No, NO Sherry, you can't have the Subzero!! I made do for years with a small refrig/freezer that we bought used when we got married. It was like doing a jigsaw puzzle to get food in and out of it. A year of so after the fourth son was born, I just couldn't fit enough food in it to keep up with the appetites and went out looking for a new one. Accidentally stumbled on to this Subzero as a floor model that they had discounted. We had to work on the cabinets to build it in and it is only the refrigerator (no freezer) so we have to step into the laundry room for ice etc where our big freezer is, but HEY it is wonderful!!! Huge with four BIG crisper drawers and space galore. One of the best buys I've ever made. Always a little strange when new people open it up and stand there looking for the freezer. May have used up some of my luck as today I'm at the hospital with DH who is about to have totally unexpected gall bladder surgery.... but the fridge is still working!!!! Grace

I just went through a website today called onetravel.com and got great prices. Round-trip tickets from DC to Boston, four seats, for 521.00 including all taxes. Then got a rental car for the weekend for $90 for three days from the same website. For the whole three-day weekend, airfare and car rental for the four of us came to $593! (there was a $20 discount if you booked right away). This website combines airlines, so we are flying out on JetBlu and returning on United. I also just called them on the phone to get seating assignments and got them right away. I was very happy with this - I'll have to visit my family in Mass more often with these prices.

I have never heard or read, here or elsewhere this topic has been discussed, anybody acting like touching an obese person is gross (like sharing an armrest). Does anybody think it's catching? Sharing an arm rest is fine. Not being able to use the arm rest at all because the person next to you is using the whole thing, is a different matter. I totally agree that one of the main problems is the seating widths and leg space on planes. They are not designed for most people and certainly not for comfort. A few months or a year back, I read an article about the Washington State Ferry System and how they were in the process of changing their passenger occupancy limits due to the fact that people are much bigger now than when the ferries were built and, thus, capacity needs to be reduced. I think planes have done the opposite and are cramming more people in. More people fly these days because flights are cheaper. if you compare fares to income, flying is much more affordable today than it was 40-50 years ago. The reduced fares are, in part, due to more seats being squeezed into the plane. The more flyers, the lower the cost. To be honest, I love to fly in spite of all of this because flights take me to fun and interesting places. I usually find myself falling asleep on planes because I have so much to do to get ready to go that I'm usually exhausted by the time I board and I want to rest up so I can hit the ground running and then, when I'm on my way back, I'm exhausted from playing and exploring. I guess, as a society, we need to ask ourselves if we're willing to pay more for larger seats and more leg room or if we want the deals so we can travel more. When it comes down to it, for me, I'll take the deals.

A few thoughts - --I had to cancel an American flight last year, and I think the fee was $200 or $250. --Typically you have one year to use the credit from a cancellation, but it's one year from when you made the original reservation, NOT one year from when your original flight was. So pay close attention to the expiration date, since it's likely earlier than your original flight date. Also ask to make sure whether you have to fly by the expiration date, or just book by the expiration date. --I don't think I had to fly to the same destination as the original flight (even though I did), but I think it did have to be the same person taking the replacement flight. I'm not sure about that because I was planning to use my credit anyway, but I seem to recall the agent saying something about that. It's worth asking if you're considering trying to combine both your and your husband's flight credits for one flight for one of you or something like that - they may not let you do that. --Cancel before the day your first flight takes off. If you wait until after your first flight leaves, then you're considered a no-show and I think your options may not be as good? --When I cancelled my flight, I found the way they worded the credit confusing. If you pay $1,000 for a flight (just to keep the numbers round!) and the fee is $200, I expected to be told that I had an $800 credit. But they tell you that you have a $1,000 credit, and the fee will be deducted when you go to re-book the flight. So it amounts to the same thing - you still have $800 of usable credit, I just found the wording confusing. I think maybe they phrase it that way in case they decide to increase the fee before you use the credit, and then they'd be deducting the new higher fee from your credit instead.