Oh, gift giving is fraught with perils! I opt out of being on either end of that game.

Hand made things can be a real albatross around the neck of the recipient and the social dynamics that it sets in place can be an unwelcomed dimension to a relationship.

NO, just NO!

Unless you have something really special that comes from your hands......... and, most of us dont, really.

Why spend the minutes of your life trying to find something for a gift that no one needs, or probably even wants? I am so completely done with all of that!.

Back in times where people had less, a gift may have been more appreciated. But, in our modern lives, most of us have so darned many doo dads already.

The best I received is the wooden inlaid tray...it's beautiful and so nicely done.

While not made by the giver, it was custom and I love it...she took the bottle of wine I served at our dinner (it was cobalt blue) and took it to an artisan who pressed it into a serving dish and it came with a serving knife. I love it...such a nice memory of our time together!

Gifts I have made include blankets, hats, cowls, scarfs, needlepoint coasters, baby sweaters and booties, gnome, decoupaged decorative plates, vases, beaded ornaments. I haven't but have thought about making note cards (for old ladies who still send them) using one of my photos. I have made calendars as gifts though in the past using my photos.

Many people I know are craftspeople, so I have gotten a variety of wonderful handmade gifts over the years. Yarn goods, warm sweaters and blankets and the like. A lot of sewn items, probably a best was my second wedding dress, but I also dearly love some of my lounge wear. A smattering of woodworking goods, mostly furniture or kitchen useful with a few trinkets and jewelry. A goodly bunch of ceramics/pottery items. Glass, some of it more functional like drinking vessels, some pretty like jewelry, hair goods, beads. A bunch of hair goods of various materials. Beadwork, needlework, some precious metalwork. Bits of ironwork, leatherwork, weavings of different materials, a tad of random stonework of various kinds. Couple nice pairs of boots/footwear. Some other haberdashery and featherwork. A small handful of musical instruments. Food, lots of food- and lots of brews too. Wine, beer, mead, some other things. A couple nice teas, though more often those have been kind of meh. A nice variety of personal toiletries, though a few of them have been misses with the scent in them. A bunch of garden goods over the years, harvest and plants, homegrown seeds.

My wedding invite suite for my second wedding was handmade and a wonderful gift. The puffy fabric scrapbook from my first wedding not so much, heh. Art can be hit or miss- we have gotten some neat art and some investment art. We aren't fond of the investment art, heh.

I often give food. Sometimes plants or garden goodies. Beadwork, sewn things, needlework.. hair goods. Probably some of the better stuff has been things like embroidered gauntlets or monogramed linens, or a suite of wedding jewels. A couple miniatures have been greatly appreciated. Holiday ornaments have been, but I haven't made any in years. I was pretty happy with an embroidered on leather piece I collaborated with another person on. The person who received it has been wearing it for years :)

Yes.

It was a civil discussion and was so intended. For some, truth hurts and is best suppressed, ignored, or both. .

But, Elmer, I fear that we have little civility left and it gets more eroded with every passing day. Tensions are high and this coming summer and fall are going to be nasty, very nasty.

I missed the drama of what ever it was that was said.

I'd eat all of it LOL

My understanding is that it made with short fats such as butter or lard and that is why it is called a short cake. Butter is usually cut into the flour such as is done when making a biscuit, thus, it is basically a biscuit, but usually sweeter than a biscuit.

Strawberries and cake can be any kind of cake that you want, but it may not be shortcake. People call anything with berries and cream a short cake, whether it really is, or not.

I dont much care for the real short cake version of it.