(no subject)

[which_chick]

I got the first coat of paint on the shelving last night. It's going to take at least two coats, but I already knew that, so no worries. I'll hit it with the fine grained paper and slap another coat on it tonight. We'll see how that goes. It may take three but this isn't a problem. I like smooth, glass-like finishes on my painted work.. and that takes what it takes. (Special for Mitch: I am painting in the middle of the living room. On the carpet. Without a drop cloth. :P It'll be okay. The carpet was free. Stacey had it in law school and she gave it to me when she and Joe moved in together.) When I get done with the shelving, I am going to start on the dining room table surface. The fun just never stops around here... I asked Roy about stuff to paint with and he said Polyurethane, like they use for gym floors. Fine by me. Note to self: Do not forget to do the table leaves!!

I made the cookies this morning, before the house had really warmed up. They are all done now and I've cleaned up the kitchen. I've eaten about ten. I have a total lack of fucking self-control when it comes to sand tarts. They are buttery and lemony. They are thin and very crunchy, almost brittle. They taste like Christmas. You should live so well as to have these cookies.

One thing I forgot to put in the directions yesterday -- you can take the sheet out of the oven, quickly remove the done cookies, and pop the sheet back in the oven to brown the not-quite-done cookies some more. While it seems like cheating, this is the only way I can get them all the right amount of brown in my oven.

Also, you probably already know about this, but cool the cookie sheet off before you put new unbaked cookies on it. I run it under water in the sink. If you put the raw cookies on a hot cookie sheet, they burn before they're done.

I have not made any progress on the doily today due to being busy with other projects. Perhaps this evening while I'm watching the paint dry...

Comments

[gwangi.livejournal.com]

My mom always yelled at me when I'd cool off cookie sheets under the tap. She was sure that I was thermally stressing the metal and would ruin the sheet. She probably had a point, but I got her to shut up after I pointed out that I had bought the cookie sheet for $3 at the grocery store.

[which-chick.livejournal.com]

I never considered the metal fatigue angle. Probably there's something to that, but like you, I'm using el cheapo cookie sheets and don't really care if they die after a mere thousand batches of cookies. I make cookies about four or five times a year. Probably I'll be dead before I destroy the cookie sheets.

Hrm. I'm being kind of flip there, what with the "I'll be dead..." comment. Let's do the math. Five batches a year. A thousand batches before they give up the ghost. (Does anyone besides me see the glorious overkill of metal cookie sheet lifespans? Or the average iron skillet? It is very difficult for a normal human to wear out these items. Durable goods, indeed. With a non-expanding population, isn't it likely that we'll hit a time and place when everyone is supplied with cookie sheets or can lift them off a dead relative or pick them up at a yard sale?) Anyway. Five into a thousand is... two hundred? Right. I'll be dead by then. Tap water AHOY!

Of course, if my estimate of their metal-fatigue-influenced lifespan is wrong, I can always waddle off to the store and buy another set.

[electroweak.livejournal.com]

With a non-expanding population, isn't it likely that we'll hit a time and place when everyone is supplied with cookie sheets or can lift them off a dead relative or pick them up at a yard sale?)

This is basically what caused the economic boom after the Black Death in the 1300s: an abundance of material goods due to folks inheriting equipment from their recently-deceased relatives.

Maudlin 'R' Us.

[(Anonymous)]

This is the dirty little fantasy of every after-the-end-of-the-world story. The plague/aliens/zombies/bomb/environment has wiped out the rest of humanity - except us! We're rich! Rich I tell you, rich!

Thus the fun first half of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil, the supergrocery scene in 28 Days Later, and the Monroeville Mall scenes of the first Dawn of the Dead.

Scavengers in the aftermath of the total destruction of a wealthy culture have it pretty good for a while, at least in the movies. Until the irradiated plague-ridden alien zombies eat the survivors as a sort of karmic justice for their shallow materialism, I suppose.

Mmm... irradiated!

Mitch H.