Madonna and her pointy accouterments at the Grammys. Keep. The rest of the over-the-top 1980s can be tossed out with mountainous shoulder pads, eerie Talking Alf stuffed aliens and inflation that almost doubled the average cost of a new house (from $69,000 in 1980 to $120,00 by the end of the decade).

Erasing the '80s from your wardrobe and music collection is easy. Eradicating the strike-it-rich, "Dallas" decade from your home is harder.

Houses built with distinction in the fussy, exaggerated '80s may be looking a little dated, like the power ties women once wore to the office. Sunken living rooms, hand-textured walls and glass blocks are not yet vintage, kitschy or retrending. They shout: Remember when tall ceilings had out-of-reach plant shelves?

Recently, Portlandinterior designer Angela Todd faced the past with a clients' Northwest Portland house built in the 1980s. Her clients wanted to add a clean-lined, contemporary design to a custom house with characteristics of the mirrored-closets decade.

The floor plan in the couple's house still works, but not the telltale signs of the '80s like 4x4 white tiles on low countertops above carpeted floor.

When her clients had their home built, they added upgrades like a large shower and a walk-in closet that were ahead of their time, says Todd of Angela Todd Designs.

"They made good decisions you started to see as standards in the 1990s and that we still use today," she praises.

Still, there have been improvements in the last 35 years, especially in the master bathroom. Early recessed lighting cans had "eyeballs" that called attention to the ceiling. Those are now gone. Todd also replaced a low-to-the ground, inefficient toilet with a highly efficient, wall-mount toilet set at a comfortable sitting height.

She updated the master bath by also replacing a blocky-framed glass shower with a frameless shower and an ordinary tub built into the surrounding tile with a freestanding vessel.

"The old surround tubs that made Jacuzzi a household name take up so much space, the older style jets are hard to keep clean and the plastic turns yellow over time," says Todd.

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Erasing the inflated '80s home decor: Glass blocks, low cabinets, 'eyeball' recessed lights

Glass Countertops - An Ultimate Luxury Touch
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The crystal globes sit on countertops at their parents houses in Connecticut. Kiley McKinnon took home the womens and Mac Bohonnon, the mens.

The audaciously captured trophies were awarded to the elementary school classmates who became the 2014-15 world aerial skiing champions. The rewards speak as much to the talent that came out of Island Avenue Elementary School in Madison, Connecticut, as from Americas aerials pipeline, which is producing champions after years in start-up mode.

This is sort of the first wave of developmental athletes, said the 19-year-old Bohonnon, who is among those who got their training in the U.S. ski teams seven-year-old Elite Aerial Development Program. The national team is full, the development program is full. People are coming out every summer. It creates bottom pressure. The kids in the development programs, its inspiring for them to see us winning, to realize theyre in the same program we came up in.

It was at Bohonnons urging that McKinnon took her first look at aerials a daredevil sport that demands fast trips down an icy ramp that sends skiers flying 50 feet in the air while they perform a number of flips and twists and hope to stick the landing.

Her background isnt unlike those of the dozens who take up the sport. She was a high-level gymnast who was good on skis and looking for a way to parlay that into something more.

Mac said, Were looking for girls, you should come try aerials, the 20-year-old McKinnon said. That summer, I went to Lake Placid to check it out.

That trip to the Olympic Training Center, home of the development program, came in 2010, a few months after Jeret Speedy Peterson produced Americas most electric single moment in the sport landing his trademark, five-spinning Hurricane jump to win an Olympic silver medal.

But Peterson was one of the last in an earlier, successful generation of U.S. jumpers who were slowly being overtaken by skiers in China, Australia and Belarus. Skiing leaders in those countries saw medal opportunities and started luring legions of gymnasts and divers over to the mountain. Outside of Petersons silver, those three countries have won every aerials medal in the last two Olympics.

Meanwhile, the U.S. only sent three jumpers to Russia, down from eight the previous Olympics. It was the endgame of a messy, bureaucratic selection process in which the U.S. ski team must divvy up Olympic spots among several freestyle events: aerials, moguls, halfpipe, slopestyle and skicross. The ultimate goal is to send people with the best chances of winning medals in their respective disciplines.

Bohonnon almost came through.

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Connecticut aerials pipeline produces two world champions

Cooking isn't dead in this country. But it isn't exactly alive and well either.

"How is it that we are so eager to watch other people browning beef cubes on screen but so much less eager to brown them ourselves?," Michael Pollan asked, in a scathing 2009 New York Times piece about the great irony of America's supposed interest in cooking.

Indeed, by virtually any measure one might imagine,Americans areleaving their stoves, ovens, countertops, and cutting boards behind or, at least, untouched a lot more often. Thepurest example of this trend is playing out in the types of dinners people are eating at home today. Less than 60 percent of suppers served at home were actually cooked at home last year. Only 30years ago, the percentagewas closer to 75 percent.

The fallout stalled a bitduring the recession, when cash-strapped families had to backtrack a bit and spend some time over the stove to save money. But it has since resumed its downward trend, and there's little reason to believe its trajectory will change, according to Harry Balzer, an analyst at market research firm NPD Group, whichhas been followingthe eating habits of Americans for for almost three decadesas part of a series called "Eating Patterns in America," which tracks what, when, and how more than 2,000 households eat.

