I think I’m extravagant if I pay $5 for a loaf of bread. I get the appeal of good bread, and we don’t buy or eat wonder bread, but NINE dollars? Granted, I read last year that every part of the supply chain for baking got unusually expensive lately and baked good were hit particularly hard when prices went up. I make a lot of our breads and ingredients for a really nice loaf are only a few dollars. I do a wheat bread with about 5 different seeds and it might cost me $1.50 to make. I hope the $9 loaf is a two pounder.

Like @regentrude, there are lots of things I CAN, and have lived without, but I really really don’t want to. The list includes indoor plumbing, electricity, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, and an automobile. I adore modern convenience. At this point the robot vacuum is a family member.

DH’s wedding ring is nice. It has 3 baguette diamonds in a flat rectangular setting. One day he lost it and it was gone long enough that he replaced it with a plain gold band. He found it months later in his top desk drawer at home. He man-looked there but didn’t see it for a few months. Now he has two rings and saves the nicer one for special occasions. I just wear mine all the time. It’s why they’re constantly in need of a good cleaning.

I could live without my garden I guess. The rent is $50 a year, and I inevitable spend money on seeds and supplies. I get a lot more produce out of it than I put money into it, so it SEEMS like I’m coming out way ahead UNLESS you work my labor into the equation. That’s when the math fails. I could spend and extra few hours at work and come out ahead with much less effort. If we were hurting for money I’d switch to full time. ETA: I could definitely walk or bike to work to save money or even live car-free

I think you have to go back and tell us what happens. I had no idea about this!

Maybe a guest, knowing it’s a sausage-free household, brought an emergency sausage but dropped it while packing to leave.

Sometimes I don’t have it in me to go all the way to Costco because it’s almost 4 miles away and there are at least 5 stores that are closer. 🤣

I’m not telling you how to live, but exit 222 off 81 has Mrs. Rowe’s and Mrs Rowe’s has all the pies. 🥧

Can she find a good, dramatic closing argument monologue? Maybe the Atticus Finch one? Or A Time to Kill?

I’m currently living in a state of profound grief. I’m not sure I’d register a midlife crisis if it landed now. I’ve compartmentalized things to the point where I’m productive at work, enjoy my grandson, and interact somewhat normally with my husband, but it’s exhausting and I don’t get much else done. Today I watched tv ALL day and accomplished nothing. Some days my screen time on my phone can reach 7 hours. My dishwasher gets swapped out and I have clean clothes, but I’m definitely floating through with minimal effort. I was a high energy person so I haven’t really mastered how to get things done when I’m feeling lethargic. I never bothered. I just waited for a burst of energy that was always around the corner. I’m also realizing that a lot of my productivity was habit-stacked around my DS’s physical care so I’m a bit rudderless. I’m satisfied to hibernate for a season or two and figure it out later. I imagine longer days and warmer weather will help a bit.

This is heartbreaking. My deepest condolences to the family.

I have a stovetop pressure cooker. I throw the whole thing in the dishwasher and store it with my other pots. It’s good for travel because the lid locks on, but it’s not something you can plug in when you get there. I’ve probably used it 2-3 times a month for 30 years.

Where do people walk and push their strollers? Is nobody outside? I think that convenience is a huge hurdle. Public transportation has to be quicker and easier than driving to get most people on board. It’s very hard to get people to sign on for less convenience. I CAN get by without a car where I live, but if I walk to work it takes an hour, a bus takes 30-40 minutes, a bike takes 15-20 and driving takes 8-10 minutes. So far I’ve always chosen the extra 30 minutes of sleep. I do plan to walk a few days a week when winter is over. I vaguely remember living in Cleveland as a small child and walking to school and using the bus system to get places. Dad had the car at work and Mom didn’t learn to drive until we moved from there.

