I'm 2/3 set....well, sort of. I'm still working on the hand made item, but I found the cookbook yesterday. Like many of you, I had to get 2 of them, one for myself and one for my partner. I'm still puzzling over the local item. I've found a nice locally produce item, but I'm not sure about shipping it. I'm going to do some more research. I've thought of other things, but Texas is a big state, and I'm not sure if the other side of Texas counts as local. Unfortunately, where I live the primary locally produced products are McMansions. I know I can spend as much as I want, but I'm NOT spending THAT much! LOL. Besides, that would definately be hard to ship! Sally

Karen, if your family is anything like mine, until you lost your Dad, you hadn't seen a lot of loss or grief for someone. It's hard to watch it (and experience it!) I think I'd probably just call my Mom, if I were you, and ask her to your house to eat, to go out, to watch activities that the kids are involved in, etc. Let her know that it's okay to not be in the mood to do anything. Also let her know that you really WANT her to be involved in whatever your family is doing. My Mom has spent the night at my house two nights since my Dad passed away. Get this, I had to break my ankle and have surgery in order to get her to do that! LOL I kid her that having surgery is the only way she'll stay at my house overnight! LOL We live 80 miles apart and I call her everyday - usually twice a day. We've talked more by phone in the last four years than we'd ever talked in our lives. My DH and I and our kids and grandkids make it a point to at least spend part of every holiday at her house. She likes to stay home, so we go to her. I DO feel sometimes at her house, when everyone is there but Daddy, that there's the proverbial "big gray elephant" in the house that no one mentions. You know what I mean? Everybody is highly aware of the fact that he's no longer with us, but nobody wants to talk about it for fear of upsetting somebody else! Now, when it's just my Mom and me together, we cry (and laugh!) when we feel the need to. That's something else that I haven't thought to mention. Let her cry when she feels the need to cry. I guess you don't have to say a word, just be there for her. She and I both have talked about the fact that Fathers are the HEAD of most families. Then, as women, we both agree that the Mothers are the HEART of the family. Maybe you can reassure her in that way that she IS a vital, needed part. ((Karen))

Hi Sue - It worked! I happened to see my name in the Recent Posts widget (love that thing!). I don't see anything from you in the mailbox, so I'm not sure what's going on. Can you email me directly? My email is listed on my profile. We'll get it figured out. Btw, email notifications not being received is typically a problem with your ISP and the fact that these emails are auto-generated. Many times they are pinged as spam before they hit your mailbox. We regularly contact these ISPs and ask to be white listed. Sometimes it works and sometimes we are ignored. ;) Universities and businesses tend to be the most cautious. If anyone else is having problems, let me know and I can check the list. Oh, and if anyone is using Verizon.net -- you won't be getting your notifications. They refuse to even acknowledge our emails. Very frustrating.

It's so sad when people act that way, but there is nothing you can do to change things. Just give her some time and leave the lines of communication open. Perhaps she felt inferior when she felt your work was better than hers, poor self esteem kind of thing. It's sad when people value themselves through there "stuff". My "stuff" is just plain silly, but I put love into it and like to share my silliness. I'm sorry this happened, but it is her loss. Don't be sad. You've got us....what more could you ask for?