Some people will take offense at anything. Sounds like they feel entitled to only the most appropriate gifts and everyone should be able to read their minds as to what that is. Prima Donnas perhaps? A gift is usually given with good intentions and should be accepted gracefully and certainly without offense! I have a relative by marriage who told me they would prefer *only* money as gifts. Well that went over like the proverbial lead balloon with me so we continued to give both money and gifts as always. If I can deal with their inappropriate gifts they can deal with mine! Even tho I do my best to find nice things they can use. Many years ago I told my kids that when they receive a gift it is theirs and they can keep it, sell it, give it away, or throw it away - their choice.

Some Irish recipes don't transpose well; sometimes the disappointment in the final product comes from an inability to find comparable ingredients or a misunderstanding of measures. Notice the differences in amounts in this recipe for brown bread. From the Little Irish Baking Book by Ruth Isabel Ross: Nutty Brown Bread 50 g / 2 oz / 1/2 cup pinhead oatmeal* 175 g / 6 oz / 1 1/2 cups wheatenmeal (whole-wheat) flour 75 g / 3 oz / 3/4 cup white (all-purpose) flour 1/2 t./generous 1/2 t. US t. sugar 1 heaped tsp / 1 1/4 US tsp bread (baking) soda 280 ml / 1/2 pint / 1 1/4 c. buttermilk Put the oatmeal, flours, sugar and bread/baking soda into a bowl and sift with your fingers. Add the buttermilk. Mix everything with a wooden spoon. Knead slightly. Place the dough in a greased tin and bake at 200°C / 400°F / gas 6 for 30-35 minutes. Wrap the loaf in a clean tea towel/dish cloth to keep it from becoming hard. Do not cut it for a few hours but finish within 24 hours. *pinhead oatmeal is also known as Irish or Scottish oatmeal or steel-cut oats Irish "all-purpose white" is a soft wheat low-protein flour. So something like a bread flour or a typically high protein King Arthur flour would not yield pleasing results. White Lily or another soft southern flour like Weisenberger is a bit closer to the original. This article from The Atlantic provides some helpful insights on Irish flour: The Secret of the Irish Scone For the truly authentic, Irish flours can be purchased at the link. Carol

Picked up some red and white striped, heart-shaped ravioli and their wonderful meatballs (not heart-shaped) from the little pasta factory in town. Will make a nice dinner--served with salad, and chocolate cupcakes. Then next weekend, I'll take him to a restaurant he's been wanting to try. He'll probably either bring me a plant, or will offer to take me out to dinner someplace I like. Got him a wonderful card, of course.

Last name is McH..., both sets of grands on both sides came from Ireland and still have relatives over there...Our kids are James,Christopher, Kathleen, Kevin and Terrance Patrick...And the fur-babies are Clancy, Kalley and Kelly....Just a wee bit of Irish, don't you think?