I live in Columbia MD and can get to all those things without a car if I needed to. A block from me is a grocery store, laundromat, liquor store, pharmacy, and four restaurants. DH just walked to Duncan donuts and back. They call that a “village center” here. The property also has a teen center and an interfaith center where several denominations hold services. Community events are hosted here too. Our local HS, MS, and ES are less than 1/4 mile away. I drive to work at the local CC, but it’s two miles on paved bike paths. When it’s warmer I could walk (I’m a cold wuss) or get a bicycle and get there in 15-20 minutes. The paved bike part system is extensive (~100 miles) and can get me to two more grocery stores, a lake, and a mall if I want to expand my range to a mile. The bike paths have under and over passes so kids in my neighborhood don’t even have to cross the street to get to elementary school. They can just go under the road. I’m in love with these paths and we’ve used them nearly daily for 20+ years. We have a local bus system and commuter busses to DC and Baltimore. There’s a bus stop at the end of my cul de sac and at the village center. I’d need to allow for a 30-40 minute bus ride to work so a bike would be faster. The medical buildings are often bus stops because seniors use them. They get discounted bus rates. I don’t think it would be culturally acceptable to show up sweaty in your business attire. Serious bikers likely have access to a company gym. This is going to be my justification for getting an e-bike. 😬 It’s not a super hilly region, though. It’s just that any hill on a bike feels like work.

I’d probably get the one that @HomeAgain linked. It seems like it’ll suit the needs of your trip, it isn’t expensive, and will work for kids that aren’t babies/toddlers. If it survives the trip it might be useful afterwards too. The scooter setting looks fun and might be nice if you want to sit in a park but the kid has energy to burn, so it’s a stroller and a toy.

Only my third Covid booster gave me a really sore arm. I literally told DH that it felt like a tetenus shot. It hurt for three days, but I didn’t get as sick from it as I did the first two, so I’ll take the trade off.

I have a medium (14” x 12”?) and a smaller plastic cutting board that goes in the dishwasher. I have a larger wooden one with metal handles and a rim around it that’s good for catching any juices. I also put butcher block on my island and a small kitchen table. I love my giant “cutting board” surfaces. I like to knead bread at the table and spread out for bigger projects on the island. Today I’m going scones and pastry dough so I’ll use the biggest surface.

I just replaced my expired-in-2016 Tylenol. I buy smaller bottles now. The Motrin tends to get used before it expires. I do like to keep DayQuil/Nyquil on hand so I’m not trying to buy it during cold/flu season. We haven’t really needed any for years now so I should check those dates.

I really love our location. It would be hard to find another town with all the perks we’re used to. I could see relocating to be closer to dd and dgs in Alexandria. However, with them an hour away it’s close enough to see them often but not SO close we get every cold the baby gets. Right now they’re battling pinkeye sooooo . . .

I’ve been mixing bread dough in a Kitchenaid Artisan (not the mini, but the tilt head one) for 15 years. I tend to let the dough knead for 8-10 minutes. I do mix at a low speed, but the high speeds are so high it just felt like lower was the right choice. We are a smaller family, and I never do more than two loaves at a time, but I make whole wheat breads all the time and I haven’t had an issue. I’ve been using this mixer once or twice a week since I got it in 2008. It gets more use in the winter and less in the summer. I DID replace my dough hook with a stainless steel one about two weeks ago. After 15 years in the dishwasher the white coating started to chip. It’s fine on the paddle attachment, but I use the dough hook more than anything. I’ll admit to also coveting the lifty shelf thing. However, I’d still have to move the mixer to the counter to use the puree attachment and I have my eye on a few other attachments.

I disagree with every part of this. It’s icky.

Being able to accept earned criticism is so very difficult for some teens. It’s an important life skill but teens can get so so defensive about the correction. I can absolutely see how it became a problem bigger than the original offense. I hope everyone feels better today.

If it’s light, why would you even need or want a shelf that lifts it?

I vote weird, but I greatly prefer a savory cream cheese mix.

Ours is 5 miles away and I go about once a month. The rotisserie chickens are cheaper than everyone else and the hot dog lunch in the food court is an eternal bargain. We’ve gotten glasses and vaccinations there and had good experiences. The glasses really are cheaper than the optometrist’s office but much better quality than Warby Parker. I like to stock up on stuff I don’t feel like carrying too often. I get their store brand buckets of detergent (because it works really well without a strong smell and I end up using the buckets), the Kirkland toilet paper, and Kleenex. I buy big bags of flour, sugar, yeast, and rice there. I get the 16 pack of avocado mash for my toast. I use their olive oil, spices, and vanilla. I like their parchment paper. We also like to splurge on prepared foods to make life easier. We’ve tried almost all of them. I think there was one sandwich platter we didn’t like, but we’ve liked most other things.