Entertaining . . . ugh

I watch a lot of HGTV and one of my favorite shows is House Hunters.  I think I like it because I love looking at different styles of houses; I also enjoy seeing the different locations and how homes vary from state to state and city to city.  I have to admit there are two things really get on my nerves as people look at houses:

1.  Making their new home decision based on how it will work for their pet
2.  Making their new home decision based on how it will work for entertaining

I'm not an animal lover - sorry!  I know that's not PC, but it's true.  I don't wish harm on any animal, but I also don't want them living in my house!  Take this guy for instance:

Even though we give him baths, he really, really stinks.  He stinks so bad that when the police picked him up one night (he decided to escape his kennel and go on an adventure!) they told me that he must have gotten into something because he smelled really bad.  I tried to tell them he always smells really bad but they were sure something had happened on his adventure.  When I picked him up I thought he smelled just like he always does!  I do not want him in my house, and that goes for all animals.  Making a major purchase like a house and basing that decision on how it will work for your pet is just odd to me.  I realize that I don't speak for everyone here but that's how I feel.

Then there's the whole topic of entertaining.  I know that some people really enjoy entertaining . . . I am not one of those people.   When I do have to entertain there are a couple of things that I can count on to make it a positive experience for my guests (and my cooking isn't one of those things).

This is my grandmother's china and it's just plain white.  It's very easy to make it work with any theme and any color.  It's fine china and the set includes large & small plates and cups & saucers.  I have used this china more than I ever imagined that I would (yes mom, you were right) and it's nice to have something that belonged to my grandmother and to be able to use it.

Individual salt & pepper shakers . . . how awesome is that?  It seems that so often during meals with a group of people the salt & pepper shakers make many trips around the table.  I bought this set and now I can have up to 6 people and they can each have their own set.  Awesome.

So often on House Hunters the people act as if they entertain non-stop!  They need big spaces (indoor and out) so that they have room for all of the parties they have.  Just between you and me I'm not so sure that they entertain that much at all.

The best House Hunters episodes are on House Hunters International.  Rather than looking for big homes (that must have stainless steel appliances!) people in Paris pay huge amounts of money for studio apartments that quite often don't have much more than a hot plate!  People in Tel Aviv look for apartments with a bomb shelter right in their space!  Those episodes are truly interesting, and make me realize just how spoiled we are here in the US.  It really makes looking for single family homes that are perfect for pets and entertaining seem quite silly!

I'm still waiting for my big prize to arrive so I can tell you about a contest I won.