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You are here: Home / Nature & Respite / Birdwatching / Saturday Morning Open Thread

Saturday Morning Open Thread

by Betty Cracker|  March 31, 20185:46 am| 125 Comments

This post is in: Birdwatching, Domestic Politics, Open Threads

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Above is another look at the cedar waxwings who visited our bamboo earlier this week. I haven’t seen them in a couple of days, so I assume they’ve flown up to Illinois or wherever they live in the summer.

Today is butter lamb sculpting day! (General butter lamb explanation here; last year’s effort here.) I’ll share the results as usual later on.

I need to go to the store and get stuff to make the two Easter feast side dishes I’m in charge of (asparagus and carrots), plus put Easter baskets together for my kiddo and her roomies. I suspect the store will be a nightmare.

What are you up to today?

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Previous Post: « Your All in One Domestic Open Thread
Next Post: Bye Felicia »

Reader Interactions

125Comments

  1. 1.

    Raven

    March 31, 2018 at 6:00 am

    Ms Short timer wanted an Easter Brunch so it will be a furious day of cleaning and decorating. The Final Four isn’t until 6 so I’ll be able to help. I’m doing some frittatas so it’s nice tha asparagus is only 99 cents a pound!

  2. 2.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:00 am

    Farmers market, which I expect will be slower than usual. I’m giving an elderly market neighbor a ride because her usual driver is on vacation, and so I have to leave an hour earlier than normal because she lives a half hour away. The market is only 1/2 a mile from me.
    She’s 85+ and stubborn as a mule ?. I’m kind of using it as a reminder of how not to be when I get to that age, assuming I do and remember the lesson ?

  3. 3.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:08 am

    Another in a long line of subtitle bloopers, this one experienced yesterday.

    The situation: two men discussing what type of injury to fake in order to explain not showing up somewhere as expected.

    Actual dialogue: “I could break an arm.”

    Subtitle: “I could bacon an arm.”

    Being able to hear well would have seemed a rudimentary prerequisite for those hired to write the subtitles. Apparently it isn’t.

  4. 4.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:12 am

    @satby

    Easter weekend. Bring the egg-shaped soaps.

    ;)

  5. 5.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 6:15 am

    @satby: In my experience being stubborn is a necessity for active 85 year olds. The less stubborn give up long before that.

  6. 6.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:17 am

    @Raven

    Hakuna Frittata!

    :)

  7. 7.

    Betty Cracker

    March 31, 2018 at 6:20 am

    @satby: The lesson I’m trying to imbibe from the olds in my life is: do not talk incessantly about your aches and pains! One thing I admire about my 99-year-old grandma is her reticence on that score. She complains about many things, but doesn’t discuss her health except in response to direct questions and then keeps it brief.

  8. 8.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 31, 2018 at 6:22 am

    Opera today — Così fan tutte in a controversial new production set in 1950s-era Coney Island, complete with real carnival/sideshow performers. I’m looking forward to it, and just hope I can keep the still-lingering cough under control at least for the duration of the performance.

    P.S. Love all the cedar waxwings. Such pretty birds!

  9. 9.

    rikyrah

    March 31, 2018 at 6:24 am

    Good Morning,Everyone ???

  10. 10.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:25 am

    @Betty Cracker

    Mom has no problem telling me when she has doctor appointments upcoming. But it is easier to pass a kidney stone then to get out of her what the doctor said.

  11. 11.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:27 am

    @SiubhanDuinne

    It ain’t over until the bearded lady sings.

  12. 12.

    raven

    March 31, 2018 at 6:27 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: From the last thread. “I thought you were only supposed to jack a floor a half an inch a day? “

  13. 13.

    raven

    March 31, 2018 at 6:31 am

    “Ask this Old House” is visiting a home where a vanity has been sitting in the living room for SEVEN years! The people were at the end of a renovation and they got robbed and lost interest!

  14. 14.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:38 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: well, there’s a healthy stubborn that keeps us moving; and an unhealthy stubborn that seems more like entitlement and a refusal to change when required.

    Long story short, I committed to helping her because I knew her daughter had died and so thought she had no family near by… and found out afterward she has another daughter who is selling at the market too. She fights with the second one and is using me and the other driver to prove she doesn’t need the other daughter. Whatever the family dynamics going on I don’t want to be in the middle of them, so after today I will help very occasionally. I’m helpful for needs, not spites ?

  15. 15.

