I had a bagel with smoked salmon,tomato, onion, cream cheese and pickles (they used to have olives and/or capers, but I was the only one ordering them. Ah, Minnesota.) - in your honor, Princess! It used to be the cheapest lox sandwich in town (lots of salmon and only $3.50), but the price went up over the strike. Probably 'cause I wasn't eating them. My problem with the bagels on Wednesday (even though the thought was wonderful) was that they were what many Minnesotans consider good bagels. Blueberry with strawberry cream cheese. Please. Apart from the new renegade jalapeno-cheese variation, I'm a bagel purist. If I want a donut, I'll eat a damn donut. And not one of them Krispy Kremes, either.

Well, at least you can have your nice salmon and cream cheese on pumpernickel bread, hardtack, or water bikkies. I'd hate to think of it going to waste. Have you thought about making your own bagels? I remember my mom trying to make them at home, and that they turned out well. She only made them 1-2 times - it's a multistep process. Still, it's cheaper than flying to the States (or Canada - I had a great bagel in Montreal when I was there. Their style is more like a round pretzel. Chewy, but great. And there's almost more toppings than bagel!) Remember: eat them fresh the first day, toast them the second, and use them as a doorstop on the third (unless you froze some on the second day!)

Oh, baba and Tracey- I DO have a VCR. Duh. I just don't have one that I can dump TiVo into. So, Casa Suction can be used for any mini-marathons. And you can see my groovy new coffee table/dual ottoman/repository for Hero-Clicks figures. Man, I gotta get some pictures up...

I saw some of Tracey's crack, yogi, and it made me want to reach for the pipe...Kidding! It looked really interesting, and in a good way. But I will try ANYTHING. Once. I was the only kid eating squid jerky in 4th grade when a Korean classmate brought it for show and tell. And he got pissed because I ate almost a whole bag by myself. I've even had sea cucumber with duck webs, and sea urchin. (Tastes like rubber bands in gristle sauce and fish-flavored pudding respectively, if you're curious. Not real pleasant.)
Oh, I guess I'm wrong. I do draw the line at grubs. Live ones, at least. So much for going on Fear Factor.

pixie dust, any new news on your dad?

Now, off to be productive...

Glad the treats were everything they were cracked up to be, TraceyBee! Get it? I crack myself up. Or, as Mr. Lu says, it's a good thing I find myself so amusing.

Let's get together at my house for TAR1 soon! Anybody who wants to come (TraceyBee, suctionprints, yogi, heidihug, anyone else willing to make the trek to the upper Midwest, where it's sometimes beautiful spring and sometimes still a little chill), shoot me an e-mail about your schedule, and we'll arrange a fest!

I just found out that my two nieces (15-year-old from California and 11-year-old from Ohio) and I are going to have a girls-only get-together with my sister on O'ahu at the end of June. Whee! (Orders for Hawai'ian treats are now being taken.)

I'm so sorry about your father, pixie dust - for you, your little brother, and all of your family. I'll be thinking of you warmly and hoping for a completely successful treatment.

Big congrats to Mrs. karatekate! The day will be blissful, invited guests and all, I can feel the vibe from here! (and this is coming from someone who was standing next to a friend and could feel that his wife was pregnant because he was giving off an expecting-dad aura)

Have any of you New Yorkers (yogi, skagirl, iMissEthan, The Last Dodo) seen or are you planning to see the new Indian musical? I can't remember what it's called, but it's had a successful run in London and either just opened or is in previews in NY? It sounds marvelous!

Best to birdlady, whose comments always reveal what a special and caring person she is!

FYI, the musical is Bombay Dreams.

Just out of curosity, have any of you been able to register for the Survivor/Tynelol contest? I've been trying to register for over a week and keep getting the message that the server is busy. I've emailed CBS twice but never got an answer.

Sign me up for the 'thon, Babalu! I'll e-mail you this weekend. I'm glad to know that you will have a fresh supply of crack that we can all sample - heh.

I can't believe your mom made bagels, suctionprints. I've heard it's a heinous task. She must be some cook.

So I get into work early today, and Network man canceled. Ugh. Network man is on my poo list right now. On the other hand, I got some work done and now I'm off to spa soon. Oh the things I do for a friend, or a wife of my husbands friend. Don't feel too sorry for me y'all. I think it will be OK. If a woman will do most anything to spa, is she then a spa slut?!?

So far, I've heard Bombay Dreams still needs some work. One of my friends has seen it in rehersal. So I'm going to wait a bit before buying tickets.

On the other hand, I do have tickets to Jumpers next week. I'm most excited!

{{{{{Pixie}}}}}

I will email you, 'Lu.

Glad to hear Nadine is healing, ska. Take is easy on those stairs, now.

All this bagel with salmon and cream cheese talk is making me very hungry.

Yay, it's girl's night out tonight! And we will be without friend "who obsesses about her health and others' personal lives in a frightening way", so it is even better than usual. We are celebrating one woman's finalization of her divorce decree this week (she's better off without him), so I plan to toast to future happiness for everyone (including MM'ers).

Have a great weekend, all.

I'd need severely discounted tickets to get me to Bombay Dreams. I think I'm over my Andrew Lloyd Webber phase (except for Evita, I'll always love that one).

