I have a Krauss deep SS -- no water spots. I think the sinks of today just don't have the same issues as formerly. So someone hating their old, spotty sink just might be not relevant to your consideration today. I really like the basket that came with my Krauss sink. It's a cylinder and works very well. In contrast with the grid which I think is kind of a pia (and also in contrast with my silgranite which has a basket that's less good). I might just take the stupid grid out. It seems like it should be good, but the grid is too big so things teeter on the bottom of the sink And it's hard to clean with the metal wires joining and making sharp edges. Just not my cup of tea, but YMMV. Sinks is a very personal thing. Another of those issues only resolvable by thinking really hard about your own personal kitchen work habits and likes/dislikes. The good news is, I don't think there's a wrong answer, really. Well ... OK, don't buy a high gauge SS sink. Don't fail to inspect your mail-ordered silgranite for cracks, etc. But the rest is very much personal preference and opinion... so ours doesn't count. BTW, if I had to do it again, I'd consider a lab sink or a restaurant sink - just one big giant oblong. Bigger the better! But that's just me... ;)

Two stories: First, a story of an old friend of mine. She lived with a guy for two years in college and they got along well. They got engaged. He was wrong for her, but she said she loved him. "Mom" immediately began planning the wedding for just after graduation. She took on a second job. The wedding got a life of it's own. "Mom" was going to create the wedding of her dreams for her daughter. She was in charge. The morning of the wedding, her daughter was sick in the bathroom. Came out and said "Mom, I'm sick. Should I cancel the wedding?" Mom jokingly laughed and said "I'll push you down the aisle in a wheelchair". Mom thought it was jitters. Her daughter was telling the truth. Mom had worked so hard for the wedding, daughter went through with it. Guilt wedding number one. Groom lost his wedding ring the week after the wedding. Couple was separated after a month and got a divorce. Second story, my cousin married a guy that was similar to the guy in this story. He was a jerk. She had low self-esteem. "Mom" made the grand push to create a big wedding for her daughter and didn't listen to the signals that something was wrong. Girl got married. Mom-guilt, again. Divorced after a year. To me, the moral of the story for me is, if a girl has a relationship with someone that it's doubtful that it will work out, I'd leave it alone. I wouldn't get excited in either direction. I'd WAIT until SHE starts generating wedding plans. I'd ignore the subject completely. Especially since there isn't an official date nor are specific plans being made. After all, it's HER wedding, right? Then she has to take the helm. I've never understood weddings that get thrown by parents like it's a kid's birthday party. If she's adult enough to marry, she's adult enough to manage the process. Not do all of the work, but be the conductor of her own symphony, so to speak. I feel that mothers are there to support the process, not run it. And if the girl is in charge of it, then she won't lose face if she backs out. All of it gets to be her decision. And if she brings concerns over time, listen. Tell your own truth about what you've learned about marriage, adulthood and life. One thing that I've told all of my grown nieces contemplating marriage is that "this is as good as it gets"...As in..The state of the relationship BEFORE marriage is what it's perfection looks like. Once children and life pressures ensue..Once the couple lets down their guard, they won't try as hard. It's the nature of the beast as marriage isn't one big long date. It's a LIFE. We all can't be "on" for decades. Ergo, if the situation is 'great', then there are things to look forward to and a mellowing. If things are not great, they won't get great with a ring. It's preferable to have this conversation in the abstract and not involving a current boyfriend. Less likely to be taken personally. However, if it's stated like a life law of physics and not like an accusation, it's easier to deal with. I prefer to make statements like that in a neutral fashion without an expectation of a response. Sort of like, take this for what it's worth, but this is what I believe. No big emotion. No fire. Sort of, this is your life and your decision. Like you would with another adult that is not your kid. That allows the person to walk away with it and think about it, as opposed to setting up a situation where someone has to fight to not be wrong. Be yourself. Tell the truth over time. Act like you trust her to make the right choice for herself. She's going to need that if this guy really is wrong for her. She needs to know that she can go to you and talk about it, whatever it looks like. And if at any time, she acts like she wants to balk, but is confused? I'd tell her to spend some time thinking about it, that it's her choice on her timeline. But that it's better to back out before the complications of shared homeownership and children...And that there is no law stating how and when she is to marry. It's her choice. Her life. She's the one that has to live it. More than once my own neutral mother dropped a oneliner piece of truth in my lap that I couldn't have said thank you for at the time, but that I thanked her for later. And when the emotional drama is removed, all that is left is the truth. Just my thoughts on the matter...

My earliest US ancestor came from Wales to the Virginia Colony on the SW side of Chesapeake Bay in ca 1735. From there, with the Dodson(s), they removed ca 1750 to what is now Pittsylvania Co, VA. My ancestor established a 420 acre plantation. I suppose his reason for coming to the colonies was agricultural, and a chance to acquire land. My Franklin ancestor (of my Dad's Mother) came to the colonies for a very different reason. He lived in Acton, England and saw his father hanged for being a Presbyterian. He made up his mind that Acton was not the place for him and left for the colonies hoping to establish a life for himself and wife and children. They were literally penniless upon arrival. They arrived in Boston in the 1700s. He first tried making a living with candle making and found that was not adequate. During the Rev. war, a British Officer brought a wounded conscript Scotsman, Hugh McCoy, to the house of my Franklins (who were now in New Jersey) to recuperate. Hugh McCoy did recover, caught the eye of his benefactor's daughter, and refused to sign up again when his term expired. Daughter and Hugh marries and Hugh now stays in contact with his new family. (This is the only Scot that I can verify in my line.) Near the end of the Revolutionary War, my Franklins, and Hugh McCoy, removed to Burke Co, NC using land warrants from the French and Indian Was and the Revolutionary War to buy land in N.C. After 6 children were birthed, Hugh supposed that he had some property coming to him in Scot,and. He takes passage on a ship. He and the ship is never heard from again. It is supposed the ship was lost at sea. These Franklins move through Boone Gap into Kentucky and thence onward to settle in Franklin Co. TN. One of Hugh's children married a John Brown. It is this couple who came to Illinois in 1828 when the southern portion of Illinois opened for settlement. They produced my Grandmother.

Hi, Charity. If your heart is cold for your husband, I disagree that your marriage is intact. You may still be married, but it's not what marriage is supposed to be. Of course, swinging isn't supposed to be a part of marriage, either, if you believe in the traditional marriage vows (forsaking all others), but I realize that you don't. For me, and I realize not for you, living with someone for whom I have a cold heart just isn't a good, fulfilling life. You and he are getting your sexual kicks otherwise, but if you're getting your emotional needs met outside of the marriage, why don't you just divorce? What in the world is the benefit to anyone of staying married? NOT trying to demean or start an argument. It's just that your way of living and values are apparently so opposite of mine that I'm intrigued. I get my sexual kicks and my emotional and companion needs met by my husband and realize that I am very, very fortunate.