I almost always choose rump roast when I want to cook pot roast, even though I see chuck roasts recommended most of the time. I do it because that's what my mother cooked and that's what my grandmother cooked.

I wish one or both of them were here so I could get their take on it. Did my mother try other cuts and prefer this one? Did my grandmother choose it because it was it the one that was always on sale?

I can't say there is anything my Mom did in the kitchen that I also do- To this day we tease her that we know when to come to dinner because we can hear the buzzer go off (it's really the fire alarm)!!!! I am not a real big cook, but my kids have to be called ;^)

I can say that we DIY because I grew up poor. Eventhough I have the money to pay someone to do a job, I just can't part with the money, the challenge or the fun. I am not a product of The Depression as my 97 year old MIL is, (I'm 49) but I just can't do it. We are good with our hands and there are other things I'd like to spend my money on- like traveling and of course a little college tuition for the kids.

Things done this week: Pulls on order:

Can't decide if I'm hoping I LOVE them so I can quit looking or hoping I hate them so I can send them back? Still running circles with Hubby about counters...I want 12X18 marble tile and he wants marble slab- Can I part with the $$$$????

Heather

I don't know why I do what I do but I don't think I follow my mom because according to my mom I don't do much right in the kitchen. I peel potatoes and carrots incorrectly, cut peppers wrong, don't put enough butter in my mashed potatoes, don't cook my vegetables enough (sorry mom, but I really hate soggy vegetables), I don't use enough salt, etc.

I cook lots of stir-fries, chicken and fish. I try to cook healthy and interesting dishes - so maybe that's why I cook they way I do.
And with respect to peeling the vegies incorrectly? - People still eat them so I don't think it really matters how they're peeled!

When it came to redoing our kitchen it was all about having lots of counterspace so I can spread out my cooking and baking. That was going against the way I was raised. Maybe I do what I do just to be a contrarian.

blfenton - oh no. :( I hope your family appreciates your cooking! It sounds good to me.

texas-yes to the grease draining can. My mom always uses a coffee can but we use empty glass pickle jars and I put them way in the back of the fridge so they turn solid!

I keep my washer door open always - because my Mom always does. This was way before front loaders. The only time I closed it is when we had company because it was in the half bath and I feel like it just begged to be closed then. Even the washer likes privacy. ;) Now we have a front load but in it's own space so the door stays open 100% of the time. I never cover things with foil unless a recipe specifies - my girlfriend almost always does. We chalked that up to our Mom's too.

Finished grouting my backsplash. Yes......that is a good feeling!

And my grandmother always told my aunt that her bread didn't turn out so good because she didn't get mad enough to knead it the way she should, LOL! So: Happy-makecookies. Mad-make bread! Gramma made awesome cookies and really good bread!

I like to cook. I grew up in a family that loved to cook and eat together: Gramma, Mom, my aunts. We were always eating yummy, down-home fare. I often make a hot mess in the kitchen when I'm cooking. That's definitely from my mom! : )

Family meals were a priority growing up, even when I was in high school with a part time job. Family meals are still very much a priority in our house.

Mom was careful about serving a vegetable besides a starch. If we had corn or potatoes, there was always another vegetable accompanying the meal: salad, green beans, broccoli, etc. If we had a starchy meal like pasta, she would never put corn with it (too much starch.) I was shocked to be served corn with spaghetti at my future in-laws when dh and I were dating.

We don't go out to eat nearly as much as when I was little. My kids prefer home-cooked food, and I prefer knowing that what we are eating is healthy for us. It's also much more economical to eat at home, although a break from cooking is nice once in a while.

Mom often skipped breakfast. I feel sick if I do that. When she did have breakfast, she loved peanut butter on toast. I still say, "Ewww!"

Dad always made pancakes every weekend. I loved pancakes. I don't go through that production every weekend anymore, but my kids also LOVE pancakes when we do make them.

laughable that is so interesting. My Mom always served too many starches and still does. It would be very common for her to serve potatoes with corn! In fact she used to serve boiled potatoes with creamed corn and put the corn on top of the mashed boiled potato. Eww! I very rarely if ever do 2 starches. I have said before, we can't have that - that's 2 starches (if potatoes or corn AND rolls are requested), we need a veggie! We have definitely had corn with spaghetti and that I think is our 1 exception here to the 1 starch rule. I love spaghetti with fresh sweet corn. Yum! I do like it with broccoli as well though.

I love to bake but often times I will need to bake if I am stressed. It is a release for me and hey afterward you get a yummy treat! What is not to like there? I love to get lost in a recipe. It's very therapeutic for me. :D

Well, I didn't think the topic would be coming up so fast, Texas! LOL

We know about the fat can, but one thing I do, because my Mom did, because my Gramma did, is after making banana cake (we ALWAYS called it cake, not loaf or bread) if there is no butter icing on top, we wrap it with paper towels and then plastic wrap. Why? I have NO idea. LOL. I think it's because it stays moist (sorry!!) that way. I know it does, so I'm assuming that's why. I always think I have to ask my Mom and then I forget. LOL

blfenton, I think your dinners sound awesome!! We love stir fry over here! My Mom always cooked her veg to mush; I do not do that!

Heather, if you are getting those pulls then you HAVE to have a marble slab. I can't wait to see the rest of the kitchen!

