Talley, Enquiring minds want to know--how do you spend that down time? You know, the time you are sitting at the kid's lessons, those 10 min. while you are waiting for the pasta water to boil? We have a regular coffee klatch going while waiting for the kids to practice Irish Dance. Everyone brings some type of handywork and it creates ways to develop friendships. The mom who sits in the corner punching her PDA makes it pretty clear she's not interested in getting to know us. Her loss. I'm not there. I'm at work. And I don't have a PDA, cell phone, etc. If I *am* there, I just talk to people, or I watch the kids. I don't DO anything. I sit there an enjoy the down time, and listen, and talk. Believe me, nobody gets a message from me that says I don't care. I sometimes bring a book, but if there are people there, I don't read it. I'm not even the one waiting for the pasta water to boil, LOL! (If I am, I'm cutting up veggies while I wait.) I'm not anti-crafting. I just see so much of it as creating something that will turn into "clutter" quite rapidly. And so I have a huge caution about it. Scrapbooking in particular sets off my alarm bells--and really less because of the clutter factor, and more because I think there's a sublimation of the important stuff--the memories--to the unimportant stuff, the embellishments and creativity of the creator. And while I admire the skill of crocheters and knitters and embroiderers, etc., very few of them produce anything I would want in my home. It's mostly too ornamental, and not practical enough. Or it reflects THEIR tastes, and not mine. (The days of my grandma embroidering a book on a pillowcase because *I* like to read are over.) And sometimes it reflects what they *THINK* my tastes and interests are, which only makes me sad to realize how little they really know about me (yes, I collect penguins, but that doesnt mean I want a penguin pillowcase). Which is why I keep my fingers crossed that no one will give stuff like that to me. I'm also tired, I confess, of having my home NOT reflect me. I want stuff *I* picked out. I don't even want to have to display stuff my KIDS made me anymore. I want a streamlined life, that pleases MY eyes, and seven pieces of lumpy kid pottery are seven pieces more than I want in my living room. And an afghan that's wonderful to sleep under, but misshapen and pieced together isn't what I want on my bed, even if Nona Rosa DID make it. (I'm sad about that particular one, bcs if she hadn't pieced it together to get it the right size, I'd use it daily instead of keeping it for a spare, bcs it's so warm, and because she DID make it for me.) As Maura said: "I cherish the one-of-a-kind items given to me (luckily not too many)." I *do* crafty stuff. I just spent the last week 1) making a dragon piñata, complete w/ pipe cleaner/tissue paper wings, plus papier-mâché head & tail; 2) finding a dragon picture to reproduce on the top of a cake; 3) making shields for all the "young knights of the realm" to decorate; 4) figuring out how to have jousting in the church fellowship hall. I steer all my creative impulses into birthdays and holidays, so that I can use up the stuff I've created. I go way overboard for Halloween costumes, spending several lunch hours scouting fabric, and discussing how to recreate Link from the Zelda video game, etc., with my kids, and with my colleagues. Also, if the act of knitting, and the creative work of picking a yarn, and a pattern, make you happier, then your craft is NOT a waste of time. But *I* don't want to have to speak in hushed tones, and treat your end product as though somehow it must be more valuable to me simply because you made it. Somebody designed and made that Pottery Barn afghan too--and it's prettier, and more to my taste!

I visited a friend's house a few weeks ago. Her spices were something to behold. I've never seen anything quite like it. They were on tiered shelves, but that wasn't what impressed me. It was the chart on the inside of the cupboard door. Think Bingo chart, or a spreadsheet. Each row and column was labeled on one sheet. A1 A2 A3 A4 A5 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5, etc. Then there was a master list, in alphabetical order. Need cilantro? Look down the list. Oh, Row A, Jar 12. Glance at the "bingo chart" for orientation, and then boop, there it was in that spot on the shelf. I'd never be able to keep up with it, personally, but I could goggle in wonderment! Mine? They're in a cardboard box in the cupboard over my stove (shhh). It fits perfectly. I drag it out when I'm cooking and set it on the counter. The jar lids are labeled and placed in random order. There are less than 20 or so spices in there, so it's good enough. (Sweet spices are elsewhere.) When I'm done, the kit and caboodle goes back up and in. Someday I hope to have them in the shallow wall niche as described above, though.

I just read that article this morning and other than having a comfy chair and TV in the kitchen (or open kitchen/FR plan), I think it's off-base. Yes, having the TV, comfy seating, and snacks nearby (without having to take eyes off the screen) does encourage mindless eating. Even if you don't buy snack food, I think some studies in the past have shown that eating dinner in front of the TV encourages you to eat more without realizing it. Something conversation doesn't? But I use my MW to reheat leftovers, not Hot Pockets, so I think it encourages healthier eating. As far as cereal, well, if you're eating whole grain cereals and oatmeal, I don't see that having them out makes you eat more - now maybe if you buy sugary chocolate-flavored cereals and the boxes or clear containers are out on the counter, the kids will snack on them. As far as clutter, I wish I could get rid of DD's school projects and hair ribbons and binders etc. that she leaves on the counter next to the fruit bowl (and coffeepot). I also have a bowl stuffed with my old digital camera and odds and ends I should empty out. I did clear a lot of her stuff away when I started filling the breakfast bar with bowls of ripe tomatoes that need to be processed - I did 7 quarts of tomatoes the other day but picked 23 gallons more of tomatoes yesterday (in the garage, but sorted through what I had out there and brought more in). Maybe in another month my counters won't be cluttered with tomatoes, canning jars and rings, and I won't have a 12 qt stockpot and a pressure canner permanently installed on my stove. Not to mention the 2 cases of canning jars (1 washed and ready for the next batch, 1 partially filled with full jars waiting to be carried to the basement) sitting in the DR! Oh, and the counter by the sink is always filled with colanders and DS's water bottles and aluminum cookware and plastic bowls that need to be handwashed, or the dish drainer is full of them drying. I run the DW twice a day on days that I'm canning and I still have stuff piling up in the dishpan and the counter. I think it's the white rice and pasta (have to have something to eat with all these tomatoes!) making me fat, not the design of my kitchen! Sometimes I think it's people with uncluttered kitchens who don't cook, they eat out or MW meals, maybe they're more overweight than people who do cook? Time to go make the salsa...(and we don't have any chips in the house, DH is going to have to buy some if he wants them, they are too tempting for me. I use the salsa as a chili starter along with whole canned tomatoes)

Can't edit my above post (says file not found?????). The keys are actually "Win+Shift+S", not "Win+Ctrl+S" as I mistakenly posted. Thanks badabing2, but "snip & sketch" is in fact "Win+Shift+S" as I mentioned above. It doesn't work now as it did before. To update, I did succeed with "Win+Shift+S", outlining an image, and then creating a new blank image file in IrfanView (my pic viewer/editor) & while hovering the cursor in the blank image, pasting by hitting Ctrl+V. This was NOT how I did it before, but at least got it to work. Still, seems harder than it should be. Remember, I'm not using the PrtSc (print screen) key as this isn't what I want -- I want just an image cut from the screen.