O Say, Can You See ... - The USA thread 2025

13

Comments

  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Nenya wrote: »
    I was at university with a girl who always washed her hair with washing up liquid. It always looked beautiful - thick and glossy.

    It would probably have been gorgeous even if she'd used Harpic - some people just have lovely hair. Sadly I'm not one of them.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    jedijudy wrote: »
    Puppies! Kittens!!!
    Speaking of . . .

    We have a new kitten, a buff tabby. He’s a rescue, around 4 or 5 months old and has been with us a week. He’s a sweetheart.

    We named him Opie.


  • Nick Tamen wrote: »
    jedijudy wrote: »
    Puppies! Kittens!!!
    Speaking of . . .

    We have a new kitten, a buff tabby. He’s a rescue, around 4 or 5 months old and has been with us a week. He’s a sweetheart.

    We named him Opie.


    How North Carolinian of you :grin: !
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Nick Tamen wrote: »
    jedijudy wrote: »
    Puppies! Kittens!!!
    Speaking of . . .

    We have a new kitten, a buff tabby. He’s a rescue, around 4 or 5 months old and has been with us a week. He’s a sweetheart.

    We named him Opie.


    How North Carolinian of you :grin: !
    Ain’t it just? :lol:


  • FirenzeFirenze Shipmate, Host Emeritus
    Friend at college washed his hair in washing up liquid ("There's no difference, is there.") It looked like steel wool. I suspect something formulated to get the grease off dishes might not be ideal for hair.

    But perhaps modern liquids are milder than 40 years ago? When I'm hand washing pans, they don't seem as effective. Maybe I should try shampoo on them?
  • NenyaNenya All Saints Host, Ecclesiantics & MW Host
    Piglet wrote: »
    Nenya wrote: »
    I was at university with a girl who always washed her hair with washing up liquid. It always looked beautiful - thick and glossy.

    It would probably have been gorgeous even if she'd used Harpic - some people just have lovely hair.
    Yes, I expect you're right.

  • jedijudy wrote: »
    Puppies! Kittens!!!

    I feel better now! :blush:

    Is anyone going outside to view the Planetary Parade this evening?

    I had hoped to see the lineup, but not showing up in my area it seems. Also as usual fog.
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    Congratulations to the Tamen family on being adopted by a lovely kitten!
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    Kitty!!! ❤️❤️❤️

    Got new glasses today. I’ve been wearing the same pair and prescription since 1998, so the new prescription will take some getting used to… I can read smaller subtitles from across the room with the new ones, which is good.
  • I always find it fun to see what I was missing when I get a new glasses prescription. Enjoy.
  • I spent the day trying to explain daylight saving time to the dog. Why are we eating now? This is not when we go for our afternoon walk. I wish they would stay on one time all year long myself.
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    @Graven Image, Amen!
    It's hard on so many of us, and especially so for the little ones and furry family members.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    I always find it fun to see what I was missing when I get a new glasses prescription. Enjoy.

    I can read the tiny subtitles on the Japanese-audio Stitch! anime!

    (I should hunt down the Chinese Stitch and Ai series as well at some point…)
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    Firenze wrote: »
    But perhaps modern liquids are milder than 40 years ago? When I'm hand washing pans, they don't seem as effective. Maybe I should try shampoo on them?

    When my children were very small, and I was badly sleep deprived, I went to the hairdresser. She asked me what shampoo I was using, as my hair condition was terrible. When I confessed to using the same baby shampoo as the kids, she said that the "no tears" formula was so caustic you could use it as oven cleaner.

    In my sleep-deprived state I failed to realise that this was a sales pitch for the expensive shampoo the hairdresser sold. Instead I heard "child-safe oven cleaner!"

    Before I went to bed I liberally smeared my over with baby shampoo and left it to work its magic overnight. In the morning it had formed a sort of tenacious jelly which took hours to remove and didn't leave the oven any cleaner. For some time thereafter all our meals had a soapy tang.

    My advice is - you might be able to wash your hair with dishwashing liquid, but do not attempt to wash your kitchen equipment with baby shampoo.

  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    :lol: :lol: :lol:

  • I just finished my federal taxes. I want the page where you get to say how your money will be used.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Or possibly more pertinently these days, how you don't want it used ...
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    I made it to Sunday morning church for the first time in literally years! Like, since before 2020 at least. I’ve been going to a Wednesday evening service for years at that church but I was up early enough to make it today.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Well done!
  • A little thing can mean a lot. As I sat in my office off my bedroom, I looked at a solid door that opened to my small patio. Yesterday, after thinking about it for three years, I had a handyman install a window in the door. Now, I can look out on the scrubs and blooms from my chair. I can not tell you what a difference it makes in the way I feel. @ChastMastr, I am happy to hear your good news about church.
  • ChastMastrChastMastr Shipmate
    Yesterday was rough—I doomscrolled before breakfast for hours and had my first meal at 5 pm!

