What are you doing today?

[lizkat]

Haha!! Impossible Whopper is the sandwich made with ImpossibleTM meat. My husband always gets them now too, cause you really can’t tell the difference between that and ground beef. I get BeyondTM meat at home to make burgers. But sometimes you just want a nice hot burger with fries that someone else fixed.

I try to keep a bunch of my favorite recipes for lentil burgers or bean burgers made up and stashed in the freezer, but noticed the other day that one of the stores I order from via Instacart does stock Beyond Burgers in their frozen foods department. So one of these days I might get some and see what I think.

But I dunno... by time I pile on all the condiments, the "burger" in there somewhere could be anything anyway. When I decide to make veggie burgers, I sometimes just take the first veggies I happen to see in the fridge and start chopping them up. My lentil burger recipe is more complicated though, uses lentils, barley, brown rice plus equivalent of a well seasoned soffrito, then egg as a binder. Most of the rest just use oatmeal, egg and beans or a bunch of veggies so they're quicker to mix up.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Over the past twenty years, I have eaten less and less meat, and, when I do consume some (more usual in winter), it tends to be organic and ethically reared and environmentally friendly, meat.

In general, in summer, I am close to being vegetarian - though never vegan, nothing on this planet, even thermonuclear disaster, or global frying, will persuade me to give up cheese, eggs, cream, or milk, - as I find that I hardly need meat, and eat it sparingly, and occasionally, but I do find a greater (if still limited) like - and need - for it occasionally in winter.

 

[User.45]

Haha!! Impossible Whopper is the sandwich made with ImpossibleTM meat. My husband always gets them now too, cause you really can’t tell the difference between that and ground beef. I get BeyondTM meat at home to make burgers. But sometimes you just want a nice hot burger with fries that someone else fixed.

It's probably just as unhealthy as real beef, but at least more ethical.

...and I made chicken soup. So, we are basically making the same contributions to society.

Sometimes that's a much bigger achievement. At this point I consider self-care the prime achievement of a day, which doesn't happen often..

 

[DT]

Holy hell, Pubs had Dogfish Head, talking their bottled 60 minute and 90 minute IPA for BOGO.

I BOGO'ed my cart full

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Put on a wash, read books, attended an online talk, and realised that most of the books that I had thought might have been ready for collection in the library today will not, now, be available, as four are still "in transit".

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Over the past twenty years, I have eaten less and less meat, and, when I do consume some (more usual in winter), it tends to be organic and ethically reared and environmentally friendly, meat.

In general, in summer, I am close to being vegetarian - though never vegan, nothing on this planet, even thermonuclear disaster, or global frying, will persuade me to give up cheese, eggs, cream, or milk, - as I find that I hardly need meat, and eat it sparingly, and occasionally, but I do find a greater (if still limited) like - and need - for it occasionally in winter.

And, if I find myself dreaming of something such as steak, or longing for a burger, especially over successive nights, - something that happens only every few months, I take that as a message from my body that meat is required, and set out to address - and remedy - that need.

 

[lizkat]

Put on a wash, read books, attended an online talk, and realised that most of the books that I had thought might have been ready for collection in the library today will not, now, be available, as four are still "in transit".

Well I hope the rest of your wanted books will show up soon. The "in transit" reminds me of a time when I nearly forgot about the mobile library's schedule for a nearby village, and presumed some books I had ordered online would be aboard.

There were only five minutes left of the scheduled availability, I was shoeless and wearing clothes would not pass muster outside my kitchen. I remedied that in a hurry as best I could and dashed out to the car. Alas, just as I turned the ignition key, I saw the library bus zooming along the county road, heading on to its appointed stop in another hamlet about 8 miles away.

So... had to chase after it and pick up my books over there! "I kinda wondered where you were," the librarian said when I had arrived and climbed aboard. She reached behind her work station and hauled up a shopping bag full of the books I'd ordered for one of my summer "deep dive" reading projects. "Took awhile for the mobile crew to round these up from all over the place". But she was smiling while she said that, so I didn't reallly feel shamed, at least not as much as if I'd had to drive over to a main library and pick them up by prior arrangement.

That mobile library is a blessing for rural outposts up here. It's part of our four-county library system. The bus is a recently replaced $250k affair with internet access to the catalogs, many bookladen shelves, a checkout/return desk, and a boarding area for the disabled. It hits every village or hamlet without its own public library once a month, stopping off for about 20 minutes to let residents return books, browse and borrow from a representative collection assembled that month by the librarians, or pick up books one has ordered online from any of the participating libraries.

