USMB Coffee Shop IV

[Ringel05]

Strawberries were on sale........ so was whipped cream........ I love strawberry shortcake but hate the modern store bought cups they sell for it so mix up the dough and soon after there's biscuit shortcake ready to be consumed.

I keep one box of Bisquick for just such contingencies. Strawberry shortcake is one of my favorites too, though if I have time I will bake a pound cake from scratch.

I hate Bisquick........

Used creatively it does save time and can create some really good stuff. For the most part I prefer to make most things from scratch, but in a pinch or when in a hurry. . .

I used Pioneer Brand, in my humble opinion it's a lot better than Bisquick.

 

[Nosmo King]

Mom is a fantastic baker. Pies, cakes, cookies and pastries flow from her kitchen like a tsunami. But biscuits are anathema to her. Try as she might, she has yet to produce something like a biscuit. What she bakes when she tries biscuits are flour-laden artillery shells. Rock hard and dense as a distracted fourteen year old, Mom's 'biscuits' are at best a gastronomic challenge, at worst, deadly weapons.

One batch was deemed inedible by Mom herself as soon as they were taken from her usually reliable oven. She threw them from the rear porch onto the lawn at the Big House. Upon impacting the planet they made craters in the yard. Not divots, not dents, but measurable impact craters. Birds refused to risk their beaks on them. Neighborhood dogs imterupted their frisky play to pee on them marking their territory on the indelible biscuits. Rain could not erode them. My guess is a return of the glacier that formed our local topography would flow around them, unable to change the mass and density of the biscuits.

I've seen people enjoy biscuits in restaurants. I've heard folks oohh and aww over a plate of biscuits brought fresh to the table on a gingham lined plate. Because of my experiences trying Mom's biscuits, I've developed a standard refusal whenever I'm offered biscuits.

 

[Montrovant]

I wish Florida had done this while I lived there:
Florida lawmakers vote to stay in Daylight Saving Time all year long - CNN

Stupid Daylight Saving time!

 

[Ringel05]

Mom is a fantastic baker. Pies, cakes, cookies and pastries flow from her kitchen like a tsunami. But biscuits are anathema to her. Try as she might, she has yet to produce something like a biscuit. What she bakes when she tries biscuits are flour-laden artillery shells. Rock hard and dense as a distracted fourteen year old, Mom's 'biscuits' are at best a gastronomic challenge, at worst, deadly weapons.

One batch was deemed inedible by Mom herself as soon as they were taken from her usually reliable oven. She threw them from the rear porch onto the lawn at the Big House. Upon impacting the planet they made craters in the yard. Not divots, not dents, but measurable impact craters. Birds refused to risk their beaks on them. Neighborhood dogs imterupted their frisky play to pee on them marking their territory on the indelible biscuits. Rain could not erode them. My guess is a return of the glacier that formed our local topography would flow around them, unable to change the mass and density of the biscuits.

I've seen people enjoy biscuits in restaurants. I've heard folks oohh and aww over a plate of biscuits brought fresh to the table on a gingham lined plate. Because of my experiences trying Mom's biscuits, I've developed a standard refusal whenever I'm offered biscuits.

A couple of three reasons her biscuits turn out like hockey pucks, old baking powder, over cutting the butter/crisco/lard into the dry mix or over kneading. I prefer lard as it gives the best finished product and only cut it in until the mixture resembles a course meal, once the liquid is added only knead the dough five or six times slowly sifting in extra flour so as to make the dough less "sticky" while kneading. I also let mine rest, covered with a damp kitchen towel for at least a half hour after cutting the rounds, the dough does raise a little.

 

[Nosmo King]

Mom is a fantastic baker. Pies, cakes, cookies and pastries flow from her kitchen like a tsunami. But biscuits are anathema to her. Try as she might, she has yet to produce something like a biscuit. What she bakes when she tries biscuits are flour-laden artillery shells. Rock hard and dense as a distracted fourteen year old, Mom's 'biscuits' are at best a gastronomic challenge, at worst, deadly weapons.

