Things that bring a smile to your face

[Biff Mayhem]

We had one that had a lot of spaces/holes (on purpose) and I’ll be danged if it didn’t keep us warm. 

not our actual afghan:

[smr-nj]

My maternal grandmother was a knitting and crocheting queen. My two sister and I had ponchos in multiple colors and patterns, and there were blankets galore in those late 60’s- 70’s popular colors- brown, orange, burgundy, cream, that Pukey green, yellow.  We never got those variations of pretty blue color ponchos. My cousins got those. I think we were told they got the blue colors and we got the other is because they had blue eyes and we all had brown eyes.
….. so, “ don’t it make my brown eyes blue”. (Crystal Gayle)

🫤

[chasfh]

On 5/19/2025 at 10:54 PM, IdahoBert said:

I lost 25 pounds going on three years ago - have kept it off - and it was almost entirely due to eating less, which is something people don’t want to hear but it’s true. It’s made a huge difference. I don’t tire as quickly and at age 73 mobility and not tiring quickly is a big deal.

I walked 1.9 miles today and that’s 186 cal burned but if I eat 1800 cal a day - which totally works for me because I’m thoughtful about what it is - instead of 2500 cal that’s 700 cal and that’s where all the weight loss really comes from. I never eat anything after 7 PM.

The ease with which I have been able to lose weight numerous times is also due to the fact that I’m a man and I don’t have the body of a woman whose ancestors survived the Ice Age by holding onto fat and we’re able to bear children. 

Without going into too much background, I have had to actively reduce the sodium in my diet. I'm kind of lucky much of my diet was lower in sodium anyway and I just had to cut out a few bad offenders, like salty snacks and Tasty Bite side dishes and cottage cheese (!). But then I found that one of the bigger challenges for me was getting enough calories. So often calories equals sodium, and at first I was bringing in around 1,500 calories a day before reaching my sodium budget, and I still work out a fair amount. Within three weeks I was down almost ten pounds, and not in a good way, necessarily. So I had to further reconfigure my diet to add calories without sodium. I tried trail mix at first, but that blew me through my fat budget. I finally came around to adding oatmeal and baked potatoes, both of which I like enough to eat basically every day. So I am close to on balance now. Thanks for asking. 😉

[gehringer_2]

18 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I never eat anything after 7 PM

that's what works for me when I stick to it.

[IdahoBert]

20 minutes ago, chasfh said:

Without going into too much background, I have had to actively reduce the sodium in my diet. I'm kind of lucky much of my diet was lower in sodium anyway and I just had to cut out a few bad offenders, like salty snacks and Tasty Bite side dishes and cottage cheese (!). But then I found that one of the bigger challenges for me was getting enough calories. So often calories equals sodium, and at first I was bringing in around 1,500 calories a day before reaching my sodium budget, and I still work out a fair amount. Within three weeks I was down almost ten pounds, and not in a good way, necessarily. So I had to further reconfigure my diet to add calories without sodium. I tried trail mix at first, but that blew me through my fat budget. I finally came around to adding oatmeal and baked potatoes, both of which I like enough to eat basically every day. So I am close to on balance now. Thanks for asking. 😉

When I was recently pet sitting for two groups of family members who were out of town on vacation, I was yanked out of my usual circumstances and “gained” 10 pounds in two weeks.

This was mostly due to bulk and water weight retention due to high sodium intakes and lots of sugar from which I had generally abstained.

After going on a sugar fast and eating under 800 cal a day I got back to my normal set weight that I’ve been at for the last couple years. Now I’m slowly eating more every day, but being careful not to break the rules.

10 pounds is a big difference for me because I tire more quickly and feeling bloated is just a yucky feeling.

My stomach now automatically winces at the thought of disturbing it with foods and drinks that were the problem. This is good. 

[chasfh]

14 minutes ago, IdahoBert said:

When I was recently pet sitting for two groups of family members who were out of town on vacation, I was yanked out of my usual circumstances and “gained” 10 pounds in two weeks.

This was mostly due to bulk and water weight retention due to high sodium intakes and lots of sugar from which I had generally abstained.

After going on a sugar fast and eating under 800 cal a day I got back to my normal set weight that I’ve been at for the last couple years. Now I’m slowly eating more every day, but being careful not to break the rules.

10 pounds is a big difference for me because I tire more quickly and feeling bloated is just a yucky feeling.

My stomach now automatically winces at the thought of disturbing it with foods and drinks that were the problem. This is good. 

I try to maintain ~165 lbs. When I go into the 150s I feel weak. When I go into the 170s I feel fat (because of belly protrusion). It's a delicate balance.

When I was trying to lose weight I would cut my calories by 500 a day, so instead of the 2,250 or so I normally had taken in, I would take in 1,750. That way I could lose about a pound a week (3,500-kcal deficit equals one pound; 500 kcal per day * 7 days = 3,500 kcal). Losing weight gradually is one of the better ways to keep the weight off permanently, so you don't end up boomeranging.

