Way to go, Theo. Dh just left for the grocery store. Unfortunately, this is our regular shopping day AND, we have only gotten half-arsed orders the last few times we've shopped. I hope to see him before 3:00pm, when we're scheduled to go to my mom's to help her move some furniture out of the way. She's having some floors refinished on Monday. Also, she's going to feed us a pot roast dinner.

Heh. He just called as I was typing. There are *no* parking spaces at local Super Stop & Shop. God bless him. Right now, I'm feeling a little guilty over being, if not grateful for, than at least mindful that the anxiety attacks I've had recently are probably part of the reason he volunteered to go shopping today, in the first place.

Another right thinker! Tell me Kalshane, how do you feel about butter?

You pretty much summed it up for me right here:

This! I always keep my butter out on the counter, except for the hottest weeks of the year, because I don't like ripped toast. I resent when I use up the nice, soft room temperature stick, and have to take a new, hard stick of butter out of the fridge.

Though lately I've been buying the Brummel and Brown spread and using that because since I generally don't cook (this last week excepted) and don't make toast that often, the butter tends to go bad between uses. (I don't know if it actually goes "bad" but it ends up tasting stale. But I don't think they expect a single stick to last 6 months.) I still keep a couple sticks of real butter in the fridge for when I do cook, though. But I absolutely hate trying to use cold butter.

Speaking of cooking, I've just realized that in order to make chili today as I planned, I will have to wash dishes, and then wash them again when I'm do. I'm suddenly remembering why in 7 years on my own I've only actually cooked about a dozen times. (The general feeling of "It's too much of a PITA is being augmented with specifics.)

I think my first major purchase after I get a house will be a dishwasher.

I totally will avoid cooking in order to avoid doing dishes. Kind of ridiculous, but there it is.

Also, you can freeze butter with little ill-effect, FYI. If I buy four sticks, I only keep one in the fridge at a time.

And I am ridiculous, because it's only recently started snowing, but I still am taking this as an excuse to be as lazy as possible. I just have no interest in leaving the house or doing anything useful. Had nice french toast for breakfast, will do the dishes shortly, and then may get back in bed with my book. Word.

I tried the Brummel and Brown, probably when I was on a diet. I think I liked it well enough. There are five of us, and since I use butter in cooking, and everyone but Julia likes butter, we go through it quickly enough, that I don't worry about it going bad.

A dishwasher is totally worth it. You may buy a house that already has one (unless I've missed news, which is possible, and you've already bid on a house that doesn't have one).

If the house you buy doesn't have one, and you don't have the cash to modify your kitchen to build one in, the portable kind that you roll over and hook up to the faucet are still worth it, in my opinion.

This is a non-judgmental question (even though it may not come across as such) because I know lots of wonderful people (at least a couple of whom post here) who don't keep up with their dishes, but how do you stand it? I can let the rest of my house go to hell, but cannot leave dirty dishes lying around. I fear bugs and other pests, I guess, but also, I just need the sink empty. On the rare day I don't get the breakfast dishes cleaned up right away, it drives me nuts, and I can't do anything else (shower, dress, make beds, etc.) until I've taken care of that.

Oh, and if you have a toaster oven, just put the toast back in with the cold butter on top to melt it.

Cindy, mostly I just don't spend that much time in the kitchen. And the dishes aren't that dirty -- several days' worth could be only my coffee cup and a plate that had toast on it. No big whoop.

And I am ridiculous, because it's only recently started snowing, but I still am taking this as an excuse to be as lazy as possible. I just have no interest in leaving the house or doing anything useful. Had nice french toast for breakfast, will do the dishes shortly, and then may get back in bed with my book. Word.

Not ridiculous. Lovely. And you've been working hard, with school and everything. You totally deserve that kind of day, Jesse.

Oh, and if you have a toaster oven, just put the toast back in with the cold butter on top to melt it.

I wish we had one, but we don't have the space in this kitchen. Feh. I can sometimes manage to soften butter in the microwave on the defrost setting, without turning it to melted butter, but it seems to be a hit-or-miss undertaking for me.

On the Disney channel, they'll have songs between the shows. They Might Be Giants (I've heard of them plenty of times, but couldn't tell you any of their songs) do this song called, "e Eats Everthing" and it (music, lyrics, and cartoon video) is charming me to death. The letter e eats all the foods, but the other letters don't for various reasons. But at the end, the letter Z eats e, and they do it so the Z looks like the ghost and e looks just like Pac-Man. The music is funky-cool late 60s, early 70s kind of funk-mod. I just love it.

Cindy, mostly I just don't spend that much time in the kitchen. And the dishes aren't that dirty -- several days' worth could be only my coffee cup and a plate that had toast on it. No big whoop.

I guess that's the difference. I always have a mess, even if everyone only had toast and a drink, that's five people's worth. Plus, because I do cook, I do spend more time in the kitchen.

I mean, slice off a curl of butter, put that on the toast, and heat that. You could do that in the regular oven, too. For those that don't keep butter on the table.

And you've been working hard, with school and everything.

Hee! I've actually been on vacation for a month. But I am PREPARING to work hard again, starting next week. Am conserving my energies!!!

I wish we had one, but we don't have the space in this kitchen.

My toaster oven is one of the appliances you will pry from my cold dead hands. It's the most used small appliance in my kitchen, except for maybe the stick blender.