The Chili Recipe thread got me inspired to make a little social survey here. Answer as many as you feel like answering:

For all you married forumites: how do you divide the household responsibilities with your spouse? How and why did you arrive at that division? Does it feel like an even split?

How many of the married men on this forum cook regularly - not just the occasional barbecue or "show-off" dish, but at least twice a week, and preferably half (or more) of the cooking for their household?

BTW, of the married men who do half or more of the cooking, how many of you are as good a cook or a better cook than your wife?

Just to get the ball rolling...

I do roughly half the cooking in our household. I like to cook and I am a somewhat better cook than my wife. Rather than concentrate on show-off stuff, I pride myself (bragging here) on being a good everyday cook. I can put a healthy, nutritious meal on the table given just about any circumstances. I don't require a recipe, just some halfway decent ingredients and some time to think about the end result. I can cook a decent meal on a camp stove or a "company meal" for eight.

As for the division of labor in the household, we try very hard to make it even-steven. It makes no sense for each of us to do everything. Instead, we sort various jobs into one another's pile, according to whether we are good at it or enjoy it. My wife is horrible at finances and hates balancing a checkbook. I do that one. I won't dust. Period. She does that one.

When neither one of us wants a job, we split those as evenly as we can. We neither one likes to mow the lawn. Parenting we try to share equally.

At various times, we have each been the breadwinner for our family. The non-earning spouse always takes a larger share of the remaining jobs. At the moment I work half-time and my wife is looking for half-time work.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 07, 2000

Answers

Just to make sure this gets into New Answers... I shall emulate cpr's favorite trick, except that I will use my own name.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 07, 2000.

"We neither one likes to mow the lawn. Parenting we try to share equally."

You have kids and you don't make them mow the lawn?

-- (lawn@mower.man), October 07, 2000.

"I pride myself (bragging here) on being a good everyday cook."

Sure, if I had an unemployed wife and I was working half-time, my kitchen would be like a world class restaurant. Try getting a real job and then we'll see what a great cook you are.

-- Dubya (damn@liberal.slackers), October 07, 2000.

You share, if you are good at cooking and you are male say so, that is all it takes, Believe it or not some women are better at pumbing than cooking ask them which they do best.

-- ET (bneville@zebra.net), October 07, 2000.

I do all the cooking (3 meals a day all from scratch), all the cleaning, all the laundry, all the shopping, banking, pay the bills, mow the lawn, plan vacations, and spend money on anything my heart desires.

-- Mrs. Cleaver (Mrs. Cleaver@LITBBB.com), October 07, 2000.

My Husband does the clothes. I didn't ask him too, he just jumped up and did it. I would like him to stop! I like my domaim. My kitchen my house. Now leave me a lone!

-- ET (bnville@zebra.net), October 08, 2000.

Mrs. Cleaver, you are my kinda woman!!

I'll bring home the bacon, and take good care of the Beaver. Do we have a deal?

-- Daddy's home (Ward@is.history), October 08, 2000.

Well, let's see. I cook breakfast every weekend. I'm a great breakfast cook (waffles, anyone?). I cook dinner at least twice a week because I'm pretty good at roasting dead animals over my gas grill - I do that way better than my wife. I do almost all the outdoor stuff with the exception of the compost heap, which she loves, for some reason unknown to me. I'm also her computer geek when her computer won't work right.

I do the wash very occasionally because she's like ET on this - she doesn't want me messing up the washing machine. I've done ironing but I can't seem to get a straight crease no matter what I do. Plus, I burn things.

I'm also in charge of removing any insects that look vaguely threatening, especially spiders. We had a possum keel over in the back yard from causes unknown and guess who had to scoop up his stinking body?

So, no, I don't think we really have an even split but, after 34 years, it seems to work for us.

