Friday Things
1. Someone’s ear hematoma has returned. Major sad face. We’re currently treating it with cold compresses and giving it time to re-absorb on its own. It doesn’t seem to bother Einstein at all, but I’m making sure to give him extra snuggles; can’t hurt!
2. I saw someone Tweet this week that the girls of The Baby-Sitters Club would be 38-40 years old today. Whoa! I hadn’t thought about those books in probably decades… what a blast from the past. I devoured those books, absolutely loved them.
3. Last Saturday, I accidentally got myself sucked into a Dateline Saturday Night Mystery show. I’ve always been fascinated by murder mystery shows like that and I could not turn it off. Newlyweds, a bathtub, no motive… I had to find out how it ended!
4. Important question: is having an old-school pencil sharpener affixed to your house somewhere totally only a Pittsburgh thing, or is this done everywhere? My grandparents had a pencil sharpener attached to the wall going down to their basement. After my grandma passed away and my mom was in the process of selling the house, she went in and took it out and now it’s attached to my husband’s work bench in our garage.
I didn’t think anything of it until Pittsburgh Dad (a popular YouTube sensation here in Pittsburgh) tweeted a picture of a similar pencil sharpener last night and started re-tweeting pictures of followers who have similar old pencil sharpeners in their house somewhere. I totally thought this was only a “my family” thing (although, my husband’s family also has one), but maybe not!
5. I’m totally bummed that the season finale of The Americans was this week! It’s one of my favorite shows and now I have to wait for what seems like for-ev-er for it to come back. Summer TV is the pits! On the plus side, how good was that finale?! I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for the next season already!
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
6. Does anyone else play Mexican train dominoes? My grandparents taught us how to play a couple Christmases ago, and now we’re all hooked! We brought a set to the beach with us and played in the evening, and we try to get all of our parents over to our house regularly to play big games. It totally brings out my competitive streak ;-)
7. I’m craving a massive cinnamon roll slathered in cream cheese icing. Perhaps a project for this weekend?
8. Are there any good mangoes where you live? They have appeared by the crateful at my grocery store, and on sale to boot, but they are just not any good. Most of them don’t look that great, and the couple that I’ve bought have had to be pitched once I cut into them :( I’m dying for a sweet, juicy mango!
9. Do you have any exciting plans for the long holiday weekend? Not too much here, except maybe some grilling, flower-buying, and fire pit s’mores eating!
10. TGIF! Have a fun and safe weekend! (Duke and Einstein will be doing their usual laying around… naturally.)
Hi Michelle,
First, I found some amazing mangos at our local Costco. I used them in everything. Coconut Mango Rice, chutney, and in salads. You could also find me standing over my kitchen counter shoving the sweet fruit into my mouth in the morning.
Second, I LOVE the Americans. My hubby and i have yet to watch the finale. We’re waiting for a quite night, which are few an far between since our college kids are back for the summer.
In that last picture of the pups, Duke looks sad for Einstein. (Sniffling here).
Oh how funny about the pencil sharpener. Our neighbor had one in his garage and I mentioned to him that it reminded me of my childhood and he ended up giving it to me. He has now since past so now I have to smile every time I use it for two reasons now. I use it all the time since my electric one has decided only to work when it wants to .
I love The Americans too. Do you think they will somehow indoctrinate Paige into the ring without her realizing that it is being done? Maybe the Pastor and his wife were recruited by the center and are working secretly to influence kids. There are all kinds of ways this could go.
I can’t wait for your Friday Things posts – you are addictive like those shows.
I sure hope Einstein feels better soon. Give him and Duke lots of hugs from me too.
We had a pencil sharpener attached to my husband’s work bench too….we lived in MD. Took it with us to DE when we moved. They are sooo handy….especially when you have kids that do all their homework in pencil!!!!
I don’t know if they sell them in the states (I live in europe). The absolute best mangos are the ones from Pakistan. Seriously! So amazing sweet juicy delicious. I buy them at Asian markets & can usually pick up a box full for about $10.00. Here’s a link that shows what they look like. http://islamabadpost.org/2014/01/mangoes-of-pakistan/
We are totally bummed that Call The Midwife just ended their season. We love that show and I mean LOVE!
Mexican Train Dominoes totally rock, so fun!
I bought mangoes at Sam’s Club this week. So worth the price as I do not like trying to cut them. I do not get much out of them. Took a chance on how good they are. They will be part of my breakfast today :) We shall see. Fingers crossed.
Ha! My husband always watches Saturday Dateline which I have nicknamed “how to murder your wife saturdays”, followed by “nazi sunday” (nazi history shows on the military channel all sunday afternoon). Always have to ask him if I should be worried? hahaha!
I begged for the pencil sharpener when I was in elementary school (MA) I hated those little ones that you got in your pencil cases. Ours was nailed to my dad’s work bench in the garage and it was a yellow smiley face. I still pick manual sharpeners over electric. Love the pup pictures on Fridays.
My parents still have an old school pencil sharpener attached to the wall in my dad’s work room! I still use it now and then. And Mexican Train is a must play for us at Xmas.
Love your posts and look forward each week to seeing another picture of those adorable dogs.
My husband has a pencil sharpener in our garage attached to his workbench. It has traveled from Ambridge to Imperial to Hopewell Twp. over 60 years. (All in Pa.) I also remember my parents having a “church key” (bottle opener) hanging on a heavy string by the fridge. Very convenient for opening up pop bottles for kids, and beer bottles for adults! We had dominoes as kids but I never played it until about 10 years ago. Now we can’t get enough of Mexican train, even sometimes playing with friends till 3am! As for “The Americans”, what a show! Sometimes I feel confused about who I should be rooting for! The Russians or the Americans?! I was stunned at the end when Elizabeth actually thought that her daughter might make a good candidate for the illegals program. Can’t wait till next year. Happy Memorial Day!
