Answering robots

( So many times when we call a business we get these dumb, impersonal answering robots. so turn about is fair play.)

"Subject: 86-year old lady's letter to bank...... Shown below, is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by an 86 year old woman."


Dear Sirs:

I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month..

By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it.

I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my entire pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only eight years.

You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank.

My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally answer your telephone calls and letters, --- when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become.

From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate.

Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative.

Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof.

In due course, at MY convenience, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows:

IMMEDIATELY AFTER DIALING, PRESS THE STAR (*) BUTTON FOR ENGLISH

#1. To make an appointment to see me
#2. To query a missing payment.
#3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there.
#4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping
#5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature.
#6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home
#7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to that Authorized Contact mentioned earlier .
#8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7
#9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service .

#10. This is a second reminder to press* for English.

While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call..

Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement.

May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year?

Your Humble Client"

The Bobby Soxer...Me

A lonely teen age girl sits in the dark listening to the new sensation, Frank Sinatra, as he croons a soft love ballad on his nightly radio show.


He signs off every program with these lyrics:


“Put your dreams away

For another day,

And I will take their placeIn your heart.


Wishing on a star

Never got you far

So it’s time to make

A new start”


She turns off the radio, takes out her bobby pins, dampens each strand of her Toni Home Permed brown hair. Then rolls it up in small, flat, pin curls.


She arranges her books for the next school day. Says a prayer for her three brothers who are serving overseas in the war.


Soon she goes to sleep hoping to dream of Frankie.




.

Tomorrow

I loved the musical "Annie" and especially loved the feel good song the little redhead sang:

"The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

Bet your bottom dollar

That tomorrow

There'll be sun!

Just thinkin' about

Tomorrow

Clears away the cobwebs,

And the sorrow

'Til there's none!



When I'm stuck with a day

That's gray,
And lonely,



I just stick out my chin

And Grin,
And Say,



Oh! The sun'll come out

Tomorrow

So ya gotta hang on

'Til tomorrow

Come what may



Tomorrow!

Tomorrow!

I love ya Tomorrow!

You're always

A day

A way! "



It's a beautiful, sunny, spring day in Atlanta, Georgia.

The daffodils are blooming their bright yellow

Heads off

The flowering crab apples

Are tossing their pink petals

On the ground like a spring snow.



AND



They're all gone.

The plumber is gone

The washing machine

Repair guy

Is gone

Carpet reinstallers

Gone

Carpet cleaner
Gone.

Finished and gone.

Just in time

As I was

Too tired to chew.

"Tomorrow" finally came for us and we lived through it all.
:)

Don't Read This

Unless you want to hear me whine.!!!



They say it comes in three's. Misfortune that is.

First it was my computer that died and our son had to take it home with him and administer CPR or mouth to mouth for a week until he revived it. It was DOA when he came to get it.

The second one was last Friday. And yes, it was Friday the 13th. Hubby, Sam, and our grown son were in the basement playroom putting together a Schwinn recumbent bike that Sam had ordered online. Sam cannot use the treadmill right now since he fell on some slick pine straw 5 weeks ago and broke a small bone in his foot. He is wearing a foot shoe cast.



As they were opening the bike box they noticed that the carpet in part of the playroom was wet about 4 feet out from the sofa and closet. Humm, they thought. Maybe the dehumidifier, which was not turned on had accidently started up, leaked and wet the floor.

They finished putting together the bike(no simple task in itself) then son went home and got his carpet cleaner machine and attempted to clean up the carpet stains. He came back over the next day to try and find the source of the water leak. He pulled up some of the carpet and discovered that the water heater in utility closet had a small, slow leak from the top down the side and under the baseboard into the room,(They had checked that before but it was such small leak from the top and not noticeable) I think it had been leaking for some time and we just had not seen it.

I went to the store to get Kitty Litter and they spread it on the bare floor . They had pulled up the carpet and discarded the wet pad underneath, trying to counteract the moisture. They turned on two fans and two dehumidifiers. Son drained the water heater so it wouldn't do anymore damage. We called the plumber who could not come until Monday. We only had cold water for two days. Brrr. I took spit baths. No shower.

The plumber came and replaced the water heater with a new one. When he finished I asked him to look upstairs at the hose connection for my washing machine as I thought it might be leaking. Plumber said the leak underneath the washing machine is NOT WATER but OIL. It was coming from the machine itself.( this is number three)

I called Sears Repair. They came today and had to replace the transmission etc. This came to a total of over $400. Luckily we had bought a 3 year service contract when we purchased the washing machine.(I had to overrule hubby at the time as he does not believe in extended warranties on appliances). So the repair cost nothing. Good thing as we had already spent over $800 on the water heater and plumber.

