Alarming, amusing, amazing things other people do

[Genny]

Woo hoo! Leave it to my fellow eGers to crack me up in the morning! This is an interesting thread!

Alarming: Yes, we all have our isms! My open garbage can lives under the sink unless I'm working a meal that involves a lot of chopping, then I pull it out and put it next to me for easy tossing. Bare-footer here! I find the jump-back technique an admirable test of reflexes and can agree that I've far more cuts and burns on my hands and arms than feet. To date: Zero on the feet, hands: countless. I have tile floors though so I will often put on my flip flops or crocs for cushion, not protection.

I will admit, I have a great friend who is a fabulous cook but she seems to wash all her dishes in 2" of cold, barely soapy water and rinse them in a dribble of water to let them air dry. It seems a bit icky. She never has dirty dishes waiting to be washed and I've never gotten sick from eating her food so it must not be too bad.

Amazing: Watching my SIL cut an onion. She comes out with pretty even slices even though the damn thing is rolling around as she chases it with a dull knife. Whew! I want to grab it but I just can't bring myself to out of morbid fascination. That and she even measures the pepper and salt b/c she only cooks from a recipes. 99% of the time they turn out just fine!

I do *love* going to other people's homes and watch or join them in the kitchen as it provides me with an invaluable opportunity to possibly learn a new technique or method of doing. Just watching my friend make rice in the Iranian style she learned from her MIL was fascinating!

Amusing: After hosting my family for Thanksgiving for the last 5 years in a row, I've learned that it is far preferable to keep my sanity than to clean my own kitchen after cooking for 3 days. I can put stuff away in the right place later. I have instructed my helpers on what is hand-wash and what can go in the dishwasher and then I walk away. It was *so* hard at first, but now I think I'm a better hostess for being able to welcome others into my kitchen to work with me and visit during clean-up.

[jsmeeker]

Watching someone attempt to make a meal when both sinks are piled high with dirty dishes, the dishwasher is in mid-cycle and there's barely 6 square inches of clear counter space - ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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when did you visit my kitchen???

This is me A LOT of times. I hate doing the dishes. After I cook, I just hate spending the time to fully clean up. I like to And I always forget to run the dishwasher. I always intend to wait until just before I go to bed, then start it. Then, I forget. And forget again in the morning on the way to work. Then I come home to dirty dishes and stuff in the dishwahser and soem dirty pots and pans and whatnot piled up in and next to the sink. My drain board/rack is my primary storage spot these days, it seems.

yeah... I'm bad about that.

The kitchen is pretty small to begin with, though. So, even when clean, there is little work space.

[bergerka]

Okay okay okay...I confess...this morning, in a bleary-eyed state (despite a nice shower) resulting from staying up until 4:00 a.m. on an "urgent" translation, and in desperate need of caffeine, I made my morning coffee in my birthday suit. I'm sure it would not have been a pretty sight had anyone walked in on me. 

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er, well, actually, I did the same. not at your house though, and it was instant coffee (long story, I was at my bf's house and he is currently on instant for a variety of reasons, one of the good ones being that he's a pilot and frequently has to get up at 4 am and does not even want to THINK about anything taking any more effort than that at that hour - one of these days I'll just lug the mukka over there and make him coffee, but I'm afraid I'll never get it back), so does it even count?

I flatter myself that it was a REASONABLY pretty sight, though. And I don't do it at home, I'm morally opposed to scaring my roommates.

[Porthos]

And I always forget to run the dishwasher. I always intend to wait until just before I go to bed, then start it. Then,  I forget.

This used to be a problem because our old dishwasher wa just slightly less noisy than a space shuttle launch (or so it seemed.) Our last dishwasher was so quiet that we couldn't here it at the other end of the room. For unimportant reasons it failed and by the time I had both time and money it get it fixed the motor/pump had rusted together and would not longer work period. Been hand-washing dishes for half a year. But hold what yonder light breaks - can it be - yes! yes! yes! it is the glint of light off of the shiny new replacment dishwasher. That cardboard carton holds a true treasure, the end of my hand-washing days. The replacement dishwasher will be installed (by me) this Firday. And I reqd through the warranty this time so as not to get stuck if this one fails prematurily.

[hummingbirdkiss]

some people wear clothing to make coffee ??? what do you do you get dressed to make it?

I can not see to find clothing before coffee!

I am feeling more and more at home here you guys!!!!

[viva]

I never knew there were so many nudist coffee drinkers in the world...

[baconburner]

Hi

I used to be in the chemical business. Soaps or detergents had to have bubbles or people thought it wasn't working! The opposite was true. Wonderful smells masked the delightful smell of grease. It is called marketing.

Cheers

[jgm]

Soaps or detergents had to have bubbles or people thought it wasn't working! The opposite was true.

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Would you care to say more about that? I've always wondered whether there's a point where the soap isn't doing its thing anymore. Would love to have more info about it.

[Nancy in Pátzcuaro]

My hubby and I have always washed our dishes using the running-water system, though because we live in Colorado we turn the water off while soaping and turn it on just to rinse. It saves water and avoids that greasy lukewarm water in the sink. I think the dishes get cleaner this way. My darling spouse has always washed dishes for me, from the first time I cooked dinner for him when we were dating. Sometimes he complains about the volume of cookware, but even after 35 years he still does it, and does it well.

