Phil, our wine drinking/storing is much like yours. We rarely store any for the long haul. We purchased one of the C-series wine reserves (24" wide to hold 40-45 bottles) a couple of months ago. We had wanted the Signature series because of its variable speed compressor -- which is supposed to do a better job of holding the temp and is quieter. But we got a good deal on the C-series. It's done a fine job of keeping wine at the desired temperature. We do hear the compressor when it starts up (something that is supposed to be absent from the Signature Series). BUT, the wine reserve is in a hallway around the corner from the family room/kitchen/dining room, so we don't always hear it. Having said that, we knew we were getting the "noisier" version. And the sound is relative: for example, the refrig makes more noise when its compressor starts up; I find the fan on the TV more annoying! So, it probably depends where you are going to put the wine reserve whether the extra cost is worth it. But as far as storing wine, we've been quite happy with the C-Series.

Back in the 1970's there was a wonderful bakery chain that started up called Just Desserts. They made something called a Black Bottom Cupcake that was so good, I'd buy it several times a week. They were what a Hostess cream-filled cupcake would want to be when it grows up! Finally I ran across an old wartime cake recipe that used no eggs, no butter, no chocolate - it used cocoa and salad oil instead. For some reason I read it and was absolutely positive it would make these cupcakes. All I had to do was experiment to do the cream cheese filling, and I had it down perfectly. They are easy to make, double easily, freeze well, and you can make a dozen for what 2 cupcakes used to cost me. I never thought of it as one of my signature dishes until my nephew, who doesn't even LIKE sweets, said it was one of his childhood memories! This, BTW, is the first public posting of this recipe since I duplicated the bakery's efforts 30 yrs ago. I've since seen several similar recipes show up, but surprisingly enough it still doesn't seem to have reached the mainstream. It really does deserve a wider audience, so here it is: Jean's Black Bottom Cupcake recipe 1-1/2 cup flour 1/3 cup cocoa* 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup sugar (see note re: cocoa) 5 Tbls cooking oil (not olive) 1 Tbls white vinegar 1 tsp vanilla 1 cup cold water one 3-oz pkg cream cheese, mixed with: 1/2 cup mini or regular semi-sweet chocolate chips *Note: the cocoa you use will affect the "chocolateness". Hershey or Guittard is fine, but the best is to use a gourmet cocoa such as Williams-Sonoma's Pernigotti cocoa or the Scharffenberger brand. Adjust the sugar accordingly: Hershey's will take a scant 1 cup sugar, the gourmet brands require a bit more than 1 cup, about 2 Tbls additional. Gourmet cocoas tend to lump, so I put it in the mixing bowl first and take 30 seconds with the back of a big spoon to break up the lumps. Or you can sift it, but that takes longer. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper cupcake liners and spray them lightly with Pam or similar product (otherwise they stick to the batter). Mix flour, cocoa, soda and sugar well in a bowl. Pour in the liquids and beat well for 30 seconds, either by hand or with a mixer. Put about 1/4 cup batter for each muffin. Place a rounded spoonful of cream cheese/chocolate chip mixture in each. Bake for 20 minutes. The batter should just resist a fingertip when done. Do not overbake this recipe, it is better underdone than overdone. Lift them out immediately (I use a fork) and place on cooling rack. They should be very soft but will firm up once cooled. Recipe will double, in which case use an 8-oz pkg of cream cheese and 3/4 cup morsels. Bake in two muffin tins for the same amount of time, or bake in successive batches. Freezes beautifully and will thaw within 1 hour.

I put it down in my living and dining rooms. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY. It looks beautiful when you first put it down but it scratches if you look at it crooked. I was very careful to put pads under the legs of the dining room chairs and table. With no weight on the chairs, the floor still scratches. We never use this room so I would hate to see what the floors would look like if someone sat in the chair and pushed back from the table. I called Roy to find out what to do about the scratches and was told to buy a box of Crayons and color them in! I am so disappointed in this floor. I went to a lot of trouble and $600 worth of glue to do this right and the floor is a disaster after just 2 years.

Thanks so much for the reply! We have started a new booster club at my child's school, to support the music program there. All the board members are new at this, including me. The advice I need is this: Our bylaws were modeled after bylaws we found at many other schools. The bylaws we copied from other schools have been in place at the other schools for many years, before ATMs, check cards, debit cards, PayPal became popular. Our bylaws specifically require 2 or more signatures on each check. Our bylaws don't address debit cards, PayPal accounts, etc. 15 years ago, most booster clubs I knew made their purchases by check or from petty cash. The treasurer kept the petty cash box and the check book, so the treasurer either wrote the check for each purchase, or disbursed petty cash for the purchase. So the treasurer and the booster board in effect made all purchases or authorized them in advance. To me the spirit of the bylaws is that the booster board makes the purchases. However, particularly with the advent of PayPal, our booster club has the technical ability for the music directors (teachers) to make purchases. Our treasurer (new at this) has said that the music director (a teacher) can make PayPal purchases and simply give him the receipt and that is fine. I'm concerned for a lot of reasons. It's my impression that historically the separation of disbursement of funds is an important protection for the teacher. If the board makes the authorization and disburses the funds, then any mishandling of the funds is the board's fault, not the teacher's. I also think the spirit of the bylaws is being violated by allowing the teachers to make direct purchases - I think the 2 signature requirement is to force 2 board members to scrutinize each purchase in advance, except for the ones small enough to come out of petty cash. Anyway, if you've read this far I'd love some advice, particularly from anyone active volunteering with the school system. Our music director is an honest, upstanding person who would never misuse the funds. However, there will be a turnover in board members and also in teaching staff, and who knows what the next board members and music directors will be like? It's important that we keep the accountability in place, at least I think so.