Look, I'm not saying that it isn't impolite to speak a language in front of someone who doesn't understand it. And it is certainly true that it is her home, too. The only point I wanted to make is to consider the cost of turning it into a battle. Yep, you can win it. It's your house, your way, everyone speaks English only if you are in the room. Hey, it's not even your rule -- it's a basic rule of etiquette. Rules of etiquette apply at home, too (This works best, though, if she never, never breaks any herself, even at home). You are reasonable and blameless. You win! But ... what do you win? You win ... ... and the children don't feel at home at Dad's. ... and the Dad and kids have to speak to each other in a second language (to them) if you are present, which can be fatiguing and also just harder to express yourself as you really want to. ... and Dad's relationship to the kids is different if you are there. ... and things feel even more strained and there is even less communication, even if not a single word of Spanish is spoken. How does that make everyone feel about each other? Think it through, from each point of view at a time. NOT from the point of view of who is RIGHT and who is WRONG -- from the point of view of how this will all play out, no matter who is right or wrong. Now, believe me, I'm not saying that the only solution is for her to learn Spanish and/or to suck it up! I definitely agree that the children (and dad) need to think about how all the Spanish conversation makes her feel. They, too, need to see things from her point of view: she needs to feel at home and equal as much as they do. Who knows -- a kind, positive discussion about everyone's point of view on this might actually strengthen their relationships -- assuming that everyone goes into it sincerely trying to see others' perspectives, not just assert their own rights. And I do think that if the children see she is making an effort to learn Spanish, and especially if she enlists them as her teachers, they are going to be much more inclined to make sure she understands all the conversation. It just seems to me that there has to be a much more constructive (and pleasant) way to solve this problem than to cite etiquette rules, issue ultimatums, demand shows of respect, and turn it into a whose-house-is-this-anyway power play that will alienate the children, make Dad feel pulled apart, and ultimately not leave her feeling satisfied anyway.

Yay! I was debating whether to mention it or not since it would be under your seating area, but figured it couldn't hurt to let you know about that as a possibility. One other thing. We have a cabinet w/ pull-outs to the right of our range. Our KD designed it that way, probably more for symmetry than anything else (there's a narrower cab on the left side of the range; narrower, yes, but a cabinet w/ a door just the same). We did inquire about going w/ drawers instead (after we'd joined GW!), and he said we could do that if we wanted to. We opted to stick with the cab w/ pull-outs--gave us the flexibility to adjust the pull-outs up or down if we needed to. We also thought it would provide better accessiblity to the handles of smaller pots and all of our pans (all the stockpots are stored in a nice deep drawer in our island). Now, I do gripe a bit about the door front bumping against the built-in fridge side panel next to it, but, it is easier to access my fry-pans/skillets/saute pans with the lower height of the pull-out vs a drawer front. I have my pans stacked on top of each other, and usually slide whichever one I need out by its handle, so the clearance afforded me by the pull-outs come in handy. It's all about trade-offs. I still grimace when I open the door with a bit of force and it bumps against the fridge side panel, but I remember the trade-off I chose and why I chose it, and I'm fine . :-)

Well, Golly....I must confess.....I have visited Hot Topics this morning and I think that many of the "trolls" have gone into hiding. I put my "rose colored glasses" back in place and have bought into the "up-lifting" showmanship that took place last night. I am healing. My faith in the "humanity" of my country has been given a the first attempts at CPR....and I am breathing more easily. All of these months of such bruising and bleeding of my beloved democracy has endured.....HOPE has been given a life saving breath. My Goodness, if this is a "Hollywood Machine" using those long used platitudes to create those feelings of hope and patriotism and all those things I have believed about my country.....well, bring it on. Touch our hearts....they (our hearts) need to be made to feel good again. Bring on our tears....they (the tears) can dilute the message that our country was so critically ill. The BEST of our belief system was shouted to the world last night. I feel good today..... that enough of us really care about the least among us. That enough of us DO believe that our country stands for more than making the wealthiest among us the most powerful. That enough of us believe that equality and freedom for all ,are the goals worth giving our lives for.

Kara, holy cow!!! What a beautiful plant! I can't blame you for favoring this one. I wish I had one in my front yard. You must admire it every time you walk by. It is simply amazing...Thanks for taking that pic for us... Nancy, not sure which one I would keep either!! Lol. So many favorites but if forced, we would all have to pic one( Stupidlazydog...You crack me up lol I would have a hard time especially if I had the room to grow more like you to..You have some gems there and I love seeing you post them. Thanks Gabby, quite interesting..Does it grow slowly? What a great color on that. I am almost in love with anything that grows black leaves, like the 'black prince'. What a nice dark color on that one. Josue, wow, what a huge Aloe..I'll bet you could squeeze juice out of those leaves..Very big. Maria, did I ever tell you how badly I want one? Yup. I keep admiring your plant there. You must look at it every day and treasure that one. Love that one. Mike