Wonderful, wonderful – This has been a good week. I did my taxes and although there was a little mud wrestling with the on-line product, it’s done. (BTW the issues had to do with Internet Explorer…again). Then I found a marriage certificate for great grandparents. Woo hoo! Gives me ages which translates into birth dates and more great parents for my research.
Gym update – It’s getting a little busy during “old people time” at the gym. It’s almost speedos time. Most of the people who exercise at the same time I do shouldn’t wear one! The smells have increased too. I have a great nose. The odor a combination of feet and vegetable soup topped by toe jam.
Feeling organized – Nothing makes me feel better than cleaning up and getting everything in its place. I won’t allow myself to start taxes until every piece of paper on my desk is dealt with. Bills paid, stuff filed or thrown. Feels so great. I don’t know why I don’t keep it up but in a few weeks there will be piles again.
Prepare for the worst – Hope for the best. A nor’easter (type of storm that comes up the east coast) came through this week. Everything depended on the track. A little one way and we get snow. A little the other way and it’s rain. We got a mix but it was too warm to stick around. We had a much bigger problem with winds. An hour north of us got close to a foot of snow. Yikes! #nosnowinmarch
A touch of Mom – I found an old recipe that my mother used to make. The best way to describe it is a German version of scrambled pancakes. Some people serve it with fruit and powder sugar but we had it plain with a salad. That was our version of Friday night pizza. (My mother never served pizza!) I was so elated that I passed it to my brother. He likes it too. We have similar tastes after all these years.
So how was your week?
I think it’s so special when a recipe brings back warm family memories. I can’t imagine a scrambled pancake, but I wish I could have a bite!
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It was fabulous and I’m still thinking about it. I’ll make it again.
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Laughed at your organization compulsion before doing taxes. I’m the same way. Maybe we think it unclutters the mind!
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In the beginning I did it so I didn’t send in a recipe with my filing. Now I file electronically but the need to start with a clean desk is still there.
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I like to start with a clean desk too but, unlike yours, it doesn’t last more than an hour or two. I remember finding a recipe of my mother’s that I thought was hopelessly lost… such joy. I hope the bad weather passes you by!
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They are predicting a foot of snow here. Boogers. I lost something in with the tax filings and didn’t find it until the next year when I was checking something. I try to be more careful now. Sort of.
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I’ll visit you if you have to go to the big house for tax evasion.
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Thanks. That’s reassuring. Bring margaritas.
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You inspired me to log into the IRS site and see if our taxes are in there yet (we have an accountant do it). But nope, not yet. I’m never sure how long it takes for them to log it, or whatever the terminology is. We both breathed a sigh of relief this year, though, because my wife estimated perfectly for the quarterly paying of her taxes last year. Score! Congrats on getting yours done. – Marty
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The good (and bad) news is that we are getting a sizable refund. Obviously our estimated stuff was off. However, it will go a long way to funding my upcoming teeth work.
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Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear. My wife is once again having more work done on hers too, and it’s costing a small fortune even with insurance. Our furniture acquisition is now delayed. Good luck with that!
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Yes I asked if I could pay with my firstborn (which is a cat). The receptionist laughed and laughed. I didn’t think it was funny.
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A crowd of workin’ out people indoor just creates a oppressive disturbance to my nose and eyes. Just not a gym person …too many secondary crowded PE gyms and dressing rooms, I guess – it’s a lot hotter/more humid here and the schools didn’t have AC or fans in those areas…ugh. Impressive you can stay dedicated.
That recipe! Mom, who grew up in Central TX with a lot of German heritage families, always wanted powdered sugar and fruit on pancakes – Dad (more Scots-Irish-English) only used syrup- sorghum or Ribbon Cane if we were able to get some in a tin can each fall at the feed store. We often would have pancakes Sunday nights. (make some and post a pix! Interested in your variation – scrambled?)
I never had pizza until in college. Probably why we were skinny growing up?
Stay safe and warm. Looks ugly with winds and power outages. Late today we’ll have big storms as the end of it sweeps across here – for better or worse, the warm Gulf Stream (add in moisture from west MX that is winging in too) is now strong and will crash/push back again the front.
Water wings or ski boots – what a choice.
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I made it last night and it was wonderful. Never thought to take a photo though. I had pizza in high school (lent Fridays). Cafeteria rationed it. You could only buy 2 small squares. Fell in love.
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My nose and ears are always working on overdrive. The stink… er, aroma in the gym could make me want to abandon the deal there but then I wouldn’t do a gym anyhoo because I feel so self-conscious. Glad you didn’t get the worst of the storm. It is a bit cold down south this morning… 🙂 Our week has been busy, I could use your organizational and shopping skills!
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It reminds me a lot of my high school gym. Adolescent boy smell. Not sure you would want my organization skills. I don’t exercise them often enough.
