Theme: Last Word Mess
18A: *Undeveloped home site: VACANT LOT.
26A: *1977 Triple Crown winner: SEATTLE SLEW.
45A: *2,240-pound unit: IMPERIAL TON.
58A: *Huck Finn conveyance: RIVER RAFT.
67A: The answer to each starred clue ends in a big one : BUNCH.
Argyle here. (I say 'Last Word Mess' in the sense that MESS can mean a quantity.)
Not overly thrilled with today's puzzle. If you know your Crosswordese, then entries like 64A: Writer Nin: ANAIS and 33D: Jannings of old films: EMIL should be gimmes. We have had others, like 39A: Pouty expression: MOUE and 43A: A __: valid independent of experience, in logic: PRIORI, quite recently.
I think the result will be that some find it hard and others will think it a bore.
Across:
1A: Sirs' counterparts: MA'AMS.
6A: "Fernando" singers: ABBA. ABBA, the source of many earworms, What was the German term again?
10A: Endure: LAST.
14A: Have __ on one's shoulder: A CHIP.
15A: Defeat soundly: DRUB.
16A: Sailor's patron saint: ELMO. Not this ELMO.
17A: Another name for Farsi: IRANI. Persians.
20A: Slangy "Don't lose any sleep over it": NO BIGGIE.
22A: Overdo it on stage: EMOTE.
23A: W. Hemisphere gp. formed to defend against communism: OAS. Organization of American States.
24A: Made changes to: ALTERED.
31A: Tell-all news story: EXPOSE.
32A: One just hanging out: LOITERER. Legitimate word.
37A: Antiquing substance: AGER.
38A: Heartache: WOE.
40A: Evade: SIDESTEP.
47A: Handyman's nickname: MR. FIX-IT.
51A: Poetic dusk: E'EN.
52A: Windy City airport: O'HARE. I was wondering where it was exactly.
53A: At risk: IN DANGER.
61A: Neighbor of Florida's St. Petersburg: TAMPA and 8D: 61-Across NFLer: BUC. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
62A: Shortly, to Shakespeare: ANON.
63A: Vaulted church part: APSE.
65A: Wisdom of the elders: LORE.
66A: Cattle rancher's tool: PROD. More common to the stockyards. Deluxe model.
Down:
1D: Everystreet: MAIN. 'Everystreet', not a legitimate word.
2D: Prefix with bat or phobia: ACRO.
3D: Obsessed fictional whaler: AHAB.
5D: Urn taps: SPIGOTS.
6D: Give counsel to: ADVISE.
7D: Highlands hillside: BRAE. Scottish 30D: Hillside: SLOPE.
9D: Lawyers' org.: ABA. American Bar Association.
10D: "Here, I'll do that": LET ME.
11D: "It's __ nothing!": ALL OR.
12D: Hit, biblical-style: SMOTE. Smite, smote, smitten.
13D: Schlepped: TOTED.
19D: Meas. of a package's contents: NET WT.. Net Weight is the product without package.
21D: It's not quite a hurricane: GALE. Do you have an IDA tale?
24D: Medicinal plant: ALOE.
25D: Luau memento: LEI.
26D: Aegean and Bering: SEAS.
27D: Military vet: EX-GI.
28D: Imitated: APED.
29D: Ripped: TORE.
34D: Underlying cause: ROOT.
36D: Harness lead: REIN.
38D: Cried: WEPT.
41D: Philly cager: SIXER. Basketball
42D: 1979 meltdown site, briefly: TMI. Three Mile Island. An island in the Susquehanna River, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, SE of Harrisburg: scene of a near-disastrous accident at a nuclear plant in 1979 that raised the issue of nuclear-energy safety.
43D: Like the Piper's clothes: PIED. (adj. Patchy in color; splotched or piebald.) pic
44D: Drank on credit: RAN A TAB.
46D: Like many a tux: RENTED.
47D: Story's lesson: MORAL.
48D: Horned safari beast: RHINO.
49D: Party gift: FAVOR.
50D: "I'll see you in my dreams" girl of song: IRENE.
54D: When repeated, Mork's sign-off: NANU.
55D: FBI agent: G-MAN.
56D: Grand in scope: EPIC.
59D: Knock: RAP.
Answer grid.
Argyle
18A: *Undeveloped home site: VACANT LOT.
26A: *1977 Triple Crown winner: SEATTLE SLEW.
45A: *2,240-pound unit: IMPERIAL TON.