The basement playroom is topsy turvy with the carpet drying out. (almost dry now) Carpet guy coming tomorrow to take a look about reinstalling it later with new pad under part that was water damaged.)

Cleaning guy coming on Thursday to vacuum up kitty litter and to scrub up floor and baseboard to get rid of the mildew. (I talked to a water damage company and they said to use Borax detergent to clean up and it should be fine)



Now aren't you sorry you read this. but thanks for attending my pity party.

I found this info on PITY PARTY online:

"Pity Parties require the proper outfit, which is usually pajamas cause you dont get all dressed up during those feeling-sorry-for-myself moments. Also you should have no make up on or just the one from the night before; hair undone as well. It also involves tissues, comfort food such as ice cream; chocolate; potato chips; cookies; cake; and candy. Low fat food is banned Alcohol might or might not be allowed (if alcohol makes you go wild, no alcohol should be brought to the pity party in that case since the point is not exactly to have fun). The purpose of a Pity Party is to dump the pity ."

Keeping your computer screen clean

See below for a sure fire way to clean the inside of your computer screen.

http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf

Hooray

HOORAY !!!!

My son brought my computer back today. It is all well and operating good as new.

What a relief, although I did notice I was slowly recovering from my computer addiction. But with the first whiff of "Bookworm" and "Blogs" my drugs of choice, I am hooked again.

Ahhh. How sweet it is.

What else can happen?

Last Friday I went to the Yahoo games site to play bridge. I played many, many years ago and I was picking it up well enough to play in the Beginners Room. I had forgotten a lot about bidding, however, so I decided to go browsing for a bridge site about Bridge Bidding.

The second site I went to seemed like a winner so I clicked "favorites" to file the site for later reference. Instead of being saved in "Favorites" it went directly to my internet files. I tried to delete it but no luck. Then a box came up that said " Trojan virus" from AVG internet security. It asked if I wanted to "heal" it or "isolate it". I clicked one then the other but I could NOT get any action. Then my computer started going crazy. Black to light screen then for about 5 seconds a soft porn site came up.

I quickly shut down my computer and went to bed. I could not sleep until 3am as I was so worried.

And sure enough when my son came over the next day he found out that I had a terrible virus
on my computer. It had crashed.

I am on Sam's computer now. My son worked and worked and after 5 days he was able to restore my computer. I will lose any information I had prior to August of '07 but I can manage.

He said if I had to buy a new computer he would get an APPLE. It seems APPLE does not crash as much.

Anyway, when my son brings the old computer back to me it will be all clean and he is putting a better security system on it.


Darn It

There's always something.

But I am SO THANKFUL for my smart son who is always willing to help out.

There's always something

What a fine kettle of fish this is:

The arthroscopic surgery for a torn knee meniscus I had last October has helped some but it is still not altogether back to normal. But I manage. My husband has driven me back and forth to the doctor. He has helped out buying groceries and many other ways too numerous to mention. I always told him " I owed you one" and I thanked him for all his help.

Well...... a week ago Tuesday, Sam, my husband, who is never sick, stepped out into our small front yard and was looking up to check out a maple that needs trimming when suddenly.........he slipped on the pine straw and fell off the curb, twisting his leg with his foot underneath.

Long story short... Very painful, I had him elevate his leg and foot and applied ice packs.... gave him Advil and a left over pain pill from my prior surgery. The next day I took him to the foot doctor. They x-rayed and he has a broken bone in his foot. They put him in a stiff post-op shoe boot and told him to stay off his feet as much as possible. Keep it elevated and for the first few days keep ice on it. Come back in 4 weeks.

He is being a good soldier and I am being a good nurse/helper. He will be fine and he can drive since it is his left foot. He misses jogging on the treadmill. He is a health and fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym at least once a week. Being inactive is not in his nature. He is doing fine but still has some pain in his foot as the healing takes place.

We can't blame his injury on age since our daughter,when she was 13 years old, broke the same bone in her foot. But I know young people heal quicker.


So I am back being the "chief cook and bottle washer" around here. My knee must take second fiddle now.It is my turn to repay Sam for helping me out. I do it gladly knowing that together we will prevail. In a few months we will be back to normal again.

Win One For The Old Folks

The Westminster Dog Show had a surprise winner this year. On Tuesday night a 10 year old chestnut colored Sussex Spaniel won Best In Show. His name is "Stump" and he is the oldest dog ever to win this prestigious competition.

