The Chit Chat Chit Chat Thread

[Gabe1]

The horse parade didn't have a lot of horses in it this year because there was rain with maybe thunderstorms in the forecast. It is neat, sometimes there are horses all dressed up with ribbons and gear. Usually some wagons and carriages too but again only a few this year. It travels down the street adjacent to our house so we don't have to go far.

The tractor parade was new this year. Normally they just line up the tractors in the park, but they took them on parade this year. There are some new ones but some antique ones as well. The guys take a lot of pride in their tractors. Just like restoring old cars I guess. Just part of living in rural Wisconsin.

Today is the big town parade. It runs right in front of our house so no travel needed. I have the family coming over, so sloppy joes are in the crock pot, potato salad is in the fridge, baked beans ready for the oven, and a butterfinger dessert ready to go.

As for the scenery for the walk, it is the scenery I grew up with. I try not to take it for granted. Everywhere has pretty places though.

We have a man about 4 roads from us that collects tractors in his garage. John Deere and only JD. They are the smaller of real tractors but they all have their own spot in the garage, maybe a dozen of them. The cars well they are cars and stay out on the driveway. There is a tractor in a small garage across the street from me. The man has passed but his sister has refused to sell the house, she lives on the other end of town. I'd say it is 50-60 years old and like new. Over the years I watched the man wash it and polish it. His family had a farm about 5 miles from here and they sold it after the parents passed and they aged. He obviously valued the JD tractor. Whoever ultimately gets that tractor will get something in prime condition. He use to just drive it in circles on the lawn every now and again.

 

[Songbird76]

I bet you were like a kid in a candy store with the variety. But I'm sure there is some fun stuff in your stores that we would love to have.

I wouldn't count on that! LOL. Mostly, what we have is the most basic of what you have. I guess there are a few things like stroopwaffels, but even those are starting to appear in the US.

 

[Gabe1]

Your daughter?

 

[englanddg]

Your daughter?

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/englanddgs-its-a-new-year-after-all.917070/

 

[Songbird76]

Is anyone reading the new Harry Potter book?

Not right now, but I will be. It came out while I was on vacation, and with limited space in the suitcases, I decided to wait until I get home. I'm home, but I'm in the middle of reading Outlander Breath of Snow and Ashes, so it might be a bit before I get to The Cursed Child.

 

[Songbird76]

And my Pup has a Disney name also. Meet Walt.

What breed is Walt?

 

[Songbird76]

Welcome to the boards! Graduation trips are pretty awesome, I had one for high school and college to Disney World. When I got my master's I decided Hawaii would be my reward for that. I went to a college that was close to home for the first year and a half, so I lived at home. It saved me a lot of money, but I really missed the dorm experience. When I transferred schools I lived in the dorms, but I wish I had just been in the dorms to begin with. There is a college about a 15 minute drive from where I teach and I encourage my students that go there to do the dorms if they can swing it financially as I think it is an important part of the college experience. So I'm glad you are going that route too, especially if your scholarship covers it.

Oh, why couldn't you have been my teacher in high school? When I graduated, my mom decided she was going to move to college with me so I could live with her. I said no way, I want to live in the dorms. My brother had a full ride scholarship and I only had tuition and fees, so I still had to pay for room and board, but no way was I going to live with mommy. I had been biding my time until I could move out and be independent, and stay out after dark, and date, etc. Mom was so angry that I said no and no amount of explaining could make her understand the things I would miss out on if I didn't live in the dorms. It would have been nice to have a teacher to tell her I was right!

 

[MOXOMUMD]

Regarding those Lays chips with different flavors that you and @ajrwdwgirl were discussing, once again, you must be in a test market for those flavors. I've never seen those out here. This drives me crazy when certain foods or beverages are distributed to other areas of the country, and we don't have them!! I may or may not like the flavors, but I'd be curious to try them.

We have them here.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

Awe. Glad she wasn't too annoyed with your vacation. Seems like she forgave you pretty quickly and climbed in. Guess she had to pout on the floor for a few minute for a mild protest first.

Yup, she was pouting. She's not in a terrible mood, though. But then again, the neighbor was there almost every day, we had something painted while we were gone, so there was somebody there, and my dad came home mid trip (which probably confused her) so she was getting a good bit of attention. But yes, she was pouting.

I've no idea how she'll react when I'm gone in January.

We're going to the Orioles game today, and there will probably be rain delays, so we'll be gone for a good bit today. She'll probably whine when we get home.

 

[ShoalFox]

My phone is back from the dead! After cleaning out the gunk in the lightning port and hard resetting the device, it charges yet again.

 

[Songbird76]

Ooops! My bad!
Comin' up...!!!

View attachment 154645

I love this picture. It cracks me up! I was telling my friend's husband about it while we were staying there in Florida with them. He mentioned the princess run, and that some people, even men, wear tutus. I said you had done the Princess 5k and worn a tutu and he insisted there was no such thing...the princess run is ONLY a half marathon. But it WAS a 5k, right?

 

[Songbird76]

What can I say? I don't like the smell, and the flavor is even worse. I am much happier with my grande chai tea latte. With coconut milk, of course.

I wonder if it will REALLY shock @Mr Ferret 88 when I tell him I don't like coffee OR tea. I will drink tea DROWNING in honey, IF I am really sick and need something to soothe my throat. But it has to be very weak on the tea and heavy on the honey for me to choke it down. I won't go near coffee (or anything coffee flavored) with a 10 foot pole.