I tried to sign up for that contest a couple of times. I never bought a Tylenol product, but I copied down the UPC code (or whatever it's called) from a box at the drugstore across the street. The website didn't accept the code & I tried two different days with two different Tylenol product codes. I think that whole thing is a scam, especially if Shii Ann doesn't win Push Through the Pain this week.

Hey M.Darcy, you know who's in the cast of Assassins? Becky Ann Baker, aka Jean Weir from Freaks & Geeks!

Yogi, have fun at Spa Day! PS: What is Jumpers? HuggyHeidi, you have fun too at Girls' Night! I am going to enjoy my own evening, "Not answering phone, probably not wearing pants and other assorted alone stuff" which I desperately need.

As for "Bombay Dreams," I've heard that they expect it to do pretty well. Nice to see a story outside of the normal Broadway Disney stuff out there. Wait, edit! I didn't know it's an ALW production. Oh. Nevermind then.

Nadine is ok, a little tired from happy hours & staying up too late. But she has to heal for a Bowling Xtravaganza tomorrow eve.

Hi MeetMarketers! Just wanted to say many happy wishes to MrsKarateKate. May your day be filled with joy. And we'll be waiting impatiently for all the wonderful details!
pixie dust I hope you can feel/sense all the good wishes coming your way. We'll all continue to pray for you and yours.
Yogi how was your day at the spa? And how is LittleYogi doing? Did your helpers show up yet?
And Dodo, I'm hoping that your absence here means that you're out having a wonderful time. Birdman and I are going out for a ride on the motorcycle today. Woo hoo!! The sun is shining, it's nice and warm, so why not!!
Well take care everyone, I hope you all have a great weekend!

Hi, everyone!
Yes, I had a wonderful birthday. I didn't really have a party, just sat around with the parents and grandma. My sister couldn't miss college to come see me on Tuesday, so we're going to see her on Sunday. She goes to school at Portland State University. Only an hour away. Anyways.... of course, cake! Yumm, white with vanilla frosting sound okay to everyone? Oh, and presents! My dad's getting me a car!!!! A car that will be just mine, not one I have to share. I don't like sharing. We think we've found one already, but I'm still looking.
Ughh, I had to help with our softball team's carwash today. Yuck. I'm so sunburnt, and I only stayed for 2 1/2 hours. What a pale face I am. What I hate most is that the tops of my feet are burnt to a crisp, so I can't wear shoe shoes, only flip-flops (I can't bring myself to call them thongs). I live in my Pumas, they are soooo comfy.
Pixiedust, I hope you're doing okay! Stop by and give us a quick post if ya can.
I hope Nadine is doing better. Have fun bowling!
Birdlady, have fun motorcylcing. Quick story: my mom and dad (before I was born of course) rode motorcycles to work everday. Guess what they did for a living? They were teachers. Students got a kick out of it.

I think the adjective I would use for her at the time was determined. In the end, she decided that Lender's Bagels would have to do until she could get her fill visiting her kids in lower Michigan, or visiting back east. A wise move, because they went from edible to doorstop in two, rather than three days. Not so good. God bless her for trying, though! Now, homemade English muffins were a success. Those were worth the work.

ETA: Whooo! I'm a fanatic, and didn't even notice until three hours later...

Hi Meet Marketers!

suctionprints all the things you described to go with a bagel sound good to me, except the pickles. No thanks on that one. And as for eating them fresh on the first day, toasting them the 2nd, doorstops the 3rd, well, they wouldn't last past the first day with me, I assure you. And hey, if you can eat anthing, you'd be a perfect contestant on Survivor! You'd just have to hope they don't have bugs, but I reckon you'd do better than me.

Babalu - Hawaii! Lucky you, mate. And Yogi is off to CA soon. I hope you both have wonderful trips.

Pretty white cake with vanilla frosting (or icing, as we say) sounds delicious! Glad you had a good birthday and enjoy seeing you sister.

birdlady how was the bike ride?

It's a long weekend here, MIL is staying with my mother for a couple of days, which is good, as we get a bit of a break. More on that later.....

suctionprints, my friend who made bagels from scratch said the same thing -- not at all worth it, as compared to making, say, bread.

Hey, You crazy Gang of Meet Marketeers!
I hope the sun that shined on you this weekend was as glorious as the sun that shined on the Isle of NY - what a lovely, lovely couple of days. It's raining again, but we'll always have Saturday. I used to love motorcycles in my Pre-Mr. Yogi days when I would love dating a guy with a motorcycle. I flirted with the idea of owning my own at a few points, but generally those that knew me discouraged it. I can't fault them. They had visions of scraping my wild self off the sidewalk. So I will just imagine how fabulous it was to ride around on such a gorgeous day on the back of a motorcycle, birdlady. Wonderful!

And Heidihug, girls night out sounds like a blast! I hope a good time was had by all. What a great way to start a new life for your friend, unencumbered with an unpleasant husband and all that goes with it. Cheers.

Congratulations on the car gift, Pretty One! I guess most all of us would rather have our own ... whatever, but having your own car is definitely a convenience. On the icing vs. frosting thing, Aussie Girl, we use both terms here. I believe frosting refers to the buttery variety and icing refers to the water based variety. Both are yummy, yummy, yummy.

Wow, home made English muffins. My Lord, what a home to grow up in. Your mother is a goddess, suctionprints the fanatic (congrats!) Did you know that in England, English muffins are called toasted tea cakes? Just a little bit of trivia in case your ever in England and get a yen for the English muff. Sadly, I learned this at the hands of a surly young waitress in Durham, so I will save you the sarcasm by letting you know now.

