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My sister asked for a funny story this morning. With mom and dad here it was just a matter of picking one out of a hat....

So, not to air our dirty laundry but my parents have had two big conflicts in their marriage. One is Christmas tree stands and the other is packing. (There was this one other conflict over a dog named, Ellie, but we've all worked so hard to repress that memory, I won't get into it) We've asked them to seek counseling but you know, you can't help people who don't want to be helped.

The Christmas tree stand thing I can't even explain but after traveling with them a bit I am starting to understand the packing thing. One issue is that my mom's bags are always overweight. For some reason this bothers dad. The weight requirements are completely ridiculous for anyone that has to carry a hairdryer and a flat iron to combat the indian humidity. The other issue is that mom is famous for packing things in plastic grocery bags. Thankfully for international travel she puts the plastic bags in a suitcase. Can't say the same for shorter trips.

On the way to Bangalore mom's bags were surely overweight with all the wonderful goodies that so many people sent to us. So she has some "room" for the trip back. After a couple little shopping trips, she decided to purchase two sets of the china that we are using in our house here. The pattern is actually called India, and she thought they would be great at the ranch. I don't mean to sound snobby, but it's a really great brand. Most probably haven't even heard of it.

So, at dinner the other night, she confessed to my dad that they would be hauling back two sets of this china. She encouraged him to admire the pattern and the durability. We told the story of how Everett threw one on our marble floor and it didn't break.

Being in good spirits, my dad simply smiled asked where they were made.

So she grabbed one from our kitchen and turned it over.

"Made in the USA."

Ever heard of Corell?

Carl said the customs agents in the US might have to pay my parents some sort of refund for bringing back in exported items.