General topics.

I need to be grown up, go, smile pleasantly at people whatever I might think of them, hold my tongue, and then slip away before the social gathering afterwards.

That's what J would have done, and taken lovely flowers. She would then have gone home and gossiped enthusiastically (never maliciously) about everybody there, in her unspoiled Black Country accent.

That's how we found out that one neighbour had gone bankrupt twice, another had been a hard-working philanderer long before his wife died and the glamorous "new" girlfriend was no such thing as new, and that the ladies in the corner house were not only business partners. There was also a suspected cat-poisoner but as J didn't own a cat she wouldn't vouch for the truth of that one.

I do partly know what she said about us. ExSO (aged 65+, mind you) was "that young lad, liked his cars" and I was "there was a girl who lived with 'im, was that you?" But this was when she was ill in hospital, she'd perked up a lot next time I saw her.

With the dog, truth of it is I don't want exSO coming over and making a fuss of him; and if you're thinking he'd surely have more sense, no he wouldn't. 12 year old dog was abandoned by his first family aged seven, has had to adjust to losing his second "Daddy" since exSO and I parted two years ago, and is it any wonder that the poor animal has separation anxiety in spades? So the last thing I want is SO making a reappearance. Finding a dog-sitter for a few hours might well be the answer, Send - not bath! What fresh h*ll..?! He really doesn't do baths - but perhaps I'll see if his best friend's Daddy can have him over just for the afternoon.

I also can't stand the thought of anyone saying:

she had a good innings
it was a merciful release
she was rather losing it, wasn't she
losing T must have hit her hard

But in fact I think the only way not to slap anyone who says those and similar things is to make a bet about how many times they do and concentrate on counting up.

CM,
Just some thoughts about the logistics of attending vs. not attending.
You have done enough for J while alive, that counts for everything.
The dog really cannot stay out in the car and not be seen, imo, that long, but you could board him in doggy day care or overnight. If you took him to the area of the funeral, could you drop him off for a bath, would that be enough time to pick him up after the funeral?
Still, you need to be able to go places that you choose.

Again, sorry for your loss.

(((((((cm)))))) so sorry about J's passing. You have been a good friend.

You are under no obligation to stay long at the funeral or to interact with people you do not want to see. Some people say funerals are for the living. Others that they are our final goodbye to the dead. When my dear friend - also J - died a few months ago, I went to the funeral and sobbed like a baby. I did not speak to another person there including his family. I signed the book and left with a heavy heart that I was never going to see him again, which in its own, painful way, was closure. Sorry for your loss. Peace.

CM, Sorry to read of J's passing. I always go back and forth on deciding to go to funeral's or not. Then on the day of the service I go and I'm usually glad that I did.

Oh, CountryMouse, I'm so sorry to hear about J's passing. Maybe you need to go for you? I always think that funerals and such are for us as much as for those we go to comfort. Be well.

Sorry to read of J's passing. If there is even one person who would appreciate your being there or mourn that the crowd paying respects is too small then I would make the effort to go just for their sake CM.

I should go to J's funeral on Friday because...

It is the correct thing to do
I will be contributing to the public acknowledgement of her life
Her children will, loosely speaking, expect it
I may not sing hymns beautifully but at least I don't look at my feet and mumble.

I should not go to J's funeral because

She won't give a monkey's whether I do or not
I preferred to give her my time when she was alive
There will be plenty of people there who didn't bother visiting her before she died
There will be people there I don't much want to see
There will be one person I definitely don't want the dog to see or hear while he's waiting outside in the car, and I can't leave the dog at home for that long.

Tum-ti-tum-ti-tum thinking...

Susan...

I have been staring at the wall and trying to add up for about five minutes now, in which time I could have scrambled my eggs and eaten 'em -

Explain to me how scrambling a lot of eggs, dividing them between containers, putting the containers in the freezer, taking them out again, putting them in the microwave and then having to wash both containers and plates...

Is a quicker supper than scrambling a couple of eggs? Which you then get to eat nice and fresh and freshly made?

I too, am allergic to red dye. I cannot eat maraschino cherries or red vines. Last time I ate red vines about a year and a half ago I got a sinus infection and was very sick for a couple of weeks. I knew better but they were quite tempting. I discovered the allergy when still in junior high especially with the cherries that would immediately cause a sore throat then into a cold and sinus infection.

red vines are toooo good. But yet so bad :(

Veronica
A little carnuba wax never kept me from eating a gummy bear or a sour patch kid
Now I'm in the mood for some red vines 

I can't eat marishino cherries because all I can think about is the red dye!

Veronica, I guess two of my cats would prefer beetles; they are both allergic to red dye #40, and throw up...

Thanks Susan.

Send - I don't need to freeze the scrambled eggs, I just heat them up in the microwave in the morning for quick breakfast. I usually scramble a dozen at a time - and use them up over the space of about 4 days. :-)

MsMadge I don't think I wanted to know that.
Do you like the modern chemical red food coloring or would you rather go back to crushed Cochineal beatles?

Gummy bears are made with carnuba wax

Cwillie
Was your regular toothbrush under the sink?

Green food coloring:
What is green food coloring made of?
1. They are made in a lab with chemicals derived from petroleum, a crude oil product, which also happens to be used in gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt, and tar. NPR.org: “Artificial food dyes are made from petroleum and approved for use by the FDA to enhance the color of processed foods.” 2.Mar 13, 2012
Real Food Tips: 7 Reasons I Hate Artificial Food Dyes - 100 Days of ...

It was probably the green sprinkles Cwillie, made of soap. Lol.

Online, googling Tundra Swan migration, watched the majestic swans! They are not very noisy, and some guys stand heads above the rest. If you did not jump in your car and go, you can see them online. There were people there, with binoculars. The swans were behind a fenced area, breached by the photographer.

I had a donut this morning, a jelly one with white icing and green sprinkles in honour of St Pattie's Day, but when I brushed my teeth with my spare toothbrush it tasted like soap, yuck. Maybe that was the one I used to clean the crevices??

Nice, Susan!
I would love sausage gravy. Do you freeze the extra scrambled eggs?  Your planning out the food has always impressed me.

Today, pork chops for Sunday brunch. And those same, frozen vegetables, as many as dH wants.

Coffee with scrambled eggs & cheese here this morning, Send. And I made a batch of low-carb sausage gravy to spread out over the next few days with the rest of the scrambled eggs. (I like to cook "big" on Sundays and then not have to cook much during the week.)

I must be having trouble with conversions, Glad. But then the weather is changing, and will be 62° F later today.
It was 39 ° Fahrenheit, and we have a frost warning until 9:30 a.m.
Everytime I look this conversion up, it changes.

Anybody having Cocoa and donuts on this Sunday morning?

4 degrees Celsius sounds cold until it is converted to Fahrenheit. 49 degrees. Quite a nice day by many standards. Maybe this belongs on the whine thread?😉

Typo, yes 39. Still very nice temps, it is still winter. Yesterday it was 71 here a record breaker!

4° C

Nice recipe Mally!
Love the pineapple.
Blueberries are good too, but not with the pineapple, imo.

CWillie,
What a wonderful experience that would be. Try not to spill the hot cocoa in your lap.
Sorry that Mom cannot go with you.

It is a beautiful spring morning here, bright and sunny and about -5°C. I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to hop in the car and drive to see if there are any tundra swans at a local migration hot spot. Mom and I used to try to catch them many years, I would park on the side of the road so she could hear them, but somehow it's not as fun when there isn't anyone to share it with.