I am very liberal when it comes to use-by dates, unless it's chicken, pork or seafood.

I keep butter in my grandma's silver butter dish, even in the summer. We use it too fast for it to turn rancid, and when it gets REALLY HOT in the summer, I have a cool butter dish thingie that keeps the butter cool.

I hate hard butter.

Aw, my brother's girlfriend just spent the last ninety minutes trying to cheer me up about my dating woes. She's a good egg. Also:

Her: and I havent known you for very long but it seems like your parents raised some amazing people
Me: Bizarrely enough.
Her: lol
Her: I think Kiran's the way he is because of you
Her: you were first and you turned out not an idiot
Her: you made him cool lol
Me: Ha, and now he's cooler than me.
Her: or i guess
Her: nerdy
Me: He's my role model.
Her: switcharound? lol

P-C, I like your brother's gf.

Oh em gee, y'all. Damp towel in microwave for 20 seconds then wrapped around sore neck might be better than chocolate. It certainly has more fiber.

Kiran's gf rules. Do you know the Maria Butterly song? It's sad, about a Kieran who died but I wonder if it is pronounced the same.

Eggs! When in doubt submerge in water. If they float: throw them out.

Humans cannot tell if food is bad good by smelling. If your cat will eat it, you're probably OK.

WindSparrow! I keep meaning to email you and thank you for the wonderful cat food info, and then my hamster brain gets distracted. So I'm thanking you here and now before I forget again. Thank you!!!

Yay for sweet white devil girlfriends!

Fire ant update: minimal swelling, minor itching. I'm going to do the hair dryer trick again in a bit, but even with just doing it once, I am totally blown away.

That hair dryer trick seems too good to be true. Why has nobody told me before?

Speaking of things I wish someone had told me sooner, do y'all know how easy it is to swallow a pill if you put it under your tongue?

Connie, I remember that Dirty Jobs! I feel you, too. I also remember that Mike couldn't get a break on that one...the boss decided he didn't like him AT ALL. Which is pretty unusual. Mostly they seem to be fans, or at least mellow enough to go with the flow, but MR made a joke about surviving his trip through the swamp and the guy was all "You ain't survived yet!"

That hair dryer trick seems too good to be true. Why has nobody told me before?

I know, right?!?!

Speaking of things I wish someone had told me sooner, do y'all know how easy it is to swallow a pill if you put it under your tongue?

I... am going to have to try this.

The trick is forgetting you have a pill under your tongue and just drinking a glass of water like normal. If you actively try to swallow the pill, it ends up on top, but if you just drink the water, the pill surfs the wave right down and you never even feel it.

What if the pill starts dissolving in your spit before you drink? That would be my fear?