One last day off before the rest-of-the-week blitz. I'm really not feeling it this year, but I'm sure I'll get into it once it starts.
104 thoughts on “November 25, 2014: The Calm”
At the risk of offending the sensibilities of our purists (or some such), I will admit to consuming a Leinenkugel's Cranberry Ginger Shandy, on purpose, and rather enjoying it.
Their whole winter sampler turned out to be not too bad. Also, the price was right.
I try to keep my sensibilities from getting offended by subjective things (hey, if you like it and all). That said, I see a billboard for it every time I drive into Madison and it just sounds really, uh, not good.
For awhile last fall (I think it was), the local grocery store was selling the Hoppin' Helles for $7.99/12-pack. I drank a good deal of Hoppin' Helles in those days.
It didn't taste very much like beer, exactly, so that may say something, and I agree with your assessment of how it sounded. I don't know that I'd want to drink many of them.
There was a "Helles Yeah" included as well amongst the sampler.
I have had a shandy once or twice in my life and enjoyed it. This one does not sound like my idea of a shandy. But I am not a huge fan of sweet.
With one exception: Berliner weisse with a shot of raspberry syrup. Mmmm.
I've had two: the Leinie's and Potosi Steamboat Shandy. The Leinie's was fine, probably better than the honey weiss its based on. I enjoyed the Potosi much more largely because the pilsner they use for the base beer is pretty good.
Let me see what I can do. (Its readily available year round here, so what I can do is send you a bottle in a relatively short time frame.)
You will have to guide me on local stuff you would like to try.
I'll try to do some research.
Leinie's does some things fantastically (Big Eddy Imperial IPA is up there with Hopslam).
Some things pretty well (their dopplebock Big Butt was one of my gateways, and their Vanilla Porter isn't far behind Breckenridge's). We had Red at our wedding.
If it's hot out, I won't turn down their regular Shandy (though I'll pick many things over it).
But there are some things they've made that I can't stand. Lemon Berry Shandy and Berryweiss being the two that come to mind. Sickly sweet, like cough-syrup added to beer. I got a winter sampler pack last year for hosting something festive at my house. No one drank any of it so it was all mine, but it took me well into summer to drink the last two LemBer Shandies. So I won't be partaking in any CranGin Shandy on my own dime.
I don't suppose I ought to bring you one at an official function, but would most certainly offer otherwise. It was pretty sweet, though.
That seems like suboptimal distribution: you, who enjoy it, bringing it to me, who feels confidently would not enjoy it.
Maybe we should find other beer to trade at Cub Scout meetings.
I haven't touched a Leinie's in almost a decade, save for trying one of the...Lemon?...shandies the Milkmaid picked up. I kind of think of them as a brewer I've graduated from, but lately they got the Vanilla Porter out here and it's caught my eye.
It's not Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter, but it's not bad.
BTW, I consider Vanilla Porters one of my "candy" beers.
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is one of my absolute favorites. It's so good.
It's like smoking a pipe without having to smoke.
Really more like drinking sweet-smelling pipe tobacco.
If you haven't already, citizens in the metro should check out Total Wine & More. Cheap, cheap beer, wine and spirits. The Rosedale store is dangerously conveniently located about 500 yards from my credit union.
Picked up a variety of Surly 4-packs for 7.99 (Cynic, Furious, Overrated), a couple of Ommegang 4-packs for 9.99 (Abbey Ale, Hennepin), and a handle of Jim Beam for 21.99. Will check out the huge wine selection on my next visit. (One nice thing about buying gifts for my friends and family--everybody likes their vino.)
Never been in the Rosedale location (or any others), but as a Roseville resident I have been in that mall area numerous times. My favorite thing about that location is that it is adjacent to the Babies "R" Us. We happened to be going to that store when Total Wine & More had their grand opening promotion. It was completely nuts. It felt like people were stocking up before a cataclysmic event.
I had no idea MSP had total wine. We frequent it out here in VA, so that is good to know.
There's a Total Wine next to my store, which has been a great and horrible thing for me for the past few years.
I noticed the one in Rosedale as I drove by it during my last visit. I was pretty surprised.
We don't have Surly here, though. Sigh.
That's almost all I drink anymore. Haven't bought beer in almost two months now, given its luxury status. Soon, perhaps.
pretty much. I am not a fan of professional outrage machines. There are real issues in Ferguson and the country, but those issues need authentic local leaders.
