Aunt Lori Alexander 23: Transformed to Evil

[AlwaysDiscerning]

There is a review on Amazon that the person has been reading Lori's blog for nearly 10 years. Did she have a different one before Always Learning because AL only goes back to 2011 (hardly 10 years). 

[SuperNova]

5 hours ago, EowynW said:

I can't see Lori working hard to save money. A lot the stuff she pays lip service too can be hard work. Gardening sounds easy but it's work. Preserving your own food sounds easy until your kitchen table is covered in produce that needs to be dealt with and it's just you in a tiny hot kitchen with no work space. Cooking from scratch sounds fine but it's also work. Especially if you don't have a dish washer for cleanup afterwards  

 

Amen. Tiny hot kitchen, check. Overflowing garden. Check. No dishwasher, check. Don't plan on having a life during harvest time. We live in California and once people knew we are into canning they would pick their trees and gardens bare for us. Last year my husband and I put up more than 200 lbs of apricots alone. Not to mention all the other fruits and vegetables. I would be more than happy to show Lazy Lori the ropes. Another pair of hands would be awesome. 

[So-Virgin-It-Hurts]

19 hours ago, saintmom said:

Aw, thank you!  Yes, those are our two "saints"  because, well, they're not.  The one on the right is Molly, and Maxwell her son is on the left.  We recently lost Molly to bone cancer, but Max is still with us.  Both were seized from a puppy mill and have come a long way!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

So sad to hear about your loss of Molly but I'd love to kiss that Max!  Welcome!

19 hours ago, ChickenettiLuvr said:

Door County Report, Day 4:

Lori sightings: 0

Chickenetti wins: 4

We attended a parade, band concert, out to eat, shopping, swimming, golf and more. Women in shorts and whatever, including all women in our group. 

Never once were the men in our group tempted, ogling, or out of control. No bitchiness from any of the women, either.

Extra bonus points for me cuz more sunburn. 

All in all a very good day. Praise Rufus. 

P.S. And 3 members of our group are proud card-carrying, tee-totaling Baptist folk. No judgey stuff ever.

Just remember Chickenetti - Lori is watching YOU (and possibly taking notes).

[SilverBeach]

2 hours ago, Loveday said:

Lori's sticking to safe subjects for her 'first day back.' Now she's talking about the importance of reading the Bible. As a believer in Jesus, I can't argue with that. I can, however, argue with her interpretation of said Bible. 

I don't believe in bible infallibility or in making it an idol. It's not the fourth person of the godhead. It can be useful when intelligently interpreted, with care and understanding. I'm sure Lori would condemn me to hell (don't believe in that either), although I'm Christian. Not the right flavor, just like you ebil cathliks, haha.

[feministxtian]

I love how Lori tries to talk about living frugally...and has NO idea what that really means. 

I learned awhile ago how to live "on the cheap". Now we have a little more financial breathing room but we still are at the poverty level. I still get almost all my clothes at the thrift stores (5 outfits for 18 bucks!), Manage to feed the both of us on less than 200 bucks a month (including cat food, kitty litter and paper items), Our only real "splurge" is cable/internet. Our cars are 18 and 13 years old...and still running just fine (well, my Mustang is off the road until we can afford to get the brakes done). Fortunately, we live somewhere that recreation is plentiful and cheap/free...who needs a vacation from a vacation destination?!?

Ok, we don't live in the oversized closet anymore, we lucked into a nice 3br/2ba apartment...but it wouldn't be Lori-standard. Whatever, our new place is nice and roomy enough for the two of us and the felines. 

[Koala]

Lori:

Quote

I will be taking the next week or so off from posting anything on my blog. 

Shortest break ever.  

[So-Virgin-It-Hurts]

Who can enlighten me on what Lori spends her money on?  From what I can tell she doesn't cook, she makes 'big salads.'  She doesn't have a job so she doesn't have to put together five professional outfits per week.  She doesn't have to commute somewhere for work.  She never talks about her pet charities (I could go on and on about mine).  So she revamps things in the house - OK.  How often can one possibly do that?  They don't have pets.  She's not a sewer / quilter / knitter, right?  I don't recall her ever writing about stuff she bought for the grandkids . . . 

[Jellybean]

That's a really interesting point - she doesn't really do anything, does she?

From what she's said, she has quite a few expensive supplements (organic, of course) and I think she spends quite a lot on skincare, makeup and that sort of thing, but you're right that she doesn't seem to appreciate/collect art or anything else. She doesn't scrapbook or craft, as far as I know. 