-- Jim Cooke (JJCooke@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

>> Sure, if I had an unemployed wife and I was working half-time, my kitchen would be like a world class restaurant. Try getting a real job and then we'll see what a great cook you are. <<

Dubya (whoever you really are), believe it or not I have a real job. I am a technical writer. If I weren't such a valuabvle employee, I could never have gotten away with transforming my job into a half time position, or be able to afford it. And in my household we believe in cooking wholesome food, so we make the time for it. Period.

I'd prefer not to get deeply into justifying myself to anonymous strangers, but I am damned proud of the fact that my marriage has withstood traumas and stresses that (by real statistics) break up 90% of the marriages where they occur.

You would have loved it around here during the 5 years after my daughter was born with multiple disabilities and she had her three surgeries, then we discovered the seizures, and my wife was counseling on her childhood sexual abuse and recovering from two rear-end accidents within 10 months of each other. Meanwhile her brother was dying of AIDS and her mother was dying of Alzheimer's.

During all that time, we still cooked good meals from scratch, because that is what we want to eat. Get it?

Some people...sheesh.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 08, 2000.

Everbody has stresses, traumas, and challenges in life. Some people work hard to overcome them, and other people think that the world owes them a free ride since their challenges are somehow more "tragic" than everyone else's.

-- Dubya (liberals@"feel.your.pain"), October 08, 2000.

Dubya(the last one),

Brian was just bein cool and started a neat thread,why do you insist on jumping in with nothing of value to say and interjecting your stupid fucking comments? I would guess you probably don't have ANYTHING of interest to add and that would lead me to think that you should shut up and go live vicariously through the Springer show,THAT should make your life complete.

PS-Your moniker speaks volumes!

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), October 08, 2000.

SPLIT? did you say split Brian? Surely you jest! I am responsible for everything. Enough said. It is the way it is.

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000.

We both work and try to share the chores. It never turns out to be a even division.

I do all the cooking and all of the shopping for food and household goods. She does the dishes and takes care of the cats and dogs [no small job as the animals age; we run a small vet clinic]. We share the house cleaning although she does much more. I do the mowing [we do this on 5 to 10 a of the place, so it takes some time]. I start the plants for the garden. She does most of the weeding. I do the canning, freezing and drying of produce. We will spend this winter clearing some of the land. This place becomes a forest if you dont thin. I do household repairs. The dogs recycle the leftovers.

Todays meal: cornish game hen with wasabi sauce, acorn squash [should be good since it has been in the 20s for the last few days] and dilled green beans. Baked pears [enormous crop this year] with maple sauce for desert. I try to keep it simple on Sunday.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 08, 2000.

I do the manly stuff, she does the womanly stuff.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

Z-

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000.

Z- Don't mean to sound forward... Can I come for dinner? I'll bring some desert sunshine...

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000.

I just realized than Ken might misconstrue my answer as sexist. So I shall elaborate.

I do the mulching of plant beds (150 bags in the back yard over the two last Sundays), the tree and hedge trimming (stuff grows like crazy here, duty calls again soon this morning), the planting of new and exotic flora, and various landscaping activities, the fixing of toilets, the installing of hurricane shutters, the painting and wallpapering, the installation of ceiling fans, of new light fixtures, the hanging of cabinets in the laundry room, the taking out of garbage, the spraying for bugs, the washing and waxing of vehicles, and other manly stuff.

We share cleaning inside, the vacuuming and such, but Mrs D does a bit more in this dept. Each of us does some laundry (she does much more laundry than I do to be fair about it, but that is because she doesnt fully trust me not to ruin some fancy outfit). She cooks more than I do, by far, but it is my job to clean the mess up and do the dishes, load and unload the dishwasher, clean the kitchen, etc.

We divide up the bills and expenses, but basically each of us handles our own money.

-- Uncle Deedah (unkeed@yahoo.com), October 08, 2000.

Do we have to be married to engage in this survey, Brian? If not, I'll throw in my 2 cents.

