What are you up to today? This week?

[havanaholly]

Of all places we found the chicken chimney at Academy Sports! After you remove the giblets, it they came with it, you fill the little well with whatever aromatic herbs and liquids you want your bird to taste like (I used lemon juice and whole peppercorns this time; I have also used beer), sit the bird so the cavity covers the chimney, tuck the ends of the drumsticks under the breastbone, cut little slits in the skin near the pulley bone to stuff the wing tips into, move your oven rack to the bottom of the oven and preheat the oven and set the chimney in there. I cooked mine for the first half of "Ben Hur" at 325 F, a bit over two hours, basting every half hour. I also put a foil tent over the top of the bird to keep it from scorching. All the fat drains into the bottom of the bowl.

I put the liver, heart and neck into a covered pyrex dish with a tablespoon of butter and set it in the oven with the chicken until the first basting. For lunch for three of us I cut up all the cooked giblets and neck meat with a half cup of rice and added the cooked mess to a can of chicken and dumpling soup for lunch.

[~morningstar~]

Well,you sent me Googling again,Holly.lol I thought you were talking about pilaf,but I didn't know it's spelled more than one way...And how do ya use the 'chicken chimney'- I only looked at the images...

Roxy,I'm with you on the volume of movie theaters-I'm deaf in my left ear and even so,it drives me crazy how much louder they get every time we go. I wanted to go with my sons,but I may sit it out,too.

For me it's hard enough to find a showing time that isn't crowded with people wearing overwhelming amounts of fragrances I will react to and possibly be sick for days after! And they always manage to sit right in front of or beside me,even if the theater is almost empty!!lol Forgive me,but I just want everyone to think about where you are going to be,in close quarters with others for a couple of hours,at least. Do you really need to spray all that stuff on your fresh clean skin?? Okay,whining over....

Tracy,I'm so glad you survived the expanded family gathering-luckily it sounds like everyone behaved like adults! I can imagine how uncomfortable it was,though! Kudos to your mother,too!!

My sister was screaming at her 11 year old daughter and her grandkids yesterday evening at my mother's and I got up my gumption and asked her to stop..she mumbled alot,but I noticed a difference in volume after that! Score one for Kat not being a mouse!haha

You have my sympathy doll. I have issues (sensitivities) to loud noise, cheap perfumes, cigarette smoke, dirty diapers, the odor of urine, and a lot of other things I can't think of right now. If I decide to wear perfume (I wear either Spellbound or Poeme) I spray the air and step through it... *shakes her head* We rarely go to the movie theater, because I can't stand to be in a crowd for very long. Too many noisy idiots. Especially people that bring their very young children that shouldn't even be there.

My Beloved and I went to see the movie... I think it was Memoirs of a Geisha and there was a baby behind us crying through the whole movie.. despite several patrons making comments about taking the baby out, the mother just kept trying to shush the baby... Finally the mother just told everyone to shut the "F" up and mind their business. Several patrons left early and asked for their money back because they couldn't enjoy the movie, due to the disruptions, and the manager finally came in and asked the mother to take the baby out. The mother refused and the manager told her if she didn't, he'd call the police and have her forcibly removed for disrupting the movie. She flipped out and demanded her money back and said she was going to sue and called the manager a bunch of names.. Said she'd never come back to this theater again... she collected her things and stomped out..

I don't understand why people think that the rules don't apply to them. We have people in our building like that. They think that they don't have to follow the rules and that everyone else should. One our maintenance workers is like that. Personally, I hope the idiot gets fired. There is absolutely NO smoking in the lobby, or in the hallways. It is a clear violation of the rules of the complex. While the manager was away, he stood in the lobby doorway smoking one day, while I was down in the office, talking to the other maintenance worker. I have a severe sensitivity that borders on being an allergy to cigarette smoke. It causes me to cough, and makes me choke. I asked him several times to close the door. He refused. I told him that if he did not close the door, I would inform the manager. He got sarcastic with me. He thinks he's above the rules, because he works here.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

~morning

[pdlnpeabody]

Morning,

The problem where I live is stop sign runners. We have several stop signs or the wide, solid white line across the lane at intersections (which is a designated stop sign in Florida), but several drivers won't even slow down. When they cut left in my path I usually follow them and give them an earful about Florida's "stand your ground law" applying to people who try to run me over on my motorcycle. Sooner or later one of those idiots are going to end up paying for my next bike.

