A rant about personal responsibility, or sue-happy people, or ??

Susan - I do live in paradise. Plenty would disagree, since we have snowy winters, but I love living in the North Idaho woods.

It's one of my hot buttons too, but I guess it isn't so new. I've known several people over the years who seemed to live by collecting disability insurance after faked injuries. I'll never forget driving into a yard one day and finding the lady of the house out refilling her above-ground pool -  about a hundred feet from her house. She turned red when she realized she had left her crutches back there by the front door!

John & Kasey - Yes, that McDonalds coffee incident was on my mind when I read the egg roll package.

Peter & Linda - It seems like judges should just look at them and say "It's clear that you're trying to pull something. Case dismissed." A bit of common sense would go a long way in some of these lawsuits - like the McDonalds coffee case.

Evelyn - Apparently it is. We're just not expected to have enough sense to get through a day without specific instructions.

You'll be glad to know, I didn't forget - so I cooked and ate my dinner and didn't get burned at all!

Debbie - And sometimes those people seem so nice going in - you don't expect that behavior from them.

Chris Ann - I can understand blaming the manufacturer if there happens to be poison in the food, but as for the rest... What annoys me is that in ridiculous cases like the hot coffee at McDonalds, lawyers take the cases and judges award damages.

Most of the people I know are proud of being able to use their own common sense and take care of themselves - the "I'm not responsible, you take care of me" mindset is one that I can't comprehend.

Virginia - Yes, I did enjoy the egg rolls, as well as the alone time. But of course, I was glad to have the dogs and cats to keep me from being ALL alone! I always enjoy a rare week-end alone, but I'm always glad to see the men when they come home, too.

You really should find someone to take over your duties for a day or two and give yourself a vacation - You'll feel rejuvenated.

Silvia - Right. Next they'll be suing and winning on the grounds that no one forced them to read the warnings, so they didn't.

Deborah - You want to send me that recipe! I love pizza - and any time I get to Sandpoint I stop by Papa Murphy's to bring home a take and bake.

My boys went to Ashley Lake, near Kalispell - they've  been going there every May or June for more than 20 years, and on occasion, I've gone along. I agree - a blizzard, a roaring fire and a good book are all good things - and perhaps accompanied by a bowl of bread dough rising by the fire.

Deborah - or do you prefer to be called Dee Dee?  - You must have been reading about my bread bowl. Every time I use it, I think of a story my Grandmother told. She was about 6 or 7 years old at the time.

Her Mother had set the bread to rise and then gone out to bring the cow in for the evening milking. Apparently, the cow had decided to head for the tall timber, because her mother was gone a long time. Finally the bread started to run over the side of the bowl, but she'd been told not to touch it. She also wasn't allowed to light the lamp, so when it got dark she went to bed. When she woke up in the morning, her Mother still wasn't there, but she knew she'd been there, because the bread was punched down.

I don't think I've been to Swan Lake - I'll have to look it up!