One batch was deemed inedible by Mom herself as soon as they were taken from her usually reliable oven. She threw them from the rear porch onto the lawn at the Big House. Upon impacting the planet they made craters in the yard. Not divots, not dents, but measurable impact craters. Birds refused to risk their beaks on them. Neighborhood dogs imterupted their frisky play to pee on them marking their territory on the indelible biscuits. Rain could not erode them. My guess is a return of the glacier that formed our local topography would flow around them, unable to change the mass and density of the biscuits.

I've seen people enjoy biscuits in restaurants. I've heard folks oohh and aww over a plate of biscuits brought fresh to the table on a gingham lined plate. Because of my experiences trying Mom's biscuits, I've developed a standard refusal whenever I'm offered biscuits.

A couple of three reasons her biscuits turn out like hockey pucks, old baking powder, over cutting the butter/crisco/lard into the dry mix or over kneading. I prefer lard as it gives the best finished product and only cut it in until the mixture resembles a course meal, once the liquid is added only knead the dough five or six times slowly sifting in extra flour so as to make the dough less "sticky" while kneading. I also let mine rest, covered with a damp kitchen towel for at least a half hour after cutting the rounds, the dough does raise a little.

Good advice. But don't doubt Mom's baking skills. Her pie crusts are consistently light and flaky. Her cakes, made from scratch, are always moist and flavorful. Her cookies were the best sellers at every PTA bake sale.

I don't think Mom was every really a fan of biscuits in the first place. She seems to falter on the dishes she does not like. I was a freshman in college before I found out that roast beef has a flavor of its own. We had to drown Mom's roast beef in Worcestershire sauce. She always wanted the end piece where the last vestiges of juiciness and flavor were kiln dried out.

Mom was never a fan of spicy food either. If chili could be qualified like religions, her's was Presbyterian, never Pentecostal. Spaghetti sauce, strictly Calvinist rather than flavorful AME Baptist. Irish stew was convincingly Irish with its Celtic simplicity while her gazpacho was more Swiss than Spanish.

 

[Ava]

Strawberries were on sale........ so was whipped cream........ I love strawberry shortcake but hate the modern store bought cups they sell for it so mix up the dough and soon after there's biscuit shortcake ready to be consumed.

And that is the very best! That is how our family always prepared it. From scratch! Dang, you sure make a great hubby, Ringel05.

 

[Ava]

A disturbing trend here n the Crotch of the Tri-State area this Lenten season. There was at least one Roman Catholic Church and at least one Episcopal church in each town up and down the Ohio River from the point at Pittsburgh and the Roebling Bridge at Wheeling, West Virginia. But in the passed couple of years, many of those Catholic Churches have combined, closed and abandoned.

What does this have to do with me, a stark Presbyterian unmoved by ecclesiastical pageantry? Well, those churches would pull out all the stops during Lent and serve up the tastiest food. In a season known for privation and sacrifice, the women of those congregations would don their hair nets and staff the church basement kitchens. Fish sandwiches of ridiculous proportions where the filet overhangs the bun by eight or ten inches on both sides. Peirogies swimming in butter. Mounds of spaghetti and tossed salad. These were all for sale in the church basements. No one had to cook or make restaurant reservation no on Fridays during Lent.

But consolidation has swept those church ladies out of the kitchen and into the streets where they could get into all types of trouble. I don't know if there is some intramural politics going on when one congregation is forced to merge with another. I don't know if there was some order from the diocese to cease and desist the Lenten food sales. I do know I miss them!

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

A disturbing trend here n the Crotch of the Tri-State area this Lenten season. There was at least one Roman Catholic Church and at least one Episcopal church in each town up and down the Ohio River from the point at Pittsburgh and the Roebling Bridge at Wheeling, West Virginia. But in the passed couple of years, many of those Catholic Churches have combined, closed and abandoned.

What does this have to do with me, a stark Presbyterian unmoved by ecclesiastical pageantry? Well, those churches would pull out all the stops during Lent and serve up the tastiest food. In a season known for privation and sacrifice, the women of those congregations would don their hair nets and staff the church basement kitchens. Fish sandwiches of ridiculous proportions where the filet overhangs the bun by eight or ten inches on both sides. Peirogies swimming in butter. Mounds of spaghetti and tossed salad. These were all for sale in the church basements. No one had to cook or make restaurant reservation no on Fridays during Lent.

