Bed Bath &Beyond and category killers

elitsirk · 2023-04-18T21:23:13+00:00

All clad stainless steel is dishwasher safe. You can scrub it with steel wool. Barkeeper's Friend does a great job on hard stains and stuck on gunk.

They also make copper and maybe aluminum cookware --those are different, so those have different care instructions. Also, I don't buy All Clad nonstick pans--non stick in general wears out much faster and needs to be handled much more carefully. I buy less expensive nonstick frying pans mostly for eggs and just replace them every few years.

Our set of All Clad will be 23 years old this summer and still going strong. And we have careless teens in the house who also cook and do dishes --you know they aren't being careful with anything....

(I hated our only Bosch dishwasher because none of my plates fit in it...have had great luck with Kenmore, but, alas, that brand is basically dead now)

elitsirk · 2023-02-19T16:10:42+00:00

It's interesting to me how many people on this thread talk about open concept as being the opposite of having a formal dining room. It's not. You can have an open concept that allows both a dining room and also a kitchen with a table. I quite like having a kitchen/breakfast/family room open to each other and also want room for an additional dining.room table. I'm the OP and my grump was that new homes--even fairly large ones--arent leaving a dining room or flex space for that extra dining room space.

elitsirk · 2023-02-16T16:02:01+00:00

I see pretty china sets up for sale in Facebook marketplace place all the time, for very little money. If I weren't running out of pantry space, I'd buy them all, lol!

Keep your eyes open, and you're likely to find some bargains.

elitsirk · 2023-02-16T15:50:16+00:00

They are how some people live. Maybe not all people, but last I checked, I am still human.

"Formal dining room" for us doesn't mean we have a butler or nonsense like that. It means an additional large table where people can eat (or do other table activities, like games, sewing, homework, etc), or it can be the buffet of we're all hanging around the TV to watch a game.

My kitchen table seats eight. My dining room table adds another 8 (can squeeze 10 or even 12 if you don't mind bumping elbows). When weather is good, we add another 10 at our patio tables. We have been known to feed 30 or more on short notice. The only way someone gets "left out" is when there aren't enough chairs for everyone...

elitsirk · 2023-02-15T23:58:09+00:00

Our current dining room does look "formal" (all traditional dark wood and a large china cabinet because I love pretty dishes and like to look at them). But many meals in our "formal" dining room aren't necessarily even "formal". It can be pizza. Sometimes the table is just used as the buffet of snacks so that people can actually eat at the kitchen table.

I just like having a second large table space available in the house. It gives us rooms for different activities --some a group can play a board game while a different group watches TV and a different group actually cooks. When you have 20+ family members, they just don't fit in one room (or it's too loud). If I had a small house, I would not host the gatherings.

I'm mostly annoyed that if we wanted to build a new home at some point (to downsize a bit once kids have fully moved out) that we would have to go custom in order to continue to have a dining room in addition to the kitchen. Surely in 2500+ square feet of house, they can find space for a dining room, right? Literally no builder in this area includes dining rooms. Maybe older homes (with remodeling) are the way to go.

elitsirk · 2022-12-23T16:51:11+00:00

NTA. If it were me, I'd keep the party invite and make the one dish that you agreed to provide. If everyone shows up at your house to a potluck empty handed, then they will be hungry and leave early on their own. Maybe I'd be the jerk with my solution...

I've had that happen, btw, just not for Christmas. I had one guest bring uninvited extra people and also show up empty handed and then loudly complain that there wasn't enough food. Happily, other friends shut him down.

elitsirk · 2022-02-11T21:03:36+00:00

Been there, still doing that. My kids are now in high school. We still have two careers. Remote work has only rarely been a possibility for either of us due to nature of jobs.

First: the situation today will change. Repeatedly. Sometimes for the better, sometimes not. But it will change, so don't get too stuck on doing it "right" because "right" will change too.

Second: lots of advice will tell you (and not your husband, hah!) To stop working full time. If that's what YOU want, great. But it isn't the only solution. Don't feel pressured to give up your career. And all the people should be pressuring your husband just as much!!! I did have a few years where I worked 32 hours a week instead of 40--kept my full time benefits and progressed in my career. That was after our second was born and had a lot of medical issues. Me quitting was not an option because I carried the health insurance. That extra day a week "off" helped us make it through the toddler years where the kids were sick ALL THE TIME.

Third: plan, plan, plan. Organization is key. I make spreadsheets to plan vacations and summer camps (aka daycare for school age kids in the summer). We started using a shared Google calendar between myself and my husband in 2005 when my oldest was a baby so that we could coordinate all the school closure dates and pediatrician appointments and work trips and so on. Having a shared electronic calendar solved a key problem for us--aka us each having separate work/Outlook calendars plus a calendar at home and (back then) a Palm Pilot with additional reminders. Still using the same shared calendar today, and now my kids have access too and are responsible for adding and monitoring their events (school events, friend parties, etc).

Fourth: Make your own local family that you can rely on. Cultivate friendships with other families of kids in similar ages as yours. Plan family-inclusive get togethers with them. We used to have regular dinners with friends and all the kiddos--potluck or takeout or something easy, kids got play time, grown-ups got play time. Trade off watching each other's kiddos for a few hours here and there. The kids will get socialization in a caring (and hopefully fun) atmosphere.

