Crazy, busy weekend here again due to many things. Thanks for all the cool and supportive responses. All of the troops need those no matter the country. Justin knows about all y'all and as always asked what's up with your foodie/cooking friends....way before his military thing. We were talking today at the lake and he thinks he was...yikes.. 13 or 14 when he first tried Sharon's pickles from a swap years ago. Man time flies! Thanks again everyone but this guy has to get to hit the hay so to speak. Justin and his group got the best of me at the lake today. OY! I'm starting to feel my age.....LOL! David

Ok, I've answered some of these points above already but once again to clarify: 1. There wasn't enough room at the table, so we did fix a plate but it wasn't just a matter of taking our seats. There were no seats to take. Going to the kitchen was a last resort - I didn't know what else to do. 2. The hostess had not yet eaten by the time we arrived. So she couldn't remain sitting at the table and eat without getting up. She wasn't already sitting at the table. She was standing, fixing herself a plate. 3. I didn't realize how late we were till we got there - there was no set starting time and she lives an hour away, we sat in the Friday-Afternoon-Heading-Out-Of-Town traffic which I don't know if you can imagine unless you live in a place like Houston where it's unpredictable at best and can be horrific. 4. My children, ages 17 and 20 WERE includded - it's a holiday. (for those who aren't Jewish, maybe that's not meaning anything to you, but would you go to a friend's house for say, Easter Lunch, and leave your kids at home, no matter what age? This would be comparable to that. In any case the invitation which was sent via email said, You and your family. There's NO question, the kids were included. 5. She made no attempt to sit near us. She put her plate down as if she meant to sit near us but came back before ever sitting anywhere, picked up her plate, and went to the other table. I don't mind if she sat with us or not, it's just the way she acted as if she was going to, then apparently changed her mind. Even THAT wouldn't have mattered had it been a table with others in addition to just our family. It was just weird, the four of us, sitting alone in the kitchen, no other guests sitting or eating with us, the rest of the entire party in another room, and no attempt to integrate us into the party. Yeah, we're guilty of being late. But as hostess, it's her duty to make us comfortable and welcome, late or not. That's what I think you'd learn in an etiquette class. 6. And again - we were about 20 minutes late. Is that really late enough to turn around after being in the car one hour and not show up at all? If someone were 20 minutes late to my house and let that convince them to blow off my party, I'd be horrified. 7. I HAVE gotten over this, WAY over this. I wasn't going to answer lizzynola's post for that reason and because most of her questions/comments had already been covered in my previous posts. But since the discussion continues, I'm answering. I am glad I was able to vent here. I'm no longer mad or hurt. I'm still good friends with her. She had no ill intentions. I thank you all for your comments. May

Sorry I butchered her name, it's MARION Burros, cookbook author, and here's the recipe: Summer Torte by Marion Burros Originally posted by Jojoco, such a great cook! 1 stick butter, softened (I always use unsalted) 3/4 cup sugar 1 cup flour; sifted 1 tsp baking powder 2 eggs pinch of salt fruit of choice; sliced into wedges (I used about 7 plums. Peaches, nectarines,strawberries all work great and in combination) cinnamon sugar for top Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and add sugar. Beat well. Add eggs and beat. Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to batter. Mix. Spoon globs to greased 9 or 10 inch springform. Use a knife to spread batter to cover entire pan. Arrange fruit on top. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (amount depends on the sweetness of the fruit). Bake for 45 min. I must admit that I like to top it with streusel in addition to the fruit, or at the very least some of those big sugar crystals (I use "Sugar in the Raw" for this).

After a long and dreary winter, yesterday and today, it was sunshine all day, and today's temperature hit 60 F. I went walking with my coat un-zipped and my cap in my pocket. It was too early see signs of spring in the flora, but animals were on the move. I'm seeing ducks that had dissapepared last fall and the ever present Canada Geese, except some of these geese are migrating flocks, not the local ones. There was a 'silly' robin singing out his territory, and I heard the call of a woodpecker staking out his boundary. I met people walking who ahd not been out much and they all had smiles. This break in the weather also brought out the infirm walkers, those who walked bent over and with a shuffle, some favoring a sore hip, - but all with smiles.