Subprimals need a good long rest before you even think about breaking them down. That old timer wasn't being dramatic, he was saving you from a mess. If you cut into them too early the meat fights back, the muscles are all tight and the knife slips everywhere. I learned that the hard way when I was starting out and ended up with a bunch of jagged steaks that looked terrible. Give them at least 30 minutes on the table, sometimes longer if the piece is thick.

@elizabethtaylor your grandma's porch sounds indestructible, my last DIY project ended up looking like a toddler stacked the bricks. Guess that's what I get for using modern quick-dry mortar lol.

Every time I find decent avocados somewhere, the next week they're gone and the price went up again.

Had a buddy in Denver who was the exact same way, overplanning everything down to the minute. He finally just started suggesting a simple coffee walk and let her pick the place, and his date success rate went way up. Guess people like feeling like they have a say in the fun.

A notebook with highlighted keepers, that's a pretty organized system. I'd probably lose the notebook after week two and be digging through crumpled receipts trying to remember if I liked that mushroom stroganoff or just tolerated it. 40 out of 100 is a decent hit rate, but it sounds like you're running a little test kitchen in your own home. Next step is probably giving each recipe a star rating and writing a short review for yourself. "Tofu nuggets 5 stars, would eat again during a power outage.