mrthing

I have a key party coming up for a group of friends of mine. It is an annual event, and everyone pretty much knows when it will be. The problem is that the hosts, after years of pretty much having guests come by word of mouth, have decided to make this an invitation-only affair.

I am invited, but a friend of mine is not. She of course found out about the exclusion.

I've been going to this party for years. If I don't go it will be noticed.

To complicate matters further, she and another friend have banded together to have another event the same day as the first party. I am invited to both.

I can't politely demand that my hosts invite someone just because I want them invited. It's their home, if they don't want people there, they have that right. It would feel wrong not to go in protest and turn this into a political thing.

But I can't enjoy the party knowing that my other friend's feelings have been hurt over this either. It would feel wrong to go when she can't.

I have known both the hosts and my friend for years. I am equally close to both of them.

Any advice would be appreciated. Any way that I could not be forced to choose sides would be a miracle.

He is a sweet guy, and we have a lot in common. I wanted to be the type of friend to him that I wish I'd had when I was his age. I am not romantically interested in this guy. We became close over the last year and a half until this summer. I introduced him to other friends of mine, and we kind of took him into the "family".

He met a guy and fell head over heels in love with him. After that, he spent all his time with this guy, and really withdrew from me. I understand that, having been through it. Because this guy is leaving to join the military in about a month, also, they are spending every possible moment together in the meantime. He has also made another younger friend, and he hangs out with this guy and his boyfriend a good bit now.

I had surgery this summer, and it really hurt my feelings that my friend didn't come to see me or check up on me, and we had words about that. Although we worked through it, I still haven't seen much of him since.

After the boyfriend leaves for the military, I know my friend is going to need someone. He may be too upset to reach out, or may not feel comfortable calling me because of what happened after my surgery. That is immaterial to me now, I have moved past it. I am a very loyal friend. Six months ago, if he was hurting, I would have kicked in the door if I thought he needed me, whether he acted like he wanted me around or not. At this point though, we have had months of not being as close, and his new friend has been heard to say he doesn't need me anymore. My friend has far too much going on right now to spend time reassuring me over second-hand stuff.

I have talked to him and offered to rally round after his boyfriend leaves. Should I do more? Have I been made redundant? I would feel foolish riding in like the cavalry only to find that I am not needed or wanted. What should I do at this point?

Is it just xenophobia (neos, there are free online dictionaries online) run amok? Or is he just so wonderful that is the only thing they can find to harp on? How sad, a symphony of only one note. But then, they are limited.

I found a small 6.5" bowl. It is the old etched decorative clear glasbake that has the pattern that looks kind of like lips, it may be called Florentine. The number on the piece is 247. It looks like a small pie plate, and may have been a part of a children's set. It has raised dashes on the bottom that look kind of like the inside of a plant water holder, but they are on the outside, not the inside of the piece. Can anyone tell me what it is, and value it for me?

I just can't believe that filmed excrement made money. I know it grossed (literally) between $24 and 25 million, but did they make money on that crap? And no, I have no agenda against Adam Sandler, I have several of his CD's and have seen his movies. But that movie was a REAL stinker.

Thanks :)

I have a very old good friend who has an adult daughter. Her daughter is a very overbearing and sometimes rude person. We all used to socialize together. There has been friction between myself and the daughter in the past, to the point that I didn't socialize with her at all for some time. My friend has been aware of this, and has at times unfortunately been in the middle of these conflicts. More recently, we had all been socializing together again, infrequently. This friend and I have grown apart somewhat, and her daughter moved out of state, much to my relief.

Hostilities were renewed when this friend went in the hosptital for an fairly serious but common surgery. I'll just say this involved female parts. Her daughter announced the upcoming procedure during a dinner out with a group of friends at a restaurant. My friend acted embarrassed, and as if she would have preferred that it not be discussed. After checking to make sure she would be OK, I dropped the issue.

I want a tried and true recipe you have actually made, not something you found on the internet. I can do that. I need something that has been made and that comes out great. I am making this to take to a function with people I need to impress, and I don't have time to make a couple and see how it turns out. I need to be able to just make one that turns out sensational. I am an experienced cook, but don't make a lot of cakes, although I do make a good lemon pound cake (and yes, I 'm taking one of those already, I have been specifically asked for a chocolate as well). I would prefer a non-shortening recipe, but that isn't a must, and I would prefer one that uses chocolate instead of cocoa, but at this point the important part is that it is a tried and true favorite. Oh, I am also looking for something to make from scratch, not a doctored cake mix.

This song used for performance by the Ann-Margret female impersonator Mike Andrews, on the "Female Impersonator Pageant" that was hosted by Ruth Buzzi and Lyle Waggoner. This tape was released on VHS years ago. I love this song, and would like to have the original version of Ann-Margret doing it. I know that due to copyright problems, they hired singers to re-record the music that was on the tape. I'd even be happy with a soundtrack of that tape. I can't find any clue about the song, when she performed it, when it was released, or even what it was called. I have the Ann-Margret Disco Album, and it's not on there.

This is a thick rich brown sauce with garlic. It probably had peanut butter in it, but I'm not sure.

1.5 to 3"