I alway do the dishes the morning after a party. My parents always said socializing was the reason for a dinner party and dishes could wait. Drives me crazy that my MIL is grabbing dishes out from under peoples forks so that the dishes get done before dessert is served.

I also put the bacon fat in an old glass jam jar in the back of the fridge. I rarely use it, but every once in a while fry an egg in it - yum!

Heather, if you change your mind about the pulls, you could always sell them to Bjork :)

MGMum- I truly am out of ideas!! When I'm not actively working on a project (kitchen) its hard to think of questions for that project! I've made banana cake (with icing) but banana nut bread is completely different! It has nuts!!! And you can eat it for breakfast!!! ;) (seriously though, I'm not quite sure of the difference beyond that)

pattisue- every time I want to cook a roast, the same scenario plays out. *Me at grocery store, pulls out phone, calls mom.* "Yeah, hi. What should I buy for making a pot roast again?" One of these days I'm sure I'll just wing it with my own selection but right now, I STILL rely on what mom says (even though I can never remember what "that" is!)

Heather- LOVE the pulls!!! Also, thanks for reminding me, I'm a complete DIYer. I was raised with a handyman dad and basically taught that you are wasting money paying others to do what you could do yourself with a little bit of research and sweat.

The man wouldn't let me drive my OWN car (yes, I had to buy my first car and pay for insurance and gas) until I knew how to jump start it and change the tire.

I used to joke that even if we won the lottery and could build our dream house, we would still do it ourselves for two reasons. One because I hate to waste money and two, because if I do it, then I KNOW its right and if it isn't, I only have myself to blame. (Did I mention my parents built their, *now my* house themselves in six months with the help of friends and family?)

blfenton- wait, there is a "wrong" way to peel potatoes and carrots?!? Your mom isn't a perfectionist at all is she? ;)

Autumn- I always leave my washer door open to mitigate the mildew smell. Are all front loaders like that or is something wrong with mine? Maybe I should ask on the appliance forum. Is your mom a southern native? Mashed potatoes with corn is pretty normal around here. I can't count the number of times I've seen others mix their corn into their potatoes. Never seemed tasty to me so I've never done it but it certainly isn't out of place.

LL- I would agree with your grandmother. Even though it sounds like hokey nonsense, I grew up with a mom who HATED cooking and when I got older I realized, her food really wasn't very good. I have said before, I think the emotions someone has when they are cooking transfer to the food. If you really don't want to cook but you HAVE to, the food is edible but not particularly tasty. If someone enjoys cooking, they give it their all and produce a truly tasty dish.

Laughable- my mom always insisted on a "balanced" meal as well, but I'm fairly sure it was based on whatever diet/ weight watchers program she was on at the time. Our nightly meals consisted of some homemade version of hamburger helper (cheeseburger mac, stroganoff, etc) with a starch side (like potatoes) and a veggie side (like beets)

Corn with spaghetti? Do you mean like spaghetti served with a marinara or meat sauce and corn as a side? I've never heard of this before!!

daisychain- I like your mom's philosophy!

I just remembered something else about my childhood that seems to have translated to my adult life.

Growing up, my dad was the only one who cooked breakfast. NEVER any other meal mind you, dad was helpless in the kitchen UNLESS it was breakfast. He is, was and will always be the King of breakfast! If we were eating pancakes, sausage and bacon, dad cooked it. Sometimes we had "breakfast for dinner" and I always loved those nights.

It felt like we were breaking some unwritten rule and it was awesome!!

Now, I'm married, we have 4 kids, but 99% of the time, if breakfast is cooked (not cereal or oatmeal) it is my hubby doing it.

My kids will even comment if I deign to cook them pancakes or scrambled eggs, "dads is better".

What is the funniest aspect to me is WHY my dad became " king of breakfast."

My dad was a boy scout (eagle scout) and when he and my mom were on their honeymoon and she was making pancakes, he kept trying to correct her. She got fed up, shoved the spatula in his face and said, "FINE!!! You know how to make them, you'll make them from now on!!"

She is stubborn enough that she has kept to that original statement! To this day (37 years later) she still refuses to make pancakes or cook breakfast.

I guess that is something else I got from mom; a stubborn and obstinate personality!!

Bjork! LOL

I think the only thing I do similar to my mom is having a place for everything and putting it back in its place when done with it. Besides that, we're opposites in virtually every way possible. I started to make a list of our differences but it was ridiculously long and would have made you all snooze. I guess I'm contrarian too, blfenton.

I always had much more in common with my dad. Like him, I enjoy playing with kids and dogs and prefer being outdoors and outdoor activities including getting in the dirt.

TexaxGem-nope, she was born and raised in Michigan. She did say she kept it open to be sure it wouldn't mildew but that was years and years that I did it just because she did it before ever asking why! It was an ingrained habit to do so. I have a front load and you bet I leave it open. When MIL is here she has walked by and shut it I think wondering if I had forgotten to and I come back around and re-open it. ;) Corn on the side as a vegetable for the spaghetti but I have seen dh mix it in. I laugh and say well I guess you are all about the casserole now aren't you? Oh and I have been told I am stubborn like my Mom but I'd like to think I am a little less stubborn than she is since I have some of my Dad in me to water it down. Hehehe.