I hope bowling was xtraordinarlily and xtravagantly xtra special, skagirl and that Nadine behaved herself. My spa day was... intense. Now I need a spa day to recover from my spa day - Heh. But I'm very much looking forward to Jumpers on Wednesday. It's the new Tom Stoppard play that was a big hit in London last season. It's coming over relatively intact. I'm a big Tom Stoppard fan as one of my most favorite plays evah! was Arcadia. I saw it in London - it was fabulous, thoughtful and funny, I almost felt like it was written for me. So when I heard this was coming over I bought tickets right away. I believe it just opened this weekend, so I hope it's good.

So today I have to go deal with Network Man as he canceled on Friday morning. I will endeavor to be nice, but at this point, we have been sent two broken computers and had three aborted attempts to fix the issue. I'm a patient woman, but I'm not happy. And you know what we say down South, "When Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy." I'm going to kick some Network butt if this doesn't get resolved soon!
(No I won't. I'll be nice. But I'm just sayin'.)

Hello everyone! The motorcycle ride was exhilarating to say the least. That balmy 60 degrees didn't feel quite so balmy as we were racing along at 70 mph! But we had a great time, the sunshine was so wonderful, and I got to see lots and lots of trees and flowers in bloom. Heaven!!
Birdman won $70 on yesterday's NASCAR race! Woo hoo!! And Birdboy won $5 for second place. I didn't win anything, but still, how cool!
I'll be putting in alot of overtime at work this week, so I probably won't get a chance to check back in. I hope everyone has a great week!!

G'day MM'ers.

I too used to date a man who rode a BMW 900 motorbike, and while I did enjoy it, it was always a bit of a worry re injuries. My brother had a terrible accident back in 1982 - a car towing a boat went through a stop sign and slammed into him while he was riding his bike. Terrible injuries that the surgeons tried for months to fix, but to no avail. He ended up having his leg amputated. Awful for the poor guy. And I also worked for many years in a rehabilitation centre for people with injuries, and saw a lot of them. All that combined made me wary of getting on a bike again. While I loved them, they're just too dangerous, IMO. But Birdlady, I'm glad you had a great ride, and a bit of extra cash too. Woohoo!!

Yesterday I was hoping to get together with a bunch of Aussie TWoP'ers, but Mr Aussie was working at home, and thus couldn't look after the kids, so I didn't make it. They are planning a Survivor finale party, so I'm planning on going to that and meeting them. They're mainly Buffy fans, and sound mostly young (in their 20's), and I feel like an old lady compared to them!

And Yogi re frosting and icing - I was reading a story about an Aussie who asked for an iced donut in a restaurant in the US. The waitress apparently looked at her incredulously, and said "you want me to freeze your donut"? It was quite a while before they figured out that what she wanted was a "glazed donut".

It's sunshiny here too, Yogi, and we're not far off winter. Just beautiful. The kids had a swim on the weekend. It's usually quite a bit cooler by this time of year, so it looks like we're in for a nice, mild winter. Fingers crossed! I don't like the cold.

Still can't find the bagels...

I wonder what other things aren't worth the effort to make from scratch? PUff pastry and phyllo dough both come to mind.

Kebabs for 300 are not worth the effort. Make stew instead.

Hi all, its been a while since I have had time to sit down and really contribute to the Market. I have been keeping up on the reading though. Although I will admit that I have not ventured into other Markets on TWOP, I am just awash with love for you guys today.
Some of my old friends are silly, but few of my newer (re:work) ones are. Very few would ever inquire about NADINE. That was just hilarious.
So props to all of you, it's nice to have such silly, witty, electronic friends!

Update on me: Well the whole wedding thing is out of control, I didn't feel like discussing it while KarateKate was planning her fun (and be a downer). I think it will be postponed until spring. A very good friend/mentor of mine offered the backyard of the foundation he runs...and he just happens to be ordained. That is a little closer to what I am like than what is planned now. The finance is less than happy, but I have lost too much sleep over this.
In other news, work is just busy. In my neck of the education world everyone needs to spend there budget Immediately and everyone else is planning a conference/workshop in the next month. Kids of course, are off the wall, chomping at the bit to escape the building.Quite busy, but a good time of year. As

I couldn't agree more, Ricci!

I'm sorry to hear of your wedding woes and possible delay. What a disappointment. Glad you let us know, because I've been thinking about you. I know of a wonderful little tea shop downtown where all the frosting is pink and none of the cups match any of the saucers and, well, don't get me started on the chairs - it's all just lovely! So if you ever have a day away from the "no neck monsters" (tm. Maggie the Cat in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) then come get yourself across the Hudson and we'll do the whole tea thing. In the mean time, I send you virtual cupcakes with homemade pink frosting.

Speaking of frosting, icing, and glaze, what a great story, Aussie Girl. I must confess, I would have no idea what an iced donut was either, though I don't think I would have put one in the freezer. A glazed donut is just a glazed donut to me. I think when you can see through the icing, it becomes a glaze, but I am hardly the expert on these things. I do know that both icing and frosting are commonly used thoughout the USA - hence the expression, "That's just icing on the cake!"

