Dead Beat Mothers are Losers!
ThaiMommy
22 years ago
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Juliana_9
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
The beatings will continue until production improves...
Comments (5)The beating was to stress it and make it think its gonna die (which it will if it doesn't produce). I'm pretty brutal about a tree pulling it's weight around here, as I don't have room for losers. My mother-in-law is scared she's next (relax mama, you're a keeper). It only adds insult to injury that all the stonefruit trees around it are outrageously productive and I have to thin like crazy and prop branches up. I'll be interested in Mara's results for the best apricots, as it's a topworking party next year. The beating of the cherries produced about four cherries each. See, it works! Applenut...See MoreIdyll #391 Beating Back The Jungle
Comments (109)Deanne - there isn't really a recipe for the blueberry shortcake. This is what I do: Preheat oven to 450F. Make biscuit dough (I use my recipe for low fat cottage cheese biscuits - I'll include the recipe below...). Divide the dough into three pieces - one large and two smaller pieces. Roll the large piece out and line an 8x8 cakepan with it so that it completely covers the bottom and sides with some draped over the edge. (Spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray before putting the dough in!) Roll out the smaller pieces so that they will just fit in the 8x8 pan - but set aside for now. For the blueberry filling I used one 600g (~1.3lb.) tub (the size of a large margarine tub) of frozen wild blueberries, thawed; one pint of fresh cultivated blueberries; 2T corn starch; 1/2 cup sugar. Combine the berries, sugar and cornstarch and heat in microwave until they are very hot. (You need to have the filling hot when it goes into the pan or else it takes too long in the oven to heat up and the center layer of dough doesn't cook!) To assemble - put half the hot berry mixture in the dough-lined pan. Place one of the smaller dough pieces that you rolled out earlier on top. Add the rest of the berries on top of that. Then put the final piece of dough on the top. Fold over the edges of the bottom dough layer that were hanging over the edge of the pan. Bake at 450F for ~20-22 minutes. The filling may bubble over so I usually put a sheet of aluminium foil on the bottom of the oven! Serve warm or cold - but warm is better! (If the filling bubbles over, the end product may look a bit messy but it tastes great!) You can also make strawberry shortcake the same way. Wild strawberries is what Grandma used (it was my sister and my job to pick them!) Since wild strawberries are a bit(!) hard to come by these days, I use cultivated ones but chop them into small pieces. As with the blueberries, get the strawberries hot in the microwave before adding them to the dough. ----- Low Fat Cottage Cheese Biscuits Heat oven to 450 F 1 ½ cups flour ½tsp. salt 2 ½ tsp. baking powder 1/8 cup cold butter 1 egg 1 cup low fat (1%) cottage cheese ~ ½ cup milk Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add 1T. sugar if you want to make sweet biscuits or plan to make cobbler (or blueberry shortcake). Cut in the cold butter using a pastry blender or fork. Make a well and add the egg and cottage cheese. Mix together and add enough milk to form a soft dough that sticks together. How much milk you need will depend on how much liquid is in the cottage cheese. The dough should be slightly sticky but not too wet. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently a few times. Pat out to ~ 1/2- ¾ inches thick. Cut into rounds using a biscuit cutter or water glass. Space biscuits slightly apart on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake for 20-22 minutes at 450 F. If you prefer soft-sided biscuits, place the biscuits close together on the cookie sheet or in a cake pan (which is what I do)...See MoreJapanese Maple - Beat up by cold snap
Comments (5)I would wait to see where, if at all, it starts to leaf out, and then take off the dead stuff above that. Do so carefully, to avoid damaging any new growth. Check to see where the graft/joint is. If you only get growth from below that, scrap the tree - while the roots are some variety of maple, it probably won't be as nice in form, leaf or color as the grafted top was/will be. If the sprouts are from above the graft, it's up to you if you want to nurse it along and see what sort of shape it turns out. Some judicious pruning may be necesary later in the summer to make sure it won't end up too badly shaped. Don't overwater it. Since it looks to be on a slope, it's probably not a problem, but maples don't like soggy roots. If it lives, I would expand the mulch circle as well - out about 3' if you can manage it - no deeper than 4", no mulch in the 2-4" next to the trunk. Spreading 4-6 sheets of black-ink newspaper or flattened cardboard under the mulch will smother the grass for you. Just be sure to cover all the edges, as the exposed paper can wick moisture from the soil, which is NOT what is wanted! If you have NO new leaves by early June, I would have to say the tree is probably dead. That Easter Weekend freeze did in a lot of plants, all over the east, midwest and southeast....See MoreBeing a stepmom to adult children whose mother has died