Darren Wolfson @DarrenWolfson ·
#MNTwins have to be close to finalizing Mollie's staff. Word has it Steinbach has been told he won't be back.
Seems like a fairly substantial surprise to me. I have no idea if he did a good job or not, but I don't remember hearing anything bad said about him.
I don't think it should be much of a surprise. Steinbach doesn't have any managerial experience above high school (Wayzata), so it seemed likely Molitor's bench coach would likely require some experience to act as a sounding board for strategy.
What concerns me is that none of the coaches named thus far seems like a good fit as a catching coach/mentor.
I'm more surprised that, from the sound of it, he's not being reassigned, but simply let go.
That is surprising, unless he expressed interest in trying to latch on elsewhere? Or is a candidate for a minor league managing gig?
Aw, man...
Getting into the thankful mood, my work is sending me to a conference in Tampa, Florida in late January. The family is coming along, and everything is booked. Since we'll be in the area, I'm staying a few extra days to go to Disneyworld.
I did have a question for the community. I've been looking at rental car places, and Alamo is by far the cheapest. The reviews reflect the price, however. Has anyone had experience with them?
I have had several experiences with Alamo, all acceptable. Not as good as Hertz, but not as expensive either.
Funny, last two Hertz rentals have been disasters as to cleanliness. First one there was dog food on the floor of the car and a tennis ball (for the dog, do they play tennis?) underneath the seat. On this last trip there was an empty water bottle underneath the seat. Yet there was a note that the car had been 'quality cleaned' by Hussein, including his signature. Yo, Hussein! Game up, boyo.
I had a good experience with Budget this summer, but other than that all of my rentals are work-related through Enterprise or Avis, which are both fine.
I've never really known that a rental car experience can be anything other than a rental car experience. We've had one long wait in all our years, and I can't remember which company that was with. I usually just worry about if they are on the airport site and if I've heard of them. That's my bar, anyway.
This. We rent from whomever is cheapest, and have never really had an issue (worth mentioning) with any of the companies.
Rental cars are cheaper from different locations; we've found it cheaper to fly into and rent in Fort Lauderdale or Tampa instead of Ft. Myers, and it's a pleasant 1-2 hr drive and sightseeing.
When you get into minivans it gets complicated. In Orlando I went offsite and it was a big pain. But we saved greater than $500 on the rental. So I spent $100 in taxi fare and some additional 30 minutes of stress both ways. I guess it was worth it, though.
We haven't done the "drive to Ft. Myers" thing yet. With 3 kids and layovers it is generally hard to decide if extra $$$s are worth the reduced hassles. As you can see, sometimes we pay the man, and sometimes we work around it.
Kids are getting older, though, so the drive-to-save option seems more possible every day.
Mrs. Runner isn't a happy flier, so we have to deal with direct flights, too.
If you have young children (and I think you do...)
I don't remember who it was in Anchorage, but we were told that the car would have a child seat. (CER wasn't yet 2 years old... which tells me that my sister's 10th anniversary will be this May.)
It did. However, the car didn't have the LATCH system and it didn't have that I-shaped (with serifs on the serifs) bar that makes retracting seatbelts non-retracting car seat purposes. I had to search through their garage pile of old car seats to find one that still had the I-bar clipped onto the back of the seat. With my nap-deprived toddler in the arms of my exhausted wife. Or would could have upgraded to a different vehicle with money we didn't really have.
I committed to packing an I-bar on any future car-rental travels as long as I still had small children. Which has been 0 times in that decade.
This might not be an issue anymore as all rentals should be of vehicles recent enough to have LATCH standard.
We will indeed be travelling with small kids (1, 2.5 and 4.5 years old). Looking online, it seems the LATCH standard has been required in new cars since 2002, so I think we should be okay, but I might look at digging up a few of those just in case.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I was (and am) leaning towards Alamo, since they are on the airport site, but it's good to get some confirmation that they aren't active extortionists, anyway.
I've used all of the major players, and haven't noticed many differences (Business related so I can't comment on family stuff). So in the last couple of years, I've taken to hotwiring a car which has really cut some of the costs. We also have a credit card that makes getting insurance unnecessary, which has ended the insurance costs more than the car problem.
Also I always call the office where I'll be picking up the car a day or two before I arrive and have had very good luck with upgrades and the such even though I'm not a preferred member of any car rental agency.