58A: *Huck Finn conveyance: RIVER RAFT.
67A: The answer to each starred clue ends in a big one : BUNCH.
Argyle here. (I say 'Last Word Mess' in the sense that MESS can mean a quantity.)
Not overly thrilled with today's puzzle. If you know your Crosswordese, then entries like 64A: Writer Nin: ANAIS and 33D: Jannings of old films: EMIL should be gimmes. We have had others, like 39A: Pouty expression: MOUE and 43A: A __: valid independent of experience, in logic: PRIORI, quite recently.
I think the result will be that some find it hard and others will think it a bore.
Across:
1A: Sirs' counterparts: MA'AMS.
6A: "Fernando" singers: ABBA. ABBA, the source of many earworms, What was the German term again?
10A: Endure: LAST.
14A: Have __ on one's shoulder: A CHIP.
15A: Defeat soundly: DRUB.
16A: Sailor's patron saint: ELMO. Not this ELMO.
17A: Another name for Farsi: IRANI. Persians.
20A: Slangy "Don't lose any sleep over it": NO BIGGIE.
22A: Overdo it on stage: EMOTE.
23A: W. Hemisphere gp. formed to defend against communism: OAS. Organization of American States.
24A: Made changes to: ALTERED.
31A: Tell-all news story: EXPOSE.
32A: One just hanging out: LOITERER. Legitimate word.
37A: Antiquing substance: AGER.
38A: Heartache: WOE.
40A: Evade: SIDESTEP.
47A: Handyman's nickname: MR. FIX-IT.
51A: Poetic dusk: E'EN.
52A: Windy City airport: O'HARE. I was wondering where it was exactly.
53A: At risk: IN DANGER.
61A: Neighbor of Florida's St. Petersburg: TAMPA and 8D: 61-Across NFLer: BUC. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
62A: Shortly, to Shakespeare: ANON.
63A: Vaulted church part: APSE.
65A: Wisdom of the elders: LORE.
66A: Cattle rancher's tool: PROD. More common to the stockyards. Deluxe model.
Down:
1D: Everystreet: MAIN. 'Everystreet', not a legitimate word.
2D: Prefix with bat or phobia: ACRO.
3D: Obsessed fictional whaler: AHAB.
5D: Urn taps: SPIGOTS.
6D: Give counsel to: ADVISE.
7D: Highlands hillside: BRAE. Scottish 30D: Hillside: SLOPE.
9D: Lawyers' org.: ABA. American Bar Association.
10D: "Here, I'll do that": LET ME.
11D: "It's __ nothing!": ALL OR.
12D: Hit, biblical-style: SMOTE. Smite, smote, smitten.
13D: Schlepped: TOTED.
19D: Meas. of a package's contents: NET WT.. Net Weight is the product without package.
21D: It's not quite a hurricane: GALE. Do you have an IDA tale?
24D: Medicinal plant: ALOE.
25D: Luau memento: LEI.
26D: Aegean and Bering: SEAS.
27D: Military vet: EX-GI.
28D: Imitated: APED.
29D: Ripped: TORE.
34D: Underlying cause: ROOT.
36D: Harness lead: REIN.
38D: Cried: WEPT.
41D: Philly cager: SIXER. Basketball
42D: 1979 meltdown site, briefly: TMI. Three Mile Island. An island in the Susquehanna River, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, SE of Harrisburg: scene of a near-disastrous accident at a nuclear plant in 1979 that raised the issue of nuclear-energy safety.
43D: Like the Piper's clothes: PIED. (adj. Patchy in color; splotched or piebald.) pic
44D: Drank on credit: RAN A TAB.
46D: Like many a tux: RENTED.
47D: Story's lesson: MORAL.
48D: Horned safari beast: RHINO.
49D: Party gift: FAVOR.
50D: "I'll see you in my dreams" girl of song: IRENE.
54D: When repeated, Mork's sign-off: NANU.
55D: FBI agent: G-MAN.
56D: Grand in scope: EPIC.
59D: Knock: RAP.
Answer grid.
Argyle
57 comments:
Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - much easier than yesterday, just under 4 minutes. As Argyle so astutely pointed out, lots of crosswordese today, which certainly facilitated things but didn't make for a very interesting puzzle.
No clue as to the theme until the very end. I had a bit of a problem with 'military vet'/'ex-G.I.' - the term is typically used for the Army only. Interestingly enough, although most people think the term always meant 'Government Issue', it originally meant 'galvanized iron' and was stamped on all equipment for the Army made of that material.