I am a mess maker in the kitchen and my Mom is not. It doesn't bother me but boy there is stuff everywhere like a tornado blew through. She tends to put each ingredient or whatever away right after she uses it. I like to get it all out and spread it out in front of me and then put it all away when I am finished.

funky-oh I do not like dirt. I do not like to be dirty at all but I am also not a girly girl either. Now if I am dirty with sweat from working out - no biggie but actual dirt dirt? I'll pass. I plant flowers (with gloves on) but I always get a start when I unearth a big old spider or worm or something. Now if I ever happened upon a snake I think you'd hear me screaming from here. I don't know why but boy they put the panic in me. I can't even control myself at that point, lol.

Texas_gem, so funny about the trash pullout. My mom had one made for her kitchen, too, in 1970, and people new to the kitchen still look under the sink first for the trash can.

Mom made sure that not only were our meals balanced nutritionally, but visually as well. Color was important, so we would never have, say, baked chicken, mashed potatoes, and cauliflower. There might be plenty of paprika sprinkled on the mashed potatoes, and a green vegetable, maybe some cherry tomatoes for an "accent".

DH believes in fresh food every day because his mom went shopping every day. His mom had 7 kids and a tiny kitchen, no pantry, and small refrigerator, and didn't drive so she could carry only what fit in her little cart, or even in the buggy alongside the current baby :) She HAD to go shopping every day! And she DID use the chest freezer in the basement so she could afford all the meat those boys needed, but DH just wasn't aware of that.

Ha, Autumn. For me it's snakes and slugs. And I live in slug country. Those huge banana slugs. Ugh! Even so, I risk it to get dirty. I'm not necessarily a great gardener but I love to camp and hike and roll around in the grass, in the sand, play with mud, crawl around on rocks. I'm sure I've entered my second childhood. :)

Warning: Long, as usual.

Heatheron40, YOU BOUGHT THOSE PULLs!?! They're so incredible. I can't decide if they're crazy ornate, or crazy elegant. Where are you using them? They scream bathroom to me, but then, they scream, "I'M BEAUTIFUL ANYWHERE just because I AM BEAUTIFUL." So not my style, but I'd love to have them!

Heather, part with the marble money. Quit being cheap on something you're going to love and look at every single day. And touch. What are you saving money for exactly, that's going to have that big an impact on your space? Go with your DH. You're worth it. MGMum has a point, too. If you're going with those pulls in the kitchen, you CANNOT cheap-out and put in tile. It would look way too cobbled together. Like a $30K driveway on an unimproved, 60s box ranch with new shingles.

Guys - if you put the corn in the potatoes, doesn't that = 1 starch? How do you explain pasta with garlic bread!?

My mom and sisters are clean-as-you-go people. I'm not. I hate it when they want me to cook something (like the turkey) and they're following me around, cleaning. Then I can't find anything I was going to use again.

Autumn4, I'm also far from girly-girl, but don't like just plain DIRT. Unless I'm gardening, which I do bare handed. Yes. Nails and fingers in the dirt. Most people hate snakes because of the startle factor. I hate it when they startle me, but I think they're beautiful so I get over it. I wish I had pics for you guys of the snakes falling out of my ceiling having snake sex.

It's odd. I'm so like my mom in so many ways, yet I can't think of a thing that I picked up from her. Her decorating sense, I guess. When she died, the items I inherited look like they've been in my home forever.
I'm the last debutante, so I guess I got here sense of decorum (not that I use any) and "just not done.." sensibilities. As I'm doing the just-not-done thing.
I think I got her complete lack of color consciousness. On a social level, not decorating. Lack of racial separation, too, unless I've encountered someone where it matters (I'm politely avoiding the word "bigot.") and it's thrown in my face. Particularly common in my business.

She cooked and did it well, but would get on kicks where we'd eat one dish for weeks and come to HATE it. "Easy" was the key word. When she did have dinner parties, they were out of magazines, they were so lovely. My dad was the meat and potatoes, more meat, hold the potatoes kinda guy. I like potatoes with my meat, so gimme both. Now. and more. Veggies are a nice addition, but since I barely cook, I don't buy them, so I don't get much of them unless I eat at work.

My dad also did breakfast. For years as we were growing up before school. He got a kick of pretending he was a waiter and we were guests. He stand by the desk (secretly reading the paper) with a towel over his arm. He'd pretend he wasn't looking at us because when we'd look, he'd whip his head around and stare straight ahead. We'd lauuuuuughhhh and laugh, and he'd try not to. We loved dipping buttered toast into coffee. Now if that isn't an old-time thing. on cold Michigan mornings, we'd have grown-up hot tea or something warm. can't remember, but it always involved Echrich sausage, which I love to this day. My mom? Oh, she slept in. Got that from her, too. :)

Ok. 'nuff about me.

I remember the grease canister that my mom (and grandma) had --dull gray metal, perhaps aluminum, with a strainer inside and a lid; it was part of a set but I am not really sure now if the other canisters were for flour, salt etc. When I cook bacon or sausage (which is rarely) I do still save the grease for flavoring other dishes. Other than her recipes, I don't think there is a lot else in the kitchen that I do the way she did, except the occasional canning/preserving for no other reason than the pleasure it gives me and reminds me of helping them both with this as a child. Oh, maybe her way of slipping a variety of vegetables into so many main courses -- like carrots in spaghetti sauce and meat loaf,

I spring clean and fall clean because that is what you do, and I Lysol everything because my mother did, and I keep my accounts in an account book because they did. And, I put on the radio and clean house on Saturdays (when I am not at work on Saturday) because that is what she did.

