Scarlet Pimpernel

Oh, and hello there, @mappy and @Mrs.J!  I hope you are both well!  Haven't been in here for awhile, just trying to survive the God-awful heat!  I don't even feel like getting out on my bike with this.  But I am still taking photos when walking about now and then.  I'll see if I can post a few when I have a chance for everyone!

7 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

The prep drink is awful.  I had a minor surgical procedure a couple months ago related to Crohns complications. That’s why I disappeared for a while.  

I know I’m biased. I am in an at risk group. That makes my impact calculus different than some others.  But the percent of high risk workers in education makes it impossible to staff the buildings without risking those groups. 

Yup, that prep drink is disgusting...and the "flavor packs" don't help!!  I'm sorry to hear you had to go through surgery for Crohn's, I have heard that's somewhat common for the condition.

You may be biased by your own personal situation...everyone is of course.  But that's not a bad thing.  It's when others cannot even try to understand the larger picture here.  While personal choice is something we pretty well can all agree on, fact is that a virus doesn't give a damn (any more than it cares about one's politics).  If it were a situation where you could take a "risk" without doing anything to anyone else, that would be different.  That's not the case with this.  And like I said, I know enough people, family and friends, who have varying degrees of potentially at-risk conditions.  So I'm biased as well in my view on the whole going back to school or re-opening stuff.

I can see how the more remote counties in MD would be better able to "re-open" or even have back to in-person school this fall to whatever extent.  I don't have any issue with that, if it's done safely and in a reasonable manner.  The areas near DC and Baltimore are a totally different situation.  Thus, different decisions, depending on the county (and number of cases, how under control it is, etc.).

17 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

Everything you are saying makes sense. I don’t begrudge you your thoughts. I totally empathize. I don’t teach in Carroll. I teach in Baltimore City. But I am glad they are starting virtual. We explored the idea of virtual or in person options. Problem was too many teachers fall into the “vulnerable” category to run in person schools (especially with smaller classes) if they opted out. I have asthma and Crohns. Both conditions put me in higher risk. My wife and son have asthma. I’ll admit I’m nervous. Phin can make fun of me and call me names. I don’t care. I have a family and I worry about our health. If that makes me some soft snowflake wuss in his opinion so be it. And metrics do look fairly good in parts of MD now but keep in mind the metrics are delayed. They show us what was happening a week ago really. The fear is with schools open it could spread fast and before we react a teacher with a compromised immune system gets it and... All I can say is I want to teach. I could and have done a lot of things but I choose to teach because it’s what I want to do. And I want to get back to normal. I also want to live a long time and see my children grow up!  That said I also empathize with parents that want their children back at school.  I empathize with students that want to be back with their friends.  This sucks. And I don’t have any definitive answers and I don’t pretend too. But I think we all need to be empathetic towards each other’s positions. 

First...oh,  man, that sucks about Crohn's.  And I can empathize, because I've had a history of colitis myself (going back to when I was about 11-12).  Ugh!  I've had enough of those endoscopy tests that I can almost have a drinking game with that God-awful nasty prep solution you have to drink the night before!!  I can deal with an all-liquid diet for a day, and can deal with the procedure itself (they knock you out for it anyhow).  But in the number of times I've had to go through this, I've *never* gotten used to drinking the gallon of that metallic salt flavored s*it!! 

More on topic, I definitely agree with you and get the concern.  I know enough people and have enough friends (including family) who have any variety of "risk" conditions.  I think we'd all like it if schools (and anything else) could reopen and we can get back to some kind of normalcy.  My own daughter will be a Senior this upcoming year, and MoCo just announced it will begin the year with virtual learning through at least the first *semester* (near the end of Jan. 2021).  All fall sports and whatnot are canceled of course, with that.  Does it suck, especially since she's a Senior?  Yeah, and I feel for the fact that her last year in HS will be marred by this crap.  Maybe, with some luck, they'll have some in-school instruction come the 2nd semester but I'm not sure.  And who knows if they'll have a "live" graduation or do something remote like they did for the class of 2020 this year.  So yeah...a drag.  BUT...I totally get it and for the most part support the decision.  MoCo, just by nature of being highly populous and within the DC metro area, has the 2nd highest number of cases (I think PG has the most in the state?).  So it's a different animal than other parts farther out in MD.  I'm sure some areas of the state can more safely open earlier or start up some kind of blended in-person/remote kind of deal.