So in the last couple of years, I've taken to hotwiring a car which has really cut some of the costs.
Did you really intend to confess auto theft here?
Unfortunately, no;
Fortunately I'm unlikely to get caught; but,
Unfortunately I'd like the notoriety;
Fortunately, I'll get over that soon.
We've always been told by our personal auto insurance people that we can use that same policy for most things rental. Worth checking out.
Yes this as well. Our doesn't but yours may.
and now for something completely different (from my news feed this morning): Spamtown's own Charlie Parr.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKlRB4GqUMU
I went to more than a few movies at that theater as a youngster, and drank my share of booze while chasing my share of skirts as a young man there when it became a bar. I moved away long before it was resurrected as a performing arts venue.
On Thursday, I found out that my parents are separating and because of that, we would be hosting Thanksgiving. This unfortunately did not come as much of a surprise.
On Sunday, I got a text from my mom asking to visit. I expected just her to visit in order to talk about things. Instead, I find out both of them have come. For the entire time they were there, nothing was discussed whatsoever and they seemed to get along well enough.
I talked to my brother after and he said the dinner they had later that day was the most awkward he has ever participated in. I was the one to break the news to him on Friday so he already knew. It took the parents two and a half hours before telling him, again in the most awkward way possible.
So I wondered, why now? The people attending Thanksgiving haven't changed, only the location. Why couldn't you fake it for another week? I get that there must have been a breaking point, but now we are forced on a short notice to get ready for something we were not planning doing. The brother-in-law and his wife mentioned after finding out they noticed some awkwardness and forced niceties during Christmas and it was clear to everyone that there were some problems before that.
It is just really weird. It feels like they are trying to protect everyone. It might be that things are much worse than they seem, but again, we are adults and we can handle it and will have to handle it anyway.
I have been asked how I'm doing and one of my first thoughts was, at I won't have to explain to our son why grandma and grandpa are no longer together. It will be just like what I got to experience as a child instead and never knowing anything different.
Ah, rough times, indeed, my friend. Here's hoping Thanksgiving goes smoothly as possible for you.
We're going to be doing the vast majority of the cooking for Linds' parents, since her mom had back surgery a week or two ago. It's a stressful enough thing to plan when they're hosting and knowing weeks in advance. I shudder to think of it being sprung on someone.
I wonder if maybe that stress of hosting (I love Thanksgiving, but definitely hate hosting it.) acted as a catalyst to whatever was under the surface coming up?
Best of luck with the situation.
Right, or they fear that the stress of hosting would be too much for them to fake it and could lead to things spiralling past any niceties.
I have no insight to offer, but good luck to you and your family with everything.
Dido. Thinking good thoughts.
This.
thirdy thirded. Dr. Chop has an extremely complicated relationship with the remaining members of her family, but we always try to find and focus on the fun(ish) bits of visits over the holidays.
Sorry to hear that Sean, communication with parents is something I(and by extension my family) struggle with as well. Being able to relate hopefully helps, but those conversations are always tough on either end.
You and your family are in our prayers. Best wishes to you.
The idea of my parents separating in my adult life always struck me weird, because I only had the one experience, which was of my parents splitting when I was eight (or maybe seven). The whole thing was disorienting, and my brother (two years younger) and I were given sparing details in an attempt to shield us which only really left us angry and confused. When you mention your parents were awkward about trying to deliver the news, I wonder how the hell my parents planned on explaining it to kids of 7 and 5; it had to be a hell of a thing.
The Milkmaid and I will reach eleven years in a few weeks here, and I often wonder how people that are happily married at this point end up drifting apart later. It scares me a little, to be honest.
It sounds like you're doing alright, but all the same, my thoughts are with you.
My parents split after 21 years. They actually asked my brother and I permission. Without hesitation we said yes, because we could see how miserable they were. They are both happier now, and while it took a few years, they are now friends again and we can all have Christmas and birthday parties together without any awkwardness. I hope something similar is in store for your parents.
Me too, because my parents have been divorced for about 28 years and still refuse to be in the same place at the same time. Makes planning difficult at times.
Make them cook for you.
Attention Lydia Loveless fans: I have an extra ticket for the show on Saturday, November 29 at the Turf Club. Let me know if you're interested!
I'm interested...was just about to buy mine online!
I'm interested and may have to play it by ear, as we're coming back to the Twin Cities that afternoon.