But consolidation has swept those church ladies out of the kitchen and into the streets where they could get into all types of trouble. I don't know if there is some intramural politics going on when one congregation is forced to merge with another. I don't know if there was some order from the diocese to cease and desist the Lenten food sales. I do know I miss them!

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

And FWIW The Hallmark Movie Channel is the fastest growing channel these days in TV Land. I cut the cord on TV but get most everything via Roku or YouTube and a popular newish app is called Hallmark Movies Now. Many are quite good and less cheesy than years ago. I am losing interest in the Netflix content these days with their switch in programming which will probably appeal to that all-important age demographic- 18 to 54 ( or close).

 

[Foxfyre]

I wish Florida had done this while I lived there:
Florida lawmakers vote to stay in Daylight Saving Time all year long - CNN

Stupid Daylight Saving time!

Amen to that. And let's hope the trend catches on. I don't care where they set the time. I just wish they would set it and then leave it alone.

 

[Ringel05]

Strawberries were on sale........ so was whipped cream........ I love strawberry shortcake but hate the modern store bought cups they sell for it so mix up the dough and soon after there's biscuit shortcake ready to be consumed.

And that is the very best! That is how our family always prepared it. From scratch! Dang, you sure make a great hubby, Ringel05.

Now all I need is a harem........

 

[Foxfyre]

Good night darlinks. I really do love you guys.

And we continue to pray and/or send good vibes and/or positive thoughts and/or keep vigil for

Harper (Save's granddaughter),
Pogo’s friend Pat and special comfort for Pogo,
Nosmo's mom,
Rod, GW's partner,
Kat's sister,
The Ringels in difficult transition
Dana, Foxfyre's friend recovering from heart transplant
Mr. and Mrs. Gracie in difficult transition and wellness for Gracie,
Mr. and Mrs. Peach174 for full recovery from setback,
Strength and stamina for gallantwarrior in his relocation project,
Ringel's injured shoulder and general wellness,
Drifter for the best job ever,
ricechickie for trouble free healing and wellness,
BigBlackDog for comfort and effective treatment
Sixfoot for an accurate diagnosis and wellness,
Sherry's Mom for treatment to be successful, and wellness for Sherry's daughter, her dad, and family.
Wellness for Foxfyre's sister and Hombre's sister

And we keep the porch light on for all our friends who haven't been here for awhile and rejoice when they return.

 

[Ringel05]

A disturbing trend here n the Crotch of the Tri-State area this Lenten season. There was at least one Roman Catholic Church and at least one Episcopal church in each town up and down the Ohio River from the point at Pittsburgh and the Roebling Bridge at Wheeling, West Virginia. But in the passed couple of years, many of those Catholic Churches have combined, closed and abandoned.

What does this have to do with me, a stark Presbyterian unmoved by ecclesiastical pageantry? Well, those churches would pull out all the stops during Lent and serve up the tastiest food. In a season known for privation and sacrifice, the women of those congregations would don their hair nets and staff the church basement kitchens. Fish sandwiches of ridiculous proportions where the filet overhangs the bun by eight or ten inches on both sides. Peirogies swimming in butter. Mounds of spaghetti and tossed salad. These were all for sale in the church basements. No one had to cook or make restaurant reservation no on Fridays during Lent.

But consolidation has swept those church ladies out of the kitchen and into the streets where they could get into all types of trouble. I don't know if there is some intramural politics going on when one congregation is forced to merge with another. I don't know if there was some order from the diocese to cease and desist the Lenten food sales. I do know I miss them!

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

A disturbing trend here n the Crotch of the Tri-State area this Lenten season. There was at least one Roman Catholic Church and at least one Episcopal church in each town up and down the Ohio River from the point at Pittsburgh and the Roebling Bridge at Wheeling, West Virginia. But in the passed couple of years, many of those Catholic Churches have combined, closed and abandoned.

What does this have to do with me, a stark Presbyterian unmoved by ecclesiastical pageantry? Well, those churches would pull out all the stops during Lent and serve up the tastiest food. In a season known for privation and sacrifice, the women of those congregations would don their hair nets and staff the church basement kitchens. Fish sandwiches of ridiculous proportions where the filet overhangs the bun by eight or ten inches on both sides. Peirogies swimming in butter. Mounds of spaghetti and tossed salad. These were all for sale in the church basements. No one had to cook or make restaurant reservation no on Fridays during Lent.

