So, cautious optimism for the near future and I feel pretty good about the present.

That's great!

Don't pour that extra half cup of melted butter left over from that recipe down the sink.

Apparently your area doesn't have the relentless anti-FOG (Fats, Oil and Grease) campaign we have here.

We forgot to put the 6 tbsp of melted butter in the german pancake/dutch babies on Xmas morning. I am shamed to report that it wasn't until midway through the second one that someone thought to use it as a dipping sauce.

There's a traditional pastry around here at Christmas called schnecken. It's basically like 6 cinnamon rolls set into a loaf pan (3 rolls long, 2 rolls deep), and then liberally doused with a cinnamon-sugar butter that is basically a whole stick of butter per loaf. (When you make it from scratch, ANOTHER whole stick goes into the dough.)

Tim makes it for our families at Christmas, and he generally has some of the cinnamon-sugar butter leftover, and it hangs out in the fridge until summer, at which point we throw it out.

Not this morning. We had pancakes, and I was digging butter and syrup out of the fridge, and found the schnecken butter. We heated it up in the microwave until it was soft (but not liquid). On top of pancakes, it was about the best damn thing I have ever put in my mouth.

better to hear would be a permanent solution that results in no pain

Sometimes I forget that's on the table. And, weirdly, sometimes I think it's happened. Not for more than fifteen minutes or so at a time, and I don't know why I think so--it's depressing when it ends. But I don't do it on purpose.

The pen cleanup did not go as well as planned. Yeah, I already had black ballpoint pens--that's good to know. But in all that, I only tossed out maybe 5 for not working anymore. I have no idea what to do with most of the rest other than baggies by type.

omg, schnecken . . .

OMGSCHNECKEN. WANT.

Not that you need more people telling you you fucked up, Hec, but...don't use Drano. Ever. It will corrode your pipes and then you will have many worse problems than you have now. Call a plumber or get a snake.

Plumbing!

So I just spent an hour up in the attic with a hairdryer because my furnace condensate line is frozen again. The first time they insulated the drain line going outside. The next time they relocated the drain line to an interior pipe. Last time I was able to just thaw it with the hairdryer, but this time so far no joy.

I read the manual, which says if a horizontal furnace is installed in an unconditioned attic space, it needs self regulating heat tape and waterproof insulation. So. I guess a trip to Home Depot is in order for me.

But I should be lying in bed and whining about minor flu symptoms! At least we've got the woodstove, but this is not a long-term solution, and it's not going to get above freezing for a good while. So I think I need to do the repair.

David, do you have any vinegar?

Step 4 - Use Homemade Grease Removers

If you are on a tight budget you can cut cost by making your own homemade grease remover. To make your own grease remover, boil some water then mix 1 part of hot water and 1 part of vinegar then pour the mixture into your kitchen drain then let it stand for a few minutes. The hot water will help melt of the grease while the vinegar will eat at the grease sticking on the pipes. After pouring hot water and vinegar mixture into your drain, follow it up with some boiling water. The boiling water should flush the remaining grease from your pipe.

Read more: [link]

Teppy, you have me drooling here! That sounds so yum.

So, cautious optimism for the near future and I feel pretty good about the present.

Good stuff to read.

I've always heard that Drano (and most of the other varieties) won't corrode the pipes if you rinse properly after the clog resolves. Like running the water a really long time and not letting it sit there.

Glad they gave you your doses, ita. Dilaudid makes me barf, which I discovered during the kidney stone. Sticking with Tramadol.