In human years Stump would be about 70 years old but he looks and acts much younger and has a spring in his step any 50 year old human could envy.

Stump almost died 5 years ago with a serious illness. His life was saved by the vets at Texas A and M University where he spent 19 days recovering.

Stump came out of retirement this week to win his first show in four years. Owner-handler Scott Sommer decided last Wednesday to bring Stump to the big show, just for fun. and for old times sake.

The crowd at the Garden went wild when Stump won "Best In Show" thus becoming the top dog in the USA. Maybe the audience just liked rooting for the old guy.

Stump is an inspiration to all of us of a certain age.

Twenty-five Random Things About Me.

I recently read in the Washington Post about a fad that is zipping around on FaceBook. Some are "tagging" others to respond to this:





"Twenty-five random things about me."



I don't have a FaceBook page and don't plan to get one so I just thought I would post my "Random Things" here for your amusement.;)



Feel free to post yours here or on your own blog.

Consider yourself "tagged" :)





1. My father was 55 years old when I was born. He died whan I was 9 years old.

2. I had one brother, and nine half brothers, one half sister,( by three different mothers.) (Father's first two wives died.)

3, I was the youngest. Or as they say, the caboose. All but three siblings were grown and gone from home when I was born.

4. I don't like dark chocolate.

5. I color my hair.

6. I was teacher's pet in the sixth grade.

7. During the summer I was not allowed to go swimming in the public pool. Polio scare.

8. I knew my husband of 57 years for 6 weeks before we married.

9. I still miss my springer spaniel dog who died when our house was struck by lightening in 1991.

10. I have flown on the Concord super sonic plane two times.

11. I have gone up in a hot air balloon twice also.

12. A plumber's son stole my husband's Rolex watch but his dad returned it in tears.

12. I wanted to be a journalist.

14. Once over a period of 5 years I walked 3000 miles. Two miles a day.

15 . I lived in Washington D.C. at the Watergate condos for 4 years.

16. Sometimes I walked around and around the adjacent Kennedy Center overlooking the Potomac River.

17. I am a news and politics junkie.

18 I campaigned for Jimmy Carter when he ran for President.

19. I have traveled to, Mexico City, Paris. London, Ireland, Italy, Singapore. Hong Kong, Switzerland.

20. I have never been on a cruise.

21. Once as a teen I made a scrapbook about Frank Sinatra. "Ole Blue Eyes" was just starting out and had his own radio show.

22. On TV, I watched the first men walk on the moon

23. I loved Franklin D. Roosevelt. I saw him once in a motorcade.

24 I heard FDR's fireside chats on the radio. Years after FDR's death, I visited "The Little White House" in Warm Springs. Georgia. He died here while getting his portrait painted.

25. I was in a Shirley Temple look alike contest as a child. I lost. :(

Trying Something New

My Mother's favorite drink

She lived to be 91 and every day of her life she had to have her Coke. In Georgia, during her lifetime,it was known as "Co-cola"..and for years it came in those old fashioned, green glass bottles that kept it so cold, refreshing and frosty. Not like the cans of today.

After she entered the nursing home, when I would go visit her and take her a new sweater or new nightgowns, I always stopped by the cafeteria and dropped in my quarters in the vending machine and bought her a "Co-Cola". She was always so grateful and she enjoyed the refreshing taste.

I suppose "Coke" itself at that time was as old as Mama. She was born in Hall County Georgia,in 1893, and Coca-Cola was sold in bottles for the first time on March 12, 1894. It was sold at a few soda fountains prior to that.

Then in 1985 the Coca Cola company made a tremendous blunder.

"The Coca-Cola Company came out with "New Coke" in 1985. Coca-Cola, amid much publicity, attempted to change the formula of the drink. Some authorities believe that New Coke, as the reformulated drink was called, was invented specifically to respond to its commercial competitor, Pepsi.. New Coke was reformulated in a way that emulated Pepsi. . The commercial failure of New Coke came as a grievous blow to the management of the Coca-Cola Corporation.

It is possible that customers would not have noticed the change if it had been made secretly or gradually, and thus brand loyalty could have been maintained. Coca-Cola management was unprepared, however, for the nostalgic sentiments the drink aroused in the American public; some compared changing the Coke formula to rewriting the American Constitution."

As soon as New Coke came out I took one out to the nursing home for Mama to try. I did not tell her that "Co-Cola" had been reformulated and just asked her "How is your Co-Cola, Mama? She sounded and looked disappointed when she replied "It's all right"

Then I told her about the new version of Coke. She wanted to stick with the old standby that had served her well for almost 90 years.

