i am having a lot of fun with this game. cindy and carol, on #2, i laughed so hard at your answers. i will say cindy's mind is working towards the real answer. i am wondering if anyone will ever get it. just think of all the actions a dentist does to prep you - well, at least my dentist does it (and dang, is he one good looking man !!!!) amy was the closest on #1 and then shirley answered it correctly. #3 i might take some liberties with, because several of you are close, but i guess it's tough if you don't know her name. i think i've only used it two or three times in previous posts. finally, someone got my shoe size. the right answer to 4 has been guessed and answered correctly twice today, although in different words. so now, 1, 4, 6, 7 and 10 have all been answered correctly. and carol, yes, the razor was a great gift and to this day, i still use the same kind. i'm starting a new post where partners will be assigned. i'll post this over there as well. maryanne

LindaC, Some of my dishes I have never used before, and most have rarely been used. One set belonged to my Grandmother and were going to be thrown away before I decided I would take them. She had many sets of dishes and everyone had already claimed their favorites before me. I got the ones with magnolias (Mississipi state flower) on them. They are pretty in a very old-fashioned sort of way. My style is very contemporary, so I never use them but I remember eating on them at my Grandmother's when I was growing up. Another set of dishes my Godfather got for me at a pawn shop. They must have been custom made for someone, but they were perfect for my family. My DH and I are both pharmacists, and my DH also has another career. This set is ivory with a gold band, and gold symbols of both of these professions are in the center of the dishes. These dishes are very unique and great for professional parties. Before I got married I had already started a "hope chest" of Lenox China, but it was not sold at the stores in the home town of my DH, so I picked out another set so that people from his side would have something to buy for us. I have the set of Lenox dishes (which happen to be the same pattern as my MIL had when she got married), and the Noritake that was sold in DH's hometown. Then a couple of years ago DH got tired of me complaining about how I wish I had some really cool square and contemporary dishes... so he bought me a set for our anniversary. But, like I said, my favorite is the inexpensive Corelle that I bought myself. I use it everyday.

Recently, I had a custom-made entertainment center built in for my family room. I used the same cabinet maker who made the cabinets for my kitchen. I'm still researching seating options to replace my aging couches. My room is smaller than yours, 13' x 15'. As part of the remodel, I removed a wood-burning fp from a corner of the room. I had planned to replace it with a linear, direct-vent fp under the TV, but omitted the fp. Direct-vent needs no flue or chimney, but it does need to vent to the outside. Here are some inspiration photos with a linear fp. Layout below has 2 chairs on the window wall. TV, fp, and matching bookcases on long wall. 2 floating couches. I think the TV is too high, but there is storage space and seating is a comfortable viewing distance from the TV. Layout below has 2 chairs on the window wall, TV on the left, short wall, and 2 floating couches. But that would leave you with one long empty wall. Sectional with fireplace, TV, and one bookcase on long wall Below, the TV and fireplace are on the same wall, but separated. Not much storage in this one. I decided to go with a layout similar to the one below - without a fireplace under the TV. You may have enough room for something like this layout below. I' don't like seeing the back of a couch when I enter a room - but I think it looks OK if there's a sofa table behind the couch.

can't find the recipe tonight, but about 30 years ago a woman where I worked brought the best potato salad to a holiday spread! It involves diced potatoes, dill, mayo (I still remember her cautioning us, "No Miracle Whip; it gives it a whang!"), & vinegar, & you mix in some mashed hardboiled eggs & top it with a few sliced ones. My Aunt Bea used to make something she called Heavenly Rice, the recipe for which nobody thought to ask for, & now she's gone. It involved cooked, chilled rice, shredded coconut, & chunk or shredded canned pineapple. I'd really love to have that again. just remembered: Years ago, I had to go "home" for Thanksgiving. My father was ill, & I didn't dare not show up, although trips to the old homestead always gave me what I now know to be migraines & I have deteriorated bone & teeth from the grinding that I did in my sleep after a visit. so I went. with trepidation. My mother always insisted on cooking the turkey & dressing, & there was no telling how it would come out. One year it was like eating ground sage straight out of the can, one year she forgot to add something to the brownies, can't remember if it was sugar or cocoa... This year the turkey looked stringy & "wet", & just as I decided to try the world's smallest bite of it, my brother's wife said, "This is really different, Mama, what kind is it?", & my mother replied, "wild. Daddy shot it the other day." I know many people have no problem with this kind of thing, but I couldn't eat it, felt like I knew its personal life story or something. For a few years after that, my traditional Thanksgiving Day included tacos from the Jack in the Box that I passed before I got "home"!