    SWMBO

    March 31, 2018 at 6:39 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: Cough drops or peppermint to keep the cough quiet during the performance. At least you will be a spectator and not performing. Good luck.

  16. 16.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:41 am

    @NotMax: my mom actively fibbed about what the doctor told her, until my younger sister got herself added as a health care contact of some sort so the doctor could discuss my mom’s condition without violating HIPPA. But, my mom had dementia.

  17. 17.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 31, 2018 at 6:42 am

    @NotMax:

    Ha! I will likely use that during the course of the day!

  18. 18.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:43 am

    @NotMax: I wonder how many of those subtitles are now being done by software.

  19. 19.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:44 am

    @satby

    Hell, I’m probably closer to dementia than Mom (90) is or ever shall be. Her sister is 95 and still has all screws tight.

    :)

  20. 20.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:46 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: that Mucinex with cough suppressant that raven and I used was pretty good.

  21. 21.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 31, 2018 at 6:47 am

    @SWMBO:

    This is at a movie theatre — one of the Met Opera’s “Live in HD” performances. I’m the liaison between the Met, the local cinema, and the local audience. And yes, I’m well-supplied with cough drops and zinc tablets. But I’m thinking quite a few throats will close up at the sight of the very real fire eater and sword swallower!

  22. 22.

    bystander

    March 31, 2018 at 6:47 am

    We had a flock of red winged black birds visiting in NE Pa. yesterday. Always fun to see.

    I made the mistake of going to the grocery store Citarella on the Upper West Side Thursday. I should have invoked my no-grocery-stores-during-holidays rule earlier but I endured long enough to get some shopping done. The Passover/Easter crowd must have been brutal yesterday.

  23. 23.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 6:48 am

    @raven: now, that’s some deep depression / inertia.

  24. 24.

    raven

    March 31, 2018 at 6:49 am

    @satby: The segment started with the lady and then she had her husband come out and explain. It was pretty sad. However, the segment about the rain chain was cool!

  25. 25.

    danielx

    March 31, 2018 at 6:50 am

    Grocery was a madhouse yesterday evening, glad it’s done, TWO Easter things on Sunday, and I am ever so grateful someone else is mostly doing the first one.

  26. 26.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 31, 2018 at 6:55 am

    @satby:

    Thanks. I’ll try to stop and get some on the way.

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 6:56 am

    Anyone watched “Crooked House” on Amazon Prime yet?

    Always liked Glenn Close, however the trailer made the whole thing look both cold and overly stylized.

  28. 28.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 6:58 am

    @raven: Only if you want to limit the upstairs damage. And actually, a half inch a week/month is the rule. Most times it doesn’t really matter. Things have settled into a new state and don’t like to change back.

    A buddy of mine had a serious sag in his 1920s 2 story house. At some point in time a pipefitter had cut out a couple load bearing beams in order to get the ductwork in for a forced air furnace to replace the old coal fired boiler. His kitchen had a 3-4 inch drop in the floor and the upstairs wasn’t much better. I had warned him ahead of time but the look on his face as I was jacking the center of his house back up was priceless. With every creak, groan, and pop his anxiety trebled, culminating in a near stroke when a 10′ span of 2nd floor wall let go all it’s plaster all at once.

  29. 29.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 6:59 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning.

  30. 30.

    HeartlandLiberal

    March 31, 2018 at 7:01 am

    Headed to Assembly Hall here in Bloomington, Indiana, for 3:00 game Women’s Indiana Hoosiers vs Virginia Tech. This is the final of the women’s NIT.

    The semi final game was here in Bloomington last Wednesday, crowd was announced at 7,815. Fourth largest in history for a women’s game. Some are speculating the crowd may hit 12,000 for this game. I do not know how Fred Glass, the Hoosiers Athletics director, pulled off this coup of hosting this game here, but kudos to him for it. The positive PE for the department and the town of Bloomington is hard to beat.

    FWIW, it appears this game will be broadcast on CBS sports network, for those of you have not cut the TV cord, or who might have other access to the channel. The two star players, Tyra Buss and Amanda Cahill, are a joy to watch if you like basketball. Incredible poise and timing, Tyra Buss seems at times to have eyes in the back of her head, she is so aware of what is going on around her.

    I already have tickets purchased online and printed out ready, I and some friends from a retirement community where they live will be headed over so we can get seats in the ADA area an hour or more before game. Last time, so many people showed up there was not enough room in the reserved ADA balcony. I sit there with one of my friends, because he can barely still walk with a cane.

