Random thoughts

November 1st, 2023 at 12:13 am

The tadpole rescue continues.

Several dozen appeared in my father's rain barrel earlier in the summer. I have sunk a bucket in there to capture a few at a time....the tricky little things dive to the bottom when they see the shadow looming....and carry them 200 feet to a small brook that feeds into a pond on my sister's property. They don't seem to have increased in size at all, and I feel we are running out of time as they have nothing to eat in the rain barrel and we've had a few frosts already. I don't know for sure how they'll do where I'm releasing them, but it's got to be better than the rain barrel. It's quite muddy, a very shallow brook with a small current, so i would think they could bury themselves in mud? I don't know if tadpoles overwinter that way.

Yesterday I saw an interesting meal delivery service on my Facebook feed and decided to give it a try. What intrigued me, plant-based eater that I am, is that all their recipes are based on Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen foods you should be eating. They had reasonable prices; most dishes were $9 each. The food does not arrive frozen...it's actually freeze-dried, and you rehydrate it with a cup of water, wait 10 minutes and then it's done.

I WANT to love it, but of course it will come down to how good does it taste. It's a monthly subscription you can cancel any time.

My BJs membership expired today, and while I like shopping there, i dislike the $55 membership fee. So during the past month, I stocked up on a few items I use a lot of , so I may not even notice the lack of BJs in my life for several months. If I rejoin later, like 3 months from now, that would reduce my annual membership costs by 25%. Also, if I wait long enough, I may be able to be treated as a "new" member and use one of those half-price membership offers I always see.

I caught up with Dido last weekend at our rendevous in PA, a roughly equidistant drive for both of us. We got our bearings at the coffee shop, then wandered through downtown and some outlying residential streets, and then had a nice lunch on the porch of an old inn. (Not the one shown below!)

Just a pretty little inn....

Comfort food at its best! Meatballs and ricotta. Smile

We both tried the tomato soup.

A local business getting in the spirit....

Autumnal street scene

The coffee shop where we met.

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Random thoughts”

Amber Says:
November 1st, 2023 at 04:05 am 1698811522
1698811522

I think I would put a mesh covering over the barrel to keep the tadpoles out. I’ve been considering getting me one to use to clean my floors, windows and water my plants.

Regarding BJs, I get a coupon every month to join for $25, I’m sure you’ll be getting them soon.

I also found Hello Freshon Facebook, I got a deal but as soon as it goes up I’m canceling. The meals are great
anonymous Says:
November 1st, 2023 at 04:04 pm 1698854667
1698854667

If you have one, perhaps try a fishing net, like those used for fishing or cleaning aquariums, to strain fish out. I agree with Amber about mesh. I did put mesh over mine, though, and during the summer, something ate its way through. LOL
Petunia 100 Says:
November 1st, 2023 at 06:28 pm 1698863322
1698863322

Kudos to you for helping those tadpoles.
Dido Says:
November 2nd, 2023 at 08:34 pm 1698957248
1698957248

Is that Leafside that you are trying? I've tried them. They're not too bad, but a little high carb for my taste (and I am a plant-based eater). They are also good well past the stated expiration date.
Dido Says:
November 2nd, 2023 at 08:38 pm 1698957521
1698957521

What I *do* use a lot of is freeze dried foods by Thrive Life (Lucky Robin here on SA used to be a distributor). They're especially good if you don't like chopping vegetables and you don't care about the texture in a particular dish. I use their sliced onions, celery, red peppers, diced tomatoes, peas, green beans, and corn regularly for soups and stews. But if you want your veg to have the crispiness that fresh veggies have, you won't get it.
patientsaver Says:
November 2nd, 2023 at 09:39 pm 1698961167
1698961167

Yes, Dido, it's Leafside. I like that it's not perishable and can be kept on the counter top. Just hope it tastes pretty good. It's the first time I've ever tried meal delivery service. It would feel like such a luxury to now and then know I can get a meal set up pretty quick at the end of a long day when I don't feel like cooking.
Dido Says:
November 10th, 2023 at 07:14 pm 1699643652
1699643652

I didn't do any meal delivery services before the pandemic, but since then, I've been subscribed continually. Leafside is nice for the fact that they are WFPB and nonperishable. Mama Sezz (mamasezz.com) is also WFPB but prepared. You can just arrange to have the shipping materials sent back to them, which is really nice. I used them for a couple of months but ultimately decided that they were too high carb for me. For most of the past 3 years, I have used HungryRoot, which has mostly prepared ingredients that you mix together (precooked meats, prechopped veggies, precooked or fast cooking carbs, and prepared sauces), but they have added a few prepared meals too in the past 6 months. Their packaging is more recyclable than most. Periodically when I have a VERY busy week, I'll do Factor for their prepared meals, but I don't like their packaging.
patientsaver Says:
November 10th, 2023 at 08:10 pm 1699647010
1699647010

Dido, I tried 3 different Leafside dishes and thought they were pretty mediocre. To be more specific, 1 was "not bad (broccoli alfred0," 1 was borderline ok (an oatmeal/fruit mix) and 1 was pretty bad (pesto pasta) and i threw it out. I may try another at some point, so i do appreciate your feedback.
Dido Says:
November 12th, 2023 at 09:30 pm 1699824641
1699824641

I just ate my last package of the broccoli alfredo for lunch earlier today. The two meals of theirs I liked best were the Goji Peach Paradise bowl and the Creamy Potato Leek soup. That last one is about half the calories (~300) of most of the other meals so not really enough for a full meal on its own though. I won't be ordering from them again, though.

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Random thoughts

9 Responses to “Random thoughts”

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