    Today much better so far:

    9:23 AM at the moment and I am awake having coffee and I am going to completely steer clear of the Internet before breakfast. I’m just not going to start the browser or look at my mail.

    11:14 am. Success! I avoided the internet and any news at all and am now going to have breakfast at a local Greek diner, Papa’s New York Diner. Today I will get a few groceries, and ideally catch up on grading. Going to be careful about news exposure.
  • @ChartMastr, It's Good to stay away from the news. I do the same for my own sanity. I read the local paper once a week online, and that is it.
  • RuthRuth Shipmate
    The only social media account I have is on Mastodon, and I don't look at it often. I've cut back on reading the news, and should cut back even more.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited March 22
    Ruth wrote: »
    The only social media account I have is on Mastodon, and I don't look at it often. I've cut back on reading the news, and should cut back even more.
    Replace Mastadon with Instagram, and it’s about the same for me.

    I say “about” because I’ve actually been increasing my news intake slightly (it was basically none from right after the election until January), but I still set limits, which can include “a headline on this is enough.” And no news until after breakfast or with an hour or two of bedtime.

  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    I don’t know how it is in the rest of the country, but as of this past weekend, the annual pollenpocalypse has hit the Tar Heel State. The air is a greenish-yellow, everything—I mean everything—is covered with yellow powder, and allergies are off the charts.

    Maybe there will be rain today to clear the air and wash it all away, but usually it takes more than one rain to deal with that.

  • RuthRuth Shipmate
    Rain overnight here, but no pollen for it to wash away. We don't get pollen on that level, not even close. We're having a pretty dreary spring after a bright, dry winter. But it's bringing the Sierra snowpack up to near average, so we'll get to drink water this summer.

    The first time my partner's job sent him to Charlotte, NC, he couldn't work his first full day in the office because of his allergic reactions. The company sent him to their clinic at 10 am, where they asked him where he was from -- New Jersey -- then loaded him up with meds and said he'd get used to it. Eventually. (He says that being from NJ, he can deal with toxins, but not pollen.)
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Ruth wrote: »
    (He says that being from NJ, he can deal with toxins, but not pollen.)
    :lol:

    I’ll acknowledge it’s the price we pray for beauty. The tulip magnolias are just past their bloom. The dogwoods, the redbuds, the azaleas, the tulip poplars and other trees are all blooming now, along with a variety of ground plants, Bradford pears—beautiful to look at, but not beautiful to smell—will be along soon, and our rhododendrons are a week or two from blooming.

    Ah well, this pollenpocalypse will soon pass.

  • Last summer, the pup had allergies for the first time, so the vet put her on medication. He said many dogs were showing signs of it. During the winter, all was well. I noted that this week, she is back to itching again. I am not surprised, as she always has her nose to the ground sniffing. Thankfully, having moved away from ragweed over fifty years ago, I have remained allergy-free.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Yes, our dog used to use Benadryl. It was either that or hot spots.

  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Whew, it has been a weekend! Daughter graduated from college yesterday morning, after (for good reasons) a few “victory laps.” She was in school 3½ hours away, so she hightailed it back yesterday afternoon so she could get to her boyfriend’s graduation last night (30 minutes from us), and then we all went to his departmental ceremony this morning. We are tired, but they were two happy grads, with four happy parents.


  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    Wonderful!

    It feels odd having a son out of college, and still a year away from grad school. Nice, but odd. It’s probably the only time in my life we’ll have three adults at home.
  • SarasaSarasa All Saints Host
    Congratulations to @Nick Tamen 's daughter and boyfriend. What a happy time. We really enjoyed the three years our son was at home after university. He's a cracking cook for a start.
  • North East QuineNorth East Quine Purgatory Host
    edited May 12
    Congratulations to the @Tamen family!

    We had both ours home during lockdown in 2020; the Loon for the entirely fortuitous reason that he had been cited for jury duty. He had come home for that, with enough clothes to last a fortnight. Jury duty was cancelled just three hours before we went into lock-down and, to my great delight, he was trapped with us.

    The day before we went into lockdown we had scooped up our daughter; the lab in which she worked had closed and her two flatmates had both headed for their respective parents' homes so we more-or-less kidnapped her and took her home.

    I loved having them home.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    Thanks all!

    Our son graduated from college four years ago and was at home with us for a while. I think we enjoyed having him home more than he enjoyed being at home, which I totally get. He did move out after a while. He’s in grad school now, so we’ll have his graduation next May.