Notes to self: $15, 8pm doors, 9pm music, Sudden Lovelies (they opened the entry show) and the Girls opening.
I definitely want to go, the question is of marital and familial harmony.
I'm already in. Should be fun. Look for me.
Will we recognize you minus 20 more pounds? 😉
It will be two days after Thanksgiving, so put me down minus 10 pounds.
I have a ticket and am listed as "probable"
All right, the ticket goes to CoC because I can make a profit of 9 cents off him! I don't know what free or Scot look like, but if you guys recognize CoC, that should do the trick.
AMR, I'm hoping you can pull it off. I probably don't need to mention I'll recognize you. Though I will say you're harder to pick out in a winter jacket with the hood up.
will there be a pictorial series on the ticket exchange, DPWY? Needs to happen.
He works in the wrong city now.
Wait, does CoC work elsewhere now, too?
He works in the wrong city now as well.
So now that means that _you_ work in the wrong city for this handoff to succeed and be documented via twitter.
He's got you there, dude.
If Minneapolis is wrong, I don't want to be right.
Particularly if "right" is St. Paul.
"Can['t] we all [just] get along?"
I'm good for the concert.
Talked our travel plans over last night with EAR. I bought my ticket online this morning. I don't want to get there to find it's sold out.
If travel plans get messed up and ruined, I'll just have to eat the cost. At least Lydia will still get a (slice of) my money.
Yes please:
The holidays are more fun with an advent calendar with a surprise everyday. The MOST fun with a BEER advent calendar. pic.twitter.com/TxWTznVotp
Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode
The #MNTwins have outrighted Anthony Swarzak to Triple-A Rochester. Roster now at 39.
Now the Twins have room to sign Jon Lester.
I'm not upset about that, but it's a surprise to me. Swarzak's been a decent enough middle reliever. Maybe (we can hope) the Twins have decided they want to do better than "decent enough".
I'm guessing they figure they can get decent enough for a million fewer dollars.
Maybe this gives him a chance to be a full time starter, but in Rochester.
So much for the "someone with managing experience" theory, I guess.
He managed to get rehired.
Twice, in fact. He survived the first round of Gardenhire coach firings, too.
I thought Vavra was well liked, outside of his third base coaching decisions.
Four former or current hitting coaches on one staff? That's different.
No first base coach as yet. I'm crossing my fingers for the Return of Terwilliger.
The guy pretty much came out of nowhere to be the Twins' hitting coach. He must be very well-liked and respected for the work he has done because of his ability to stick with the club despite having very little public name either as a player or a coach/manager.
Had the clan over for a pre-Thanksgiving Mex night - I made beef and chix enchiladas - went well.
But I got some 2014 venison from the fam and decided to make this dish tonite. NBBW said it was one of the best meals she's evah had.
Venison Bourguignon (yes, stolen from J. Child cookbook).
Venison chops cut into 1"-2" chunks, browned on both sides in olive oil, then moved to Dutch oven. Top with red wine, garlic, and beef broth (I only had beef bouillon, it worked) enough to cover the meat - put into 350F oven with bay leaf, 1 tbsp tomato paste, and thyme.
Cook cleaned pearl onions and reconstituted mushrooms in some water, then set aside. I harvested the mushrooms from a pre-packaged camp meal made in Ely (mushroom stroganoff). Cook the meat for as long as you can (I did an hour, recipe asked for 2-2.5 oh well). I cooked the egg noodles from the pre-packaged camp mix until done, and had at the ready to serve.
Remove the meat from the Dutch oven. And this is important - add some flour to your saute pan , then some butter. Once melted, add 1/2 cup of the juices from your Dutch oven - let the roux get set, then pour all of it, including the mushroom/onion mix, back into the Dutch oven. Add the meat back in, then on the stove, let simmer for 5 min, then pour over your egg noddles and serve. Delish. Usually I'm doing these dishes with venison that has been in the freezer for 1-2 years - this was with a 11/9 buck from Hubbard County.
Sounds awesome. Maybe this will be my next round. I've taken to marinating my venison and then cooking over wild rice in a clay pot, to avoid help with the dryness. Works beautifully.
At the risk of offending the sensibilities of our purists (or some such), I will admit to consuming a Leinenkugel's Cranberry Ginger Shandy, on purpose, and rather enjoying it.
Their whole winter sampler turned out to be not too bad. Also, the price was right.
