Thanks, Anne. I have been wanting to try this brownie recipe, but I think I am going to stick with bark and cookies for shipping and make the brownies to bring with us on Christmas day.

Random question, based on a few letters to advice columns I've seen recently: If you host a holiday dinner, like invite a bunch of relatives over for Thanksgiving or whatever, do you give each guest some leftovers to take home?

I usually at least offer. But I'm not fancy.

Mmmm I do like the nog.

With brownies, the big problem is that they'll get hard.

Huh, they never last long enough here for that to happen.

Hil, we have always ended up sending food home with people, but I never thought it was expected or traditional. More a function of cleaning up after the meal.

If you host a holiday dinner, like invite a bunch of relatives over for Thanksgiving or whatever, do you give each guest some leftovers to take home?

I think a lot of people DO. So often there is an overwhelming amount of food left, that it is a sane way to deal. And if everyone, or most every one, was asked to bring a dish, why then it would only be fair to package up some of the leftovers and send some home with everyone. But if you plan carefully the amount of food you need for all your guests, and they bring things like wine and flowers, and/or you just feel wiped out at the end, I don't think you have to send stuff home with people. I'm not an expert. As a guest, I happily accept (possibly even going so far as to look forward to), but do not expect, leftovers.

There was one letter I saw recently where someone was very upset that they'd gone to a niece's house for Thanksgiving and she didn't give them any leftovers, and then another one today where a host wants to give leftovers to all the guests, but one person always brings dessert and then takes all the leftovers of that dessert home. I can't remember ever seeing my parents send leftovers home with anyone, except for people taking back what was left of stuff they brought, but most of our usual guests probably wouldn't eat them. The only times I can remember taking leftovers with us when we were the guests is at Passover, when there's not much food we can eat in restaurants and we're going to be staying at a hotel for a few days.

I think leftovers are normal, but it is impolite to expect them. I would be mildly upset if I didn't get leftovers from Thanksgiving, but that is because packing up the leftovers before packing up the fridge is a part of our family tradition. We are each expected to bring leftover containers. I was invited to another Thanksgiving this year and got leftovers, but I was not expecting it, because that seemed rude.

I've read a few articles that say that manufacturers who claim their sheets' thread count is above 400 are just engaging in deceptive wording: [link] .

• gasp* Ok, i'll hold at 400 thread count, then :) And avoiding "sateen" as IME those don't soften up nicely with laundering. But seriously, the different between 150 and 400 thread count sheets is massive. Of course, during the cold months i sleep on microfiber plush sheets that don't even have a thread count, but are like sleeping in a cloud-soft plush blankie. Sure, storing them is annoying during the summer as they are super bulky, but climbing into my bed is just wonderful. And considering how much time i spend in bed, totally worth the cost for really nice sheets and a feather duvet. Mmmmm. Now i want to crawl back into bed!

I do think that if you bring something, it's borderline rude to take it back home with you. I've totally done it but only with people I know won't be upset.

We have friends that, if there is anything left of what they bring for a party, they always take it home. I've seen them take the two remaining hot dog buns and half a bag of Doritos home after a BBQ.