Too much trouble to make ... homemade pasta noodles (I can buy it fresh at half dozen nearby stores. Anybody want my old pasta maker?)
I also don't make saurbrauten. It takes days, and I never found a great recipe. I eat it once every two or three years (maybe less since I haven't been back in a while) at the Berghoff in Chicago. My favorite meal at the Berghoff: saurbrauten, potato pancakes, their special spinach and Berghoff beer. I love the Berghoff! I've been going there my whole adult life, and it's always a happy place, no matter if it was a first date dinner, a gang of buddies having beers, or a nice meal with Mr. Yogi. Ahhhh. Good times.

First, Pixie hope things are going well.

Second, Ricci glad you could check in with us! For an update, Nadine & I went back to the gym this morning. We did fine on the eliptical for 35, did a nice 10 minute cool down walk, and went to stretch. Boy! Nadine was not having that at first, so I told her, "Listen, Ass, you don't have to do crunches, but you MUST stretch!" Of course, she liked that after she realized what it would do for her!
Unfortunately, I noticed the grocery store next door had as sign that chicken boobies are on sale, and I'm all, "Yay!" But when we left the gym, the store hadn't opened and some of the deliveries were left outside. Scandal!

Mmm....cupcakes & beer. I get to go work from home shortly...maybe that's what I should have for lunch.

I had something else to say and can't recall...drut. OH Remembered! I think the wedding should be something you're down with - unless you lose lots of money or something, it needs to be right. Hopefully you're only doing it once unless you're Elizabeth Taylor.

Food worth the effort: homemade lasagna (my Polish-American mother does it RIGHT, everyone loves it), pierogi

Food not worth the effort: I think what everyone has listed - phyllo, pasta, bagels & I know many a person who has scoffed at the bread, too.

Bad investments of food accessories: Everyone I know who bought an espresso machine has it gathering dust in the kitchen somewhere. Unless you have room for it & will make it twice a week, it's not worth it.

Also, those pots with the drain lid work for crud (my friend got one as a gift & chucked the lid after 2 accidents). A regular strainer in the pot thingy works perfectly fine or a regular collander.

I know people will disagree, but I hate my garlic press, even though it's quite nice (yay gift certificate from Crate & Barrel). I find that it's a pain to clean & I can chop much finer than it "crushes."

Not worth making from scratch? Croissants. Mucho better bought from the bakery and warmed in the oven. I do make a kick-ass (sorry, Nadine) donut - best eaten fresh, though (sugared, not iced, Aussie *hee*). Yum. And, ditto on the kebabs, JennB.

Thanks for the happy girls' night out wishes, everyone - it was fun. Just the three of us, we took our freshly-divorced friend out to eat at a nice place, had drinks afterwards, then met up with the significant others later. Very relaxing, lots of girl talk, was all good. We also had a great time on Saturday night, went to two 40th birthday parties, saw lots of people we haven't seen in years (Including my first boyfriend from high school. Er, I think his wife was hitting on me.). We stayed out until 3:15 (!). Silly old us. I am just getting over the exhaustion of that.

Ricci, sorry about your wedding planning woes. Nothing is worth hurting yourself so emotionally over - go with your heart and take your time. You will be happy you did.

Motorcyles are lots of fun to ride, but, as some of you know, Mr. HH was in a nasty accident on one several years ago and ended up in the burn unit for physical therapy because he lost so much skin. He has not ridden a bike since, thank goodness.

Whee! My boss is out for the rest of the week so I get to use his office. Privacy, an awesome view, and no more having to say "Shut the hell up, you stupid..." every two seconds under my breath about the obnoxious cow-irkers in my vicinity! Squeeee!

That said, I hope everything works out, Ricci. And as far as food gadgets and making things from scratch, I am quite happy with my shiny new blender. Mine came with several different attachments including an all-metal jar with milkshake blade and a food processor. And while it's not quite food, I did successfully perfect making frozen raspberry margaritas from scratch over the weekend, which will definitely come in handy for future entertaining!

So my major good news is that my landlord told me over the weekend that those possible legal technicalities about my place have basically cleared themselves up, so I no longer have that to worry about...HUGE relief! I was so sick of telling people about where I lived and mentally adding, "unless/until I get forced out due to stupid technicalities".

Had a good date over the weekend with this guy who had emailed me last summer from a personal ad of mine, but while I added him to my IM lists, I never got around to actually messaging him until last week(!). But we had a lot in common and talked a lot and seemed to get along pretty well. We did an insider NYC budget tip that I'm sure my fellow NYCers are familiar with: 6th Street between 1st & 2nd Avenues is an entire block of Indian restaurants, all of which have a dinner special where you get choice of soup, appetizer, main course, and dessert for about $7.95, and you can BYO wine. The one we went to even had live Indian music. Then we hung out and watched some TV back at my place afterward (this would be where the margaritas came in). Post-date, however, I think he may be pulling that passhole-aggresshole move of "I'm going to be subtly distant now, just enough to where it's somewhat unsettling yet you'd look like a paranoid freak if you said anything." (Does anyone know what I'm talking about? HATE that kind of subtle mind game crap.) Eh, we'll see. It's certainly not like I don't have enough practice in moving on if he turns out to be an ass!

So last night I was kind of stewing about that, but I went to my good friend from college's backer audition (they perform part of a new play, in this case Act 1, for potential investors), and it was so hysterical that it completely made me forget all about it and laugh my ass off. It's a throwback to classic vaudeville and slapstick, which sounds like it would be cheesy but was actually really funny and well-done. I hope they find the backing to do a full production!

