The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Songbird76]

funnily.. thats another thing on my bucket list.. rent one of these big RVs and do a tour for US national parks.

It's great. I've seen a lot. And I grew up pretty poor...all my classmates were well off, and yet I've seen more than any of them, because we drove everywhere. Yellowstone is fantastic, by the way. And we visited Mount Rushmore more times than I can count...my kids have never seen it, so we're going there next summer on the same trip as we go to Disney.

 

[Songbird76]

Yes...it's certainly not for everybody. I think that living in Canada has helped with that. It takes me 8 hours to get back to where I grew up and it's in the same region as where I live now. And the price of flying within Canada is huge. We don't have good rail or bus service and they would take so much longer anyway. But then again, I do know people who never go anywhere so it just depends.

One of my friends lives in Canada, and when I still lived in the US, I took the greyhound bus up to see her twice. Man, THAT's an experience. Strange people on the greyhound bus!

 

[Songbird76]

Sounds like you have been able to see some amazing things. Is it Germany that you live in? That's at the top of my wish list in terms of travel. I know a number of people from there.

No, I live in the Netherlands, but we're about 15 minutes from the German border. A lot of people hop over there to do grocery shopping and such...some even go live there and commute back for work because Germany is so much cheaper than the Netherlands.

 

[donaldtoo]

That's a beautiful scene. Money can't buy happiness like that. (Sometimes, it's the simple things in life that we all tend to overlook and don't miss . . . until they're gone.)

Somehow there was no question in my mind, that your pop was going to spring back like Tigger!!

Thanks again, Minnie...!

 

[Songbird76]

There are lots of interesting road trip opportunities in the US. I still have to do Route 66 and I would love to follow the path of Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Oh! We didn't follow her whole path, but we did see one of the houses where she lived. I can't remember where anymore...I was just a kid, but I remember the outdoor theater they did there. My guess is that it was somewhere in South Dakota or Iowa.

 

[donaldtoo]

Don't you have today off? It's Columbus Day, and we're off today, thank goodness!

No day off for me either.
I'm here at the office.

Yay! for you, though...!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Ha we have central A/C but I also have 2 window unit just for me. I have been known to freeze out my family over the years too over the winter months. I like 68 year round.

I started window units when my kids were both away at college. I had two from when the temps were in the 105 range for over a week and that was too much for my central a/c and we face west. We were having a very large party. Sometimes I just needed A/C in the kitchen/family room area or in my room at night. I tend to run warm with this bed that has a dual pillow top and memory foam. The bed is beyond comfy but it does retain heat. I have a window a/c unit in here a few months a year just to run a few hours at night. It has a remote so if I wake in the wee hours I usually shut it off. Much more economical than cooling down the whole house when it isn't needed. That is not to say I don't run the central A/C 24/7 when it is hot out. Unfortunately that hasn't been the case the last few summers.

I wonder about a lot of things... why do animals have tails, for example, why do men have nipples for another, but, one that seems more of a direct concern is why does 68 degrees feel colder in the winter then in the summer?

 

[donaldtoo]

"If you’re a fan of drinking your coffee black, prefer the taste of dark chocolate to milk chocolate and have an affinity for gin and tonics, you may, in fact, be a psychopath. Okay, maybe you’re not a full on sadist, but you might have some questionably psychopathic tendencies.

New research from the Innsbruck University in Austria has found a troubling correlation between a fondness for bitter tastes and antisocial personality traits. Those who enjoyed bitter tastes were more likely to exhibit behavior that could be categorized as psychopathic, Machiavellian, sadistic and narcissistic — yikes"

Oh carp.
Now I know why I like Beverly so much...!!!

 

[French Quarter]

Watching Descendants with the kids. I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would. Certainly not for the story though. But the costumes look so cool and the music is great.

 

[French Quarter]

HA! Yeah, where I come from (originally) we measure distances in time, not miles. Distances are so great there that even to go to the next town over takes 45 minutes. We call it rush hour if there's more than one car on the road. There are more Antelope on the road than cars. There are more cattle than people. So this feels really tiny here. But I looked it up, and you're right...your country is much smaller!

Where do you live? We measure things in terms of time too. I would have to look up the mileage if I needed to know it but I could tell you how long it takes to get almost anywhere.

 

[French Quarter]

One of my friends lives in Canada, and when I still lived in the US, I took the greyhound bus up to see her twice. Man, THAT's an experience. Strange people on the greyhound bus!

Gotta love bus people! And the further back you sit in the bus, the stranger it is.

 

[Gabe1]

That is awful. Some people are unbelievable. I remember taking my son out to the farmer's market when he was an infant. He was colicky and spent 99% of the first four months under my nursing smock. It was also a beautiful but coolish day in May. I decided to leave his hat in the car as it seemed too warm for it and not sunny enough to need protection and he would likely be out from nursing for a couple of minutes at a time. I actually sat and thought this all through and opted for the one less thing to carry. And then we are walking around and some old woman comes up to me and scolds me for not putting a hat on his head and how he is going to get a sun burn and made me feel like the world's worst parent. I wish I would have stood up to her like you did but I was feeling insecure so I just left.