17 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

Btw I don’t approve the “opening=dead kids” campaign by teachers unions. More kids will die from other diseases and accidents related to schools probably.  The real threat is to staff and the community. I get that’s harder to work in a meme or sign but I don’t like dishonest tactics.  

Yeah, as much as I totally support being very cautious on re-opening, especially in some areas, some of the rhetoric gets over the top.  You're right, the real threat is spreading the disease rampantly through the community by having thousands of kids in school (even if the younger kids might be at far less risk for severe reaction).  And there are probably enough kids with at-risk conditions, as well.

Whoa...I guess I missed it.  So yesterday was @stormtracker's birthday, and today is @mappy's?  Well happy (somewhat belated) birthday to you both!!  I hope you have a wonderful day!!

Party hearty!!!

2 hours ago, Mrs.J said:

Pork Souvlaki with peppers and yellow squash on rice pilaf. Experimented with the pilaf and made it in the rice cooker. Turned out good.   

Ohhh, tasty!!  Is that tsztiki dolloped on the top there?  (not sure I spelled that correctly, but I do like the stuff!!).  Rice cookers are great, by the way!  Had a roommate in grad school who had one.  It made just about perfect rice every time!!!

13 minutes ago, Mrs.J said:

Sure! I would add it after baking though. Oh and you cook it in a 9x13. And salt and pepper the fish. 

Is that chilled for a short time after baking?  Not that it would be bad either way (hot/cold)...for the fish.

Just now, Mrs.J said:

This recipe was super easy! Lemon slices, olive oil, cherry tomatoes and thyme. Bake at 400 for 15 min. 

Cool...and thanks for sharing!  One thing...I wonder if a few slices of avocado would be good, adding to that (or would that be too much).  I'm a fan of avocado!

3 hours ago, Mrs.J said:

Nice light dinner for this hot day. Baked cod and a tasty salad. 

Dammit, Mrs. J...that is quite the dinner!  And yeah, perfect for a hot day!

13 hours ago, H2O said:

I've told this story(or maybe I haven't) before but it feels more important now than before.  My dad was a racist.  Said awful things about all minorities.  Growing up and being around him I heard it all.  And of course to want that love from a dad I more often than not went along with it.  Hell, I was a kid.  I didn't know any better.  So as you can assume, I started to think like him.

Fast forward to college and going out on my own.  Being exposed to different people, backgrounds, cultures showed that I was dead wrong.  I started to hate my dad for brainwashing me and being ignorant to the changing world around me.

When I had kids I made a promise.  I promised that hate would have no place in my house.  My kids would enjoy a life where everyone is welcome and treated equally and they won't look at how a person looks first.  Its whats inside.  I ended up having words with my dad once when he said stuff around my son when he was little.  Told him that if he was going to be like that then kiss his grandson goodbye.  He wouldn't see him any more or any grandkid.  

Line in the sand.  The hate ends with me.  The next generation can be the ones to Sheppard in better, less hateful times.

Racism is borne from ignorance and fear.  Whats to fear?  You put your pants on like I do.  You and everyone are human beings with the right to be free and prosper.  How hard is that to let happen?

 

I'm sorry that the reality is what it is for you and your family.  I pledge to do my part to make things a better place for everyone.

This is a great story, @H2O.  Obviously not saying that because your dad was a racist as you say, but because you grew up beyond that with your own experiences and realized how that was just not right.  I'm sorry to hear that you started hating your dad due to this, but I can understand (I've got my own crap family issues!!)...if that makes any sense.  It's good you are drawing a line in the sand based on your experience; I find myself doing that as well.  I've known people of various backgrounds, men, women, boys, girls, etc...and yes, you learn to like or dislike them based upon who they are, not because of some superficial aspect about them.  I grew up in a fairly mixed neighborhood in the '70s and '80s, and knew black and white people who would treat me well and were friends, and those who treated me like shit.  I didn't base that treatment on their race.  Assholes transcend any cultural or racial barrier.  As do people who are kind.  I've lost some friends whom I've found over the years were not willing to be accepting of people for who they are...they objected based on their religious views or racial views (even if they thought the person was "nice")...and I just simply cannot go along with that.

Some clouds at sunset, between storms, this past Friday.

