Were it not for the World Wide Web I’d be oblivious to the household items I was expected to acquire by age 30. I have the sofa — well, loveseat actually — and could likely pull together twelve wine glasses. I’m certain I lacked even the coffee table at age thirty since it would have taken up floor space where my friends sat while listening to The Moody Blues. The most befuddeling item I was expected to own was a collection of coffee table books. I can guarantee that in 1978 the only coffee table book a Seattle thirty-year-old would own would have been a collection of Ansel Adams’ photography.

I wonder what items the WWW would require in the thirty-year-old’s freezer. The other day, while cozied in to watch it rain, I felt  the urge to cook but didn’t want to venture out to shop. I opened the freezer, pulled out all the Trader Joe’s items we hadn’t eaten, and tossed them into my six-quart, red enameled Martha Steward cooking pot. There was a package of Indian curried vegetables with rice; Pa jeon; asparagus spears; half a bag of frozen corn; and turkey meatballs. I poured in organic, free-range, chicken broth and a few pinches of saffron salt then let it simmer several hours.

We have all we need.