Both of my parents were children of the depression, and had hard times -- mother stayed with various family members through her childhood, father ended up in an orphanage (although, not an orphan -- it was not unusual for single or newly re-married parents to do this back then). Their experiences definitely have always inspired me to be as frugal as I can, and be content with small/used/basic for many things.

Now, you talk about my profession -- THAT is one where you see a lot of "it is done this way because that is the way we've always done it".

laughable, our mothers must have been taught the same Home-Ec course--always a vegetable or two at dinner (potatoes were not considered a vegetable). One thing I do not do as my mother did, is leave cooked food out overnight. She thought nothing of leaving a pot of beans or soup out the first night it was cooked. We all survived, maybe because the kitchen was in the 'basement' of a split entry, therefore a cooler temp (and somewhat cave-like--windows were at ground level).

I leave stuff out. Rarely meat, but soup or spaghetti to cool before I freeze it. I'm not germ-freaky, either. But I am germ-conscious. I think I grew up before they invented germ-panic. (Why this bacterial handwash stuff. Get your fat butt up off your chair and go to the sink and WASH THEM. That bacterial stuff doesn't remove plain old dirt....) So far, I've no died or even had tummy troubles from forgetting to put something in the fridge. It's just an oops.

We didn't do the grease can thing. It grossed my mom out. I remember having coffee cake at a friend's house and it was DELICIOUS. Turns out it had bacon grease in it. I was later grossed out, but oh, it was good. We just put it in a soup can and threw it out.

We weren't particularly frugal. My mom was not a bargain shopper. I'd heard rumor of that before I met my ex-in-laws, but never knew what or how to do it myself. I just bought what I needed where I'd always shopped.

Then I meet a SIL who split TP plys and rolled them onto 2 separate cardboard rolls. Who catered her "events" at Wa-Wa or 7-11. Who lived by shudda/cudda/wudda. "You shudda asked me because I wudda told you could cudda got it for $xxx at or by doing xxxx." Kinda horrified me when she wanted to photograph our wedding proofs to have them developed for us for cheap. As a wedding gift. And her family was a General Contractor family who had their plans and proposals stolen frequently, to be used by someone cheaper.

Then I {got rid of them} learned about Outlets.
Then dscount places like Loehman's, Marshall's, TJ max, Home Goods and defunct Bell's.
Moved to the country and found Wal-mart, then H4H, then thrift stores, then Freecycle.
Oh, how my shopping has changed. But my sisters' and (my mom's) habits remain unconcerned. I don't dare mention where or how I got things sometimes. Since I recognize quality when I see it, they never seem to guess. However, indigence has restructured my shopping habits. I still get/buy what I want, but differently.

See? People can change the stripes they were raised wearing! I'm proof and proud of it. :)
But my parents? Didn't get frugality from them. If I did, it's sure another kind than what I now know.

I wish I had lovely stories of cooking with the family and learning how to keep house etc. But no. Raise your hands if dysfunctional describes your family. Depression, heart disease, mental illness and horrific migraines describe my childhood household to a T. I inherited the horrific migraines and situational depression. The migraines are kept at bay in the last seven years and the situational depression continues.

My life is a 180 now that my DH and I can and do earn enough money to take care of us right. There's always fruits and veggies in the fridge. I can eat grapefruit and bananas any time I want. :) My adult children are in the tail end of receiving degrees in higher education, paid in full by us. Yay! :) :) :) All because I've found a way to control my and my husband's illnesses. I felt like an outsider in life before health was won. Health, mental and physical, is the ultimate freedom.

Unfortunately depressed migrainey people sleep a ton, so the cleaning, and the teaching of it, in my childhood home was minimal and inconsistent. I have not one drop of the cleaning gene. Luckily I am not a collector except of books so it has made it easier to let go of stuff. My DD has long ascribed my lack of cleaning style to my artsy nature. I'm not so sure. I attribute it more to very poor health. That and my loner ways were inherited from my parents.

The grease can (literally a tin can) is a strong memory of my
childhood. Bacon grease, in fact any grease, went in there and was
eaten, and used for cooking, by my mother. She cooked when she could, and we liked most of what she made, but her veggies were mushy. So in my home we're self taught. DH and I do lots of stir frys, and fresh and cooked veggies go on every breakfast lunch and dinner. I have favourite dishes that she made but have no muscle memory for how to make them. Of course the high sugar and fat in them would relegate them to once a year treats anyway.

We buy things 2nd hand or get them for free. Years of no money has me thinking over every purchase and not buying anything without looking over what I have and deciding whether I should save the money or not. We weren't exactly poor as a child but we weren't well off. We went without new clothes for years, so I guess frugality was demonstrated by my parents.

As usual TMI said. It seems to be all or nothing with me. :( If this is too personal please let me know. I'll delete it. I guess the topic touches some nerves.

Are you kidding? Personal? You've not read my rants everyone's put up with during the throes of my divorce, financial {crap} struggle, blah blah blah. You're an amateur, so don't worry one single bit. :)

You're also another example of someone changing the stripes they were raised wearing.