7 hours ago, Mrs.J said:

Ok so for some reason did not realize it was supposed to feel tropical yesterday. But we got through it. Had a horse show with masks and staying socially distanced at the trailers. We’re allowed to go up ringside when the younger Miss J had her rounds. They had a mister fan set up so she stood her pony in front of it and got cooled off. She had a very good day despite the humidity. Finally showed us consistency between her jump rounds minus stopping her pony from doing her favorite line in the horse stride of 4 instead of 5. It is heading towards the in gate and has an oxer. Her favorite jump. The horse stride is ok as she will be trying to qualify for pony finals in KY next year and the ponies that do best have a horse stride to make the lines easy. 

That's Cool, Mrs. J!  My daughter has been taking riding lessons (and before that, summer camp sessions) at Meadowbrook Stables near Bethesda/Silver Spring.  Really likes it!  This summer they're allowing makeup classes for this past year (they were closed from March until now), so she's begun that again.  And she's doing work there as an assistant to some of the half-day camp sessions too (that started up last week).  She's a long way from jumping...right now her lessons have been walk/trot/canter.

On 6/20/2020 at 12:05 PM, psuhoffman said:

He is 5.  He has a practicality to him. When our Disney trip in April got canceled he was disappointed but said “but I don’t want to get sick so ok”.  Last year he saw a flood video on the news and said those people needs boats now and then we need to build them new houses but on top of something so that don’t happen again”. Recently he said he can’t really understand racism because he doesn’t understand why anyone would be mean to people because of how they look.  He also constantly asks me difficult questions that are way over his weight. Sometimes I’m not sure how to answer. 

We aren’t totally sure how old Lily was, she was rescued. But around 11/12. Old but not that old. But she had a liver condition her whole life and it finally gave out. 

This morning my 2 year old almost made me cry when she crawled into Lily’s bed by the window like she often did to cuddle her and was saying lily and whimpering. 

I'm sorry to hear all this, PSU!  I hope your son and daughter will be OK after all that.  Funny (that's funny strange, not funny ha-ha, as a teacher I had once used to say)...your mention of your 2 year old crawling into Lily's bed by the window reminded me of how my daughter used to ask if she could make a "floor-bed" in our room if she felt scared or when there were thunderstorms, or after a movie that made her sad, or after a bad dream...years ago when she was younger.

Your son is asking some questions almost beyond his years...and I cannot blame you for not knowing exactly how to answer.  How does one explain that to a 5 year old, really?  I don't know if I could do it very well, honestly.  It's not easy to explain to someone that young that sometimes, people just simply suck...or explain a long and not very pleasant history of events in this country.  But he's got the right idea, simple as it may sound from someone his age...why would anyone be mean to those based on how they look?

22 hours ago, ErinInTheSky said:

Maybe that's the better way of putting it. I might be basking in it because I miss it ha.

Ha!  Maybe so!  Of course, I was just joshing you a bit on the hot/humid weather stuff! 

Well, the 5 foot cockroach remark wasn't really a joke, I swear you could ride the ones in Florida!!  Or at least lasso them. 

3 hours ago, ErinInTheSky said:

In other news, I am truly now a Marylander. I have acclimated to this place so much that I am enjoying very hot weather. I used to hate this time of year because it was always this way in Louisiana but god. I've been sitting outside and basking in the sun.

I'd think having lived in Louisiana, the heat here would be nothing to you (can hear you saying, "meh...95 degrees and 2000% humidity?  Y'all should see what it's like on the bayou, wimps!!")!  You should laugh at us "northerners" wilting in heat and humidity!!   I'll be honest, I never could deal with oppressive heat/humidity as well as I could with cold.  But I grew up in northeast Ohio...if it got to 90+ degrees, fetch the smelling salts!!  I lived in Florida for about 3 years (northern part, while in grad school, at FSU)...and *hated* the summers there!  Oh, and the 5 foot long cockroaches.

6 hours ago, Eskimo Joe said:

If this post is inappropriate for this thread please remove. This morning I found out that my best friend from college (he was the best man in my wedding, I in his), his wife and his mother all tested positive for COVID. His mother is now in hospice and went from healthy to on death's doorsteps in 3 days. This is a nefarious disease and the sooner we get a treatment protocol the better.

Oh my...I am so sorry to hear about this, EJ!!  I hope for the best for your friends and their relatives, whatever it's worth for me to say that.  Take care, OK!!

Couple of photos for some Friday cheer!!

