elizabeth, Thank you for your brief tour of Omaha and Little Italy:). And now I have a brief story to share from my home town. I don't believe in this so don't everyone jump all over my case. I'm just the messenger of the story, OK? It was a common belief where I grew up that if a person was trying to sell his house, he would bury a statue of St. Joseph upside down in his front yard. It was believed that the upside down statue would quicken the sale of the house. Then, after the house sold, they'd dig up old St. Joseph!:) You can read more about that practice at these sites: http://www.snopes.com/luck/stjoseph.asp http://www.fisheaters.com/stjoestatue.html http://www.luckymojo.com/saintjoseph.html http://www.catholic-forum.com/saints/stj01002.htm http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1753/should-you-bury-a-statue-of-st-joseph-to-help-sell-your-house Sorry for that side trip. Any more comments regarding Giada's cookbooks. (Please read my previous posts in this thread for explanations.)

So recipes in her first book are more simple and easier to make than the ones in her other books? Is that what you're saying?

Oh, come on Elizabeth :laugh: ... don't hold it against Giada because the girl's skinny but thanks for posting the link for Lidia's site. I also like recipes from Mary Ann Esposito, another older Italian lady. But I can enjoy Giada's recipes too.:D So did I, so did I.

That's what I'm wanting to find out. Which I should buy first and for what reasons. What are your reasons for liking her first book the most?

I want to purchase 1 of Giada De Laurentiis' cookbooks and I'm trying to decide between 3 of them: -Everyday Pasta -Giada's Family Dinners -Everyday Italian Anyone familiar with her books? If you only purchased 1 or 2 of the 3, which would they be?

Can you put FiestaWare in a warm oven?

For those who collect and use FiestaWare-- What do your dishes look like after they get a chip on them? I was thinking of purchasing FiestaWare instead of a white set like this: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=14174&f=1667 but I'm wondering about those chips. I love the look of FiestaWare but don't want to end up with beautifully colored dishes with ugly white chips all over them. Do tell!

That's correct. We used Gombrich's Story of Art along with Oak Meadow's syllabus for the text. Wonderful course! We also have Janson's art book... dull. And we have Sr. Wendy's Story of Painting which is very good only no syllabus available. Gombrich and Sr. Wendy's books are my favorite two Art History books.

Sure, as long as your dc doesn't have any major writing difficulties since it will be at double pace.

I appreciate your comments, folks. Let me answer some questions. I don't have small children. Both my girls are in college. Dd#1 has her own old junker, a '93 Honda Accord. We all carry cell phones. We don't have a roadside service at this time but dh is usually in town working 20 min from home at his office. He knows how to fix cars. He's usually out of town maybe 2 days a month. I don't know which roadside services are worth the money anymore. I would kind of like to have a service. Can anyone recommend one? Those of you with AAA, how much do you pay per month? Both Camrys are reliable but you know how older cars can break down more easily. The good news is that it is a Toyota and is mechanically sound right now. It could use new struts (sp?). It hits hard on the bumps in the road. But otherwise it's in good mechanical cond. Our city is small and there's only 1 neighborhood that I occasionally pass through where I'd rather not break down. Safety and fuel economy is about the same with both Camrys. And both have air bags. I think I covered all the questions. If I see more, I'll come back and answer them.

We just purchased an older second car, a '96 Toyota Camry LE that runs like a dream. It's got the looks I love with exterior and interior in mint cond, leather seats, real wood dashboard, sunroof. Originally it was purchased for dh to drive on his 20 min commute to work so I could drive the newer car to lessen the chances of me breaking down on the road... not that the car's given us any reason to think that it would leave me stranded. Our other car is an '05 Toyota Camry that also runs like a dream, interior and exterior in mint cond but I've never had fond affections for it. WWYD if you liked the look and feel of the older car but had unfounded fears of breaking down on the road? Would you drive the newer car or the older one? My dh doesn't care which way we go. He said "whatever you want". I don't know what I want. Thanks..

If you see a thread with lots of good ideas on a topic of interest, is there a way to quickly and easily copy/paste all the posts so I can save them on my laptop?

Rhonda, I was getting ready to follow your directions but thought I'd better ask this first--- How do I use the file extension? (I don't even know what it is.) Thank you for your help.

Thanks for posting this link, Kareni. I am interested in it but.... HELP! How do you save books on your computer? Please explain in step-by-step details. Speak slowly and clearly. Assume I know nothing. :confused:

It depends who you ask and how detailed you want your kids to work through the book. I've heard of folks covering it anywhere from 2 weeks on up to 15 months.

Thank you, Stacey. You gave me something that I can put to practical use.

Thanks for the info, ladies.

paying cash, no trade $6,000 is blue book's retail value

Right. I guess I'm not explaining myself too well. Let me try again. Many of the used cars we're seeing are priced right at or close to blue book value. If a dealership is asking $6,000 for a car and blue book has its retail value at $6,000, where is the bargaining room? Would they possibly still take an offer? Can we assume that they'd consider an offer lower than blue book value and if so, what would be an example of a reasonable offer in this case?

OK, but how do you know what is a reasonable dollar amount to offer? Again, going back to my OP example-- like if they're asking $6,000 for a car, what would be a reasonable starting offer to give them?

Yes, and I have already been looking at the blue book prices. I'm wanting info to learn how to haggle when starting at the blue book value or whatever price the dealership is asking for the car... like I explained in my OP.

I'm out of practice. When you find a used car at a dealership that you're interested in buying and say their asking $6,000 for the car, at what amount would you begin making offers? How low can you reasonably go with your offers and still expect the dealership to seriously haggle with you? Is there a formula you use when haggling over used cars?

:iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree::iagree:

The sets are so pricey. Do you really save money buying a set as opposed to buying the pots individually? If the sets are more economical I'll just have to set the money aside.

Best place to buy All-Clad?