u/LizDances

This week was “Bread and Circuses Week” at my house. I planned four food-related activities and four free entertainment activities for the family (currently three of us living here, two adults and a competent teen).

Our food activities were (to encourage eating at home, cooking from scratch, food prep):

1. Cookie baking activity (made a double batch of chocolate chip cookie dough, baked 1/4 of the yield [1/2 of one batch], and froze three logs of dough for later)
2. Blackberry pie filling canning activity (made 7.5 quarts of pie filling from the two full-to-bursting gallon ziplocks of foraged berries in the freezer…also note this was *after* having canned 5+ pints of jam. There are a LOT of Himalayan blackberries growing in Portland.)
3. Naan making activity (made simple flour-and-yogurt naan to go with a curry dinner, and froze half the yield)
4. Burrito prep activity (made BRC burritos for the freezer for lunches, to cut down on our family’s not-insignificant collective intake of Pizza Rolls and Hot Pockets)

Our free-entertainment activities were:

1. Board/card/table game night (we picked Cards Against Humanity…before you judge me too harshly for playing this with a teen the deck is mildly cleaned up and we have a rule about discarding anything that makes you TOO uncomfortable)
2. Jackbox game night (I don’t love the ones that involve drawing, but Quiplash is a perennial favorite, and Talking Points is pretty fun too)
3. Movie night (we picked Vacation…it has like 25% on Rotten Tomatoes but for whatever reason we cannot get enough of this movie…we own it and have seen it like 4-5+ times together)
4. Live entertainment night (we attended an improv show and jam put on by a local friend which was free for spectators)

The four food activities might be more obvious as to the “why” in terms of prep, but I value the entertainment almost as much, because it is 1. helping us to not spend money unnecessarily (and therefore save up) during a time when food and gas prices are curving up, and 2. bringing us together as a family and making us talk more. My gosh, you can’t believe how comfortable I am talking about sex and politics and war and ANYTHING with my teen after some rounds of Cards Against Humanity. 

Anyway. Posting because I hope that this “trip report” inspires others to plan fun weeklong goal/projects at home :)

Thank you, GradImages, for making my pics so breathtakingly hideous that I feel no second thoughts about rejecting purchasing them. That's considerate customer service 🫶

Saw the ProShot last night, cried the full 2+hrs, and then as we were leaving the theater, I told her I wouldn't look back to check she was behind me. My gods, that's a good show.

(Okay I just watched Hail Mary)...but also...

I am SO HAPPY with my plants! I am a dabbler. I lurk on here a bit. I moved a year ago from FL (where I had something Aerogarden-esque, and some Kratky mason jars...and had started tinkering with 8x 5-gallon DWC and *not nearly enough* power in the grow lights...and not understanding how much to feed them... all in my kitchen). Well, my dudes, I am now in Portland, OR, and the 8x DWC buckets have moved onto a balcony with full sun and OMG I'm freaking out because they're all SO HAPPY AND HEALTHY. I still haven't gotten a handle on regular feeding, but it's like they don't even care because they're just GROWING and being awesome and I'm so happy. Ahh. Built trellises for the cucumbers today. They're so strong and brave! So. Cool.

https://preview.redd.it/gubmzhuw6xch1.jpg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4bd6298ed2efc23598195189e4e670d0351db537

Hello! I am looking for recommendations for a company that can take on a pretty serious bathroom remodel job at a fair price. We are looking to remove a tub on the main floor, expand the closet next to it to be big enough for a stacked W/D, and then place a shower in the now-smaller footprint of where the tub was. It's a big job, and I need someone who is reasonable/fair, and can handle all of the (I'm sure annoyingly extensive) permitting and etc that will be involved. Suggestions? For reference, I'm in North Portland if that matters much. Thanks so much in advance, y'all.

In the house for less than 48hrs, and she’s already set the clock on the oven (it’s been wrong for 10 months), and convinced the microwave to stop screaming at me. She says “yeah…I fix things.” Yeah, no shit, kid. You’re a keeper.

I have two (adult and nearly-adult) kids, one of whom will ask 7 times how to do a task and then not do it for fear of doing it wrong, and the other of whom will not ask, just do, and then step back and say “huh. I don’t think I did that right.” The girlfriend is a delightful breath of fresh air LOL.

We are in the early stages of forming a multi-generational household. It will be five of us (to start), the hubby and I, 20yo and girlfriend, and the 16yo. The two in the middle will be moving in by the end of the year. My priorities have been:

1. Ensuring everyone has quiet spaces/play spaces/options around the house for places to *go* other than bedroom
2. Creating written expectations/housing contract
3. Increasing storage space/shelving
4. Seriously considering adding a second W/D (as the existing set is in hubby’s and my bathroom)

Do others have suggestions? We are a family that had our big, scary times ten years ago, and now get on VERY well together. We use permaculture principles and are sustainability-minded, but far from perfect. We live in the city, but the house is big enough…probably for six-to-eight comfortably, and 10+ in a pinch and/or if some are quite small humans! There are perennials and fruit trees, and a *few* annual veggies…we are between birds at the moment but used to do quail and are moving on to chickens next year… It will be important for everyone to pitch in around the house. Thinking something like an hours-per-week expectation, with a posted chore list where you can look for what needs done this week and adopt tasks. And then contract with each other for a year at a time to start, like “we’ll check in again in 12 months to make sure this is still working for everyone or if major changes need to be made to the agreement…small changes welcome for discussion at any time.” 

Note: This *feels* very prepping-related to me, but I'm open to being told I'm posting in the wrong sub. We are a family who prioritizes self-reliance and community interdependence, and trying to give the offspring a good life...teach them the skills and give them the physical and mental health to survive this (gestures vaguely), especially as all now three of their generation are queer. We also would *love* to expand the footprint here by buying one or more of the properties that border ours eventually if the stars align, giving us all more space to spread out, more bedrooms for more residents...more land for more fruit trees...and potatoes, probably... (we're in the PNW).

This is for teen kiddo's BFF -- she left this busted scooter at my house, and I'd *really* like to put a new handle on it to surprise her. No idea what happened to the original, only that it's LONG gone. I'm no expert on this stuff, and just attempted to use Google and ChatGPT to find the right part, and I'm striking out. The brand is Mongoose, and the model number says it's R6152, but when I google that I'm getting results that look nothing like the scooter in front of me. This one has folding handles, like my old-school Razor in like 1996. Ugh. Does anyone know how to find the part I need? I really like this kid and I'd like to help out...

https://preview.redd.it/7p8z8xok4z2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=126920f2283e90b55fef70d2833aa0db5eb49d17

https://preview.redd.it/3j5m7xok4z2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29cda64f9f03293cc3263c7e5afba5002718f5bf

https://preview.redd.it/zssitwok4z2h1.jpg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7e9759efada801311a0ce77ad95d17bebce8a9c3

I've grown tomatoes and basil effectively in Kratky buckets in my kitchen in Florida...but this year moved to Portland, OR and am wanting to put my pretty buckets out on the sunny balcony. But. I'm worried about rain diluting the nutrients in the buckets? Should I...be building little...like tents around the stems to protect them from overflowing?

For reference, I'm imagining doing a couple each of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers...maybe eggplant...

Please forgive my ignorance. I am clearly not amazing at this! TYSM in advance!