  31. 31.

    Alexi

    March 31, 2018 at 7:01 am

    We will bake a lamb-shaped cake with our 3-D cake mould and take a picture of the bichon frise next to the resulting coconut-covered monstrosity. Then we will waste at least an hour and quite a bit of money getting our taxes prepared, which is all due to the tax prep lobby keeping things deliberately complex.

  32. 32.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 7:01 am

    @rikyrah: Good morning ?!

  33. 33.

    Jeffro

    March 31, 2018 at 7:02 am

    Volleyball tournament today in Philly with the family!

    Btw I know Philadelphia is famous for cheesesteak but the Philly roast pork w/ broccoli rabe is to die for, also too

    And did y’all know that Philadelphia is the home of the WORLD CHAMPION PHILADELPHIA EAGLES ??? I’m pretty sure that they beat some other, lesser team a couple months ago in a very Super Bowl ?

  34. 34.

    satby

    March 31, 2018 at 7:04 am

    Ok, time for me to get rolling. Everyone enjoy your day, and your holiday tomorrow if you won’t be checking in due to travel or company.

  35. 35.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 7:04 am

    @satby:

    She fights with the second one and is using me and the other driver to prove she doesn’t need the other daughter.

    HA! Yep, better to keep your distance from that one.

  36. 36.

    Alexi

    March 31, 2018 at 7:06 am

    @satby: My grandmother deflected and lied to the doctor so well when her dementia started! He’d ask how old she was, and she’d be all offended he was asking a lady her age. Asked what year she was born, she said “How should I know, I was a baby!” Of course she hadn’t the faintest idea. So having someone else there is crucial.

  37. 37.

    Raven

    March 31, 2018 at 7:06 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Well I hope it doesn’t cause Cole problems!

  38. 38.

    Raven

    March 31, 2018 at 7:07 am

    @HeartlandLiberal: Go Hokies!!!!!

  39. 39.

    Amir Khalid

    March 31, 2018 at 7:12 am

    @NotMax:
    It’s hard to imagine mishearing “I could break an arm” as “I could bacon an arm”, which doesn’t even make any sense.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 7:14 am

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Woman one time asked if I’d replace a toilet for her, as it “wasn’t working right.”

    Bathroom was an ‘elephant ear’ addition tacked on to the bungalow. Eyeballed the situation and ended up jacking up a corner of the addition about 8 or 10 inches and putting in a cinder block pier. Had sagged so much that the outlet pipe from the toilet had a negative pitch beforehand! Luckily, had access to two railroad screw jacks. Turned out it also put the front door back in plumb and it no longer had to scraped across the floor and threshold.

  41. 41.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 7:18 am

    @Amir Khalid

    Prezactly. To be absolutely precise, the bizarre subtitle read “I could Bacon an arm” – which makes even less sense.

    The truly hearing impaired must end up with some very different audience experiences.

  42. 42.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 7:25 am

    All of a sudden, I’m hungry for fried bicep strips.

  43. 43.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 7:25 am

    @Raven: Haven’t read the thread just John’s original post which said only that they beefed things up a little more. His man seems competent from what I’ve read of John’s other posts about his house.

    @NotMax: Sounds like somebody did a real shitty job to begin with.

  44. 44.

    Raven

    March 31, 2018 at 7:29 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Ah I see, that’s what comes from reading something at 5:30!

  45. 45.

    otmar

    March 31, 2018 at 7:32 am

    I’m at my MiL’s home in carinthia, the rest of the family just headed to the local chapel for the blessing of meats. They packed baskets full of ham, eggs, reindling, sausages and horseradish. The priest tours all the hamlets and performs the blessings.

    Here, this ends the fasting of lent. We’ll have our first Easter food right after they’re back.

  46. 46.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 7:33 am

    @OzarkHillbilly

    Best guess was that that part of the addition (dating from probably the late 1930s) had originally rested on a small tree stump (somewhere near but not at the corner), which had rotted away over the decades and the sag had been gradual. That corner, however, was where the toilet was located.

  47. 47.

    Betty Cracker

    March 31, 2018 at 7:38 am

    @otmar: My husband’s family used to take their Easter food to be blessed by a priest too. They are Polish-American Catholics from Buffalo, NY. I’d never heard of that tradition (or butter lambs) until I met them.