Quick Post:
Not worth making? Crepes
Most useless applience? Crepe Pan
Most horrible applience? Can opener. Had to buy 4 different brands before finding one that worked.
Motorcycles: Like I said, my mom and dad used to ride. I have no idea what bikes they were, and I don't want to ask. Everytime I do, my dad sighs and starts his famous: "well, I wish I hadn't have sold [insert thing here] because it used to be so much fun, but then your mom was pregnant, so we decided to sell it..." blah blah blah ruined life cakes. I'm glad I wasn't the first born.
Went to Shakespeare night. Mondo fun, good acts, and a little bit of funny. Some guys did "The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged." Hil.ar.ious. The two parts done were a rap about Othello and The Matrix Does Macbeth.
Toodles!

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to thank you all for your thougts and prayers.
My dad is doing ok...but we won't know treatments/timelines until the end of the week.

It may seem like I am not reading/responding to anyone's posts here, but know that I am reading and it is giving me something to do instead of worry all day- so thank you for being so intelligent and witty!

Hi Pixie, glad you got the time to check in with us and give us an update of your dad's health. You know we've all been praying for him and you too. Glad these posts are giving you something else to do, I know what you mean, having been in a similar situation myself when Mr Aussie Montana got hit by a bus and ended up in ICU for awhile (that's another story). Anyway, sending you lots of hugs and prayers, and post when you can.

ska we took MIL up to Mt Tamborine today, which is in the Gold Coast Hinterland, really beautiful place, and had lunch at a Polish restaurant. Glorious mountain views from the deck where we sat, good food, and literally dozens of beautiful rosellas that fly around, or sit on the table and try to eat the food off your plate! MIL had never seen anything like it. After that it was looking through the many little arts and crafts shops, buying souvenirs to send back to the US, and of course, the obligatory Devonshire Tea.

And while we're talking about garlic presses, I bought one when I was in Montana, at a Pampered Chef party, and I reckon it's about the best bloody thing I bought overseas. I use it all the time, don't even have to peel the garlic. Can't get Pampered Chef things here unfortunately, but if they did decide to expand, I'd sell their wares for them, they're so good.

heidihug, glad you had a good girl's night out! And hope you catch up on your sleep too.

Hey Dodo, that's great news about your apartment. Bet you're enjoying your bosses office!

And a big hi to Yogi, Hildy, Pretty, Ricci, Jenn, Birdlady and all the MM'ers from Princess Peachy!.

Hey Gang at Meet Market!

Thanks for giving us an update, pixie dust. You've been in my thoughts and prayers. I'm glad you are having a respite right now.

I love the image of you sitting with your feet up on your bosses desk, looking out the window, and typing on his computer, and surrounded by the debris of a series of nice strawberry margaritas Last Dodo. It's a bit of hog heaven! Enjoy yourself.


Lord, Pink One, but that was so very funny. I promise to watch what I say to Little Yogi. He turns thirteen in June (oh my heck) so no doubt I will cease to be his great love and become the Wicked Mom of the East who irritates him to no end. .... sigh....

OK, Heidihug, I couldn't let this remark go unnoticed!

Really! Where was the first boyfriend when this was going on? How juicy. Do you think he knows? OK, I won't ask anymore questions, but I'm just sayin' it's swinging up there in the cold northern regions. Must be all those months with so much snow you have to get your exercise in bed!

I'm with skagirl on the garlic press. I never use mine. It's from William Sonoma and it sits in a drawer looking expensive. Ugh. Also juicers. I have a really nice juicer that I haven't used in ten years. I eat lots of vegetables and fruit rather than drink lots of vegetables and fruit. So it's just another appliance gathering dust.

Last night, my oven went on the blink. Luckily, we are working on planning a renovation. Few of my appliances are working, and those are limping along. It's so sad. But if I can ever figure out how one actually accomplishes a construction task, I will have a lovely kitchen one day.

Aussie Girl, you are the best hostess! What wonderful places you take you MIL to see. She must be having a fabulous time!

Motorcycles, hmm? My dad is fond of saying that my grandpa supported a family of five on stupid skiers in the winter and stupid motorcyclists in the summer. (He was a radiologist.)

Useless appliances? Someone once got my mom a hot-dog cooker for Christmas.

Oh, absolutely, yogi. He was right there. She went on and on about how sexy my cleavage was. I am sure he and all of the other guys enjoyed our conversation. I just laughed it off. This woman is originally from Las Vegas, she's about 10 years older than us, smokes like a stack, is built like a (WI vernacular) brick shithouse and would look appropriate on the back of a Harley. BUT, she is nice (they adopted one, and do foster care for several more, special needs kids) and is a good match for HH's first boyfriend. It was a very interesting evening - there were about 30 people there and some of us were not drinking beer, but they managed to finish off two kegs and 10 dozen buffalo wings. Then we all went cross-town for another birthday party and more free beer. Good thing there were designated drivers.

Aussie, I have lots of Pampered Chef items, too, and they are all wonderful. My faves are the spatulas, baking stones and their professional cookware (I have the entire set).

PiP, I used to think crepes weren't worth making, but we do love them so. I just make them in a regular non-stick fry-pan in big bunches, and keep them warm in the oven. Most of the time we just slather them in brown sugar and butter. A bit of a pain to make, but such a treat.