I deal with situational i-- depressing situations just plain cause that, don't they? It always helps me to realize it IS a situation and I can (eventually) change that.

All kidding aside, it sounds like you're creating the memories for your kids, that you might not have. A safe, working-towards-health family. Sounds like something to be proud of, to me!

{whisper} I can't stir fry, and I'd love to make a pot roast, but have no idea how. We had them as kids, but I didn't get those genes.

Ok Guys,

DH is laughing about the marble. Picture him saying, "I told you so!" The thing is, I have found a BEAUTIFUL 12X24 tile. My el measures 9", 31" 24" and 28" around a wall mount sink. I am very worried that the island will not compliment the marble we already have on the floor. I know it won't match, but it should compliment- and quite frankly the slab is too big for a site comparison ;^). As an art person I am all about the color! I can't take the floor there and I can't bring the slab here. Ladel will be used as a soap dish on sink. Other wall is walnut hutch and soon to be made by DH walnut cabinets. Yes, swans are for kitchen....I know crazy, but I so love them.

Swans and bluebirds. Love the combination! :)

Christine thank you. :0) I will leave my blabby post and let it all hang out. ;)

Love the swans too.

Yeona

Yeonassky - Wait until you bump into a thread that has me posting about my Mother-in-law! I applaud you for living outside of the childhood that you experienced and your kids will be the beneficiaries of that.

Why are swans crazy for a kitchen? Who said so?

Growing up I thought my mother was a good cook. Looking back, not so much. I learned how to make eggs and chocolate cake - the rest of my time was spent out in the field with my father. The only way to do something right was her way and my father said I am very much like my mother, which is probably why we never got along.

I don't usually post on this thread, but the "before their time trash pullout" resonated. No one knew where our garbage was either. I can't tell you what year, but I would think it was in the mid 60's that my father renovated their kitchen. Originally, the access from the back door was a right turn and 2 steps up into the kitchen. He closed off that entryway and turned the kitchen into a small U shape with the sink at the top of the U and the "old entry" to the right of the sink. In that corner he had an opening in the countertop (similar to the Blanco Salon) to a full sized garbage can. The garbage can itself could only be accessed from the back door (think back of a peninsula). In retrospect, it was brilliant, coat and boots put on at the back door and then take the garbage out of the container. Never any spillage or tracking through the kitchen!

Why we do what we do.
Well. Veering off course, Why do we do something? Last night, I had to Heimlich someone. A rather large lady. Didn't even think twice about doing this, even though it's only been in training, 20 years ago, that I had to do it to be certified. I'm sure that expired.

But later people asked me how I knew to do it, how I knew to jump in, when to do it, and just plain why did I do it?

Wouldn't you?
If someone were choking, couldn't talk, couldn't breathe, was even having a hard time remaining upright? (I had side support with 2 other people arriving.) And let me tell 'ya, it's not just one big, under the rib cage jerk like TV or training. It was 10 million, I think. Ok, maybe 10 or 15 jerks, but each one she got a little better. Perhaps the weight caused it to be more difficult, but eventually, poor thing was able to get prime rib out of herself.

Later, I got the liability questions and wasn't I afraid, blah blah blah. I can't imagine that even entering someone's mind in the face of someone actually facing preventable death.

After she was OK, the paramedics arrived. She's have been dead by then. All they wanted to do was take paperwork, etc. (The daughter wouldn't give her mom's info, because she said all they were going to do was try to bill her for doing nothing. Never would'a thought of that, either.)

Why? How? Worried? Not when the lady was sitting there after, smiling and relieved. That smile, no longer blue-ish, was all it took for me.

I think I now know why my arms are sore today.
Anyway, I was freaked out shaking afterwards. But that's how I ... roll! {LOL} I am fine in an emergency, but fall apart later.

What do you do, why do you do it? In an emergency?

"Mashed potatoes with corn is pretty normal around here. I can't count the number of times I've seen others mix their corn into their potatoes"

yep, I love that! it's been a very long time tho since I don't really cook much anymore. but think I'll buy some corn to have in the freezer for a meal down the road...

"not just one big, under the rib cage jerk like TV or training"

not sure I could do that... because I'm so short. Maybe on a kid I'd be able to. great going in saving a life!

So interesting how we just follow certain routines that we observed growing up.

I used to (until I finally realized) shake the milk container before I used it. Someone finally asked me why I did that. I had to pause, (I knew my mom always did it and so did I) then it hit me, my mom would buy a lot of milk and would freeze it. Hence the shaking to make the water and milk mix together properly.

aktillery9, my 1st husband took the milk out of the fridge and shook it. My dad asked him why, stating that it was pasteurized and didn't need it. I can't remember if my dad shook it, but I've never known anyone not to. OJ, pineapple juice (which separates badly) hot sauce, you name it, I shake it. Good thing I don't drink pop.

So who puts their ketchup in the fridge and who leaves it out (once opened)? It does not say it has to be refrigerated after opening but we always do just because - college roommate never did. That's how I learned refrigeration was an 'option'.

Christine way to go! You stored that EMT stuff in the way back and not only acted but did a great job! I am absolutely not cool under that type of situation pressure. :( My son broke his leg when he was 20 months old and my husband had to tell me to pull myself together. I was walking in circles with my hand over my mouth doing absolutely nothing but panicking. I think I did grab the diaper bag at some point but I couldn't even think straight at all. He is a first responder (and you can clearly tell) thank goodness.

