Dillards 81: Volunteering for God

[QuiverFullofBooks]

2 hours ago, Coco said:

So what went down to make them move out of the house JB gave them? The one with the gorgeous doors and huge kitchen (where he made creepy jokes on one episode, gotta keep to form) ?

The original enormous one? JB always told them it was temporary until he flipped it. Plus they ran off to South America and they could hardly ask him to let it sit empty. During their several trips back to Arkansas from South America, they lived in the Duggars’ large guest house, the “pool house.” Grandma Mary died there (she drowned in the pool), and I’m not sure if they’re using the house at the moment. Meanwhile, the Dillards lived in small non-Duggar rental homes until they built their current house.

[Coco]

That is so sad about their grandma. ?

[marmalade]

5 hours ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

The original enormous one? JB always told them it was temporary until he flipped it. Plus they ran off to South America and they could hardly ask him to let it sit empty. During their several trips back to Arkansas from South America, they lived in the Duggars’ large guest house, the “pool house.” Grandma Mary died there (she drowned in the pool), and I’m not sure if they’re using the house at the moment. Meanwhile, the Dillards lived in small non-Duggar rental homes until they built their current house.

The pool house is currently on the market. Has been for a couple of months and a price reduction.

Edited November 30, 2019 by marmalade

[QuiverFullofBooks]

1 hour ago, marmalade said:

The pool house is currently on the market. Has been for a couple of months and a price reduction.

It has a really terrible location - directly across the street from a landfill. God knows why someone built a nice house there.

[rainbowbabycakes]

I'm not fond of paper plates, but SOOOO many people I know use them nearly exclusively... I'm talking normal, 2 child families. It's crazy... I use them when we have people over, because currently I have 5 real plates, which works for my family, and no money to buy new ones. I hate it though. 

My ex is in the Army, and when we were in Germany, and hosting a houseful of single soldiers for meals at the holidays, we used real dishes

[Maggie Mae]

I can't think of anything where paper plates are "appropriate." They are wasteful and stupid and flimsy. But I can't help but think that maybe some of the Duggars don't even know what nice plates are like or their purpose. I mean, if your entire life you've eaten off paper plates, you might think that reusable plates are for people you deem "less than."  

 

[aprilx]

I have never defrosted a turkey, always buy a fresh one! Our butchers is already taking orders to be collected in the week before Christmas ! I think that’s normal for the UK. What about other countries? 

[Coco]

16 minutes ago, aprilx said:

I have never defrosted a turkey, always buy a fresh one! Our butchers is already taking orders to be collected in the week before Christmas ! I think that’s normal for the UK. What about other countries? 

Welp. We're nearly four years into the current administration defunding/deregulating the FDA; we can't risk it. Poo lettuce from farmers not being forced to test their irrigation water is bad enough let alone pre-thawed turkeys that might be from another country altogether. I stopped buying hamburger at a grocery store because the package listed three countries of origin lol. I don't eat a lot of red meat but for my hubby and the kids we just buy from a rancher friend who gets his beef processed in town but I don't think the local butcher does anything smaller than pigs by order. Can't just walk in and pick it up. For our chicken I buy whole frozen and trust that when it says no hormones they're only half lying. ? We're going to have our own chickens asap ❤️️

[DarkAnts]

1 hour ago, Maggie Mae said:

I can't think of anything where paper plates are "appropriate." They are wasteful and stupid and flimsy. But I can't help but think that maybe some of the Duggars don't even know what nice plates are like or their purpose. I mean, if your entire life you've eaten off paper plates, you might think that reusable plates are for people you deem "less than."  

 

They are appropriate when my depression/anxiety has me so low on spoons that I can hardly get out of bed. I will not apologize for using them when I have these deep depression spells. They don't happen often. But, I don't have the energy or mind capacity to wash dishes when one strikes.

[Pretzel]

Paper plates produce such a lot of waste and I don't understand how a family with so many kids, and used to tens and hundreds of guests and at least 4 dishwashers in the home (2 of them commercial), needs to eat off paper plates on a daily basis.

I do, however, understand families without a dishwasher or without many spare dishes (but many guests) switching to paper plates for an outdoor barbecue or a holiday once a year if it means nobody needs to stand in the kitchen and scrub plates in the sink while everyone else is enjoying themselves. Though when there are dishwashers available, it doesn't take a second more to put a few dishes in the DW than it takes to get a trash bag and collect all the trash. It's probably not the paper plates alone, I am sure they are usually accompanied by plastic cutlery and cups. So wasteful, not sustainable, and doesn't make a lot of sense to me if there's a working dishwasher in the house and it's not a once a year holiday. 