But now that I am monitoring my sodium intake (via MyFitnessPal, arguably the greatest phone app on the planet), to your point, I don't retain water like I used to and now I have to focus on getting enough calories, rather than reducing calories. Good problem to have? You tell me. 😁

[IdahoBert]

13 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I try to maintain ~165 lbs. When I go into the 150s I feel weak. When I go into the 170s I feel fat (because of belly protrusion). It's a delicate balance.

When I was trying to lose weight I would cut my calories by 500 a day, so instead of the 2,250 or so I normally had taken in, I would take in 1,750. That way I could lose about a pound a week (3,500-kcal deficit equals one pound; 500 kcal per day * 7 days = 3,500 kcal). Losing weight gradually is one of the better ways to keep the weight off permanently, so you don't end up boomeranging.

But now that I am monitoring my sodium intake (via MyFitnessPal, arguably the greatest phone app on the planet), to your point, I don't retain water like I used to and now I have to focus on getting enough calories, rather than reducing calories. Good problem to have? You tell me. 😁

To maintain a 196 pound weight, and given that at my age I burn calories at a slower rate than 10 years ago even though I walk 2 miles a day, I have to stay at under 1700 cal daily. I was once able to exceed that mark frequently and not gain weight, but that is no longer the case. Banquet and celebration eating as a lifestyle is over for me.

On the positive side, the mindfulness and sense of agency required to stick to this regimen is its own reward. At times I feel more comfortable inside my own skin than I ever have at any time previously. 

[CMRivdogs]

When you pull out of a parking lot the last thing you expect is a heard of cows

 

[Biff Mayhem]

I’ve been wanting to take up pickleball for awhile now and the local community Ed has a “beginner - new to the game” class so I signed up. I wanted to know the rules and nuances and figured this was a great way to be introduced properly to the game. 
 

First session was tonight. It was me, 5 women in their late 60’s to early 70’s, one 50-something woman and one very uncoordinated woman in her 30s. 
 

After a brief skills practice, we started serving and playing doubles. The best way I can describe it is with a visual representation:

 

[IdahoBert]

Just another typical fall day at the Idaho Botanical Garden, one of my most frequently visited and favorite places ever. 

[Screwball]

On 9/17/2025 at 9:05 PM, Biff Mayhem said:

I’ve been wanting to take up pickleball for awhile now and the local community Ed has a “beginner - new to the game” class so I signed up. I wanted to know the rules and nuances and figured this was a great way to be introduced properly to the game. 
 

First session was tonight. It was me, 5 women in their late 60’s to early 70’s, one 50-something woman and one very uncoordinated woman in her 30s. 
 

After a brief skills practice, we started serving and playing doubles. The best way I can describe it is with a visual representation:

 

Good for you - don't get hurt. 🙂

[oblong]

 

[IdahoBert]

This is a really good all Idaho Pilsner that’s crisp and with a great finish. It makes me smile.

My son is 50 years younger than me and he and his friends really like it and deride “old people’s beer” saying that IPAs taste like feet. I have neglected asking him how he knows feet taste bad.

[oblong]

That looks great.  I've migrated back to lagers and pilsners in particular.  I like the taste of a strong IPA and if I am somewhere new I might get one.  But for my every day drinking now I am back where I started. Although the cooler weather now means stout season is upon us.

The craft brewery industry is in trouble.  The lure wore off for the main demographic.  For a long time it was about the chase.  Finding something new or going somewhere new.  It was referred to as the Pokemon generation growing up.  My local brewery has reverted back to the "dad" beer.   I just feel better the next day having a lager vs an Ale of some type, espeically when it's 2 or 3 of them.

[chasfh]

I am glad the went-on-for-way-too-long IPA craze is starting to wane, and that pilsners and lagers are on the way back. It got to be too much when i would go to a bar known for its beer and the menu would be all IPAs, weisses, sours, and fruit beers. Bring back St Pauli Girl!

[oblong]

18 minutes ago, chasfh said:

I am glad the went-on-for-way-too-long IPA craze is starting to wane, and that pilsners and lagers are on the way back. It got to be too much when i would go to a bar known for its beer and the menu would be all IPAs, weisses, sours, and fruit beers. Bring back St Pauli Girl!

But now we have seltzers and their variants.  My local store is about 50/50 in terms of shelf space between beer and what I'll generically call seltzers.  I have to drive further away to get good stuff.   I still try to support breweries who bottle their product.

 

[chasfh]

7 minutes ago, oblong said:

But now we have seltzers and their variants.  My local store is about 50/50 in terms of shelf space between beer and what I'll generically call seltzers.  I have to drive further away to get good stuff.   I still try to support breweries who bottle their product.