I too live in PA and my Dad has one of those pencil sharpeners in his garage by his work bench for as long as I can remember. Wishing your pup all the best with his ear. I am fairly new to your site and just wanted to say I am a big fan!
Hi Lorrie, Welcome! So happy you’re here :)
I live in Virginia – a child of the 50’s. My family had a pencil sharpener in the basement. When my husband and I moved into our house in the late 80’s, we put an old fashioned pencil sharpener in the laundry room. I still use it today. We play Mexican train dominoes at the beach. I discovered your blog because of the wonderful recipes you post, but I continue to read it because of your Golden’s. They are beautiful!! We lost our 1st Golden a few years ago and now have a second rescue Golden (now 8 years old – 4 years when she joined our family). She has a rescue Border Collie mix younger brother. Soooo sorry to read about Einstein’s hematoma. Hope it will re-absorbs quickly. Enjoy your weekend with your Golden’s!
Looking at the last photo of Duke and Einstein, I think you might want to consider getting a cat or two as well – they’re great at providing massages to their canine friends – think how relaxed they would both be. ;) Just saw this video compilation today. So cute.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/cats-massaging-dogs_n_5375069.html
We have an old pencil sharpener, fastened to the wall, in our basement laundry room :) I see that you have a Duke. Our new dog, named
Duke, is coming to live with us next week – puppy happiness!
Aw, enjoy your new puppy!
So sorry to hear about Einstein’s ear :( My Bella still has her small one, and although it’s better than it was, it is not completely gone. This has been just over a month or so now. I’m sure her allergies don’t help, as she itches, scratches, and shakes her ears a lot! I’m keeping close watch on it, & hope it doesn’t get worse again. Dogs can get the darnest things, can’t they!? Enjoy your weekend!
Not sure what part of town you’re in, but I had a couple of awesome mangoes from either Giant Eagle Southside or Trader Joe’s… can’t remember which one.
Should I tell you that I had the most delicious juicy mango from my supermarket the other day (on sale for $1, no less), and I have two more sitting on my counter. Haha.
Maybe we could start an exchange program of sorts? Mangoes for cuddly time with Duke and Einstein? They are so adorable!
Love reading your Friday Things! Also, I ALWAYS crave a cinnamon roll slathered with icing! Wish I had one right now!
I think the pencil sharpener is a total grandparent thing! My grandparents (who live outside Detroit, although probably typical of a Pittsburgh population) have a pencil sharpener attached to their basement workbench. Also, love the fun fact about the Babysitter’s Club, I can’t believe how old the ladies are now!
Such beautiful doggies!! Ok, 2 things.. I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and we always had a pencil sharpener attached to the wall going down to the basement! I hadn’t thought about that in years. My parents have both passed away and I never thought to take that pencil sharpener when we sold their house ~ darn. Also, you should watch “Master Chef” if you don’t already. Summer t.v. is kind of a bummer, but my husband, kids, and I love watching “M.C.” Give it a try if you haven’t already! It starts next Monday on Fox. Happy Memorial Day weekend!
I’m Rosebud and I’m a very pretty, very gentle sheepdog and I love to see pics of your two buddies doing just what I love to do–lay around. My step-brother, Wizard, and I do lots of it.
I’m so sorry about Einstein’s ear. My long-time-ago sister, Daisy, had a similar thing happen to her ear and it looked like a “baseball mitt”. It puffed way up and the doc had to drain it. But the cutest thing happened first. The doc made tiny little braids of the hair all around where the needle would go in because she didn’t want to shave her ear. Daisy came out all cute with little braids covering her ear. She was a star and we loved the vet for not shaving her ear.
I hope Einstein’s ear finally cures, poor fellow. I know I’d love Einstein. And I bet’cha that Wizard would love Duke because Wizard is a wild and crazy guy; he’s very, very playful.
Please keep posting photos of those two handsome dudes. I love them!
When my corgi had an ear hematoma, I mixed up some warm salt water with a few drops of tee tree essential oil, soaked a cloth in it, and held it tightly around the lump for a while. She didn’t mind, and it really seemed to help!
We live in Somerset County, and we’ve always had a pencil sharpener somewhere on the wall in our house – never even gave it a thought though.
My husband and I just bought a house in the Boston area and there is a pencil sharpener on the stairs going to the basement! The house was built in 1965 so maybe it’s a time period thing?
We have a pencil sharpener in our garage and we live in Colorado.
We always play Mexican Train Dominoes and my Mother-In-Law bought us our own set about 4 years ago, love it! Definitely brings out the competitive edge, esp when we play for money!
great friday things…especially about the old school pencil sharpeners. brings back memories.
Our family loves to play Mexican train. We started playing when our kids were little and now that they’re adults its a game we still play when we get together. The only difference is now we’re much more competitive and its the only time we all swear! I grew up in a house in British Columbia that had a pencil sharpener in a closet for cleaning supplies, brooms, the floor polisher and our Filter Queen vacuum cleaner. Thanks for the memories. I miss my old house.
Okay, I am really intrigued. What is Mexican Dominoes AND how do you play it?
Hi Deb, Here is a quick overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Train. There are a lot of different variations, it seems, but it’s a lot of fun!
I have a WHOLE TREE of sweet juicy mangoes and I would be glad to fedex a couple to you if you send me a fedex number. jeantallman@gmail.com
I’m originally from South Dakota of Dutch heritage – we had the wall attached pencil sharpener and matchbox and an auxillary kitchen in the basement. Today, I still have a the pencil sharpener, the matchbox and TWO bottle openers on the walls (because one should not have to walk too far to open that beer). If I had a basement, I would totally have an extra kitchen!