merewether's Profile

We had something very similar to #1
http://www.naritatrading.com/products/product.asp?m=015
It holds a great deal but that means that purcxhases are almost at ground level unless you have done a Thanksgiving-scale shop in which case they are stacked on top of each other. We used it primarily at a farmers market and found it awkward to detach the canvas container from the frame and hoist it into the car trunk. It seems well made and it would be excellent for someone who needs to carry wash to a laundromat or central apt. bldg. laundry room.

When a supermarket was built downtown last year they promoted the Hook and Go #6. We bought one of those and have used it regularly to haul things three blocks. It folds up very compactly for storage, for carrying to the store, andcan easily go in the supermarkets own cart if you prefer not to shop into it. The supermarket sold it with their own reusable grocery bags although we prefer our own more washable ones. The bags being up higher makes it easy to shop into and means items aren't stacked on top of each other, however, it does mean the center of gravity is higher and it could be a bit tippy if you don't balance the load reasonably well. Unlike the person who felt it was unwieldy at farmers market, I find it maneuverable and certainly not nearly as space-consuming as children being hauled in little red wagons or friendly golden retrievers on long leashes.

One final factor to consider with any cart -- like a "rollaboard" suitcase do check if the handle will work for your height and stride. A number of these are fine for grannies who have shrunk with age but not for 6 footers.

I come from a family where monogrammed napkin rings were used daily to conserve wear on napkins (and on my mother) with daily washing. A sweet thing my mother did when I became engaged was to have a new napkin ring engraved with my fiancé 's initials.. A true sign he was one of the family.

Scoop out flesh (like making a twice baked potato) and mix with smoked salmon (I use the packaged 4 oz filets sold adjacent to fish counter). Add a bit of butter/sour cream or greek yogurt and reheat briefly.
Those smoked filets store for about 6 weeks in fridge and are good emergency fodder-- consider using in place of bacon in recipes like chowders.

The July 2011 Consumer Reports has ratings of 16 surfaces based on their systematic tests of stains/cutting/heat/abrasion/impact on 16 surfaces. Different surfaces have different advantages but overall quartz/engineered stone comes out best and bamboo and marble worst. (issue also does flooring and has appliance info).

With a two person household we often divide recipes. One rainy day I went through the baking dishes and calculated the area of each ( 8 x8 pans are easy to do mentally but I can't quickly do circles) and put it on a card taped to the inside of a cupboard drawer. It's now quicker to pull one with the right ratio.

no gift - but bought up to believe that if you go to dinner at someone's house you should write a thank you note.

Either buffet or family style will work for maintaining the necessary tradition that Father should carve to order for each person : "White or dark?".

for those who worry that if they go shoeless their feet won't get enough support ... keep a pair of clogs or similar shoes which you just wear inside. Definitely good for standing while cooking or doing other chores.

Can a wallpaper maven or intellectual property expert explain why William Morris wallpaper is, last I checked, still fairly expensive and distributed only by Sanderson? The copyright would seem to have long since elapsed. I will grant that Sanderson's quality may be excellent, but seems odd someone hasn't decided to disregard Morris-ian principles and just copy.

NAHB data referenced is for newly built homes - not entire housing stock. 2007 Census data : median size of all single family /mobile homes is 1,769sf (1876 owner 1344 renter). About 88,000,00 units are single family detached/mobile homes. Another 43,000,000 are attached/multi-unit and very probably smaller.

New houses have always fluctuated in size -- compare the size (esp. CUBIC footage) of houses of WWI vintage to those 20 years later. In early 80s builders' trade mags said people wanted small houses--but gradually MacMansions blossomed.

I have read, but can't quickly track down, theory that over many years the average middle class North American home has been about 1000sf. Years of looking at floor plans and standards from various first world countries I'd guess that most such countries view 700-800 sq meters to be minimum for a family. (Current UK suggested codes 1 bed 2 person 45-50SM, 3 p 57-67, 4person 67-75, 5p 75-85)