I agree Chrissy, more noodles in stroganoff is great.  A perfect winter meal.

We have two or three more storms coming this week in NYC so we stocked up over the weekend. 

 

Quote from: Emma1017 on February 10, 2025, 08:54:17 AMI agree Chrissy, more noodles in stroganoff is great.  A perfect winter meal.

We have two or three more storms coming this week in NYC so we stocked up over the weekend. 

 

I hear parts of NY can get well over 100 inches of snow in a year.  Not NYC, but north.

I went college on Lake Ontario in upstate NY.  They averaged 172 inches a year like Buffalo NY.

I bet they have a lot of snow removing equipment.

Just about everyone has a pickup truck and a plow.  Their streets are better plowed then NYC.

I'm a substitute teacher for three days this week. The kids are great and typical teenagers.  There is a respectful arm-distance relationship combined with a comfortable familiarity, the classic teacher and student interaction.

It's the way it should be.

What I have noticed about the students is how much they don't notice the current political environment.  Maybe because they are isolated by attending an LGBTQ school that protects them, in a city that supports them. 

They are not on the frontlines in states that are restricting medical support for transgender children and none of them are trying to participate in athletics.

I am glad that they are just going to school and have an opportunity to just be kids.

I wish so many other kids in this country had the same chance.

Quote from: Emma1017 on February 10, 2025, 08:54:17 AMI agree Chrissy, more noodles in stroganoff is great.  A perfect winter meal. We have two or three more storms coming this week in NYC so we stocked up over the weekend.

I agree about the noodles!  Stroganov and Chicken soup!  Many many noodles required.

As I understand it, Emma, your country has a massive north/south divide. Kind of like the civil war. Northern people have common sense. Southern people have Nascar.

Not gonna mention that most of the north keeps the old British names and traditions... Alabama doesn't count.

Quote from: Sephirah on February 13, 2025, 06:05:58 PMAs I understand it, Emma, your country has a massive north/south divide. Kind of like the civil war. Northern people have common sense. Southern people have Nascar.

NASCAR is actually an acronym:

Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks

Love always -- Jess

Sadly, much of America was founded by extreme religious groups who were refugees from Europe, for example, the Puritans. Then we created our own, like the Mormons. So religious extremism is at the moral core of much of the country.

Who doesn't like a good witch burning?

There is a transgender organization in Colorado that is helping families relocate there from MAGA states.  It reminds me of the European organizations that smuggled Jews out of Europe in World War Two.

It is all incredibly sad and frightening.

Quote from: Emma1017 on February 13, 2025, 07:15:24 PMSadly, much of America was founded by extreme religious groups who were refugees from Europe, for example, the Puritans. Then we created our own, like the Mormons. So religious extremism is at the moral core of much of the country.

Who doesn't like a good witch burning?

There is a transgender organization in Colorado that is helping families relocate there from MAGA states.  It reminds me of the European organizations that smuggled Jews out of Europe in World War Two.

It is all incredibly sad and frightening.

I mean that's probably partly true, but there are almost 350 million people in your country. Not like 100,000 and a mule called Gabriel. Most of that stuff has died out over the past 300 years or so. Or at least most decent thinking people would assume it has. I don't think you can blame the nutters who went there to be nutters, on your current nutters. That's kind of all you. In the country where you can be anything you want... that includes psychopaths.

Have a nice Valentine's Day Emma!


Chrissy

Thank you Chrissy.

Happy Valentines Day too!!!!

Quote from: Jessica_Rose on February 13, 2025, 06:58:59 PMNASCAR is actually an acronym:

Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks

Love always -- Jess

Sorry Jessica, but in my humble opinion, I find this to be offensive and very much a stereo type. As a person who has competitively raced for years, I can assure you it takes an athlete to drive for hours at high speed. In addition, the some of the best NASCAR drivers I know are not from the south.

Emma, apologize for high jacking your thread, but just could not let this go. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful Valentine Day.

Ellen

 

Ellen I am extremely sorry that you have been insulted. I am sure Jess was falling trap to a stereo type that is not meant to be mean spirited just misguided.

NASCAR has been painted with a broad brush of presumption and just like the statement"everyone in Arkansas is a bigot" we all sadly become vulnerable to biased simplifications.

I hope you had a lovely Valentines Day as well!!!❤️

I agree and apologize for the offense. I know Jessica pretty well and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body. She was just making a joke and maybe it landed wrong. She is out of town this weekend, but I am sure she will apologize when she returns. Please don't be upset.

To lighten this up, because the last thing we should be doing is fighting each other, I think? How about what the name Lotus is supposed to mean... as in Lotus the car maker, whose most famous product is probably the Elan. In the UK it always used to be said it stood for Loads Of Trouble, Usually Serious.

And Ford is fix or repair daily, Fiat is fix it again Toni.

Quote from: EllenW on February 14, 2025, 04:19:16 PMSorry Jessica, but in my humble opinion, I find this to be offensive and very much a stereo type. As a person who has competitively raced for years, I can assure you it takes an athlete to drive for hours at high speed. In addition, the some of the best NASCAR drivers I know are not from the south.

Emma, apologize for high jacking your thread, but just could not let this go. I hope you and your wife have a wonderful Valentine Day.

Ellen

Ellen. I apologize if you were offended, that was not my intention. I've lived in the South most of my life. Calling someone a 'redneck' can often be considered a compliment, or a term of endearment. Although some people think the term has negative connotations, it can also be seen as a reference to someone who has unique engineering skills born out of necessity. There are many terms like this one which can be considered compliments or slurs, depending on your point of view. In this case, it was meant as a compliment to a group of people with creative engineering and design skills who are able to wring exceptional performance from a complex piece of machinery. Also, drivers must contend with extreme temperatures (often well over 120 degrees on the track) while making split-second decisions trying to navigate through highly congested traffic at speeds most of us will never reach, and few, if any, of the comforts we expect in our everyday cars. I have great respect for the mechanics, engineers and drivers of NASCAR and all other motorsports.

Love always -- Jessica Rose

For what it's worth, I didn't mean any offence by it, either. Brits are known for the most part as Corgi humping tea drinkers, lol. Being able to laugh at stereotypes is one of the best facets of human experience. It leads to way less X posts. Is why movies like Austin Powers and Talladega Nights work so well.

I remember back in my navy days, we used to have an acronym for the Marines. It wasn't done out of anything but love and gentle ribbing. Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not Essential. Of course we all had the utmost respect for these folks for whom 90% of the entrants, mostly from the navy, wouldn't last a week.

I agree with Jess, though. Redneck can be a term of endearment. I am somewhat of a fan of WWE, and one of the biggest names in that, Steve Austin, was known as the Bionic Redneck.

Coming from a country where formula one is a thing, with corners and stuff... it's hard for us to understand why driving in a giant oval is challenging, lol. But the speed these cars go... I've seen the final destination movie. One tiny movement can lead to a massive, life threatening crash. You're going full speed all the time. And the cars are insane, juiced up monsters. Nothing like we'd use in the UK. It must be like wrestling a bear just to keep them on the road.