A rose by any other name...

A silky fall of water...

10 hours ago, H2O said:

I got to see my oldest kid graduate from his high school yesterday.  I feel bad for all the 2020 seniors who got screwed out of their normal graduation but so glad schools did what they could to give them something 

I'm a proud dad today.  

Congrats on your oldest kid graduating!  Yeah, given the times I know most schools have not conducted "live" ceremonies but at least many tried to do something.  My daughter graduates next year, guess it remains to be seen how that will work out by then.  I don't even know if/when they'll attend school in person come September or how they will accommodate that.

But regardless, I'll just feel that much older!!  Now GTF off my damned lawn! 

1 hour ago, nw baltimore wx said:

Cool.  I took the survey and basically said that they shouldn't dumb anything down for the sake of those that won't educate themselves.  I also said that they should bring back the "traveler's advisory."  

Haha!  I actually remember the days of the old "traveler's advisory", ranging from icy conditions to a light/moderate snow event.  Personally, I think the current "advisory" that they use is fine for the most part, it has a pretty wide latitude which I think is good.  Including criteria for rush hour impacts.  It essentially means an alert for a low to moderate impact event.

One thing I'm glad they got rid of a few years ago was the "heavy snow warning", never seemed to quite fit in and was a bit confusing why that would be different from a "winter storm warning"...which itself already covers heavy snow (among other things).  I swear sometime I once saw a map that had some areas with a heavy snow warning, others with a winter storm warning...for the same event and snow amounts (though winds may have been more the criteria for that).

On 6/7/2020 at 9:16 PM, mappy said:

Puppies! 

So cute!! 

3 hours ago, Mrs.J said:

So got the news this week that even though the MD state superintendent did not give FCPS the 12 day waiver they were looking for, only got the 5 day with the last day on June 17. FCPS has decided to stop distance learning as of this Friday June 5th. All next week kids who are behind will get to catch up and then they all will get a reflection assignment on how distance learning worked or did not work for them. So as of this Friday the 2 Miss J's will be done with the 19/20 school year. We have opted for traditional grades vs. P/INCO. 

Similar thing here for MoCo.  They'll give kids in middle/high school a Pass/Incomplete for 4th quarter, but you have the option to have a traditional grade or a Pass/Incomplete for the entirety of the 2nd semester (grades were given for 3rd quarter, so some combination of that and 4th quarter P/Inc).  School ends I think the end of next week if I remember the date correctly.  We've opted for the actual grade, too, for 2nd semester.

My daughter also took 2 AP exams, which were all online and shortened to like 45 minutes (normally they're a couple hours).  There's some disgruntlement with the process, as those APs are not cheap and you're getting basically a "lite" version this time around due to the current situation.  Also, there have been issues with submitting your final answers/essays but not getting recorded, and having to re-take it again later (this happened to my daughter, she took the AP Language and Composition a couple weeks ago, but the submission failed...so now she's having to re-take it this Friday!).  It's been a bit of a cluster, for sure.

On 6/2/2020 at 12:09 AM, psuhoffman said:

I’ve been in a coma for 6 months.  What did I miss?

Go back to sleep, come back about December and see what's what by then! 

(Sneak preview:  people complaining how we suck, winter is cancelled, fringed, etc.)

9 hours ago, psuhoffman said:

I disappeared suddenly due to a health issue and minor surgery. I’m fine and back mostly lurking. 

Oh wow...very sorry to hear that, PSU!  I hope you are doing better and recovering OK, take care of yourself!

Just now, Mrs.J said:

Salsa verde chicken quesadilla with a sour beer. 

Oh...my...does that look TASTY!!

1 hour ago, C.A.P.E. said:

The action here always dies off this time of year. Most of the regulars gradually disappear. This is a winter weather 'centric' forum, despite the fact we don't see much actual winter weather anymore in these parts.

 

2 hours ago, Baltimorewx said:

I’ve noticed without the coronavirus thread this place has really died out in general lol. I think people right now are focused on arguing on social media about racism and injustices. Or at least it seems. 

Maybe we flattened the curve of useless posts? 

Besides, it's summer, doesn't it normally get kind of thin in here unless there's anything severe going on or a tropical system?

(ETA:  Oh, and there's not much in the way of sports going on now either...)

(ETA more:  Personally, I think that wiener/Spaghettio image way back early in the month killed the thread!)