On 05/15/2016 05:29 AM, Don Y wrote:
The same is true when we are invited to friends' for a party, meal, etc.
Walking in with something *purchased* is a cop-out -- a few extra minutes
on the weekly shopping trip and a few extra dollars.

In my mother's circle the surest way to become a target of derision was
to try to doll up a purchased item and pass it off as your own. Even a
cake that originated from a box was pushing acceptability.

While my mother was a good cook, there were the inevitable failures. The
family got to eat those while she tried again to produce something for
public consumption.