The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[FutureCEO]

Wednesday:
I asked E and she said yes, we went to be breakfast buffet Tuesday, Wednesday we went to Subway. We called it an early night on Tuesday...E's stomach was upset and we were tired. We looked for somewhere to eat breakfast on Wed, but it was slim pickin's. McDonalds in Germany didn't open for breakfast, burger king's breakfast offerings were minimal (according to E and M....I didn't look) and none of the other buffets said what was included. Subway was open, so we decided to try it. It was also very very limited. There were only 3 kinds of bread, I think, and only a few options for sandwiches. But it was edible, so can't complain.

Today, the plan was to visit Monschau. We had looked for things to do in the area, and this city was only a 40 minute drive and looked really beautiful and there were a few museums/attractions that looked promising. There was a castle, a glass blower, the home of the founder who was a cloth merchant, etc. A had loved the glass blowing in DLP a few years ago, so that seemed like something he'd like and wouldn't bore him. The town sits down in a kind of valley or hole...it actually looked a lot like Bavaria to me.

From the parking lot:
View attachment 492458View attachment 492459

If you look at the White building in the middle of the second picture, and go straight up and a tiny bit to the right, you can see the tower of the castle just above the trees...it's hard to make out, but it's there.

Here are some random ones taken throughout the town.

View attachment 492460
View attachment 492461View attachment 492462View attachment 492464View attachment 492465

Here's the castle up on the hill above the parking lot at the glass blowing place.
View attachment 492467

I'd have loved to go up there, but you can't go in the castle anyway, and we couldn't figure out where the pathway was, A didn't want to go up because he's stared of heights, and I didn't want to chance it with my hip. So we just looked up at it....there was a nice view from the highway once we left, but I didn't see it in time to get a picture, so this is the best I've got.

Those are my future houses. Up next to the river. Tudor style.

 

[Songbird76]

We walked all the way through town and kept following the signs that directed us to the glass blower...it was way on the other side of town, just below the castle. So by the time we got near, it was really hot and we were thirsty and there was this cute little restaurant with an outdoor terrace right along the stream. We had to wait for a table for a while, but it was worth it.

From our table:


We weren't super hungry, but I love mushrooms and they had this dish on the menu....homemade dumplings with chanterelles. And apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. So E and I decided to share those, A got some fries, M just got the strudel and an alcohol free beer.



I was thinking dumpling, like...with the dumplings at ohana, where it's like a dough or noodle wrapper filled with something. So I was thinking it was going to be sort of a mushroom ravioli. It was not...it was more like chicken n' dumplings, where it has a biscuit like dumpling with no filling. It was almost like a really dense pancake with mushrooms and sauce on it. It was ok, but I had been really looking forward to ravioli, so I was a bit disappointed, though it was pretty good.

Then we went to see the glass blower. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take pictures during the demonstration, so I didn't, but I took a couple pictures of the pieces.

Look @Darstarr , an elephant with the trunk up!!

We spent quite a bit of time there, then headed back into the town proper to find food. I had looked up options before we left for this trip and there were only a couple of places that had anything A would eat. As we walked down from the parking lot in the morning, we came across the two places I had found, one of which was closed on Wednesdays, so we decided to go to the other. It had chicken nuggets for A, it had Schnitzel for M, and it had Apple strudel for E, and steaks and such...something for everyone. It was still early, so we sat on a terrace by the stream and had something to drink. (Picture taken earlier in the day before they opened and had the parasols open.

The restaurant was just around the corner...perfect. But when we got there, they were full. We thought with it being early and Germans typically eating really late, we'd be ok, but he said they were full for the evening, so we had to look for something else. There was an empty table in that terrace where we had just had drinks, but that belonged to a different restaurant, so we looked at their menu. They had schnitzel, apple strudel, steaks, pastas....looks good. The dining room was closed...you could only sit outside, which upset A as there were a LOT of wasps. But we didn't really have a choice. So we sat down, M orders his schnitzel and E and I decided we're going to share again. One steak, and one pasta. I go to point to the steak and the waiter tells us in a very monotone voice that they don't have steak right now. Shouldn't you have mentioned that before giving us the menu with steaks on it?? So E and I both got the pasta. I don't remember what kind of pasta it even was....it was that memorable. I think it had mushrooms. It was ok, but not stellar, the waiter forgot to bring M the mayo he ordered for his fries...just not real competent or friendly service. We ordered the apple strudel. This was the worst apple strudel I have ever had in my life. It wasn't a crispy, flaky crust, it was more cake-like, but it tasted like dish soap. And the filling was like a canned applesauce like thing. I ended up just eating the apples out of it and leaving the rest, which the wasps LOVED.



