Can I have some -ma for my friend T? She had a minor stroke the other day at the age of 31. She's going for a ton of tests and it sounds like her doctors are on top of things, and she doesn't have any lasting damage. T has been my bff since we were six, and I can't stand that she is on the other side of the country and I am not there to be there for her.

My paternal grandmother didn't know how to cook when she got married, her mother and older half sister were terrific cooks and somehow she never learned. So my grandfather taught her, she's a good cook as long as she has a recipe and specific instructions. My great grandmother cooked a lot with "a pinch of this" or " a handful of that" and my grandmother couldn't learn that way. She needs precise. 1 tablespoon of this or 2 cups of that. And she doesn't know how to really subsititute for things or omit something.

I take after my great grandmother (who I never met, she died a few months before I was born) and deviate from recipes all the time or just make things up.

I did not get any of the talent of fixing up or creating things (besides food). My Mom is a great one for home improvement jobs, partly out of necessity (being a single mom) and mostly because she likes it. She redid her entire half bath, including replacing the toilet, with minimal help from her best friend.

My brother is a good at making things -he's made a coffee table top, a bookcase, and other things. Plus he's handy with repairs -- and can cook! People think he takes the home repair and building stuff from my dad. Nope, Mom. Although both of my grandfathers were good builders and creators.

Mom taught us how to cook and do laundry and other things. It baffled me to realize when I was out of high school that people my age didn't know how to do laundry or even how to write a check.

When SLNRLBF was here he did most of the cooking. He's a good cook even though he says he's not. And we helped doing dishes.

Lots of ~ma for T.

Lots of ~ma for your friend sj.

Yikes, sj. How scary!

Lots of ma~~~~ for T!

T~ma!

I do most of the cooking/ meal planning, but DH is very good in the kitchen. He is the better kitchen cleaner. I am the better bathroom cleaner. I do most of the basic cleaning and laundy , but I am home more. I also think I deserve a clean house, as much as a guest does. However, my standards vary quite a bit.

Fun Dips, huh? Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if Pete is all???

(But ask him about Sherbet Dip Dabs and Sherbet Fountains - bet he remembers them!)

Sean - you could do worse than Thailand. ijs. Beautiful beaches, exciting history, fantastic food, great (well, Really Fucking Hot) weather, and a kind-of local who can whisk you guys off to some of the nicest restaurants/bars/shows* in Bangkok.

*given that I don't do the whole "Pussy Show" viewing, my perspective on the best shows in Bangkok will not be everyone's, obviously. I'm thinking more like this.

OTOH - cruise down the Nile, visiting the temples of Karnak and Philae and all the rest, and taking a balloon ride over the Valley of the Kings at sunrise, and going down into Tutankhamun's tomb...pretty fucking hard to beat.

I have been sitting in traffic at a dead stop for an hour on I24. I'm desparate enough to type on these tiny keys. Traffic ma, please.