"Smashed" potatoes, anyone?

I asked Thomas what he'd like for dinner, and Andrew, overhearing, said "pork chops!"  Thomas said, "Grilled?"  And I said to Andrew, "Yeah, why don't you grill us some pork chops?"

So he did.

He did a good job, too.  He's just started using the grill, and he loves it.  I made a salad, but both kids said I HAD to make mashed potatoes, too, so I did.

Conversation between Eler Beth and her friend "B", who stayed for dinner:

Eler Beth: "Ooh!  These are homemade mashed potatoes, B, you have to try these!"

B:  "Yeah, my mom makes mashed potatoes, too."

EB:  "These are great, Mom, just the way I like them!"

B:  "Oh!  You mean these are the kind you smash?  With that smasher thing?"

EB:  "Yeah, they're MASHED potatoes!  My Mom peels the potatoes and then mashes them."

B:  "Ooh, these are good!  They're as good as the boxed kind!"

EB, appalled:  "They're BETTER than the box kind!"

B:  "Yeah, they are!  You could sell these in a store!"

Well, they were pretty good, if I do say so myself!

It's still pretty hot out there.  Here's my personal forecast email from a local station:

Dear Lori,

Today is Monday, July 17th, 2006 High heat, high humidity & weak winds provide a bad combination. High readings of ground level ozone have prompted air quality alerts (unhealthy for sensitive groups) to be issued through Tuesday. People with lung disease, active adults & children need to cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activities. In addition to poor air quality the heat & humidity will pushour heat index near 100 for the next few days. A slight break is in the forecast by the end of the week. We'll keep you posted! No problem!  I can cut back on lots of strenuous activities.