My grandma used to freeze her butter and then grate it into the flour with a box grater. No pastry blender or food processor, just the grater. She never explained why, she just did it. But I remember watching her and thinking it was the weirdest thing. Then last Christmas I tried it myself and ended up with these paper thin layers in the crust that just melted on your tongue. @benlewis you might be right about the dryness though, I had to add an extra tablespoon of ice water to get the dough to hold together. Still turned out amazing though, my uncle asked for seconds which he never does.

Wait, his card declined for a six-pack? I mean that's just brutal. Usually those guys in the quick line are like the pros of grocery shopping, they've got it down to a science. But a declined card for twenty bucks? That's next level bad luck, makes me think the universe was personally out to get you on that one.

That's the kind of pocket carry I can actually get behind.

...and that's exactly what happened to my buddy's Mazda. He street parked his 2019 3 in Dallas for like 18 months, and the dash got this weird shiny spot right where the sun hit through the windshield. Looked almost melted. The leather on his steering wheel started peeling too, like little flakes, super gross. Now he uses a sunshade every single day and parks under trees whenever he can.

Damn, wait. That is wild. So the stuff you scraped off was basically a sign that the water is messed up? I mean, I always figured barnacles are just barnacles, you know? It's crazy to think that a specific type is like a red flag for pollution. That would mess with my head too, knowing I just scrubbed away evidence of a problem instead of actually fixing it. Like, what's the point of cleaning if you're just hiding the real issue?