Such a valuable service, even if most of us live within 20 miles of at least a small bricks-and-mortar library. Not everyone has a car but most can walk or catch a ride once a month to a firehall or church parking lot. This is the kind of thing that many rural states help their counties fund in part with block grant allocations, and it's one of the things that make me grind my teeth when I read about McConnell yet again carrying on about not wanting to put state aid into the stalled stimulus bill. Too bad we can't put him on a library bus and send it on a national tour to gather some local rural opinion on his "leadership". There may be a lot of Republicans in rural areas but I guarantee you they don't think one man in Washington should be able to kill any county's mobile library runs.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Well I hope the rest of your wanted books will show up soon. The "in transit" reminds me of a time when I nearly forgot about the mobile library's schedule for a nearby village, and presumed some books I had ordered online would be aboard.

There were only five minutes left of the scheduled availability, I was shoeless and wearing clothes would not pass muster outside my kitchen. I remedied that in a hurry as best I could and dashed out to the car. Alas, just as I turned the ignition key, I saw the library bus zooming along the county road, heading on to its appointed stop in another hamlet about 8 miles away.

So... had to chase after it and pick up my books over there! "I kinda wondered where you were," the librarian said when I had arrived and climbed aboard. She reached behind her work station and hauled up a shopping bag full of the books I'd ordered for one of my summer "deep dive" reading projects. "Took awhile for the mobile crew to round these up from all over the place". But she was smiling while she said that, so I didn't reallly feel shamed, at least not as much as if I'd had to drive over to a main library and pick them up by prior arrangement.

That mobile library is a blessing for rural outposts up here. It's part of our four-county library system. The bus is a recently replaced $250k affair with internet access to the catalogs, many bookladen shelves, a checkout/return desk, and a boarding area for the disabled. It hits every village or hamlet without its own public library once a month, stopping off for about 20 minutes to let residents return books, browse and borrow from a representative collection assembled that month by the librarians, or pick up books one has ordered online from any of the participating libraries.

Such a valuable service, even if most of us live within 20 miles of at least a small bricks-and-mortar library. Not everyone has a car but most can walk or catch a ride once a month to a firehall or church parking lot. This is the kind of thing that many rural states help their counties fund in part with block grant allocations, and it's one of the things that make me grind my teeth when I read about McConnell yet again carrying on about not wanting to put state aid into the stalled stimulus bill. Too bad we can't put him on a library bus and send it on a national tour to gather some local rural opinion on his "leadership". There may be a lot of Republicans in rural areas but I guarantee you they don't think one man in Washington should be able to kill any county's mobile library runs.

Reading your post, I just reminded myself (with a dawning, belated pleasure) that this isn't MR, and that the political (and society and cultural) aspects & consequences of extending access to library services can be discussed.

For, of course, libraries open minds, avenues, possibilities, and allow for dreams and the exploration of worlds and language for those for whom this might not be otherwise possible.

And, I honestly think that removing these potential ladders, access to, and safe spaces for, learning is a conservative's dream; the deliberate closure of libraries in the UK has been fuelled by more than a petty bureaucrat's desire to balance books, or a free market ideologue's desire to reduce government reach and spending.

Actually, I now think that some of them hope for the restoration of some sort of feudal society, rigid, controlled, hierarchical, static, where the wealthy can do as they like and the choices and rights poor are limited - even though (with the singular exception of the South) the US was never such a society, and indeed, was originally formed in firm defiance of such concepts.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Re the actual books, on account of Covid, I ration my visits to the city, whereas last year, by way of contrast, I would have headed in to return the two books I have already finished, and to collect the one that I know awaits me, using the arrival of the four to come as an excuse for a further expedition to the library.

 

[Clix Pix]

Library bookmobiles are invaluable!!!! In the early days of Fairfax County Public Library, the Bookmobile was a cherished and valuable asset to the community, which at that time still was largely rural. There are still rural areas in the county today, but much more far-flung and out at the edges of the county borders. When back in the early 1970's I was first starting out in the system in the Cataloguing Department, the Bookmobile was housed/parked in a sort of "carport" as an adjunct to our building, and I always thought it would be so cool to go out on it with the staff on one of their runs.....alas, never got the opportunity to do that!
Yes, Bookmobile services in many areas of the US are still valued and needed, and funding for library systems which include them is absolutely imperative, as is funding for library systems in general.

