Butler's Pantry For Sale

A place to hang out, chat and post general discussion topics. (Non-technical posts here)
User avatar
Willa
Revered expert in almost everything
Posts: 1369
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 9:46 pm

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Willa »

Gothichome wrote:Now I could be in NJ in about six hours. I wonder if they will take Canadian Tire money? (The Canucks among us will know what I mean)


Seriously, just take a big gulp and convert your CAN $$$ to USD, and get that pantry. Including all the hassles of renting a truck, customs, etc. you won't get anything of this value from Ikea.

Of course I could send you my pile of Canadian Tire money, and you could buy a homely and shoddy cabinet from there, instead ?

User avatar
Lily left the valley
Inventor of Knob and Tube
Posts: 2170
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2016 2:07 pm
Location: Gardner, MA, USA
Contact:

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Lily left the valley »

Willa wrote:The only good reason to have an open concept floor plan is to configure it to gaze upon this beautiful pantry.

Do people forget that storage areas with doors and drawers is a really good and sensible thing ?

Yes. I was reminded of this just yesterday, in fact.

I happened to run into one of the granddaughters stuck waiting for her sister (who rents the house next door) of the family that built Beebe today, and she was asking me what we'd "done" to the place since we bought it. In the course of the conversation, she revealed that not only would she have torn down the wall between the pantry and the kitchen (apparently her grandparents did still call the dining room the kitchen even though all of the kitchen stuff was in the pantry), but she also said she would tear out all of the built ins in the parlor, including the French doors between the parlor and the library because "that living room is too small, and there's no place for a TV."

Of course, the expression on her face when I said, "But we don't have a TV," that face was priceless. She honestly had no idea what to say to that, and fortunately for her, her phone rang for what must have been the fourth or fifth time in the whole of the 20 minutes I spoke to her as I was weeding and she was waiting. So she quickly walked away talking on her phone.

That entire conversation with her was surreal. Although she does have fond memories of the house, in her mind, it needs a massive update from stem to stern.
--Proud member of the Industrious Cheapskate Club
--Currently pondering ways to encourage thoughtful restovation and discourage mindless renovation.

User avatar
Manalto
Inventor of Knob and Tube
Posts: 2108
Joined: Tue May 16, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Manalto »

Willa wrote:Do people forget that storage areas with doors and drawers is a really good and sensible thing ?


I recently heard a statistic that Americans, for the first time in history, spend more in restaurants than they do on groceries. I was witness to this phenomenon - and a participant - when I lived in a dense urban area with a tempting variety of good places to eat. Add to that the trend against sitting at a table for meals, eliminating the need for tableware which for decades has been steadily declining in use anyway. Despite the popularity of cooking shows, there seems to be a stigma (ironically, a throwback to Victorian times) against those household activities generally viewed as menial tasks. I've long ago stopped being shocked when I hear people say, almost as a point of pride (and with a whiff of disdain), "I don't cook." (Well, how on earth do you avoid eating shovelfuls of salt?) For some families and, it appears, an increasing number of them, setting a table and gathering around it for a homemade meal has become a relic of the past - a bother - which they can only summon the energy to recreate at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

phil
Has many leather bound books
Posts: 4616
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:11 pm
Location: Near Vancouver BC

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by phil »

what surprises me is how "restaurants" If I can call them that have the customers on a continuous training program as if they work there out of the goodness of their hearts.
They line up at the counter and pay their money and then are told to go stand aside as the salesperson looks right through them to the next person behind them.. as if they aren't even there once they have paid their money.. Isnt' this rude? Yes of course it's completely rude, but the sheeple never complain.. They just gather together in a corner trying to avoid eye contact with others patiently waiting their number to be called. no need for names, that would be too much effort. They are each rewarded with a less than genuine thank you for their patience with the system which is continuously changed in minor increments throughout their training. It's now bad edict to leave their plastic tableware which they have eaten in a plastic tray on the table after they have paid for the meal and served themselves. They are trained to eat out of plastic trays so staff don't have to wipe the tables, then they tear the condoms off their straws because there is so much chance something might contaminate their terribly unhealthy processed food. The sheeple go and get napkins and clean their own table off if it's left messy.

