachment from the environment, a concentration where time is forgotten and extraneous stimuli are held at bay. Accomplishing a task or goal with this knowledge is secondary.

    INTPs and Logic -- One of the tipoffs that a person is an INTP is his or her obsession with logical correctness. Errors are not often due to poor logic -- apparent faux pas in reasoning are usually a result of overlooking details or of incorrect context.

    Games NTs seem to especially enjoy include Risk, Bridge, Stratego, Chess, Go, and word games of all sorts. (I have an ENTP friend that loves Boggle and its variations. We've been known to sit in public places and pick a word off a menu or mayonnaise jar to see who can make the most words from its letters on a napkin in two minutes.) The INTP mailing list has enjoyed a round of Metaphore, virtual volleyball, and a few 'finish the series' brain teasers.

  11. Reference & history books.

     

    We recently tried to give away (donate) a complete set of National Geographic Magazines from 1989- present, to the new library they are building in our little town. They didn't want them, because they said, "we can get them on-line". No, they will not have books in print, "...maybe just the current version".

     

    Really!!!?!!!

     

    I remember always having a set of encyclopedias to reference for school. Now days, it is all on the computer. What if the power goes out? Sorry, I will quit ranting. It just blew me away to hear that. We are paying for a new library that won't have books. :shakinghead:

     

    A library has a finite amount of shelf space, even a new, more spacious place. Payroll budget for re-shelving stuff and keeping it neat have generally been on the decline. Meanwhile the demands/expectations of the amount of titles/research materials to have available has exploded with the Information Age. Scientific knowledge updates quickly. So does technology, and therefore the textbooks that teach it are obselete ten minutes after you buy them. It is far more cost effective to subscribe to Safari to have all that stuff online.

     

    And if the lights did go out... do you think the library would continue in its current function? Or would it be co-opted for a different purpose? I read Alas, Babylon when I was in eighth grade. I admired the librarian's attitude, but I think there'd be a lot more bumps in the road if that scenario happened for real.

     

    Get your own textbooks; you can still pick up stuff cheap from Half.com and the like. You can then also make sure the book is reasonably balanced and not just doing whatever the state's "slant" is for that year. In high school I tested out of World History in summer school. I'd read the stuff on my own already, and the teacher teaching it was one of the major idiots of the school. Sitting through a class with her might have resulted in a blizzard of detentions, so I avoided the issue altogether. On mere factual basis I could've tested out straight off; I skimmed the textbook to get what bias the state wanted on the essay questions and pass by a more comfortable margin. Wrote what they wanted to hear, <bleep> you all, I'm outta here! Learning to tailor your message to your audience is also an important skill, but most history textbooks I found to be...lacking context.

     

    Definitely get some good SCIENCE textbooks. Math is often easier to approach when you have good applications for it close at hand. You can probably also assume a quicker progression than the "normal" textbooks lay out.

  12. My grandmother took it even further and said that God would have you account for each bit of waste- things like if you didn't curl the toothpaste tube hard enough, or left a couple teaspoons of milk in the cereal bowl (which just went to the cats at home, so it didn't really go to waste...

     

    Mind you, anxiety disorders run in my family and she fell pretty squarely in that camp.

  13. One of the best presents I've ever seen a couple of little girls enjoy was a box full of 'dress up' stuff. They were kept amused for hours on the day of giving and went back to it on a regular basis. Things were added to freshen it up and things were removed as they wore out and looked tired.

     

    Hmm, that idea I might steal for her birthday later on. See what we can scrounge up on post-season sales.

  14. Music to a girl's ears. :)

     

    I work as a contractor at a data center. It's a very visible position, dealing with a lot of different departments. One of them might have an opening soon to come on as a regular employee. It would amount to a serious raise. Crossing fingers.

  15. Okay. Legos are getting seriously overpriced, and the smaller niece will be outgrowing Duplos soon anyway. We could get her a Queen Elsa doll, but two year olds like to unwrap presents as much as play with what's under the paper. We'll be at the family's Hanukkah celebration, so the deadline is a wee bit earlier for finding something.

     

    I need suggestions for some small, cheap "unwrapping filler" gifts for a little girl who is a bit ahead of the curve on manual dexterity. Preferably noise-less, for the sake of her parents' sanity. Thoughts? Thanks for the help.

