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RE: Blenders and mason jars
I use them on my vintage Oster blender, and vintage Oster Kitchen Center from the same era. Love that, very handy.
Remember the good old days when things were designed with the consumer in mind, instead of everything being proprietary like it is these days so you have to buy specialty accessories for everything?
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Spirit Deer
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09/08/11 08:15pm |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Bisquick Impossible Pies Soooooooo Easy
Impossibly Easy Pies are some of our favorite things to make in a Dutch oven. Cast iron gives them that delicate, crispy exterior that adds just a little crunch on the outside. I never make them in anything but a cast iron frying pan at home for that reason.
You can cut the recipes down to make smaller amounts. I often halve them to make in a six-inch Dutch oven. They are easily doubled, too.
A couple of our favorites are the Easy Cheesy Meatball Pie and the Seafood Pie. I'm sure the recipes are in the link shown above. We make the Seafood Pie using imitation seafood sometimes.
It's funny reading this thread. The only recipe I can recall we didn't like was the coconut pie. It was okay, but more of a custard than a pie. Different strokes and all that. :)
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Spirit Deer
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08/07/11 06:13am |
Camp Cooks and Connoisseurs
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RE: Minnesota parks re-opening
Wish we could have camped. Unfortunately, we're too busy staying home the rest of the summer to try to recoup the money we lost during three long weeks with no pay.
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Spirit Deer
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07/25/11 10:17pm |
General RVing Issues
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Minnesota parks re-opening
The three-week state shut-down ended Wednesday, with most state employees going back to work yesterday. A news report last evening stated most parks would be open for the weekend, and that reservations will be honored at the re-opened parks. They also said no new reservations would be taken until July 26.
Some state parks sustained storm damage during the shut-down and those parks will have a delayed re-opening. For more details, click here.
Fishing licenses are also now available.
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Spirit Deer
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07/22/11 08:14am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
Finally, the budget has been signed. The state goes back to work tomorrow, Thursday, June 21.
I don't know for sure when state parks will re-open, so if you have reservations for Minnesota parks, call them or check the websites tomorrow.
What a relief!
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Spirit Deer
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07/20/11 03:48pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
I don't work for the state, my husband does. He's a revenue collections officer so works for the Department of Revenue. With Revenue shut down, the state doesn't have much way to collect or disperse money for pretty much everything, although the DOR has operated with a very minimal staff throughout the shut-down so some money is flowing for essential services.
The legislature is meeting in special session right now. The news reports we saw today were conflicting, but supposedly they expect to have all nine bills passed by Thursday. Then the governor has to sign everything, which he said he would do immediately. As I understand it, the most contentious bills are still to be reviewed and passed, but at least they're working on it for a change. Then once everything is signed, I think they have to have an appropriations bill to actually release the money to get things open again.
Some departments will take longer to get up and running than others. My guess is, but I don't know for sure, but I would guess (stress GUESS) the state parks might be one of those things that can't re-open immediately, because they've had the water shut off, some of them have been vandalized and burglarized (don't get me started on that topic!), things will need cleaning in some cases, etc. Some have also sustained storm damage and have downed trees and other things that will need to be taken care of first, maybe.
So I don't think Bear Head Lake SP will be open this weekend, but I really don't know. As for us, we're hoping my husband gets back to work Friday, but we're looking for it to happen Monday or Tuesday at the earliest. We're hoping we're wrong though.
It's just been crazy time around here and we're sick of it. We will be in a financial recovery for the next several months to try to make up for the money we've lost. Our deck plans are toast, which irks me. But given the problems others have had to face in this economy, we're still counting our blessings and grateful for having a job to return to. And we're grateful the end seems to be in sight, finally.
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Spirit Deer
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07/19/11 08:27pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
It sounds like they've agreed now in theory at least. But for some stupid reason, it doesn't sound like a lot of people will be back at work till maybe Wednesday. Why the heck should it take six days, almost a whole week, to get people back to work? So that makes this essentially a three-week shut-down, almost, adding almost an entire week to the mess. I thought they were going to work 24/7 to get everything done and signed and all, but then I heard they weren't working over the weekend, so I'm not sure what the heck is happening.
