The General Chat Thread (2016-2022)

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LissaC said:
Nope, not here.

Funny story about coffee: Portuguese coffee is closer to the Italian espresso, a small, very strong cup of coffee.

Apparently American coffee is not as strong as is usually served in big mugs.

Couple years ago, one of our American colleagues came here and went to get coffee from one of the machines in the office. All our coffee machines give out an espresso, the small, strong coffee. He wasn't satisfied with the amount of coffee that came out of the machine so he filled one big mug with espresso coffees. Which he fully drank, which made him feel very bad. He was shacking and trembling and unable to focus, and someone had to drive him back to his hotel and stay with him for the rest of the day :laugh:
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Did he also do the stairs backwards? :laugh:
 
Duck59 said:
Tea and coffee drinking in Ethiopia and Eritrea needs a bit of practice before you know all of the tricks. For example, a macchiato there is milkier than what you'd get in Europe. Tea comes in a small tumbler, without milk but with a (usually thick) slice of lemon. You will generally get your tea or coffee laden with sugar unless you specifically ask for no sugar. I think the first two Tigrigna phrases I learnt were "without meat" and "without sugar."
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I am really curious about your times in Ethiopia and Eritrea. I had a trip to the Seychelles with flights on Ethiopian Airlines last year, but it was supposed to have happened right at the time the pandemic started and I had to cancel. Assuming my travel voucher is still valid, currently I'm much more interested in traveling in Ethiopia (solo) than to the Seychelles. The churches in the rock, the Danakil depression, the gelada monkeys, feeding hyenas, all of that seems so exotic and exciting!
 
TastyReuben said:
That's similar to what our British friends refer to as "Elevenses," though I don't know if that gets used all that much now.

Where I live, we just call that a "coffee break," and that's what I have, though it's usually closer to 10AM - my mid-morning snack.

When I was attending German language classes, which went from 9AM-1PM on Saturdays, we always stopped at 11AM for "Kaffee und Kuchen" - coffee and cake - yes, a similar thing there as well.
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Yes it's similar, it also gets called ' elf uurtje' here.
 
LissaC said:
I am really curious about your times in Ethiopia and Eritrea. I had a trip to the Seychelles with flights on Ethiopian Airlines last year, but it was supposed to have happened right at the time the pandemic started and I had to cancel. Assuming my travel voucher is still valid, currently I'm much more interested in traveling in Ethiopia (solo) than to the Seychelles. The churches in the rock, the Danakil depression, the gelada monkeys, feeding hyenas, all of that seems so exotic and exciting!
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I was working in both countries, so I didn't have the full tourist experience, although there's something to be said for that. I did manage to see some of the rock churches, which are remarkable. In Eritrea, I lived and worked in Assab, which is on the Red Sea coast and very close to the Danakil depression. And yes, it's hot. And humid.

Of course, for a full story, you could read my book Life in the Sauna...
 
I am impressed. From '94 to '04 I had a small landscaping business. I did not provide lawn service. Landscape design, installation and maintenance. CAD programs were either very limited or very expensive. I did my design work by hand. I went through the LSU Ag. Center Mater Gardener Program and tested for State Licensing as a Landscape Contractor and Horticultural Specialist. I loved my work. I focused on residential work. I did 3 or 4 commercial projects ion ten years. My business was "word of mouth" referral. I set myself apart from other landscapers by focusing on my client's needs. I always asked to see the inside of their homes to get a feel for their style. I had a questionnaire about how they used their yard, how much time and effort were they willing to spend on maintenance, were there pets or children. Every job was 100% custom. I did not arbitrarily select plants. I gave my clients options.
I guess you can tell that I loved my work. More than loved - I was passionate. Unfortunately I was in a near fatal accident in March '04. I lost my little business. I was not able to work for a year. I still miss my business and my clients.
 
mjd said:
Sorry about your distressing issues with family. I hope things get better for you soon.

I think it's great your are a lifelong student. Your studies sound fascinating. I try to learn something new every day.
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Thanks, mjd. Nothing grave or new; just acute stress. We're all lifelong students, we just have different viewpoints and activities.
 
Not the vaguest hint of sun today, just a thick blanket of grey cloud depositing plenty of rain. For added amusement, the rain is arriving horizontally thanks to a near gale blowing all day. Indoors is the only sensible option.
 
Duck59 said:
Not the vaguest hint of sun today, just a thick blanket of grey cloud depositing plenty of rain. For added amusement, the rain is arriving horizontally thanks to a near gale blowing all day. Indoors is the only sensible option.
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It would be worse if it rained from the bottom up. I think.
 
MypinchofItaly said:
It would be worse if it rained from the bottom up. I think.
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caseydog said:
Sunny here, with a forecast high of 75F/24C. Back to normal, if there is such a thing normal weather in Texas.

CD
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And we can neatly combine the last two posts:

57898
 
Around 40F and sunny today, even warmer tomorrow, so the snow won't see the end of the week.

We have a family of rabbits living under the deck. I saw them out this morning, eating grass from a small part of the yard that has grass peeking up through the snow, so when I fed the birds, I took them out a half-head of lettuce that's getting a little worse for wear and tossed it under the porch.

Counted six squirrels mixing it up in the yard this morning as well.

Bread on the first rise right now, I sort of need to go into town, but I don't really want to. Wife is in a pure funk, has been the last few days. I think the pandemic is finally getting to her, because she sees more and more people on social media going out, and more and more people getting vaccines, but she's not eligible yet in our state, so she's getting mad.
 
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