now the supermarkets caught on to that and they have people scanning and bagging the groceries in bags that they have brought from home for free. On the way out they are held up as if they stole something to have their bags searched.. after which they are given another thankless thankyou for fitting into the training program.
Of course no one washes their hands, so they have removed the paper towel dispensers and replaced them with vacuum cleaners turned backwards,, You see the odd customer breaking the rules and taking paper towels into the washroom to dry their hands but most are trained that hand washing before eating is naughty.

all the while people are so polite and dare not complain because they feel if they are the proud nail they will be hammered down. It really makes me wonder where we will be in 20 or 30 years..I'm sure we will at least be trained to flip our own toe-food beef like burgers and learning to wrap them nicely ;-)

User avatar
Manalto
Inventor of Knob and Tube
Posts: 2108
Joined: Tue May 16, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Manalto »

phil wrote:...after which they are given another thankless thank you...


Better than here, where those who do go through a check-out line with a cashier get, upon leaving, a look of disdain or an impatient sigh - and it's the customer who says "thank you" for some inexplicable reason. Maybe the need for some courtesy is achingly apparent and someone has to supply it, so the customer thanks the store employee for the honor of spending money there.

phil wrote:It really makes me wonder where we will be in 20 or 30 years...


Mercifully, I'll be dead.

phil
Has many leather bound books
Posts: 4616
Joined: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:11 pm
Location: Near Vancouver BC

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by phil »

lol I guess politeness might pale in comparison to a couple of questionable leaders with their finger on the nuke button. Our best option is getting older ;-) Happy Friday ;-)

User avatar
Gothichome
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4183
Joined: Sun Aug 16, 2015 8:34 pm
Location: Chatham Ont

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Gothichome »

Willa wrote:
Gothichome wrote:Now I could be in NJ in about six hours. I wonder if they will take Canadian Tire money? (The Canucks among us will know what I mean)


Seriously, just take a big gulp and convert your CAN $$$ to USD, and get that pantry. Including all the hassles of renting a truck, customs, etc. you won't get anything of this value from Ikea.

Of course I could send you my pile of Canadian Tire money, and you could buy a homely and shoddy cabinet from there, instead ?


Well I actually can't spend all my CTC cash. I have a big wad I carry in my pocket, just. Wrap a $100 bill around the outside. Makes me think I'm rich. :shh: :cool:
Not only that, my daughters believe it to be their only hope for an inheritance.

User avatar
Old house lady
Knows the back streets
Posts: 123
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2016 2:12 am
Location: NE PA

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Old house lady »

Would love to take the truck down there and grab that! For now, I'll just save the pictures for inspiration when we get to recreating one here. 《sigh...》

User avatar
Willa
Revered expert in almost everything
Posts: 1369
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2016 9:46 pm

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Willa »

Manalto wrote:I recently heard a statistic that Americans, for the first time in history, spend more in restaurants than they do on groceries. I was witness to this phenomenon - and a participant - when I lived in a dense urban area with a tempting variety of good places to eat. Add to that the trend against sitting at a table for meals, eliminating the need for tableware which for decades has been steadily declining in use anyway. Despite the popularity of cooking shows, there seems to be a stigma (ironically, a throwback to Victorian times) against those household activities generally viewed as menial tasks. I've long ago stopped being shocked when I hear people say, almost as a point of pride (and with a whiff of disdain), "I don't cook." (Well, how on earth do you avoid eating shovelfuls of salt?) For some families and, it appears, an increasing number of them, setting a table and gathering around it for a homemade meal has become a relic of the past - a bother - which they can only summon the energy to recreate at Thanksgiving and Christmas.


See the thing that makes this so WEIRD for me, is the incredible emphasis on kitchen renovation, and increasing the size of an existing kitchen. If people are cooking less, why do they need a 6 burner commercial stove, or a gigantic room for when they perhaps eat cold restaurant leftovers out of take-out containers ?

User avatar
Manalto
Inventor of Knob and Tube
Posts: 2108
Joined: Tue May 16, 2017 11:09 pm

Re: Butler's Pantry For Sale

Post by Manalto »

It's true, it doesn't make sense - but fashion rarely does. A few guesses: mindless adherence to the trend, pretentiousness, subscribing to the kitchens-as-entertainment-space trope.

I'm expecting an HGTV S.W.A.T. team to storm my house as soon as they find out I've used color in my kitchen. I'll probably be taken into custody for rigorous brainwashing before my reintroduction into society.

Post Reply