I'm just glad it's over. Now we can figure out how much money we've lost and how much we'll have to plan the rest of our summer. And maybe start building the deck we were supposed to start in May, but couldn't with the threat of a shut-down looming over us.
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Spirit Deer
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07/14/11 11:45pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
Naturally, I have a lot to say about this issue, but I don't want to debate it on an RV forum.
It looks as if the end may be in sight anyway, so I hope they will come to an agreement so everyone can be back at work by Monday or so.
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Spirit Deer
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07/14/11 12:01pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
Okay, there may be a bright spot in the fishing license dilemma. First, let me emphasize THIS IS JUST A PROPOSAL at this point, so be sure to check out what's going on before you hit the state for fishing.
One of the legislators from up here in lake country has proposed that, in cases where citations are given for people who do not have licenses, once the DNR is back up and running, people with citations will be able to clear the citations by simply paying for a fishing license at that time. There would be no additional fees or fines. The only cost would be the cost of the license itself. The governor has indicated he would sign that proposal. As I said, it's not in force yet but it's something you can look into if this mess goes on much longer. This idea is absolutely brilliant, although a resolution to the budget impasse which would remove any need for this proposal makes the most sense of anything.
They also said on the news that no one has reported getting a citation for fishing without a license yet. Which I realize that doesn't mean no one has or would. No mention was made about any confiscations of gear or boats even being a possibility.
We are supposed to reserve a long weekend in a Wisconsin state park to meet up with friends from Chicago and Milwaukee, but since it's Day Twelve here with no pay, there will be no money for that trip. We're also supposed to reserve a site for a rally next year in July, but can't do that either. We're not happy campers, because it looks like we're not going to be campers at all anymore this year.
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Spirit Deer
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07/12/11 06:25pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
We do vote, and we do our best to make good choices, and that's all I want to say about the topic except I don't see where either side has anything to be proud of in this fiasco, and that I'm glad we're registered indies who don't have to support either party.
Jayco, you're right, you can make your own choices. But unfortunately, when the loss of revenue at the state parks is buried under the loss of revenue from the closed-down lottery, the loss of revenue from income taxes from all the state employees and other employees who have been laid off due to the shut-down, the loss of revenue from everything else that's bleeding money every single minute this nonsense goes on, they're not going to notice or care that they've lost tourism dollars. These people really, truly do not live in the real world the rest of us are in. They don't seem to be noticing how much this is hurting the entire state, much less care.
If you ever needed a demonstration of what a political temper tantrum really looks like, this is it.
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Spirit Deer
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07/11/11 07:06pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
I haven't been around Hinckley in years, so was unaware of the construction there. When we head south now, we go down through eastern Wisconsin to avoid towing through the Cities. Much less stressful and more scenic. Thanks for pointing out the construction down by Hinckley.
My mistake, I thought fishing without a license would result in a fine, not confiscation of boats and other equipment.
Jesse was good for a laugh, and at least we knew where he stood on things.
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Spirit Deer
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07/11/11 03:20pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
It's just a guess, but if the website for getting a fishing license isn't up and running, my GUESS (and I stress I'm only guessing) is that the IT people who handle the website were probably deemed non-essential personnel and sent home. You also have to remember that Revenue, where my husband works, handles all the money in the state for all kinds of things like the lottery and other monies collected. The DOR currently is operating with a skeleton crew and almost everyone from that department is laid off, like my husband is. So there may not be anyone to handle the payments for fishing licenses. Again, I'm speculating because I don't know those details for sure, but it would make sense to me that if there's no one to process payments, nobody can buy a license.
As a rule, Minnesota is a great place to live and fairly progressive with respected political leaders, whether all of us agree with them or not. I can't explain what happened because we keep wracking our brains trying to figure out how any of the current madness makes any sense, but we just don't get it. We personally would like to replace everyone from both parties on the spot, but as far as I know there's no way to do that, and even if there was, it would probably take longer than just waiting out their collective hissy fit.