@DarkAnts I don't think anyone is judging people who resort to paper plates and plastic cutlery while in survival mode. Women after childbirth, people with depression, or as I stated someone who needs to host a large crowd once a year and has enough work to do...it's not habitual, it's not out of laziness or carelessness with resources. The Duggars, however, have so many people in their family, and dishwashers that are literally done in 10 to 20 minutes...that it doesn't make sense, and instead produces more waste than these people can ever make up for with their thrift store clothing shopping. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by Pretzel

[DarkAnts]

45 minutes ago, aprilx said:

I have never defrosted a turkey, always buy a fresh one! Our butchers is already taking orders to be collected in the week before Christmas ! I think that’s normal for the UK. What about other countries? 

It can be hard to get fresh food depending on where you live and your income level.
 

People in lower income levels may not be able to drive to a farm or butcher that is selling fresh turkey. Fresh turkeys are also usually from farms that have more humane facilities. That drives up the cost of the meat. 
 

Most grocery stores have frozen turkeys on sale this time of year. They can cost as little as $1.00 per pound. Fresh turkey are usually $1.50 per pound or more. That is a price difference of at least $10 you are buying a 20 lb turkey. Low income families need to spend that $10 on other things. 
 

One good thing is that frozen food is overtaking canned food. The food bank near me now provides frozen veggies and fruit instead of canned. They get huge boxes of frozen veggies and fruit that volunteers portion off into individual bags. Its a huge step up from canned produce.

Edited November 30, 2019 by DarkAnts

[Pretzel]

Regarding Jill's turkey: Technically, she didn't defrost it in the bath tub. She defrosted it in a cooler that she put in the bath tub IIRC and which makes sense. If she spilled water, at least it would drain easily. It's not like her kitchen was that huge or their house offered all kinds of options. @lumpentheologie I don't think there's anything wrong with the way Jill (or you) defrosted the turkey. Sometimes people need to be creative. The turkey was still covered by its packaging. It's not as if she just threw the unwrapped turkey into old bath water. ?

Edited November 30, 2019 by Pretzel

[AliceInFundyland]

Unfortunately, I think a few of us on FJ absolutely don't understand how one person couldn't stay on top of their own dishes.

Needs to be repeated on occasion.

Edited November 30, 2019 by AliceInFundyland
trying to edit extra space in my post

[SilverBeach]

5 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

Most grocery stores have frozen turkeys on sale this time of year. They can cost as little as $1.00 per pound.

Two stores in my area are selling frozen turkey for 33 cents and 39 cents a pound. Fresh turkeys are not the norm in the US. 

[Maggie Mae]

I don't think I've paid for a turkey in my life. Growing up, my parents always were given one from their work (all employees were) and now so is my partner. The grocery stores give them away to people who spend x number of dollars on other groceries. 

We don't even like turkey, so we made chicken tikka masala instead. Should cook one of the two frozen turkeys soon though, to get back some freezer space. 

No one "has" to miss out on BBQ fun by doing dishes inside while people are still there. FEW of the reasons for paper plates ever sound like much more than paper (ie flimsy) excuses. Depression or not having running water (or enough plates) is one thing, but I'm talking about these mega families with industrial dishwashers choosing to create massive amounts of trash out of pure unadulterated laziness, ignorance, and selfishness. 

My mom grew up on a farm with a lot of siblings. Grandpa still lives there. They always had every meal on real plates, no garbage disposal, no trash pick up service. No dishwasher. Everyone who could helped with cleanup. No one was left out of anything. 

Of course, we had *gasp* people with penises washing dishes, and the Duggars can't have that. 

 

[Glasgowghirl]

Because I am trying to cut out my disposable plate and Cup use, I bought for a £1 each in Asda a set of 6 reusable plastic plates, cups and cutlery set for picnics and when I take my nephew's out to places that usually give disposables out. Paper plates and cups were never used in my house for anything other than birthday parties and picnics, we were a family of 5 and had no dishwasher until I was 19, we rarely use our dishwasher now with just 3 of us in the house and only eating one meal at home most of the time it's quicker to just to hand wash them. We only use it for Christmas or when my brother and his family are up from England. 

[FluffySnowball]

22 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

Of course, we had *gasp* people with penises washing dishes, and the Duggars can't have that. 

But what if they wash the dishes WITH their penises? See, that’s the reason the Duggar's way is so much more wholesome. Girls can’t just whip out their vaginas, so they’re the only logical choice when it comes to scrubbing pots and plates.

[QuiverFullofBooks]

Having been the one who started giving Jill a hard time, I should admit that my pets go through a huge number of paper bowls, and I’m currently on a diet, so I’ve been stirring up meal replacements in paper bowls with plastic spoons.

[FleeJanaFree]

16 hours ago, rainbowbabycakes said:

I'm not fond of paper plates, but SOOOO many people I know use them nearly exclusively... I'm talking normal, 2 child families. It's crazy... I use them when we have people over, because currently I have 5 real plates, which works for my family, and no money to buy new ones. I hate it though. 