Wow!

My BFF had a woman around the corner from her call DCFS (department of child and family services-the deal with neglect and abuse of children and homeless kids) and report her for neglecting her children. The social worker came to my BBF home and was real nice to her. Said Beware. She reported you. Neglect Reported shoes were scuffed and not polished. The lady had never had children or married, she was about 75.

Me, I had the police arrive on my doorstep early in the morning on the 1st anniversary of 9/11 and uneasy day to start with. A few days before as I walked my DD to the bus stop I could see one 7 year old girl whacking the heck out of latch key boy, striking the boy in the head many times by the time I got there with a metal dog choker collar. I told her to knock it off. I told the bus driver. I further called the school to report what I saw so they'd check out the quiet little boy. School dealt with girl and called and spoke to parents. So the Mom filed a police report against me for scaring her daughter. Yep. I was like: well yeah wouldn't you be scared if you got caught beating up someone with a metal chain? That family wasn't there too much longer, a rental home that was raided for drug trafficking.

Thankfully most people are not nuts.

 

[Songbird76]

Yep, we drove every summer from No Cal to Texas and back in a cab over camper with no A/C for 3 weeks (3-days drive each way) when we lived there when I was a kiddo.
Saw the Grand Canyon, Painted Desert, Pretrified Forest, etc..
Awesome times...!

Grand Canyon is one I really want to see. We always went the other direction. My then-bf and a friend and I drove down through Utah and saw Zion Nat'l park and Bryce Canyon, then on into Arizona, but we were visiting friends and my BF and friend had no desire to take a detour to see the Canyon, so I missed it. We went through Sedona, which was beautiful, but I really wanted to see the Grand Canyon.

 

[French Quarter]

No, I live in the Netherlands, but we're about 15 minutes from the German border. A lot of people hop over there to do grocery shopping and such...some even go live there and commute back for work because Germany is so much cheaper than the Netherlands.

I live near the border to the U.S. so I can relate to the hopping across to go shopping or to attend events.

 

[French Quarter]

Oh! We didn't follow her whole path, but we did see one of the houses where she lived. I can't remember where anymore...I was just a kid, but I remember the outdoor theater they did there. My guess is that it was somewhere in South Dakota or Iowa.

Very cool!!

 

[Songbird76]

I'd be interested in watching Empire and Aquarius (love David Duchovny, although not interested in watching new X-Files).

The only shows I've been watching regularly are Walking Dead and American Horror Story, but not sure if they'll manage to keep my interest this season. WD has its moments, but I really need something to happen soon.

I liked the movie Limitless - I thought it was a great concept. Who wouldn't want to just take a pill and be able to remember every single detail of your life?

I wouldn't!! You'd remember all the bad stuff, too...in minute detail? No thanks.

 

[Gabe1]

I wonder about a lot of things... why do animals have tails, for example, why do men have nipples for another, but, one that seems more of a direct concern is why does 68 degrees feel colder in the winter then in the summer?

Giggle. You do have an interesting mind Sir. I look at 68 differently than you. On the rare occassion that the temps reach 68 here in the winter I'm calling it a heat wave. Summer 68 is chilly here.

 

[donaldtoo]

Grand Canyon is one I really want to see. We always went the other direction. My then-bf and a friend and I drove down through Utah and saw Zion Nat'l park and Bryce Canyon, then on into Arizona, but we were visiting friends and my BF and friend had no desire to take a detour to see the Canyon, so I missed it. We went through Sedona, which was beautiful, but I really wanted to see the Grand Canyon.

Yep, we went through Utah on that same trip and also visited Bryce and Zion. Beautiful.
And, yes, the Grand Canyon is one you really need to see in person. Pictures and video just don't do it justice.

 

[donaldtoo]

OK gang, time for me to git back to it...
Have a Magical day, all...!
Laterrrrrrr...!!!

 

[Songbird76]

I can play guitar and piano. Nobody wants to listen to me sing. I sing often, it is a great stress release but never ever ever when anyone could possibly hear me.

My DS was born with severe colic. He would scream without napping for a good 18 hours and then sleep for the balance. It was h*ll on earth. I'd sing My Eyes have Seen the Glory of the Coming of the Lord.......at the top of my lungs to drown out the screaming. There are reasons my kids were 5 years apart. Purposefully .

Opera has its uses. Despite not really enjoying opera to listen to, I do enjoy singing it, and when I was in college, I had some REALLY loud neighbors...constant music turned up really loud. So I started rehearsing my pieces for voice lessons whenever they had the music on, and suddenly they would turn it down.