But consolidation has swept those church ladies out of the kitchen and into the streets where they could get into all types of trouble. I don't know if there is some intramural politics going on when one congregation is forced to merge with another. I don't know if there was some order from the diocese to cease and desist the Lenten food sales. I do know I miss them!

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

And FWIW The Hallmark Movie Channel is the fastest growing channel these days in TV Land. I cut the cord on TV but get most everything via Roku or YouTube and a popular newish app is called Hallmark Movies Now. Many are quite good and less cheesy than years ago. I am losing interest in the Netflix content these days with their switch in programming which will probably appeal to that all-important age demographic- 18 to 54 ( or close).

I rarely watch any TV, the wife however......... Mostly real crime shows and HGTV type stuff. I watch movies and occasionally check out some TV series online (Amazon Prime Videos). In more cases than not I typically don't make it through the first season let alone more than two episodes before it becomes silly at best, some I never make it through the first episode before my brain cells start screaming in agony........

 

[ChrisL]

Morning!

We got a few inches of snow. I lucked out again and kept my power. Not a whole lot of snow fell but it was really wet and heavy snow which can bring down the lines. I feel very fortunate that I didn't lose any power these last two storms. Hopefully this will be the last snow for the season. It is almost spring!!!

 

[ChrisL]

 

[Foxfyre]

Morning!

We got a few inches of snow. I lucked out again and kept my power. Not a whole lot of snow fell but it was really wet and heavy snow which can bring down the lines. I feel very fortunate that I didn't lose any power these last two storms. Hopefully this will be the last snow for the season. It is almost spring!!!

Less than two weeks to spring; however, Albuquerque had one of its worst winter storms ever in early April--hurricane force winds close to the mountain and 16 inches of snow with it. Pretty bad. We still could use the moisture, but without the bad winds please. That was more than two decades ago but. . .

 

[Montrovant]

Here's an odd video I came across:

 

[Foxfyre]

Strawberries were on sale........ so was whipped cream........ I love strawberry shortcake but hate the modern store bought cups they sell for it so mix up the dough and soon after there's biscuit shortcake ready to be consumed.

And that is the very best! That is how our family always prepared it. From scratch! Dang, you sure make a great hubby, Ringel05.

Now all I need is a harem........

Hmmm. How understanding is Mrs. R?

 

[Foxfyre]

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

Different time, different culture. Church attendance is way down as is belief in a divine, the Me-llenials are part of it but it was the younger Boomers that showed the way so to speak.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

And FWIW The Hallmark Movie Channel is the fastest growing channel these days in TV Land. I cut the cord on TV but get most everything via Roku or YouTube and a popular newish app is called Hallmark Movies Now. Many are quite good and less cheesy than years ago. I am losing interest in the Netflix content these days with their switch in programming which will probably appeal to that all-important age demographic- 18 to 54 ( or close).

I rarely watch any TV, the wife however......... Mostly real crime shows and HGTV type stuff. I watch movies and occasionally check out some TV series online (Amazon Prime Videos). In more cases than not I typically don't make it through the first season let alone more than two episodes before it becomes silly at best, some I never make it through the first episode before my brain cells start screaming in agony........

We get bored with regular series television programming pretty quickly these days and most of our television viewing is competition shows such as "Survivor" or "The Voice" etc. and/or documentaries or informative videos as you find on he Weather Channel or news programming. But I ordered the first two seasons of "L.A. Law" recently and we binge watched it all and never got tired of it. Nobody is making series that well put together any more, and as L.A. Law progressed into its later seasons it too deteriorated into more anger, unhappiness, violence etc. that constitutes so much of television anymore and it was no longer either entertaining or thought provoking to us.

 

[Dajjal]

Morning!

We got a few inches of snow. I lucked out again and kept my power. Not a whole lot of snow fell but it was really wet and heavy snow which can bring down the lines. I feel very fortunate that I didn't lose any power these last two storms. Hopefully this will be the last snow for the season. It is almost spring!!!