We have a second bedroom in our flat. My husband uses it as a dressing room and keeps most of his clothes in the wardrobe/shelving unit there. The rest of the room is mine. Half of it is taken up with medical supplies (yuge medical fridge, medications, gloves, syringes, sterile dressing packs, blah blah. The rest of the space is taken up with my sewing stuff and a small amount of paper craft and knitting/crochet. I have more sewing stuff in the sitting room along with my cello, piano and all the stuff associated with those (music stand, sheet music, rosin). The kitchen is filled with recipe books and specialist patisserie tins, tools, ingredients.

i don't see Lori having or enjoying any of those things. Her home is so large and it must be half empty!

[EowynW]

1 hour ago, SuperNova said:

Amen. Tiny hot kitchen, check. Overflowing garden. Check. No dishwasher, check. Don't plan on having a life during harvest time. We live in California and once people knew we are into canning they would pick their trees and gardens bare for us. Last year my husband and I put up more than 200 lbs of apricots alone. Not to mention all the other fruits and vegetables. I would be more than happy to show Lazy Lori the ropes. Another pair of hands would be awesome. 

This is my first year to seriously garden and can and I admit that this morning I did have a "what the hell am I doing" moment in front of my produce loaded table in my tiny hot kitchen, with little counter space and no dishwasher. lol it's hard. But rewarding. 

[BlackSheep]

6 hours ago, Joyce said:

My grandmother, granduncle, and grandaunt live on a $200 combined pension per month. This is how they live to save money.

[snip]

Wow, that is truly impressive. They are hard working people! 

They don't have time for doodles, that's for sure. 

[crawfishgirl]

Well, she pays money to blast her posts on facebook...

 

[Curious]

9 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

Dunking a teabag twice in a pot of hot water doesn't make tea, it makes brown-ish hot water.

@saintmom I'm sorry about the loss of your Molly.  It's hard to lose them for any reason, but cancer is such a hard way to go.  We had a cancer dog (mast cell tumor), who after surgery and chemo, lived another 8 years, but he was never quite the same after all the trauma he went through.

I had a Saint/Lab mix as a kid and she was the best dog I have ever owned (don't tell the chihuahuas, I said that!).

To the quote:  I like my tea weak, but that is even too weak for me.  We have an ice tea maker since I drink ice tea like some people drink coffee and I will use 1 tea bag for 2 runs through the machine.  If I tried to do 3, I'd have water the 3rd run (I know this because it's been accidentally done once or twice)

 

 

[SuperNova]

1 hour ago, EowynW said:

This is my first year to seriously garden and can and I admit that this morning I did have a "what the hell am I doing" moment in front of my produce loaded table in my tiny hot kitchen, with little counter space and no dishwasher. lol it's hard. But rewarding. 

Keep going, it gets easier! It took a few years but my hubby and I have streamlined our process and are able to do more in less time. I'm always so happy at the beginning of harvest but usually hit a point mid season where the charm is gone and I'm just canning to get it done. I have a hard time saying no to any fruits or veggies that are given to us and end up with more than we can eat. I give it away to family, friends, and a few senior citizen neighbors:) 

It's all worth it when it's the middle of December and you crack open a jar of green beans that you not only grew but preserved yourself. 

 

Edited to add: I never get my jars back!! But the plus side is people give us cases of jars as Christmas gifts. 

[Curious]

18 hours ago, Gemini said:

Just chiming in to agree with @Curious, Your dogs are beautiful @saintmom!  So sorry to hear about Molly tho  

St Bernard's are my absolute favourite dogs! We are currently in the French Alps and this beauty is a mountain rescue dog.

He rides the funicular up to the top of the mountains every day and it's taking all my will power not to spend the day riding with him! (The other cutie is the Grandbean) 

I missed this picture the first time through this thread somehow. I saw it just now when trying to find my place in the thread after posting.  What a great looking dog.  I'd almost be willing to get lost, just to be found by this dog

[EowynW]

24 minutes ago, SuperNova said:

Keep going, it gets easier! It took a few years but my hubby and I have streamlined our process and are able to do more in less time. I'm always so happy at the beginning of harvest but usually hit a point mid season where the charm is gone and I'm just canning to get it done. I have a hard time saying no to any fruits or veggies that are given to us and end up with more than we can eat. I give it away to family, friends, and a few senior citizen neighbors:) 

It's all worth it when it's the middle of December and you crack open a jar of green beans that you not only grew but preserved yourself. 

 

Edited to add: I never get my jars back!! But the plus side is people give us cases of jars as Christmas gifts. 

Thank you. I feel like it's all uphill right now because I'm having to buy jars and lids too. I'm just waterbathing this year. I'm learning to freeze produce too. 