I think couples do whatever works best for them. Energy levels aren't always constant, and time constraints aren't always constant. We spent a few years wherein I worked a lot of overtime and still did all the cleaning, and most of the cooking. I enjoy cleaning when I'm under a lot of pressure. I can turn the stereo up and the movements of vacuuming, dusting, etc. kindof clear the mind of the day's work. After a few years, however, it seems that we enjoy a role reversal. Whoever did the cleaning is now tired of doing the cleaning, and whoever didn't do it wishes they could. We're going through that stage now. SO does all the cleaning and most of the cooking. That will change when he gets tired of doing it and I get tired of not doing it.

We've always done our own laundry, paid our own bills, etc.

Some couples employ a "job jar". Each person simply pulls a slip of paper out of a jar that describes the job. It could be changing the oil on the car, or cleaning the toilets.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), October 08, 2000.

Hey Mr. Tech Writer, if you learn how to spell you may find full-time employment right around the corner. Do you believe that only married couples are faced with the day to day chores of co- existence? This forum is becoming a depository of sob stories that are, like all else here, impossible to confirm. BTW, we eat out most of the time and avoid the complicated division of labor issues that seem to burden so many of you. Check please.

-- I (h@ve.spoken), October 08, 2000.

Brian,

We're fairly fluid around these parts. I don't think we could hold to a regular routine, even if our lives depended on it. We've been having one of those years where many have been dying, & things seeming to fall apart at the seams. It has only served to make us a better functioning unit, though when you're in the eye of the storm I can see how the pressure tears people up. Several things that used to look so important have fallen by the wayside this year.

Our work schedules can be changeable, especially mine. If you add it all up, I probably so most of the cooking. I enjoy it, it's a bit of a creative outlet. When I was in deep grief, though, I couldn't cook worth a damn - never turned out such horrendous stuff in my entire life! So, things changed for awhile -

We do kinda have a 'men's work' thing - like putting gas in the car, cutting the lawn, watching jeopardy & sports on TV. He does the grilling, of course.

Parenting - we share, but in different ways. I wrangle the school angle, unless I really want someone to pay attention - then I whip him out. He may not know more about a situation, but it's kinda like our old doggy - when my husband speaks, they pay better attention. He handles the scouting, & stuff like that. We've got lots of kids that look to our house for stability, & a bit of surrogate parenting, I 'spose. My mom was like that for many, I am honored to been seen in that light, & it is deeply gratifying for me to watch my husband and the positive influence he willingly gives. We've been very fortunate & blessed in this life.

-- flora (***@__._), October 08, 2000.

Hi all, thanks Brian, Interesting topic.

I do ALL the cleaning, hubby does garbage and cat boxes and lawn work.

I balance the checkbook, cuz I love to play with the money. I told him when I die he will have to wait 6 weeks to know how much is 'really' in the account...LOL...

Sunday is usually the day I can get motivated. Hubby helps with all IF I ask.

Grocery shopping, is Me again, although all pitch in to carry groceries from the car. Cooking? Well we eat out at least 3-5 times a week. I dont like to cook. When I do, it is good. My crock pot broke, or we'd eat in more often.

Brian and Uncle you both sure seem to be the 'idea' mates as are the others who just do without asking. Sometimes my sons will clean the house while I'm at work.

My hubby works 7 days a week, so he doesnt have much time for nothing.

This time next week, we'll be waited on hand and foot....I cant wait.

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 08, 2000.

>> Everbody has stresses, traumas, and challenges in life. <<

Yes. How true. How very true. You are right. Oh so right. I take my hat off to you, Dubya. Good call there. So, why did your earlier post imply that my life was easy street, when now you admit that this could not have been true?

>> Some people work hard to overcome them, and other people think that the world owes them a free ride since their challenges are somehow more "tragic" than everyone else's. <<

More heavy-handed implications. Kindly show me evidence of anyone on this forum who does not work hard to overcome their challenges, or who is pleading for a free ride, you horse's ass.

