C'mon Denver, share the snow! - Wed, Dec 20 2006

[Charinida]

/me looks outside and mutters about the rain.

[Charinida]

To be short and brief...

Other than working and having some rain in the late afternoon, it was semi-busy... Good thing I'm off Fri/Sat... No OT. Woo! So far anyway...

Played L2, got the Oracle up to L22 now... A few christmas trees (need a few more before I can get a santa hat)...

Got 15 more cards working their way out... And inevitably, there are some folks I forget... /ooops.

[GravenStone]

/me looks outside and mutters about the rain.

Hush, you. I'm perfectly happy with a Brown Christmas, thank you very much.

[Caranthir]

DNP. Spent part of the evening finishing up cleaning off my old computer, then tried to log in, but the queue was too long to suit me, so I logged and read for a bit, then called it a night.

[EricStratton]

/joins Chari in complaining about the lack of snow.

DNP. Got up early and went to a job interview. I thought it went very well but we'll see. Came home, worked, watched Jet Li's Fearless (deepfred, that's another martial artist you should look into). Then Joy came home, we had dinner and crashed early.

[Erudite]

NO! NO SNOW!

Keep it out west, please.

Just a little bit of Guild Wars last night, because I forgot the Consulate Docks mission steals Koss from my hero list until I do the quest to rescue him. Since I may need him tonight for the group session, I took care of that.

[Serani]

I'm not so worried about snow, per se. But I WOULD like the temperature to get regular and stop this infernal ping-ponging.

Last night I got my gift from my company - a very VERY nice wireless mouse, very nice pen and a leather-bound notepad all in a neat tin. I was extremely happy. What was even nicer is that it went to my old apartment and my old neighbor brought it down! (I still expect people to keep stuff.)

Anyway, afterwards, I had to go grocery shopping and some Christmas shopping, so to Walmart we went! And stay...until almost 9. :( Got home, tried to burn a CD a couple of times, but it wasn't happening. I figured it was a hint to go to bed. It burned just fine this morning. *sigh* *grumbles about DRM*

[Raveneye]

Keep your friggen snow Denver, I want no part of that mess. 55-60 degree days in December are just fine by me thank you.

Another cub scout meeting last night, this one with the full pack (all ages). It was a fun time though, as we had a "snowball war" (everyone brought newly purchased white socks, rolled them up and fought each other with them, then donated the socks to charity along with canned goods) and the Christmas party. The boys were totally worn out by the end, especially since yesterday was the last day of school before winter break so excitement was high.

After we got home, I played some Dungeon Runners for a bit and then read some more of the last Temeraire book. I hope more are forthcoming soon, I really like that series a lot more than I expected to. The combination of fantasy and historical fiction appeals to both my favorite reading preferences. It's also fairly well written, I'd say it's the best thing I've read by a first-time author in a long while. Naomi Novik should win any best new author awards she's up for.

[DirkDarkBlade]

Don't we have some member(s) in the Denver area? I hope they're ok, but I can't remember who I'm thinking about.

I'll join the crew that wants the snow to stay out west. 70 is cold enough.

Last night I made Christmas cookies. I've never made them before. You'd think rolling out cookies, cutting them, and baking them wouldn't take long. It was midnight before I finished (grrr grrr grrr). And most of them didn't make (sigh).

Tonight I'm planing to play WoW assuming the waiting queue is not outrageous (sp?).

[Greebo]

I'll take snow next week - cause I'm on vacation next week. :)

DNP last night - went over to see Broinlaw and we worked more on the Wales video. Home stretch is in sight now

[EricStratton]

I'll take some snow next week b/c I'm *not* on vacation next week.

[Greebo]

I'll take some snow next week b/c I'm *not* on vacation next week.
You just want an excuse to work from home, slacker!

[Serani]

Don't we have some member(s) in the Denver area? I hope they're ok, but I can't remember who I'm thinking about.
Barrack and his better half live in Denver. I'm sure he's okay, though. he's been there for years, he knows how to handle it.

Last night I made Christmas cookies. I've never made them before. You'd think rolling out cookies, cutting them, and baking them wouldn't take long. It was midnight before I finished (grrr grrr grrr). And most of them didn't make (sigh).

My family has handed down a very simple recipe for cut out sugar cookies (that, for reasons beyond comprehension, we call Sand Tarts).

1 c margarine
2 c sugar
3 eggs
4 c flour

You do the first three together, then add the flour, a cup at a time, until it forms a dough. This recipe only NEEDS to be refrigerated for a couple of hours, but, thanks to recent experience, I can confirm that it lasts for up to a week in the refrigerator. I also suggest separating it into about 4 smallish balls and wrap them separately in plastic wrap when you put it in the fridge (makes pulling it out to roll MUCH easier). Roll them out, I use a tiny bit of beaten egg brushed over the top then sprinkled with colored sugar sprinkles. They take about 8 minutes to bake in a 350 deg oven. Look for the edges to be JUST browning. My great-grandmother used to roll them out paper thin and loved them that way. I tend to roll them a bit thicker so they're *just* soft.

These are a big event at our house every year because I usually make a double batch and we all help to make them. We set up stations for rolling, decorating and cooling and everyone has a job. But for a single batch, it's not too bad. One other suggestion is to buy parchment paper, cut several sheets to the right size and stack them. That way you can roll and cut out even while your cookie sheets are in the oven.


As for the snow thing, I love snow, and OTOH I don't mind 60 degree weather. I hate the back and forth. We all get sick, I get migraines...it's just not pretty. Even the dog was sneezing this morning (yeah, I know, she doesn't get sick like we do, it's a JOKE!). I don't much care WHICH way it goes (though I do like my share of winter), I just wish it would pick a direction.