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I have the exact same feelings about being organized … as I look over the disaster that’s our dining room table. I just don’t know how that happens when I have the best intentions!
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I know. I put all the tax stuff away and not everything is littered with the ancestor research project again. I keep thinking I should put everything in a file folder when I’m done until I go back again but somehow I don’t!
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I’m always afraid that if I put it away out of sight, I will forget about it … at least that’s my justification for keeping all my works in progress surrounding me on the table in various piles
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That’s my rationale too and it’s true. I have to post coupons I want to use because I forget. I would also forget to pay bills if they weren’t visible on top of my desk.
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I used to file things every week or two. Now, with filing some things online and others in the filing cabinet, some upstairs and some down, I let the downstairs filing pile up for months. I’ll have to take care of that before I start my taxes. I’m putting it off.
My daughter in Rockville, MD, had two days of wind but no show.
My sister and I were talking the other day about the taco dinners our mom made when tacos seemed like a new invention. She made them with corn tortillas, ground beef, a tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions and iceberg lettuce, and shredded cheddar. Everything in a separate little dish, assemble your own tacos. We loved them.
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My mother did not make anything remotely non-German or American. I didn’t have pizza or spaghetti until I fell in love with it in the school cafeteria. (No canned stuff either!) When I was 12 I got a child’s cookbook as a gift. I make chili from that. I didn’t have Chinese food until I was working. I am always amazed that I like different ethnic foods. Any child would love make your own tacos! So cool!
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My sister and I looked up a Chinese (Chinese-American) dish in Better Homes and Gardens and made it for a luncheon for my mom and her friends. I shudder to think what it was like.
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Other than a stir fry, I don’t cook Chinese. So much easy to get takeout!
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I love feeling organized!
You reminded me why I avoid the gym!
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The gym is ok, you just don’t breath deeply!
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🤣
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We weren’t lucky enough to just have rain…snow and nasty winds that took out two large white pines. Gaps now in our natural border.
Love the fact that you found an old recipe. Those are priceless..:)
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Made the recipe yesterday. Yum! Sorry about your trees. There were trees down around here but we were lucky.
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I made the mistake of reading this while IAm eating. Toe jam. OTOH, the pancake dish sounds yummy! Congrats on the marriage license!
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Yes but nothing is easy. I have her marriage license and her death certificate. Both are authentic. There are two different fathers listed. My older brother doesn’t know anything about this. Maybe a remarriage although I don’t know why you would put a stepfather on a death certificate. She was in her 60s when she died. Makes hunting for her siblings more daunting.
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Mysteries are the bread of genealogy haha. Good luck!
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I saw the snow was pretty heavy in PA – stay warm and safe! That recipe sounds so good – any possibility of posting it?
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Here is something close. The only difference is that my mother made it as a dinner with salad (similar to scrambled eggs) and this recipe has sugar in it for a dessert. It’s also good as a starch side dish. The taste is similar to crepes. http://www.relativelyrecipes.com/recipes-by-category/breakfast/schmarn
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I want a German scrambled pancake right now! I’ll be dreaming of one tonight.
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I had one for supper last night and it was as good as I remember. Tasting it now, it taste a lot like a crepe.
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Scambled Pancakes. I had to look it up. It looks wonderful. I am going to have to try it. But I’m afraid I will goo it up with strawberries, syrup and whipped cream. 🙂
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That sounds even better!
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I’m with you, Kate ~ before I tackle a “desk” type project . . . things get tidied up. Glad you got through the storm with no major issues. And congrats on getting your taxes done!
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I learned that the hard way. I found something I needed misfiled because I had all the stuff for both projects out at the same time. I’m a simple person. Gotta keep it simple!
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John and grandson David drove through that storm in NJ and PA. It slowed them down, but they had no trouble getting through.
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They were lucky. In the Poconos the roads were bad and with the wind, trees were down. If they kept more south, it was better.
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They turned south at Harrisburg. The snow quit after they went through Allentown.
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They came through Allentown? I live in Allentown!
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John uses 78 all the time. I used to go with him, but I can’t stand his brutal pace any more. We will probably go to grandson Nathaniel’s high school graduation in June.
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78 isn’t far from us. As you pass the Cedar Crest exits wave to us or if you need a potty break stop in.
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How exciting that you are not far off our beaten path! Some day….
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Just know you are invited! We would throw burgers on the grill for you too but no fancy cakes.
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Thank you!! We are easy to please, and only Nathaniel makes fancy cakes. We HAVE to eat them, don’t we?
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Speedos at the gym? Glad I can exercise at home!
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No no no! Thank goodness I wouldn’t have to look at that.The speedos are for the upcoming vacation season.
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Finally getting a winter around here. The skiers are ecstatic!