I have spoken said:

>> Do you believe that only married couples are faced with the day to day chores of co- existence? <<

No. Those who live "as if" married face the same divisions of chores. Some friends of ours lived together for 16 years and had a 14 year old son before they decided to "tie the knot". In their case, "the knot" has obviously been tied a long time before. All the marriage did was to formalize the reality of their marriage.

I used marriage as a shorthand for a long-term, committed relationship. Obviously, anyone can join the thread, if they want.

>> This forum is becoming a depository of sob stories that are, like all else here, impossible to confirm. <<

People's lives are often hard. Dare we mention this among ourselves? Also, what sort of confirmation are you seeking and what on earth would you do with the information if you had it? File it away like cpr? Gloat over it? Why do you care?

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 08, 2000.

Well:

Sure, if I had an unemployed wife and I was working half-time, my kitchen would be like a world class restaurant. Try getting a real job and then we'll see what a great cook you are.

Well we not only have a crossover from EZboard but one of the administrators. With less than 25 regulars, I can understand the boredom factor. LOL.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 08, 2000.

Z,

Would a "crossover" be similar to a "cross-dresser"? That would explain alot!

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), October 08, 2000.

Mrs. Cleaver said "I do all the cooking (3 meals a day all from scratch), all the cleaning, all the laundry, all the shopping, banking, pay the bills, mow the lawn, plan vacations, and spend money on anything my heart desires. "

Okay, here's a scary thing. This is me, for REAL. But, my husband works full-time, and I'm home, and that's the way it should be, right? Right?? Oh my God, I'm June Cleaver...GASP! PS..Vacations? What are those? Did June Cleaver ever get one? And you forgot to mention baking cookies for the PTA.. and there's soccer fundraising...sheesh.

When I *was* working full-time, in all fairness, my husband did cook dinner every night. He was the better cook at the time. I have since surpassed his culinary skills by far, and it has everything to do with having time to plan and execute meals according to cookbooks.

-- The REAL June Cleaver (kritter@adelphia.net), October 08, 2000.

"Well we not only have a crossover from EZboard but one of the administrators."

What kind of drugs you taking there, Mr. Knowitall? I don't post on EZ Board dimwit, I'm having far too much fun right here. And if I did post there, I sure as hell would not be an administrator! LOL You're night quite as swift as you think you are smartass.

-- Dubya (liberals@not2.bright), October 08, 2000.

Dubya:

If you want your home address, use a real email addy and I will send it to you.

DB

-- DB (Debunker@nomore.xxx), October 08, 2000.

Why would I need my home address dimwit? Do you think I don't know where I live? LOL! You are forgetting something, not everyone is a dumb as you!

-- Dubya (DB@exceptionally.dim), October 08, 2000.

Dubya:

If you need your own home address, then you have answered your question. Don't worry about my use of the information that I have. I am just testing the software that I am writing. Your information will be trashed.

DB

-- DB (Debunker@nomore.xxx), October 08, 2000.

She always does the cooking, being an employee of a major food processing company and being very good at it. She generally cleans up after me, although I am not entirely certain this is necessary. She takes care of most "couple" finances.

I lead all technical rock climbing pitches, keep the computers running, and plan major events, such as the 300 mile trip down the Yukon River. Generally, I do not allow her to stear the canoe except in very flat water, and always portage it myself.

We both share responsibility for the dog.

Hey, it works for us!

-- E.H. Porter (Just Wondering@about.it), October 08, 2000.

Oh, and we both mostly do our own laundry. I wouldn't mind doing it all, but she worries that I'll put the wrong things in the dryer.

-- E.H. Porter (Just Wondering@about.it), October 08, 2000.

How many times do I have to tell you, I DON'T need my address moron! Unlike retards like you, most of us KNOW where we live! LOL

As for being "worried", give me a break, I have nothing to hide. You are far too stupid to get any information, and if you did it would be simple for the FBI to locate you.

