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LOL, well I've seen Steve make the Alfredo and assisted in the process by grating large amounts of cheese. I actually think I could make the basic white sauce, but the part that would get me in trouble are the herbs he throws in. I'm just not that good at estimating it, even if I taste it after every modification and with this particular sauce there are no actual written directions. The recipie has been passed down from his father to him, so it is a patriarchally inherited recipie to begin with.
And didn't we discuss before that BAKING is actually scientific chemistry, while COOKING is an art only rudimentarily based on the science?
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You need my forthcoming book Cooking Blueprints for Engineers. It will be based on the e-mail “recipes” I sent my brother while he was in college and trying to impress his girlfriend.
Vána, the e-mail has not arrived yet. Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Yes. It's probably just slow. I've got to go now, but I'll check back this afternoon to see if it's arrived yet.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Should I bring my cookie cutters? Someone wanted cookies, but I don't remember if anyone specified what kind.
If any of you have fabric scraps you want to get rid of, please bring them. I need seven thousand little squares for the quilt I started last night. Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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bring the pattern and I'll take you across the street to my neighbor who is a obsessive fabric saver, she will gladly donate to the cause I'm sure. She makes really cool stuffed teddy bears too.
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I have "baby cookies" as in pre done Nestle toll house cookiedough, but they are in square bits so if we want to make sugar cookies we might have to run to the supermarket.
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Are you doing particular colors on the quilt? Hand or machine piecing? I should be able to give you some scraps too.
I think my goal for being stuck at home when my tonsils come out will be to finish the needlepoint that I have had almost finished for nearly two years now.
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It's a cathedral window quilt, and I'm not doing any particular pattern with the window panes. Just 7200 3-1/4 inch squares of random colors. It's good, because it uses up all the little tiny fabric scraps, but it's bad, because it's 7200 tiny little squares. Plus the 3600 folded muslin squares that make the frames.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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DKW, you have to teach me how to quilt!! I was seriously tempted to bring along all my crafty stuff. *laugh*
Girls, girls, girls!!! I have WAY too much stuff! I loaded a couple board games, card games, all the nailpolish, hair accessories, makeup and spa type material (including my footspa which didn't fit into the duffel) into a duffel bag and was shocked! I seriously could not decide what movies to bring, so I have about twenty.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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<--- knows from the volume of stuff Christy is brinign, she isn't girly enough but will have fun being girly anyway!
Posts: 11265 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Just so you know, I will be coming directly from work. And I don't get off work until 6:00. I expect the ride to be quick, but I might not arrive until closer to 7:00.
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It shouldn't be too bad because the Cubs game is in Florida, but you never know. I don't know exactly when dinner will be ready anyway but I think we are aiming for about 6:30.
I have one bathroom clean, the other well um... You guys get the clean one!
I haven't had the energy levels I was anticipating because of this most recent bout of tonsillitis so its put a damper on cleaning. On the other hand it isn't filthy either, just more clutter than I would like, so hopefully CT won't have a heart attack.
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I'm picking Vána up at five, you'd know better than I how long it takes to get from Rockford to your place. Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Oh, good grief, AJ, I just found a hairball stuck to the bottom of my bedspread. I'm growing something colorful in the pan that's been sitting in the sink, and, well, let's just say that the laundry room has been busy in use ... by other people ... *sigh
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mack, I'm doing pretty good. I've been either going through a major life / deja vu /metamorphosis, or I've just been a little sleep deprived. You know, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. And you? (email? I'm in clinic, but I have breaks now and then)
Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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We will bump dinner back til 7 then I think. We are going to have to make a quick grocery store run for the parmesan cheese anyway after I get home from work. One of us will try to stay home but if no one is there call my cell.
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AJ, look -- I'll be showing up with Christy and a car. We will be free to do as many store runs as needed. Don't worry about making it perfect! (I actually do much better with a task, kind of like a five-year-old. )
Your job is to provide some sort of roofed environment in case of heavy precipitation. The rest we can piece together as we go. If you choose, you can clear a narrow path to the bathroom, too, but even that is optional. Posts: 14017 | Registered: May 2000
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(((CT))) Ok I feel better. We have plenty of floor space and there is already an unobstructed path to the nearest bathroom.
One of the things we have to do, is go over and visit my neighbor across the street. She is a spritely little old Scottish lady, and the one that makes teddy bears. This is where we are going to get some fabric for dkw. She is a consumate collector, and her house is cluttered, but the stuff she collects is cool. Like walls of unique china plates, copper bottomed pans etc.
It is like being in a museum or antique shop but being able to touch everything!
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Aaaaaaaaaa!!!! I lost the directions! You did send us directions didn't you??
I tried to yahoo your address, but it went all wacky with five different off ramps and in the middle it forgot which highway we were even on.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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the directions are in this thread, the previous page... that way you couldn't lose them I only e-mailed you phone numbers in the e-mail. I'll resend that though.
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Use Mapquest or Yahoo to get to I-290/IL-53. You will have Vana with you right? She should be able to help since she has been to Woodfield before.
The trick is that coming from I-90, you don't want to go to Woodfield mall, on 290 south. Instead, you want to go north away from the mall on IL-53. The first exit after you get on 53 North will be the one to get back onto I-90 heading west, and the Second exit will be Algonquin road. You don't have a lot of reaction time unfortunately, maybe a quarter to half mile.
The street map directions on both yahoo and mapquest are lousy. They try to have you turn on Barker, a street that is so unmarked I still haven't figured out exactly where it is. I would suggest rather than doing a "driving directions", do a Location, and just print out a street map that has the main roads. You should be able to locate Central and New Wilke fairly easily.
