"I recently was hired to buy food from Sam's Club and bring it to a local Adult Ed program..." On whose credit card went the food from Sam's? If it went on yours and you paid for it, and presumably reimbursed for it of course, seems to me you are in control of it. If they gave you the money ahead of time to pay for the food (or a credit card, gift card or something similar), then it seems that it's their food and you're services are to pickup, deliver, setup and cleanup and if they get food poisoning from mishandling, it's their problem. The contract seems pretty clear and you did what you contracted to do. I don't think a bridge is necessarily burnt and as said if it is, then you don't want anything more to do with them anyway. There are certain groups of people with whom I don't care to work. My only other suggestion is to always get it in writing, have them put their desires in writing. Maybe if you're going to do this more often, put together an info sheet or questionnaire asking things like how long/what hours do you want me there? What to do with leftovers? If client is to keep them do they have proper food handling conditions? I'd also write into the contract that they're responsible for any mishandling, and specify food poisoning in there to get their attention. A little info on these topics could be very helpful in clearing up confusion. Maybe if they understood why you're apprehensive about leaving food out that long they wouldn't be upset. When I was a wedding photographer, I learned early on to have a contract, even with friends. I wrote into it that in the event of interference I could walk out and all sums are due immediately, that they had to specify people they wanted photographed and more. The one time it saved me a lot of hassles and money. The bride's mother threatened to sue because I didn't photograph a long-lost uncle who suddenly appeared. I knew nothing of him or certainly would have. But having the contract, between the bride, groom and myself eliminated the mother's ability to interfere. Have it in writing. Formal contracts aren't always required as long as the understanding is in writing and agreed by the parties. Handle it in a businesslike manner and you're going to be better off in the long run. Sounds to me like they wanted to deal with you on the "good buddy" system and you wanted to be professional. I think you made the right choice and if they're mad, let them be mad.

Hi Pam!! I'm here!! I just made the salad again for our Christmas feast-there are pics of the salad on my FaceBook page! The recipe is on my old computer so I just wing it and use all sort of salami, ham, provelone-toss in some raw veggies such as bell pepper, celery and onion for crunch. I only use Barilla tiny bow ties for the pasta-I just like the way they look and they are the perfect size. toss everything together with Jardines Muffeletta Spread and there you have it!! I'll most likely make it next time Amy comes home. Cheers! Susie

I have made some things and I also have a friend who made wonderful figures using paper mache. There are several ways to do this. I'll start with the easiest since that's the one I did. The first thing I made a was duck decoy but the proccess is the same. You can use a wire armature but what I did was take aluminum foil and some pipe cleaners. (do they still call them that? I just looked at a package I bought and they called them chenille stems.) You can make a basic shape with the pipe cleaners and then squash some of the foil to make it more three dimensional. The foil acts as filler. I used the kind of papermache that comes dry in a bag from a craft store. You just add water and squish with your hands. There is no need to add glue because it already has it in it. Don't add too much water, you want it tacky. You start by pressing small amounts of mushy stuff onto the form until it's completely covered. You don't want it too thick or won't dry and or too thin or you'll see the foil through it. Before it dries you can mold it like clay. Let it dry completely once you have the shape you want. Then you can sand it after it is completely dry but make sure you use fine grain sandpaper. That will give it smooth tecture rather than the lumpy texture of the papermache. Then paint it with gesso (that's the white primer that artists use to prepare a convase in case you aren't familiar with it. I wasn't). After the gesso dries you may need another coat of it if doesn't look white enough. Then paint with acrylic paint. The duck decoy came out very cute. My friend made wonderful figures that were about 3 1/2 to 4 inches high. One was a bag lady, one was a street musician and there were others I can't remember. I think she was more careful with her armature but still used something as a base. Maybe crunched newspapers. But when she creating the figure, she used the traditional form of paper mache with strips of paper. She cut out sentences from the newspaper that related to figure she was creating. They were positioned all over the figure. She used a bit of the dry paper mache for details. Her figures didn't have faces but they sure had personality. I hope that was helpful. I haven't done this in years but now I want to try again. Just remember the trick with paper mache is to go slowly and don't make any layer too thick to dry or it will rot before it dries. Or it might mildew too depending on what your climate is like. Have fun. What type of doll are you thinking of making?

I love them. My olive salad is similar to Paula's, but a little different. When we spent summers in the mountains and friends came up, I'd make them to take on picnics. They were always a big hit. MUFFULETTA Olive Salad: 1-1/2 c. chopped stuffed green olives 1 c.chopped black olives 2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil 5 Tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley (or use about 1-2 Tbsp. dried) 1/2 c. chopped pimento (I leave this out) 2 anchovy fillets, mashed (optional, but it really makes it good for some reason) 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp. dried oregano 2 tsp. lemon juice Pepper to taste Mix all together and let marinade at least 30 minutes. How you make the sandwich is up to you. My original recipe calls for mortadella, Genoa salami and Mozzarella and a round loaf of Italian bread. I use ham, Genoa salami and provolone on hoagie rolls. I take some of the soft bread out of the center of the rolls and brush them with the olive oil in the salad so the filling doesn't fall out. Make however many I need, wrapping each tightly in saran wrap to refrigerate overnight. You can put whatever you like as far as the meat and cheese go.