We had to put in a new driveway a few years ago and we had the guy just scrape the top off the whole front yard while he was at it. I did use roundup in the back but the grass there was scraggly and it was pretty easy. I do not condone the use of herbicides for the most part either. We did the back in late August and got it all in one application (no dogs, cats or kids here) during a non rainy period so it wouldn't wash down. I wouldn't have tried it in front yard where it was thick and drains off into a stream in the park down the block. Partly my beds just kept getting bigger and bigger so the lawn size had really shrunk anyway. The stuff is a chore to dig out, I always did it in rows and tediously shook it out with each shovelful. The only time I like bermuda is when its dormant in winter and light cream colored. I like it OK in dry summers when left to go dormant too. My understanding is that this characteristic was what made it popular way back when before the day of sprinkler systems and constant watering people do now. Otherwise, I consider it one of the ugliest worst, most offensive weeds in America. I am constantly on it to keep it from invading my yard from the west and east lawns. There are some new no mow lawn seed mixes available online. They are supposed to perform very well and are low water users, better than buffalo grass but still, you have to get rid of the bermuda first. Just joking here but crabgrass is a good way to choke it out. Weed vs Weed.

You had quite a challenge and met it well. I like the buffet style and who cares if people only go monochrome. Maybe they like it that way. People tease Scandinavians about all the white food. No big deal to me. I'm not sure I'd have the patience to deal with all the dietary issues. I might send invitations on a paper bag and say bring your own! :) I've got a cousin who has her own cooking challenges. Let's see, she cooks for: -A granddaughter "vegetarian", who won't eat vegetables -Husband who's is a hypochondriac and lately is a wannabe Celiac. (And is nearly televangelistic in preaching to anyone who will listen that everyone is Celiac and doesn't know it.) This "Celiac" btw frequents pizza buffets and White Castle. Yep, that's gluten intolerant! -A friend who's on the Atkin's diet. -Parents who were "meat & potatoes only" people. Don't add any of that salt & pepper... don't like things spicy! -Daughter who is a serious diabetic. Anyone care to plan & cook that one? :)

I can answer the BS oven door question. My 36" BS RCS was installed two days ago (haven't used it yet, hopefully this weekend). During the burn off of the oven (high temp is 450 F for an hour) I checked how hot the oven door got, as that has been a big issue noted on these boards. On my range, the SS part of the oven door did not get hot, just a bit warm. The glass on the oven door got hotter but not that hot. What did get quite hot were the sides/edges of the oven door. I could touch the side but not for long. Definitely quite hot. Not instant burn/scald though. There are vents (or look like vents) right there so it makes sense that those areas heat up a lot. Your kids would have to press their hands up against the 2" side of the door for several seconds for it to affect them negatively. More likely a kid running around will touch the front of the door and that is not a problem, on my range at least.

When I still had girls at home, one of their favorites was Shepherd's Pie. Mine was made with leftover mashed potatoes over a filling of ground beef and vegetables. They also liked beef stew with biscuits, I made the stew in a dutch oven and just added unbaked biscuits to the top after the stew was cooked and baked just long enough to bake the biscuits. Meatloaf was a big favorite and has already been mentioned. Calzones made with homemade bread dough and stuffed with everything from pizza toppings to ham and cheese to leftover broccoli with cheese sauce. Those can also be made using frozen commercial bread dough. Macaroni and cheese was a favorite and although I sometimes made chicken and dumplings we more often had chicken over biscuits. We often had breakfast for supper, pancakes, waffles, eggs, "breakfast burritos" with scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa, English Muffins with ham and eggs and a side of fruit salad. My girls both loved rice so we'd have Spanish Rice or fried rice or chicken and rice soup, or they just ate cold rice for breakfast with milk and sugar, like breakfast cereal. Having something they could pick up and eat on the way to some school function or sporting event was handy, so sometimes we'd have sloppy joes or hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches or cheesesteak sandwiches with the meat cooked in the crock pot. I actually used the crock pot quite a bit, preparing the food the night before then just taking the prepped food out of the refrigerator in the morning and turning the crockpot on. Pot roast, corned beef, brisket, ham, bean or split pea soup, scalloped potatoes, pork roast, even desserts can be done in the crock pot. I know how you feel, I used to just dread the "duty cooking". As a single mother with a full time job it was a chore to find something that I could make after I got out of work that didn't cost very much and that everyone would eat and I could make in half an hour. When the girls got older I made them do the weekly menus. They would sit at the kitchen table with cookbooks and make the "menu" for the next week, then I'd go shopping for ingredients. Sunday was my day to choose, the girls chose 3 days each. I got to cook something new sometimes and they couldn't complain much about meals they had chosen themselves. Good luck! Annie