We tried the Cozy Kitchen recipe and Mr wtg has pronounced it a winner and even better than his (former) favorite from Panera. I ended up making half a recipe.

I think the Smitten Kitchen recipe is actually quite similar in terms of proportions. Maybe a tad less butter and flour and a little more liquid, which might make it less thick. Though I have to say the CK version was not absurdly thick.

I would definitely stick with fresh broccoli. You can really taste the difference.

This will be an ongoing experiment in the wtg house. Not sure whether to try the SK recipe first, or to stick with CK and change up the cheese. This time around we used a Cabot cheddar that was a limited edition/special reserve/whatever. Excellent cheese all around, but not something that's stocked all the time at Costco.

Or we could use the same cheese and try the SK recipe. I do like the little additions of the seasonings in the CK recipe: mustard powder, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and nutmeg. You don't really taste any of those ingredients but I think they add "something" to the overall flavor.

Not a holiday theme, but around this time of year the NYC Transit Museum brings out some of the old train cars and runs them on a short route from a subway station in the lower east side of Manhattan.

Muffin, having taught first grade and kindergarten, thinks phonics is an indispensable part of reading instruction. This is far from my area of expertise, but I agree as an amateur. This is not to say that other methods shouldn't be incorporated into learning to read, which obviously is something we all approach differently, but it really seems unfair to present small children with a code and deny them the codebook.

@Steve-Miller said in Whatcha doin' for Turkey Day?:

@Mik What are your thoughts on Coopers Hawk? They just opened one near us and we want to try it.

Interesting food, not crazy about the wines. One would think since that is their schtick they'd do something special. Last couple times have been for lunch, so iced tea, no wine. Friends brough their Lux sparkler over a few weeks ago. meh. Sweet and uninteresting.

The wines may have gotten better, it's been two or three years since I tried them. Again, the food is good.

@ShiroKuro said in Package thieves stealing iPhones:

How do they know that it's a phone that's been delivered?

One theory is that someone on the inside (of ATT, for instance) gets hold of the tracking numbers for phone shipments.

Interesting.

In my state you don’t have to register with a party in advance of the primary. You just ask for the ballot you want when you go to vote.

I think part of the problem is also that turnout for primaries is pretty low. Motivated voters show up in force, and they are often at the fringes.

I found this little bit of history about how primaries have evolved over time. It’s a Vox piece that was written in 2016 before DJT got the GOP nomination.

https://www.vox.com/a/presidential-primaries-2016-republican-democrat

@Cindysphinx is right. We need some changes.

An attorney representing two women who testified before the House Ethics Committee told ABC News in an interview that former Rep. Matt Gaetz paid both his adult clients for sex.

Florida attorney Joel Leppard told ABC News' Juju Chang that one of his clients also witnessed Gaetz having sex with a third woman -- who was then 17 years old -- at a house party in Florida.

"She testified [that] in July of 2017, at this house party, she was walking out to the pool area, and she looked to her right, and she saw Rep. Gaetz having sex with her friend, who was 17," Leppard said.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/lawyer-tells-abc-news-2-clients-told-house/story?id=115863675&cid=social_twitter_abcn

Those are great. The black dog with the ladybug is super.

In a house, Bose 901s can overwhelm and deafen you with sound. A friend from the Army had Bose 901 speakers. 901s rely on bounced sound reflection off of a wall. I think it had nine speakers facing the rear and one speaker facing the front and they could handle lots of wattage. You need a powerful receiver to really take advantage of 901s. They were expensive too as I remember. Because they’re so powerful at loud volumes, they’re better for discos and roller skating rinks than home use. Playing the Bachman Turner Overdrive song “Sledgehammer” at full volume would cause the walls to vibrate.

I remember signs like that on gas stations when we traveled around the country on family vacations in the 60s.

Another one that got our attention when it got to be the end of day and we were looking for a place to stay - air conditioned and has a swimming pool!

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I have been on BlueSky for a little while. It's a lot better than Twitter (X). No bots. No trolling (so far). I got on some "starter packs" so my follower count is moving up nicely among the people I really want to talk to .... reporters, economists, and people who study higher education in general.

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Salmon behavior is amazing. Watched salmon fighting their way up tiny creeks I could straddle near a campground in Alaska.
They also taste great.