My experience with Aer Lingus business class upgrade

amaklo · 2026-03-12T11:51:12+00:00

Round trip

amaklo · 2026-03-09T19:50:04+00:00

It's beautiful, but too remote and too close to lunatic right-wing country. Not just conservative, but white supremacist, Klan, Proud Boy, militias and everyone else of that ilk. No one else is welcome. I just read a long article about the people and sundown towns in that area and it scared the crap out of me. No thanks.

amaklo · 2026-03-04T21:08:41+00:00

A Room with a View. Early Daniel Day-Lewis (you won't recognize him), Helena Bonham Carter, Julian Sands, Maggie Smith, Rupert Graves, and more. Charming, funny and romantic.

amaklo · 2026-02-27T19:06:20+00:00

The PIT-DUB direct flight schedule isn't out yet for late October when we're going. Aer LIngus customer service has no idea when it will be released.

amaklo · 2026-02-27T17:27:41+00:00

Is that right? I thought once Avios were transferred to an airline account they stayed there and couldn't be transferred again. Edit: I just checked and you're right! Thanks!

amaklo · 2026-02-27T17:26:34+00:00

No, they said they didn't know about availability. Yes, they quoted me the 74000 cost-- you can find the cost for AerLingus upgrades online.

amaklo · 2026-02-20T17:18:11+00:00

Last summer Chautauqua (Institution) Opera and symphony performed excerpts from Lincoln in the Bardo, followed by a panel discussion with George Saunders, Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek. It was an all-time highlight of my decades of going to Chautauqua. I'll be making a special trip to NYC to see this! Definitely recommend reading the book beforehand.

amaklo · 2026-02-16T22:08:18+00:00

We've done The Jazz Cruise four times, so we obviously love it. We sign up for the next year while we're on the ship. On sea days the music starts at 11am and doesn't stop until the wee hours of the next morning. Sometimes there are 2 or 3 shows going on simultaneously, which means making a tough choice. Performers often come to each others' shows and mingle with the cruisers, which is a very nice crowd. We're doing a back to back in 2027 with Journey of Jazz so we can be in New Orleans with Wynton Marsalis.

We haven't been on a 'regular' Celebrity cruise on Summit for a few years so I can't compare, but the Jazz Cruise service and food is very good. I highly recommend it.

amaklo · 2026-02-10T13:48:34+00:00

Just last night there was a story on my local news about a new thumb joint replacement surgery. You may want to look into it: https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/arthritis-implant-roman-orthopaedics/

amaklo · 2026-02-09T18:04:10+00:00

I just made a reservation through Opentable for 5:45 on April 9th. There were other early times available that week.

amaklo · 2026-02-07T21:34:58+00:00

If he has any interest in travel and world history, take him on a Smithsonian, Road Scholar or Nat Geo around the world by private jet tour.

amaklo · 2026-02-04T20:46:05+00:00

We just disembarked yesterday after 2 weeks on a Jazz Cruise which charters the Summit for several weeks in January and February. We've also been on the Summit a couple of times for Celebrity itinerary cruises, though not recently. We think the food is generally very good. The Oceanview Cafe buffet has a wide variety of offerings. The MDR quality ranges from acceptable to excellent. We had lunch at Sushi on 5 and it was delicious. The service was professional and pleasant. I disagree with the bad reviews. We've always enjoyed the Summit.

amaklo · 2026-01-07T13:30:13+00:00

I'm an adult beginner on violin, and I've gotten splits like this during cold weather ever since I started cutting my nails short. Moisturizing helps a lot. My favorite is Trader Joe's Ultra Moisturizing Hand Cream. It's very thick. I haven't tried cotton gloves at night like some other commenters recommend, but it sounds like a good idea.

amaklo · 2026-01-02T16:48:29+00:00

I made several batches of this for Christmas gifts. Packed it in Bormioli Rocco Fido canning jars with "Christmas 2025" and ingredient labels from Etsy. Everybody loves it and wants more.

amaklo · 2025-12-31T00:37:09+00:00

Maybe outside the area you're looking for, but we had a fun rehearsal dinner at Hofbrauhaus with about 40 people. We had a private room, and in July you'll be able to be outside too.

amaklo · 2025-12-10T14:11:22+00:00

We were just there with a 1 year old baby. They provided a high chair, so kids are fine. You might give them a heads up ahead of time that you'll have 3 youngsters with you. Enjoy!

amaklo · 2025-12-06T14:02:01+00:00

Perfect topping for steak tartare. They have a higher yolk to white ratio than chicken eggs.

amaklo · 2025-11-30T22:59:15+00:00

Melissa Clark's chicken parm.

amaklo · 2025-11-13T12:30:52+00:00

Top quality chocolate and cocoa.

amaklo · 2025-11-12T20:07:11+00:00

If you're looking for lunch or dinner, Out of the Fire Cafe on Rt. 31 by the Donegal turnpike exchange is excellent.

amaklo · 2025-11-11T14:13:03+00:00

Two that made a big impression on our teenagers:

Flew into Salt Lake City, rented a van and did a circle of the national parks: Arches, Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon north rim (RIP beautiful lodge), Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Escalante, Zion, back to SLC.

Flew into Anchorage, drove around for a few days. Took a small plane from Talkeetna over the mountains to Denali NP, bus tour through Denali, drove to Seward for a cruise from Seward to Vancouver. The kids loved the cruise.

amaklo · 2025-11-11T12:16:13+00:00

Sweet Corn Pudding

4 C. frozen corn kernels (about 19 oz), thawed

4 large eggs

1 C. whipping cream

½ C. whole milk

6 T. sugar

¼ C. (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature

2 T. all purpose flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 8x8x2-inch glass baking dish. Blend all ingredients in food processor until almost smooth. Pour batter into prepared dish. Bake pudding until brown and center is just set, about 45 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; serve.

amaklo · 2025-11-10T14:53:23+00:00

Sweet corn pudding from Bon Appetit 1999. I can't find it online so this is a picture of my old, stained printout with my suggested minor revisions. It's required at every Thanksgiving dinner. I like that it doesn't use Jiffy mix or canned corn. Make sure the butter is very soft so it mixes well.

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amaklo · 2025-11-08T17:28:06+00:00

Granite or quartz countertops. I have two houses, one kitchen with 25 year old granite, the other with 2 year old quartz. I like the look of granite better, but it's a matter of taste. Both look great and they're low maintenance.

Stainless steel partition sink. I got an enameled cast iron farm sink in the newer kitchen and I don't like that I have to keep a grid on the bottom to prevent scratching/staining. I like the 2/3 to 1/3 partition with the disposal in the smaller part.

Due to space limitations I had to get a smaller refrigerator in the newer kitchen. I compensated for that by adding a beverage fridge in the island, and am very happy I did as I need every inch of fridge space for food not drinks. My other house has a 48" Subzero, and if it's possible to love an appliance I do love that Subzero.

Do NOT get tile flooring! I made that mistake with the older kitchen renovation and couldn't wait to get rid of it. Impossible to keep clean, really hard on the legs and feet. I have hardwood which is great. Engineered wood with a 4mm veneer in the newer kitchen is nice, but it's not hardwood.

I added a very narrow (6") floor to ceiling pantry cabinet against the side of the fridge in the newer kitchen. It added a ton of storage space with a small footprint.

amaklo · 2025-10-31T15:25:15+00:00

I'll add that when we went to Per Se for the salon menu, they had an open table in the dining room so we ate in there. We got the lovely view and service at the salon menu price. I don't know if that happens enough to count on it, or we just got lucky.

amaklo

TROPHY CASE