Comments (7)Oh my. In my opinion, you need to speak to husband. He is making things harder than need be. Your husband being overly stubborn over the title 'grandma' is going to work against you, not in your favor. Husband can not stomp his foot and demand his grandchildren call you anything other than politely address you by your name. When and if the kiddies choose to call you 'grandma' they will do it on their own (and I don't think the adult children should object if the kids themselves choose to call you this title). Refusing to go to the party because DH could not sign the card 'grandpa and grandma'? Ouch. It really sounds like you are being very willing to work with everyone involved to make things comfortable and agreeable to everyone concerned....it's your husband that needs to stand back a bit and let things take a natural course. The kiddies may never call you grandma, but if they are receptive to you and respectful of you they very well may come to appreciate your role in their life. Just because you are not called 'grandma' does not mean you can't have a caring/loving relationship with the kids if they are willing. I think the important thing is the relationship itself and not what you or they call it. If they want to call you Grandpa and _______ , so be it. The important to me would be that a title does not get in the way of the actual actions and relationship. I would not be offended if I were called _______. I would be offended if Grandpa was called Grandpa and I was called 'hey you' and treated rudely. If I were not wanted to actually participate in the parties and family events or mistreated because I did so, then I'd have issues. Being called _______, I could be happy with. Afterall, bottomline, I not grandmother and should not demand a title they are not willing to share. My youngest daughter has no living biological grandfather. My mother's SO (22 yr relationship before he passed on)was 'Grandpa' to her. The gentleman helped full a otherwise empty role in her life. But no one made her address him as 'grandpa' and no one made him take on the role of 'grandpa'. It just happened. She crawled up on his lap one afternoon, hugged him and said 'I love you Grandpa'. We (mother and I) never called him anything but his first name to my daughter. She did it all by herself. The gentleman just totally beamed with joy when she took him by surprise by doing so. Mother and I kept our mouths shut and let them have their grandpa/grandchild relationship. No one tried to sway their relationship one way or the other. They chose it, they developed it, we (mother and I) stayed out of it. That's not to say though that my daughter does not know he was really not her biological grandfather. It does not mean she does not know about my father. I've shared many stories with her about my dad. So did her fill-in 'grandpa'. The gentleman was my father's first cousin and they (the two gentleman) grew up together. Perhaps your husband needs to quietly discuss things with his children. Kinda one by one he take them out to lunch and just open up to each other. He can't demand things that they are not comfortable with and he can't race things that sometimes just need to take time. An so too, dad needs to realize somethings might never happen. All he can do is expect respect. Both towards himself, towards you and towards your new life together. He also needs to let the adult children know that he is open to discussions with them when/if something arises that they are uncertain of and/or uncomfortable with. I actually suggest some of the attempt at open communication comes just between Dad and the adult children at least to start. I don't think the kids should be put on the spot by having to have a group family meeting (you included in it) where they might say something that would hurt feelings or not feel like they can openly speak ...I think the goal would be to get an understanding between the father and his children, know how each one of them feels, what they are and are not comfortable with. The adult children have to realize that Dad is moving on with his life, there are changes, just like the children need to move on with their life. Life is for the living. While we all have changes in our life and some changes are easier to cope with than others, we can't hold back the blows and hardships life tosses at us and all we can do is work towards making it through the ups and downs as a team aka family. You sound as if you could be a very positive addition to both dad and the adult step children's life. You just have to take it step by step, one day/event at a time and keep the communication lines flowing. First the first time in being a parent to Dad's children, he may have to learn to make father/child decisions on his own. Sure you and he can discuss issues together, he can ask for your advice, but in the end, Dad has to learn how to be a parent to his adult children on his own just as his children must learn to go on through life now without their mother. Your situation does not sound hopeless. It just kinda sounds like you all got thrown in these changes in all your life without a roadmap to help guide you through. Patience, time and a little empathy all around got my sister and I through the unexpected changes we faced. I wish you all the best....See Moreblindhearted_3
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agostew
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
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22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
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22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoblindhearted_3
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agogidgetcortez
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agogidgetcortez
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agogidgetcortez
22 years agolast modified: 9 years agoThaiMommy
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