I've avoided clicking on this thread, and was glad to read &quot;SharonG&quot; ask <b>&quot;Okay, I'll be the one to say it. ....WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH TRAVEL??????&quot;</b>

And of course responses like that of &quot;mah1980&quot; -- <i>&quot;people travel to weddings in order to give presents&quot;</i> are such a farce. Cripes - what a load of @#*$ <b>rationalizing</b>.

Anytime I leave my house, I'm traveling.

Does that make a discussion of my entire day fair material for posting at Fodors <i>Travel</i> Talk?

I think not. Please consider taking it to &quot;other&quot; or better yet to that renegade &quot;other board&quot; where such coffee klatch discussions are actually encouraged.

BTW, the &quot;dresser organizer set&quot; that included a shoe horn has been great to put my boots on easily so that my foot can travel up ...&quot;

rb_travelerxATYyahoo, I've always found that the best way to avoid reading a thread that doesn't interest me is to not click on it. Just &quot;avoiding&quot; clicking on it will not do the job--you actually have to refrain from clicking on it.

This thread interests me because so often I must arrange to travel to a wedding, and then remember to bring a gift (or have it sent). It's easy to sit back and relax after making the travel arrangements, only to panic when the date arrives because I forgot the gift part of the adventure. These ideas are useful to me (when we refrain from grumbling and being rude to one another). When a thread is as accurately titled as this one, it's easy to skip if you don't find it interesting.

Besides my dishes, I love my Kitchen Aid mixer my Aunt &amp; Uncle got us. I registered for it, because I was told that I would need it. I use it ALL the time now, don't know how I would live without it -- thanks Aunt Cheryl!!!

I still use the the best wedding gift I ever recieved 21 years ago--My husband..he takes a licking and keeps on ticking! And he's not junk! lol

cd, thank you for such a wonderful idea - it never would have occured to me to make something out of those pieces. Thanks.

None of them! We got mostly Home Depot gift cards and cash. Alll spent!

Our treasure is a beautiful copper polenta pot from italy given to us by a dear family friend. My husband is Swiss-Italian and these friends, who are like second parents to us (they are his parents best, lifelong friends)gave it to us before our wedding with a beautiful letter about how cooking is so important to families and to friendships. We have used that pot for many yummy polenta and stew dinners and it always evokes feelings of family and love. This Christams Eve, our baby, who is 18 months had three helpings of stew and polenta and couldn't wait to have eggs and polenta in the morning! I'll pass it down someday to whomever will appreciate it... my bet is on him! :)

Sadly, after 45 yrs of marriage, we have nothing left of our gifts. The last thing to go was a sunbeam electric skillet that I used most everyday.
What we do have, is the Saladmaster pots and pans I bought before we married. They really do last a lifetime. I have a couple of pieces that need replaced because of the handles but have not gotten around to packing them up and sending them.

After 29 years, some things--bath towels, a stainless sauce pan--have worn out. Still enjoying: beautiful carving board with an indented center, great for controlling meat juices; antique silver meat fork; heavy heavy crystal vase; casserole dishes.

Believe it or not, the microwave oven we got over 22 years ago works as well as the day we got it. And we rarely cook anything without using the microwave.