 

When seltzers bump lagers and pilsners off of menus, I'll get big mad at them, too.

[CMRivdogs]

We have a couple breweries here that we will occasionally stop at. The main one is next to the county marina, I've found I enjoy most of their lagers and light ales more than the IPAs. 
I've even come to enjoy them more than the local wines outside of a good Petite Verdot (one of Virginia's noted specialities)

Everything else seems to trigger the side effects of my lung drug.

[oblong]

About 6 weeks  ago this guy started getting sick and throwing up. Then he stopped eating. A bunch of tests and few thousand dollars later we still don’t know what it was. Doctor thought it was addisons disease which would have meant forever treatment. It wasn’t. She knew of a parasite with similar symptoms so we treated it as if it were that. I swear at one point I figured we were going to lose him. I had already told myself that.  He was on prednisone and going out every hour. One night he’d just go out there and lay down. I had to put his leash on to simulate a walk and that got him back in. He would only eat chicken if we made it and barely any at that.  Then one day he finally ate a half serving of his food. A few days later he was back to his normal diet and routine and now he’s better than ever. I was feeling guilty over not taking him for enough walks. Sunday is our long run day but with the freep half marathon last week and our post race massages, which is worse for us physically than the race itself, we decided to walk our route today and take him with us. He loved it. Out in the woods and taking in all the smells.  He’s been sleeping since.  Dogs rule!  

[smr-nj]

14 minutes ago, oblong said:

About 6 weeks  ago this guy started getting sick and throwing up. Then he stopped eating. A bunch of tests and few thousand dollars later we still don’t know what it was. Doctor thought it was addisons disease which would have meant forever treatment. It wasn’t. She knew of a parasite with similar symptoms so we treated it as if it were that. I swear at one point I figured we were going to lose him. I had already told myself that.  He was on prednisone and going out every hour. One night he’d just go out there and lay down. I had to put his leash on to simulate a walk and that got him back in. He would only eat chicken if we made it and barely any at that.  Then one day he finally ate a half serving of his food. A few days later he was back to his normal diet and routine and now he’s better than ever. I was feeling guilty over not taking him for enough walks. Sunday is our long run day but with the freep half marathon last week and our post race massages, which is worse for us physically than the race itself, we decided to walk our route today and take him with us. He loved it. Out in the woods and taking in all the smells.  He’s been sleeping since.  Dogs rule!  

❤️❤️❤️. Long live Hank!! ❤️❤️❤️

 I’m so glad for you guys that he’s on the mend. ❤️‍🩹 

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, oblong said:

About 6 weeks  ago this guy started getting sick and throwing up. Then he stopped eating. A bunch of tests and few thousand dollars later we still don’t know what it was. Doctor thought it was addisons disease which would have meant forever treatment. It wasn’t. She knew of a parasite with similar symptoms so we treated it as if it were that. I swear at one point I figured we were going to lose him. I had already told myself that.  He was on prednisone and going out every hour. One night he’d just go out there and lay down. I had to put his leash on to simulate a walk and that got him back in. He would only eat chicken if we made it and barely any at that.  Then one day he finally ate a half serving of his food. A few days later he was back to his normal diet and routine and now he’s better than ever. I was feeling guilty over not taking him for enough walks. Sunday is our long run day but with the freep half marathon last week and our post race massages, which is worse for us physically than the race itself, we decided to walk our route today and take him with us. He loved it. Out in the woods and taking in all the smells.  He’s been sleeping since.  Dogs rule!  

Good for him!

 

[Crazy Cat Gentleman]

On 10/22/2025 at 1:37 PM, IdahoBert said:

what's going on in that sculpture? someone trying to save his friend from being eaten by a tire swing?

[IdahoBert]

13 hours ago, Crazy Cat Gentleman said:

what's going on in that sculpture? someone trying to save his friend from being eaten by a tire swing?

It’s actually two boys playing on a tire swing and it was in the Boise mall for years and when new ownership took over they threw it away and some one saw it on the scrap heap at metal recycling facility and they knew the artist so they retrieved it and the artist repaired it and put it in the botanical garden.

It was a beloved piece of public art that a lot of people recalled fondly from a more innocent time in our city’s past and it was kind of a big deal to reclaim it.

Absentee ownership moves in all sorts of places and erases public memories, but this was one memory that in the end, and only by happenstance, was not erased.

[IdahoBert]

This only matters if you live in the west can go to an In-N-Out Burger, but I discovered today that although they technically open at 10:30 AM, if you walk in the door at 10 AM, they will serve you. There’s nobody there and there’s no wait. Small victories in a bad world.

[Biff Mayhem]

Just don’t ask for breakfast at 11:33 am. 
 

Rick will not allow it and Sheila will sit there grinning.