We waited until my two older kids could sit quietly before taking them to see "Planes". They were quiet and thoroughly enjoyed the movie. The problem was our 2 year-old. He wouldn't sit still and once he started making noise, I had to miss several segments of the movie when I took him out. Taking all 3 to the movies wasn't my idea. I explained to my DW that the next time she gets such a crazy idea in her head, she can sit out with the little one when he gets noisy. I rarely went to the movies when I was single because of the frequency of parents bringing whiny infants and toddlers. The volume of the movie itself doesn't bother me like it used to. After several years of clubbing in my younger days, movie theaters aren't nearly as loud. I did notice with several movies I own that I have to turn the volume up and down throughout. The dialog is always quiet, but the soundtrack is blasting away at 200 decibels. I think the sound mixers in Hollyweird need to be replaced with someone who knows something about balancing.

Most movies I'll wait to rent or buy, but movies that require a big screen I'll see in the theater if I can. Usually sci-fi movies, but ones with incredible vistas like the Hobbit franchise require the larger screen.

I didn't know Legolas was added in (I only read LOTR once years ago), but I thought the white ork in The Hobbit was added in. I read that book years ago too, but don't remember the dwarfs having a nemesis chasing them in the story. I was surprised they made such a short book into a trilogy too. I like the story, but still a little bit bothered some screenplay writer thought they could "improve" a classic.

[havanaholly]

Legolas wasn't in The Hobbit, but Beorn was, and should be at the beginning of Hobbit 2. There was a lot left out of "The Lord of the Rings". Legolas and Arwen were expanded to replace Glorfindel, the whole business about Frodo and Sam leaving the Shire was changed, and no Tom Bombadil or Goldberry; but there just wasn't room for all that in the LOTR. There was no "white ork" or stone giant fight scene in The Hobbit, and I'm sure the trilogy, when it's done, will bear only a superficial resemblance to the book, but will be entertaining nevertheless. Peter Jackson's version is certainly a vast improvement over Ralph Bakshi's!

Today I hope DH will feel like running a few errands with me.

[Stacey6163]

Roxy I hope your headache is better today.

I spent the day working on minis , more on tap for today. Going to do some organizing and move some houses around so I can work on more than two at a time.

[Roxxie2]

I went to bed early last night I was exhausted from the stupid headache which is still lurking....this is a marathon. I had better get rid of it because we are going to a concert on Saturday night and it won't be quiet! I am very sensitive to sound, light, fragrances etc. I hate being around people who wear perfume of any kind and I can't stand cigarette smoke.

I never like the movie as much as the book. I think one good movie of the Hobbit would be better than the three that they made and padded with all sorts of extra material. The Hobbit is a short book to start with.

New Mexico has the worst drivers I have ever seen!!!!! I won't get up on my soapbox so early in the day but trust me they would all be dead if they drove like they do here in NY. Good Grief Charlie Brown!

[~morningstar~]

I sympathize with anyone who is sensitive to sound, scent or anything really... because I know how super-sensitive I am.... My landlady thinks it's all in my head and I just need to 'deal with it'. She thinks "I just want a reason to complain about something' when I tell her that the hot water has been readjusted again, or that the new neighbor upstairs is stomping around up there and it sounds like a herd of wild tonka (buffalo)...She throws her hands up in the air and starts shaking her fists and has her little 'tantrums' (I call them that because they remind me of a 3 yr old having a tantrum) and starts saying all kinds of crazy things like "well I'll just evict the neighbor upstairs and we just won't rent out that apartment anymore" and "we'll lock down the laundry rooms so nobody can do their laundry" (because that is where the hot water heaters are)... That isn't what I'm asking for, honestly.. What I'm asking for is for management to use some common sense and place lock boxes on the hot water heaters so nobody in the complex has access except management and maintenance, and for her to ask the woman upstairs to please calm down some, because her noise DOES echo down here. Instead she (the manager) gets bent out of shape like I've asked her to kill her first born and offer it up as a sacrifice. I don't even bother with dealing with the management if I can help it, anymore. We will be moving in less than 2 yrs, and when we do put in our 30day notice, they will ask us why we are moving, I will make sure the owners know exactly why. The manager's behavior will be at the top of the laundry list of reasons. If we could move sooner, we would be. *steps down off her own soapbox*

I'm sorry... I didn't sleep well last night and woke up this morning in a lot of pain, I don't know if I'm going to get much done on the Garfield today... I want to work on her, but I don't know if I'll be able to... Pain scale is about an 8...