We finished and went to McDonalds for A and to get an apple pie that was SOOO much better than that strudel....it's pretty bad when McDonalds has better food than your sit down restaurant.

At least the vew was pretty at the restaurant.

 

[Figgy1]

Yes he has lost almost 90 pounds since October 2019. He had a health scare and that got him to start the weight loss. He has worked really hard and I'm really proud of him. His doctor is really proud of his progress too.

Congrats to him and I roast the peppers before vac sealing and freezing

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Yes he has lost almost 90 pounds since October 2019. He had a health scare and that got him to start the weight loss. He has worked really hard and I'm really proud of him. His doctor is really proud of his progress too.

That’s awesome! I thought he looked thinner.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Wednesday:
I asked E and she said yes, we went to be breakfast buffet Tuesday, Wednesday we went to Subway. We called it an early night on Tuesday...E's stomach was upset and we were tired. We looked for somewhere to eat breakfast on Wed, but it was slim pickin's. McDonalds in Germany didn't open for breakfast, burger king's breakfast offerings were minimal (according to E and M....I didn't look) and none of the other buffets said what was included. Subway was open, so we decided to try it. It was also very very limited. There were only 3 kinds of bread, I think, and only a few options for sandwiches. But it was edible, so can't complain.

Today, the plan was to visit Monschau. We had looked for things to do in the area, and this city was only a 40 minute drive and looked really beautiful and there were a few museums/attractions that looked promising. There was a castle, a glass blower, the home of the founder who was a cloth merchant, etc. A had loved the glass blowing in DLP a few years ago, so that seemed like something he'd like and wouldn't bore him. The town sits down in a kind of valley or hole...it actually looked a lot like Bavaria to me.

From the parking lot:
View attachment 492458View attachment 492459

If you look at the White building in the middle of the second picture, and go straight up and a tiny bit to the right, you can see the tower of the castle just above the trees...it's hard to make out, but it's there.

Here are some random ones taken throughout the town.

View attachment 492460
View attachment 492461View attachment 492462View attachment 492464View attachment 492465

Here's the castle up on the hill above the parking lot at the glass blowing place.
View attachment 492467

I'd have loved to go up there, but you can't go in the castle anyway, and we couldn't figure out where the pathway was, A didn't want to go up because he's stared of heights, and I didn't want to chance it with my hip. So we just looked up at it....there was a nice view from the highway once we left, but I didn't see it in time to get a picture, so this is the best I've got.

So pretty. I have a question. What language do you speak with the kids ordinarily?

 

[Songbird76]

Thursday
M and I left the kids to sleep because they didn't want breakfast, and we went to the buffet in the hotel. I don't think it was worth the $15 bucks, but it was convenient at least. No pictures because it was not that interesting. Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, croissants, cheese and lunch meats, yoghurt, and juice. And watermelon...they brought that out after my first plate.

We were headed home this day and we had plans to stop at the velvet cave and castle ruins in Valkenburg on the way. We had tried to get tickets the night before, because E said everything she found said to buy tickets in advance, but you couldn't buy tickets for the cave online. We were able to get tickets for the ruins online...weird that you can get one online and not the other, since they are the same site. The castle was built with rocks from the cave. So one is above ground, the other below.

So we got packed up and headed out around 10 or so I think? I don't remember how far it was to Valkenburg, but the site opened at 10:00 so we knew we wouldn't be there by opening, but it wasn't TOO late. We got there and there was already a sign that tickets for the cave that day were already sold out. So we didn't get to do that...we'll have to go back some other time.

The castle ruins date to around the 11th century...the first mention of the place was in something like 1049, but the castle wasn't completed until the 1100s. Additions were made through the years and the ruins as they are now are from the 1400s, I guess.

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

We walked all the way through town and kept following the signs that directed us to the glass blower...it was way on the other side of town, just below the castle. So by the time we got near, it was really hot and we were thirsty and there was this cute little restaurant with an outdoor terrace right along the stream. We had to wait for a table for a while, but it was worth it.

