The Cappucino Corral

[saveliberty]

Pogo, put a nice tall cat scratching post indoors for Hobbes...

...like a seven footer...

 

[Dot Com]

This thread rocks!!!

 

[Statistikhengst]

Wishing all a good Saturday.

-Stat

 

[Truman123]

Shenzhen Medley

In the back of a taxi, the broad boulevards and thin alleys fly by the eye like matchsticks thrown at you. There is no history here. These forms are new. Everyone here is from somewhere not here, and they will let you know it. From London to Wuhan, everyone’s got a story.

On the left and in a flash, you can catch a small alley and it makes a mind reel. There is history, says the open eye. It is a new history with a known nexus, says the retinal nerve. The flow of it all reaches the brain of the unspoken and unknown and it is recorded for prosperity. It is a whisper in the wind. History is the wind which whips through the window, flags flying.

Two blocks on there is an argument. The cabbie has the window down and that’s how you catch it, but you won’t understand what’s being said for a hundred years. You get the tone, though. And you see what you see. A middle-aged couple, restaurant owners you assume, are nearly at blows, but the light changes. They’re married, right?

Next you focus on the lights running up the building in unison. And then you see the LED screens, on this building and that, offering ads. The ads are competing with each other and for your attention and both companies are state-owned. Why all the fuss?

A horn blares from the back and to the right and you realize one taxi driver is as crazy as the next. If you’ve been blessed or cursed to have lived here a while, you get used to all the things you’ve gotten used to. It was a hundred years ago that your blood quickened in a taxi, and that makes your blood race again.

The traffic lights show the red numbers counting down as you wait. It’s a strange moment of near-silence and non-movement. A driver on the right bites his nails and a passenger on your left litters as if no one could see. When the clock shows a red ten, the windows go back up. There is air-conditioning to be saved.

The light turns green but everyone holds for five more seconds as the intersection clears out. ‘Me first’ screams an entire nation of socialists, and it all makes a perfect kind of oxymoronic sense to the initiated. We speak from this side of the mouth when we talk of our gilded intentions, but rubber must meet the road out the other.

The wind picks back up but is now filled with an odor beyond the innocence of night and car fumes. Shades of the metallic play on your tongue and dance in your nostrils for twenty seconds. Then they get serious and attack your brain in overwhelming formation. There is a factory nearby and whatever is being burned includes metal. In your head, you should be able to see the bribe passing hands that allows this to continue. If not, you can read it about it tomorrow or next month, for eventually the weak are caught. But you know the guilty won’t really be expunged. The guilty are scabs, and are replaced by scars, and the scars never make the news.

When the air gets back to acceptable you see the sign to your house. It is blue with white, reflective characters, letters. The top is Chinese and the bottom is pinyin and English but none of that has mattered for a long time because you know both. For fun, you imagine a family member you haven’t seen in three years sitting beside you. You wax knowledgeable through the translation and the explanation thereof, even though you know it is a moment that will never come. You’ve known that since you lived here, but it’s always kept you going. It is a dance the mind does alone because it can. This is the Shenzhen medley, and it keeps one sane.

 

[Dot Com]

Ah, Saturdy. May head out to the foothills of the blueridge then back.

 

[saveliberty]

Off to the Airport Advisory Committee organizational meeting. I already had to threaten political consequences in order to get the document we are suppose to initially advise them on. Sometimes it is hard to help people when they are afraid.

Hoping to convince them to change the pricing structure on fuel, so we can sell more and get more traffic at the airport. For a little airport we are lucky to have a relatively new runway that can land corporate jets. Hoping for some industrial development that likes the upgrades.

 

[mudwhistle]

typo in your title, fyi... two Cs in cappuccino!

I did it deliberately!!! To be different!!!

You must have some feline in you, cuz cats are like that too.

 

[Sarah G]

Morning Everyone, Nice thread. I've been reading the posts here from time to time and wanted to post so you show up under Watched Threads.

Have a great day!

 

[Statistikhengst]

Good to see you here Sarah G. Have a good Saturday.

- Stat

Gesendet von meinem GT-I9515 mit Tapatalk

 

[Derideo_Te]

It is in the 30's today and I have a head and chest cold. I bent down to pick up a piece of paper that had fallen on the floor and I was out of breath! I won't be going to my abs class at the gym today since I can barely breathe I am so clogged up. This is the weekend, you are not supposed to be sick in the weekend. Sheesh!!!

Made myself a cheese, onion and tomato omelette for breakfast with a cup of strong tea. I feel a little better but I think that a long soak in a steaming bathtub is in order later on.

Hope y'all have a better Saturday than mine.

 

[Bonita Louise]

Morning All..(stretch and yawn). Hope you All have a lovely Saturday whatever it may bring. Shopping and some hobby sewing are my plans. Just finished organizing my sewing and craft room yesterday.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Both of you.....to the corner......didn't Stat mention in the rules "No Sassiness?"........

Nope!

Sassiness is allowed!

Looks like we got off scot-free, Luddly!



Sassiness Rules!!!

If you want to shut me up, just make a rule about no sass.

I'd be mute.

 

[Pogo]

Pogo, put a nice tall cat scratching post indoors for Hobbes...

...like a seven footer...