My ex is in the Army, and when we were in Germany, and hosting a houseful of single soldiers for meals at the holidays, we used real dishes

Rainbowbabycakes Walmart and target are both currently selling the same plastic plates/bowls/cups for 25cents each. They are gray, teal, or pink. We got some at work because the kids kept breaking the nice dishes.  Even cheaper than a pack of reusable plates! (...I think?)

[Coco]

15 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Regarding Jill's turkey: Technically, she didn't defrost it in the bath tub. She defrosted it in a cooler that she put in the bath tub IIRC and which makes sense. If she spilled water, at least it would drain easily. It's not like her kitchen was that huge or their house offered all kinds of options. @lumpentheologie I don't think there's anything wrong with the way Jill (or you) defrosted the turkey. Sometimes people need to be creative. The turkey was still covered by its packaging. It's not as if she just threw the unwrapped turkey into old bath water. ?

Just realized I didn't even think twice about that because growing up the tub was an all purpose thing that got disinfected every day ? plus I saw the pic of the Rubbermaid container she used in there. But it's SO nice to have a farmhouse sink in the kitchen and a deep utility sink in the laundry room now for most of that kind of stuff and keep it out of the bathroom area. 

15 hours ago, DarkAnts said:

It can be hard to get fresh food depending on where you live and your income level.
 

People in lower income levels may not be able to drive to a farm or butcher that is selling fresh turkey. Fresh turkeys are also usually from farms that have more humane facilities. That drives up the cost of the meat. 
 

Most grocery stores have frozen turkeys on sale this time of year. They can cost as little as $1.00 per pound. Fresh turkey are usually $1.50 per pound or more. That is a price difference of at least $10 you are buying a 20 lb turkey. Low income families need to spend that $10 on other things. 
 

One good thing is that frozen food is overtaking canned food. The food bank near me now provides frozen veggies and fruit instead of canned. They get huge boxes of frozen veggies and fruit that volunteers portion off into individual bags. Its a huge step up from canned produce.

So true. About six years ago my hubby and I went through a financial valley. We were on EBT for a year and used the local food pantry. It was really great what they had available. Unfortunately it was not frequent enough for many people who needed it, the local one only allowed once a month per family and usually only one can or box per category, but the frozen and bread sections were cool. A lot of grocery stores brought truckloads of recently expired meat and day old bread. It's amazing how many people looked relatively well off and capable but were so strapped by bills and expenses that they qualified for food help. When I went to sign up they even asked if I was military ? because it's so common. I learned so much from that whole experience, esp. to never judge anyone. 

Edited November 30, 2019 by Coco

[PennySycamore]

@QuiverFullofBooks,  I use two paper bowls to give my dogs their lunch: they each get a can of Cesar every day. And I use a small paper plate (saucer-size) for the cat's later evening meals.  The paper bowls/plates are because dog/cat saliva is hard to clean off dishes manually.  A dishwasher handles it though.  Once I have a functioning dishwasher  again, I plan to stop the paper bowls and saucers except when we go away and my daughter comes over to feed the cat.

[HeartsAFundie]

I hosted one Thanksgiving for my family and purchased high-quality, festively designed Chinet to use in lieu of regular plates (I did however, use real silverware).  For some reason, I thought it was a great idea and a time-saver, plus I liked the harvest-designed plates for the holiday.   My father was completely aghast over it and has never let me live that one down, particularly since I do own a decent set of china plus a dishwasher.  I totally see the point there because it really does take little time to stack plates and push a dishwasher button.  But yeah, I 100% cop to being lazy on that one. 

We go to my husband's parents for Christmas dinner (they insist on having it and my MIL is a great cook) and for the last decade or so have eaten on plastic plates and with plastic utensils.  However, my in-laws are 79 (MIL) and 86 (FIL) respectively and don't own a dishwasher, so they get a well-deserved pass.  Having no plates and silverware to wash/dry is a time-saver in this case since the rest of us all pitch in to clean up everything else for them.  Less for us to do!   

Edited December 1, 2019 by HeartsAFundie

[FluffySnowball]

57 minutes ago, PennySycamore said:

The paper bowls/plates are because dog/cat saliva is hard to clean off dishes manually.  

Oh, I didn’t know that. As a future dog and cat owner, I’m always happy about any information I can get! 

ETA: here are a dog and a cat emoji cause I just couldn’t help myself ?❤️? 

Edited December 1, 2019 by FluffySnowball

[Maggie Mae]

34 minutes ago, FluffySnowball said:

Oh, I didn’t know that. As a future dog and cat owner, I’m always happy about any information I can get! 

ETA: here are a dog and a cat emoji cause I just couldn’t help myself ?❤️? 

I'm fairly certain my former dog and my current cat would absolutely eat the paper plate too. YMMV, of course. 

[Meggo]

Holidays at my husbands house easily have 55 people sitting down for dinner. We use paper plates (and regular bowls for soup for some reason)

because it’s hard to have enough plates for 50+ people. I suggested we pull together a “set” from second hand stores- of all of it and just have that box rotate to whoever is hosting.

nope. 

So, okay...