I can never look at 'anon' (62A) quite the same anymore - to me, it should be clued 'usually a blog coward', given some of our past visitors.
Today is Electronic Greeting Card Day, Homemade Bread Day, and Take A Hike Day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "Politeness is half good manners and half good lying." -- Mary Wilson Little
More from the Mensa Invitational:
-- Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with.
-- Reintarnation: Coming back to life as a hillbilly.
Only a couple of false starts: I had METRIC TONNE and changed it to IMPERIAL TON and I had TORN and changed it to TORE.
Martin
Good morning. As expected for a Tuesday, a pretty easy fill.
Never heard of raft being used as a great number.
Thanks for the GI explanation, Dennis.
We sold one of those Elmo's for an outrageous price years ago.
TMI was real bad but Chernobyl was the epitome of a disaster.
I'm going to go and make some homemade bread. Have a great Tuesday.
Good Morning, CC, Argyle and Friends. I rather liked this puzzle today. My only problem was that the way 67A was worded, I though it was referring to the last letter of each starred clue. It wasn't until I had filled in all the spaces that I realized the connection between LOT, BIGGIE, SLEW, TON and RAFT.
If you haven't read any ANAIS Nin's work, you should. Quite risque, but interesting.
Yesterday it was near 80. Today we will be lucky if it hits 60.
QOD: A cucumber should be well-sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out. ~ Samuel Johnson
Good morning:
Yes, this was a classic crossword puzzle. On another note, the mensa redos are interesting, and have to make you think, for example:
Definition of a Last Will and Testament - a dead giveaway. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion. Does the name Pavlov ring a bell? And for Jeannie and all of our recipes, remember to practice safe eating, and always use a condiment.
Lemonade, good stuff.
Was there a "real" Pied Piper, and was he simply a pederast and murderer? There are a lot of speculative stories to beware of, and no one can pin it down for certain, but here is the likely origin (this straight dope link explores it further):
"After the defeat of the Danes at the Battle of Bornhoved in 1227, the region south of the Baltic Sea, which was then inhabited by Slavs, became available for colonization by the Germans." The bishops and dukes of Pomerania, Brandenburg, Uckermark and Prignitz sent out glib "locators," medieval recruitment officers, offering rich rewards to those who were willing to move to the new lands. Thousands of young adults from Lower Saxony and Westphalia headed east. And as evidence, about a dozen Westphalian place names show up in this area. Indeed there are five villages called Hindenburg running in a straight line from Westphalia to Pomerania, as well as three eastern Spiegelbergs and a trail of etymology from Beverungen south of Hamelin to Beveringen northwest of Berlin to Beweringen in modern Poland.
We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are.
-Anais Nin
ANAIS NIN
Easy puzzle. Went frontally north to south. Did not know MOUE but fills helped.
IMPERIALTON is also know as a long ton. Used in maritime affairs.
Nice recovery challenge after Saturday's debacle.
Another fine Indian Summer day here; 25º this morning
So far the comments are more thought provoking than today's puzzle.
Good mensas again and I giggled over Lemonade's definitions.
Dennis,
Unfortunately, anons also include good people like Dot and Vern who don't want the risk of a blog I.D. I did enjoy the GI explanation, never would have guessed that.
Dr. Dad,
Enjoy that bread, aroma and all. Or was that just a bow to the homemade bread day? I made my five loaves last Friday so I'm good for a while.
Hahtool,
I agree with Samuel Johnson. Don't really understand the fuss over cukes, unless you pickle them.
The puzzle? No hitches, several clues unread until here because they were "perped in". Unknowns: OAS, BUC and SIXER, but no help needed.
Argyle,
O'Hare is nicely situated for those of us in WI. North of the city and a little west, so we can avoid the main city traffic getting there. Easier sometimes to make connections than flying out of Madison, where delays, especially in winter, often mean you arrive at your destination without luggage. Another plus is the cheap bus connection from Madison directly to O'Hare, often a lot cheaper than the add-on flight.
Spizboov,
You must mean Celsius? (LOL!)
good morning c.c., argyle and all,
no real struggles today, except that when i saw 'like the piper's clothes,' for some reason my brain was thinking the emperor's clothes, so i wanted bare or something like that. didn't figure it out until i clicked on argyle's link. oh. piper. that's different. i'll admit, i was a little disappointed.
just learned that GI trivia on NPR a few days ago. had no idea.