Actually 7' would be easy. No prop needed, I'd just wedge a post between the floor and ceiling.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Good morning! It's terribly chilly here in the PA Highlands. We have a fire roaring and a giant pot of tea on the stove. I feel some board games and cocktails in my life around noon. Nothing like a weekend at the cabin. Cheers!

Can I come over? I love fireplace fires, and board games......I can brew me own coffee......tea doesn't do much for me unless it is iced....

How fast can you make it to the Laurel Highlands? lol. To be fair, the tea had a hardy dash of Disaronno. I am on holiday so a little morning cocktail is a must. Cheers!

My private jet can be ready in minutes....is there a place near you it can land? And, in that case, I'll take the tea. What kind of board games?

It may be wiser to take a boat. Do have a yacht? You can sail up the Allegheny in style. lol

Our first game is going to be Settlers of Catan and Agricola. I brought a whole giant tub filled with games. I live for it. Yay!

How many beds ya got?

Can I bring my dog?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Just notice this thread after i posted in The Coffee Shop. Mocha Cappuccino and scones are my latest favorite afternoon pick me up, so maybe i'll double fist it today, lol. Hey there everyone..

Hey Bonita Louise

Belly up to the bar, pick your poison and dig in.

That's my crude way of saying Welcome!

Do you make scones? I've never met a scone I liked. Too heavy. I'd love to find a recipe that made a lighter end result. Maybe that would be called a muffin?

Thanks for the welcome! No don't do a lot of baking anymore just bakery bought. These are small and really not to heavy..lighter in texture than old fashions. I never met a muffin i didn't like, get mine at Costco.
Gave up alcoholic beverages about 25 years ago but love virgin bloody mary's made with V8, black olives and celery.

Bring them with you to the party at mdk 's cabin.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Just notice this thread after i posted in The Coffee Shop. Mocha Cappuccino and scones are my latest favorite afternoon pick me up, so maybe i'll double fist it today, lol. Hey there everyone..

Hello and Welcome to USMB Bonita....and nice of you to drop in. Hope you'll visit again, soon and we can get to know you better.

Thank you! ..I love kitties too!

Hear that folks?

mdk should we bring our cats too? Or do you have some we can share?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

I made my Wrold Famous Atomic Minestrone soup yesterday and fresh bread today.

Here it is - secret to the best soup, as well as the best spaghetti/tomato/pizza sauce on the planet:

But first, where I learned it ... While living in Tucson, loved to go to an Italian, mostly pizza, place called Magpies. They were always voted "Best of Tucson". Every year, others would try for it but Magpies always won.

One day, sitting out on their patio, gorging on their killer pizza, I asked what their secret was. Next thing I knew, the chef had pulled up a chair and was holding forth on his sauce secrets. After that, I changed the way I cook and it never fails.

Ready?

Basil. Gobs and gobs and gobs of basil. When you would normally put in, oh say, a teaspoon of basil, make it a quarter cup or more. My spaghetti sauce is almost black with basil and its to die for.

Then, just slightly less oregano but gobs of garlic.

He also said his secret is to always use dried basil but only fresh oregano and garlic. Rub the dried basil between your palms as you're adding it. Saute it in water or olive oil with the onions, peppers before you add the other ingredients. And never let either soup or sauce boil.

That's it.

People who watch me cook just shudder at how much dried basil I put in soup and tomato sauce. They're just sure it will be awful - until they taste it.

Be brave. Give it a try.

Leftover soup and fresh garlic bread for dinner tonight. Yummmm.

 

[Derideo_Te]

Both of you.....to the corner......didn't Stat mention in the rules "No Sassiness?"........

Nope!

Sassiness is allowed!

Looks like we got off scot-free, Luddly!



Sassiness Rules!!!

If you want to shut me up, just make a rule about no sass.

I'd be mute.

While I am sure there are those who would want to shut you up I enjoy your sassiness.

 

[Derideo_Te]

I made my Wrold Famous Atomic Minestrone soup yesterday and fresh bread today.

Here it is - secret to the best soup, as well as the best spaghetti/tomato/pizza sauce on the planet:

But first, where I learned it ... While living in Tucson, loved to go to an Italian, mostly pizza, place called Magpies. They were always voted "Best of Tucson". Every year, others would try for it but Magpies always won.

One day, sitting out on their patio, gorging on their killer pizza, I asked what their secret was. Next thing I knew, the chef had pulled up a chair and was holding forth on his sauce secrets. After that, I changed the way I cook and it never fails.

Ready?

Basil. Gobs and gobs and gobs of basil. When you would normally put in, oh say, a teaspoon of basil, make it a quarter cup or more. My spaghetti sauce is almost black with basil and its to die for.

Then, just slightly less oregano but gobs of garlic.

He also said his secret is to always use dried basil but only fresh oregano and garlic. Rub the dried basil between your palms as you're adding it. Saute it in water or olive oil with the onions, peppers before you add the other ingredients. And never let either soup or sauce boil.

That's it.

People who watch me cook just shudder at how much dried basil I put in soup and tomato sauce. They're just sure it will be awful - until they taste it.

Be brave. Give it a try.

Leftover soup and fresh garlic bread for dinner tonight. Yummmm.

What time is dinner and I hope you made enough for the entire corral?

 

[saveliberty]

The alternative to sassy would be bland. Really, like that is even under consideration?