-- (knock.yourself@out.scriptkiddy), October 08, 2000.

Howzit going EH:

Generally, I do not allow her to stear the canoe except in very flat water, and always portage it myself.

How do you keep the dog from carrying out the landings. Mine goes overboard about 10 ft from shore. If the canoe is full this can be a real experience. Short of roping him down there is no way. The last time he did it he deep sixed his milk bone supply.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 08, 2000.

Z -- the dog in question is a Border Collie. They are quite trainable; mine gets along with canoes quite well. It seems, however, to be breed specific; the retriever breeds seem to jump out of the canoe always and often. My dog had done "open boat" class III whitewater, and has been patient the whole time

Good to hear from you again.

-- E.H. Porter (Just Wondering@about.it), October 08, 2000.

I'm the real Mrs. Cleaver. You'll have to call yourself Mrs. Nelson or Alice from the Honeymooner's.

P.S. Ward, Wally and the Beav are doing just fine, they don't need a new mom.

-- Mrs. Cleaver (Mrs. Cleaver@LITBBB.vcom), October 08, 2000.

Ward is a fag, and I'm gonna whack him for ya. Don't worry June, I'll make sure that Beaver is happy from now on.

-- (come@to.poppa), October 09, 2000.

What? The FRLians are bored with their fourm? Go bother Zog over on Sleazy. He has just proven beyond all reasonable doubt that he is a goobermint shill. His so-called "letter" is bound to bring at least two people over to his "cause."

-- (me@home.now), October 09, 2000.

- (come@to.poppa): I think Ed Haskell is more your type.

-- Mrs. Cleaver (Mrs. Cleaver@LITBBBB.vcom), October 09, 2000.

Interesting answers...

I do ALL of the cooking and grocery shopping. My wife is English. 'Nuf said.

We live in Florida, and I'm more heat-tolerant than she is. So the division of labor depends on the season. I tend to do more "outside" things, like lawn mowing and weeding during the summer months. We tend to alternate during the "winter" here, depending on our Reserve and weekend work duties.

We each do our own laundry and ironing. Our son's laundry (age 10) is his own responsibility, except when he doesn't do it on time. Then it depends on who notices first to get it into the washer. Whoever didn't notice first gets to put it into the dryer and fold it. 2nd place gets to yell at said son.

I take our son to school; my wife picks him up. This usually works well, since my wife does her workout at the gym in the morning, and I exercise after work. Sometimes this means that my wife has to microwave dinner while I am working out, but she is good at re-heating anything I have prepared ahead of time. Did I mention that she was English?

I cook a lot on the weekends.

-- Spindoc' (spindoc_look@it.up), October 09, 2000.

June babe, you misunderstood. When I said I was going to whack Ward for ya I meant that I am going to take him out, you know, kill him. Ward and Eddie are homos, not me. As soon as we get rid of them, I'm going to work on that Beaver of yours.

-- Dr. Taxidermist/Gynecologist (I@stuff.beavers), October 09, 2000.

Judging from the informal "unscientific" survey so far, it looks like laundry is the only "work formerly known as women's" that has gained a solid foothold in the world of male spouses. Finances appear to be asexual. Barbecue is definitely he-man stuff. Cooking in general is still solidly "woman's work".

This last one strikes me as odd. Think of all the single men who need to eat. Are men everlastingly doomed to 1) eat crappy food, or 2) marry for the sake of their stomachs, or 3) learn to cook and forfeit their masculinity? This seems a bastardly choice among evils, if ever there was one.

I always figured, if I wanted to eat well, I had better be prepared to do the job on my own whenever necessary or pay dearly for my ignorance. Since I love to eat well and I'm a skinflint of the first water, this was a no-brainer for me. I learned to cook.

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 09, 2000.

Since technically I'm still married (and she doesn't read this board), I'll jump in.