@ Kazie 25ºF. Mohawk Valley, NY. Expect 50º this afternoon. Kind of makes up for a ratty October.
Also SPIGOT; couldn't figure out what um taps were until my eyes cleared and saw it was urn taps.:-)
mustang mel, I do like your thought process.
kazie, good point about the anons, although I really don't consider the Dots and Verns to be anonymous, since they do give their name.
Good Morning All, Not a problem this morning. The interesting theme answers and longer Acrosses were all taken care of by the much easier Down perps.
My only glitch was I wanted that A HEAD (on one's shoulder) rather than A CHIP.
It was fun to see SEATTLE SLEW. There hasn't been another Triple Crown Winner since Affirmed in 1978. I'm not a big horse race fan, but I do watch the "big three" with GAH every year. I usually pick my favorite to win by their name.
SIDE STEP and MR FIXIT would also be good names for horses, NO BIGGIE, VACANT LOT and LOITERER not so much.
It's ALL OR Nuthin' made me this of the song from Oklahoma. Ado Annie could be the original DFette.
Lois, I'm so glad to hear that your daughter will be alright. There is nothing worse than one of your children being seriously ill.
I've had a sauce very similar to Jeannie's recipe and liked it very much, but cucumbers in general are at the bottom of my vegetable list.
I hope Jazzbumba stops by today; I'm still waiting for a wa-wa clip.
Here is another clip of Maria Elena. It is a cover done by a fellow named Rob Bourassa and is very impressive.
Morning all.
I vote for "BORE". It was one of those puzzles one could work from top to bottom using only the "A" clues. MAAM did look strange without the comma.
This time it was posted @9:01 on
cruciverb.com. From yesterday, the Star Tribune.com version still has the Universal puzzle.
Off to the store to buy Ni Cad batteries for my wireless head phones.
eddyB
Had problems right away because I put "rout" instead of "drub" at 15A. Also made trouble for myself in SE because I know nothing about Mork. The clue says "when repeated" so, since I had the "nan_" I thought it would be "na na" ("na" repeated) which gave me "banch" instead of "bunch." I suppose Mork's signoff was "nanu, nanu"? And I wanted "Seattle Slue" instead of "Slew."
I like cucumbers if I prepare them at home, but the ones in restaurants always taste as if they were sliced with the same knife they used to clean the shrimp.
Al, that is very interesting about the Pied Piper.
Lois, I must have missed your post about your daughter being sick. I'm glad she is on the mend.
Good morning Argyle, CC and all,
I agree, this was a bit boring, but I still ended up with a blank square- the i in pied/ imperialton.You'd think I could even guess the right letter, but had no clue for either. Drub? Is it an often used word?Ahhh, Bob says it's used in football and sporting events.Had a tough time spelling spigot as it is a word we say, not see.
CA, I have not been to the races in a long time, but remember picking out the favorite to win; it was the one who took a dump on the way to the starting gate.
Al, enjoyed The Straight Dope. When I was a kid the "Good Humor" man was the neighborhood pied piper; everyone crowded around his truck for ice cream. He was later arrested. In those days we were barefoot and carefree, and didn't go inside until the street lights went on. I was too young to remember how the parents dealt with that.
Dennis- Homemade Bread Day is huge among counterfeiters.
Didn't get the theme till it was explained here, but didn't really need it today. Did learn that raft also meant a great number, as in "a raft of trouble." So that was new.
Only cukes we eat are the organic seedless ones at the farmers' market. They have some flavor. So no more cukes till next summer. I make a pickled cuke/red onion fridge salad and a wonderful cuke soup that was in the little cookbook that came with our wok over 30 yrs ago. Cooked cuke tastes like melon, since it is in the melon family. Nice and light as a 1st course.
Al, thanks for the interesting info.
Have a good week everyone.
Liz
Hi gang -
Argyle - here I am. But no WaWa clip today. I'm on an ancient Compaq, and tracking down clips would take more patience than I have. Remind me next week.
From where I'm reporting, Hampton, VA, WaWa is a grocery store. Mostly sunny here today. It's been beautiful since Suday. Flood water have receded from the effected places. No trouble where I am, but lots of it within a mile or two.
Mon a.m. we went to the zoo, and saw a bumch of Bongos, along with a white RHINO that is BBF with a zebra - no fooling.
Stepson Tom has left Afghanistan and is on the first leg of his long trip home.
