I'm going to stick my 2 cents worth in here. I've had many Canon cameras and have loved them all. My current one is an SX10-IS which has a fantastic "Super Macro" feature that allows 0" focusing distance - yes, you can set something directly on the lens and it focuses beautifully. Amazing feature. Also has a 20x optical zoom and an excellent lens, many options for control or total automatic. I can't recommend this series of cameras enough. Quality is *this close* to a dSLR (we also have a Canon 10D) and it really takes stunning images. There are 2 other models in this range since I bought my camera - the SX1-IS and the SX-20 IS. Good luck with your choice - there are sooo many options out there! Nancy Here is a link that might be useful: Canon PowerShot SX10-IS

Nanny, your lovely silver may remain a mystery - I have several pieces without a maker's mark that I doubt I will ever identify. Many were made by small shops that sold to jewelers to stamp as their own or they did job work for larger companies. Is there anything that resembles a 'W' inside the triangle? The maker that comes to mind with that symbol is William Wilson & Sons of Phila (1893-1909). They produced very high quality work & your forks seem to fall into that category but it is an off-the-wall guess without seeing the closeup of the triangle. I've looked through 2 pattern books & didn't come up with an exact match. Regardless, enjoy your silver - & don't worry about who its father was! Master butter knives are larger (about 7-1/4" long, all-silver, & usually with an offset handle) & were used to take butter from the serving dish & place it on one's individual bread & butter plate. The individual spreader (approx 5-3/4") that accompanied the B&B dish was usually flat & used to spread the butter onto the roll or whatever. Large patterns sometimes offered the choice of all-silver spreaders or hollow handled with a plated blade, but either way, the spreaders are smaller & have more rounded tips than the Master Butter Knives. Sorry I can't give you better id of your forks.

Bellsmom, Ice cream freezers are a pretty mature technology, and Cuisinart isn't likely to turn belly up during your warranty period, so why not? :) I like that the 100 has the different paddles, though I don't know how big a difference it makes. I donated counter space that wasn't all that useful anyway to mine, but I wish it did a magic appear/disappear act. :) Yours should be fine in the pantry if you have a solid counter and a plug. It's sure to vibrate a lot and needs some clear space for the circulation of warm air (i.e., not right up against your foodstuffs because they want cool pantry, and a freezer will warm it up). Those are the biggest problems with putting it in the pantry. Do you have a laundry room where you could put it? Maybe keep a cloth over it when not in use to keep away lint, etc. Or even a protected porch? The lack of water shouldn't be a big issue because of the removable bowl. You can take all the main parts to the sink for cleaning (maybe keep a little dishpan with the machine to dump them in, and just bring a sponge or rag and a small bowl (or the dishpan) of water to the machine for wiping it down. Kids love making frozen treats, and it's also a great way to teach them about what's in what they're eating. Be really honest with yourself, however. Do you really want to be carrying the ingredients back and forth? And the clean-up? Would you rather have it on the kitchen counter? Would giving up freezer space be no issue because you'd be using the space you usually fill with bought ice cream for the bowl of a non-freezer model? Will you use it more if it's just ready to go? Will you use it less if you have to unearth the bowl from a pile of stuff in the freezer? I know the arias are beautiful, but imagine yourself doing the conducting. Read through the instructions online and imagine yourself doing the work. See which model you'd really rather have to fit into your real life and way of doing things, and your particular cooking setup. You're already well informed. That's the next good step to making a choice.

I'm happy to provide it! Embarrasingly easy. GreatGram's Pie Crust 1 c. flour 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp salt. 1/3 c. shortening (generous) 1/4 c. milk Mix dry ingredients and cut in shortening. Add liquid. Makes enough pastry for 8" single-crust pie. When I made the pecan pies for the restaurant, my hands were hurting something awful! My husband (who doesn't cook at all) said--fine I'll do it! Sure, dude! I couldn't believe he thought he could make pie crust! Coffee, yes, pie crust?????? Well, I measured out the ingredients and then bent over the bowl as he mixed the dry ingredients with the shortening using the pastry thingie. When everything was as it should be--I yelped "Stop!" then took over. He is too funny! Didn't understand what was going on, but oh so happy to do it! Trudymon, enjoy it. It is very easy to use and its the only crust I ever make!