I did 90% of the cooking for us and the dogs, 90% of all pet responsibility, 90% of the vacuuming, 100% of the yard work, 100% of the financial management. I had no problem doing laundry, but because I could not (read: would not) grasp her folding technique I was banished from this chore for the most part. God forbid the bath towels did not stack "just so". Like a guy even NEEDS a bath towel! Just wipe the water off with the clothes ya took off before entering the shower.

She did all the ironing and dusting. She banged all the nails into the walls to hang every picture and kitchy thingee in the free world.

What was the question?

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), October 09, 2000.

Sleeping with the Enemy comes to mind Bingo. ^^^^

Towels had to be folded 'just right' bahhh!!

What I would 'give' to have mine folded @ all!!! hee hee.

So many 'good' men around here. Not that mine is not good, I love him, but I sure wish he would/could do more...*sigh

-- consumer (shh@aol.com), October 09, 2000.

Brian,

Boys are ususally enthusiastic & conscientious cooks. When the kids were younger & in cub scouts I was more involved than I've been since they've moved up. I made sure they knew how to plan meals, shop, cook { & keep clean - you wouldn't beieve some of the horror stories that old scouts tell - sick backpackers from the enthusiastic use of soap to coat the pot bottoms; scoutmasters up all night ferrying sick kids back & forth from the kaibo...}. Our guys turned legends out of their dutch ovens, foil, etc. The Dad's got pretty interested & a little competetive with their own cooking then. Happy bellies make for happy campers, & having leftovers to share is a great way to connect with your neighbors.

We know lots of talented chefs here, and from around the globe. The vast majority of them are still males. The Bourdain fella who wrote 'Kitchen Confidential' was profiled in a magazine piece recently. His wife said that when they married, she imagined having wonderful cuisine at home. In reality, she said they do eat well - as long as they go out.

-- flora (***@__._), October 09, 2000.

In actuality, she's a a lady with a really great heart, Sumer. Don't wish to paint her in a bad light.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), October 09, 2000.

Bing,

My sister has this theory - that if you don't want to be saddled with a certain job or task for long, don't do it very well at all.

My sister-in-law trained my brother. Though in the seventies, I thought this was barbaric - I now concede she's done an amazing job. I remember her telling me that she never even drove one nail into the wall, or else she'd be doing them all for the rest of her life. She would hold the nail up against the wall & sweetly call the first part of his name. He would come running {OK, so she's a penultimate scorpio}. "Do you think you could get a hammer?..." said the spider to the fly, & a very happy fly at that.

-- flora (***@__._), October 09, 2000.

Dear flora,

I am a 36 year old male recently separated from his wife. Here's the problem. I receive negative remarks from her about my folding technique (or lack thereof). We live in separate residences. She was visiting Saturday & began folding the towels I had in a laundry basket. I didn't ask her to fold them. The towels seemed to be quite happy in the basket. I even heard occasional muffled chuckles from the room which held the basket.

Anyway, she puts the newly-folded towels in the closet and of course hits the floor laughing. Seems I had made an attempt to fold a few and shoved them into the closet. Not perfectly executed, mind you, but what the hell! They are only TOWELS! Why do I need to be raked over coals (ok, small exagerration) because the bath towels are placed a bit haphazzardly on the shelf. It isn't as if I stacked them in the same column as the washcloths!

Can you help me with this problem?

(Signed) Tortured by Towels in Toledo

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), October 09, 2000.

Try seeing it my way Bingo. In putting my devious sister's theory into practice, I never can be trusted to fold t-shirts 'cept occasionally my own. My hubby likes the 6" square he learned to do in the service. I just can't seem to get the hang of it - bwahahaha!. Same with putting sheets correctly on the bed. In nature, I'd call it pair bonding.

-- flora (***@__._), October 09, 2000.

flora, I know that many (most) of the world's chefs are men. I was thinking more along the lines of the kind of daily household chore of starting with an assortment of ingredients and putting something edible on the table in time for people to eat it. Day in and day out.