[dairyfreelife]

I don't get Lori's frugal posts. She fully admits to not having or needing a budget. Seriously, stop telling others to live your lifestyle when they can't afford it. It's okay to have money. It's okay to not need to live a frugal life, but don't lie about it. Admit that you are rich and can afford to eat out at nice restaurants every week and buy $70 outfit pieces and redo your kitchen and buy organic produce and have a housekeeper and a nanny. It's okay to have all those things. It's not okay to act like everyone should suffer in your ideals when you never did. Lori NEVER had to struggle or want for anything in life. It's okay to not ever struggle, really, but it's not okay to act as if you are better because of that. Lori does not have empathy. She does not get the struggles many go through. Most people are not that clueless. I don't think Donald Trump is as clueless as Lori when it comes to being so clueless on most Americans actually live. Dead serious. A reader told her that she couldn't get fresh produce year round because it was too cold half the year where she lived and Lori told her to come to southern California and was stunningly confused when readers told her that it's not possible to just move and it was really expensive to live there. She honestly just doesn't get it at all. I also don't think being poor suddenly would change anything with her either. She'd just be even more arrogant. Nobody ever once sat her down and told her to knock the shit off with the arrogance. Nobody ever told her no. Nobody taught Lori how to empathize. If her parents did anything wrong, it was that. 

[SuperNova]

35 minutes ago, EowynW said:

Thank you. I feel like it's all uphill right now because I'm having to buy jars and lids too. I'm just waterbathing this year. I'm learning to freeze produce too. 

My favorite online resource for recipes is Food in Jars. She has a really great FAQ page as well.

They call water bath canning the gateway drug. Once you start with pickles and jams, you're hooked. 

[freealljs]

@dairyfreelifethank you! I would uptick your post a million times if I could. 

[delphinium65]

4 hours ago, So-Virgin-It-Hurts said:

She never talks about her pet charities...

I don't think Aunt Lori gives a damn about anyone less fortunate than herself. Guess she forgot about the virtuous woman who 'stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.'

[EowynW]

1 hour ago, SuperNova said:

My favorite online resource for recipes is Food in Jars. She has a really great FAQ page as well.

They call water bath canning the gateway drug. Once you start with pickles and jams, you're hooked. 

We did pickles last year. This year it's pickles, salsa, hopefully sauce for spaghetti/pizzas and jelly or jam. I've been fridge canning a bit too with little batches of stuff that aren't worth the effort to heat the kitchen to WB. 

[Granwych]

10 hours ago, usmcmom said:

think she likes to correct people and I think she likes to be mistaken for some of these other women. Let's face it, most of them write better than she does. But her method makes her look stupid and unprofessional

That's because she is stupid and unprofessional, along with vicious and hate-filled.

[ChickenettiLuvr]

Door County Report, Day 5:

Lori sightings: 0

Chickenetti wins: 5

Except I'm puking my guts out tonight. So not winning, really. I swear that wench put a hex on me.

[BlackSheep]

48 minutes ago, delphinium65 said:

I don't think Aunt Lori gives a damn about anyone less fortunate than herself. Guess she forgot about the virtuous woman who 'stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.'

One of the many verses that she conveniently overlooks

On 7/4/2017 at 10:29 PM, saintmom said:

Aw, thank you!  Yes, those are our two "saints"  because, well, they're not.  The one on the right is Molly, and Maxwell her son is on the left.  We recently lost Molly to bone cancer, but Max is still with us.  Both were seized from a puppy mill and have come a long way!

Thanks for the warm welcome!

@saintmom, in my first reply post, I neglected to extend my condolences about Molly. She must have been a beloved member of your family. She's waiting for you at the Rainbow Bridge.

[ChickenettiLuvr]

Well, @So-Virgin-It-Hurts, that could be. And she would have seen nothing but happy people who love each other, wore themselves out doing crazy fun things, living in the moment,  who never gave one thought to judging anyone. 

More tomorrow. 

[SuperNova]

1 hour ago, EowynW said:

We did pickles last year. This year it's pickles, salsa, hopefully sauce for spaghetti/pizzas and jelly or jam. I've been fridge canning a bit too with little batches of stuff that aren't worth the effort to heat the kitchen to WB. 

I haven't done salsa yet. Even though I do a fair bit of tomatoes I always end up making a ton of basic sauce for spaghetti, tomato soup, etc.. I often make it and then freeze it flat in freezer bags to save cabinet space since I too have a tiny kitchen. Jams are my favorite thing to can but jellies are tricky for me.