~morning

[morgansmith]

People who treat those of us with sensitivities, badly, are creating karma they can't escape. Like we want to be this way? Now I know we have to live in the real world, but think about it. How many of the causes of our sensitivities even existed, say, 150 years ago? When people talk about a simpler time I think of how there have been times and places in the past that weren't filled with rude people, heavy perfumes and sugar rich diets.

I went from someone who had very few challenges with such things to being overwhelmingly challenged in one fell swoop. A bad head injury left me with all kinds of issues regarding sound, smell, touch, and more. I HATE it. I find myself in a sitiation where something is bothering me and try to ignore it because which is worse, the challenge or peoples reactions when you ask for it to be stopped or adjusted? Well, I do my best with patience until I eventually can't take it. I prefer leaving the room but that too gets its comments.

Another side effect from the same accident is RLS. Restless leg syndrome. I forget why my body allowed it to start but remember the connection. Anyway, after the gazillionith hour of sleep lost to this terrible cramping type pain, I remembered a friend having it and truly not believing she had anything wrong. Karma! Yep. RLS is real. I wish it on no one.

We all have our soapboxes. But has anyone noticed how many of us have this same one? It seems to me like another reason this forum is so great. Everyone takes the time to be considerate. I thank each and every one of you for that. It's quiet, you all smell good and no one gets in my way when I'm having a hard time walking or makes fun of me when I 'hide' in my room because I can't tolerate another challenge. And funny thing that, my 5 year old doesn't push my buttons. She hasn't yet learned anything but kindness and respect. And don't say I did something right. 3 years ago I said this to her birth Mom about the personality being so amazing and she said 'don't blame me, she was born this way'. And she was.

[Roxxie2]

I agree with both of you!!! I try not to bother others with my issues but I have learned to speak up. I live with a rock guitarist and I use to just go in the other room and plug my ears, now I speak up and say that I am sensitive and could the volume please be a bit lower? I was so happy when they stopped allowing people to smoke in stores and restaurants....it was torture for me to be anywhere near it. I have been blamed for "ruining" events and holidays because of my headaches and every other kind of inconsiderate thing so now I realize that there are a lot of insensitive people around and if we don't speak up then they will continue to go along on their merry way. I understand pain all too well and I just hope that the people who are critical get their pay back one day. I really mean that. Hugs!

[kat57]

You 3 are exactly my kinda people! I have been labeled so many times in my life as a whiner that it's ridiculous! All I am trying to do is stand up for my rights and all I ever asked was that others use the same consideration to those around them that they expect in return. Simple,common sense,courtesy...I'm so glad to have the GL forum as a way to learn more about dollhouses,but the wonderful bonus of comraderie on real life issues is so great! Thanx for being YOU and letting me be ME!

[CraftyMtnMom]

I am so sorry any one has to go through such pain and discomfort. I am wishing and praying for you to all feel better.

Yes Morgan, sometimes I think the old times would have been so much better in many ways. This world has become (to use my sons words) an 'all about me' society. He's in his mid 20's and even he can see that people care less now about how others feel as long as they get their wish or do what they want.

Though I don't have a lot of health issues currently, I still try to consider others in this world because I do know there are others who do have health issues.

Roxy, I do smoke, but even I wasn't bothered by them banning smoking in public places. Prior to that I tried to think of others when I was out and would get upset that others would be smoking while I was eating.

MorningStar, could you look up and see if your state has a 'renters handbook'. Here in VT, they have one and it gives guidelines for renter's rights and landlords, too. It is very helpful in that it also helps renters and landlords know actions that can be taken. Or maybe your Town Hall/city hall might have some guidelines. I know in one city near me, they have a building inspectors office and they have many guidelines about your sort of situation. Here in Vt, landlords/management can not retaliate because a tenant makes a complaint and there are guidelines for withholding rent (in a separate bank account) if a complaint is not addressed. Might be worth checking out.

I hope you all feel better soon.

[Roxxie2]

Vicki, I never mean to offend my friends, several of them did smoke....its just that cigarette smoke will set off an instant migraine for me lasting for days so it was good for me that it wasn't allowed in public places where I ate and shopped. Fortunately for me my friends were considerate of me. As Kat said in her post, common consideration is all I ever asked of anyone.

