Dennis,

I wish you the best man. I feel your pain. Going through a similar situation at this very moment. No guitars at sake but definitely some anger coming my way for not seeing things her way. The only way I can win in this situation is to not fight her it and try to get her to see things my way but to actually and sincerely things her way. Then we can begin to make progress. Like I said, your situation sounds way worse than mine but I definitely feel your pain bro.

Hang in there (and try to see things her way and let her know it!)

this is a difficult situation to be in

i had been playing guitar for 20 years when we met. she new how much i enjoyed it, and never stood in my way. i stopped gigging when the kids came around, and now that they are grown and out of the house, i want to get back into gigging again.

as i said-i'm lucky. she knows that if i am sitting in the next room practicing, i'm not out getting into trouble. but she also knows that everything material that we have can be replaced.

over the past 20 years we have had several friends pass away at too young of age. we realize that a burnt pan is not the end of the world

good luck man

Sell a lower end one.

_________________
1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

Okay, it's a new day, though it's Monday, my least favorite day of the week. When I got up this morning I pulled $300 out of my sock drawer and I went through the remains of the Sunday paper and found a 30% off coupon for Kohl's. My wife shops there a lot, so I think anything high-end I get from there, regardless of discount, should be considered acceptable. I'll hit the department store on the way home from work today and hope they have a good set there, with a nice 2-quart saucepan included.

The wife and I have been through a lot together and I think maybe she's having her second or third mid-life crisis right now, ergo the watercolor classes, back to heavy hours on the sewing machine, etc. She works full-time with an out-reach department of one of the big local hospitals and her most regular client (for the last 11 years) is getting close to being moved into a nursing home - I think that is part of the problem as well. I think everything is getting to her and her ruined pan was the icing on the cake.

This is certainly not the biggest crisis we've ever been through - that was when I bought two Corvettes in August and December of 1990 - whew! Makes a bunch of guitars look like small potatoes, but I don't think it would be wise at this point to bring up the Corvettes.

I'll just go for the pots and pans and maybe throw in a gift certificate for a good massage!

We'll see how it goes...

_________________
Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Good luck with all that, CRGM!

Your story is enough to keep me out of the kitchen even more now...lol.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

Second and third midlife crisis I saw my friend's step dad in the middle of one of his. He pressure washed everything and bought a brand new grill. It was quite the scary thing.

_________________
1984 Squier Contemporary Stratocaster
1986 Peavey Envoy 110
1967 Kingston Acoustic

i'm going through a mid-wife crisis myself

"It's Cheaper to Keep Her" - Johnnie Taylor

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zGLtYOKwE8

After 42 years you should be able to resolve this without having to part with one of your prized possessions.It seems more like she's trying to punish you moreso than wanting a new set of pots.I know that here in Canada that just about every weekend a lot of major chains sell off good quality houseware like Kitchen Aid etc. at up to 2/3s off. Check out your weekend sales fliers and buy her a good set of non-stick pots and pans and then take her out to her favourite dining spot or buy her an orchid or some other unique flower.

_________________
'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

Your a wise man Dennis, I commend you for your good judgement. Although I still think the flowers would be a nice touch. Now you can play your favorite guitars in piece.
----Danny,

I hit the aforementioned department store on the way home today - even left work a little early to give me browsing time... and I needed it. Good Lord, not having shopped pots and pans for a couple of decades, I was stunned and amazed (mostly stunned) at the selection and diversity of cookware. I ended up with what could have passed for a prison matron as my guide through the piles of culinary gadgets, but she did okay and I ended up with a very nice, very functional 32-piece set of cookware - 32 pieces includes lids, just in case you wondered. Even with the coupon, it was a LOT of money!

I stopped by the fitness studio she frequents (conveniently located only about a half mile from the pan store) and picked up a member's book of three one-hour massage coupons, good anytime in 2012. I had to call it quits after that so I could manage to get home before she did. I rushed in with my arms full, laid out a very impressive display of pots and pans on the dining room table (I refuse to include pics, though I was tempted) and slid the massage coupons most of the way into a semi-serious Get Well card. I always have to push my luck, I just can't help it.

Then I ran out to the shop and busied myself working on an amplifier, waiting for her to get home. I'm sure my face reflected drama, smirks, fear and an occasional look of random idiocy until she got home and into the house. After about fifteen minutes, the door to the shop opened and she peered in. She said, okay, we're even, let the damn muddy (it was 56 degrees here today) dogs into the shop in what I can only assume was a small measure of defiance, and then closed the door.

She's off to watercolor class now, though she consolidated the new pan collection into a neat pile and the massage coupons and the card they were in have disappeared. I am assuming that we will have a little chat tonight when she gets home from watercolor class and maybe she'll even show me her latest paintings...

I wonder? Since she's off to class for a few hours, should I take advantage of her absence and go through the rest of the old pots and pans and throw some of them out?

I DON'T THINK SO!

_________________
Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

remember the old pickup line "you wanna come up and see my etchings?"

maybe something good is coming your way

This isn't over yet!

Well, at this point, I won't hold my breath, but the anniversary IS just a couple weeks away...

I'm not going to push my luck tonight... but maybe we'll "cuddle" while we watch an episode of Justified.

_________________
Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963