  48. 48.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    March 31, 2018 at 7:40 am

    I’m going to an early showing of Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, then lunch at Ser, a Spanish/​tapas place in Ballston (Arlington). Probably stop at Total Wine on the way home to get something for the big Easter meal tomorrow at the home of one of Bro’ Man’s Brazilian in-laws.

    I’m going today with my media-connected friend, so I’ll see if there’s any good political gossip. The last tidbit I got a month ago was that Melania’s parents supposedly bought a house in Maryland close to Barron’s school. Not completely confirmed; handle with care.

  49. 49.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 31, 2018 at 7:40 am

    @Baud: All i got were some Oreo Thursday night.

  50. 50.

    mad citizen

    March 31, 2018 at 7:44 am

    @HeartlandLiberal: No Hokies. This IU grad in Fishers says Go Hoosiers!

  51. 51.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 7:45 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: How do you like it?

    Some people say it’s good to do a factory reset. Do you do that?

  52. 52.

    Aleta

    March 31, 2018 at 7:47 am

    @satby:
    When she was in her eighties I asked my neighbor for tips on being old. She said “Take care of your feet.”

  53. 53.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 31, 2018 at 7:48 am

    @Baud: The iris scan is much faster, other than that I’ve not noticed much difference. No, I don’t do a factory reset, it’s just too much trouble.

  54. 54.

    WereBear

    March 31, 2018 at 7:50 am

    Augh. I have to hit the grocery today, but at least we have a sunny day and the snow is in retreat.

  55. 55.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 7:51 am

    @Steeplejack

    Unable to say anything one way or the other about Brazilian wines. But Chile puts out some darn tasty (and affordable) ones if you’re in mind of going sudamericano.

  56. 56.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 7:52 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA:

    I found the iris scan too slow generally. Don’t use it.

    @WereBear:

    Picking up some bacon arms?

  57. 57.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    March 31, 2018 at 7:57 am

    @NotMax:

    I’m probably going to get some bottles of cava. That’s Iberian, anyway.

  58. 58.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 7:58 am

    @Baud:
    With fava beans & a nice chianti?

  59. 59.

    donnah

    March 31, 2018 at 7:59 am

    @Alexi:
    My late father-in-law finally agreed to be tested for Alzheimer’s years ago, in his seventies. I bagged up all of his myriad pills and when the doctors were asking him if he took any medications, he chuckled and said, “You know, I really don’t. Sometimes I need an aspirin for aches and pains, but that’s about it.”

    Sitting behind him, I held up the jumbo plastic baggie of meds for the doctors to see, and they nodded understandingly.

  60. 60.

    Aleta

    March 31, 2018 at 8:00 am

    @NotMax: My neighbor (old house) replaced his 50s toilet, and a few months later his pipe clogged for the first time ever, he said. He was blaming a guest, but we figured it could have been the combo of a low flow toilet and the old pipe with a sagging low point in it. No longer enough water per flush to get all the paper through, and it built up. (He wants his old toilet back now.)

  61. 61.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 8:01 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):
    HA! I ate a Ser maybe 2 years ago when I was in Arlington. Great food, The had a giant ham on a rack & would bring it to the table to shave a slice off. That was a bit out of my price range but what I did have was great

  62. 62.

    oldgold

    March 31, 2018 at 8:02 am

    @Aleta:

    The oldest man in the world hobbled into a bar. He ordered one whiskey with beer chaser after another.

    The bartender was amazed! He asked this aged wonder what his secret was. The ancient oldtimer replied, “Sonny, every damn day I drink a fifth of whiskey, smoke 5 packs of cigarettes and eat 2 pounds of bacon.”

    The bartender replied, “Wow, if you don’t mind, just how old are you?”

    “Turned 34 last week.”

  63. 63.

    WereBear

    March 31, 2018 at 8:03 am

    @Baud: Mmmm. More tasty than even butter lamb!

  64. 64.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 8:04 am

    Warm days had the snow almost all gone yesterday so last night we got a couple of inches of fresh powder. This is the time of year I hate living here.

  65. 65.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 8:08 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):
    The other thing I remember about being in Ballston was the bearfoot motorcyclist. Every morning rush hour I saw this guy on a big bike, obviously dressed for work but bearfoot. The first day it was raining & I thought maybe he didn’t want to get his shoes wet but it was dry the rest of the week.

  66. 66.

    Aleta

    March 31, 2018 at 8:11 am

    @oldgold: ha

  67. 67.

    danielx

    March 31, 2018 at 8:13 am

    @mad citizen:

    Yep yep!