"This is one of those downward trends to watch," said Balzer."At the current rate, less than half of all dinners eaten at home in this country will be homemade."

That slow but steady disappearance of cooking in the United States is happening on other levels, too. A comprehensive study published in 2013 showed that all Americans, no matter their socioeconomic status, are cooking less than they have in the past.

Between the mid 1960s and late 2000s, low income households went from eating at home 95 percent of the time to only 72 percent of the time, middle income households when from eating at home 92 percent of the time to 69 percent of the time, and high income households went from eating at home 88 percent of the time to only 65 percent of the time.

Men and women, collectively, are spending less time at the stove. On average, the two genders spend roughly 110 minutes combined cooking each day, compared to about 140 minutes per day in the 1970s, and closer to 150 minutes per day in the 1960s. The main driver of this trend has been a significant drop-off in the time women spend cooking.

Americans' growingdisinterest in cooking hasn'tmerely left households in front of a burner infrequentlyfrom a historical perspectiveit has led to a reality in which people in this country spend less time cooking each day than in any other developed nation, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Americans also spend less time eating than people elsewhere in the world.

The reasons for the slow death of cooking in this country are many, but a fewstand out. For one, women, who traditionally have carried the brunt of thecooking load, are working more, and therefore spending less time at homecooking.In 2008, women spent 66 minutes per day cooking, almost 50 minutes fewer than in the 1960s, when they spent upwards of 112 minutes on average. Men, by comparison, areactually spending a bit more time at the stove, albeit only a meager 8 minutes more. So men have hardly made up the difference.

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Wonkblog: The slow death of the home-cooked meal

A longtime South Buffalo countertop manufacturer has decided not to reopen after a devastating fire in January.

Blume's Solid Surface Products offices, fabrication space and equipment along Freeport Road were destroyed.

The owners, Gus and Dottie Blume and their children Michelle Goetzinger and Gus Blume Jr., at first vowed to rebuild but ultimately decided to close up shop.

My wife and I are past retirement age, and we looked at the scope of what all it would take to reopen, said Gus Blume of Springdale. And we decided we didn't have the energy for that.

After 27 years in business, it was one of the most difficult decisions they've ever had to make.

It's one thing to open a brand-new shop when you're small, but to reopen at the size we were at, it was too daunting of a task, said Goetzinger, of Vandergrift. We would have to rebuild the building, and it takes six months for some of the equipment to get set up.

The Jan. 13 fire that destroyed the business was sparked by an electrical problem in the engine or dashboard of a box truck parked at the loading dock.

High winds that night whipped the flames to the building, which went up quickly.

Blume's announced its decision not to reopen on its Facebook page.

With great sadness and heavy hearts Blume's is announcing that we do not intend to reopen, the posting said. We want to thank all of our employees, customers and vendors.

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South Buffalo family business decides not to rebuild after fire

Laminate Counters Laminate surfaces are inexpensive, available in a range of options, and easy to maintain. The downside is that they are not heat tolerant, and edges and seams are generally visible. They also scratch and chip easily, which is not easily repaired. Solid Surface Counters With no visible seams, lots of patterns and colors available and a renewable quality that allows cuts and scratches to be blended out, solid surfaces (which are basically a plastic) have several advantages. The downsides are that theyre not heat resistant, are pricier and require professional installation. Granite Countertops, Marble Countertops and Other Natural Stones Granite, slate, soapstone, quartz, marble, limestone and gemstone all fall under this category. Long-lasting natural stone has an organic beauty and is more heat tolerant than other surfaces. It also expensive, and its porous quality requires sealing maintenance to prevent stains. Engineered Stone Countertops Engineered stone mimics natural stone, yet combines the properties of real stone with other ingredients to eradicate its porosity and maintenance requirements. This option, however, can be expensive depending on color choice. Wood and Butcher Block Countertops Great for a cutting surface, wood and butcher block options give the kitchen a warmer aesthetic than stone. Wood surfaces are susceptible to water damage if not properly sealed, and can dent and scratch easily. Metal Counters Metal surfaces, including stainless steel, copper or pewter, are heat tolerant, non-porous and sanitary. Like wood, though, they also can scratch and dent easily. Concrete Countertops Surfaces created from concrete or cement have the ability to incorporate inlaid decorative details or useful implements like trivets. However, theyre prone to hairline cracks and are extremely heavy. Composite/Recycled Counters Eco-friendly and similar to natural stone, recycled products are warmer to the touch than other options. Because theyre naturally made, they may fade over time. Lavastone Counters This unique application of volcanic lava hardened into a stone-like consistency is heat, scratch and stain resistant and nonporous. However, because its uncommon, its expensive and hard to come by. Tile Counters Tile surfaces come in an endless variety of styles and colors, are heat tolerant and durable, and can be very affordable depending on the chosen tile. Due to grout lines, theyre not very easy to clean. Glass Counters This hygienic, non-porous surface is simple to maintain, heat tolerant, stain resistant and available in many styles, colors and textures. They can be expensive, show fingerprints and water spots, and can crack easily.

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