If it helps the refrigerator pickles we made last fall are still good. We made up several jars following a recipe that was rather sweet. We have about 1/4 of the last jar left. I was rather surprised how good they still were when I found one more jar of them a few weeks ago tucked back behind the molasses.

You have enough chips & Soda? Don't forget the brownies... No brownies as the range was already in the dining room. They brought some pop and a few goodies, and I also had chips and pretzels and dip, and hard candy, and leftovers to heat for lunch. I think a good time was had by all. The girls had no problem being entertained by TV (I have satellite and they don't), the computer, some hand held games, and we even played a couple of board games. Initially I was pretty stressed by 2 loud radios, the loud TV, and a loud saw. I was surprised that I soon settled down and the stress left. Did you argue yet over grout color? No. He and I went to buy all of the material yesterday and picked out and up the grout too. We kind of had it narrowed down to a few colors and I asked the clerk in the Tile Dept what he suggested. He gave 2 different options, and my tile man and I chose one of them. Surprisingly, no biggie. I told my tiler (Mike) yesterday that I just wanted simple tile, no borders or anything busy. Today he asked me if I wanted them all in rows, or if I wanted them staggered in the rows, or maybe even wanted a diamond pattern. Sheesh...I was frantic about making the right decision, as I was sure there was a way that was more right than the other ways. He dry laid out samples of all ways. I took pics and planned to post them on line for opinions. I then called a good friend, that I trust making decisions like that, and she said that for my house, it would be best to go with straight. Thank goodness I didn't have to decide for myself. Whew...what a day. I still have to rip the carpet out of a hall and a bathroom tonight. I'd best get busy.

Lars, I am going to have to try that one... too interesting not to, lol.. I buy cottage cheese to have on hand for a childhood comfort food of spaghetti and cottage cheese, so next time I'll buy a large container and try it. I'll report back. I like the Nathans crust, and that perfect butter crust that Terri posted is about what I usually do. I don't usually use a recipe since I've made so many pies, often in large numbers. That crust that uses 5#'s of flour is a good one too. I love oatmeal so I'm going to have to try Ann's Maple Oat one too. We picked up a bunch of apples today at the heritage farm, and I think that would be good with them. Thanks for posting it Terri. The only one I don't care for is the one that uses vodka. I've tried it a couple times and just didn't care for it. Didn't care for the taste and texture could have been better. I drink vodka, so the taste shouldn't have been a problem, lol. I do better winging it.. smiles. Those pie crust pinwheels were made with the last of that crust I had frozen. I didn't even like it used as that but luckily Christy liked them. Wasn't my technique, since I have no trouble with a light hand anyplace else, plus I made it twice, had to give it a good chance. But, hey, that's what this place is about. Not everyone will like every recipe.

I have used this recipe for a couple of years now and it is the best I have ever tried. It truly is a NO FAIL crust. And I can't cook! AuntCarol's Pie Crust  Never-Fail Type This pie crust recipe is one thatÂs SUPER easy to roll out  one that never gets soggy  leaving that last piece of pie as good as the first  itÂs the ONLY pie crust recipe IÂll ever use  itÂs the BEST  Ingredients  1 egg  3/4 teaspoon salt  1 tablespoon WHITE vinegar  7 tablespoons water  1 cup shortening (CRISCO)  3 cups flour BEAT egg. ADD salt, vinegar, and water. ADD shortening. BLEND with fork, while ADDING flour about a cup at a time. FORM into one big dough ball. THEN DIVIDE into 3 equal-sized dough balls (or you can divide it into 2 equal-sized dough balls like I do sometimes). ROLL OUT thin on a lightly floured surface and then PLACE into pie pan of your choice. Note: Prepared pie shell should be put into the refrigerator 30 minutes before filling  and REMEMBER all fruit pies should be baked on the lowest rack in your oven  ENJOY  Trish in SC