> getting stuff for people -- other than my kitchen [where I've likely
> been working all day], I've made sure the house is spotless.  I
> mean, I can be casual when it's just the gang coming over to watch
> a movie or something but the reason that I'm able to be casual like
> that is because I tend to keep the place in a reasonable state *all*
> the time...)

My "just 5 minutes a day" rule suffers badly from time to time. I stopped
the monthly maid service for a few months when I knew I had a ton of big
outlays coming up... but they'll be back next week for the first time in
..hmm, 5 months, and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it!!
It's a sublime, hedonistic, pleasure that I gave up feeling guilty over, and
now just revel in shamelessly :) It also encourages me to keep the big
things picked up so that I don't appear to be a total slob when they arrive.
Fortunately I'm not a terrible housecleaner... just an indifferent one.
(when I'm alone and no one is coming over) The rules change when I know I'll
have visitors... then the sickness strikes and I worry deeply about the
sanitary nature of my lightswitch plates.


> My point was simply that I have an objection to anything that
> makes perfectly wonderful people feel like failures, grossly inferior,
> or worse, grotesque -- and there was certainly some of that
> happening with the "perfect home" ideal that Martha's been
> representing.

you know, I think that's what it boils down to for most of us here -- we
have a ferocious dislike of being made/forced/expected/required to do/be
anything which goes against our natures, or appears to go against the
nature's of our friends. Lezlie is our avowed radical feminist, and may
strike some circles as a nightmare, but to us.. hey! That's Lezlie! Lay off
the invective! Or Laurie as our pasta-is-a-scourge-of-the-menu phoenix... so
we may make the linguini for the rest, but quietly provide an alternative.
We are...as a bunch, and a general rule, pretty amazingly tolerant ppl when
you think about it. Fur/feathers may get ruffled, and have, and will, but
all in all... shoot, we're a good bunch of apples.

Unlike "them" .. the intolerant bastards  



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