I didn't dislike today's puzzle as much as some of you. Decent theme, and - along with the crosswordese - some nice fill: ADVISE, RAN A TAB, EXPOSE, IN DANGER.
I don't know if I'll check back in before the weekend. Funny how these things go. I miss you guys.
Hey - check the poem on my blog tomorrow. It's by a special guest.
Cheers!
JzB the traveling trombonist
This was a fairly easy, albeit boring puzzle for me. It’s the first time in a long time I don’t even have a favorite clue to share. I have never heard of the word “drub” before so I guess the 15min or so weren’t wasted. I fly into O’Hare a lot of the time for for layovers. The first time was kind of daunting as that airport is HUGE and my connecting gate was about 50 miles away (so it seemed).
Kazie, wheat bread?
Why the downer on cucumbers? I can’t imagine a gyro without Tzatziki sauce:
2- 8oz containers of plain yogurt
2 cucumbers peeled, cubed and seeded
2 Tblspn olive oil
Juice of ½ lemon
1 Tblspn fresh chopped dill
3 cloves of garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in food processer and blend to desired consistency.
Lemonade, I follow safe eating practices…I always use a condiment.
Was I the only one bothered by 'Irani' as a name for Farsi?'Irani' is an ethnic group in India. Not a language.
Argyle: I don't have an Ida tale, but I do have a Wilma one that I'll try to be brief with.
Our roof was badly damaged by the storm and water ran down thru the unit above me and damaged my condo too. All 7 buildings, over 100 units, were told to evacuate by the fire dept. All the roofs needed replaced, and a couple of the buildings were gutted.
Since then, we've been through several incompetent, thieving contractors and the board has completely changed 3 times. The longer it took them to repair the roofs, the more damage was done, and more money was needed. Fighting between the board, contractors, the city, insurance companies, and attorneys are still on-going.
BUT, the good news is that my unit was one of the first repaired by the association earlier this year. I took my time doing some additional repairs that were my responsibility.
Finally, I put it on the market Nov. 7th. After a few counter-offers, I formally accepted an offer for it this morning!
My 4 year nightmare is almost over... We should close by the end of the month.
It was certainly interesting for me to read that blog. Thanks for it. I like such topics and everything that is connected to this matter. I would like to read more on that blog soon.
Hi.
The panda cub in San Diego has a name!
He will be called Yun Zi which means Son of Cloud. His mother
is Bai Yun which means White Cloud.
He weighed-in at 13.2 pounds this morning.
eddyB
Hi everyone, I agree it was an easy puzzle, we finished it in record time.
Today we're getting our house re-piped with copper and right now I'm in my home office with our three cats who are not very happy with all of the noise and commotion.
Hello All--A straight-forward puzzle today. Some words were filled in before I even got to the clues. Emote seems to be another word that we have recently seen rather often. No other new words or clues today which were epic in proportion.
I looked up pied after I finished the CW and my dictionary says that it is something "marked with spots of various colors."
Hatool, I guess Samuel Johnson never had Jeannie's cucumber sauce. I made it to go over a salmon fillet and we loved it. This recipe is a keeper, Jeannie.
Annette, congratulations on the sale of your Condo. Four years is a LONG time to be concerned with a major problem like yours.
Does anyone have a killer split pea soup recipe?
Hungry in Chicago
Hey all! Long time no see.
Been really busy with the shop and clearing downed trees in my back 40. Needed to clean up the woods and SIL's boss needed some firewood so we made a deal. Got about 35 cord so far 'cause the weather held and we dragged more to the landing for a running start on next spring.
X words have been really good to terrible. Tried them all and got some and threw others in the recycle bin.
Today's wasn't really bad. Took about 20 mins and got all of it. I don't look up anything any more. Either I get it or I don't. Too much other stuff going on!!
Spitzboov - Upper Mohawk Valley?? Can't be too far from me. I'm really close to Utica-Rome area. Nice to see another local here.
Cy'All Later
Hi all -
Quick trip through the puzzle today. I did have pause on 15A DRUB? Weird word.
43A also left me scratching my head but it got filled in in short order.
Hahtool (6:54) re QOD: LOL, I agree 100%! I don't even like the smell of cucumbers.
Lemonade (6:54a) I chuckled a long time over all of your 'definitions':)
Annette: congratulations on unloading your condo! Not an easy market for them (or anything else) right now.
JD (11:57) LMAO about the horse you picked: was its name "I Feel Lighter Now?"
Anon in Chicago. Here is my take. I use kielbasa instead of ham. It really enhances the flavor.