[pdlnpeabody]

I have been fortunate. My only sensitivity is to light. My eyes are almost always dilated, so I wear dark sunglasses unless its at night or I'm in a dimly lit room. I have very little sense of smell, and it only kicks in a couple times a year. The rest of the time I can't smell anything. It comes in handy when I'm changing diapers, fiber glassing or walking near smokers. I've heard those things smell awful, but I can't tell the difference. I once walked into an enclosed garden and for a few brief moments could smell the flowers. The air was actually sweet! I'll always remember that.

My hearing is perfect, but I temporarily lost it during a marching band competition in high school. I used ear plugs during drumline camp, but smashing cymbals and later beating on a large bass drum around 25 other drummers took it's toll. My DW on the other hand has been partially deaf since infancy. When she takes out her hearing aids in the evening my snoring doesn't bother her at all. However, she can't hear things that could warn her of harm.

I got to do some riding today. Not very far, just to the library to check out some movies, but it is really nice outside. Probably in the high 60's or low 70's.

[havanaholly]

Ah, yes, the secondhand cigarette smoke thing! Back when DH still smoked and I was s-l-o-w-l-y recovering from my third bout of pneumonia our family doctor told him if he wouldn't quit smoking, to keep it away from me (pneumonia damages the lungs). He went out that day and bought a smoke extractor and put it next to his chair, on the other side from him smoking stand. About the time the smoke extractor gave up its ghost, he had to have a tooth extracted, and he quit smoking cold turkey because something during the extraction changed the way he tasted tobacco.

Another very quiet day at home today.

[~morningstar~]

CraftyMtnMom, we do have a Renters/Landlords handbook, unfortunately it doesn't cover tantrums thrown by the landlady. This complex is a small one and since it does pass inspection every year, there is little short of moving, we can do about the hot water issue. The noise ordinance doesn't go in effect until 10pm. During the day there's nothing we can do about the neighbor upstairs. On the days that she is working, I am grateful for the peace and quiet. My Beloved and I have discussed what the next place we live MUST have. Three bedrooms, TWO bathrooms, a workshop, or sun room, or den, I don't care which. I need my OWN space to work, that isn't the dining room, living room or guest room. My son will likely still be living with us, and I'd like him to have his own room. I want my own bed room with my own bathroom. I'm tired of going into the bathroom and finding the toilet seat up, and the toilet paper all gone. They need to sort that out. Normally, my Beloved doesn't care how I decorate the house.. if I put out all of my own decorations... he's cool with it. He likes that I display my own creativity.. My artistic side. I show off *me*... He is cool with that. So we'll have to find a place we can afford that will allow us to live comfortably and allow me to do just that. So, we'll see what happens. I will keep looking for a new place to live. This apartment is entirely too small for me. One thing I'm going to be sad about leaving here is leaving behind my butterfly wall stickers. Ah well. Small sacrifice for moving to a better place.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

~morning

[Stacey6163]

Morgan , I too have RLS , and like you said I would wish it on no one , it is awful ! I only had half of a dose to take last night and barely slept at all. John went to the pharmacy ( 30 miles away ) this morning and they sent me a partial fill - three pills. I was so mad , I called and they told me to come back in , they had received their shipment. Needless to say that didn't happen , but at least I'll get some sleep tonight.

Roxy , hoping you get rid of that headache soon.

I've spent the day working on Hank's workshop and a couple of other mini things.

[GirlPiper]

I'm a smoker but have always tried to be considerate, and I do't mind being outside and 25 feet from doors; but I do mind people (strangers!) lecturing me. I always want to ask how they got so fat, or how their cholestoral is, but refrain.

[sparklepuppies]

Anslee left to go home a little while ago, and I sure am sad, sadder than usual...

Think I'll go make some more buckeyes, for tomorrow's dinner with friends.

[~morningstar~]

Morgan , I too have RLS , and like you said I would wish it on no one , it is awful ! I only had half of a dose to take last night and barely slept at all. John went to the pharmacy ( 30 miles away ) this morning and they sent me a partial fill - three pills. I was so mad , I called and they told me to come back in , they had received their shipment. Needless to say that didn't happen , but at least I'll get some sleep tonight.

Roxy , hoping you get rid of that headache soon.

I've spent the day working on Hank's workshop and a couple of other mini things.