From our table:
View attachment 492468

We weren't super hungry, but I love mushrooms and they had this dish on the menu....homemade dumplings with chanterelles. And apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. So E and I decided to share those, A got some fries, M just got the strudel and an alcohol free beer.

View attachment 492469View attachment 492470View attachment 492471

I was thinking dumpling, like...with the dumplings at ohana, where it's like a dough or noodle wrapper filled with something. So I was thinking it was going to be sort of a mushroom ravioli. It was not...it was more like chicken n' dumplings, where it has a biscuit like dumpling with no filling. It was almost like a really dense pancake with mushrooms and sauce on it. It was ok, but I had been really looking forward to ravioli, so I was a bit disappointed, though it was pretty good.

Then we went to see the glass blower. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to take pictures during the demonstration, so I didn't, but I took a couple pictures of the pieces.View attachment 492473View attachment 492474

Look @Darstarr , an elephant with the trunk up!!

We spent quite a bit of time there, then headed back into the town proper to find food. I had looked up options before we left for this trip and there were only a couple of places that had anything A would eat. As we walked down from the parking lot in the morning, we came across the two places I had found, one of which was closed on Wednesdays, so we decided to go to the other. It had chicken nuggets for A, it had Schnitzel for M, and it had Apple strudel for E, and steaks and such...something for everyone. It was still early, so we sat on a terrace by the stream and had something to drink. (Picture taken earlier in the day before they opened and had the parasols open.View attachment 492475

The restaurant was just around the corner...perfect. But when we got there, they were full. We thought with it being early and Germans typically eating really late, we'd be ok, but he said they were full for the evening, so we had to look for something else. There was an empty table in that terrace where we had just had drinks, but that belonged to a different restaurant, so we looked at their menu. They had schnitzel, apple strudel, steaks, pastas....looks good. The dining room was closed...you could only sit outside, which upset A as there were a LOT of wasps. But we didn't really have a choice. So we sat down, M orders his schnitzel and E and I decided we're going to share again. One steak, and one pasta. I go to point to the steak and the waiter tells us in a very monotone voice that they don't have steak right now. Shouldn't you have mentioned that before giving us the menu with steaks on it?? So E and I both got the pasta. I don't remember what kind of pasta it even was....it was that memorable. I think it had mushrooms. It was ok, but not stellar, the waiter forgot to bring M the mayo he ordered for his fries...just not real competent or friendly service. We ordered the apple strudel. This was the worst apple strudel I have ever had in my life. It wasn't a crispy, flaky crust, it was more cake-like, but it tasted like dish soap. And the filling was like a canned applesauce like thing. I ended up just eating the apples out of it and leaving the rest, which the wasps LOVED.

View attachment 492477

We finished and went to McDonalds for A and to get an apple pie that was SOOO much better than that strudel....it's pretty bad when McDonalds has better food than your sit down restaurant.

At least the vew was pretty at the restaurant.

View attachment 492479

That town is so beautiful. Sorry your meal stunk.

 

[Songbird76]

Ok this bit was interesting: There is this little bit of mosaic work that they found. It's hard to see, it is a swastika, and it was made long before WWII, but the swastika was a pagan symbol before the Nazis used it. It's just part of the original structure of the castle.


Views from up on the mountain


Model of what the castle used to look like


A couple more of the ruins


When we got done here the plan was to drive north to Roermond for an early dinner at a restaurant we like that we don't have in our area, then further North to Arcen to the castle gardens, which were open late just the one night, and then on home.
We got to Roermond pretty early, got A to McDonalds, and then we went to Wagamama. We weren't really hungry, so we opted not to get an appetizer...the gyoza are good, especially the fried ones, but we just didn't have the appetite. It was soooo hot that day. E and I each gotthe Soba terriyaki with steak.



Normally we would pick two things and share, but last time we tried this and the ramen and liked this better, so we both decided to get our own this time. M got Katsu Chicken Curry, which was soooo good....think I will get that next time. Last time he got the spicy version and he loved it, but it was too hot out for really spicy, and I can't do spicy, so I didn't try his last time, but I got a bit this time and it was delicious. I didn't get a picture though.

We were full, so we opted not to get dessert. They didn't have what M wanted anyway. At the one in Amsterdam, they had a lemongrass sorbet that he loved and wanted to get again. I had a sesame salted caramel thing last time that turned out to be ice cream, and I was disappointed because I was expecting some gooey caramel thing....there was no mention of ice cream on the menu. But they didn't have that in Roermond, either. They did have the Belgian chocolate mousse, which was the star last time, but we didn't have room this time, so we skipped it.

