Sitting here in tears, tears of happiness. I truly love you all. I am sending out HUGE but gentle hug's to you all. Thank you for caring for me and always finding a way to brighten my days. I truly don't have a mean bone in my body, and would never intentionally hurt someone. I'm a lover, not a fighter, smiles. Please do not feel sorry for me, as I was fortunate to have the best parents in the world, and now they are home, together, with the Lord. There will be no more suffering or sadness for them. Missing them just reminds me of how great they loved me, how great I love them. My mom has been gone 6 months now, but some days, it seems like I just spent time with her, or talked to her on the phone, or had just [picked greenbeans out of the garden with her. Then there are the days that it seems like I haven't seen here in sooo long. Those are the days I miss her the most. Jan, you had a shoulder for me during my moms illness, and then thru her death. I will be forever grateful my dear friend. MaryEllen (Mellen), you have been my rock my dearest friend. I love you so much more that I could ever show or express. I plan to spend many, many years cherishing our friendship. Carol, my new friend. The gal who will always set things right, and will always extend her arms for a loving hug. The one who can always make you giggle unexpectedly. I have studied how she works, and she is my RR role model :-) You are a very fair and caring person. Thank you for your wonderful friendship. Toni, maybe with our luck colliding, something GOOD is bound to happen, smiles. Your sense of humor is awesome. Even in your dispair, you manage to light up a room. Earthly is always one of the first to offer comfort. And you have, to me, many times. Thank you also for your friendship. Steph, you have shown me patience and understanding many times girl. I can't thank you enough. I can't wait! for some of your Strawberry Rhubarb Jam :-). If I have left anyone out, please forgive me. And please don't take it personally. You all have touched my life in one way or another. Whether it be with comforting words, cards, plants or seeds. Your thoughts and prayers really do make a difference. I sincerely love you all Tina

Try this site. You might need to use several descriptions, ie;footed etched glass dish, clear glass pedestal candy dish, etched lidded dish, etc. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Look here

As a manager/partner for 30 years at UPS I have never seen a package with tire tracks on it ( if it was an envelope then most likely it was a slide mark) BUT UPS doesn't package your mdse. THOSE stores that do are a franchise store. Notice they also ship using other shippers as well. They take on the responsibility and you pay the added cost for the packaging they offer. The average person takes mdse - puts it in a larger than needed box - stuffs the box with newspapers then uses duct tape ( or some other less than appropiate tape) to put it all together and then wonders why the box got crushed when it was placed in a truck along with a million plus packages per day in the US. I assume they think that each pkg gets its own seat and is driven directly to its destination. Even if it is going cross country. I bought an item on ebay - she assured me that she would pack it accordingly, in a shoebox with tissue covering it. Of course it was broken to pieces. and while I suspect that it may have been broken before it went in the box ( this way she blames UPS and files an insurance claim) she said that she made sure that it was well protected. I've seen the packages that were bought over the internet from warehouses( Best Buy - Walmart - TRU ) that were sent to them by their makers and were damaged on their end of the system, but when your picking up truckloads of boxes we don't go thru them until they hit our sorts. At that point we take responsibility for it - we still deliver them as we don't really know what the condition of the item is until you tell us. I totally understand where you're coming from - I ordered glass christmas bulbs from Bonners. I choose regular ground service, to save money they sent it USPS - they say they delivered it. But with no way to track it they don't know to what address.

Thanks, Bill: I'll work on his gaze...! Gagesgranny, I bet gage would love them: My family usually devours a lot of them before they make it to cookie day. Recipe is simple (these started out life as candy canes but I made the dough too dry the first year and they wouldn't roll well, so the elves were born): 1 cup sugar 1 stick (1/2 c) butter Whip those together. Add: 2 eggs 1 tsp baking powder vanilla almond flavor red food color for the second batch Whip all that together. Change beaters to something heavy duty and add about 3 cups of flour. Stick it in the fridge overnight. I usually double the recipe. Actually I usually try to triple it and it overflows my kitchenaid mixer (the small one). Now I have a note on the recipe to only double it. At this point you can make candy canes by rolling and twisting, or make elves. For the elves (or grinches if you use green) I cut up little pieces of red dough (or big pieces if kids are making them: It's easier for them to handle) and roll them into balls and put them on the cookie sheet. When I have a bunch on the sheet I flatten them a bit with my palm and sometimes pinch them with thumbs and forefingers to make a nose. I use the handle end of a spoon to indent the mouth, or the handle end of the crab picker to make a singing mouth. The fork end of the crab picker makes the smiliest eyes, but the handle end works fine. I'm sure there are multiple implements in our old and new kitchens that would work! Then I cut a piece of white dough (a good sized hunk) and tear off bits for hair or noses or hats or whatever and stick them on (you don't have to press, just put it on and the baking will make it stay). You can put some faces together and make them sing (round wide open mouths), or make a pirate (white patch and a beard) or whatever suits your fancy. They bake for about 8 minutes at 350. They are best when there is no browning, just done. I use white icing (little tubes) to add teeth--this makes them look a little goofy or more lifelike or usually both-- and a dot of blue or green for eyes in the holes (you don't want to totally fill the hole if you can help it or they look like zombies, a nice variation for Halloween but less appreciated at this time of year). Marthavila, thanks for the wishes (and hoping your aga arrives soon!)!