After watching the documentary, "The Cove", I wouldn't put anything past Japan either. If they are willing to try to pass off mercury-filled dolphin meat as other types of fish, I would not be surprised at other contaminated fish being sold also. Some practices by the Japanese gov't that The Cove reveals are horrifying to say the least. It's an excellent film, although extremely difficult to watch. Here is a link that might be useful: The Cove

Our DS has a futon with a microfiber- covered cushion, and it is still in good shape after years of college dorm life, and moves and people and dogs sleeping on it. It even survived life in a fraternity house! And years ago I had a pair of navy slacks in a microfiber fabric that I used to take on trips. They were really and truly miracle pants. They didn't stretch, sag, stain, or go limp, and were actually wash and wear with no ironing needed----and I have EVERYTHING ironed, even my sheets, so that is saying a lot. If you can find something you like in microfiber, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

I can empathize with your frustration. Having to deal with the well water is a lot harder than it sounds. Also having a spouse that is completely opposed to moving does not help. Sounds like he is attached to the house because of everything he has done to it. He may like the rural space also, but he needs to realize there are conviences of living in or nearer to town. A house is a financial investment and also where you live affects quality of life. I wonder if there is anything that annoys your husband about your current location. If it affects his quality of life and if you can find a house that is a good financial decision, maybe he will swoon. Maybe you can find common ground and get closer to the city without being all the way inside the city. I bought my house in a small rural town 30 minutes outside of the city. That is what I could afford, and I got a large garage and decent yard with it. I bought it with the idea it was a starter home. Unfortunately it was a sellers market when I bought because there was a large flood and a lot of people were looking to move. So I probably paid more than it was worth, just the way it worked out. I was SO done renting and dealing with a landlord, watching my money disappear into rent and not keeping any equity. Wife and I both commute for work. The commute is on a 4 way highway so it is fast and safe most of the time. We also have bad roads in the winter from time to time and its annoying but doable. I could not imagine living more rural than what I am because there is no way I would live farther than 30 mins commute OR live on a country road with no way to plow myself out to get to work on a bad snow day. I have done and continue to do a bunch to the house with the hope to sell in the future. It will be about 2200 sqft when I am done with the basement. I dont have plans on living here forever because this small town doesnt have much, we get everything in the city when we go to work. I think that people doing renovations always need to think of resale so they dont get too attached to their labor of love. I will definitely enjoy the house more as I get more projects done, but I wont be afraid to move. I have to do a lot of planning to do my renovations so I have everything I need ahead of time. It is hard for me doing renovations if I discover I need another part to justify driving all the way into town to get that, so I usually stop that job and do something else. It is also annoying for my wife to run errands on days off because she has to drive into town. My wife also feels isolated from the city, she grew up in the city and is used to just going to do something whenever. I grew up on a farm so I am used to waiting to commute although I can see living in town would be nice. We both like the house after the things I have done to it but there is always more that can be done to improve it of course. We have a good sized yard and a large garden. Wife likes to have bird feeders and we get plenty of birdies to watch. Yes the commute makes the house affordable and the taxes a heck of a lot less but it is a big time sink and an inconvience. It's all about balance, commute time or money. Some day we will get in the city, but we are both young and starting to get debt paid down first.

I'm sure I've been "young lady-ed" at some point, but can't think of a precise time. I can picture a young waiter saying this (and faux flirting), but I think I would tend to just inwardly say, "What a dork" instead of feeling upset over it. I think I'd see him not as condescending, but perhaps as socially awkward and a bit clueless. And young. Sometimes youth and dumb go hand in hand. ;-) This reminds me of dining out once with my ex husband, who had a long ponytail. We were seated in a booth and the waiter walked up behind where my ex was sitting, turned to face us and said, "Are you ladies ready to order?" That was many years ago, but it still makes me chuckle. ;-) But I digress. I do agree that context is everything, but out of all the many things that tend to make my hackles rise, a waiter trying to be cute/clever isn't really one of them. That's more along the lines of meriting an inward eye roll and carrying on with the dining experience, IMO.