We drove north....got about 10 miles from Acen and M says "How badly do you girls want to see the gardens?" which translates to "Can't we just go home? I don't want to do this." It HAD been a long day and E had said earlier that her feet were killing her and she couldn't walk anymore. So I left it up to her if she was up to it or not. She knew it wasn't A's thing and could hear that M would prefer to go home, so she kind of hestitantly said she'd kind of like to see it, but she didn't want to make them do something they didn't want to. A was pushing to go straight home, M commented that he'd take us "if we really wanted to see it", but he wasn't really interested. So E said we could skip it and we just went home.

 

[Songbird76]

So pretty. I have a question. What language do you speak with the kids ordinarily?

I usually speak English and hubs speaks Dutch to them, so they are bilingual. Occassionally we switch it up...if we're out and about, I'll sometimes speak Dutch just because you get judgy looks if you are speaking some other language. People assume that if you're not speaking Dutch, it's because you can't.

Something we like to do for fun, though, since I normally speak English, we just automatically do that. Then when we get to a cash register or whatever, the people have heard us speaking English and assume we're foreign and speak in English to us. Then we switch to Dutch just to prove we can, and it always catches them off guard. It did backfire on E and I once because the guy was speaking English to us because HE didn't speak Dutch. That was amusing.

 

[Songbird76]

That town is so beautiful. Sorry your meal stunk.

It really was. There was another town like it that we didn't have time for, but I'd still like to go sometime. Stolberg. It also has a castle on a hill, and has the "old city" with the cobblestone streets, the streams, etc, but the only museum/attraction seemed to be the museum in the castle gatehouse, which was closed for refurbishment. The castle itself is a hostle, so you couldn't get inside the castle. There was more to do in Monschau, which was why we chose that.

As far as the meal, that was really the only downer of the day...everything else was amazing, so I can't really complain. It was really just the most beautiful setting.

Oh, funny story:
So everywhere in Germany requires masks to go inside. (man was the glass blowing demonstration HOT with those furnaces going and masks on!!) We parked, took some pictures from the parking lot, since it's on this hill overlooking the town a bit, then got down the hill (it's not far) and E says she doesn't have her mask. So rather than walk back up the hill ourselves, we sent her up with the car keys to get it and we waited down below. I was commenting how it was all so quaint...some of the cottage-type homes looked like Snow White might be wandering around there somewhere. M looks and there's E coming down the hill again. "Oh look! There she is! Oh wait....no, that's Sleeping Beauty." But I have a picture from our Florida trip last year where she is sleeping and her hair is splayed out across the pillow and she's drooling...it looks like Anna on Coronation day, so I said "No, it's Anna!!" It was just such a perfect Disney-ish setting there.

 

[Songbird76]

My adult children were fortunate to have a kind and loving Dad growing up. In their youth he was always there for them. That is how we choose to Remember him as he passed today.

Never ignore the need for mental health care in our country. Please don’t forget that Covid accuracy with rapid testing is 50-74 accurate. Guard your loved ones. My kids and I remain guarded to the outside world.

The Dad as he will be remembered well, in his HAPPY PLACE.

View attachment 490070View attachment 490071View attachment 490072

I'm so sorry. I know I'm really really late as I haven't been on in a couple of weeks, but I'm so sorry for your loss. How are your kids handling it? I know they had sort of written him off a bit before, but it's still bound to be hard, and they must have some great memories, too....I hope they are coping. Was it expected? Did they get to say goodbye to him before?

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

That's awesome!

The difference is very visible and he is basically a very young man (at least compared to me, but who isn't) and I know that problems that can come with excess weight not to mention the self esteem involved. Congratulations to him and I encourage him to keep working on it. It looks like he is being very successful. Just don't let him weight himself so close to your Disney trip.

He says thanks to both of you and @figmentfan423 and @MySmallWorldof4

He did weigh himself before our trip and the day after we came back and his weight was the same so that is pretty good considering all the good food we had!

 

[Songbird76]

Magic Kingdom food
Citrus swirl
Chicken nuggets from Cosmic Rays
And a castle pic for fun
View attachment 490413View attachment 490414View attachment 490415View attachment 490416View attachment 490417

Oh I love the castle pic through the trees!! That's really pretty!!

 

[Songbird76]

Pardon my selfish whine for a second..