I try to keep my sensibilities from getting offended by subjective things (hey, if you like it and all). That said, I see a billboard for it every time I drive into Madison and it just sounds really, uh, not good.
For awhile last fall (I think it was), the local grocery store was selling the Hoppin' Helles for $7.99/12-pack. I drank a good deal of Hoppin' Helles in those days.
It didn't taste very much like beer, exactly, so that may say something, and I agree with your assessment of how it sounded. I don't know that I'd want to drink many of them.
There was a "Helles Yeah" included as well amongst the sampler.
I have had a shandy once or twice in my life and enjoyed it. This one does not sound like my idea of a shandy. But I am not a huge fan of sweet.
With one exception: Berliner weisse with a shot of raspberry syrup. Mmmm.
I've had two: the Leinie's and Potosi Steamboat Shandy. The Leinie's was fine, probably better than the honey weiss its based on. I enjoyed the Potosi much more largely because the pilsner they use for the base beer is pretty good.
Now, THIS fruit beer, I would not mind trying.
Yes, you do want to try that fruit beer. (Maybe I can make that happen.)
(Also, the Strawberry-Rhubarb and Serendipity are fantastic, too. But the raspberry is still the best.)
A trade could be arranged....
Let me see what I can do. (Its readily available year round here, so what I can do is send you a bottle in a relatively short time frame.)
You will have to guide me on local stuff you would like to try.
I'll try to do some research.
Leinie's does some things fantastically (Big Eddy Imperial IPA is up there with Hopslam).
Some things pretty well (their dopplebock Big Butt was one of my gateways, and their Vanilla Porter isn't far behind Breckenridge's). We had Red at our wedding.
If it's hot out, I won't turn down their regular Shandy (though I'll pick many things over it).
But there are some things they've made that I can't stand. Lemon Berry Shandy and Berryweiss being the two that come to mind. Sickly sweet, like cough-syrup added to beer. I got a winter sampler pack last year for hosting something festive at my house. No one drank any of it so it was all mine, but it took me well into summer to drink the last two LemBer Shandies. So I won't be partaking in any CranGin Shandy on my own dime.
I don't suppose I ought to bring you one at an official function, but would most certainly offer otherwise. It was pretty sweet, though.
That seems like suboptimal distribution: you, who enjoy it, bringing it to me, who feels confidently would not enjoy it.
Maybe we should find other beer to trade at Cub Scout meetings.
I haven't touched a Leinie's in almost a decade, save for trying one of the...Lemon?...shandies the Milkmaid picked up. I kind of think of them as a brewer I've graduated from, but lately they got the Vanilla Porter out here and it's caught my eye.
It's not Breckenridge's Vanilla Porter, but it's not bad.
BTW, I consider Vanilla Porters one of my "candy" beers.
Breckenridge Vanilla Porter is one of my absolute favorites. It's so good.
It's like smoking a pipe without having to smoke.
Really more like drinking sweet-smelling pipe tobacco.
If you haven't already, citizens in the metro should check out Total Wine & More. Cheap, cheap beer, wine and spirits. The Rosedale store is
dangerouslyconveniently located about 500 yards from my credit union.Picked up a variety of Surly 4-packs for 7.99 (Cynic, Furious, Overrated), a couple of Ommegang 4-packs for 9.99 (Abbey Ale, Hennepin), and a handle of Jim Beam for 21.99. Will check out the huge wine selection on my next visit. (One nice thing about buying gifts for my friends and family--everybody likes their vino.)
Never been in the Rosedale location (or any others), but as a Roseville resident I have been in that mall area numerous times. My favorite thing about that location is that it is adjacent to the Babies "R" Us. We happened to be going to that store when Total Wine & More had their grand opening promotion. It was completely nuts. It felt like people were stocking up before a cataclysmic event.
I had no idea MSP had total wine. We frequent it out here in VA, so that is good to know.
There's a Total Wine next to my store, which has been a great and horrible thing for me for the past few years.
I noticed the one in Rosedale as I drove by it during my last visit. I was pretty surprised.
We don't have Surly here, though. Sigh.
That's almost all I drink anymore. Haven't bought beer in almost two months now, given its luxury status. Soon, perhaps.
A bit of a surprise
Darren Wolfson @DarrenWolfson ·
#MNTwins have to be close to finalizing Mollie's staff. Word has it Steinbach has been told he won't be back.
