River Cruising Water Cooler

[notamermaid]

It was a long evening on Christmas Eve and at midnight I looked for a mass in my region broadcast on a livestream. Mainz Cathedral had technical problems so I switched over to Vienna St Stephen's Cathedral as suggested by YouTube - and stayed. It was rather understated due to restrictions but really nice. Extraordinary measures in weird times. As you can see also in the performance of the Regensburg boys' choir. I am picking up here the mention of the famous "Domspatzen" in the photo quiz thread:

 

notamermaid

 

[Ritabob]

Thank you for the link, notamermaid.  Isn't it amazing what you have the opportunity to see because of modern technology?   

RB 

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Ritabob said:

Thank you for the link, notamermaid.  Isn't it amazing what you have the opportunity to see because of modern technology?   

RB 

Yes, it is one of the good things that happened this year, I mean that modern technology in digital format has been able to connect and keep in touch those that have been forced apart. My parish church has also decided to offer music and mass online. I have shown the Christmas speech to an elderly relative who was happy to see it. We still have a slight technical problem. I will try and sort this and then she can watch Christmas Eve mass which they also had put online.

 

Also had my first Christmas video call complete with Christmas jumper and Father Christmas hat on Christmas day. It was weird and fun!

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Yes, it is one of the good things that happened this year, I mean that modern technology in digital format has been able to connect and keep in touch those that have been forced apart. My parish church has also decided to offer music and mass online. I have shown the Christmas speech to an elderly relative who was happy to see it. We still have a slight technical problem. I will try and sort this and then she can watch Christmas Eve mass which they also had put online.

 

Also had my first Christmas video call complete with Christmas jumper and Father Christmas hat on Christmas day. It was weird and fun!

 

notamermaid

 

Yes... although our Christmas was much smaller without seeing everyone all together, we managed to have a video call from one side of the country to the other, as well as including some international family.  I haven't spent Christmas with some of my cousins since I was a kid, so it sure helped make up for it.

 

Just home from a quick shopping trip, surprisingly enough the grocery stores are empty, even the big ones.  Picked up the dinner for New Year's Eve, so now just have to do a small local trip to pick up our fresh veg & fruit.  Here's to a good New Year for all.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, Daisi said:

Just home from a quick shopping trip, surprisingly enough the grocery stores are empty, even the big ones.  Picked up the dinner for New Year's Eve, so now just have to do a small local trip to pick up our fresh veg & fruit.  Here's to a good New Year for all.

I just returned from a quick shopping trip also. We are expecting a huge storm from Monday - Wednesday. Our stores were crazy!

[Daisi]

We took longer to drive up to the city to go to the Costco than we did to shop and fill up on gas.  Our papers here are talking about how empty the stores are (Eastern Ont. anyway), guess everyone is doing online shopping.  Saturday was usually the biggest shopping day (think your Black Friday) as it was our Boxing Day.  I hope the stores aren't hurting to bad.

[dogs4fun]

I have made a deposit on a puppy - a Yorkie (will be my first yorkie). Can't wait to pick her up on January 12th! 

My little girl is the one in the middle.

 

[Ritabob]

23 minutes ago, Daisi said:

We took longer to drive up to the city to go to the Costco than we did to shop and fill up on gas.  Our papers here are talking about how empty the stores are (Eastern Ont. anyway), guess everyone is doing online shopping.  Saturday was usually the biggest shopping day (think your Black Friday) as it was our Boxing Day.  I hope the stores aren't hurting to bad.

Here some die heart boxing day shoppers started lining up at 2 in the morning to get into Wal-Mart!   There is nothing I want from there to get me to stand out in the cold for hours.  A lot of small business  owners are closing up their shops for good.  They cannot compete with the big box stores, and yet there is a small ray of sunshine. A pop up take out place has opened up 2 days a week that sells poutine.  The best comfort food for a pandemic.   You can put  a few extra pounds of insulation on your body for the winter.

Poutine in its purest form is french fries topped with fresh cheese curds and smothered in gravy.  Now there are all kinds of add-ons, bacon bits, pulled pork, etc.

[jpalbny]

I made Schnitzel tonight with a creamy mushroom sauce (Rahmschnitzel). It was a tasty way to add some "insulation" as mentioned above! 

 

 

I used some boneless pork chops that I found in the "expiring today" sale rack, so the meat for this dish cost $2. And I had leftover heavy cream from Thanksgiving. Always love this dish, especially when it's such a bargain.

 

Back to the ICU tomorrow. Hope I've started making antibodies by now.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

I have made a deposit on a puppy - a Yorkie (will be my first yorkie). Can't wait to pick her up on January 12th! 

