karigraphy & gina_w - I forgot to mention, we did serve Two Buck Chuck. We didn't tell them till after they drank it. DH's brother considers himself someone what of a wine snob and only buys $10+ bottles of wine. After they commented how good it was and asked what it was, did we tell them. Surprise! compumom - Maybe & No! karigraphy - "Nobody's dead yet." That pretty much sums it up. I am going to try out all these recipes, one or two a week. I look forward to the pear and blue cheese one especially when my Barletts come in. Thanks everyone. Clare

I hear what you are saying, lamom. My mom is a recovering alcoholic with almost 8 years sobriety. But she WORKS a program and always will. She goes to meetings several times a week, has a sponsor, sponsors other people in the program, has made direct, sincere ammends to me, etc. But I view that as very different from BM. I don't want ammends or anything from BM. I mean, if she was working a program (which she is NOT, she does not attend AA) and wanted to do it as part of her 12 steps, that would be fine. I would listen. But other than that...whether she stays sober for the next 20 years or drinks again...I want nothing to do with her. I will NEVER be "friends" with her again. My DH has to deal with her b/c she is SS's mom, but I have no reason to talk to her now or ever, sober or not. I was speaking with a friend of mine whom I really respect--he is very level-headed and rational. He is 34 yrs old, divorced with two daughters and he has joint physical custody. He is remarrying a wonderful woman this fall. I was asking him how he handles communicaiton between his fiancee and his ex-wife. He looked kind of confused. He said they have obviously met in passing, and will see one another from the car at drop-offs, but he said that he sees NO REASON for his fiance to ever talk to his ex. The whole issue came up regarding cell phones--should the BM have the stepmom's cell #---and he said he would always respect his wife's privacy and that he would NEVER expect her to talk to the ex, make plans regarding the girls, etc. It made a lot of sense. That is where I am now. DH HAS to deal with BM. I do not. I will not. I don't plan on her EVER having my cell phone number, or being FB friends, or anything other than polite and civil on the RARE occasions (Christmas music program, bday party, etc) that we would have to be in the same room. I know this might sound harsh...but it's what I am comfortable with. I mean--it took me YEARS to forgive my mom, and she's my MOM. BM is "nobody" to me. I don't LOSE anything by not being friends with her, so... I forgive BM in the sense that I am not angry or harboring a grudge or resentment. But I just won't ever be someone who deals with her and is in her life....she is my DH's cross to bear.

Wolf claims it’s “cosmetic” and not a defect so therefore they weren’t going to pay for the labor, only the parts. The labor is the most expensive thing! I mentioned the past lawsuit and this and other threads. Also they aren’t going to guarantee that it won’t happen again, and almost suggested that it WILL keep happening. They came across that it is no big deal and these things happen with heavy use and it’s never going to look as good as day one. LOL. Ridiculous. We have had it for a year and don’t use it very often. They say since it’s porcelain, that’s what happens. Are you kidding me!?!? A classic case of gaslighting. There are huge cracks/gouges and I have never used the self cleaning feature (their first question for some reason) or scrubbed/scraped it. Had I known, I never would have bought this oven. Cheap ovens for 1/6 the price look better after a year…. They also said it’s safe to have the blue flakes as it’s only porcelain, a natural material, and they have never heard of it getting into the food. HA HA HA…I was in disbelief. Laughable!

Tina, Oh well, I have a mental picture of everyone's home, and some of them I probably just totally imagined. I can think of a lot of posters who have never posted their own home. I can understand that.