  68. 68.

    danielx

    March 31, 2018 at 8:15 am

    @Schlemazel:

    A big Amarone by choice.

  69. 69.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 8:17 am

    @Schlemazel: The first time I went to visit my in-laws they bought a Spanish ham for us. It was good, but my indiscriminate palate couldn’t really appreciate the $500 a kilo goodness.

  70. 70.

    debbie

    March 31, 2018 at 8:25 am

    @donnah:

    Did all the different medications turn out to be an issue? My mom also took a large bag full of stuff. Her GP didn’t know what her other doctors were prescribing, and once he sorted it all out and got rid of at least half of them, my mom was more alert and less depressed (relatively speaking).

  71. 71.

    WereBear

    March 31, 2018 at 8:30 am

    @debbie: This is so common my doctor asks his patients, particularly the seniors, to bring everything to their appointments. Rows of people with brown paper bags in their laps…

  72. 72.

    NotMax

    March 31, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @WereBear

    “I’ll trade you five of these red ones for three of your yellows.”

  73. 73.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    March 31, 2018 at 8:34 am

    @Schlemazel:

    To be honest, it’s hard to find shoes for bear feet.

    I haven’t eaten at SER* before, so I’m looking forward to it. I have heard about the Spanish ham; thanks for reminding me.

    My media-connected friend is a major foodie (but unpretentious), so usually I just say yes when MCF suggests something. But I feel obligated to hold up my end and occasionally come up with some place that MCF has not been to. We’ll see how it goes.

    —————
    * The Interwebs inform me the name is an acronym for “simple, easy, real.”

  74. 74.

    WereBear

    March 31, 2018 at 8:36 am

    @NotMax: And then the “drug dealers” struggle with the childproof caps…

  75. 75.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 8:40 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    That is what I was afraid of. I love great food & Spanish hams are supposed to be the best in the world but I am also cheap. If I pay $20 an ounce I want to be positive it is that much better than a good Parma or Prosciutto.

  76. 76.

    Aleta

    March 31, 2018 at 8:42 am

    How is my dog 77 in human years with the foolish heart of a puppy?

  77. 77.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @WereBear: Then they blame Obama.

  78. 78.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 8:42 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):
    Need more coffee!
    Barefoot

    SER was low key except for the ham thing. I felt very comfortable there.

  79. 79.

    rikyrah

    March 31, 2018 at 8:50 am

    @NotMax:
    I put it on my watchlist

  80. 80.

    JMG

    March 31, 2018 at 8:52 am

    @Steeplejack (phone): That wouldn’t be out of the ordinary grandparent behavior.

  81. 81.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 8:53 am

    @Schlemazel: The prices vary quite a bit. My wife likes to get a taste of home every now and again from La Tienda. Right now their bone in hams are going from as little as $300 to as much as $1,050. The best ones are fed only acorns and are dry cured for years. As usual, one gets what you pay for, but even the $300 hams are too “rich” for my tongue.

  82. 82.

    BillinGlendaleCA

    March 31, 2018 at 8:53 am

    @Baud: Wonder if Hillary blames Obama for the emails?

  83. 83.

    Jager

    March 31, 2018 at 8:53 am

    We’re headed for “Champagne on Main” in Ventura this afternoon, Anze the Dog is coming along…he loves “Leashless Brewing” a dog friendly craft beer bar. He’s groomed and ready..

  84. 84.

    schrodingers_catt

    March 31, 2018 at 8:54 am

    deleted double comment

  85. 85.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 31, 2018 at 8:55 am

    @NotMax: Captions for many close captioned videos are auto generated, the computer is doing it. I see it with the close captioned Hindi movie numbers or trailers, the subtitles are gibberish. Though not perfect, when a human does it, its much better.

  86. 86.

    Elizabelle

    March 31, 2018 at 8:58 am

    Good morning, jackals.

    Tonight’s a blue moon. Am calling it a “bunny blue moon”, because how often do you get a blue moon on Easter weekend?

    @ Betty: love the cedar waxwings. Always. Beautiful photo.

  87. 87.

    Steeplejack

    March 31, 2018 at 9:01 am

    @Schlemazel:

    Yeah, how pretentious can you get with tapas? Okay, a little, but it’s basically bar/​snack food.

    Ballston is, or is turning into, or has aspirations to be, a young hipster zone, so most of the restaurants shoot for trendy but low-key.

