Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for December 07, 2017

Do Toni and Brad even get to pay T.J. once they buy that house?

T.J. hasn’t run into Ann Eiffel since her return.

Why don’t they buy the house from Frank & Nancy? TJ, could remain there and pay rent to them!

A chef, Toni? And, of course, a maid, and definitely a nanny when any kids arrive. All on two firefighter’s wages?

Or Toni can become a full-time mother and homemaker. Then they can eliminate the nanny. But they’d still need the chef and the maid, even more-so with kids. And on one firefighter’s wages.

Time to grow up, boys & girls. Buy your house – and one of you learn to cook!

A decent house with a chef’s quarters out back. And blackout curtains…

Ah. Toni’s mushy comments yesterday built up to her request for a chef on top of a new house. I knew there was a reason for her uncharacteristic behavior. Built it to aim big. I would as I am a lousy cook too.

I’m happy to see that all those who have been insisting that Toni was only being nice to Brad so she could tell him she wants to adopt Shannon are wrong, so far…

Here we thought Brad & Toni were gonna adopt Shannon. Instead they want to adopt TJ !

TJ will be your live-in chef for free! Oh, wait – now you’re back to square one.

they can buy a house that has a duplex, and TJ can be at Duplex

Ah. And So Old Smiley’s name is mentioned, as predicted, before the week is out. These two CAN’T make a Single Life Decision WITHOUT Invoking the Name and Approval of “TJ.” Sad.

So I guess the “Golly Gee! Let’s Invite Old Smiley to LIVE with Us Rent Free, Forever!” Conversation, Is right around the corner, eh?

It’s too Bad. This Marriage had such a great beginning……,

Mr. Grey builds a second bathroom and whatever else they need.

~~~

Simple enough quick solution.

Is this going to end with Toni telling him she’s pregnant?

And yeah, it was time to get your own place when you got married.

Reading over some of the comments: You do realize that Toni is joking, don’t you?

Somebody compelled to cook, clean, and clear cinder from chimneys:

Cinderella

-

Someone compelled to DIY, clean and make a mean salmon dish:

Salmonella

“My Chef Concern”

“Salmon Planted Evening”

“Enough Meals On This, I Trust, To Go Round And Round….” (♪)

“TJ, The Register Of Dills”

“Parsley, Sage, Rosemary And Thyme, Enough For You” (♩)

“Let ’Im In” (♬)

“Cook Of The House” (♬)

“Planned, On The Run” (♬)

“We Keep Mr. Belvedere In The Garage”

“The Jeeves Are Wonderful, This Time Of Year”

“The Family Food”

“Same Thing, Just A Bigger House”

“Second House, Not Worst, But Still Nearly The Same As The First!” (♩)

or

“Aw, Daddy!? Can We Keep Him!?”

Shoot, people take those comments so literally, even for Luannverse. One thing, I think Toni is showing a fine sense of ironic humor, with Brad being the straight man, but I think they will decide on a reasonable path. They do have to do something with TJ, the bachelor days are gone, and kids are probably inevitable, but in the fine tradition of Luannverse I am sure some resolution of the second year and going forward with Brad and Toni, and what going forward, will be shown soon, or in several weeks (lol).

Funny that people don’t seem to bat an eye when wealthy people have a live-in housekeeper, nanny, etc. Yet Brad and Toni, who work long, weird shifts, get grief for living with TJ. If neither of them want to learn to cook, what’s wrong with having TJ live with them? Shannon is probably going to wind up living with them anyway so they will never be alone. Or if they have the kids that everyone seems desperate to see (Toni will definitely have to put her career on hold for that—think she’s ready do to that?) that puts a damper on ardor. Plus, what’s the big deal? So you can’t have sex on the kitchen counter. That’s overrated anyway. Give me a comfy bed any day—and there all you have to do is lock the door.

Very unrealistic. Two firefighters that can’t cook. I just don’t believe it.

Why not get TJ to teach them how to cook. Anyone with even a modest intelligence can learn to be a decent cook. They may never get to TJ’s level, but as long as they can follow written directions and learn from their mistakes and not give up, they can become decent home cooks. It’s not rocket surgery.

4

Overall I can understand some gentle grousing about TJ living with them…. but hell… it is NOT that unheard of. A lot of folks over the centuries have had to have a variety of different living arrangements. It is not particularly odd for a newly married couple to live with another person or two or three… it could be an extended family, or friends (like TJ) or other groupings.

So, in my manner of thinking, I can understand the TALK those two are having about TJ, but I hope that they come to the conclusion (with Greg’s effort) that things are going along pretty well at the moment and that they ARE in fact working towards their stated goals of saving money for a future home purchase AND they are getting some damn good food as well.

For me, I hope this is what Greg chooses to do…. as I still see a lot of unexplored territory for him to explore in this particular living arrangement. I hope that he puts his creativity to this task and explores it further.

Greg should have done what I suggested last year, let TJ live in Toni’s old apartment and then Toni and Brad could have stayed in the house. The house does belong to Brad’s parents and he is paying them rent.

Just another stupid plot point in this strip: Greg and Toni both have full-time jobs, and yet can’t afford to even rent their own home? Why is that? Neither one of them has been to college and so they don’t have any meaningful debt to speak of. Also interest rates are so low right now, pretty much anyone can get a mortgage…. I guess the more accurate line for Toni is “save for a down-payment on a house….”

Both are fire fighters, as such they have to be able to cook for the house on their rotation.

Just some information: According to the US Department of Labor, starting salaries for firefighters in California are about $36,060. A more experienced firefighter can earn up to $66,260 annually, but I’m not sure that Brad or Toni are at that level yet. Meanwhile, according to Zillow (real estate), the median (exact midpoint of a range, with equal number of observations below and above) value of a single family house in California is $521,800. Zillow says that housing costs in California increased by 7.1 percent over the last year, and are anticipated to go up at least another 2% next year.

We should take a vote. How many want TJ in their house?

I miss Knute and Crystal!

There is a large fire station near me in an upscale north Texas suburban area. I’ve walked by and noticed that they have a barbecue pit on their patio, and that a fireman is sometimes there tending it. I don’t know if they have a full-time cook, but the firemen do seem to be involved at least in the barbecuing.

We will probably find out that the real reason Brad and Toni do not work at the same fire station is that they did not want to have to take a chance of having two bad cooks at the same station.

a house and a chef? seems like they already have that. What does Toni want? a chef that arrives to cook each meal and then leaves. I think they need to learn how to cook for themselves. They could start with those kits (Blue Apron) that get delivered; hard to believe anyone would go for that, but some need extreme hand holding; it is like training wheels and then they could graduate to real cooking.

It’s nice dreaming about the best and brightest future, Brad and Toni, but achieving it isn’t all that easy. Take it one step at a time (not so hard for you as Greg’s creations, because he likes a slow pace)….

@SISYPHOS: Compared to Jack and Carole Bender, Greg Evans’s creations move at light speed…

Great conversation, thoughtful and gently humorous. But man, the heat has gone out of these newlyweds’ connection, today. Toni looks older and wan and not at all the fun love interest that we have seen. Her clothes’ colors are enervating & her lips are — smaller?? They both seem like they’ve aged five years since we last saw them. What ever happened to dashing off to the bedroom for a magic carpet ride after a fun game of strip-budget-talk?

Toni and Brad’s love boat is ready for a rudder. It’s time to start thinking about direction and goals. The marriage begins.

On the contrary Goat, America has foisted all their nasty fast food habits onto the rest of the world. It’s American eating habits that are contaminating the rest of the world.