Public libraries around the US and around the world provide so much more than simply books or magazines -- they provide computer access for those who don't have it at home, they provide services to the disabled who cannot read printed material, they provide story hours and fun programs for children, etc., etc. Right now, well, of course, the story hours and even the in-house online computer access isn't happening, no thanks to COVID-19. The library system has opened up their internet access beyond their usual hours so that people from the community can bring their own WiFi-or-cellular-data enabled device to the parking lot and can get online that way, which is a help. That doesn't work for those who don't have any of these devices, though, but for the time being, the only computers in use at the library are those with the library catalog on them and access to various services subscribed to by the library system. The mask-wearing public is allowed access to the building, but can only remain in there for about a half-hour, and lingering is strongly discouraged. It's really a weird feeling going in there these days and seeing mostly staff, but few other patrons!

As a long-time resident and homeowner in Fairfax County, I fully expect that this coming year our real estate and other taxes will be increased significantly. I can deal with that, but one thing which better be included in the justification for that increase had better be support for the county library system: staffing, materials budget, technology support, etc., etc. The county library is a valuable asset to this area and to brush it aside in favor of funding other line items in the budget would be a grave, grave mistake..... I really do not envy our Board of Supervisors and the county employees who have to deal with developing, planning and submitting to county residents/citizens for approval what is bound to be a very difficult funding situation for 2021/2022!

 

[Alli]

It's probably just as unhealthy as real beef, but at least more ethical.

There are claims that it’s less healthy than actual beef.

 

[Clix Pix]

Oh, I forgot -- I got so sidetracked by thinking about libraries and their services that I never made the comment that I'd intended to earlier about the meat thing....and the fake meat.... Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like meat, period, and choose not to eat it because of that more than for the usual other reasons people prefer to eat in a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based way. Actually, it always surprises me that some vegetarians still want that meaty taste, that meaty texture or flavor, no matter what......hence the popularity of the various meat substitutes/replacements.

 

[Alli]

Oh, I forgot -- I got so sidetracked by thinking about libraries and their services that I never made the comment that I'd intended to earlier about the meat thing....and the fake meat.... Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like meat, period, and choose not to eat it because of that more than for the usual other reasons people prefer to eat in a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based way. Actually, it always surprises me that some vegetarians still want that meaty taste, that meaty texture or flavor, no matter what......hence the popularity of the various meat substitutes/replacements.

I don’t like meat. With the exception of a hamburger.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Reading, and sipping wine.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Oh, I forgot -- I got so sidetracked by thinking about libraries and their services that I never made the comment that I'd intended to earlier about the meat thing....and the fake meat.... Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like meat, period, and choose not to eat it because of that more than for the usual other reasons people prefer to eat in a vegetarian/vegan/plant-based way. Actually, it always surprises me that some vegetarians still want that meaty taste, that meaty texture or flavor, no matter what......hence the popularity of the various meat substitutes/replacements.

I don’t like meat. With the exception of a hamburger.

In general, I don't much care for meat...


but then, I realise that I am not prepared to forgo the delights of Iberico ham, or Parma ham, or Serrano ham for the rest f my life.

Likewise, re steak; nowadays, I have it perhaps twice or three times a year, but thoroughly enjoy those rare treats.

And, as for chicken: I buy mine from the people who rear it and kill it - free range and organic and environmentally aware (an expensive); again, this is a treat. when I want a chicken stew, or occasional roasted chicken, a paella style dish, or that wonderful Jewish poached chicken dish....with its splendid stick.

But again, that is a dish I would have perhaps every month or six weeks; a treat to be savoured and relied, to be enjoyed, and appreciated; not something to be expected on a regular basis.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I got a Sunny as well! But I got the hydraulic one.

Whats the difference between hydraulic or magnetic one?

 

[Apple fanboy]

Reading, and sipping wine.

I missed the time on this post and though you meant now! I'm thinking its a bit early for wine! My boss offered to buy me some very expensive wine (or whatever alcohol I preferred) as part of the end of year bonus. I politely declined as I'm not really much of a drinker. He insisted on getting me something, so I sent him a link to a fire pit Mrs AFB has had her eye on for a while.

 

[DT]

Oh, this is kind of fun, the wife is doing a live cooking session through FB with Gordon Ramsay, some kind of shrimp dish and a banana something dessert type thing

 

[Apple fanboy]

Oh, this is kind of fun, the wife is doing a live cooking session through FB with Gordon Ramsay, some kind of shrimp dish and a banana something dessert type thing

Hope he doesn’t start effin and geffin at her!

 

[DT]

Hope he doesn’t start effin and geffin at her!

Hahaha, no, he was mostly on good behavior, and it was just a one-way broadcast so he couldn't ID her as a donut

He had a "live moment" with a sticky pancake, and dropped "Well, you're shitting me" or something, it was pretty fun. The payment was a donation to a charity, it was like $5 or $10.

The pancakes were insanely good, as you might expect, it was hard to keep up with Gordon! We postpone the shrimp dish till tonight.