  88. 88.

    zhena gogolia

    March 31, 2018 at 9:04 am

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    Isn’t it the infinitive of the verb “to be”?

  89. 89.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 9:06 am

    @Elizabelle:
    GIven that Easter is calculated for the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after the equinox I would have assumed that would never happen

  90. 90.

    Steeplejack

    March 31, 2018 at 9:07 am

    @zhena gogolia:

    Yes, that’s what threw me off. I thought that was kind of cool. They’re probably going for both senses. But all of their press and promo stuff plays up the acronym.

  91. 91.

    Elizabelle

    March 31, 2018 at 9:07 am

    @OzarkHillbilly: Believe I read that Serrano (?) hams prices are going stratospheric because the Chinese have developed a taste for them? From The Guardian:

    Having discovered the joys of French wine, caviar and truffles, China’s new rich are turning to a new gourmet delicacy to satisfy their demand for luxury goods from the west: Spain’s jamón ibérico, or Iberian ham. But demand is now threatening to outstrip supply, leaving Spaniards facing steep price rises in their most prized Christmas delicacy.

    The recent lifting of import restrictions has allowed top-of-the-range ham to find its “rightful place in the market, alongside caviar and truffles”, René Lemée, the head of exports for the famous Cinco Jotas brand, told El País newspaper.

    The Chinese, pork lovers par excellence, have now been seduced by jamón ibérico. The problem is that the best ham takes years to produce and, as demand outstrips supply, it is pushing up the price by as much as 10%. A 7.5kg leg sells at between €150 and €600 (£135-£540).

    Spanish ham comes in many forms, but to be defined as jamón ibérico de bellota (acorn-fed Iberian ham), which is what the Chinese want, it must first come from Iberian blackfoot pigs, or from 50% crossbreeds. These pigs must then spend several months of the year roaming the dehesa, a pasture planted with oaks, feeding on grass and acorns. During the last few months before being slaughtered they must live exclusively on this diet.

  92. 92.

    Elizabelle

    March 31, 2018 at 9:08 am

    @Schlemazel: Indeed. That and President Trump. Can be assumed would never happen. Le sigh.

  93. 93.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 9:11 am

    @Steeplejack:
    There is a place here that seems to miss the point. Their stuff is over elaborate & instead of a bite or two it is about a half meal & prices are in the mid to high teens. With a of glass of wine it can get to be $100 for 2 very easily. The waitstaff is friendly or it would be snooty because the menu feels snooty.

  94. 94.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 9:12 am

    @BillinGlendaleCA: Don’t even joke about that. I live in constant fear that Hillary and Obama will one day fight each other,* which would depress me so much that I would give up on Democratic politics forever.

    * I’m most concerned about Bill, who in his dotage and protectiveness of Hillary might be goaded into saying something stupid.

  95. 95.

    JMG

    March 31, 2018 at 9:14 am

    @Baud: They had a pretty good set-to in 2008 with no ill effects to either one. I think they like each other, so I don’t know why they’d fight.

  96. 96.

    Baud

    March 31, 2018 at 9:18 am

    @JMG: I don’t think it’s likely, but the 2016 election has been stressful on everyone, and you know there are people who would love to instigate a row.

  97. 97.

    Amir Khalid

    March 31, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @schrodingers_cat:
    One of the delights of movie-going in my teens and twenties was the hilariously inept subtitling in Malay of English-language movies, done by a company whose staff didn’t seem terribly good at either language.

  98. 98.

    OzarkHillbilly

    March 31, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @Elizabelle: That’s right, I had read that and then forgotten it. Dem Chinese ruin everything.

    @Schlemazel: In Spain, tapas is almost like having a bowl of chips are peanuts on the bar is here. Not a big deal at all, or at least in all the places I went into.

  99. 99.

    Steeplejack

    March 31, 2018 at 9:19 am

    @Schlemazel:

    That’s always a potential danger: restaurant misjudging what it wants to be vs. what the “audience” wants.

  100. 100.

    Amir Khalid

    March 31, 2018 at 9:24 am

    Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah has scored what could be the winning goal for Liverpool at Crystal Palace.

  101. 101.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 31, 2018 at 9:25 am

    @Amir Khalid: AI or machine learning algorithms are especially bad for musical numbers, AI doesn’t get poetry, the metaphors, the subtext etc.

  102. 102.

    Immanentize

    March 31, 2018 at 9:27 am

    @Schlemazel:
    It seems to happen once in a blue moon….

