Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Too little, too late, ftfnyt. fuck all the way off.

No one could have predicted…

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

You would normally have to try pretty hard to self-incriminate this badly.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

Narcissists are always shocked to discover other people have agency.

When someone says they “love freedom”, rest assured they don’t mean yours.

I desperately hope that, yet again, i am wrong.

President Musk and Trump are both poorly raised, coddled 8 year old boys.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

You’re just a puppy masquerading as an old coot.

Republicans don’t want a speaker to lead them; they want a hostage.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

I really should read my own blog.

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Let there be snark.

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

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Afternoon Open Thread

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This is an older photo of the pups. We’ve been so busy and they are always on the move…or asleep, it’s difficult to get a good photo. But they look pretty much like that all the time. The backyard has transformed – all the plants and landscaping have been replaced by heavy duty grass for play.  And most of the plants relocated to the front yard. I’ve added blueberries to the patio, some hanging baskets for color and of course the veggie garden and the grapevines are doing their thing. I’m heading out to weed….

I’ve been casting around for a pet sitter, because there is a lot of travel coming up and it seems we should probably have a professional around. The second one I contacted has two Danes of her own, so I think we may have found out match. We’ll see how our meet and greet goes. But I’m hopeful.

I’ll post this week’s recipes tonight and we will have a writing thread tomorrow – normal time.

What’s everyone up to this afternoon?

Open thread.

Reader Interactions

29Comments

  1. 1.

    Brachiator

    Angela Merkel just called Trump a “Deplorable.” Dayum!

    The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, said on Saturday she “deplored” the US exit from the [Paris climate] agreement and added she did not share the view of Theresa May, the British prime minister, that Washington could decide to rejoin the pact.

  2. 2.

    Big Ole Hound

    Supposed to be 100 again here in northern California so the afternoon will include some golf on TV, a nap, some reading then about 9:00 light dinner on the patio.

  5. 5.

    Mnemosyne

    Bringing my travel-related whine up from the previous thread:

    So LAX is one of the airports where you have to remove ALL books/notebooks, ALL snacks, and ALL small electronics (Kindles, iPads, etc) from your carry-on bag and put EACH of them in a separate bin before putting it through the x-ray. Plus you still have to take off your shoes, too, which means you have to keep track of FOUR SEPARATE BINS in addition to whatever bag(s) you have. What a pain in the ass.

    Right now, we’re waiting to board.

  7. 7.

    narya

    lovely here in chitown; sunny and in the 70s, which means I have the oven on. Roasting shredded carrots (for carrot cake) and eggplant; will also roast shredded zucchini (they’re salted/draining right now) and broccoli and maybe the kohlrabi, too–all of the roasted veggies will be toppings for a salad, because I have 3 tons of lettuce from the farm share at the moment. And tomatoes and basil and fresh mozzarella. And tacos with thinly sliced venison, cheddar, and some caramelized onions. And maybe make something with the sugar snap peas.

    I’m really not much of a salad fan, but I get so much lettuce in the share that i have to come up with stuff to add to it to make it more closely resemble a meal.

    and resting my ankle. According to the internet, i have tendonitis; I also have a 5k next Sunday.

  8. 8.

    dmsilev

    @Mnemosyne: Huh? I flew out of LAX just last week, and all I had to take out of my bag was the laptop (not the iPad) and the little baggie with toothpaste etc. that went in the second tray with my shoes, phone, keys, etc.

  11. 11.

    Brachiator

    @Mnemosyne: What a pain. I guess I already semi comply with this. I rarely travel with physical books anymore, but keep electronics and snacks and such compartmentalized already in a backpack which can fit under the seat. Also keep the snacks and such in see thru mesh bags. Nothing but clothes, etc in the carry on, which I will sometimes just check in instead of carrying on.

    Still, a pain.

    Btw, safe travels and have fun, if appropriate, wherever you are going.

  12. 12.

    Mnemosyne

    @japa21:

    Arriving today, leaving Saturday. But I have my umbrella and raincoat with me, so the forecast will probably magically clear up as soon as we land. You’re welcome!

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @Mnemosyne: That sucks. Sorry to hear that. Just what we need, more security theater to make the flying experience even more enjoyable.