    Newly-graduated daughter has a job lined up from where she did an internship. She’s planning to share a house with friends and work for a year, then go to grad school, so if all goes to plan, there’ll be one last graduation in May ‘27.


  • The_RivThe_Riv Shipmate
    We have three graduations in our extended family this spring: my sister's younger son (from high school), and two nieces on my wife's side (one from high school and one from college). Good stuff.
  • CaissaCaissa Shipmate
    My b-i-l is graduating with some sort of theological degree from Huron College at Western University in London, On this weekend. He will be ordained deacon before the year is out. Of course, his first vocation was as a a carpenter. I just noticed this is the USA thread and I am jumping on with a Canadian graduation. Congrats to all the American graduations.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    edited May 12
    No problem at all, @Caissa. Congrats to your b-i-l!


  • Lamb ChoppedLamb Chopped Shipmate
    Indeed!!
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    Congratulations, younger Tamens - and Caissa's b-i-l!
  • jedijudyjedijudy Heaven Host
    We always enjoy happy news in this USA thread @Caissa! At least I certainly do, and suspect the rest of us do, too!

    Congratulations to all the graduates!
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    Th+is weekend, I attended the 55+ year reunion of my junior college class. I started out in the old LCMS gymnasium system in which the first two years were at regional junior colleges followed by the next two years in an upper division finishing school. Over the years, a number of those junior colleges were expanded to four year institutions, but some of the schools have also closed.

    The regional college I went to was Concordia College in Portland OR. It eventually closed because it overextended itself in online education programs and the LCMS would not bail them out. (This is the official version, and I will leave it at that.)

    In any case, my class has been meeting every few years. Technically, last year would have been the 55th year, but the sudden death of one of the organizers delayed it to this year.

    It's actually the first one I attended. When there had been previous reunions I could not have made it, but now that I am semi-retired, my wife insisted I go, though she was not a member of the class.

    It was a relatively small group of class members that got together. Some were too far away, others were not interested, many have passed on. We spent some time reminiscing about them, and events way back when. But it was good to see old friends, no matter how old we have become.

    I am glad I went.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    I love class reunions, whether official (we had one when we all turned 40, but that was twenty-mumble years ago!) or just impromptu ones I arrange whenever I go back to Orkney on holiday! :)
  • Graven ImageGraven Image Shipmate
    One hundred twenty thousand fans are expected at a concert up the street from me this weekend. I am staying home and opening the window or sitting on the patio if I want to hear the music. I would do that rather than pay $8,000 for top-tier three-day tickets. However, those top tickets do come with drinks and food. Popcorn and fresh juice will be served at the Image household.
  • PigletPiglet All Saints Host, Circus Host
    You are a very wise lady, GI! Who's giving the concert?
  • Graven ImageGraven Image Shipmate
    There are forty different ones; it is a big deal. Public Enemy, Justin Timberlake, Benson Boone, Noah Kahen, Ice Cube, and Allen Stone are just a few.
  • The_RivThe_Riv Shipmate
    I’m two days from the end of yet another school year. Monday was 8th Grade Awards & Promotion (to High School), yesterday was 6th Grade Field Day and 7th Grade Awards Day, and today is 7th Grade Field Day and 6th Grade Awards Day. Tomorrow will be a 60% day for the few kids that show up. Friday is Teachers Only. It’s an optimistic time of year.
  • Gramps49Gramps49 Shipmate
    The_Riv wrote: »
    I’m two days from the end of yet another school year. Monday was 8th Grade Awards & Promotion (to High School), yesterday was 6th Grade Field Day and 7th Grade Awards Day, and today is 7th Grade Field Day and 6th Grade Awards Day. Tomorrow will be a 60% day for the few kids that show up. Friday is Teachers Only. It’s an optimistic time of year.

    Ah, yes, I remember the final week of school as a kid. We had a field day, and a movie day. Then, in Junior High and Senior High, the last day we went swimming at a local hot springs resort. Junior high did it at one resort. Senior high did it at another resort.
  • NicoleMRNicoleMR Shipmate
    So @Amanda B Reckondwyth and I met up for dinner in a small diner in Manhattan. It was a lovely and fun reunion.
  • Nick TamenNick Tamen Shipmate
    NicoleMR wrote: »
    So @Amanda B Reckondwyth and I met up for dinner in a small diner in Manhattan. It was a lovely and fun reunion.
    Cool! Glad y’all could do that.

  • MamacitaMamacita Shipmate
    NicoleMR wrote: »
    So @Amanda B Reckondwyth and I met up for dinner in a small diner in Manhattan. It was a lovely and fun reunion.

    Wonderful! I hope Miss Amanda is doing well.
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