I never again took her a "New Coke." She enjoyed the familiar taste of the original Co-cola too much to change. At her age she deserved to stick with the original.

At seventy nine

At Seventy Nine


When you get to be my age, you should not wish for a Happy New Year.

Instead, try for a Happy Tuesday.

Put down those green bananas, And reach for the ripe ones.

The green bananas will ripen by Thursday; Who knows what Thursday will bring.

If it's winter, do not long for spring.

Enjoy the bare branches and cold winds

While resting by a warm fire

With old memories.

A glass of old wine

An old cat purring in your lap

As you doze off into tomorrow.

The Inauguration

My husband and I watched the inaugural today from beginning to end. The weather cooperated for the massive crowds that had gathered in Washington. Icy cold but clear and sunny. Just think, it could have rained or snowed or sleeted but it was a fair day and everyone survived the chill.

I remember the day in January 1977 when Jimmy Carter was inaugurated President of the United States and we were there. Standing room only but close enough to the podium to see and hear all of it. Most of what I remember is the icy cold. So cold that the Potomac river froze over so solid that some were ice skating on it. But that day was sunny and clear also so we braved the cold and witnessed history being made.

We even attended a ball and watched as the first couple danced. The next day my husband and I attended a reception at the White House for President Carter and his wife Rosalind honoring volunteers from Georgia.

It was a thrill being in this historic house for the first time. I could not help but remember the "fireside chats" that Franklin Roosevelt gave via radio when I was a child during the depression. We got to peek in the Map Room where FDR gave these radio addresses or chats.

Later we went to several parties at the White House while Carter was president and once just before Reagan left office. No time could I believe I was actually there and not just dreaming it up.

I have high hopes for our new President Barack Obama and I wish him much success and happiness in his new home with his beautiful family by his side.



.

The magic of photo shopping

I had to laugh at the term "photo shopping" recently as it reminded me of my daughter in law’s mother’s birthday a while back

. She had just turned 70 and the party was festive with a band and a display of all sort of photos of her and her family over the years.

There had recently been a messy divorce and my daughter in law’s sister’s ex husband , Bert, had just married his much younger "honey"

When I looked at their family group photo taken outside I asked my son where is "Bert," the reprobate ?

My son replied:

"See that shrub ? I turned Bert into a shrub in the backgound"

My son had "doctored" "Photo Shopped" the family group photo

"Bert was now in the background as a small shrub. "

Serves him right.....>:(

A New Year's Wish For You

Courtesy of Bob Dylan:


FOREVER YOUNG
BOB DYLAN

"May God bless and keep you always, May your wishes all come true, May you always do for others And let others do for you.

May you build a ladder to the stars And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous, May you grow up to be true, May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, Stand upright and be strong, May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy, May your feet always be swift, May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift. May your heart always be joyful, May your song always be sung,

May you stay forever young, Forever young, forever young, May you stay forever young".

Annual Christmas Message

In Hoc Anno DominiVermont Royster's annual Christmas message.

This editorial was written in 1949 by the late Vermont Royster and has been published annually since in the Wall Street Journal

"When Saul of Tarsus set out on his journey to Damascus the whole of the known world lay in bondage. There was one state, and it was Rome. There was one master for it all, and he was Tiberius Caesar.
Everywhere there was civil order, for the arm of the Roman law was long. Everywhere there was stability, in government and in society, for the centurions saw that it was so.

But everywhere there was something else, too. There was oppression--for those who were not the friends of Tiberius Caesar. There was the tax gatherer to take the grain from the fields and the flax from the spindle to feed the legions or to fill the hungry treasury from which divine Caesar gave largess to the people. There was the impressor to find recruits for the circuses. There were executioners to quiet those whom the Emperor proscribed. What was a man for but to serve Caesar?

There was the persecution of men who dared think differently, who heard strange voices or read strange manuscripts. There was enslavement of men whose tribes came not from Rome, disdain for those who did not have the familiar visage. And most of all, there was everywhere a contempt for human life. What, to the strong, was one man more or less in a crowded world?

Then, of a sudden, there was a light in the world, and a man from Galilee saying, Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things that are God's.

And the voice from Galilee, which would defy Caesar, offered a new Kingdom in which each man could walk upright and bow to none but his God. Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. And he sent this gospel of the Kingdom of Man into the uttermost ends of the earth.

So the light came into the world and the men who lived in darkness were afraid, and they tried to lower a curtain so that man would still believe salvation lay with the leaders.

But it came to pass for a while in divers places that the truth did set man free, although the men of darkness were offended and they tried to put out the light. The voice said, Haste ye. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness come upon you, for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.

