Well, well. Joe's mom showed. Color me surprised. She might very well have just saved Christmas.

Did you bust out a little square measuring device to see how many sizes her heart grew?

Cass, I think you and the Neph will find a place to connect if only by virtue of the fact that you see this as necessary and don't just treat him as a noisy thing that should just hush-up and love you.

Cass, I think you and the Neph will find a place to connect if only by virtue of the fact that you see this as necessary and don't just treat him as a noisy thing that should just hush-up and love you.

Well he should just love me. Right? Seriously, LOVE ME. Or hush up. Either.

heh

My onion allergy is a big handicap for eating out and about. At home I just substitute garlic and that works here. I cook with onion for the rest of the family.

I Am Not Allergic to caramel, just sayin'.

I have been testing the vegan waters a bit lately. Yesterday I discovered a still had a big container of mango chutney in the freezer that I had made when the mangoes were ripe and dished some over black beans and wild rice. It was very yummy. The key to eating well for me is cooking and avoiding restaurants.

Blergh. Stayed up too late, woke up late, and I'm feeling super avoidy because I have to deal with my car this morning. I'm trying to decide between two mechanics (both recommended by friends, both in the neighborhood) and am stuck in my classic decision paralysis. What if I pick the wrong one?

Okay. Call supvr to say I'm dealing with car first thing (esp since the weather is iffy), pick a mechanic (flip a coin if necessary) and make the call, go from there. Ready, set, go.

If you don't want to go with first instinct on the mechanics (my first choice), then pick a objective measure like exact distance from home, or google reviews.

smonster, I don't know if Park Place Tire & Auto is one of the places you are considering, but I love them. Also, GR (formerly ER) Automotive, which we found on RS's recommendation. (The reason we switched from GR to Park Place is that we needed work done over the week of the 4th of July and GR was closed that entire week.) Honestly, if your choice is between those two I don't think you can lose.

Sorry I didn't think to give you recs before.

Nora, yes! I just talked to Park Place. Now I have to see if I can get my car to limp a block and a half to them, so I don't have to get another tow (which would be covered by insurance, I think). I wish I'd thought to ask for recs Friday night before I got the original tow, but oh well.

Laura, I'm curious about your onion allergy. Like, how did you know it's an allergy? I ask because I am super sensitive to onions, as are my mom and brother. My brother actually vomits if he eats them accidentally. I get really really sick but it's been getting worse as I get older. Anyway, I've never figured out if its an allergy or a sensitivity or what the difference is.

Regardless, not being able to eat onions sucks because they are in everything.

Regardless, not being able to eat onions sucks because they are in everything.

So true! JZ has developed an intolerance to them as they "give her the wind something fierce." But it's tough especially because she's a veg/pescetarian and I was using onions a lot to flavor soups and sautees and chili for her.

As with Laura, I compensate by using more garlic, but obviously that's a different flavor and I can't add them in sufficient bulk to really build up a stock the way I used to.

JZ is really pretty open to anything I make, but it does get tricky because she's actively allergic to avocado, can't eat onions, and doesn't like peas and carrots.