Split Pea soup
12 ounces dried split peas
2 (14 ounce) cans beef broth
16 ounces kielbasa sausage
1 cup chopped carrots
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste.
Cut sausage into 1/4 inch cubes, reserving 1/4 of sausage. Place 1/4 sausage and half can of beef broth in blender. Puree. Pour 1 1/2 cans of beef broth in soup pot. Bring to simmering boil while adding diced onion and sausage cubes. Add puree, bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add sliced carrots and continue simmering for another 10 minutes. Rinse split peas and add to simmering pot. Simmer until peas are soft but NOT mushy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Jeannie, thanks for the recipe. You're a doll.
Anon in Chicago
Jeannie,
Thanks for both those recipes, they will both be winners. Maybe now I can make my own Turkish Kebabs with the gyro sauce and find a use for the cukes that come my way.
I was going to email you my whole wheat bread recipe because it's too long to put here, but you must have had to remove your e-address. Email me if you'd like to see it.
Annette,
Unloading that condo must be a great relief. Congrats!
Food and recipe talk today is making me hungry.
How about a nice ham sandwich on a couple of slices of that homemade bread? It would go very nicely with a cup of Jeannie's pea soup.
Any Part Of Piggy
Any part of the piggy
Is quite alright with me.
Ham from Westphalia, ham from Parma
Ham as lean as the Dalai Lama
Ham from Virginia, ham from York,
Trotters, sausages, hot roast pork.
Crackling crisp for my teeth to grind on
Bacon with or without the rind on
Though humanitarian
I'm not a vegetarian.
I'm neither a crank nor prude nor prig
And though it may sound infra dig
Any part of the darling pig
Is perfectly fine by me.
- Noel Coward
written in 1930
Good Evening CC, Argyle and All:
This one took some erasing this morning. Rout for Drub, Torn for Tore and Rope for Prod (Duh) Fills straightened them out. And from the "of all the things I miss, I miss my mind the most" department forgot about Moue and Priori.
Things are the ultimate crazy zone here. Just got word the paving plants will be closing this week and I've got two streets under construction. Warring with contractors is job #1 all day. Today we turned the corner and I'm pretty confident we will have things sufficiently closed up before snow flies.
The wife threw a split pea soup recipe in the crock pot this morning. Pretty much the same as yours Jeannie but instead of kielbasa, andoulie sausage. It smelled great when dropped the kids off. I'm back at work and can still smell the sausage.
Lois, good to hear your daughter is on the rebound.
Annette, congrats on the sale.
Gotta get back at it. Council meeting tonight.
Have a good one!
From VERN:
Hey Kazie--I'm not afraid of getting blogged (whatever that is) but every time google lets me get on for awhile, it then refuses to recognize me. I'm getting a complex.
Thought of two more neat signs:
"No Parking Violators Will Be Towed"
(Well, make up your mind!)
"Slow Children Crossing"
(Speed it up kids)
Annette, great news on the sale; that's gotta be a great relief to no longer have that hanging over your head.
Lois, great spirit! Hope your daughter's recovery continues.
Bill, great to see you back - got snow yet?
Warren, what was your existing plumbing, galvanized? That's gotta be one helluva task to replace everything.
Anon@12:56, apparently.
Jazz, great news about your stepson coming home - was that his first tour? Oh, and be careful - you're in the 'Lois triangle' -- men have been known to disappear there.
Ms. Recipe Lady, got a recipe for my favorite comfort food, macaroni and cheese casserole?
We're going to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra Saturday - has anyone seen them before?
Hi Dennis,
Yes they're still working on it. Our house was built in 1959 and had a mix of copper and galvanized. When we first moved in in 1989 we found a pin hole leak and I had to go under the house and install a dielectric.
They've finished 90% or so, and right now they're struggling trying to get a pipe to run under the sidewalk to get to the water meter.
During the major demo there was so much noise vibration that 2 of our cat's got into our sun room and it took me almost an hour to locate one cat, I found her hiding under the old couch we have in the sun room - which was quite a relief since I was afraid she had gotten outside and she's an indoor only cat.
But I found out how she got out, we have a cat door leading to the sun room and it has an optional security lockout plate. I had forgotten to secure the locking lever at the top.
I'm hoping that we'll have water sometime tonight!
Warren, Good luck with the water. Glad that you found your cat too.
I've had water shut of two days in a row for a number of downtown merchants. Most have been patient but its wearing quickly!!
