oh, come on- one lousy, stinkin', very intrusive, rackum frackum parade and it's all the time now? That WAS the first time it happened, right? (and i don't think they intentionally planted the dead body in Lake Benson just to thwart us). ; P tammy, tongue very in cheek.

A couple of things... "Grout" is probably deck mud. Could be regional, could be poor word choice on the part of your new contractor. "Deck mud" is a lean portland cement mixture, generally 5 parts sand to 1 part portland cement. Mixed with just enough water so it sticks together like beach sand used to build a sand castle. It's not concrete, it's not mortar, it's not grout, it's deck mud, or dry pack. Saving the "pan" for re-use? Nope. Have them provide you with a new membrane. Take a good look at the cross section of the shower that terricks posted. If the membrane is flat on the floor but still water-tight, all you're going to get is a slow drying shower floor. The mud bed under the tile may saturate. The grout may stay wet for extended periods and mildew. You might see wet grout at the bottom courses of wall tile due to water wicking up the walls a bit. But the curb? The curb structure should still be as dry as a bone. There's either a leak in the membrane; in the membrane itself, at the clamping drain, in a corner, or the membrane is not properly detailed despite being flat on the floor. Despite the membrane being flat on the floor, the curb should not be wet and blowing apart due to swelling. So there is no way on earth they can reuse the "pan" or membrane. Also look at Terrick's graphic, where the membrane turns up the shower walls. The membrane should run 8" to 10" up the shower walls. You can see that the membrane goes against the wall studs. The poly or felt runs down the wall and laps over the membrane, The cement board or tile backer board then goes on the wall, but does not get screwed or nailed where the membrane is. Remember, no fasteners through the membrane. The only places where the membrane gets fastened is at the top edge where it runs up the walls to secure it to the wall studs. On the outside face of the curb. And it also gets clamped at the drain. So how in the world are they going to remove the membrane without removing the bottom rows of wall tile and cutting away the bottom section of tile backer board? "He will construct a new curb is damaged"? The curb is most definitely damaged. The wood most likely expanded due to moisture absorption, right? So that wood will not be used either. What Bill needs to do is: 1) demo the curb to the membrane. 2) Demo the shower floor, remove tile and deck mud to expose the membrane. 3) remove the bottom few rows of wall tile up about 10" to 12" above the height of the shower drain. 4) Cut the tile backer board horizontally a couple of inches below the bottom of the remaining course of wall tile. Careful when cutting, as you don't want to cut into the felt or poly (6-mil thick polyethylene plastic sheeting or #15 tar paper). 5) Fold up the poly or felt and tape it to the tile higher up on the wall. 6) Undo the clamping drain and remove the membrane. Toss it, it's no good. 7) Make any repairs to the exposed subfloor. Then rebuild it properly. The guy doesn't want you there? doesn't even want to see you? Right. He's really earned the right to work unsupervised, hasn't he. To let him work unsupervised is not a wise move. I think letting him do the work is not wise. He's not trustworthy. But that's my opinion. But my other opinion is that either you are there or your new contractor is there. He's already proven to be untrustworthy and to not do proper work. Remember, the core issue is not just a flat membrane. Water somehow got under the membrane to saturate the curb. I'd want to see the membrane detailing around the curb. The folds at the inside corners, see if there are any nails or screws in the top or inside face of the curb. The thing is that if he didn't detail the folds or if he put fasteners through the membrane the first time, he's going to do it again. He'll just do it with a sloped membrane instead of a flat membrane. I will raise a warning flag about your new contractor. So okay, we know the membrane wasn't sloped. But why did the curb swell and expand? How did water get under the membrane and into the structure of the curb? I'm not sure if your new guy knows how the curb failed, or if he knows how to repair a shower, or how to build one. I'd want eyes on the project when the demo is carried out. I'd want to see the membrane with the tile and mud off of it. I'd want to see if he just nailed cement board to the faces of the curb, nailing right through the membrane. I'd want to see if he nailed through the bottom edge of the backer board on the walls, nailing through the membrane, creating little holes. Hey, maybe your #1 guy did a great job (with the exception of not sloping the membrane) and it was an errant something or other that accidentally poked a hole in the membrane. Or maybe he's ignorant and apathetic when it comes to building a proper shower. My vote is that your #1 contractor is #2.

jessyf, I have always just put the mousse into a big trifle bowl. It fits exactly. We put most of the food on a buffet, so I set it out there with some little bowls. I've never tried the cupcake papers, so I couldn't say. If you have the freezer space and tons of little bowls or ramekins, you could freeze individual servings that way. For a flourless chocolate torte, try that one I posted above. It's absolutely fantastic -- we aren't even big sweet eaters or chocoholics, and we were fighting over the last piece -- and VERY easy; you don't even have to separate the eggs. Here is another really great one I used to make: Passover Chocolate Parcel Torte 8 oz. butter/margarine 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips 8 oz. sugar 8 eggs, separated whipped cream/nuts (optional) Melt butter/margarine with chips; remove from heat. Add sugar; add yolks, one at a time; beat after each. Beat 10 minutes until very thick. Fold in beaten egg whites. Pour 3/4 of the batter into greased and "floured" (with potato starch) pie or spring-form pan. Leave remaining batter in bowl; do not refrigerate. Bake at 325 F 35 minutes; cool. It will fall to form a shell. After cooled, pour in the rest of the batter and refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and/or nuts if desired, but it doesn't need it. You can also make it bigger by using crushed macaroons mixed with melted margarine for the crust.

Gazpacho is nourishing as is bean and bacon soup from the blender. Mashed potatoes are easy and better if you make them thin best if you use some beef stock or chicken boullion. Cream of wheat and cream of rice are easy to eat but better if you put in some ground up fruit or even ground ham/beef/chicken. Tell him that he has to roll the food around with his tongue for a bit if he can't chew. The enzymes in the mouth are very important for digestion and if he just swallows not all of the nutrients are absorbed and the stomach has to work harder. With what is going on with him he doesn't need to have indigestion too. Nancy