I think you have a big fan club, Sylvain. Enjoy it.

Lurkers!!! Have you ever looked at the 'official' definition of a lurker? There's danger everywhere, I guess, even behind a computer screen. I confess I do it a lot on ATP, but I consider my activity as that of a student learning things. However, the official definition doesn't see it that way .

Sylvain, I'm a lurker here mainly because I enjoy the posts and because right now I don't have much to post.

Now if someone enjoys hearing me say I'm going berseck everyday because I'm bored then I can do that.

Laughing. I too lurk if I have nothing to contribute. Pepper and I are just keeping you from being bored Sylvain!

Sylvain, I admit, I'm also a lurker..love the continuing saga of you and Lucy and will not miss an episode. I followed you from the coffee thread to the pull up a chair thread to here and will follow you to the ends of the earth. Even though I don't KNOW you, I have the greatest appreciation and affection for you and your family and so will continue to lurk to get my daily smile from your musings. Sorry but you are not getting rid of me.

Kris

Hello everyone.
I just found this thread. It is a good example of happy people in a happy place. Lots of good subjects being discussed.

I sent the link for the bagel recipe to my daughter who is the baker in our small family. My job will be to buy the cream cheese.

That's all I have to say at the moment as I'm busy packing to move into but will check back in at break time to see what I missed.

Mostly lurking and enjoying the conversations about life. It's nice to be reminded that it is warm in some places while I look out at snow.

I'm a lurker as well

Me too. I am thoroughly enjoying myself.

Yes, indeed.

We are 'Lourspolaire's Lurkers'

Lurker here too. Still at DG and active in Coffee and . . . but my membership runs out next month after being at DG since Feb. 2002 and I am not sure what I am going to do.

Sylvain, I have so enjoyed your posts at both places and am hoping that all goes well with your dad and then he decides to make his home either with your or nearby.

Joy

Sylvain - does Gail know you have a fan club - Lourspolaire's Lurkers. Like a rock star with groupies! How are the fish doing? Do they slow down in the winter?

Hi, everyone.

It's a very nice and sunny morning here in Delray-les-Plages, 77 degrees F, 62% relative humidity, no wind. Dad and I just finished having breakfast al fresco. I had oatmeal. He had toast with homemade caramel, the breakfast of champeens. How he delights in caramel, it's amazing. I only make it, I don't eat any, but it's nice to see him eat it and get such enjoyment out of it. Let the day begin.

One of our dear friends from Quebec city will arrive Sunday afternoon for a 2-week stay. At 80 years old, she enjoys a break from Winter in the polar regions. She's a sweetheart, not a fussy eater, computer literate, sharp as a tack and all around good company. We're all looking forward to her arrival.

I have at least 2, maybe 3 loads laundry with my name on them. I'll finish this post and get going on that. Wasted time is not given back at the end of the day. Last night's fish and chip dinner was a resounding success. I had found these cod fillets at the grocery store, fish like I hadn't seen in a very long time. And I know my way around fish, I tell you. I hand-cut French fries and deep-fried them while the panko-breaded fish baked in the blazing-hot convection oven. While all that was goin on, I made some cole slaw and some tartar sauce. Dad and I had a beer with that. There was fresh fruit salad for dessert. Delicious! Dad said they should serve that on big expensive cruise ships for the captain's dinner night's menu. We laughed.

Lucy was full of energy last night. Gail asked to play with her and she calmed right down again as soon as Gail got a hold of her. Gail said maybe I was holding Lucy wrong. How insulting. Dad laughed so hard, I thought he would wet himself. As I returned Lucy to her vivarium, I told her it takes an evil snake to make The Daddy look bad like that. Gotta love The Baby.

Tonight's dinner menu is still up in the air. I may thaw some of Costco's lamb chops and grill them. Time will tell. I might as well start thinking about stuff like that early in the day because Escoffia (the Muse of fine dining) doesn't haunt these premises too often, of late.

Lourspolaire's lurkers, eh? That explains the wild statistics at the top of this thread. I comes as no surprise. There was a fair bit of that going on at the other playground, too. If this keeps up, I may have more readers than Dave Barry. But please, don't just swing by, read a bit and go. Leave a few lines for others to enjoy. Who hasn't got time for a few cheerful words, even if it's just to say I HATE WINTER WITH A PURPLE PASSION. I stopped saying that 12 years ago, when we moved down here. I never missed it once yet. And THIS winter, I didn't check the snow tire sales, either.