Dodo, hope you are enjoying your boss-less week. That is always a stress reducing time for me, too.

Continuing hugs for {{{Pixie}}}

PiP, the crepe pans don't work. Like HH says, regular frying pan is much better.

Speaking of breakfasty foods than translate well to the rest of the day, does anyone have any recommendations on Hollandaise sauce? SkaMama has had trouble with hers thickening of late, and she's tried different things, i.e. salted v. unsalted butter, amount of time eggs are at room temperature. Any tried & true ideas?

I had a motorcycle lesson last November. DANG those things are heavy, although I looked cute. Not an easy task.

What a funny woman, heidihug! What a sweet, crazy lady... taking in children with special needs, smoking like a chimney, drinking like a sailor, and hitting on her husband's first girlfriend. What a hoot! It sounds like a very enjoyable evening - though I can no longer stay out that late without rather dire consequences. When Little Yogi visits my family in August, well, then I get to stay out as late as I want. Whoo Hooo!

I have a nice crepe pan that I use all the time. Calphalon. It's very good. I use it for omelets. I havent' had a crepe with sugar and butter since I lived in Paris. I want to come live down the street from Heidihug. I also haven't made hollandaise sauce in about as long. I remember you have to cook it very slow, though.

I will see you that hot dog maker, jennblevins and raise you one bagel slicer. I'm sure that garbage dumps all over the country are full of them.

Ohhhh. And what about bananna hangers?!

I saw a ghastly accident with a bagel slicer at my old office on Bagel Monday. Can't look at the things without freaking out.

I love my garlic press! The Bee household is a garlic-intensive one (why use 2 cloves when you can use 10?). We actually have two presses, both from Pampered Chef; we couldn't bear to get rid of either of them whem MrBee and I moved in together last summer. My sister has a friend who sells PC stuff, so we get a lot of it in our Christmas stockings.

yogi, my Slovak grandmother used to make the Slovak version of crepes, called paletsinki (spelling is completely wrong here - that's a more-or-less phonetic rendering). We ate them with cinnamon and sugar, or sometimes jam. They were incredibly delicious. Grandma used a regular frying pan, too.

MrBee and I like to wander through the gadget sections of kitchen stores, looking for the most bizarre things. My favorite so far - and, sad to say, I had to buy one - is the Egg Cuber. It turns your hard-boiled egg into a cube. Seriously. You peel the hard-boiled egg while it's still hot, and put it into this cube-shaped clear-plastic thingie and press down on one side of it. When the egg cools, it's shaped like a cube. Hysterically funny and terrifying all at the same time.

I can't think of one thing one reason to "cube" my hard boiled egg. And yet? I want an egg cuber very badly. It's a sickness....

I also now have an inhuman craving for crepes, or paletsinki, because a crepe by any other name would taste just as delicious. Mmmmm.

Being the non-cook that I am I can only think of appliances I love: ice cream maker and piadina pan - this is a piadina for those of you have not heard of them - similar to pita and tortilla. In the romagna area where the boyfriend is from, they can serve as a whole meal with spinach and cheeses and meat or just the beginning as a table bread. Anyway, I like my cooker thing that the boyfriend's mom gave me. Its a frying pan without any sides.

Yes, yes, YES. I must have one of those.

Shortly after we moved into our new house, we invited some of Mr. HH's friends from work over for a beverage and snacks. When I went to the black iron pot rack which hangs on the wall above my cookbooks and unhooked a pan, one of them nearly fell off of his chair. He said "I thought that thing was just a decoration!" Silly, silly man.

I have a very well-equipped kitchen. Potato ricer? Check. Apple peeler/corer/slicer? Check. 25 different sizes of glass bowls? Check. Magnetic knife holder? Check. I was once told that the rule is NEVER to buy your wife something for your anniversary that is a kitchen tool. MY rule is don't even think about buying me something that isn't a kitchen tool or appliance. I shudder at the thought of some of the things Mr HH has bought me that weren't kitchen items.

You can get your very own Egg Cuber here. Of course you want one! Make devilled eggs out of cubed eggs and your party guests will never stop talking about it. Of course, they may run screaming from the room, too.

I adore my potato ricer and my apple peeler/corer. Mashed potatoes using the ricer are wonderful, and we want to learn to make spatzle using it, too. And I make a lot of applesauce in the fall, so the peeler/corer is a flat-out necessity.

I saw this...and am so intrigued by how it could work.

Hard to imagine life without a potato ricer. How would one make raspberry coulis!?! Much less a perfectly mashed serving of soft creamy potato...

I love homemade ice cream too, Ricci. I used to make a three layer ice cream cake with three different flavors of homemade ice cream. It was quite a pretty and auspicious sight. Sometimes I get excited when I cook - heh!

I do believe I once purchased an apple peeler/corer/slicer at a pampered chef party, and it is gathering dust in my basement with the pizza stone I bought there too. In fact, I bought tons of stuff at the party, and the only thing I've ever used is the mini spatulas, which are wonderful. I'll have to dig it all out when I get my new kitchen.

I just met with a designer and contractor to talk about renovations. What would be on your kitchen wish list? I definitely want my pans visible like you, Heidihug, or would you rather have them in a cabinet? Should I have a baking station? I've always wanted one. And a gadget pantry so that I can cube eggs with abandon? Good idea?

