"If it's ok with you, I'll just prep the pasta dough over here on the table instead of on the counter by the mousetraps. It's just that it'll be nice to sit on these lovely chairs here and there's more space to use the pasta maker."

"Don't worry, if there's only a mini frying pan, we can sauté the Swiss chard in shifts."

"Hmm. It appears that your cookie sheet is too big for the oven door to close. I'll just make a foil ball to prop up one end of the sheet and create a diagonal so we can mostly shut the door. And it looks like there will even be extra foil to seal off the gap and keep more of the heat in!"

"If it's not too much trouble, since we need a mixing bowl, maybe I could wash out that pot on the floor? It's not raining today, so the ceiling's not dripping into it right now, and I promise to put it right back after dinner."

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Matthea Marquart lives in New York City.