  16. OK, ladies & others, my oldest is about to move out on his own. I need your best, tasty, EASY recipes to print for him. I'm looking for recipes using WHOLE foods & REAL food ingredients. They need to be easy, affordable & fairly quick to make, extra brownie points for freezer friendly, too. Please, please. Hit me with links, ladies & others. Ease this momma's heart by helping me do things for him. I'm thinking college/bachelor type stuff. He'll have a crockpot, too. He's getting bunch of stuff for Christmas, including a recipe binder.

    Sweetie lit on a very easy, yummy mac n' cheese recipe. Simply take the amount of cooked pasta required, a splash of cream, and sufficient cheese. Nuke, then stir. It gets you 90% as good as doing a full batch from scratch. Less risk of overcooking the noodles, too.

     

    Another quick dinner is bean and cheese burrito- tortilla, refried beans, cheese, and "real" bacon bits if you have them...assemble, toast on pan on stovetop. Lots you can do with a ready-cooked rotisserie chicken too... will revisit later; I have a date with my husband tonight! :happy0203: Sushi n' symphony here we go...

  17. I think we need to figure out how to get DH more involved in the budgeting process. He has offered before. The problem is, the way that I can keep track of the money is not the way he can keep track of the money, so we might have to figure out a whole new system.

     

    Here's an idea. Maybe a little daring, but an idea. If DH thinks you (collectively) are spending too much, delegate the problem to him. If HE sees the problem, HE can fix it...or offer some partial solution.

     

    Just to make clear, was your DH referring to children you two had together, or from a prior relationship? As others mentioned, he might not be fully aware of how much time and work it can take to live "frugally." There is a very real trade-off between time and money. Does both of you working place you in a higher tax bracket than you'd be in if only one of you worked? The marginal value of a second income declines due to taxes and work costs. It's certainly not a linear relationship. As someone who has endured 2 bouts of long-term unemployment, I'd say that going single income is insane in the current job market/economy if one has reasonable alternatives. Part of the value of that second income is as a backstop if one of you loses work.

     

    I am married to an engineer. Along with the differences from being male, the engineer side of him has taught me a few useful things when facing problems:

     

    1) Define and quantify the problem. If I came to Sweetie with the vague notion that we aren't saving enough money, he's going to ask for the last few months' of credit card statements, pay stubs, etc. to see how much money we have left over the month in recent times.

     

    2) Develop a use case: Instead of "I want more of X," figure out what you want to use it for. Emergency savings won't last long enough? Want to save more for retirement? Think there should be more money to scrape up somewhere for fun and shinies?

     

    3) Figure out what you're going to DO about it, and your goals/benchmarks that define success.

     

    Sweetie has also learned that sometimes I just wanna vent, and he respects that (and I warn him beforehand). Now he specifies when he just wants to vent, too. Telling your DH to suggest a solution may mean some increased scrutiny on the cash flow, but if he can't define it more than "money used to go farther," he can't complain as much to you, personally, rather than just vent.

  18. Another conversation with my son not so funny but makes me proud of him.

     

    Dh and I was trying to gently talk to him about porn and how it hurts everyone.

    He told us his friend took his phone and was looking at porn on it and that made him mad so he downloaded a porn blocking app. He is close to a teaching assistant/ family friend at school so he had the password emailed to her.

    He said it would keep him accountable.

     

    Looks like you've raised a class act. :) Tell him his stance is a good habit on more than a strictly moral stance. In the professional world, porn on any work-accessed devices gets you in...trouble (duh). It's amazing how many people are foolish enough to keep/access porn on their work machines. I'm a network admin and some of the stuff I find... and I'm not even actively looking. They just don't bother trying to hide it. Idiots...

  19. If your phone service is already poor, any dial-up service you use on that line is going to be slow(er) and unreliable because the underlying medium is. Looking at Juno's stuff it looks like nothing you can't accomplish by using Firefox or Chrome and configuring/locking it down properly. Depending on the sort of compression they use, a screwy phone line could actually hamstring it worse. Read over Juno's stuff and the items they keep harping on are the pop-up blocker and extra web page caching, which you can do for yourself in any modern browser. It appears that anything SSL-related will not work with this, either- and yet it's pretty common for webmail to use secure connections.

     

    I'd pass on it. You have my sympathy, though, I used to have to deal with half-speed dialup due to a cruddy phone line.

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