Ugh msbelle, that is not a fun thing to come home to.

Yikes, msbelle. I hope Mac recognized today is Mother's Day, to compensate for you doing all that for your mom.

Well done, sarameg! that is a beautiful bannister.

The frozen fruit souffle went over well, and it was a nice meal even if the propane grill didn't work and we had to bake the chicken instead. And my niece drove Dad home for me, which was nice: I sent him off with the first 3 Hornblower books, which I had found in the boxes in my garage.

Now I really need to read the book for book club, although I would much rather catch up on Call the Midwife.

Well Consuela I got hugs, so I guess that is compensation.

Oh no, msbelle! I hope whatever is causing it is easily found and fixable and doesn't cause too much damage meanwhile.

I am intrigued by this frozen fruit souffle, Consuela. The name conjures up deliciousness, although I cannot imagine what a souffle that doesn't get cooked is all about.

Yay banisters! They look great. (I really want to make some kind of "banisters always pay their debts" joke, but not enough brain)

And I'm out of steam wrt dishwashing. But a load of towels is in the washer and the dryer is working on the delicates, so all is well enough. Maybe I can force myself to do more than cursory kitchen cleanup after work this week, like a responsible adult...

msbelle, have you gotten a lot of rain or are you worried plumbing leak? Or running the a/c a lot/stupid humid? If the latter, worth having all the drain lines checked.

And I'm sorry for the suckiness.

(and thank you all again for the banister cheering. If I'm gonna boast, I'm gonna thank you for putting up with it.)

if it is a leak, it is a plumbing leak.

If you can stand it for tonight, turn the main water off and see if it makes a difference overnight. (I'd guess to open faucets to drain the lines so no standing water in them, but I'm making this up, not expertise talking. Google'd be a better expert.)

I am intrigued by this frozen fruit souffle, Consuela.

It's in Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything".

Puree a bunch of fruit, preferably something without a lot of seeds (if it has seeds you have to strain it). 3 cups of berries, the recipe said (I used 2 cartons of strawberries). Separate 3 eggs. Mix the yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar, until it's light and falls off the beaters in ribbons. Mix the pureed fruit in with the yolk mixture, set aside.

Whip the egg whites with 1/4 cup of sugar until it forms glossy firm peaks. (bom-chicka-wow) Very carefully and slowly fold the meringue into the yolk-fruit mixture.

Whip 2 cups of heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. (ahem). Even more carefully fold it into the rest of it.

Put the entire thing into the freezer. Eat after several hours, or the next day. It will have not quite the texture of ice cream, but it's really flavorful.

Mmmm, that is full of stuff I like, a must to try.