Seems like a fairly substantial surprise to me. I have no idea if he did a good job or not, but I don't remember hearing anything bad said about him.
I don't think it should be much of a surprise. Steinbach doesn't have any managerial experience above high school (Wayzata), so it seemed likely Molitor's bench coach would likely require some experience to act as a sounding board for strategy.
What concerns me is that none of the coaches named thus far seems like a good fit as a catching coach/mentor.
I'm more surprised that, from the sound of it, he's not being reassigned, but simply let go.
That is surprising, unless he expressed interest in trying to latch on elsewhere? Or is a candidate for a minor league managing gig?
Aw, man...
Getting into the thankful mood, my work is sending me to a conference in Tampa, Florida in late January. The family is coming along, and everything is booked. Since we'll be in the area, I'm staying a few extra days to go to Disneyworld.
I did have a question for the community. I've been looking at rental car places, and Alamo is by far the cheapest. The reviews reflect the price, however. Has anyone had experience with them?
I have had several experiences with Alamo, all acceptable. Not as good as Hertz, but not as expensive either.
Funny, last two Hertz rentals have been disasters as to cleanliness. First one there was dog food on the floor of the car and a tennis ball (for the dog, do they play tennis?) underneath the seat. On this last trip there was an empty water bottle underneath the seat. Yet there was a note that the car had been 'quality cleaned' by Hussein, including his signature. Yo, Hussein! Game up, boyo.
I had a good experience with Budget this summer, but other than that all of my rentals are work-related through Enterprise or Avis, which are both fine.
I've never really known that a rental car experience can be anything other than a rental car experience. We've had one long wait in all our years, and I can't remember which company that was with. I usually just worry about if they are on the airport site and if I've heard of them. That's my bar, anyway.
This. We rent from whomever is cheapest, and have never really had an issue (worth mentioning) with any of the companies.
Rental cars are cheaper from different locations; we've found it cheaper to fly into and rent in Fort Lauderdale or Tampa instead of Ft. Myers, and it's a pleasant 1-2 hr drive and sightseeing.
When you get into minivans it gets complicated. In Orlando I went offsite and it was a big pain. But we saved greater than $500 on the rental. So I spent $100 in taxi fare and some additional 30 minutes of stress both ways. I guess it was worth it, though.
We haven't done the "drive to Ft. Myers" thing yet. With 3 kids and layovers it is generally hard to decide if extra $$$s are worth the reduced hassles. As you can see, sometimes we pay the man, and sometimes we work around it.
Kids are getting older, though, so the drive-to-save option seems more possible every day.
Mrs. Runner isn't a happy flier, so we have to deal with direct flights, too.
If you have young children (and I think you do...)
I don't remember who it was in Anchorage, but we were told that the car would have a child seat. (CER wasn't yet 2 years old... which tells me that my sister's 10th anniversary will be this May.)
It did. However, the car didn't have the LATCH system and it didn't have that I-shaped (with serifs on the serifs) bar that makes retracting seatbelts non-retracting car seat purposes. I had to search through their garage pile of old car seats to find one that still had the I-bar clipped onto the back of the seat. With my nap-deprived toddler in the arms of my exhausted wife. Or would could have upgraded to a different vehicle with money we didn't really have.
I committed to packing an I-bar on any future car-rental travels as long as I still had small children. Which has been 0 times in that decade.
This might not be an issue anymore as all rentals should be of vehicles recent enough to have LATCH standard.
We will indeed be travelling with small kids (1, 2.5 and 4.5 years old). Looking online, it seems the LATCH standard has been required in new cars since 2002, so I think we should be okay, but I might look at digging up a few of those just in case.
Thanks to everyone for the responses. I was (and am) leaning towards Alamo, since they are on the airport site, but it's good to get some confirmation that they aren't active extortionists, anyway.
I've used all of the major players, and haven't noticed many differences (Business related so I can't comment on family stuff). So in the last couple of years, I've taken to hotwiring a car which has really cut some of the costs. We also have a credit card that makes getting insurance unnecessary, which has ended the insurance costs more than the car problem.
Also I always call the office where I'll be picking up the car a day or two before I arrive and have had very good luck with upgrades and the such even though I'm not a preferred member of any car rental agency.
So in the last couple of years, I've taken to hotwiring a car which has really cut some of the costs.
Did you really intend to confess auto theft here?