My little girl is the one in the middle.

 

Simply adorable! I lost my dog about 5 years ago - people ask me how often I think of getting another and I say "every day". I want another dog really bad. I just wish I worked from home.

 

I think you picked the cutest one! Though they are all adorable. I always wanted to get sibling dogs when I was older (dreaming as a teenager). So they could keep each other company or cause 2x as much trouble together.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Coral

[Coral]

10 minutes ago, jpalbny said:

I made Schnitzel tonight with a creamy mushroom sauce (Rahmschnitzel). It was a tasty way to add some "insulation" as mentioned above! 

 

Back to the ICU tomorrow. Hope I've started making antibodies by now.

Food looks amazing. I miss Austrian food... I have been craving kaiserschmarrn. I have never made them but after having them in Austria, I had them at a restaurant in Colorado.

 

We think we are getting our shots in January sometime...... I am hoping! Hoping for the Moderna one and not the Johnson and Johnson but realize we can't be picky.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Coral

[jpalbny]

58 minutes ago, Coral said:

I have been craving kaiserschmarrn.

 

That's pretty easy to make. I have a F&W recipe that I'd been using for years, but it was kind of fussy and it was a half-hour project. Then chef Pia from Silversea taught me a shortcut. Game changer.

 

Basically - sautee the fruit with some sugar. Traditional mixture is apples and raisins though I really like peaches. Then melt some more butter into the pan, and pour the pancake batter directly into the panful of fruit. As the batter starts to cook and set, chop it up and keep folding the whole mixture until it cooks up into "curds" of cooked batter mixed up with the fruit. Add some powdered sugar to caramelize the whole mess.

 

And yes, Schmarrn means "mess" or "rubbish" so it is supposed to be a messy panful of deliciousness. In the time Chris can cook up the fruit, I can make the batter, and less than 5 minutes later, we have an amazing treat.

 

 

Recipe - https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/kaiserschmarrn-peaches

Edited December 28, 2020 by jpalbny

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, jpalbny said:

I used some boneless pork chops that I found in the "expiring today" sale rack, so the meat for this dish cost $2. And I had leftover heavy cream from Thanksgiving.

My kind of family!  DW found a cryovac whole Filet Mignon with a sketchy sell-by date at a terrific markdown – it was our first whole filet and it was so wonderful.  None of the in-date ones since have matched that one for tenderness and flavor [and we didn't die! 😉]

 

My mother used to say 'You have to eat a peck of dirt before you die.'  I think the way we were brought up in the 1950s, with dirt-surfaced playgrounds, built up a lifetime of immunity that today's kids are missing.  We were taught that peanut butter was a dietary breakthrough, not a death sentence...

[Coral]

3 hours ago, jpalbny said:

 

That's pretty easy to make. I have a F&W recipe that I'd been using for years, but it was kind of fussy and it was a half-hour project. Then chef Pia from Silversea taught me a shortcut. Game changer.

 

Basically - sautee the fruit with some sugar. Traditional mixture is apples and raisins though I really like peaches. Then melt some more butter into the pan, and pour the pancake batter directly into the panful of fruit. As the batter starts to cook and set, chop it up and keep folding the whole mixture until it cooks up into "curds" of cooked batter mixed up with the fruit. Add some powdered sugar to caramelize the whole mess.

 

And yes, Schmarrn means "mess" or "rubbish" so it is supposed to be a messy panful of deliciousness. In the time Chris can cook up the fruit, I can make the batter, and less than 5 minutes later, we have an amazing treat.

 

 

Recipe - https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/kaiserschmarrn-peaches

Thank you! I have one more week off from work - I may try! Peaches sounds really good with it! This was an unexpected delight in Austria for me. Thanks.

 

I wonder if I can still find peaches in the store...

Edited December 28, 2020 by Coral

[Canal archive]

Dogs4fun what an absolute cutie, Yorkies are fab such a huge  amount of love and fun in such a small body, my friends one was mine, really! My daughter adopted a ‘Pointer’ rescued in Spain just before Christmas, absolutely beautiful dog but they and the charity she was rescued by realised she needed to be with other dogs so it didn’t work out. 
Host Jazzbeau, we have that saying as well ‘a little bit of dirt won’t hurt you’. CA

[notamermaid]

@dogs4fun exciting time for you! How old will she be when you pick her up? Do you do some professional training in a "school" with your dogs?

 

My relatives' dog has been trained to search things and humans for fun, but he is good enough to look for a missing person from an old people's home for example. Hopefully the need will never arise in our neighborhood.

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

@dogs4fun, she is so cute, you must be counting the days to pick her up.