Speaking of gadgets, thanks for the site, Tracey Bee. I've bookmarked it for hours of happy viewing... Though I don't think I will puchase an eggstractor, skagirl. How many eggs would on need to peel to make that a good buy?

I've been intrigued by the eggstractor too Skagirl. But this is my favorite new gadget: Magic Coffee Machine

Now ya got me started yogi. Must haves for me:

an island or peninsula with a large workspace.
gadget cabinet under said island.
slotted open shelves for cookie sheets, racks, etc, near oven.
lots of outlets.

...I will continue tomorrow. Must go home and feed the teaming horde of 3 men some supper. Have a great evening, all.

Would you want the gadgets under the workspace? I was thinking of a cabinet or pantry for the gadgets. Under the workspace, I was thinking mixing bowls and cutting boards and such items. But it would be nice to have the big old mixer near the workspace....

This renovation became exponentially larger with each moment I talked to these two men. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?

I always play Skagirl's Fantasy Dream House (lovely 2 level in the W. Village, basement apartment for Roommate, guest room on the first floor for SkaParents). Anyway, I love the idea of 2 sinks. Not because I love water that much, but because you can double the amount of people working with you. You can continue to wash veggies or drain pots while the other one gets filled with dirty dishes. I want a big user friendly island, but I think I agree with Yogi on the bowls & pans underneath.

How do people feel about stoves on an island rather than flush with a wall? I always worry that it's easier to have an accident on a freestanding one.

I also want a drawer for dried spices - spice racks can be a pain when they don't hold an oversized or odd shaped container and then they get dusty being out in the open. Yuck.

I should take a picture of my kitchen...it would make all of you cry.

Can you clean your kitchen floor with a sponge? I can, without changing positions down on my knees. It's that small.

I think the egg cuber would be good so your egg doesn't roll all over the plate. I love my hard boiled egg slicer (or I did when I ate a lot of hard boiled eggs - cholesterol). It's like a mini harp.

My kitchen is sort of weep-worthy right now too. I only have one working appliance left. My fear of construction has kept me from doing this much needed renovation. But I've decided I have to bite the bullet and hire someone to supervise. I've always done everything myself, but one needs to know ones limitations, and I just can't do this without some help from a professional. Trying to get things done in NYC can be utterly a byzantine journey, so I'm going to turn this over. That is, if the numbers don't do me in. Ugh.

Because I love a gas stove, and they are so messy, I would rather keep the stove contained and near the wall. What do you think of two electric burners on the island? Very snazzy. I saw that done in a suburban kitchen. I was totally jealous. This woman had a fabulous kitchen, and she never cooked anything, ever. A kitchen to drool over.

Do you suppose they make spice drawers? I hate having spices on the counter. Mine are all in a cabinet on a lazy susan.

Why is susan lazy?

iMissEthan, yes. I can actually just bend over & get the whole thing. Do you have one of those "countertops" the kids rave about?

Yogi,...ohhh....two different stove types? Crazy! Scandalous! I saw a FANTASTICAL kitchen, essentially made into a contained unit, like wraparound, with a sink on a corner! that you could fit 3 children and a dog into, fridge that was bigger than Refrigerator Perry, and she made sandwiches for the kids. That's about it. Bah.

And yes, I've seen spice drawers. Deeper than a utensil drawer, but smaller than a file cabinet drawer. I'm going to cry now.

Don't cry skagirl! You'll have that kitchen one day. Look how long I had to wait. Heck, I'm still waiting. Now I'm going to cry - heh!

Ooooh, sink in a corner. I kind of love that idea. If I did that, I would actually have a window over the kitchen sink. Wouldn't that be something? I'm actually writing all this down.

When I lived in Paris, I had a kitchen that was the size of my closet, but I made my most delicious food in that kitchen. Plus, I could fit three people in there. Good thing we were skinny and very good friends! I would make several course meals for ten or twelve, but the rooms were so small that the whole room was table and I just pushed the chairs around the edges, so if someone had to go to the bathroom, we all had to get up - like a big banquet table. No one cared. We were all so happy.

But that's what I want - a kitchen that says sit down and have a cup of coffee - and a delicious three course dinner!

On another subject, I am presently listening to The Monkees Greatest Hits in my office - Heh! A gift from Mr. Yogi. I highly recommend it. So. Much. Fun.

iMissEthan, the "kitchen" in the apartment I shared with my last roommate was about that small, if not smaller. I know what you mean!

I've lucked out that my last few apartments (with the exception of the glorified broom closet referred to above) have had double sinks, which is a must for me. I can't imagine doing the dishes without one!

One other tip I've discovered when space is at a premium: the downside is it's been ages since I've lived somewhere with more than one tiny kitchen drawer, so I bought a pretty metal 2-tier dishrack and put a metal flatware organizer in the top tier. So my flatware goes there and my miscellaneous gadgets--spatulas and what have you--go in the bottom tier. It doesn't take up too much space and actually looks kind of decorative.

So thank God for technology! I was running really late this morning--one of those days--but since my boss is out, I checked the voicemail and emailed him "all clear" from my cellphone on the bus (we started out using my personal email account for me when I was on a temp basis and then it just stuck) and he was none the wiser.