 

[Songbird76]

He is a handsome dog. I think the bigger the doggie the more soft hearted they are.

Not always!!! I had a tiny one who was the sweetest thing...he'd curl up with me when I was having a bad day. He could just sense it. And then a 2 weeks ago, there was a BIG dog who I had to keep separated from my kids or she would have attacked them. Barked every time someone moved.

 

[Songbird76]

Add me to the hating snow too. I like it at Christmas or if there is a snow day otherwise it can go away. Although the last couple winters we had more days below zero than snow, so I would say that the cold is just bad!

See, I LOVE the snow....the fresh, pristine white snow and how it just sits on the tree branches and makes them look silver in the sunlight. I just hate the cold that comes WITH the snow, and I don't like the dirty, slushy, melting snow that gets in your socks and makes the sidewalks slippery.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

See, I LOVE the snow....the fresh, pristine white snow and how it just sits on the tree branches and makes them look silver in the sunlight. I just hate the cold that comes WITH the snow, and I don't like the dirty, slushy, melting snow that gets in your socks and makes the sidewalks slippery.

The main problem with snow here is that sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't, and when we get it, we're not all that good at dealing with it. The great Blizzard of this year shut down our area. It stopped snowing by Saturday night, but my flight back from WDW on Sunday night was cancelled. Extra day in WDW, but still. We weren't able to start classes until Thursday. Which may have been fine if I weren't in college. We don't extend semesters at all, so the professors have to cram the material into whatever time they have, stressing out both us and them, especially for those classes that only meet once a week. And normally, if it snows mid semester, your assignments are still pretty much due because most of them get submitted online.

We also routinely get that horendous slush/snow mix. It's good for nothing except messing up schedules and making road conditions aweful. Walkways get slippery. And kids can't even play in it.

Oh, and it's cold. Yes, there is that.

 

[Gabe1]

My phone is back from the dead! After cleaning out the gunk in the lightning port and hard resetting the device, it charges yet again.

Woot!

 

[Gabe1]

What breed is Walt?

Walt is considered a 'Giant' Yellow Labrador Retriever.

 

[Songbird76]

pretty sure @PhotoDave219 ,@ParentsOf4 and others have expressed their opinions on how Disney is pretty much now targeting the rich and leaving the middle class in the dust with their prices.
Hence why the real selling might be down, and the higher earnings are just because of higher prices.

It's actually not a very bright Marketing strategy. Hubby and I were talking about this the other day. DD had her heart SET on buying a pair of minnie ears...it was the one thing she wanted as a souvenir. We had given the kids each a certain amount of their money to take with them, and they got some from my in-laws and a family friend, too. So we went in search of the perfect pair...but even the simplest, cheapest ones are over $20. The ones she wanted were $27, and she didn't feel that was a good deal...not worth what you got, even in Disney. Whereas, if they were to cut the price in half, they'd probably sell 3 times as many and end up making MORE money than they make now at the exorbitant prices. It just makes so much more sense. Same with resorts and restaurants...there are some that end up having a lot of empty rooms/tables because people just can't afford the prices. We would NEVER have been able to afford the prices for our vacation if it wasn't for the substantial discounts through the European site. But because we got a cheaper room, we were able to stay longer, which is more money in their pockets because that's longer that we're in the parks, buying things. We had the dining plan, but we didn't end up using all of our credits (so much food!) and there were some things that weren't included in the plan, so we paid for those out of pocket...that's all stuff that we wouldn't have been able to do because of the massive price tag Disney charges. If they would make their prices reasonable across the board, they'd sell MUCH more, and end up making even more profit. By trying to milk the consumer, they just make it out of the price range of the average consumer, who then goes and spends their dollars elsewhere. They could be making so much more than they do now.

 

[Gabe1]

Oh, why couldn't you have been my teacher in high school? When I graduated, my mom decided she was going to move to college with me so I could live with her. I said no way, I want to live in the dorms. My brother had a full ride scholarship and I only had tuition and fees, so I still had to pay for room and board, but no way was I going to live with mommy. I had been biding my time until I could move out and be independent, and stay out after dark, and date, etc. Mom was so angry that I said no and no amount of explaining could make her understand the things I would miss out on if I didn't live in the dorms. It would have been nice to have a teacher to tell her I was right!

Blah! IF my kids wanted to live at home for college for whatever their reasons would have been I would have accepted that but I did not encourage that. My DD did a dorm 3.5 years of college, she graduated early. My DS did a couple years of a dorm (his was not nearly as nice as DDs) but then he rented an apartment with friends. The apartment with him anyhow had its good, bad and UGLY sides.

My DD good friend from childhood thru highschool, they were swimmers from babe's.
Her Mom was so controlling with both DD, this one she liked, the adopted older one not so much. So when it came time for her to go away to college her Mom started applying for jobs in the DD college town. Mind you the other DD was still at home and she was/is married. Though secretly I think the other DD and her DH would have loved a 4 year break lol.

 

[Gabe1]

Do you mean the one with the older man, the classical music and the wedding ring? Yes, it is intriguing, but, only to a small degree. Whatever message they were trying to send was overridden by the intrigue. Needs a little more definition and then maybe the connection between the commercial and Volvo might become clear, until then it's just a head scratcher.

There is now part 2. It is online if you search for it, commercial-volvo-wedding

Neither have diddle to do with the car other than the name Volvo keeps surfacing.