Geez, i wish i could find a Oberhasli for $50.00 i have priced a few Oberhasli kids and they were in the neighborhood of $100.00-$250.00 . Zeke

All parties are ultimations...be there or miss the party :) Come on now, that does not mean "be there or miss the party and I'll never speak to you again" it just means the party is on Saturday and I'd love to see you, but if I don't we'll see you another time. :) The party takes place on whatever date it's set. I wouldn't call that an ultimatim, but maybe that's just me. I too cherish time with girlfriends W/O kids. I rarely get it (two days to date since my son was born) so it's a big deal for me. Just last night I invited my bunco girlfriends to come down for a bunco retreat at our new house sometime. I'll be leaving them and would love to have them come visit, but I didn't offer to foot the bill. It didn't even occur to me. And as said above, had it been reverse, me being invited, I'd almost have been insulted to have someone pay my bill for me unless there was a logical reason (and friends traveling to a casual party is not a logical reason). I know that of the twelve ladies I invited last night that maybe six or eight will attend. They are busy, and timing is always a challenge, and perhaps expense as well, but I won't be offended if someone does not join us for the weekend. I just want to see my friends and enjoy sharing my new home with them...not much different than wanting to share a special weekend (birthday) with friends really :) and nothing to get upset about.

tinmantu, you mean you don't have a bag of beef jerky or a sandwich next to that beer, computer and football game? Now and then make a phone call at the same time. Now THERE'S multi-tasking! ;) Somehow I was thinking about this very topic just the other day. There's certainly advantages to being single, as are there disadvantages. And when people would ask why I never married, I got sick of hearing it so I came up with the answer because 100% of all divorces started out with marriage! It shuts them up. And if I know they've been divorced, especially more than once I'll occasionally throw in that I can't afford a divorce and my religious beliefs require "till death do us part..." That really puts a cork in the religious ones! A few other lines when appropriate too! I definitely enjoy solitude. Time to think great thoughts, solve the world's problems and come up with some great jokes. Then again, there's nobody handy to tell the jokes to and the cats don't appreciate my sense of humor! There's times I'd enjoy a board game or game of cards with some intelligent conversation with someone other than myself or now the cats. But there's the reverse too. Yes, there's nobody to split the chores, but then there's the other advantages you've pointed out before. If I can't sleep and want to get up and wander around, have the TV on, etc, it's no problem. But I will say, it would be nice to have someone make a bowl of soup when I'm not feeling well... I know I have my quirks as does everyone, and laundry is one of them. When I lived with a gal, she washed her own clothes and I washed mine. I didn't want anyone doing mine and I didn't want to do anyone elses! BTW, one of the other advantages, toilet seat notwithstanding, is that the toilet paper is ALWAYS put on the right direction! I know people who feel they HAVE to be married. Some, or most of them I feel sorry for. Either must have someone take care of them or have someone to take care of. Can't be a mutual thing. Hope I never feel that way and feel fortunate I never have felt that way. Course it makes me the oddball in most social circles. Everyone's life could be better in other ways. But then again, they could all be worse too.

A lot of us have friends that live elsewhere ... but a lot of jasdip's fiends ("friends", that was supposed to be: honest!)... are worms ... that make themselves at home in her apt. She does get some useful work out of them. ole joyful