Did all the major cleaning today, I'll just do a quick touch up that morning on the baths and floors. Rolls and apple pie are in the freezer, ham, polish sausage, and 9 dozen pierogi (that took all day yesterday) in the fridge. Eggs are decorated and the decorations are up. Serving dishes are out as are plates, etc. I made 5 dozen cutout cookies today and 8 dozen assorted chip cookies. Tomarrow I'll prep the fruits and vegis, make the dips, and make a cherry pie. We do our family dinner on Sat. not Sun. So on Sat I'll just have to do touch ups on the house, prep the ham, make the baked beans... most of the "cooking " at that point will just be heating things up. That way I can enjoy a glass of wine with the ladies. Hope you are feeling better soon Terri. Sorry to hear your furnace isn't working Sharon.

About those passion flowers--I tried, too, but they never grew. My DGD#3 and I plant seeds every spring--we'll probably do it next week. We always plant zinnias and sunflowers and this year we're planting morning glories. The first year we did it, she was about 3, I looked over at her and she had this look on her fact I'd never seen before, so I said "are you okay?" and she said "yes. I'm just so happy." I'll never forget that. It's thrilling to watch the seeds grow and then bloom, for her, and it's still thrilling to me, too.

I may be breaking some unspoken gyno-American law by saying this, but... Yea for man chair. And man room, if the space is available. And dedicated man bathroom. We (mostly unintentionally) demasculinize our men in every way possible. They need some way to recharge their testosterone or they will become the transgendered version of "purse girl" (the ugly friend who slops around after you and usually stays behind to watch your purse while you go have fun). To me, a man chair is much like a docking station. In more ways than I can count, actually. A woman saying, "Is there a woman chair?" is very much like a child asking why there's a Mother's Day, and a Father's Day, but no Child's Day. I despise nesting tables. There are few things I want less than to pay for 3 tables so that I can only use 2/3 of each. 6/3 = 2, not 3. Me - Husband, do you like the green towels or brown? Husband - Does one dry me better than another? Me - No. Husband - Then get the one you want. I'm going to pick wrong anyway. Me - But which do you think would look better with the Vasseliva print and hammered copper vessel? Husband - The what? Me - The "crap on the wall" and the "crap on the counter." Husband - Oh... haha, yeah you have a lot of crap. And thus goes the cycle of futility. I can't comprehend how he can have zero interest in coordinating hues or complimentary scale anymore than he can understand my utter lack of interest in home theater gadgets or the latest motherboard. Within 10 years, everything in the house will be hers. Give the guy a chair, for chrissakes...

I played checkers when I was four, but switched to chess when I was about 10. There are some great looking chess sets, and I always wanted an onyx one from Mexico. I haven't played chess since I was a child. In college I played bridge, but my family mostly played canasta and dominoes (42). I also like pinochle and have a cribbage board but seldom play it. For Christmas a few years ago, I gave my niece the game, Black Card Revoked, not knowing whether she would like it, but we had fun playing it with her husband and my brother. I did not win - my niece is very competitive. I hate playing monopoly with people who are overly competitive. I used to play Trivia Pursuit with my family at Christmas, and I was pretty good at that. I have a Jumanji board game in my closet here that I have never played. I bought it after watching the movie (I think on eBay) but I would have to watch the movie again before playing it, I think. In Canada, I used to play Crapola with friends that I visited there. It requires six dice and was pretty much fun.