Love the shape of the pitcher - does it have a stopper? I would put honey in it instead of syrup, however, but whatever you use most would be appropriate. It looks small enough to use as a cream pitcher also. Anyway, I love special serving items like that. I've never seen stemless wine glasses. Like David, I need to replace a few myself! I watch Mark Bittman fairly often, and while I don't like his personality, his recipes do sound good - generally fairly quick and fairly easy while also including interesting combinations of ingredients. I think I would like his cookbook much more than his show!! He spends a lot of time in Spain, and I love Spanish food. Lars

LOL I just reread what I wrote and my grammar isn't very good. LOL I had fun opening the boxes to see what Martha had sent. I knew of some of the items like the books and the dessert set and crystal and I knew she was sending me some Christmas decorations but not as many as she sent. LOL Except for the glassware I have to hoist all this stuff up to the attic tomorrow. I still have my Christmas decorations up but I think I will take them down now because the rooms look so cluttered with all this extra stuff. I can pack away the decorations with my own decorations. I'm not sure where or if I want to hang the prints yet and may wait until Spring to decide. I also have 2 stitched pieces I inherited and I just received in December so have to decide where to hang them too. I am very sentimental. My Grandma had all kinds of Royal Doulton figurines and Royal Doulton Toby Jugs and I would sit and look at them and let my imagination take me away. I would think of stories that told tales of the Balloon Lady, Ribbon Lady and the Pot Maker and the Rug Seller selling their wares in the market. I had stories of the Robin Hood and Beefeater Toby Jugs along with many others whose faces I didn't know. Grandma also had a Royal Doulton BullDog with a Union Jack on his back which represented Winston Churchill and a little white bone china dog who stood playfully looking at the ladybug on its tail. I imagined all the pretty lady figurines dancing away and their children - Hummel kids swinging on their tree branches. I drank tea from the finest china with tiny shamrocks on them and lined up the highball and shot glasses of men in their tartan kilts. Whenever I gazed upon the 2 dimensional large plates on Grandma's kitchen wall I used my fingers to cross the drawbridge and climb the steep stone palace stairs and I would stop next to the man in armour who stood guarding the palace door. I so wanted to see his face - my knight in shining armour you know. LOL My Grandma's things are priceless to me. My cousin only visited once or twice a year so has no attachment to these things and it is her right to sell them if she wishes or give them away. I can still have my memories of the things and the stories they told. LOL I was just tickled to received some of the things she did decide to part with. Anne

I think a lovely wine stopper would be a great hostess gift, perhaps even a seasonal one. I saw some beautiful snowflake stoppers the other day for $10. As for the appetizers, that all depends on how serious a wine tasting group this is. I have been to serious wine tastings ( boring!) and the only food was hunks of bread and water crackers...like I said ...boring! LOL Having said that you really don't want to take away from the wines. You can't go wrong with cheese. Perhaps bring one really special cheese and some water crackers or baguette slices. Make sure it's not a fancied up cheese with all sorts of flavourings. Another choice is a selection of really good olives. Even though they are strong flavoured they do seem to go well with wines. Another good choice would be some extra special olive oil and baguette slices for dipping.

I just want a laundry area next to the bedrooms---that vents straight out the back. I can't tell you how many new home owners have issues with the stupid idea of trying to vent a dryer straight up throught the roof, or worse, venting down through the slab where all of the moisture condenses and stops it up in about a month's time. And I want at least enough room to fold the clothes in the laundry room and some room to hand stuff up too. Put all of this in my master closet with a built in coffee machine and beverage fridge and I might never leave the suite! And while I don't care for the concept of a "formal living room" and want to have an open concept plan, I also do want a "den", sunroom, office, or other comfy space where I can shut the door and watch my TV shows or read with a minimum of disruption when the other half (or kids for other families) has friends over and monopolizes the "family" space. I want a vanity space next to a sink and running water, but not necessarily in the "bathroom" with good lighting and a mirror that telescopes to me because I'm blind as a bat and getting worse. Most of all, I want smaller square footage than most home plans that I see being built. As attractive as having a maid would be, it'll never be in my future. So, if I have to clean it all, it had better be all space that I use and no wasted space like a formal dining room that gets used once a year and accumulates dust the rest of the time.