What's on your Mind Thread - 2022

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iPappy

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I really, really need to get Livie into a structured training class. She knows the material very well, but when she's around people or dogs she scream-barks, a lot. It's embarrassing, unnecessary, and it needs to stop. My two options are PetSmart (ridiculously priced, I don't agree with their "never say no to your dog" methods, and the local instructor insists all dogs wear a Halti, a tool that I think is absolutely stupid for 99% of dogs), or a 2 week board and train program to the tune of 4K (I will never use board and train.) So I think, in essence, we're kind of screwed on this one. I'd take her to some local parks for the exposure, but I've had some very close calls with idiot people walking aggressive dogs off leash. Even if we just hang out in a 10 foot radius from the car, it still makes me nervous (and officials do nothing to stop this.) I found an agility club 2 hours away, but I don't think I can justify the travel time and cost to make it happen (if they'd even let us join with her poor behavior.) I'd love to be able to be in a class where when she starts barking, people don't start baby-talking her and saying "ohhhhh aren't you toughhhhhhh, you're sooooooo cuuuuuuuuuuuuuute" because that just encourages it.

This just really sucks :(
 

susanm9006

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My Aunt has it spelled Pieta Chuise and it's some sort of rolled dough with cinnamon, raisins and nuts but topped with honey and baked in a 8x8 type pan. So not a cookie but not as big as say mini cinnamon buns either. The recipe says to put like 1/4 of the dough in the bottom of the pan and then top it with the rest once you cut them out. Top it with honey and bake. My great-grandma was so old by the time I was old enough to remember her that I don't recall having these. I even tried putting it into google translate and looking up the Italian word for things it could be but nothing was even similar.

Why is it the more tired they are the faster they go? :cringe:
I have encountered this quite a bit trying to find things my grandmother made. A combination of Sicilian dialect/pronunciation slightly different from Italian plus spelling differences between English and Italian. I will see if my cookbooks have anything.
 

susanm9006

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My Aunt has it spelled Pieta Chuise and it's some sort of rolled dough with cinnamon, raisins and nuts but topped with honey and baked in a 8x8 type pan. So not a cookie but not as big as say mini cinnamon buns either. The recipe says to put like 1/4 of the dough in the bottom of the pan and then top it with the rest once you cut them out. Top it with honey and bake. My great-grandma was so old by the time I was old enough to remember her that I don't recall having these. I even tried putting it into google translate and looking up the Italian word for things it could be but nothing was even similar.

Why is it the more tired they are the faster they go? :cringe:
This may be it. Try googling Pittenguise.
 

catloverfromwayback

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Electricity prices are on my mind at present. We’re apparently going to be hit with big price hikes soon. :mad: I bought LED globes to replace the incandescents and signed with a different energy supplier this morning. Good thing the weather’s warming up, much as I dislike summer. The heater is the real energy-eater. Split system aircon may be the cheapest, but it’s woefully inadequate to warm my living room when the unit is placed over my bed! I may have to rely on cat-generated heat ...
 

susanm9006

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Electricity prices are on my mind at present. We’re apparently going to be hit with big price hikes soon. :mad: I bought LED globes to replace the incandescents and signed with a different energy supplier this morning. Good thing the weather’s warming up, much as I dislike summer. The heater is the real energy-eater. Split system aircon may be the cheapest, but it’s woefully inadequate to warm my living room when the unit is placed over my bed! I may have to rely on cat-generated heat ...
Yeah. I live in a cold winter climate and heating bills are much much higher than air conditioning is. We don’t have a choice in energy supplier so other than efficient furnaces and keeping thermostats low there isn’t much to do.
 

iPappy

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Yeah. I live in a cold winter climate and heating bills are much much higher than air conditioning is. We don’t have a choice in energy supplier so other than efficient furnaces and keeping thermostats low there isn’t much to do.
This is a big problem for us, too. The kennel runs on all electric (gas for the generator only), and the dog side is expensive to heat. Expensive enough, we've already discussed the (hopefully not going to happen) possibility of shutting it down during January/part of February just so we don't have to heat it beyond about 55. That time of year is very slow anyway, and keeping 2-3 dogs at a time and paying to heat the place just isn't a good move. I don't think it will happen this year, but it may be the way of the future. The cattery is much smaller, and easy to heat, so cat boarding will stay open if that happens at least. :)
 

catloverfromwayback

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Yeah. I live in a cold winter climate and heating bills are much much higher than air conditioning is. We don’t have a choice in energy supplier so other than efficient furnaces and keeping thermostats low there isn’t much to do.
Damn, that’s a pain. We at least have lots of suppliers, so they have to compete with each other for pricing, and our winters aren’t anywhere near as cold as northern hemisphere ones - cold enough, but getting to freezing is a rare, nighttime thing where I live. Unfortunately we do need aircon when summer really hits. Even here in southern Australia it’s common for it to stay near 40C for days on end. :angryfire:
 

susanm9006

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Damn, that’s a pain. We at least have lots of suppliers, so they have to compete with each other for pricing, and our winters aren’t anywhere near as cold as northern hemisphere ones - cold enough, but getting to freezing is a rare, nighttime thing where I live. Unfortunately we do need aircon when summer really hits. Even here in southern Australia it’s common for it to stay near 40C for days on end. :angryfire:
Running my air conditioning continuously during our hottest summer month will cost me around $40 a month, a very cold winter month may cost me $350 to heat. And who knows with rate increases what it will be this year.
 

catloverfromwayback

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Running my air conditioning continuously during our hottest summer month will cost me around $40 a month, a very cold winter month may cost me $350 to heat. And who knows with rate increases what it will be this year.
My electricity bill (light, heat, fridge, microwave, TV, water heating) shot up to $153 per month the last couple of months. I’m waiting for a new fridge to be delivered (the village manager deals with this), because this one’s seals have had it, so it must be using more power than necessary.
 

MoochNNoodles

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My Grandfather and aunt both had small houses and paid around $300 to heat every month about 10 years ago. I saw a comment from another family member that they were told to expect a hike this winter too. Their climate is pretty similar with cold, snowy winters. Many people still do not have central air.

DH said our bill was up the last few months but found the 2nd dehumidifier in our crawl space was full of ice and running continually. The company sent us a replacement for free earlier this summer because the first one we purchased was still under warranty. So maybe 3rd times a charm? :rolleyes2: Overall our electric usually isn't bad. We are on a co-op so they try to keep costs down and they pass the profits back to customers. We do use the lights a lot since we are home and schooling at home. We have mostly LED bulbs inside and out.
 

susanm9006

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I think thats it!!! :hyper: The first recipe I found is very similar. I'm going to write that down on the page. It also calls them Calabrian Christmas Cakes and she was born there so that would fit too. Thank you soooo much!! :redheartpump:
I find it intereresting how the names get slightly changed. My grandmother used to make something she pronounced as a “Pinnulota”. It was like a donut hole, fried with a sweet coating. I couldn’t find the recipe online until I tried Googling a description of them and found out it was a Pignolata. Same pronunciation just a Sicilian/Italian spelling.
 
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MoochNNoodles

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I find it intereresting how the names get slightly changed. My grandmother used to make something she pronounced as a “Pinnulota”. It was like a donut hole, fried with a sweet coating. I couldn’t find the recipe online until I tried Googling a description of them and found out it was a Pignolata. Same pronunciation just a Sicilian/Italian spelling.
Now that one I have! And I’ve made it. They were a Christmas staple at my other Grandmothers. I don’t like working with hot oil so I let my mother do that part. We set up a card table in her garage so the house wouldn’t smell too. But man are they GOOD!!
 
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