Stacey, how did you even manage on half a dose? a partial fill is unacceptable. My pharmacy and my physician both work in tandem when I'm out of meds to make sure my scrip is filled to completion, if they don't have it, they call me to tell me they don't have it, that it will be a couple of extra days or they call around to other pharmacies to get what they need to fill it. My pain meds particularly are the ones they don't play with, because if they can't fill it, I'll go ballistic. What my physician has started doing so that I don't run out,.. she fills it a week early. If I'm a week out, of being out, she'll fill it early so we don't have this 'snafu'. I get enough to last me 90days.. when I'm just about at the end of the 90days, I check in, and see if it's time to fill it. If it is, I request the refill and she authorizes it. My husband goes to the pharmacy to pick it up as soon as it shows as being filled on the website. My blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, GERD meds, migraine meds, and the anti-emetic to keep the pain med down usually don't pose a problem.. just the pain med because it's a schedule II drug. I'm fortunate though, our insurance is with the same company that our medical care is with.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

~morning

[~morningstar~]

I'm a smoker but have always tried to be considerate, and I do't mind being outside and 25 feet from doors; but I do mind people (strangers!) lecturing me. I always want to ask how they got so fat, or how their cholestoral is, but refrain.

I would never lecture someone for smoking. I even when they're inconsiderate and blow the smoke in my face. I cough and choke, and it's obvious that it affects me. But, when someone thinks to lecture me, or ask questions that are clearly none of their business, my ex and I used to make up stories to embarrass them. We used to take public transit often and we were often asked how we would ''do it".. (my ex was wheelchair bound).. So we'd make up stories about how we'd 'do it'.. and often after making up these elaborate stories, we'd say ... 'nah man, we're just playin'... ' 'we do it like normal people..' people stopped asking us because they'd get embarrassed. One time, some dude got really mad because he was so embarrassed. I told him.. 'maybe you shouldn't ask such personal questions of strangers...'

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3

~morning

[havanaholly]

I have never understood why people feel that they must respond to embarassingly personal questions, that are really none of anyone's business.

[~morningstar~]

Holly, I suspect that some folk weren't taught that you just don't ask people personal questions like that. They assume because he was wheelchair bound that he was a paraplegic. He wasn't. He had OI. (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) Think 'Unbreakable'.. If you've ever seen the movie, and you know Samuel L. Jackson's role, then you know what I'm talking about. My ex, was a textbook case, right down to the misshapen rib cage and the blue sclera around the eye balls, and abnormally long fingers. *shrugs* we learned to just laugh about it, instead of getting upset. It didn't do us any good to get upset.. and it was funnier to see them get embarrassed and sometimes they learned a valuable lesson about minding their business. On public transit, it's difficult to ignore someone who's right in your face asking questions like that, because they'll keep asking and if you keep ignoring they'll step to you and eventually start a fight or say something worse. Where I live, it's better to just try to make a joke out of it.. If you do that and everyone else is laughing, they have nobody but themselves to blame because they shouldn't have asked in the first place. The transit drivers won't protect you, and they rarely have any security on the transit system.. I refuse to take transit now, because I'm pretty frail and it would be too easy for one of them to attack me and break me. If I need to go somewhere, my son goes with me, or we drive. Else I stay home. It's sad really...

<3<3<3<3<3

~morning

[havanaholly]

I'm SO glad I live in the South!

[kat57]

We aren't protected from rude,nosey idiots in the South-QUITE the opposite! My mother and I are always amazed how much ruder they are here than when we lived in Sacramento,California. Out there,at least in the middle '60s to middle '70s,they seemed to prefer to mind their own business and for you to mind yours. Mom said she even found it hard to compliment someone on a necklace or outfit-they either thought you wanted it or just weren't used to anyone complimenting them,very distrustful. I don't mean they were mean or unfriendly-just stayed in their own 'space' and expected you to. I have no idea how it is out there these days,as we left there in October 1976... But,don't think people aren't just as dumb and thoughtless here-it's an unsavory part of the diversity of human nature,unfortunately.

[~morningstar~]

I think it all depends on where you are. Small towns sometimes are full of Southern Hospitality.. while the larger cities are full of idiots. When I was home a couple of summers ago, we went to my home town in the south and it was like I remembered it.. Like Mayberry RFD All the Southern Charm, without the town drunk It was nice to be home. Hated coming back to the big city.

~morning