Technically, with the vinegar in catsup it's not supposed to need it.
That said, with as many bottles as I've seen fermented (restaurant work) and with maggots in it (outside dining areas)? Refrigerator. I will only eat catsup if I'm the one that opens the bottle. Married catsup is enough to make me projectile yak.

I think I'd be a good first responder. Frequently I seem to be! LOL! Even at the yoga studio, they'll get me out of class if they have an injury or emergency. Or computer problems. I've never understood how panicking. I didn't realize for people it's not a choice until recently.

Good job, Christine! Isn't there a "Good Samaritan Law" that prevents people from suing you if your intent was to do a good thing? In Canada I believe there is, so even if you broke six of her ribs, you saved her life, so what would she prefer, six broken ribs or to be dead? Someone who would sue over that has rocks in their head if you ask me. I don't tend to panic in an emergency, but I have also worked as a Correctional Officer for many years and am currently another type of Law Enforcement Officer so I guess it's been ingrained in me. I try to teach the boys not to panic because it won't help the situation. Shortly after my older boy was at ER with a broken finger and I wanted to punch someone in the throat for panicking (I told the boys I wanted to and explained why), my younger son came flying up to me at home with blood streaming down his leg all excited that I'm bleeding! I cut my leg! I could see it wasn't bad. I said Are you panicking? He said NO! So I said, all right what are you going to do? He calmed down and said I'm going to wash it and put a band-aid on it. I asked if he wanted help and he claimed he could do it himself, which he did.

I shake chocolate milk and juice, nothing else. I put ketchup in the fridge though my parents do not. My Dad is from the Maritimes and he puts mashed carrots/turnip mix on his mashed potatoes. If I'm eating that, I put it on the side.

Perhaps if it wasn't my baby I'd be more clear headed but when I saw the leg flop over and dangle when I picked him up I lost it. His cry was like no other I'd heard out of him before. That was all there was. Blood and stuff doesn't really bother me so bad and I've handled all of the myriad of cuts and scrapes and burns with no issue. Choking though was always my fear when they were little even though my husband went through CPR with me several times. I prayed I would never have to use it.

My boys including the biggest boy their Dad put ketchup on eggs, tacos, potatoes, things I'd never think of.

I've had emergency situations where I was calm and was able to use my First Aid training. I then panicked after it was all over. And others where I totally lost it and was just in the way of those helping. I have no idea why. None were life-threatening situations. Mainly sports injuries. Only one was my own family. My DH. I was calm during that one as I knew it was important in order to help keep him calm.

Good job, Christine! Do I understand it right that the woman continued to eat afterwards? Wow...I think I would have lost my appetite for days if I thought I was dying.

Ketchup goes in the fridge. I think it tastes better cold. I don't use it much but the rest of my family used to put it on everything. After I stepped up my game in the kitchen and started cooking more interesting meals, usually healthier, and learned to marinate and use more seasonings and sauces, I vetoed use of ketchup on everything until they had at least tasted it first. It now takes us months to go through a bottle of ketchup, not weeks. All the more reason to keep it in the fridge, right?

Maggots, Christine? Ack!!! And what is married ketchup? Do I even wanna know.

Married catsup isn't all that romantic. {g} It's when you take one bottle and pour it into another to make a full bottle. Imagine the generations of catsup. It's illegal in my county now, but...

I think people who put catsup on everything are similar to those who put steak sauce on everything. They're addicted to the bite of the vinegar. Such a shame, actually.

You were so wise to insist people taste their food first. That's called doing something mindful. Mindful eating is one of the ways to control appetite and intake. To appreciate every bite. (She said, as she sucked down espresso and ate the chocolate off the Reese's.)

My dh says ketchup is a vegetable in a bottle.......we go through a LOT of it.

Interestingly my own threshold for pain is quite high and I am able to keep myself calm - especially in the presence of young ones so as not to panic them. I had a sledding accident several years back with a church group of youngsters (seriously now who does that?) that almost knocked me out and required 9 stitches and I was calm as can be and didn't even notice I was bleeding until we went back to church an hour later. No wonder why I felt that burn like no other. Can't have my babies and everyone else's worried about the Mom who is so klutzy she can sled that saucer off the path and into the brush. It was moving so fast like that scene in Christmas vacation (and it turned me around so I didn't see it coming). That saucer was really flying! Never been on that hill again.

I always thought it was the sugar in ketchup that people craved. It's the second ingredient in ketchup while vinegar is the third. Married ketchup sounds disgusting and a petri dish of growing germs. Ours is kept in the fridge. It doesn't get used very much.

Christine - Well done!

So fun to read all your stories.

For clothes and so on, I tend to buy cheap things, not enough of them, and use them too long. I splash out on impractical (but lovely) items like vintage paintings and run around with underwear and shirts with holes. That's what my mother did… well, sort of. She splashed out on stuff for herself and I ran didn't have enough/good enough clothes. It's only this year that I realized I'm repeating that, all in one person! So I decided no more crap. I just ordered 15 pairs of my favorite underwear just so I can always have enough and chuck out the "laundry day" stuff that is no good any more.

Congrats on your save of the prime rib lady. I bet she was smiling at you! I'm a not brave. I'm a screaming panic-er. But I'm going in 2 weeks to take my Red Cross First Aid course for the first time. Always wanted to. :) Hope it will train away my panic -i-ness.