Unfortunately, no;
Fortunately I'm unlikely to get caught; but,
Unfortunately I'd like the notoriety;
Fortunately, I'll get over that soon.
We've always been told by our personal auto insurance people that we can use that same policy for most things rental. Worth checking out.
Yes this as well. Our doesn't but yours may.
and now for something completely different (from my news feed this morning): Spamtown's own Charlie Parr.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKlRB4GqUMU
I went to more than a few movies at that theater as a youngster, and drank my share of booze while chasing my share of skirts as a young man there when it became a bar. I moved away long before it was resurrected as a performing arts venue.
On Thursday, I found out that my parents are separating and because of that, we would be hosting Thanksgiving. This unfortunately did not come as much of a surprise.
On Sunday, I got a text from my mom asking to visit. I expected just her to visit in order to talk about things. Instead, I find out both of them have come. For the entire time they were there, nothing was discussed whatsoever and they seemed to get along well enough.
I talked to my brother after and he said the dinner they had later that day was the most awkward he has ever participated in. I was the one to break the news to him on Friday so he already knew. It took the parents two and a half hours before telling him, again in the most awkward way possible.
So I wondered, why now? The people attending Thanksgiving haven't changed, only the location. Why couldn't you fake it for another week? I get that there must have been a breaking point, but now we are forced on a short notice to get ready for something we were not planning doing. The brother-in-law and his wife mentioned after finding out they noticed some awkwardness and forced niceties during Christmas and it was clear to everyone that there were some problems before that.
It is just really weird. It feels like they are trying to protect everyone. It might be that things are much worse than they seem, but again, we are adults and we can handle it and will have to handle it anyway.
I have been asked how I'm doing and one of my first thoughts was, at I won't have to explain to our son why grandma and grandpa are no longer together. It will be just like what I got to experience as a child instead and never knowing anything different.
Ah, rough times, indeed, my friend. Here's hoping Thanksgiving goes smoothly as possible for you.
We're going to be doing the vast majority of the cooking for Linds' parents, since her mom had back surgery a week or two ago. It's a stressful enough thing to plan when they're hosting and knowing weeks in advance. I shudder to think of it being sprung on someone.
I wonder if maybe that stress of hosting (I love Thanksgiving, but definitely hate hosting it.) acted as a catalyst to whatever was under the surface coming up?
Best of luck with the situation.
Right, or they fear that the stress of hosting would be too much for them to fake it and could lead to things spiralling past any niceties.
I have no insight to offer, but good luck to you and your family with everything.
Dido. Thinking good thoughts.
This.
thirdy thirded. Dr. Chop has an extremely complicated relationship with the remaining members of her family, but we always try to find and focus on the fun(ish) bits of visits over the holidays.
Sorry to hear that Sean, communication with parents is something I(and by extension my family) struggle with as well. Being able to relate hopefully helps, but those conversations are always tough on either end.
You and your family are in our prayers. Best wishes to you.
The idea of my parents separating in my adult life always struck me weird, because I only had the one experience, which was of my parents splitting when I was eight (or maybe seven). The whole thing was disorienting, and my brother (two years younger) and I were given sparing details in an attempt to shield us which only really left us angry and confused. When you mention your parents were awkward about trying to deliver the news, I wonder how the hell my parents planned on explaining it to kids of 7 and 5; it had to be a hell of a thing.
The Milkmaid and I will reach eleven years in a few weeks here, and I often wonder how people that are happily married at this point end up drifting apart later. It scares me a little, to be honest.
It sounds like you're doing alright, but all the same, my thoughts are with you.
My parents split after 21 years. They actually asked my brother and I permission. Without hesitation we said yes, because we could see how miserable they were. They are both happier now, and while it took a few years, they are now friends again and we can all have Christmas and birthday parties together without any awkwardness. I hope something similar is in store for your parents.
Me too, because my parents have been divorced for about 28 years and still refuse to be in the same place at the same time. Makes planning difficult at times.
Make them cook for you.
Attention Lydia Loveless fans: I have an extra ticket for the show on Saturday, November 29 at the Turf Club. Let me know if you're interested!
I'm interested...was just about to buy mine online!
I'm interested and may have to play it by ear, as we're coming back to the Twin Cities that afternoon.
Notes to self: $15, 8pm doors, 9pm music, Sudden Lovelies (they opened the entry show) and the Girls opening.
I definitely want to go, the question is of marital and familial harmony.