I'm not sure what you mean by government workers making things as miserable as they can for everyone. If you're talking about the politicians, I agree. If you're talking about the rank and file who actually do the work of keeping the state up and running, they don't have any choice. They'd work if they could, but the doors to their workplaces are locked and their key cards have been disabled. They can't work no matter what. This is NOT a strike!
The whole thing just makes my head hurt. It wouldn't be so bad if they were negotiating and trying to fix this, but they're not. As much as the whole situation ticks me off, that's the thing the torques me off the most.
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Spirit Deer
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07/11/11 02:19pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
Thanks, Ron.
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Spirit Deer
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07/10/11 08:09pm |
General RVing Issues
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RE: By-pass Minnesota?
I hope no one decides to boycott our state. Keep in mind, the taxes you pay here benefit the state as a whole, not just the politicians. It's tax dollars that support road construction and the state parks system and the fishing and tourism industries here, and we need those dollars, now more than ever.
Since my husband works for the state and we're currently sitting here with no income and no end in sight, I have a lot to say about the issue but it's better I don't.
Road projects are shut down on I-35 in Duluth, but if you're coming up I-35 and going right to Ely, you will be hanging a left onto 53 before you get to Duluth anyway, so it won't affect you. I'm not sure what's going on with construction along 35 elsewhere, but you should be able to find a website that will tell you where any delays might be. Ely is open for business and the place is jumping, like it always is in the summer. Bear Head Lake SP is shut down, but there are a lot of federal parks in the area, and if you're headed into the BWCA, you most likely won't need a campground anyway.
Keep in mind the DNR is not issuing fishing licenses at the moment due to the idiotic shut-down. However, due to public safety issues, the DNR is patrolling the lakes. I don't know if they're citing people for not having a license or not. I would hope not, but just be forewarned it could happen. I have a lot to say about that, too, but better let that topic lie as well.
If you're coming up from Illinois and headed for Glacier, I would suggest a route up through Wisconsin and a stay at one of the state parks in northeast WI. I don't know how long a day you'd want to put in, but you might be able to drive across Minnesota and get to a North Dakota park all in one day, then take I-94 (I think) across North Dakota to Roosevelt NP. We've made that drive several times and it's beautiful, especially in the western part of the state. We think the ND badlands are a lot prettier than the SD version, although they're both striking in their own ways. Eastern Montana also has badlands.
If you'd like to stay in Minnesota, there are Forest Service parks and also Corps of Engineers parks, which are not state funded so will be open. Many resorts also offer campgrounds, particularly in northeastern MN. There is a really beautiful Corps park on Leech Lake at Federal Dam, Minnesota. That may be out of your way, depending on what route you select. The park is usually under-utilized but with the state parks closed, you may want to check on availability. Some of the casinos here also offer campgrounds which may work especially for an overnight.
Thank you to everyone who has posted kind words about Minnesota and its people. This situation is a huge embarrassment IMO, and I just hope it's resolved very soon.
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Spirit Deer
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07/10/11 10:47am |
General RVing Issues
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RE: Storm kills child camping/Camping in closed parks
Campgrounds, showers and bathrooms, and park offices are closed. Water is shut off. Roads into the park are barricaded.
It's not illegal to enter the closed parks here on foot. It is not trespassing. People are encouraged not to because there's no immediate help available since park staff are not there. Some of our parks, such as those along the north shore of Lake Superior, have dangerous cliffs and other hazards. There have been several people injured in closed parks already.
There has been vandalism and burglaries at some of the parks. As if the taxpayers aren't losing enough money, these jerks have to cause damage and steal stuff so the taxpayers lose even more to fix and replace things.
Sure hope this shut-down ends soon. My husband works for the state and has now gone a week and a day without pay, of which he will never be able to recoup a dime. 20,000 other state employees are in the same boat. The state is losing money hand over fist just in lost revenue from income taxes that won't be paid by state employees and others laid off due to this mess. They're not even talking, so how will they ever reach a compromise? Crazy time.
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Spirit Deer
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07/08/11 05:45pm |
General RVing Issues
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