I'm sorry about your friend's death but you know, people do what people do. When someone dies, close family and friends usually have more to deal with than to try to find the decedent's phone book and spend the immediate aftermath on the phone calling contacts. It can take awhile. I wouldn't look for things to get upset about. Having said that, I think watchme's "narcissist wonderland" description of social media, especially Facebook, says it all. Many people I know who are Facebook junkies are bored with their lives and it gives them something that passes the time. But in a narcissistic way all the same.

I see social media as an "addition to", not an "instead of". I love texting, I have very poor hearing, especially on the phone, so texting is a blessing for me. I'm not apt to misunderstand what someone is saying, and no one is subjected to repeated requests to repeat something. It's also convenient. I can send a text when the thought hits me, knowing that the recipient can answer at their convenience. Same with receiving a text. My family, friends and I used email the same way before we all had smartphones. One sentence thoughts and ideas are sent as they come up. One doesn't usually make a phone call or write a letter to communicate a short thought. So for me, emails and texts have increased contact with others, not decreased it. I love Facebook! I also have a Twitter account and an Instagram account. I honestly can't remember the last time I looked at Twitter, don't care for it. I do look at Instagram occasionally, mostly to see pictures family and friends have posted. Pictures I probably wouldn't get to see otherwise. But I drop in on Facebook for a few minutes several times a day. I enjoy the jokes that are passed around, I like the news updates I find there, I've gotten several good recipes there. I even enjoy some of the political postings. And last, but certainly not least, I enjoy the brief glimpses into the loves of family and friends that I probably wouldn't get otherwise. It keeps distant family members and friends and I up to date with each other. There are several whom I probably would have completely lost contact with without social media. Does all this make me (or my friends and family) selfish, or self centered? Absolutely not! And I kind of feel sorry for those that think it does. You have no idea what you're missing out on! So many ways to expand your life! And for the record, I am another "Old Fogie", getting mighty close to the big eight oh mark. And ready to use and enjoy whatever new life adventure my limited physical abilities allow me to use. Yes, I love social media and am very glad it came into being during my lifetime! Rusty

I probably go to FB about once a week, unless I need to contact the guy who has helped out A LOT with things here I can no longer do easily myself. As that is the quickest way to reach him. (Yes, I pay him.) I have never unleashed a photo dump... probably the largest ones have been 7-8 photos of the home construction process. Which I am glad I did as I lost all the other photos when my then-computer died a messy death. (Yes, USB drives are better friends....) I am glad for FB, even if I don't frequent it. Got back in touch with lost friends from ages ago; found out in a timely manner about serious illnesses and deaths of others - whose relatives wouldn't know I existed. Get to watch the creative endeavors of a cousin and her husband as they do them. And yes, I've found homes for things I no longer want here, that neighborhood people are simply willing to drop by and pick up from my porch when I let them know these are available.

Bumblebeez, there are recipes all over Google for toppings. The one I linked with Feta sounded good to me, but it was more than I wanted to do. Sprinkling it with some Parm and some Trader Joe’s Quattro Frommagio was good too. Reminded me of Eggplant Parm, so a little tomato sauce of some sort might work well too. rhizo, it squeaks with every chew. I’m chewing my food and its going ”eek, eek, eek,…” I don’t get little eeks with mushrooms. It’s sort of like when you cut styrofoam with a knife only less. There is one other way I’ll eat zucchini. Thinly sliced and placed in a single layer on a sheet pan, then drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with finely grated parm. Cook until the parm takes on a deep golden hue. If you slice it thinly enough, the zukes lose their natural texture, which is my goal.