  15. 15.

    scav

    @narya: Roasting carrots for carrot cake? Mmm, please tell me more, especially as I just caught wind of a savory carrot cake recipe. This could be developing into a theme of experimentation! (just had some unroasted but shredded kolhrabi on a salad here, so might be a double win). And, a good summer day in Chicago. Multiple people to envy in this thread.

  17. 17.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    @Mnemosyne:

    When we came back from Sydney at the end of May, the domestic security line immediately after exit from international arrivals was running at a glacial pace, so we opted to go find a TSA precheck line at another entrance (for some reason, the airports/TSA never offer a precheck line on reentry after customs).

  20. 20.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:

    I’ve never been much of a fan of Merkel’s, but with Trump in the White House (soiling it every day) I have to admit I’ve come to appreciate her more. Although she appears to feel that civility – at least in public – is required, she seems to have judged Trump accurately and is not afraid to stand up to him. She’s so much better than Theresa May.

    Why do I think that Merkel thinks that Trump is an idiotic POS?

  21. 21.

    Brachiator

    More reasons I hate Trump. From the Guardian G20 coverage.

    “I try to stay out of politics,” Ivanka Trump said in a recent interview. But the US president’s daughter spent part of her weekend sitting around a table with the Chinese, Russian and Turkish presidents, the German chancellor and the British prime minister.

    The former businesswoman and fashion model briefly took her father’s seat during a G20 session in Hamburg, prompting claims of nepotism and a heavy dose of sarcasm about her diplomatic credentials

    At least Trump did not have her sit on his lap.

    But he is treating the presidency as a Trump family outing.

  22. 22.

    Aleta

    Got invited out to sail on the Appledore !! It’s several hours from here so I have to hurry and shed my despair and anxiety of the day and get in the car.

  23. 23.

    TriassicSands

    @Brachiator:

    But he is treating the presidency as a Trump family outing.

    That is a very generous, even flattering description. I know you know this, but it’s much worse than just a family outing. Your description at least deserves to have the word “Corleone” inserted before the word “family,” in place of ” Trump. “

  26. 26.

    narya

    @scav: two things I hate about most carrot cakes: they’re greasy (because most are made with oil) and they’re gloppy (because the carrots are too wet). So: I grate a bunch of carrots (another thing that is in abundance because of the farm share–about FIVE tons of carrots), then spread them out on a sheet pan to roast. if I’m feeling particularly ambitious, I’ll melt a tablespoon of butter to toss them in, but it’s not necessary. turn em over a few times. I use about four cups (or so) of the carrots after they’ve roasted; it’s probably a couple of pounds of carrots. I tend to make extras, because roasted carrots work on salads just as well as raw ones.

    THEN I use butter instead of oil AND I substitute pureed pumpkin for some of the fat. I end up using about 6 T of butter, and 250 grams of pumpkin (I freeze the rest of the pumpkin if it’s a larger container). I’ve also used butternut squash when that’s in abundance. Recipe is roughly: 6 T butter creamed with 300 grams of sugar (half brown, half white); dries mixed together (200 g whole wheat flour, 30 g oat bran, 30 g AP flour, 2 tsp baking soda, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1.5 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 2 tsp ginger); add 4 eggs one at a time to the butter/sugar, then alternate the dries with the pumpkin, then add the carrots (4 cups or so), then add 200-400 g of fruit and/or nuts. I”m using 110 g of cranberries and 110 g of raisins today, and no nuts. It makes about 24 muffins, which is how I like to portion it, because it’s easy to freeze and then grab for breakfast.

  28. 28.

    Laura

    Yesterday I started a gazpacho with the first tomatoes, Persian cukes, sweet bells and jalopeno, fresh red onion, lemon juice, sherry vinegar and some local olive oil and let stand in the fridge overnight. Chucked it in the blender with half a small watermelon and pureed and strained it with final adjustments of pepper salt and vinegar.

    The test cup, in a frozen pint glass was so icy cold and delicious -it’s bottled and sitting in the back of the fridge for dinner. 107° was too hot to eat last night and this is going to hit the spot.

  29. 29.

    narya

    @scav: oh, and 15 g. of buttermilk powder in with the dries. you can do without that, or use a splash of yogurt or something.

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