I'll have to look for that olive oil - maybe they will have it at Surfas. I'll bet it's quite tasty! Diana did a great job researching on you - congratulations on having her as a partner! I'll have to check out Lucques Restaurant some time when I'm on Melrose - they're having "dia de los muertos" this Sunday. I'll be interested to see what recipe you try first. The print goes really well in your house--the framing looks very elegant. Lars

Part of cooking is making mistakes and learning from them. Part of cooking is also throwing away food people do not want to eat after trying something new. My teenage kids are very openminded when it comes to food, but there are times they will refuse to eat what is made because it was prepared wrong or overuse of a specific ingredient. However, If I was to ever repurpose food, they'd kill me.

I am going to take your word for it, that your Amana top loader is level and equal weighted on all four feet. I am about to purchase a Speed Queen front load washer/dryer pair. According to other owners, that washer does not spend 1/2 hour trying to decide if it is balanced or not, doing nothing. I read about many washers that annoy their owners doing this. With the Speed Queen front loaders, you can expect the load to be completed when you come back in 45 minutes. I saw the Speed Queen cut-away showing the 4 automotive sized shock absorbers and I knew that balance problems would not be an issue. The washer itself weighs a good 50 lbs more than most other washers (250 lbs). With the standard warranty being 3/5 years, that is quite a bit longer than most residential washers. I got a good deal. Washer + Dryer + 2 -10" pedestals for under $2100. Speed Queen is supposed to be the old Maytag regarding appliance longevity. I chuckle a bit whenever I hear someone say you have pay Miele money to buy a commercial washer.

April...I have just read your plea for help with an imposible situation. As you know, I lost a daughter who was bipolar. Her life for many years was a hell that I know I still don't fully realize. We lived more than 100 miles away so weren't involved in her life on a daily basis. Fortunately she never had an addiction to battle along with the disease, but I know that for her husband of more that 20 years, everyday was an "unknown". What I want to tell you is that Terry's father and I gave our son-in-law our blessing the day he came to us and asked us to become more involved with her because he just couldn't take it any more and had to "get out". He assured us that he had no intention of leaving her abruptly. That he wanted to try to make sure that she had a network of family and friends that would be looking out for her before he did anything. He said divorce was not in his plans, because that would leave her without medical insurance. He spent several hours with us that day telling us many things about her that we needed to know if he wasn't in the picture to help in a crisis. That was 2 years before we lost her. They were in marriage counseling for most of that time...not counseling to save the marriage, but to help ready her for his leaving. He was still with her trying to pave the way for her to be on her own the day she died. And we were still supporting him in his decision to leave at some point. Some might think that we were wrong to show compassion for him, but there are times that this "for better or worse, in sickness and in health" stuff cannot and should not be honored. The bottom line April is that you have endured more than enough and your son is the one you must have the most concern for now. You cannot "fix" your husband. He can't fix himself. It is the nature of the illness. Go to counseling and a lawyer. Find out the way to best get out...not only for yourself, but for your husband. He is a danger to you, your son, and himself. Don't sacrifice yourself or your son for something that cannot be fixed.