Less than two weeks to spring; however, Albuquerque had one of its worst winter storms ever in early April--hurricane force winds close to the mountain and 16 inches of snow with it. Pretty bad. We still could use the moisture, but without the bad winds please. That was more than two decades ago but. . .

I read a frightening report that the arctic is in a heatwave and the ice cap is melting. That is why we are getting cold weather. God know what will happen, but it smacks of ecological disaster. It has been predicted there will be a disaster by 2050 and I will certainly be dead by then. But it is beginning to look like it will happen in my lifetime.

 

[Ringel05]

Strawberries were on sale........ so was whipped cream........ I love strawberry shortcake but hate the modern store bought cups they sell for it so mix up the dough and soon after there's biscuit shortcake ready to be consumed.

And that is the very best! That is how our family always prepared it. From scratch! Dang, you sure make a great hubby, Ringel05.

Now all I need is a harem........

Hmmm. How understanding is Mrs. R?

There's a reason I don't have a harem.........

 

[Ringel05]

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

Immaculate Conception in Wellsville is an abandoned building. St. Ann's down on Pennsylvania Avenue is shut down. Both congregations no have been combined with St. Aloysius downtown and they now call the church Holy Trinity Roman Catholic. St. Blaise in Industry, PA is closed as a church, but open as a day care center.

There are fewer churches but more people seem to be going to church! Even though my own Trinity Presbyterian has merged with Long's Run Presbyterian there are more faces at Easter Pageant practice. The Northside Community Church two blocks west at Orchard Grove Avenue and St. Clair has congregants parking in front of the Luxurious Pimplebutt Estate every Sunday morning.

And, at the end of the day, I can't find a decent fish sandwich in a church basement anymore.

I think you're right. Church attendance doesn't seem to be suffering so much as there is much less loyalty to a particular congregation or sometimes even a denomination. Many small churches are giving up and the people are going to larger congregations who can afford dynamic preachers, great music, and visual aids as well as specific ministries to kids and special interests. I was just researching congregations of a specific denomination for a family member and found a church near her that seems to be small enough not to be overwhelming, but offers the full range of amenities dear to the more traditional sort. And they serve a full breakfast--not just coffee and donuts--after their early service and a full brunch after their mid morning service--the photos at their website were pretty impressive.

Don't know if you could get that great fish sandwich there though Nosmo.

Why Are Christian Numbers Dropping?

Millennials leaving church in droves, study says - CNN

America’s Changing Religious Landscape

Christianity Declining, Secularism Rising

The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion

Ya'll forget, I'm a historian and sociologist, I still keep up with multiple demographic changes.

And FWIW The Hallmark Movie Channel is the fastest growing channel these days in TV Land. I cut the cord on TV but get most everything via Roku or YouTube and a popular newish app is called Hallmark Movies Now. Many are quite good and less cheesy than years ago. I am losing interest in the Netflix content these days with their switch in programming which will probably appeal to that all-important age demographic- 18 to 54 ( or close).

I rarely watch any TV, the wife however......... Mostly real crime shows and HGTV type stuff. I watch movies and occasionally check out some TV series online (Amazon Prime Videos). In more cases than not I typically don't make it through the first season let alone more than two episodes before it becomes silly at best, some I never make it through the first episode before my brain cells start screaming in agony........

We get bored with regular series television programming pretty quickly these days and most of our television viewing is competition shows such as "Survivor" or "The Voice" etc. and/or documentaries or informative videos as you find on he Weather Channel or news programming. But I ordered the first two seasons of "L.A. Law" recently and we binge watched it all and never got tired of it. Nobody is making series that well put together any more, and as L.A. Law progressed into its later seasons it too deteriorated into more anger, unhappiness, violence etc. that constitutes so much of television anymore and it was no longer either entertaining or thought provoking to us.

I tried watching Salvation and couldn't even make it halfway through through the first episode, It's really a killjoy for plots like that when one knows exactly how the government works........ The Expanse wasn't too bad, started watching Star Trek the Next Generation but only made it through four episodes and I used to like that show. Watching Star Trek: Enterprise which I think is better acted but still somewhat hokey at times. Yeah, I like Sci-Fi.