Ouch on the stitches and broken bones. I've broken my thumb when someone stepped on it during a baseball game, and fractured my arm falling off of a too big for me bike. all minor stuff. Also been in a car that was hit by a drunk driver. The drunk driver was killed, the driver of our car was scratched up and my girl friend lost partial mobility of her arm for life. Our car rolled over. I got up and walked away with not a scratch, so have been very lucky. I went through a few scares with my children and was glad for the emergency room to take care of them. Lucky I just had to panic.

Ketchup is in the fridge. No marrying here. I've seen bugs in the stuff so it spends its life behind fridge doors when not in use. My DH puts that stuff on everything. I read it's the great great great grandchild of fish sauce from China.

Christine- you saved a life! Not many can say that!

I like to think I'm the type that won't panic but since I've never been in a true life threatening situation, I can't know for sure.

I was an athletic trainer in high school, in football country, so I've had my fair share of calming injured persons down. This is completely anecdotal but football players are WAY more "sissy" than softball/volleyball girls.

I had to restrain several girls and tell them "NO, I need to look at that ankle!" while I had to tell at least one football player to get up and get off the field!

The closest "panic" experience I've had was when my 2 year old severely burned herself. I only had panicky feelings AFTER she was at the hospital. During the moment, I was in the moment, using the skills and knowledge I had to help her.

Did I ever mention my original "when I'm grown up I want to be..." was a doctor?

Probably helps that my dad was a first responder and I remember sitting around the dinner table and him telling about reaching into a guys broken leg and pinching the femoral artery shut. When we were at a family gathering later and he was sharing the story, others were disgusted and couldn't finish their meals!! That's when I learned that other people have a different tolerance/panic level than we (my family) do.

Marrying ketshup....EWWWW!!!!!!! Look, I'll save the old, almost empty bottle (in the fridge) to use next time but mixing them? Bleh!!

Shaken, not stirred? All juices, salsa, ranch, BBQ sauce, basically all condiments, chocolate milk, tea.

I'm a southern gal but growing up my mom only drank unsweetened tea. It wasn't until I was a teenager that I learned that southern iced tea is generally sweet tea.

Still can't stand it to this day. IF I'm going to have tea it will be iced and NOT sweet!

Also, no one else has said it but can I just say that canned veggies need to die a horribly slow painful death? The only veggies I got growing up (remember mom HATED cooking) were canned. Canned corn (Meh, OK in a pinch) canned peas (SOOO mushy!!), canned carrots (OK, if I can't have fresh I actually do prefer canned to frozen), canned beets (BLEH!!! Still my most hated veggie to this day) canned green beans (THIS is LITERALLY the worst!!! Salty, limpy, bad flavor yuckiness put in a can!!!)

The only one I actually liked and still buy/stock my pantry with is hominey.

My canned goods storage is very different from my moms. Her pantry was/is stocked with canned veggies, soups, beans, etc.

The cans in my pantry are generally tomato sauce/paste (hoping to start growing my own next year!!), and prepped beans. Pinto, black, refried, black eyed peas, etc.

I really want to start my garden next year and grow tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic and herbs to start with.

Hopefully, years from now, my daughters will talk about mom's atrocious pantry with ready made foods because they have grown accustomed to having fresh food. :)

T_G, they'll probably talk about their MIL's awful pantry, because they'll get it from you. :)

I like frozen vs. canned, but also have my canned stock. Tomatoes, corn (sorry, but I don't cook it) and then everything else is broths, or ... well... tuna. Never thought about it until now! My neighbor plants tomatoes (which is a sure way to lose all your friends) that I take and freeze. Cut an 'x' on the bottom and throw 'em in the freezer. When thawed, they act like they've been blanched and the skin comes right off.

yeonassky, I think panic often comes from not knowing what to do. There are those of us who just do somthing (!!) and those of us you somehow recall we know to do something. Very small, fine line. I think you might find you do react differently. Hopefully, if all goes well in the world, you'll never need to use those skills. Know what I mean, bean?

Ahoyhere!? I think I'm the same way.
I'll definitely spend on things for the house. Furniture, used to be artwork, and gadgets. I realized my wardrobe has severely suffered over the past 10 years. I have yoga clothes (usually consisting of a very old country western T-shirt and leggings) uniforms, and gardening clothes: older jeans, same T-shirts and any socks I can find. Don't have to match.

The holey socks become rags for staining furniture and doors. But you should see me when I go to the store: HD or Lowe's for project stuff and Wal-mart to load my debit card. I can't tell you the last time I entered a different kind of store. Oh - grocery. But it's surprising they don't kick me out. There are street people who dress better than I do. I had to do penance at work and cover 3 hostess shifts. I had to wear my uniform because I didn't have anything {that fit} decent, nice enough, nor coordinating. Sure change from the way I grew up and lived until about 15 years ago.

This morning I had a flock of pilated woodpeckers in my front and back yard. I'm used to the blue jays and cardinals, and an occasional blue bird (incredible blue!) but woodpeckers? Get this: they were all over the two piles of wood chips I have left from the tree trimming people. I have to put them into my gardens, but the birds were really into them. They also liked the raised beds where the chips already were. Where were they during termite season and the swarming? Both males and females. I've not experienced such a thing. Getting time for the crows to do their huge, massive sweep through the area. Usually November. Oh, it is November! Well...