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I’m surprised they are still interested. It’s been another strange winter.
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Why is it our desks become such catchalls? Like you, I tidy mine up and 3 days later, it’s unpresentable! Dropped our taxes off and hoping to hear good news this year. Fingers crossed. I do Andrews online. This year he had a verrrrry small income, some of which was income from publishing his music. Of course no taxes were taken out onany of his income, so I feared the worse. He still won out because
he was eligible for EIC. When he asked why he was getting so little back. I told him not to look
a gift horse in the mouth, seeing as he paid in
$0’s. Ha! One day he will come into reality… have another wonderful week Kate! ~Elle
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The reality of taxes from a full time job can smack you in the face!
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We had some rain and possibly more to come. I’m hoping for calmer weather as we are supposed to be driving through the mountains to Reno next weekend for my birthday. They sent us another two free night deal so we’re gonna take em up on it. My husband makes potato pancakes with leftover mashed potatoes held together with an egg, is that like yours? I got our taxes done too. I can now clear off all the bits of paper and have a clear desk again.
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If he doesn’t scramble it probably not. My mother made potato fritters or pancakes but it was mostly potatoes. Kind of like latkes. This doesn’t have potatoes in it typically and is a cross between a crepe and pancake batter that gets scrambled in the pan while frying. Good luck with your bd celebration!
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I thought about you when I heard the weather report. I’m happy to hear you escaped the nor’easter, Kate. We had howling winds Friday, but thankfully it wasn’t too cold. The poor little birds couldn’t hang on to the swinging feeders. I hoping for a more calm week ahead.
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Looks like we are getting another nor’easter this week. Bleah! We had some trees down. Our yard is full of birch limbs but we didn’t suffer the damage other areas did.
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Good to hear you missed the worst of the latest storm. Weather has been wicked for so many areas. We just got a foot of fresh snow here.
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There were some power outages locally and trees down but not as bad as other storms. Another one coming on Wednesday. Boogers.
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Oh darn, hope for the best in that one too.
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My mother made this too. Probably got it from yours. I absolutely loved it. Sometimes she added mashed potatoes and onions. Probably also from your mom. Loved that too.
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I love it too. I tried to make it a while back but my proportions were off. My mom made it with an iceberg salad with a viniagrette dressing (just a tad on the sour side). I’d pour the dressing over the top. It would be awesome with onions.
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We had a major blow with big branches down. Loss of power for a while. Lotsa snow, which has now melted, mostly, in time for another storm tomorrow. Isn’t it fun, Kate, to get weather reports from all over! 🙂
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It is but I like the ones that are sunny and warm best! I hear there is another nor’easter coming on Wednesday. So done with this!
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I love a clean desk in a vacuumed house! It’s hard to work in mess.
We finally got a little rain. Very little. It’s not looking good for our water table.
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I really wish I could send you some rain. And some snow. It’s very hard for me to work in a mess because everything gets mixed up. Nothing like finding a recipe in with the tax stuff!
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We didn’t have the winter weather predicted that you did, but we had the winds. One gust blew out an upstairs window screen. Because I’m such a feeble woman [ha!] I let the screen lay out in the yard all afternoon until Z-D came home from work– so that he could put it back where it belonged. It’s important, I feel, to encourage the menfolk to help around the house. Give them a feeling of accomplishment. 😉
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I like your thought. Since my husband is retired he would have been out there way before me anyway!
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Normally I’d trudge out, get the screen, and replace it. But this week I said: “NO! let Mr. Man make himself useful.” I like how I think sometimes.
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Yes, never take their manhood from them!
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lol. You’ve got a point…
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Hi, Kate – Was that German pancake recipe for ‘Smora’ or ‘Schmarren’? My grandmother used to make that all of the time when I was a little girl. I have been looking for an ‘official’ recipe for years….but to no avail!
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Yes! I’m trying it today and will send you the recipe. The one I have is called Ishmon. My brother says the “Ish” means eggs. I’ve seen it under Smora too.
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I googled Smora and got skin care products. Ha!
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Try this http://www.relativelyrecipes.com/recipes-by-category/breakfast/schmarn
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Snowy, windy and cold! BUT………… it’s lovely and mild today following some rain overnight and most of the snow has gone! Jumper indoors is off! Big problem now is sand which has taken up residence in gardens, paths and roads. Gives a new dimension to the beach on your doorstep!
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You now have an ocean front property! 🙂
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Not quite, but someone down the road has a beach patio just now.
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Feet and vegetable soup, oh dear! I’m half laughing and half grimacing!
We got caught in that stormy weather, too. There was no precipitation for us, only wind. A trampoline from down the road ended up on our house. For once I’M the talk of the neighborhood! I am quite thankful we didn’t lose power like so many others did.
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