@RitabobI forget where you are, it's sad to see the stores closing.  Some are here, but we are lucky that most can offer curb side pickup (although I feel for the poor employees having to go out in the cold to deliver while the shoppers sit in their warm cars) so can at least manage some sales.  I guess one of the good things about small town living, there is parking available to do curb side.

@jpalbnyyour dinner looks good.  I was looking at a pork loin yesterday while shopping to make Jägerschnitzel with - I cheat and don't bother with the breaded coating to eliminate the frying.  Now you have me thinking... 

@Host Jazzbeau, although not a child of the 50's, we did grow up "un-sanitised".  I do have to agree with you, I think that the immunity is much stronger because we did get dirty and stuff did end up in our mouths that maybe wasn't the best.  Mind you, peanut butter is a death sentence to my nephew, but we never had much of that either.  Mom always made everything homemade, sandwiches were more from the garden than a jar.

[dogs4fun]

56 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

How old will she be when you pick her up? Do you do some professional training in a "school" with your dogs?

She will be eight weeks old when I take possession. I train my dogs myself - never had the need for professional dog trainers. All of my dogs have been chihuahuas - I currently have two long-hair chihuahuas, one of which will be fourteen in April. I have never had a problem training my chihuahuas and am hoping that my Yorkie will present no problems.

Anticipation of a cuddly little puppy has really lifted my spirits - been pretty gloomy here.

[acwmom]

We have two cavapoos, and they have been a huge emotional boost throughout the pandemic. Marvin is the white one on the chair, named after Dr. Leo Marvin, from the movie "What about Bob." Corduroy is the brown one, named after the bear in the children's book. 

[dogs4fun]

11 hours ago, Coral said:

I wonder if I can still find peaches in the store...

There are no fresh peaches in the produce department in the stores near me (King Soopers/Kroger, Safeway, Farmers Market, Sprouts). Could you use canned peaches?

[dogs4fun]

Your furry friends are simply adorable @acwmom & I love the name "Corduroy - very unique.  Are they the same age?

 

[acwmom]

3 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Your furry friends are simply adorable @acwmom & I love the name "Corduroy - very unique.  Are they the same age?

 

Corduroy is 6yr, Marvin is 5yr. Same breeder, but different parents. 

[notamermaid]

Marvin and Corduroy - sounds great, as if it should be preceded by "the adventures of". And they look adorable, ever thought of doing a photo shoot or calendar, you know, like cruisecritic where you download a photo each month? 

 

I am a cat person  - which, ehm, some of you will have noticed a while ago 😉, we had family cats many years ago. Since then it has only been relatives' dogs and neighbours' cats that I have had fun with. Animals, especially, pets have been so helpful in these bad times. I had not seen my neighbour's female cat for a few days and was getting really worried as she is not young. Then when it was warmer a few days ago she just sat there on the plant table when I got into the yard. I greeted her all excited and she looked at me as if to say "nice to see you, I was wondering when you may be coming to the bins, but what is all the fuzz about?"

 

notamermaid

 

[Coral]

59 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

There are no fresh peaches in the produce department in the stores near me (King Soopers/Kroger, Safeway, Farmers Market, Sprouts). Could you use canned peaches?

I am getting ready to venture out. I was thinking frozen may work if I can't find fresh.  Canned peaches always seem to be in a syrup of some sort. I had purchased a lug of peaches in August time frame from a church group that gets them from Palisade, Colorado. They are always huge - much larger than the Colorado peaches we get in our stores. I always say I am going to freeze some but they always come at the beginning of the semester for me which is always crazy.

 

I am embarrassed to say that I seem to limit my shopping lately to Costco, Sam's and Trader Joes mostly during this pandemic. We have a local neighborhood store I go to for high end meat but that is probably the only grocery store I have been to in months and usually only buy meat there (and the pepper jelly the other day). Glad to know peaches are out there. 

We are expecting a storm tomorrow so those Austrian pancakes sound great for that.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

There are no fresh peaches in the produce department in the stores near me (King Soopers/Kroger, Safeway, Farmers Market, Sprouts). Could you use canned peaches?

Question for you - have you done the Cumbres and Toltec railroad? A friend moved to Colorado Springs several years ago. I didn't visit her until two years ago because I had inherited a dog that wasn't used to being alone (so I took time off from travel). Two years ago we did some of the cool ski resorts and mountain towns (in the summer). It was hot that week..... Besides Colorado Springs sites,  we visited Vail, Carbondale, Aspen, Breckenridge, Glenwood Springs, etc.... This year she wanted me to come in September and do the Cumbres and Toltec railroad. Due to COVID, we didn't though we have it tentatively scheduled for 2021.