she wants me to sell one of my guitars and buy her a whole new set!

I don't think I've ever seen a situation like THIS come up on this Forum. Okay, I was cooking some meatballs in BBQ cause a couple of weeks ago and I... um... sort of forgot about them being on the stove. I left them cooking and came down here to the Music Room and, well, time flies, right? I only had the stove-top burner set on 4, for crying out loud. But when I remembered the meatballs, I came out of the Music Room (door was shut, as usual) and I immediately smelled the results of my inattention.

I'll admit that only half of the bottom layer of meatballs was still edible, and only barely, but I made myself eat them as penance for my indiscretion. I tossed out the rest and put the pan in the kitchen sink to soak...

Oh, crap, I've gotta run upstairs! I have mac & cheese and yes, more meatballs on the stove right now! I'll be back...

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Dennis,

I've seen situations similar to this one of your's. (None to me, thankfully!) Do yourself a HUGE favor and somehow, buy her that new set QUICKLY for if you don't, this is a never ending source of ammunition for her, a source of prolonged guilt for you and if you act immediately, there is a good chance she may forget about demanding you unload one of your guitars upon her being promptly appeased. You, I and how many others here know what I mean when I say, if the "Little Woman" isn't happy, we're not happy. This is especially true when we are indeed, positively guilty of screwing up.

As always, this is merely IMO where YMMV.

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You dig?

Okay, I'm back... and I'm sweating. I have been eating sandwiches at work for the last couple of months and I'll gag if I have to eat a sandwich this week, so I'm making a boatload of mac & cheese and BBQ meatballs to take in with me tomorrow. I had everything going on the stove upstairs and the wife was over at a friend's working on her watercolor paintings and she came back just AFTER I flew up the stairs to check on my latest culinary efforts.

Good thing I wasn't down here in the Music Room when she got home - I can only imagine the screams I would have heard...

Anyway... the last "special" pan is the last surviving member of a set we were given by her grandparents at our wedding - 42 years ago, this February! She didn't think the worst when she saw it soaking in the sink, but she went through the roof when she tried to scrub it out! I tried to placate her, offered to scrub until it was clean, but it was too late - the pan was ruined!

I offered to take her anywhere she wanted and buy her any set of pans that she wanted, but it wasn't enough. She came up with her own plan to get even - she told me that she wanted me to sell one of my guitars and use that money to buy her a new set. I asked her what the brand was as there's nary a trace of the embossed name left on the bottom of this pan, but she said that wasn't the point!

And it gets worse..!

Sorry, I have to go check my cooking again. I'll be back.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Wow, she must really be mad! I hate to say this but you may have to unload one of your guitars to keep the peace.

My disclaimer: I'm not suggesting or insinuating anything here, I"m just relaying a true story.

Having said the above, a friend of mine was being forced by his wife to sell one of his guitars for a bonafide misdeed on his part. What he did was to pick one of his guitars to 'sell' which his wife would never be able to identify in a million years. He stashed it at a friend's house and showed her the (supposed) money from the 'sale' to said friend who of course, was in on the scam. In time, my friend was securely back in his wife's good graces. Once she gave him the 'green light' to buy another guitar, well, you can surmise the rest.

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You dig?

I've been the cook in my family for almost ever, and those pots and pans have a life of there own, in that each one is as important as one of your guitars. you need that special pan to prepare that special food. Look at it this way, if heaven forbid, she were to knock over one of your guitars and ruin it, would you demand that she sell her pots and pans to replace your guitar? of course not. you'd never eat again. Just hurry and go to Target or some place like that and get the best and most smiler replacement pan you can find. and some inexpensive flowers and your home free.
----Danny,

Good plans, gentlemen, but when I said it gets worse, I wasn't kidding.

She wants to pick out the guitar for me to sell and she says she's quite serious! Now I will admit that I have an abundance of guitars and that selling one won't kill me, but if she sticks to her plan to pick it out... this could get ugly? And I don't think that making the guitar disappear for a while and then having it show up again is going to work either.

I have patiently explained to her that now is not a good time to be selling guitars, that the market is down, etc. But I think she is getting an evil glee out of my predicament and is determined (at least at this point, a week after The Incident) to follow through on her demand. For now, if I am not in the Music Room, the door is locked, which has been standard for about a year now, but she told me today that she's got it nailed down to one of three guitars...

Lord, help me! I think she really means it!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

The entire thing sounds to comical to be serious. She is just trying to get the best of you. You know that pan meant a lot to her, and maybe it's time to get some new stuff. I know cash doesn't grow on trees but if it's that important to her it would probably in YOUR best interest to just give in. Spend a fue hundred bucks and your good for another 40 years. Think of all the good food she'll be cooking for you in those new pots and pans
----Danny,

I think this is the best advice.

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You dig?

Tell her you want a divorce that'll teach her

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Sounds like you're in on nasty bind. If it wasn't a gift from the Grandparents, you MIGHT have a chance. I'm just going to sit back and watch.

My condolences.

Yes, it could be comical (though so far I don't think so), because she says she wants one of my "garish" guitars to go. I know of two guitars that are hanging in this room that could be considered "garish," though that is not at all the word I would use. And truth is, I think I'd be hard put to sell them on short notice and recover enough funds to accomplish what the wife wants. So...

I think I will head to Kohl's after work tomorrow and see what kind of a high-end set of pots and pans I can come up with. I could make the ultimate bonehead move and use HER Kohl's charge card to get them. Of course, I pay all the bills, so she wouldn't likely ever find out, but I'll err on the side of wisdom (and caution) and take a wad of gig money out of my sock drawer tomorrow morning. And tonight, I will tuck a couple of slightly "garish" guitars carefully out of sight.

Hopefully, a nicely wrapped pile of new pots and pans (and maybe a fresh bouquet) will win the day. It's two weeks until our 42nd anniversary, but thanks for the thought, Gorgon! And yes, oxfan, it appears the long deceased grandparents are getting even with me, too!

What a week!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

she's playing with you. she wants you to romance her as well as buy the new pans.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

Yes seriously Dennis you'll have to make it up to her! but i'd stop short of selling any guitars, anything else but that

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Luck won't do it and ignorance can't

George Van Eps.

Well, I've been hanging around with this woman for quite a while, to say the least, and if it's just romance she wants, Valentine's Day and our anniversary are just over the hill. I'll admit it sounds a little weird, but things have been pretty cool around here for the last week and it ain't just the weather! Surely she knows it's too late to finally put her foot down on my beloved guitar and amp collection..? I shouldn't have taken her along when I went to visit the new insurance agent and divulged (perhaps) a bit too much info about just what I wanted to insure... dang it.

I'm not sure. She's tough to read right now and I did cook supper tonight... without ruining any more pans, either. I'll see how things look after my trip to the pots and pans store tomorrow. I really thought this would blow over by now. I paid for her watercolors class, after all.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

i just can't believe that she wants to "punish" you by making you sell one of your guitars. just getting new pans should suffice.

maybe none of my business, but i would not give in. the only way i would get rid of my gear is if we were in dire money times, and we absolutely had to do it to get by.

i have had to buy new things around the house that have become damaged, and i'm sure that some were gifts. i'm a lucky man-just replace it and all is well