    So, actually, it will happen whenever that first full moon after the equinox occurs on the 29th and the Sunday is the 30th or 31st of March. Rare, but not never.

  103. 103.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 31, 2018 at 9:28 am

    @Schlemazel:

    From an article at space.com:

    A Paschal Moon that is also a Blue Moon can only occur in March.

    The last time we had a Blue Paschal Moon was in 1999. In that year, that second March full moon fell on a Wednesday, so Easter Sunday fell on April 4. The next time we’ll have a Paschal Blue Moon will be in 2037.

    If you’re wondering when the last time Easter Sunday fell on April 1 — that was in 1956.

    But when did we have a case similar to this year, a Blue Paschal Moon on March 31, followed the very next day by Easter Sunday?

    In 1714, the full moon was on March 31 at 3:17 Universal Time, followed the next day by Easter Sunday. But that was valid only for Europe and the Eastern Hemisphere. For the Western Hemisphere, the full moon occurred the day before (on March 30).

    For North America, we must go back to the year 1646 to have a case that replicates this month: a Blue Paschal Moon on Saturday, March 31, which was followed by Easter Sunday the very next day.

    Incidentally, we’re fully aware that the original colonies were still following the Julian calendar, and not the current Gregorian calendar, which was first implemented by Pope Gregory in 1582. England and the American colonies did not make the switch until 1752, thereby throwing a monkey wrench into this particular Easter calculation, since it would throw everything off by 10 days.

    So that would suggest that the upcoming circumstance of a Blue Paschal Moon immediately followed by Easter Sunday on April 1 is a truly unique occurrence!

  104. 104.

    Immanentize

    March 31, 2018 at 9:30 am

    @SiubhanDuinne: now that is what I call a complete explanation.

  105. 105.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 9:35 am

    @OzarkHillbilly:
    Would love to go there someday (sigh) but as I understand it, it becomes sort of a progressive dinner where you wander from place to place, eat one dish, have a glass of wine & then on to the next place. It sound wonderful!

    @Steeplejack:
    True, but words have meaning. The worst example I can think of was a souffle I ordered that turned out to be a casserole. I complained to the waitress & her response was “well this is what the chef calls a souffle”. ! Why didn’t he call it foie gras with truffles then? It is true we live amongst the rubes on the tundra but the pony express has delivered news here so we have heard of tapas.

    True story: My sister earned her masters from Yale. There was a get together for incoming grad students and some assclown started to explain to her what brie was.

  106. 106.

    Schlemazel

    March 31, 2018 at 9:37 am

    @SiubhanDuinne:
    AH-HA!
    Still messes with my brain but OK

  107. 107.

    Betty Cracker

    March 31, 2018 at 9:39 am

    Do any of y’all use Adobe products, and if so, do they make you want to tear your hair out?

  108. 108.

    JMG

    March 31, 2018 at 9:59 am

    @Schlemazel: San Sebastian is beautiful, interesting (center of Basque culture) and has the best food in Spain. They have pub/tapas (called pinxos) crawl tours there. It was a great experience. One bar even specialized in dessert snacks.

  109. 109.

    Matt McIrvin

    March 31, 2018 at 10:08 am

    @Betty Cracker: I used to, but haven’t in a long time since they got too expensive, and too substitutable by free alternatives, to justify as hobbyist purchases. Their user interfaces have always been kind of idiosyncratic; I think partly it’s just because there are so many features there that it makes it hard to figure out controls for all of them.

    A long long time ago my job was working on a knockoff emulation of Adobe’s PostScript page-description language for laser printers, and I did some messing around with Adobe Illustrator just to produce complicated PostScript test output. I was in charge of the implementation of Level 3 PostScript’s smooth-shading features, which were head-breakingly complex. My first implementation did fine on simple hand-coded test output but was fatally slow at rendering real application output, which of course the marketing team was the first to actually discover because I didn’t have any–they had their hands on the latest version of Illustrator and I didn’t. So they got me a copy and I made an Illustrator drawing of my cat Niobe that was full of complicated gradient meshes. Niobe was my performance stress test–I must have printed out hundreds of copies of her trying to make that thing go faster. Eventually I got it going pretty well.

  110. 110.

    Ladyraxterinok

    March 31, 2018 at 10:11 am

    @Aleta: My mom in her late 80s said ‘Whatever you do, don’t get old’. As many have told me since, ‘It sure beats the alternative.’

