Paul Prudhomme changed his recipes over a decade ago, and I tried watching his revised show, but he took it to an extreme that I thought was unnecessary. However, he is a good comparison and is what I thought of first. I have fond associations with Southern accents - it reminds me of some of my roommates at Rice. I no longer live in "Y'all" country, and I never used that word much even when I did, but I do not find it nearly as annoying as when people say, "What I'm going to do next is I'm going to..." instead of saying "Next I'm going to..." Or when people say "actually" twice or more in one sentence. There was a woman on the Steven and Chris Show that did that last week, and I had the change the channel because of her. Another word (not a real word) that annoys me no end is "vinegar-ette". It seems that chefs are deliberately taught improper English, and I think they should be made to take speech classes (or get speech therapy) like the class I had to take for my Interior Design degree. I do like Paula Deen, but I revise her recipes when I make them. I think her cheesecake recipe is fine as is, but I would not make it very often. I find it endearing that Paula calls her son "Son". To me, it shows motherly love. It's better than using "DS" on a forum, as "DS" can mean "son" or "sister", and it always gets me confused. Giving children numbers is even worse since pseudonymns are always an option. I had an uncle who had pseudonymns for everyone, but then he was rich, eccentric, and childless and could get away with it. Annie, I love the olive wood Paula Deen spoons you sent me!!! Larry the Cable Guy has made a career using a fake southern accent - he was born in Nebraska and has a midwestern accent in his normal voice. I wish Paula the best and hope she will be able to get this under control. Lars

Yes Annie, I totally "went off the wagon" diet wise this weekend, but we walked like 5+ miles each day. Back and forth to the hotel. That has to count for something! The chargrilled oysters are grilled in the half-shell, then drizzled with garlic butter and parm cheese. You would think this would overpower the oysters, but it didn't; they tasted like little grilled steaks. To die for! Usually I don't like my oysters messed with, just straight-up, raw on the half-shell, but these were sublime. I bought Uncle Bubba's cook book and he was there giving autographs, so I got it signed! It was worth it...some really good recipes in there and not as ooey-gooey as some of Paula's recipes.

Excuse me Tina, are you implying we don't celebrate the "meaning" of Christmas because we enjoy giving to each other? My DIL's father is considered a "Pillar" of the Church (Babtist) they attend, and I can assure you we do celebrate the meaning. All year long. We all look forward to the Christmas Prayer he prepares. He leaves out no family member who may be ill or in pain or not with us. We've always celebrated the meaning of Christmas. Giving gifts is part of the meaning. Three Wise Men? :) I do remember last year around Christmas it seemed that the majority of this board didn't like to exchange Christmas gifts & I found that kind of odd. That's okay though, I have no problem with it. But please don't make me feel like Christmas is only commercial to me. And f/t/r, my son's write me short letters/notes all during the year, each and every year, mostly in cards, even though they live near me. They're the most beautiful words I've ever read. I cherish them and have saved each and every letter/card. I watch my grandson every week during the school year, and about every few weeks I go into my son's office and set a note on his keyboard that always says, "Mommy loves you," or "If you were little I'd rock you." Now my son tells his 2 year old, "When you're old and gray, I'll rock you." I end all my letters and cards to them by saying, "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as you're living, my baby you'll be." So we have PLENTY of love and we also love to GIVE to each other at Christmas. What's so wrong with that? And how did this thread end up about whether we should or should not give to those we love at Christmas time?

Yes....that one comes on Monday nights on PBS here. I have a hard time remembering to watch it. They just had a blurb on about it...so at least now I know which night.