Warren, good luck with the pipes and getting your water going again. It's amazing how we (me) take things for granted until we don't have them for a while.
Jazzbumpa, Welcome Home and Thanks to Tom.
Dennis, It never hurts to have more than one mac & cheese recipe. This recipe for Mac & Cheese was a finalist on Good Morning America's contest in 2008. I've made it and it is delicious....7 cups of cheese for goodness sakes. I don't know what anybody else thinks, but there is a place for Velveeta and that is in macaroni and cheese.
Guday, my fine feathered friends.
Ho-hum puzzle today.
For those who enjoy American music, I highly recommend a documentary you can hopefully pick up on TCM or you can order it thru TCM online.
It's "The Dream's On Me", and is the story of the life of Johnny Mercer. What a great lyricist!! He worked with 100's of score writers and created some of the greatest song in American music.
"Moon River", "Laura", and on and on.
The doc. was produced by Clint Eastwood, who is quite the musician, himself.
Good luck and enjoy!!!
I must be off
CA - I could feel my hips grow just reading that Mac and Cheese recipe, but it sounds delicious!! The recipe does not specify the size of the box of elbow macaroni, do you know how much to use?
I will probably cut it in half as that would be too much for just the 2 of us (well actually, so we won't be tempted to 'wallow' in it and then not be able to 'waddle' out the door) :)
Bill - good to see you back with us, try to stay that way :)
Buckeye, good to hear from you too.
We miss you both so check in soon (if you can get past Nurse Ratchet). I agree about Johnny Mercer.
When Buckeye speaks, people listen. I know I do. That documentary is right up my alley. I love that kind of stuff. Where ya been, Bro?
FYI, from TCM's website. The times are Eastern, so we West Coasters have to adjust accordingly.
Program Title: Johnny Mercer: The Dream's on Me
Documentary. 90 mins.
PLAYING ON TCM: 11/18/2009 06:00:00 PM
PLAYING ON TCM: 12/19/2009 02:00:00 PM
Carol, I think I used a standard 16 oz box of macaroni. I don't blame you for being cautious. Calories are dripping right off the page. Just reading the recipe will put a pound on the prat. But once in a while it is worth it.
Jeannie, the split pea soup was delicious. I have used a tried and true recipe for many years and your version with The Kel. sausage added another dimension to the flavor. I served it with Parmesan cheese bread and a green salad. Good hearty meal for a cold evening.
Buckeye--Good to hear from you.
Clear Ayes, sounds delicious - it'll be on the table in the near future; thanks.
Buckeye, great to hear from you again - whatcha been doing for fun?
Thank you all for the congratulations. It's such a relief! Besides not being able to control things very much, the hardest part was making decisions that were right FOR ME when others tried to tell me what I should be doing - in their opinions...!
So, are we supposed to be taking hikes today, or telling other people to "Take a hike"?
DRUB and BRAE weren't coming to me at all, so I had to guess at the R crossing. A few clues I got were surprises to me - like "where did that answer come from!"
Buckeye (and Clear Ayes): Thank you for the Johnny Mercer information - I've got the DVR set up to record it now. If you haven't seen it, try to find the movie "The Five Pennies" starring Danny Kaye. It's a great music-themed movie, along the lines of The Glenn Miller Story, but probably even deeper storyline.
Woo-whee.. more recipes
Jeannie, the soup looks wonderful. Never thought of using sausage.Can't wait to make it. I always use a left-over ham bone.
Carol, can't believe you don't even like the smell ???? of cucumbers! I grow lemon cukes each summer and eat them like apples. They are crisp and crunchy.
CA, that Mac and Cheese sounds delicious as well.Love the title!mmmm, heavy cream. One serving would probably eat up all of my 18 points in one sitting.BTW, enjoyed your poem today.
Annette, so happy for your sale!
Warren, we had the same thing done at our house recently. Is Isaac living under your house now?? Our cat also got spooked, but I had to crawl under the house to get him.
Buckeye, thanks for the heads-up on the Johnny Mercer program. I'm off to record it.
I'm having a hell of a time posting on this blog. I doesn't want to accept my password. I'm ired and irked.
ClearAyes; I love mac and cheese. I will try that recipe. I put on 5#just reading it.
Trying out my new song, "If my nose was runnin' money, I'd blow it all on you". I think it will make it.