Milk Cards are something I love.

Fridays are my favorite day of the school week, because it’s Hot Lunch Day, the one day I don’t have to pack lunch. I prepay for every Friday of the year.


Neither one is happening in 2020.


This is my only whine, I have to remind myself of what I say to T when he expresses regrets at any change in sports, recreation, or school plans-
“I understand. However, would you rather do it with these modifications, or would you rather still be at home?”
My answer is the same as his - “Oh, this way!”

What is a milk card? And do they not have hot lunch available every day?? I always brought a sack lunch in elementary school except on the few days they were having a hot lunch I would eat, like pizza or manhattan rolls.

 

[Songbird76]

I have never seen the park that empty.

It was like that on our honeymoon, right after September 11th. It was like we were the only people in the parks. Every ride was a walk on. We saw a couple other honeymooners, and one group of exchange students from Europe, and that was it.

 

[Songbird76]

DeWine has FINALLY made his announcement...

SPORTS CAN MOVE FORWARD!!!!!!!!!!

Both he and the Lt. Governor are saying they recognize the whole health of kids, including mental health, and future health. They have been talking for the past hour about the decision to allow competitive play for all youth levels.

My heart is so full for all athletes, especially competitive and high school!!!!

❤❤❤❤

So have those 2 games for your team already happened? Did you go ahead and let the kids play or did you cancel like the one mom asked you to? I personally think if the majority didn't mind, it was up to those individual parents if they didn't want their kids to play. It sounds like she just didn't want to be the bad guy to tell her kid he couldn't play with the rest. There are always things that some kids are allowed to do and others aren't. Some girls are allowed to wear makeup when others aren't, some kids are allowed to watch a particular movie when others aren't. That's parenting. You decide what you think is safe, appropriate, etc. Your kid might get mad at you for saying no when other parents say yes, but you can't expect other parents to agree to your restrictions so you don't have to look bad to the kids. Just my two cents.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

We just waited out a non-existent thunderstorm at Hershey's water park. Conversation with my mom...

 

[Goofyernmost]

He says thanks to both of you and @figmentfan423 and @MySmallWorldof4

He did weigh himself before our trip and the day after we came back and his weight was the same so that is pretty good considering all the good food we had!

Word of caution. Might not apply to him, but back in 2015 when I went to Europe for a month. I ate everything I could get my hands on and on the 7 day trans-Atlantic cruise with all that food (prepaid) I went crazy. I weighed myself when I returned and I was at the lowest weight that I had been since the 90's. I didn't consciously think directly about it but I think that in that short time I changed my habits and lost weight in spite of myself. I think that was just not thinking about it. I rationalized that I lost weight and hadn't even tried that my metabolism might have changed and it would just continue to melt off. I made one mistake though. I forgot that I had kiddingly referred to our trip as the European Death March. I forgot all about that massive amounts of walking I did during that time. I stopped the walking and probably consumed a little more then I had pre-trip and the pounds just packed on. Now I've had to lose it all over again. It can be a long, long process. I hope that he doesn't have the brain dead reaction I had.

 

[Songbird76]

It happens in so many businesses sadly. My kids first jobs were as lifeguards. They ultimately had to buy freezable lunch bags and put in locker. When my son was in the Disney College program he had a roommate that would just take his Work lunch from apartments fridge Leaving him lunch less for the next day. My DD had to label her lunch don’t throw out I’m still working at the university she worked at on Fridays cause that is when they cleaned the fridge but there was an afternoon shift she was work Fridays And all of their food tossed.

Worst was a man from Poland that was here on political asylum, a major culture gap. I was pregnant and brought snacks. I walked past him heading to my office and he was eating my yogurt and had my banana on his desk Both taken from the fridge. Angry I confronted him and he flipped a pocket of change at me. My response and pointing to my belly ’you are offering my baby coins to eat?’ He turned away and continued to eat my food.

My college roommate would wait for me to leave, then find my stash and eat it all. I had a bag of reeses mini peanut butter cups, came home and all but one were gone, so I bought more and hid them. She found them, ate them all. But then she'd buy stuff and tell me that she knew exactly how much she had and if any was missing, heads would roll.

 

[93boomer]

He says thanks to both of you and @figmentfan423 and @MySmallWorldof4

He did weigh himself before our trip and the day after we came back and his weight was the same so that is pretty good considering all the good food we had!

Remember Disney food has zero calories!!