[Serani]

You just want an excuse to work from home, slacker!
I don't need an excuse! I always work from home.

*runs away very fast*

[Greebo]

I don't need an excuse! I always work from home.

*runs away very fast*
I thought you worked from Starbucks... ;)

[EricStratton]

You just want an excuse to work from home, slacker!
This is true. But I'd also like the chance to have the office close so I don't have to work at all. The office isn't going to close for rain.

[DirkDarkBlade]

Serani:

Thanks for the recipe. The cookies I was trying to make are http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/8281958/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C15%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C% 7C%7C%7Ccookie&cm%5Fsrc=sch

What made them harder is they are not only cut out, but they fit together so they are 3D and stand up.

The Snowman works fine, the Sleigh has issues but works, but the $#^&* reigndeers need spinal surgery as they won't stand and if they fall thier backs break and the whole thing falls apart. (I'm not frustrated, no not me :mad1: )

I also have to make cookies that don't rise as if the cookie rises it will fill in the slot. If you like gingerbread the cookies taste fine they just don't end up looking correct. I probably just need practice.

[Serani]

Serani:

Thanks for the recipe. The cookies I was trying to make are http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/8281958/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C15%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C% 7C%7C%7Ccookie&cm%5Fsrc=sch

I also have to make cookies that don't rise as if the cookie rises it will fill in the slot. If you like gingerbread the cookies taste fine they just don't end up looking correct. I probably just need practice.

Really cool, but I think standard cut-out cookies are enough for me. :lowrazz However, the recipe I posted above actually would probably work (though they're not gingerbread) for what you want to do as they don't rise, either (though I would roll them more on the thicker side).

Good luck!

[Greebo]

Murgos, general advice...

... for a first time cookie, start simple. :)

[DirkDarkBlade]

Murgos, general advice...

... for a first time cookie, start simple. :)
I make cookies, cakes, etc all the time.

My friend says I'm not so much a cook as a baker.

[Greebo]

Oh ok I misunderstood:

Last night I made Christmas cookies. I've never made them before.

[Sylvene]

Took bro & family to a friend's place for hot showers and laundry. They've had various friends in and out all week because of the storm.

Then we visited while kids chased after cats and watched their boy play Prince of Persia on the XBox while we waited for laundry and reminisced about the original Prince of Persia - the side-scroller! and the gamers talked about... games!

I met the better half of the couple through Stratics. :)

This morning's update... there was a crew working on the downed lines & tree this morning. :goodie!: :goodie!: :goodie!: We may have power tonight!

[Caranthir]

I make cookies, cakes, etc all the time.

My friend says I'm not so much a cook as a baker.

Cool! My friends say I'm not so much a cook as a war criminal. :lowrazz:

Seriously, I'm the world's worst cook. I once screwed up spaghetti (not the sauce, just the noodles).

[shadowgate]

I don't cook a ton (I cook once or twice a week...maybe) but I do have my mom's skill to be able to wing it in the kitchen and I can also follow a recipe.

[DirkDarkBlade]

Cool! My friends say I'm not so much a cook as a war criminal. :lowrazz:

Seriously, I'm the world's worst cook. I once screwed up spaghetti (not the sauce, just the noodles).
Thats easy to do. Noodles take a lot less time to cook than people seem to think. And cooking too long (like my family usually does) leads to mushy noodles (ick).

Sorry Greebo I shoulda said "Last night I made Gingerbread Christmas cookies; I've never made these particular type of cookies before."

Are you a war criminal if you aren't caught?

[Raveneye]

My kids think I'm an awesome cook. They love my macaroni and cheese with tuna fish, my spaghetti o's with meatballs, my chili spaghetti and nobody bakes up chicken nuggets and fries better than me.

I dread the day they grow old enough to realize it's all a sham...

[Lycos]

Last night was spent doing more shopping. I got it all done. Except for one minor thing. I might try and get it done tonight. Otherwise I might just buy something online instead.

Played some WoW last night. Found that I really needed to put a loc UI mod on my WoW interface. I've gone 57 levels without it, but on a couple of quests that I have right now, I need it more than ever.

[Lycos]

My kids think I'm an awesome cook. They love my macaroni and cheese with tuna fish, my spaghetti o's with meatballs, my chili spaghetti and nobody bakes up chicken nuggets and fries better than me.

I dread the day they grow old enough to realize it's all a sham...


Spaghetti o's with meatballs! MMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

I love them. My wife and the kids think they are gross! I always say, "More for me then!". :D

[leng]

Not much to say. System reconstruction proceeds. I have managed to recover my email (thunderbird) settings and archives and my firefox config. EQ2 is now up and running (there seemed to be a big patch) and CoH is rebuilding itself.

It looks as if I will be able to recover everything which is not too registry dependent, although doing it manually is a time consuming pain.

[Barrack]

No, you can't have any of our 2' of snow. (Here in Denver, higher in other areas) We need all we can get.

Anyways, ended up going home early yesterday due to the Blizzard (Yea, we are going to have a white Christmas here, been too freeking long)

With everything that is going on the city was really only closed for one day.

We got April's mom coming in from Idaho on Sat., she will be spending a week with us (maybe longer, but thats another story.)

Looks like the second Chinchilla I was going to get April will need to wait until after Christmas, the silly breeder thought I only wanted one, but at $30 for the grey, and $50 for the Velvet I could not pass up the deal (they are normally $150.00+ in pet shops)

Tomarrow we spend the time getting ready for 'moms' visit. (finishing the door to the guest bedroom) and such.

So much to do. So little time to do it.