There are some quilting shops that I would love to get a chance to check out in NY. I am not that far from there I have not had a chance yet. I would console myself with trips like that while I was in NY. You can also plan all the quilts you want to make. As far as your MIL I do not have any good advice. Just hang in there and once you get the job.:) you do not have to have them over, or see them until absolutely necessary. Life is to short to have people like that around. My husband was so surprised the day I told him not to call his sisters anymore. He looked at me and I told him he was not allowed to call them because they just made him miserable. They never called him and it was 2 years before they had any contact. There fault, and they knew it. Family, ughhhh