I told y'all about Ratchets new aide, Justin Case. The guy's dumber than a coal bucket but he's HUGE!! I think I got rid of him for a while. I told him to tell Nurse Ratchet that she had a phone call from Seattle. The last time I saw him he was at the Grayhound Station waiting for a bus to Seattle. Bye, Justin. Hopefully he'll forget where he lives.
IMBO
Ah buckeye, so nice to see you back on the blog. We're talking Rose Bowl, baby!
@dennis Trans-Siberian Orchestra was a lot of fun, just like going to a Mannheim Steamroller concert, IIRC. We get to see Mannheim on Dec. 19.
IMO the best Mac and Cheese Bake
3 cups macaroni (uncooked)
2 Tbspn Butter
2 Tblsn flour
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup half n half
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cream cheese, softened (key ingredient)
4 cups plus additional to go on top finely shredded cheeses (sharp cheddar, mozzarella, gouda, muenster)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
A few dashes paprika
In a large pot, according to the packaged macaroni, add water & 1/3 of the chicken broth that equals the liquid requirement. (Just enough to cook your macaroni in) Bring to a boil. (Adds flavor, another key step)
Add macaroni, I use elbow or small shells, and cook until al dente. When macaroni is done, drain and set aside. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt butter & whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute. Whisking the entire time. Slowly whisk in the remaining chicken broth, half n half, & milk. Whisk until combined. You want the mixture to steam but NOT boil.
Add in the cream cheese & stir until completely dissolved and smooth. Remove from heat & add in 4 cups of cheese & stir until smooth. Pour cheese mixture over cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Add some black pepper if you'd like. (I would suggest you do) Grease a 9 X 9 inch pan with butter & pour the mac n cheese into it. Top with reserved cheese and paprika. At this point I add some bread crumbs or stale potato chips on top.
Bake in preheat 350 degree oven for 25-30 minutes. You want the macaroni & cheese to be sort of jiggly when you take it out. It will set as it cools.
The X-DF recipe lady...going to go cover myself with a shawl now.
Dennis, this one was for you, never did hear how you liked the meatloaf...just wondering...
Just waiting until your post will be deleted. Peeps have my back.
Anon@12:56
Irani in india refers to those who originally came from Iran (Persia) and Farsi is Persian the language spokeen in Iran, Farsi also means a personn from Persia/Iran hence Irani
@kazie, i'd like to have your whole wheat bread recipe too.
Good almost-morning, all.
If I were a constructor, I might not want my puzzle to be printed the day after Nancy Salomon's gem of a puzzle, which seemed like a mini masterclass on building AHA moments with clever cluing and lots of fresh fill.
Too much crosswordese today, perhaps. I had to "chip" my way out of a few "sandtraps" e.g. IRANI, DRUB, and MOUE.
The latter is a word I know from French--and the French ARE great at forming the perfect MOUE--but I never have used those four letters together in English. I doubt anyone would appreciate or even possibly understand if someone said: "Hey you, enough with moue, already!" Nah, I wouldn 't say that!
MR FIXIT was a good expression, although MRS FIXIT might be fun to see clued on a Thurs. or Friday! "Schlepped" or "schlep" would be good fill, too.
I moved to a new apartment: smaller, sunnier, and in a great, quiet neighborhood. Stayed with friends for two weeks, which was fun but, wow, I'm really not cut out for being around several other people just about 24/7! Wonderful to be in my "own" space again.
No split pea soup for THIS Chicagoan, but the sausage part sounded great. How about potatoes and a little squash instead!?
For no reason my cellphone co. can determine, my internet access at new place is spotty and shakey here. I have about a 12" radius circle where I get better coverage, but ONLY if the phone is placed ON the floor and not moved! Otherwise, it's like a "dry" town = NO BARS.
Weird, huh?
Loved the Mensa-isms, the WOWs QOD and the "stoopid signs." My fave sign was posted at my former auto mechanic's garage in the restroom: "Employees must wash hands before returning to work."--as if they were preparing food or doing organ transplants! Hmm.
Hasta 11/18. Job interview early afternoon to run a weekly group for spouses/partners of people with depression. If that one works out I have "first dibs" on a group for spouses of chronic pain sufferers. Could be rewarding work. Added bonus of no clinical supervision duties! Groups can be very helpful when done right. Spouses very rarely get offered such assistance.
Lois, very glad to hear your daughter is on the mend.
Time for sleep!
I'm puting on weight reading the recipes. Don't need to eat dinner tonight. The split pea soup satisfied my appetite. Thanks
Doreen
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