Cheerios:

My family straddles between working class and middle class. Historically, food was very basic, not spiced, and not expensive to purchase or labor-intensive. The only time people spent hours and hours in prep time were the holidays or special occasions. There was no presentation, but there was quantity.

Whenever my family comes to visit me in Chicago, I have to remember that and take them to the appropriate restaurants. Places that aren't too fancy or expensive, or have what they would consider "weird food" on the menu, or anyplace where I'd have to translate the menu for them.

BTW, good luck tomorrow! Or is it Tuesday?

Thanks! It is Monday mid-morning, which means I need to go to bed ASAP.

It is Monday mid-morning, which means I need to go to bed ASAP.

shrift, in case you didn't go to sleep yet (and, um, even if you already did) - good luck!

[Edit: I wish I had time now to elaborate on the whole food-and-class issue, because it's so interesting and varied and can run so deep. Oh, well. Conversations in Natter tend to repeat themselves after some cycle, right? Some other time, then.]

Dig back a few generations on either side of my family and you hit small time farmers. But Dad joined the navy for WWII and did the whole GI Bill college thing (huge class buster). Then he went to Germany to teach army brats for the occupation and wandered all over Europe. Got his palate way expanded from Turkey to Italy to Spain all the way up to Finland. Mom got scholarships and work-study to become the first woman in her family to go to college and then went to work in mission schools in South and Central America, wandering all around during her vacations.

Then they came back to MI, met, married, moved to a small, remote town, and raised a family.

I grew up assuming everyone ate paella and lasagna and Finnish rye with chili. It was so odd to see my sister's friends come to dinner an poke at their food with a, "What the hell is this?" look on their faces.

Anyway, service—to country or church—was both broadening and class-busting for them. I think it was for a number of people in their generation, especially the WWII GIs.

Why was I both a midnight poster and a first thing in the morning poster? I am so going to regret this schedule.

Anyway, on class I am a bit sheepish to admit that I come from fairly upper-class lines way way back. Like, I have a great great grandmother who went to college, and a great great grandfather (different line) who was a federal judge. Nothing shocking - no Newport mansions - but for the times, way up there.

Why was I both a midnight poster and a first thing in the morning poster?

Um, so that I won't feel alone in my own (um, worse, though lacking two kids, and I'm not sure if it's better or worse) schedule?

My dad was the first on his side to go to college (and he didn't finish) but it's a different story on my mom's side. She wasn't from wealth but definitely a more educated, genteel background. Class stuff actually accounted for a ton of their Issues relating to things far beyond money.

Just seemed kind of oblivious to the fact that the community as a whole isn't really gourmet or upper class in any meaningful way. Perhaps I'm overreading it all.

Nope. We were talking about the move with husband's aunt, and she was horrified that the per diem for meals was $39/day. How could anyone possibly eat three meals for that little! The tax! The tip!

The idea of going somewhere without waiters doesn't seem to have occurred to her.

Hey, today is Beatrix Potter's birthday! And Google has a matching theme.

Nope. We were talking about the move with husband's aunt, and she was horrified that the per diem for meals was $39/day. How could anyone possibly eat three meals for that little! The tax! The tip!

We had an instructor who we paid meals for and we just told her to be reasonable and it ended up being about $90 per day. My boss was horrified, so we have had to put a cap on the per diem as well (it is actually $39)