I can't NOT shake the milk. I realize I'm doing it only after I've done it and set it down. (It's nonfat, there isn't any cream gonna rise to the top!) I'm sure I got that from my mom, who had to milk the cow before going to school. And yeah, I think nothing of leaving a pot of beans on the stove overnight, although my husband raises an eyebrow, he hasn't died yet or even gotten sick after 30 years. I'm not saying I recommend it, just that I leave them out to cool and forget to go back!

But then there are the things I grew up with that I absolutely will not do. I will wait til the morning after to do the dishes, but I will not soak them overnight in the sink in such a way that I have to reach into a sinkfull of cold greasy icky water with my bare hands in order to wash them. Nope. My mom would always do that, then tell me it was my turn to wash the dishes.

And I will re-fold the towels if I don't like the way the edges are hanging out, but I don't know if I can blame that one on any one else.

My MIL is one that will put things away as soon as you turn your back, but she's a sweet person, so I've gotten used to it. ("Where are my shoes, they were right here 30 seconds ago? But they were not IN the closet.)

Christine, that tip about how to freeze tomatoes is brilliant. Thanks! But I kinda wish I hadn't asked what married ketchup is. Blech!

I had to downsize my fridge to get one that fits in the new fridge niche during our partially done, painfully slow remodel. So I bought squeeze bottles for the mayo, ketchup and mustard as they take up less space. The larger bottles go in the garage fridge. But I always wash them before refilling. Good grief! Just realized sometimes DH has filled them when I'm not around and I betcha the farm he doesn't wash them out. Great, I've probably eaten married ketchup, mayo and mustard without knowing it. Blech!!!! Might get out my trusty label-maker and put "Wash before refilling" labels on those squeeze bottles. My label-maker has been a God-send.

Texas, I was all shake tea?? and then I realized that of course, you live in Texas and you meant ice tea. I drink hot tea and couldn't grasp the shaking thing. Kinda slow. LOL Anyway, I bring my own teabags now when I go to the US. It would seem no one in Ohio, Michigan or Indiana drinks orange pekoe tea, so I just ask for the hot water. I lose my mind if I can't have hot tea on a daily basis. For ice tea, I prefer it sweet, but then again, I am not drinking cold "hot tea" like Americans do. Canned carrots? I've only seen those mixed with peas I think. Weird. My pantry consists of canned tomatoes/sauces, dry pasta, sugar/flour etc. and some canned beans, and lunch snacks for the boys. I do have canned soup for emergency lunches when I don't have anything for lunch at work.

Maybe we should have a thread 'What do you NOT do because your mother did?'. In many ways I'm the opposite of Mom when it comes to the kitchen. She's not much of a cook or housekeeper. Keeping a clean house was never a priority, either. I'm not a fanatic, but after being married to Mrs. Clean for over 30 years, I have gradually become the same way. I HATE a sink full of dishes soaking in cold, nasty water. Now that we have a shiny new kitchen with a place for everything, I'm trying to keep it that way every day.

I need to add that unfortunately keeping the house as clean as my mother did went by the wayside when I became a single working mother. Dusting, vacuuming, scrubbing, floors (except for the shower and sinks) became once per week chores. Make the bed? Iron everything? forget it! Now that my DD is an adult, a clean and tidy house is becoming my normal again! But I still don't clean the car and the garage and basement are wrecks.

Pot roast. Use bone in chuck, not round. More connective tissue that gets soft with braising. Chuck eye or 7 bone. Brown the meat. Braise in a Dutch oven in broth at 250-275, two or three hours, put in in vegetables, one hour more. Might add flour, we don't. We do braise in oven for even heat.

My mother was a terrible cook, her idea of pot roast was a cut of round, sprinkled with Lipton onion soup mix, wrapped in aluminum foil and baked into submission. Canned vegetables on the side. More often, TV dinners. Which we preferred to her cooking. The above recipe took me years to work out. My grandmothers cooked like angels, but I never stood by them and watched. I have taught myself to recreate one grandmother's pot roast, the other's red beans and rice (soak the beans in salt water, yes, you read that right), but not their gumbo. Working on it. My mother lives on canned vegetables and Ensure.

I have an image of Hestia, goddess of the hearth, architecture and domesticity, because she appeals to me. When I was younger, I was a road runner, speaking metaphorically. I kept my shoes by the door and was never home. Now I still keep my shoes by the door but am always home except when I am working. I see my home as an extension of myself, and an expression of myself. When I look at the rooms I have completed, I feel great peace, and great joy.

I hate my kitchen, but it's one of the things I can change.

I'm probably the age of your grandmothers - I'm 72. I do many things my mother did but not all (she would have probably said none!). When I used to fry bacon, I always kept the drippings in an old coffee can ( they used to be metal and the had a reusable top). My mother was southern and eggs were always tried in it and green beans cooked with it. I haven't fried bacon in years - am in love with the quick boxed variety. My mother taught me to cleanup as I cooked and I always do - can't even think straight with chaos on my countertops.

I do do draw the line at my mother's habit of rinsing out a paper towel and the drying it on a towel rack for re-use. My parents were born in 1901 and 1908 and never forgot the depression and rationing in WWII.