Steamed until crisp tender and then pan sautéed with butter and julienned ginger.

Thunderstorms. Watching the brouhaha on the mom’s FB pages has been hilarious. If the forecast is right, we’ll hunker down with some hot dog mummies and little kid friendly Halloween movie and eat some candy.

Celery root, roasted or puréed is a favorite here. I also like roasting fennel, and the family tolerates it. I didn’t see sugar snaps or snow peas, both of which I frequently steam or stir fry for a quick side dish.

I would have been nervous to Google “peaknip” 🙈

I have a problem with dishware. I have several sets, most inherited. But our truly every day dishes are Portmerion’s Botanical Garden. I’ve used mine for almost 20 years, plus my mom gave me hers when she got remarried. She had had most of hers since she graduated college.

Yes, patrons have access to the hold shelves, which is usually super convenient for the times I need to dash in and grab books. All holds are shelved spine up, so it’s difficult to read other’s book titles. Tags are sticking out with last name and last four digits of our library account number. I’m glad I paid attention, because my stack of mostly picture books is usually pretty distinct. Now I know! If it becomes a problem, I’ll definitely chat with the librarians; in the meantime I’ll just be sure to double check my stack.

There is another family at our local library who shares our last name, who also puts lots of books on hold, who also has young children, and who might possibly even homeschool. No more grab and go from the holds shelf!

Oh, we’re gutting. Down to the studs and moving walls. I might lose my mind during the process, but I’m telling myself it will all be worth it. I’m hoping never to do this again, so I’m trying to think of all the things!

Thanks, Hive for weighing in. Pros for me would be convenience filling large pots, but also topping up whatever is simmering, deglazing pans (esp if cleaning is the next step), giving the griddle a quick rinse to sluice off the grease, allowing other people to use (um, play in) my sink with less annoyance. Cons would be location (mounted on the counter, so not able to reach all burners), cleaning it, the visual of the faucet sticking up, and, of course, the installation of a thing I may or may not use frequently.

This would be insanely useful! Alas, the space configuration does not permit, but I would do that in a heartbeat.

Trying to make all the decisions before we gut the kitchen in three weeks. The pot filler would have to be deck mounted (range isn't on a wall). Yay or nay?

Ah, but I have four kids six and under + a husband who travels 3 weeks out of 4. A laundromat by myself sounds like a vacation; a laundromat with my kids sounds like... something else entirely. I imagine the entire project is going to be one headache after another, but the final results are going to be worth it. I hope. I’m armed with my deep freeze, which I’m already stocking with favorite meals and components, the grill, the IP, a little electric cooktop, and UberEats.

We're starting a kitchen reno in a few weeks, and I'm thinking I should really learn to love and use my IP before that happens, because I'll need all the cooking help I can get. Hit me with your favorite recipes. Extra points if they can be thrown into a bag and frozen ahead of time, so all I have to do is cook and serve.

Oh, the thought of dishes is terrifying. Even worse is LAUNDRY, because we’re relocating that from next to my oven (????) to its own tidy home upstairs. I’m seriously trying not to think about it. The end result of all this should be worth it, if the process doesn’t kill us. The Breville is tugging at my heart strings. Happy birthday and kitchen reno to me! And I’m going to start an IP thread, bc I have one that I just haven’t fallen in love with, but I do suspect it could be useful.

We're about to embark on a kitchen remodel (yay!), but it's going to leave me without a functioning kitchen for... a while (terrifying). I'll have my fridge and electric cooktop in my makeshift dining room/kitchen, but what do I do for an oven? What's the favorite toaster oven/air fryer/thing that I should be researching? My brain is on decision overload. If it matters, I am preparing to freeze a variety of our favorite meals in 8x8 containers, which I would love to be able to defrost and pop in the oven. Also, baking muffins or cookies and reheating leftovers.

Poor OP! No plant advice, but plenty of people curious about droopy mum leaves. We definitely know what’s important on this board!

You are not alone!

I hear this about my own kid (who is 6, not that advanced, and seriously not in any danger of outstripping even my personal body of knowledge any time soon) and reflected in others' conversations about gifted or advanced kids. It's as if there is a finite amount of learning in the world and what on earth will advanced children do if they max that out before they graduate high school? Does anyone else run into this attitude/concern?

This is a very unattractive dish, but yummy: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/lentil-stew-sausage-potatoes

Nope. I mean, it’s fine, but I wouldn’t necessarily get another. The washer, otoh, I might just leave in my will to my favorite child. 🤷‍♀️

Most recently, I've had people come to the house. We were in the middle of moving, and I didn't want the added hassle of arranging meetings away from home. Otherwise it depends on the item, how badly I want it gone, how difficult it might be to otherwise sell, and if I'm going to be home with my kids alone or not.

Just chiming in to say that I would certainly wait until after Jan 1 to see what the new benefits are as a consequence of the acquisition. My impression is that there are going to be some significant changes, but that is probably largely based on scuttlebutt. We’re in the process of navigating a job change between the two companies, and let’s just say that it has not been seamless. You have so many complications in this decision, that hopefully the new year brings clarity about what might be more necessary.

I definitely have a super power. When I take a shower, everyone in the house has a sudden need to tell me something or use the toilet in that bathroom only.

Ongoing problems, lol! He’s unfortunately out of town (and mostly out of the country) from now until our move date, but I’m getting the cost per pound estimate tomorrow. We’ll see if that changes his mind!!

Chiming back in, because one of our other big dilemmas is actually getting rid of things. He’s sure everything has value, and we can’t get rid of it without selling. Setting aside the fact that he has absolutely no time to sell things, he has ridiculous notions about what we could get. We’re moving soon (like half the board, it seems), and I don’t want to move our (very heavy) patio set. He literally pulls out the EIGHT YEAR OLD receipt and wants to list it for like 10% less than we bought it for. Um, no, that’s not going to work. I’m at the point that I’d practically pay someone to take it away for me. Usually I just designate space for his things and let him cram in whatever he wants, but with a move coming up, I’d really like to be a little more aggressive about divesting ourselves of some belongings.