I admit to being very uneasy when I hear water running continuously, and so would you if you grew up in a house with a 3/4 gallon-a-minute well. You couldn't do a load of laundry and take a shower at the same time--meant you had to plan ahead.

As for icky kitchen moments, I was in my in-laws' kitchen several years ago, making a huge pot of vegetable soup while they were at a doctor's office. Having peeled and chopped all the vegs, I tried to use the garbage disposal. I did not realize that despite having lived in the house for 10 years they had never used it before, except to rinse out the coffee grounds. To my horror the damned thing came loose from its seal and poured a flood of vegetable trimmings, old coffee grounds, unidentifiable goo, and foul-smelling water all over the kitchen floor and my feet. I was still trying to clean it up when they came home. The soup was good, though.

N.

[RobertCollins]

I guess some would have a cow if they visited my kitchen. I don't have a lid for my garbage cans, they have their own drawers- they also go out often and more in the summer.

I have been known to go read the paper and leave the supper dishes 'til the morning. I mostly practice the basic hygiene things, the most important being to often wash my hands.

I guess I'd sum up my view of much that has been written in this thread; Hygiene is important as is basic workplace safety, much of this thread borders on just plain being anal. Now some would annoy me as well but I just wouldn't go back like to the house with the damn cats on the counter [hasn't anyone ever sprayed the cats with a soap solution, they, cats, are trainable].

[Special K]

About the barefoot issue, we also take off our shoes when we enter the house, BUT we each keep a pair of kitchen-dedicated Danskos handy, for safety's sake. The shoes are clean, the floor is clean, and our feet are safe! As I mentioned earlier, $267 a stitch!!

About holding off on doing the dishes until the next morning, I used to do that - it was just the thing for my arthritic hands, which always ache more in the morning. Now I have a dishwasher, which I run at bedtime, and a hot tub, which helps all of the arthritic joints.

My kitchen garbage goes in a small bag that hangs in a gizmo on the inside of the cabinet door below the sink. Also lurking there is my (open) compost bin. Both go out at least nightly, so nothing sits in there long enough to stink up the place. I think the bag-hanger thingie actually came with a lid, but I removed it because it made for an extra step (when I'm working, I just keep the door open and toss things in either the bin or the bag as necessary. And of course the cabinet gets cleaned and sanitized regularly.

And I've got the solution to the cat on the counter problem. Mine's too fat to jump up there! Actually, he's pretty svelte now, but when we first moved here and found him (the previous owners had abandoned him!) he was a bit on the portly side. Early on I saw him try to jump on the counter and fail miserably; he's never tried since.

Aside: He doesn't jump on the counter anymore, but when he gets hungry he goes looking for food. He can open any drawer or cupboard in the house, and he never closes any of them! Sometimes I come out to the kitchen in the morning and it looks like that scene from The Sixth Sense (below the counter only, of course)!

[sazji]

Okay okay okay...I confess...this morning, in a bleary-eyed state (despite a nice shower) resulting from staying up until 4:00 a.m. on an "urgent" translation, and in desperate need of caffeine, I made my morning coffee in my birthday suit. I'm sure it would not have been a pretty sight had anyone walked in on me.  

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You must have forgotten two important sayings, sazji, due to lack of sleep.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Pretty is as pretty does.

Dangerous kitchen activity perhaps, but certainly not unbecoming.

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Thank you for your vote of confidence. I bet if I posted a photo, you'd change yer tune pretty darn quick.

[sazji]

Now some would annoy me as well but I just wouldn't go back like to the house with the damn cats on the counter [hasn't anyone ever sprayed the cats with a soap solution, they, cats, are trainable].

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Ah, but cats are also smart. What a cat learns in this case is: "Never go up on the counter when you are around, especially if you have a spray bottle in your hand!"

[Genny]

This is me A LOT of times.  I hate doing the dishes. After I cook, I just hate spending the time to fully clean up. I like to  And I always forget to run the dishwasher. I always intend to wait until just before I go to bed, then start it. Then,  I forget.  And forget again in the morning on the way to work.  Then I come home to dirty dishes and stuff in the dishwahser and soem dirty pots and pans and whatnot piled up in and next to the sink.    My drain board/rack is my primary storage spot these days, it seems.       

yeah...  I'm bad about that.

The kitchen is pretty small to begin with, though. So, even when clean, there is little work space.

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jsmeeker, you must be my twin! This describes my attitude and behavior towards dishes completely! I keep telling my hubby that if he wants me to cook more, he must clean more

( If only I could get bergerka to move in...I know for a fact that she does dishes at night and ... I wouldn't care if she got her coffee in her birthday suit, my DH and I would be long gone for work by the time she got up anyway!! )

Edited July 25, 2007 by Genny (log)

[Natho]

My hubby and I have always washed our dishes using the running-water system, though because we live in Colorado we turn the water off while soaping and turn it on just to rinse. It saves water and avoids that greasy lukewarm water in the sink.

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In Queensland (east australia) where I live we are in the worst drought in something like 150 years. The government has us taking 4 minute showers and is threatening to cut off the water to anyone who uses too much...