jae_tn, I not only remember those handles, I have one. If I remember correctly, Most of the Blue Cornflower Corning Ware IS stove top safe. Check the bottoms, to be sure. And I, too, do frozen vegetables in the microwave. In casseroles like the one shown, No water, just whatever seasoning I like. My microwave has settings for frozen and fresh vegetables. For frozen green beans, I use the frozen vegetable setting, Let them set a minute or two, Then cook them another minute. They come out tender, But not over cooked. Come to think of it, I use my Corning Ware & microwave For just about all vegetables. Rusty

1) G Street Fabrics, for one (watch for their sales; they also have clearance tables, so depending on how much fabric you need, it might be worth the time to go through their stacks). Also, Joanne's Fabrics has upholstery fabrics, too, and the HomeDec chat ladies over on WashingtonPost.com (every Thursday) have frequently recommended Discount Fabrics over in Thurmont, Md (probably a nice day trip if the weather stays breezy!). (And if an occasion takes you to North Carolina, there are lots of discount fabric places across the state!) 2) I have never needed reupholstery services, but there is a place in Arlington that is highly regarded (I once went there because for some strange reason they could access a catalog and samples for a line of window drapery rod hardware for me--and were NICE about it!), and that's Jose Goncalves on Lee Highway. (It's right next door to the Cowboy Cafe--yum! Great blue-cheese burgers! A bit of a dive when you walk in to the place--dark--but make a quick right-hand-turn and grab a table) A quick search of the WashPost chat's questions/answers on reupholstery shops turns up these mentions, too: Spicer's in Alexandria and Mount Vernon Upholstery in Alexandria. And you could always check out Calico Corners (tho I've always assumed they'd be pricey).

In the town I live in there aren't any nice little home decor shops of my style. Alas homeownership in the direct town that I live in is far outweighed by the high volume of rentals and of the rentals it's a general statistic that 90% are Section 8. There are places to shop but they tend to run either Mexican or African American style tchokchis, neither of which are my decorating style. The decor section of those places can usually be found next to the grocery aisle and cell phone aisle. When I get a chance I'll try to hit Larry's but since the kids it's been a few yrs. Parking is a PIA and if you have a pulse you get hooted and hollered at children in tow or not. Unfortunately the mega malls w/in a 10 min. drive in 2 seperate directions have sucked the life out of any Main St. store. Then there are 3 Home Goods, 2 TJ Maxx, 1 Ross (I never shop there), and 2 Marshalls anywhere from a 5 to 20 minute drive from me. I do shop at some of them and here's why: I know that there is such high merchandise turnover rate that not everyone in the world will have what I may buy. Time - I can breeze in and breeze out. I don't have to talk to anyone if I'm just looking and isn't that sad on my part? But sometimes I'm just despperately looking for some peace and quiet and I don't want to have to converse about anything. When I go into a small shop I feel, well, I don't know how to put it. I don't want the staff (who are always very friendly) to think that I'm not being social. When in fact I'm NOT being social but for reasons completely unrelated to what I think they're thinking. Anyone following me? And I don't want anyone to feel that way becuase of me. That leads me to time. There just isn't any! And unfortunately if I do find anytime I end up going to the Mall becuase I know exaclty where everything is and there is no hassel parking. I'm in and I'm out. I'm never there to look as I've already sourced it out on-line or via catalog and have then called the store to verify that it is there for me to see first before purchasing it at the store. I've never bought via a catalog or store website. Now that leads me to the tiny little town that I work in. Great little shops of all kinds, parking is readily available if I drive from my house and once you park you can walk to every store. The stores are w/in walking distance of my job and it's a great way to spend a few hours w/ my kids should I want to bring them along. Unfortunately it can be a 1/2 hour drive from my house and I don't want to drive all of the way back when I was just working there the prior day. I don't shop on my lunch break but I like to look a lot. The down side to living 1/2 an hour away is 'Out of sight, out of mind'. If it's something that I really can't stop thinking about and I manage to save enough money then I'll walk up on my lunch break or I'll call the store, ask them to hold an item if they still have it and ask DH to stop on his way home from work. I used to spend a lot of time looking on my lunch breaks but not so much anymore. Just can't really afford to buy and there's one store (that I love) where she's gotten kind of snotty w/ me when all I'm doing is looking so that I never forget her store and how amazing it is becuase SOMEDAY I'm going to be able to afford some pewter stemmed wine glasses and that fantastic buffet/ hutch painted in the glorious cream and taupe milk paint. So that's my long winded story. I've never bought anything from a box store directly on-line or via their catalog, but I have off of E-bay or their outlet store. Again - I don't walk in w/o knowing that they have a specific item. Never shop in my hometown except for 2 thrift stores and only on rare occassion. I tend to buy the neat things from 'local to my work' stores IF I remember that they had something I really fell hard for and save up.

My experiences have really all been good. Generally, the quilt shops in my life have really made an effort to be welcoming and chatty and create an atmosphere of a social club. That includes the 3 shops in my area in LA and the 2 wonderful ones in Vancouver. Browsing and buying nothing or a spool of thread or a notion is common and they know that and also know people will be back when the time for fabric purchases comes along. But times have changed too and only one shop will cut a FQ from the bolt for you. And I don't know of a shop that will still cut 1/8 yd. Haven't seen a FE in many, many years. They also know that everyone shops all the shops. One (the one nearest me) specializes in Civil War era and 30s fabrics. They don't have any purples or teals at all and no batiks. How could they not know and support that people need to go elsewhere for that stuff? I have heard from teachers that they don't like the largest, most well stocked shop. And, in truth, sometimes the ladies there can be moody but I've never been treated badly. And once when I was taking a class the teacher told me a story about the shop that I loved most that has been gone for 25 years. Their stock of antique buttons and imported French ribbons was fantastic. Their fabrics and samples were to die for. But apparently the woman who owned the shop was a tyrant to her help. And sometimes, the teacher said, to customers. She reported many occasions when the owner would refuse to sell a fabric to someone because she wouldn't have used it with the other selected fabrics. Sounds mighty eccentric to me but working in that environment was pretty intolerable the veteran with the scars said. I wonder if, as some of you are saying, the stress of how business is gets reflected in the service. The shops here do well and have a flow of customers and a roster of classes. ...at least for now. Two of the locals have cancelled classes I was the only one to register for.