[canflam]

I can believe it. You don't need a yard to light fireworks off. People do it in streets typically in the U.S. We don't have a yard. So, were people still trick or treating? I'm watching a fireworks show on YouTube.

[sunnykerr]

Halloween isn't as big in Europe, Matt, including in Ireland. If anything, it's a fad that's been adopted from North America. The reason they might have fireworks at Halloween might be because of the proximity of Bonfire Night... though I have no clue how much that's celebrated in Ireland either. In England, the celebration is about the government's survival. Perhaps in Ireland, they commemorate the plot?

In Canada, I'm not sure people would set off fireworks in the middle of the street in a town or a city. You'd run the risk of bothering the neighbours, stopping traffic or even creating an dangerous accident with rogue fireworks. The point of doing it in backyards or even, and preferably, a park or a field, is that the risk of causing bother or injury are smaller. Ditto the risk of getting caught, assuming it is illegal.

Cops don't regularly patrol the streets like that here. Except perhaps on "special" occasions like a Habs game or the Formula 1 Grand Prix. And, then, they have a stronger presence downtown. Not in residential areas.

ETA We posted at the same time. Can I just say that Mondays are haaaaard? I had a nap at lunch, and it wasn't optional. I was exhausted,

[MsPerfectionist]

wow really, right on the streets? that must be fun and crazy at the same time.

yeah irish people do trick or treating but not as much as north america. it's ironic Halloween is irish. they also light up bonfires for Halloween.

[sunnykerr]

Mind you, Tracy, while you're there... do they celebrate Bonfire Night in Ireland? I never thought about it.

[canflam]

Well, if they're legal fireworks then here they shouldn't be able to go very far in the air anyway. Roman Candles for example are banned in Oregon. We don't have a yard. Some do though here & I think people usually just light them off in front of their home & hopefully pick up whatever mess they left behind on the road, sidewalk, & such.

[MsPerfectionist]

they don't celebrate Bonfire Night in Ireland. i'm pretty sure their fireworks were not very legal. it goes on all evening and we hear them in every neighbourhood.

[sunnykerr]

I thought perhaps some Republican supporters in Ireland might celebrate Bonfire Night since it was a Catholic plot to overthrow the new Protestant monarchy. Well, I thought it might have begun that way anyway. I didn't know and wasn't sure. So thanks for clarifying that.

My next time off work is in October and I'm not sure how I'm gonna make it. Funny how that happens every year with the two shorter consecutive weeks.

With lockdown measures all but over, my schedule is already filling up. I mean, not really, but there's a weekend where we saw my dad, now there's another where we'll got up to my mother's, then it'll be the birthday stuff... There doesn't need to be too much going on for me to start seeing it like a lot, I guess.

[MsPerfectionist]

yeah i started to see more people as well. it felt weird

[sunnykerr]

It's gonna get weirder, if I heard correctly and pretty much all measures will be over as of Monday... That doesn't sound right.

I want to know how we're supposed to know when companies in downtown's office towers are supposed to reintegrate their offices. It can't be right that we're all going back at the same time. Seems like a recipe for disaster.

Not that I have any control over any of it. I guess we'll see.

And the Habs have been eliminated. Was it pandemonium last night? Online, everyone seems to be pretty sanguine about it. I mean, no one thought we'd get that far anyway. And, apparently, we played quite well. You win some, you lose some.

[MsPerfectionist]

really, as in "back to normal" no more restriction? wow i don't know what to think yet. am i too cautious to not be overly excited?

there's a gradual plan where i work starting in september. the idea is in the new year, everything will be "back to normal".

i'm still proud of my habs. i think Tampa took advantage of many of our mistakes early in the series. i still think we earned our place in the finals (unlike all the bashing i see from Tampa's fan). i was as upset as the players when i saw the cup

[sunnykerr]

I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. I definitely read that there will be no more restrictions as to the number of people who can be in a store (and, presumably, a restaurant) at a time. After that, short of massive events like concerts or sports events... it's not a very long distance to things being back to normal, no?

Did you see that Gally's house was robbed while he was in Florida? I mean, to a certain extent, it feels predictable. They do say not to announce on social media when you'll be away from home for a period of time... Kinda hard to avoid people knowing you'll be out of town when you're playing on a team whose location is known by millions of people. But it just feels so wrong. Like, Gally's so likeable! At least, he was the last time I saw him on TV... which I realize was probably a longer time ago than I realize.

I certainly would have prefered to see the Habs win. I just think this was such a better result than I was expecting the Habs to get in the NHL as it is run these days...

[MsPerfectionist]

i guess we'll see how everything unfolds.

aww i didn't know about the robbery

it was totally unexpected to see them in the finals.

[sunnykerr]

Yeah, I can't imagine it was a great homecoming for Gally. Losing out on the Stanley Cup only to come home to a house that's been robbed. Must have felt like another gut punch. But, and I hate myself for even feeling like this because nobody deserves to have their home invaded like that... if anyone can afford to rebuild... Still sucks, obviously. It's still a violation and I hope to God they didn't get away with anything that can't be replaced.

I had a revelation about plain yogurt today. One I'm rather ashamed took this long. I buy it semi-regularly for recipes, but always end up throwing out whatever is not needed for said recipes, which amounts to rather a lot. Today, I took a bunch of cherries I got with my groceries this week to pit them and freeze them for later use, and it occured to me that I could have plain yogourt with some cherries... see how that tastes. Turns out it tastes awesome. This whole time, I've been throwing out perfectly good yogurt that I could have eaten.

I swear, for all the "exploration" I do in my cooking, I wish I had more imagination sometimes. Also, since I'm starting that up again, I need to find some Post-Its and put up a whole bunch of reminders to stay away from Tex-Mex recipes or U.S. recipes that call for cumin. Love cumin, hate Tex-Mex.

[MsPerfectionist]

yeah must be awful. i know what u mean. some things are not replaceable, gift and memories from love ones.

yeah plain yogurt is great. i too buy it for recipes. as they are sour, i'd add some vanilla and agave, add some fruit, perfect for breakfast or use it in smoothies. u can use it like a sour cream on potatoes or baking or creamy salad dressing or frozen fruit bar. i heard they are great as a fresh mask for our beautiful skin. (i never tried that though)

ahh tex-mex, is it too much cumin?

i was at Ikea. i haven't been there in years. i bought an office chair as work can pay up to 400$ for office furniture. my boss reminded me to claim it. gah the swedish veg balls, they are soo good.

[sunnykerr]

Plain yogurt's a new thing for me. I usually go for the Balkan or whatever other kind of "Eastern European" double-strained yogurt anyway, so the tartness of plain yogurt is, as it turns out, not a turn off for me at all. I think I just had a holdover rejection from my mother's attempts at making us eat sugarless deserts as a kid in the form of plain yogourt with a spoonful of maple syrup on it. I'm not even sure I didn't like it then either. It very well could have been a rejection on the principle of deserts needing to be sweet.

I think the Tex-Mex thing is less to do with cumin and more to do with the kind of spiciness that comes with those recipes. Or it could be the combination of cumin with chili powder. Because I like cumin very much on its own. But my freezer is so full of recipes where I open the freezer bag and the smell is offputting to me... next time I go on a cooking jag, I need to remember that I'd rather have 12 times the exact same Indian chicken recipe in a row rather than another Tex-Mex something or other.

How did you find the Ikea experience? Did you bring the veggie balls home or have the restaurants opened again?