  111. 111.

    Another Scott

    March 31, 2018 at 10:12 am

    @Betty Cracker: Just Acrobat Reader (or whatever they call it now) drives me nuts. I use SumatraPDF wherever I can (Winders only, unfortunately).

    I dread the day when I have to start using PhotoShop, etc., if/when I get a decent camera…

    You are not alone!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  112. 112.

    O. Felix Culpa

    March 31, 2018 at 10:30 am

    @JMG: I recommend Restaurante Casa Urola in San Sebastian for “higher end” pintxos. The ground floor bar is more budget friendly with excellent food. Was there last year while walking the Camino del Norte.

  113. 113.

    Ohio Mom

    March 31, 2018 at 10:45 am

    I am halfway through putting the sedar table settings, etc. away. Taking a break and listening to the squirrel continue to destroy the attic.

    Ohio Dad is researching squirrel eradication companies, we are pretty fed up with the current outfit. So far the most promising possibility is closed until Monday.

    I’m very happy with this house’s location, love its floor plan and proud of how I’ve decorated and outfitted it. The actual house, I hate. It has been nothing but a giant money sink. Don’t even get me started on the bad basement.

  114. 114.

    bemused

    March 31, 2018 at 10:47 am

    @Betty Cracker:

    You could be talking about my almost 95 year old mother-in-law. She hasn’t seen well for years but would still work on large piece jigsaw puzzles. In the last year, her sight is worsening and she’s given up on the puzzles, less steady on her feet but always been a stoic, “it is what it is” kind of person. No whining from her.

  115. 115.

    Betty Cracker

    March 31, 2018 at 11:10 am

    @Matt McIrvin & @Another Scott: What y’all said. I have Creative Suite, and it can do some amazing things (when operated by someone else; I’m just a copy monkey), but it’s a bad user experience in every way. It takes forever to load PS, etc. Drives me nutso.

  116. 116.

    Gelfling 545

    March 31, 2018 at 11:20 am

    @satby: After my mother’s prolonged ICU stay prior to her death in 2001 I gave both kids & my sister healthcare proxy status. Saves misery & complications for all concerned.

  117. 117.

    Gelfling 545

    March 31, 2018 at 11:31 am

    @schrodingers_cat: Listening to Mapquest pronounce local place names is a hoot. Cheektowaga, Tonawanda, Scajacqueda. I can’t imagine what captioning would make of it.

  118. 118.

    WaterGirl

    March 31, 2018 at 11:43 am

    @satby: I don’t know, satby. I find that my stubborn dogs do much better as they get older. :-)

    Maybe that’s how she made it to 85!

    edit: and I see that Ozark got there before me.

  119. 119.

    Shell

    March 31, 2018 at 11:48 am

    Today is butter lamb sculpting day!

    Is it NATIONAL butter lamb sculpting day? ;-)

  120. 120.

    WaterGirl

    March 31, 2018 at 11:53 am

    Betty, I can’t wait to see your butter lamb! I can hardly believe it’s been a year already!

    I am going out for Easter brunch tomorrow with two good friends – we were all roomies over 30 years ago. Not counting my two trips to the doctor, it will be my first foray out since I broke my ankle 2.5 weeks ago.

  121. 121.

    joyce

    March 31, 2018 at 12:09 pm

    Betty, could I have permission to use the photo of the waxwings as the basis for a painting, not for sale, just personal pleasure. Thank you.

  122. 122.

    StringOnAStick

    March 31, 2018 at 12:41 pm

    @joyce: Hey, I was going to ask about that too!

  123. 123.

    Betty Cracker

    March 31, 2018 at 1:04 pm

    @joyce & @StringOnAStick: Yes and yes! I’d love to see a photo of it when you’re done.

  124. 124.

    joyce

    March 31, 2018 at 1:22 pm

    @Betty Cracker: thanks

  125. 125.

    feebog

    March 31, 2018 at 1:26 pm

    It has been a beautiful week here in SoCal. Normally I would be playing golf today, but I’m still recovering from my full knee replacement and gimping around. So a little yard work; we are planting a new avocado tree to replace an orange tree we lost. When we moved in 40 years ago we had 14 Valencia orange trees. They are approaching 100 years old and well past their normal life expectancy. We have lost 4, and will lose a couple more soon. Replacing them with other type trees; Myer lemon and now avocado. Enjoy your day wherever you are and whatever you are doing Juicers.

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