DCFlutist's Profile

Big get-togethers like Thanksgiving were always served buffet-style in my family. Since there was no set 'table' at all, there was no need for a 'kids table' either. We all just sat wherever and talked and watched movies. In fact, I'm not sure I can remember ever having a sit-down dinner for a big get-together. I think it was because no one ever had a table big enough! Everyday dinner was always at the dinner table though.

Don't worry about having to run a lot of tv cable. When the cable guy came to install mine when i moved in, we couldn't find the cable outlet because it was in a closet near the entry door. Yeah. He ran so much cable - down along the baseboards, up and over doors, etc - that I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to get any kind of picture on my tv. But it works fine and you don't even see the cable. It comes in white which will blend in with your (most likely) white walls. :)

I agree with everyone that said saving supermarket seeds is probably not going to get you the tastiest veggies in your garden. That being said, you will probably always have the best luck with seedlings. Someone has already given the plants a good head start for you. Starting from seeds can be finicky, but it's absolutely not impossible. You just have to start them indoors and depending on where you live, it's getting a bit late in the game for starting seeds and having them ready in time to plant outside.
I recommend getting your seedlings from the farmers market, but you can find tomato and pepper seedlings most anywhere. I don't have a yard but I do some container gardening with tomatoes and peppers and herbs every year on my balcony and always have great results. Then, at the end of the year, you can save some of your own seeds and try to start from seed next year.

I think it's great publicity for Goodwill to partner with Miss DC. And of course her apartment ended up looking just like a Goodwill inside... everything came from Goodwill. It's not going to look like a magazine cover or page out of a catalog. That's not what Goodwill is for. If your choices are purchasing a couch for your family at the Goodwill or sitting on the floor, I'm sure you'll be very happy with the nice couch you found at the Goodwill.

However, people may not realize that the Goodwill is not just a place for you to donate your old stuff so that poor people can buy it. They provide job training, employment and many other services to people who have disabilities, or who have trouble finding a job because of a lack of job experience or education. They fund all of this by selling donated items in their stores. It's not just a place for poor people to shop. They are more than happy to welcome ANYONE to shop in their stores to help fund these services.

The fourth one looks like Charlie Brown's tree. :)

Bravo for at least springing for the more expensive recycled variety! As long as you're doing what you can for the earth at the moment, then you're still FAR ahead of the game than most people. It's not like washing machines are saintly either. If we all wanted to be truly tree hugging I imagine we'd all be living in cabins and washing our clothes in the river with no soap. But, you know, we don't. If everyone would try the little things, it'd still make a big difference.

While it certainly wasn't the healthiest tomato soup, the condensed tomato soup from Campbells was always my favorite. I always figured it was OK because the ingredient list was shockingly short for a processed food and there was no HFCS or anything like that. In fact it was the ONLY condensed tomato that didn't have those things. THEN, just recently, they had to go and mess it up. Huge ingredient list with lots of HFCS and modified this and autolyzed that. I can find plenty of good ready-to-eat tomato soups, but what am I going to do about condensed for recipes? Any ideas?

Am I crazy for actually -liking- my one touch can opener? ;)

I took Amtrak from DC to Kansas City when the price of plane tickets jumped to about twice that of a train ticket. If you're not high maintenance and can just go with the flow, the train is totally the way to go. Sure, your train will always be late, but if you just plan ahead (like, a 12 hour buffer... no kidding) you'll be fine. The first time you do it might be a little rough, until you figure out exactly what you need to bring and how to pack it for the train (it's different than packing for a plane ride). And no, it's definitely as convenient as getting to your destination in 2 hours as opposed to a day and a half, but it was way more relaxing, much much cheaper and I hear it's better for the environment. (Not totally sure on that one, but if anyone has any info, I'd really appreciate it!) I understand that sometimes it just won't work for certain people or certain circumstances, but I will always try to look for train tickets before resorting to the plane.

grilled cheese! (even in the summertime!)