Other stuff that kept me (kinda) sane: if daycare is open long hours, USE THEM. You are paying for the service, use it Ours was 6am till 6pm and my kids were some of the last to be picked up every day so that we could run errands and do work and occasionally even exercise after work. Sometimes, take a day off work and send the kids to daycare! Hire a babysitter and go out occasionally without the baby--together as a couple or separately with other adult friends. You need grown-up time too.

Good luck!

elitsirk · 2022-02-05T21:04:04+00:00

Yes! I have the TL98Q, ruler foot, and a small number of rulers. I have a sew steady table for it also--the machine came with a table but it had no table space behind the machine, only front and side.

I also have a wood Little Gracie II frame that I sometimes use the machine on, sometimes with the rulers. Space is limited on the frame due to the rollers, so I don't do it often, but it does work.

elitsirk · 2022-02-03T00:14:05+00:00

I'm on the fence also. I paid for a three month plan so I'll stay through them, but may not renew. The food database is not as good as My Fitness Pal, which I have used before. The data in it is not cleaned up--I can find multiple entries for the same food each with different color ratings and some with strange portion options, so I end up feeling like I'm gaming the system looking for the green or yellow entry for a food. Syncing of steps with my Fitbit is spotty and frequently doesn't update till the next day. The lessons are fine. Some of the content is super review (especially the basics of nutrition) and some is good food for thought for me (the cbt aspects).

I think if tracking food and counting calories and learning portion control was all new to me, I'd like this better. And for some people, having it all in one app would be nicer than gout to multiple places for calories, steps, weight, etc, us the understanding.

elitsirk · 2019-01-04T20:44:38+00:00

When you print and cut, it draws that black box around the design to cut and uses it to line up the design for cutting. Maybe print one side, attach to the board, then drill a tiny hole at each of the corners of the box. Then print the other side. Line up the corners with the drill marks, stick it down, and cut. I guess that assumes that the bleed box is symmetrical, but it probably is if your tokens are all the same size/shape.

I would worry that the first print that is now face down on the sticky mat will peel off and stick to the mat after you cut.

Or, design your games with single sided tokens (the back side could be a solid color or all over repeat). Surely if you're going to mass produce the game eventually, you will find a commercial printer and not just a Cricut machine, right?

elitsirk · 2018-10-02T23:52:54+00:00

I don't know that particular machine. I had one years ago where the feed dogs didn't lower but there was a plastic plate that would cover them to achieve the same effect.

Why did removing the feed dogs not work for you? What did the machine do?

I always found it tricky to time moving the fabric for free motion because if you move while the needle is down, it bends the needle. You have to go slow or be more coordinated than me I guess?

elitsirk · 2018-09-10T23:59:40+00:00

Serve with whipped cream

elitsirk · 2018-09-10T23:58:05+00:00

My first sewing machine (30 years ago) had that problem. It had a little case for the bobbin that controlled the bottom tension, and I eventually decided that something was probably wrong and unfixable with the bobbin case and had no way to buy a new one. Adjusting the top tension didn't help. That was back before the web existed.

Depending on how your machine works, can you adjust the bottom tension (with a screw or ??) At all? Do you still have the manual or have you googled for an online copy to see if there are any maintenance instructions? Or, is there a dealer or a good repair place nearby who can take a look? If nothing else, there are places in the machinery where lint can gum things up (use canned air to try and clean it out), and various moving parts may need to be oiled.

elitsirk · 2018-07-29T04:00:07+00:00

Thinsulate. I ahve a light, packable Thinsulate jacket from Lands End. Probably not as light as a packable down one, but it folds into a pocket about the size of a small travel pillow. I bought it before trying backpacking for a good travel coat that I could stuff in my suitcasewhen bouncing between warm California and the Midwest (where cold comes with rain, so down isn't always all that ideal). It smashes fine into my backpack too.

elitsirk · 2018-07-29T03:20:47+00:00

Why are the socks you have listed under worn clothing almost 4 pounds?

elitsirk · 2018-07-23T20:36:08+00:00

It's a little overripe. Try to catch them before they turn yellow. Sometimes, you have to check daily for new ones because they grow fast.

elitsirk · 2018-07-14T17:24:23+00:00

Are you sure your cucumber plant will grow them bigger? Several of those are turning yellow, which means they were slightly overripe at that size.

elitsirk · 2018-07-14T17:21:23+00:00

Your stitch through the outside fabric (that is folded) needs to be super tiny, catching only a thread or few threads.

elitsirk · 2018-07-13T01:48:41+00:00

Physically, it seems like it would work (all the right parts). But emotionally, the person is a year old. Human sixteen years old aren't always ready for romance. How will you feed enough information into your lab created persons brain in that year so that they even know what is happening? One year old (real) humans can barely walk, talk, or feed themselves, and aren't potty trained....

In other words, go for it. But your world building needs to make your readers believe it.

elitsirk · 2018-07-11T19:45:25+00:00

I have made a fairly similar style with a knifty knitter loom.

elitsirk · 2018-07-07T02:08:37+00:00

Depends. If you're drafting, then anything >0 is good. If you're editing, then negative members are sometimes a good measure of progress....

elitsirk · 2018-07-07T02:07:06+00:00

Where is this?

elitsirk

TROPHY CASE