Bought 4 over the weekend, let them soften at room temp, they are dry and mealy. Yuck. I’m so disappointed, they looked good anyway…
We’ve learned the best way to ripen peaches quickly is to put them in a loose paper bag - something about the gasses they give off being trapped. The local farmers markets now have doughnut aka Saturn peaches - soooo sweet! And TJ’s has the Tuscan melons - mmmm.
@JustaMom5465 we had a very bad frost late in the year here in Georgia-it ruined a lot of the peach crops. I have a small nectarine tree that is about to be ripe with fruit, and I’m also wondering if they will taste ok this year.
I have had good luck with Trader Joe’s peaches for the last few summers. Just bought my first batch on Saturday, but they aren’t ready to eat yet. Only problem is you have to buy them in a case–so thirteen at a time.
Peach pie. Peach cobbler. Peach crisp. Peach sauce for vanilla ice cream. Lots of ways to use them!
I got great peaches from the local supermarket and from Sprouts. But the Trader Joes peaches were terrible!! Hard, then got moldy and mealy. Not worth driving back to return them Just trashed them.
@MotherOfDragons , here in CT we had a late frost/freeze as well and I’ve heard that there is NO in-state peach crop this year. So I don’t even have that to look forward to…
I’ve used the paper bag method too…I don’t think anything is going to override a mealy peach. It’s just so hit or miss!!
Random question for New Yorkers- dd moved to NYC and now needs to find a place to get her hair cut. Works downtown (Park Ave and 68th) but lives in Astoria. She has been shocked by the prices. She keeps her hair simple and doesn’t do a lot of styling. Any suggestions?
http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/rare-syndrome-makes-texas-mom-speak-with-foreign-accent/
This Texas women had complications from jaw surgery and now has foreign accent syndrome.
Can anyone from England identify the type of English accent? It doesn’t sound like upper-class-Downton-Abbey to me.
The PYO farms in Maryland also suffered from the freeze in April. Strawberries were very scattered, and no sour cherries or peaches this year. Blueberries last weekend were great, however.
@Onward when I lived in NYC a few years ago, I would use groupon deals for haircuts. The downsides are going to someone new every time since the deals are usually for new customers, but I don’t remember any terrible haircuts and a few meh ones (usually from new salons, so it’s helpful to look up reviews). Possible to get away with ~40 for wash/cut/dry after tips.
@Onward, I get my hair cut in Chinatown. I pay $8 (yes, that’s the amount) for haircut which includes wash, cut, blow dry although I come with my hair (short and curly) already washed. I believe they charge $10 or $12 for longer hair. Needless to say, I tip very well. It’s a husband-and-wife shop. The husband is better with curly hair. His wife is great with straight hair and speaks much better English. I am sure that if your daughter came with a photo of what she wanted, either will do a great job. The salon is around the corner from the uptown end of the East Broadway station on the F train, on the first block of Canal St. They sell luggage in front of the store and there’s a barber pole out front. I can give better instructions if you PM me. For what it’s worth, their daughter will be a senior at Harvard this year. She also got into MIT!
My 20-y-o daughter goes to a fancier place called Salon De Tops on Elizabeth St. between Hester and Grand.
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/salons/salon-de-tops
closer to central Chinatown and Little Italy, although last time she was home from school, she found a Groupon and had her hair cut in Brooklyn where we live.
I just activated my new Costco Visa card. (I had to in order to pay off what I charged on my old AmEx CostCo card.) I did it all on-line, including setting up my automatic payment information.
In the confirmation email I received, it invited me to set up an app on my phone so I can access my account from my phone.
Since using my phone happens over WiFi, and WiFi is less secure than my home internet connection, aren’t I asking for trouble if I access my Visa account on my phone? It’s less secure, correct?
I don’t do any banking or other important things on my phone. Am I being overly cautious?
I don’t do any banking or buying when away from home on my phone, either. I suspect it’s less safe, but am not sure if I read it anywhere.
I don’t do any online financial transactions on my phone. No need to tempt fate. DH’s government travel card was compromised on his last overseas trip. First time that’s happened, but would like to avoid it with our personal cards. The Target and Home Depot hacks, along with the hack into government records last year, messes with our financial lives enough.
No woman I know likes feeling undressed and ogled while wearing a bathing suit at the beach or pool. Yet we continue to do it.
We finally stopped wearing heels just because we’re supposed to. Why don’t we stop wearing revealing bathing suits, too? And I’m not just referring to women of a certain age. Many young women feel uncomfortable too.
Lands’ End makes bathing “dresses.” I believe they are trying to cater to very religious people to whom showing their body in public is not acceptable but who still want to go in the water. Here: http://www.landsend.com/products/womens-swim-cover-up-boatneck-tunic-dress/id_296132?sku_0=::O3K
Who wants to start a movement? 
My oldest is very modest in her dress and also has to deal with being well endowed (which she did not get from me.) She wears conservative swimsuits, something like this with boy short bottoms: http://www.landsend.com/products/womens-beach-living-halter-dresskini-swimsuit-top/id_300027?sku_0=::ACD
I wear 9" board shorts and a long sleeve rash guard top. My choice was driven by a combination of age, weight and tendency to burn easily. The first time I wore board shorts and a rash guard at a resort pool, the lifeguard questioned whether they were actually swim wear. Now I see lots of kids and adults wearing rash guards, as well as a wide variety of swim wear.
I have this “rash guard” which is actually a long sleeve jacket with a zipper. I don’t want to wrestle with getting something wet and sandy on and off and I really wanted my shoulders and arms covered for those times when it seems you can’t ever put enough sunscreen on.
I haven’t tried it yet but I’m going to a barrier island off of Mississippi on Tuesday so we’ll see.
Random question for @BunsenBurner who I’m sure is going to laugh at me - I saw this “buzzing” lip stuff by Burt’s Bees and bought some because I was curious. Lip Freak, freak your lips out, the strongest buzzing lip balm in the whole world! Or so it says…
How bad could it be? They still call it “balm”. And it’s made by Burt’s Bees. Hmmmm, maybe it’s just like a minty freshness.
NOPE! It starts off as nothing and builds to something pretty uncomfortable. You’re very happy when the buzzing finally starts to wear off. What is in this? I’ve always thought that “lip plumper” actually induced an allergic reaction to make your lips swell. This doesn’t do that, it just “buzzes”.
OK, I’m an idiot.
Rash guards (short and long sleeved) and board shorts are now VERY common in HI–even sold at Sam’s Club, Walmart at Costco regularly for reasonable prices. We were ahead of the curve and bought them for premium prices at Surf Shops --2-3x as expensive. Sure beats having to wear so much sunscreen!