Along the road to Damascus the light shone brightly. But afterward Paul of Tarsus, too, was sore afraid. He feared that other Caesars, other prophets, might one day persuade men that man was nothing save a servant unto them, that men might yield up their birthright from God for pottage and walk no more in freedom.

Then might it come to pass that darkness would settle again over the lands and there would be a burning of books and men would think only of what they should eat and what they should wear, and would give heed only to new Caesars and to false prophets. Then might it come to pass that men would not look upward to see even a winter's star in the East, and once more, there would be no light at all in the darkness.

And so Paul, the apostle of the Son of Man, spoke to his brethren, the Galatians, the words he would have us remember afterward in each of the years of his Lord:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage."

Religious Freedom

Washington D.C.
Nativity Scene

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that there cannot be a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. this Christmas.

This isn't for any religious reason though.They simply have not been able to find three wise men and a virgin in the Nation's capitol. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable.

;)

Have you heard this one?

One Christmas Eve, a frenzied young man ran into a pet shop looking for an unusual Christmas gift for his wife. The shop owner suggested a parrot, named Chet, which could sing famous Christmas carols.This seemed like the perfect gift. "How do I get him to sing?" The young man asked, excitedly."Simply hold a lighted match directly under his feet like this." was the shop owner's reply. Chet began to sing "Jingle Bells! Jingle Bells! ..."The shop owner then held another match under the parrot's right foot. Then Chet's tune changed, and the air was filled with "Silent Night, Holy Night..."The young man was so impressed that he paid the shop-keeper and ran home as quickly as he could with Chet under his arm.

When the wife saw her gift she was overwhelmed. "How beautiful!" She exclaimed, "Can he talk?""No," the young man replied, "But he can sing. Let me show you."So the young man whipped out his lighter and placed it under Chet's left foot, as the shop-keeper had shown him, and Chet crooned, "Jingle Bells! The man then moved the lighter to Chet's right foot, and out came, "Silent Night. Holy Night..."The wife, her face filled with curiosity, then asked, "What if we hold the lighter between his legs?" The man did not know. "Let's try it." He answered,eager to please his wife.

So they held the lighter between Chet's legs. Chet twisted his face, cleared his throat, the little parrot sang out loudly (like it was the performance of his life) "Chet's nuts roasting on an open fire...."

Tomorrow is the big day

OK, Please remind me why I thought last Christmas buying an artificial tree, a 6 footer, was a good idea; granted it was an absolutely gorgeous frasier fir fake that had it's own twinkling white lights. It was beautiful when we got all the ornaments on we have collected over the years. I even bought some "Eau De Forest" spray so the tree would smell like the real thing and it was a success. Did I mention it doesn't shed?

But now it resides in a huge box in the downstairs, under the stairs closet with Costco paper supplies, bedding for the hide a bed in the adjacent playroom, several old paintings and the rest of the Christmas decorations.All of the flotsam and jetsam has to be moved out of this small closet to remove the tree from its' year of slumber. then carry the heavy green fir pieces, 4 in all, up the stairs to the living room where my husband and I will have removed a tilt top table, lamp and a marble sculpture we bought in Mexico some time back, to make room for the tree.

Each of the four pieces of the tree are quite heavy with the wiring for the lights and they have to be attached to each other from bottom to top in a way that permits the lights to work... Hubby will start to assemble the pieces: (I will then proceed to kibitz and suggest that perhaps he is not doing it exactly right) ;)... We will finally get it assembled .Then put on all the ornaments and the tree skirt around the base.
Whew

But then after we sit still for a while and admire the beautiful. twinkling tree lights we will go outside and stand in the street and gaze at the image reflected in the front window of our house and breathe a sigh of relief and I will hug him and say :"It IS the prettiest we have ever had."

Now I get it..

IT'S CHRISTMAS AGAIN
AND ALL'S RIGHT WITH THE WORLD

Ronni's question

Ronni Bennett on her blog Time Goes by asked an interesting question yesterday about what do you have that you have used continously for a long, long time.
Here's my answer. What is yours?

My oldest in continuos use item is a Jewel Tea Casserole Dish in the Autumn Leaves pattern. I have been married 57 years this Saturday, November 22, and I have used this dish at least once a month if not more often for all those years. This week I made yummy Macaroni and Cheese in it. I also use it for other dishes like Banana Pudding which I don't make very frequently now.
This casserole dish dates back to my childhood when the Jewel Tea truck would come around during the depression years and my mother would buy various items and get points with which she could obtain "gifts" one of which was this casserole dish.
Anything I cook in this dish is charmed and turns out great. :)