AJ The link works, but zoom out one level and pan a little bit south to see the major highways.
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Dana, I printed out the directions, so if you can get to my place, we can get to AJ's! So, if you loose them again, know I've got your back. Posts: 2661 | Registered: Apr 2002
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We'll be fine. I put the directions from the previous page into my PDA so I can't lose 'em. (Or if I do, it'll be the least of my worries.)
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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CT might be underestimating Rockford/Chicago traffic on Friday nights. I suspect we'll arrive around 6:30. We'll be more than willing to help as we need. We're pretty handy in the kitchen.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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The nice thing is that while there might be a bottlneck at Woodfield Mall, you won't be dealing with all of the really bad junk going all the way into the city.
I'll see you when you get here, and now I've got to get back to work, today has been crazy.
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In honor of the hatrack ladies overnight, I went clothes shopping today. Not lingerie, though, sorry. I was with you in spirit, though, jatraqueras! Hope you have a great time today! Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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Steve's hits you like a "load of bricks" alfredo fettuccini was delicious. We colored, did our nails, gave massages, watched Labyrinth because BannaOj hadn't seen it and stayed up chatting till the wee hours of the morning. It was really cool to be able to talk to Anna Kate, although I missed talking to Mack the next morning. We lounged quite a bit and just relaxed and hung out. Banna's dogs are such sweeties!
Saturday I made some biscuits, and everyone was kind enough to tolerate my poor substitution skills with only having baking soda. Banna's quaint neighbor invited us all in and we really enjoyed her pets and her handmade teddy bears. Dkw did indeed get some fabric for her quilt, which is looking beautiful, but we are all astounded by the sheer number of squares this quilt is going to take!
We went to a great Japanese restaurant and Dkw, CT and I shared sushi while the others had traditional dishes. I haven't had sushi in a while! I really like the shared meal approach.
We headed off to the mall minus Banna, who wasn't feeling very well. Godiva had to be the biggest hit of the mall, but CT and I did go lingerie shopping and dkw did get a great pair of shoes. Too bad all the boots I liked were $100+. We perused Crate and Barrel and Illuminations as well. We didn't leave till close to 5pm! What a fabulous day and a half!
Girls, we definitely need to do this every once in a while.
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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It was a blast, and I love my new shoes. Thanks again for the fabric, AJ.
On my way home I passed New Melleray Abbey, which got me thinking about retreats and how more than one person had said this weekend was almost more of a retreat than a typical get-together. That got me thinking about what it might be like to be on an actual spiritual retreat with Hatrackers, which made me giggle at what an eclectic group we are, religiously speaking. Then I started to wonder how one would go about planning a spiritual retreat for a group like Hatrack, which kept me occupied and entertained the entire three hours remaining in the drive.
Is it too early to start planning the next one? I was thinking that if several of us make home-made Christmas gifts (which I think is true) we could get together and make them. Homemade candles, candy, cookies or . . . ?
Or we could have the candy-making party before Valentine’s Day, if December is already too booked.
Also, there are two B&B’s in eastern Iowa that do Murder Mystery overnights. At least one of them has a group rate – that could be a fun thing to all do together sometime. (The guys too, of course.)
Can you tell I had fun and want to get together again soon? Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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I couldn't work on certain Christmas ideas, though, with CT around. I'd love to do candy, though, for Valentine's day! And/or any of the above for other Christmas gifts.
CT and I have been trying to plan a murder mystery dinner, but haven't had the time yet. I'd definitely be game for one of those, as would Tom. Spiritual retreats would be very neat, too. What ideas did you have?
Posts: 1777 | Registered: Jan 2003
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Going on a spiritual retreat with hatrackers would be so cool! I'm convinced we could come up with something that would say something to everyone, though I'm not quite sure how. Not by being wishy-washy, that's for sure. I think this is a wonderful idea! It could be one week long and held at the beach and if I'm in the country next summer I would be glad to sponsor it in any way I can. Y'all think about it and let me know if you have any interest or ideas.
Posts: 968 | Registered: Sep 2003
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*laugh* No, silly. Because I'd like to make you something for Christmas and I don't want you to find out what! (of course if I don't get my butt in gear, that won't happen!!)
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Hee hee, I was just on the phone with a good friend of mine from college, and telling her what a wonderful time we had. And she was all, "Man I need to get on Hatrack!" She was worried she doesn't qualify because the only OSC she has read is the Ender series. I told her it didn't matter, so we will see if she actually joins or not.
I wasn't trying to be an evangelical jatraquero though.
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Hmm. I didn’t really think anyone would be interested in the retreat idea, it was just something to keep my brain occupied on a long drive. I think the most workable idea I came up with was a retreat based around spiritual autobiography. That’s a practice that all of us can do, and that can be shared across faith-lines. I was thinking more along the lines of a week-end though – a week is pretty long for a first retreat.
One of the murder mystery B&Bs I checked was fairly expensive, but the other is only $50/person for groups of 8 or more. That seems very reasonable. It’s fairly central to the Midwest clump, too. (Central, of course, meaning that some of you would have to drive a little further than you have been and I would get to drive a little less. )
****
Hey AJ, could you delete that Mapquest link? It’s too wide for my tiny little monitor and I have to scroll sideways to read all the posts.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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and dkw did get a great pair of shoes. Too bad all the boots I liked were $100+. We perused Crate and Barrel and Illuminations as well. We didn't leave till close to 5pm! What a fabulous day and a half!![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
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(Say it ain't so! I just thought it was a little early for displaying flocked trees at the mall, that's all. ![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