I'm already in. Should be fun. Look for me.
Will we recognize you minus 20 more pounds? 😉
It will be two days after Thanksgiving, so put me down minus 10 pounds.
I have a ticket and am listed as "probable"
All right, the ticket goes to CoC because I can make a profit of 9 cents off him! I don't know what free or Scot look like, but if you guys recognize CoC, that should do the trick.
AMR, I'm hoping you can pull it off. I probably don't need to mention I'll recognize you. Though I will say you're harder to pick out in a winter jacket with the hood up.
will there be a pictorial series on the ticket exchange, DPWY? Needs to happen.
He works in the wrong city now.
Wait, does CoC work elsewhere now, too?
He works in the wrong city now as well.
So now that means that _you_ work in the wrong city for this handoff to succeed and be documented via twitter.
He's got you there, dude.
If Minneapolis is wrong, I don't want to be right.
Particularly if "right" is St. Paul.
"Can['t] we all [just] get along?"
I'm good for the concert.
Talked our travel plans over last night with EAR. I bought my ticket online this morning. I don't want to get there to find it's sold out.
If travel plans get messed up and ruined, I'll just have to eat the cost. At least Lydia will still get a (slice of) my money.
Yes please:
Oooohhhh.
(That might almost get me to not hate Christmas.)
I might be making this a post advent gift at christmas for my brother and BiL. I LOVE this idea.
I love this idea too.
Especially if it was a bomber-size Advent calendar, no?
CH just raised the bar.
I would settle for an Aventinus calendar.
Gophers' McNeil arrested for domestic assault on his girlfriend. If allegations are true, I don't he returns and good riddance.
Ooof. If true, thats an awful thing to do.
Now the Twins have room to sign Jon Lester.
I'm not upset about that, but it's a surprise to me. Swarzak's been a decent enough middle reliever. Maybe (we can hope) the Twins have decided they want to do better than "decent enough".
I'm guessing they figure they can get decent enough for a million fewer dollars.
Maybe this gives him a chance to be a full time starter, but in Rochester.
The late, great Gene Clark finally getting a little love from the mainstream press. Long overdue.
I know what I'm reading when I get home. Thanks for the link, Bootsy.
Joe Vavra is Paul Molitor's bench coach. I'm laughing to avoid crying.
So much for the "someone with managing experience" theory, I guess.
He managed to get rehired.
Twice, in fact. He survived the first round of Gardenhire coach firings, too.
I thought Vavra was well liked, outside of his third base coaching decisions.
Four former or current hitting coaches on one staff? That's different.
No first base coach as yet. I'm crossing my fingers for the Return of Terwilliger.
The guy pretty much came out of nowhere to be the Twins' hitting coach. He must be very well-liked and respected for the work he has done because of his ability to stick with the club despite having very little public name either as a player or a coach/manager.
Had the clan over for a pre-Thanksgiving Mex night - I made beef and chix enchiladas - went well.
But I got some 2014 venison from the fam and decided to make this dish tonite. NBBW said it was one of the best meals she's evah had.
Venison Bourguignon (yes, stolen from J. Child cookbook).
Venison chops cut into 1"-2" chunks, browned on both sides in olive oil, then moved to Dutch oven. Top with red wine, garlic, and beef broth (I only had beef bouillon, it worked) enough to cover the meat - put into 350F oven with bay leaf, 1 tbsp tomato paste, and thyme.
Cook cleaned pearl onions and reconstituted mushrooms in some water, then set aside. I harvested the mushrooms from a pre-packaged camp meal made in Ely (mushroom stroganoff). Cook the meat for as long as you can (I did an hour, recipe asked for 2-2.5 oh well). I cooked the egg noodles from the pre-packaged camp mix until done, and had at the ready to serve.
Remove the meat from the Dutch oven. And this is important - add some flour to your saute pan , then some butter. Once melted, add 1/2 cup of the juices from your Dutch oven - let the roux get set, then pour all of it, including the mushroom/onion mix, back into the Dutch oven. Add the meat back in, then on the stove, let simmer for 5 min, then pour over your egg noddles and serve. Delish. Usually I'm doing these dishes with venison that has been in the freezer for 1-2 years - this was with a 11/9 buck from Hubbard County.
Sounds awesome. Maybe this will be my next round. I've taken to marinating my venison and then cooking over wild rice in a clay pot, to avoid help with the dryness. Works beautifully.