So by now you all know if I mention I have/had a date to just mentally "insert laugh track here" or count to five or make jokes about comparing it to Chicago weather ("wait five minutes and it'll change"), right? I was right on the money with my suspicions about that guy, but I'm disappointed in myself that I fell right into the trap anyway. Basically, before we had the date, we talked and IM'ed all the time, mostly at his initiative--he was always like, "Call me later?" Then afterward, I always got his voicemail and he was really short with me on IM. So when he finally did call me back, when I brought up seeing each other again, I got the whole "Well gee...I'm really busy..." routine. But instead of just saying "OK" and going, stupid me snaps about feeling like I'm being expected to take a hint, which is just what he wanted, because then it was all, "Well, I did call you back, and I did IM you, and I was planning to see you again but now with you acting like this..." And I mean, I KNEW that was coming. Because yeah, technically he's correct, but it's the spirit of the communication--the whole "yeah, call me call me call me!" to aloof and distant--that I was reacting to. And I even said here where it was one of those things where it was so subtle that if I became upset I'd look like a paranoid freak. And I STILL fell right into it. GAAAAH. This is why I would not be a good reality show contestant--I'm too volatile if I feel like I'm being slighted.

So we wound up arguing about that and amazingly, somewhere in that I wound up apologizing and agreed that we could be friends. But then when I thought about it I was like, "hey...wait!" Because then when we were on a "friend" basis, he told me about this one time when he was starting to become friends with this guy, and this guy told him not to date his ex, because it was still really recent and it would be awkward, and he was like, "But I did anyway because I'd only hung out with this guy twice, so I didn't owe him any loyalty." Now call me wacky, but I would have respected my new friend's wishes without putting it through some sort of litmus test of how much time we'd actually spent together. So how could I trust that if we were friends, he wouldn't go after someone I was interested in?

So yeah...in the end, I don't think so on any basis, and better I found out sooner than later. He's like a male version of Delia on Ryan's Hope...someone who seems incredibly sweet and can make you feel sorry for them (in this case I had to hear endless talk about how guys just weren't interested in him and how frustrating it was last week), until you see the whole picture and realize they're actually incredibly manipulative. I had a roommate like that in college--everyone thought she was the sweetest person in the world, but once we moved in together, my jaw dropped because she was actually one of the most calculating and manipulative people I'd ever met in my life! (It wasn't so much that she did anything to me as that I got the behind-the-scenes look of what she really thought of people. I swear, she would CLEAN UP on Big Brother...everyone would vote for her and then curse themselves when they saw the Diary Room entries.

Ah well. Last night I did a long powerwalk from the part of Soho close to the Hudson back to my place in Alphabet City, and not only was it a gorgeous tour through both Villages that reinforced what I love about this city, but it was incredibly cleansing as well. What I really need to do is start turning all these experiences into material.

I'm not sure. There is a formica-type surface in the kitchen between the sink and the refrigerator. Most of it is taken up with my toaster oven (no room for a microwave), but I'd say there is an area about 20 inches across and 10 inches deep that functions as my counter. Is it any wonder I pretty much make pasta every night?

Today would be the perfect day to walk home, the weather is gorgeous. However, I went out for a brief walk at lunch and wound up making some purchases that would make it less comfortable to do so. I got one of those hinged pans you can use to make pancakes/omletes. More importantly, I got the dress I'd been stalking at Ann Taylor for a few weeks. I was waiting for it to go on sale, and visited it a few times, but no luck. Then I completely forgot to check last week & the beginning of this week. When I walked in today, it wasn't at its previous location, but instead there were only two left on the sale rack. One of them was my size, so I tried it on & it fit perfectly. It was destined to be my dress, and it was marked down from $80 to $50. Plus I got a $25 off card for my next purchase of $50 or more. Sometimes the planets just align for you.

I'll have much, MUCH more to say on this fascinating topic, but I just wanted to quickly say that I have a spice drawer. Get one. They are fantastic, wonderful delightful innovations.

G'Day MM'ers! I've been trying to post here for a day or so but kept getting logged out.

An egg cuber? I've never heard of such a thing! Now, what kind of mind invented that? The mind boggles..... But Hollandaise sauce, mmmmm.....I love the stuff. Unfortunately, that's almost as hard to find as bagels. I love Eggs Benedict and order it mainly for the Hollandaise sauce. Anyone got any good recipes on how to make it? Hildy, over to you.

Yogi, re being a good hostess to MIL (let's just call her Milly) - I've got to say, the welcome is wearing a bit thin. It's been a loooooong month! I've found it quite exhausting, particularly as she does nothing to help out around the house. I've been doing it all, cooking, cleaning, washing, and on top of that, dealing with two very high maintenance children. Not to mention taking her sightseeing all around the place. After the first week of doing everything, I asked Mr Aussie to have a word with her and ask her to help. Since then she has cleaned up the kitchen a few times, but that's it. In the whole month she's been here, she has not even cooked a meal. I find that very sad, as I had this idea of how wonderful it would be for grandma to cook a nice meal that the grandkids could enjoy and remember etc. I'm just saying that if I was staying with anyone I would certainly pitch in and help with whatever needed to be done. She however, seems to have come here for a holiday, and is treating my home much like a hotel.

And another thing while I'm venting... Mr Aussie, since his mum has been here, has also done nothing, even on his days off. It's like this weird family dynamic kicks in, and he's got to be a certain way or something. Whatever, all I know is that I am exhausted, but the good news is that Milly leaves on Sunday. Yeah! We get along okay, but I am looking forward to having my home back.