Chefs get paid. They get their small share of glamor. They are courted for their talents. At a party, when someone asks them what they do, they say "I am a chef!", and not "I cook food."

The person who cooks the food usually gets recognized only by the small circle of people who come to the table. If that. The cook gets no pay. They just take on another responsibility. Household chores are all like that. Somebody does them. Nobody gets courted for it.

When I was growing up, both my parents cooked some meals, but it was my dad who shouldered the major part of the cooking duty - maybe 5 or six nights a week. He wasn't a fancy cook. It was your basic meat-and-potatoes-with-a-side-vegetable menu plan. But it was there on the table at mealtime every night. And it tasted OK. Not like a chef prepares food, but like a cook makes it. You know what I mean.

No matter who cooked, mom or dad, I was taught always to thank the cook before getting up from the table. I still do. The appreciation is real. I like my own cooking. I do it well (better than my dad). But I really like sitting down to any meal I didn't have to cook!

-- Brian McLaughlin (brianm@ims.com), October 09, 2000.

Bingo,

Any advice I would offer regarding the towels would surely land you in a larger turmoil than you presently have.

But,Oh the conversation we will have.The same but different : |

-- capnfun (capnfun1@excite.com), October 09, 2000.

It takes time to work these patterns out. At our age we have done a lot of work and have fine tuned it wonderfully. After all these years me have managed to divide it all equally. Chubby Hubby makes the money and I spend it. Took a long time, but I find this a very satisfactory arrangement.... Taz

-- Taz (jharal2197@aol.com), October 09, 2000.

Bingo:

Folding towels. When we designed this house we developed a very nice linen closet with folding doors. Nice glass windows. The towels had to be folded perfectly because you could see them. A few weeks into this experiment, I decided to take a shower. Went to the closet and there were no towels. They had all been washed two days before. We looked for some time before we found them. Turns out the dog [a pup then] could open the folding doors. He had turned all of the towels into saliva covered spit balls and stored them under the bed [every boy deserves a hobby]. We now just stuff them into a drawer. It solves the problem.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 09, 2000.

LOL Bingo-

Women can fixate on towels. Now I got a white t-shirt situation. My other half get's miffed because I take them off and they wind up inside out. I'm not big on protocol for inside out! But since I don't wear that many whites-maybe 7 a week in the summer, I throw them in with his (yes I make him do his own whites-about his only responsibility, save showing up to eat). But I too understand the unhappiness with what? turning a little something inside out! Please-life is too short!!

-- Aunt Bee (Aunt__Bee@hotmail.com), October 09, 2000.

EH:

The present one is a fox hound. Not that much of a water dog. He always is looking for land. The previous one was an Austrian sheepdog. Looks like a border collie, built like one but with a lot more hair including eye covering. He would jump out of the canoe and body surf through the rapids. I remember one time when we were fishing for trout in Wi. My wife hooked a 3 ft long muskie. Wouldn't fit into the trout net. He went overboard after it. There was one other boat on the lake. The guy was laughing so hard I was afraid he would fall overboard and drown. Now he jumped out everywhere. He could learn everything except staying in a canoe.

Best wishes,,,,

Z

-- Z1X4Y7 (Z1X4Y7@aol.com), October 09, 2000.

Today I pan-fried tuna steaks from a tuna I caught a couple of months ago. I served it with English peas grown in my garden. And with red potatoes & green onions, also from my garden. I had the day off, due to the Columbus Day holiday.

My wife spent the day debriding the wounds of children in the burn unit of the local hospital. I won't get into the details, if you don't mind.

I make a lot more money in my job than my wife does in hers. But then I ask: who has the tougher job?

Whenever I feel that I am getting the unfair end of the deal, I think of this, and consider . . .

-- Spindoc' (spindoc_look@it.up), October 10, 2000.

Great towel story, Z.

Thanks for the perspective, Spindoc'. Good way for me to begin the day.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@shentel.net), October 10, 2000.