The cichlids do not slow down during winter. They're just as active, beligerent and crazy as they always were. We have 2 couples guarding eggs fiercely right now. We should see free-swimming fry soon. There is always something going on in a cichlid aquarium.

Take care, everyone.
Sylvain.

Yes, I do hate winter with a purple passion. Now that's an expression I haven't heard in many, many years. I think a lot of us must be oldies, but goodies.

We've had rain and most of the ice and snow has melted. It's warm here today. Love it! I can see much more of the daffodil leaves in the back. One of my favorite flowers.

I check out of my motel this morning, see my doctor at 10:30, then will probably car camp for a few days.

After five days in the hospital I left with no firm diagnosis. However, my breathing is much better and, generally, keeps improving. Best guess is the problems are an aftermath of pneunomia which I got for Christmas. Next year I'd prefer candy.

My niece was here for three days and it was incredible. I hadn't seen her in twenty years.

I miss my dogs and my friends, maybe in that order.

katie

Caramel........oh, be still my heart. I said when we were in Mexico that you gotta love people that put out bowls of thick, yummy caramel to put on pancakes, waffles, and, who knows..........your salad???? LOLOL Sylvain...........if it wouldn't be too much of an imposition, could you post your caramel recipe here so others besides me could indulge in Nirvana???

Snow last night, just a little, and maybe less than an inch today. Hmmm............wonder if that will be enough to curtail the going to Music Club tonight with my friend Tracey. She's driving, and it's about 45 minutes away, so it will be up to her.

No rain here and snow is still lying in at least 3". Some of the footprints we made are showing the green grass though, so there's hope that a lot will melt away today. We plowed our parking pad and driveway on Sunday but have not done anything with the walkway tot he front door. I cleaned off the steps but that was it, my back was starting to hurt so I didn't want to push it over into spasms. I had jammed it on Friday when one foot slipped off a carpeted step and landed hard on the tread below, just knocked the breath right out of me!

DH couldn't do anything about the shoveling because he has 5 stents and its just too risky for his heart, and anyway all our friends know to come in the garage. The delivery people haven't been able to get here because the main roads aren't plowed, so no worries.
That's one of the things about living in the south, the hint of snow and everything shuts down! When I worked for UPS, they flew a group of us from northern New Jersey to Louisville, KY to work on Customs clearance because the regular workers couldn't get to work. It was great being able to rent a car and drive all over town with no traffic!

Lurkers are silent friends. Many feel they have nothing interesting to contribute (completely wrong in this thought). After all, when we sit around with a group of people, we usually do not weigh each word to see if it is scintillating, intellectual, and worthy - we just chat. So - all lurkers who are comfortable doing so, jump in and just say hello.

There are also many very private individuals who do not share personal details with others - that is fine and my philosophy also largely. I may talk about my dog or my DH (length of marriage, etc.) building a bookcase, but I am not comfortable with personal confessional details. That is also fine. Then there are very outgoing folks who love to chat and tell all - I assume they do not mind others knowing their stuff or they would not put it on the World Wide Web. These people view the world as a large group of nice folks who would be interesting to know. And they are right to a surprisingly large extent - most people are nice and people are interested in others situations just because humans are gregarious and do better in groups. The nasty folks are not as numerous and usually drop out of chats if they are basically ignored.

This thread is good because there is no hint of exclusivity - no feeling that you have stepped into another's space. It helps to know you are not alone in your problems, even if the only help is a heartfelt "we understand". Also we will all be going with Sylvain on his cruise next December - I hope he can get to the internet to keep us posted as he cruises along. Maybe Dad can be taught to post in the meantime from Lucy Land to keep all updated. Will he be sitting and playing with Lucy each evening while Daddy is away?

I dislike caramel - I may be the only one who feels like this . Dark chocolate is, however, another matter - that is delicious. Isn't it interesting how tastes differ although the human tongue is constructed the same for all.

Hi again.

I will get working on that caramel recipe some time soon, I promise.

I can tell you right now that I will be packing my tablet for my cruise, but only to read. I will be cut off from the rest of the world for a whole week. Oh, it will be so nice. And no, dad won't be playing with Lucy, or posting on the internet. One need not be a clairvoyant to predict that.

Ah, the subtle joys of laundry. Dad loves folding clothes, so he gladly takes care of that part. We shall prevail in all this.

Sylvain