AMDG Aww, thanks for the sympathies, everyone! Oh, yeah, it was pretty big . . . is, I'm keeping the crock part b/c I used it for making pickles and sauerkraut. I have googled and googled and the largest I can find new or used is 10 quart. It's so new-fangled, though. I'm holding out for thrift and estate sales, I think.

AMDG My husband would put the responsibility squarely on the shoilders of our daughter in that situation. His feeling on the matter is that there should never be a cup of anything liquid near the computer and that when not in use it should be put away in such a way that a bump on a desk (i.e.: life) shouldn't be able to create a catastrophe. ETA: actually, the more I think abt it, the more I feel it's on the daughter, also. Sorry.

AMDG No kidding! New stuff us just junk. I wish I could have my old machine back.

AMDG Well, I have no experience with guinea pigs but I'm wondering if you're SURE Mr. New Male isnt Miss New Female . . . ?

AMDG I do not think they're better overall. For our regular clothing that just doesn't get all that dirty, it's fine. For very dirty but especially for very hairy (think pet bed covers, et c), it isn't nearly as good. It also takes twice as long to wash so while it may use less water, surely it's using more electricity. I tolerate mine. I can't give a more glowing report than that.

AMDG Oh, I know what you mean: The one that was there for you! The one you learned with. New-fandled gadgets just aren't as good. Sorry for your loss!

AMDG Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Thrift and maybe when I feel better I'll try to get to some estate sales but I'm afraid there may not be many this close to Christmas. Thank you for the well wishes. I am on the upward slope now. Yay.

AMDG And I yours! No wonder he's your ex. ; )

AMDG So, I have the flu and that may explain why I am actually in tears over this. I have ALWAYS wanted a large family even before I got married, 23 yrs ago. That is why someone got me a 12 qt crockpot as a wedding gift, I guess. 23 years together. Happy years, too. Always faithful, always there for me. Patiently by my side even in those early days b/f I knew how to cook. Just smiled lovingly when I tried to make boiled eggs in it. I made my first ever crockpot meal in that crockpot and so did my daughter. 23 years of potlucks. Well, it was a long, fulfilled life. I guess it was time. I went to the store to replace my beloved friend. Nothing but tacky, inferior, shallow hussies lining the shelves flashing every passerby with their flashy lights and buttons and dials. Sigh, sorrowful, sorrowful, sigh . . .

AMDG THIS! And in case you're thinking it isn't nice enough just to offer that, at least in my own case, I don't often make mashed potatoes and really love them. So, that would be a treat in itself. I agree with adding rolls, though. Also, I would recommend making a great plenty b/c at least three people will be having them for the entire meal. If you want to make something so they'll really feel appreciated, almost anything would do b/c it's so nice to be thought of. It wouldn't matter what. On the Tofurkey topic . . . I do like the tofurkey gravy but the tofurkey, no, not at all. If you want to do something like that, I prefer a Field Roast. And I think the Field Roast apple sage sausage is the best fake meat thing I've ever had. ever. YUMMY! I think it's delicious fake meat or not. It is sausage, though. I'm afraid you'll think this is lame but a fritatta is really good, really wholesome, and really easy to make. You could whip one up and when I say that I would be just delighted with the sides, I mean it. Something like a pretty fritatta would just be thrilling. If you made a simple cheese fritatta with no extra veggies, et c. it would go very nicely with your sides and even the cranberry. If you got too fancy with the ingredients, it wouldn't really go nicely with the cranberries, imo. I

AMDG Just to say . . . if you do give it a try . . . We initially tried making our sugar day on the weekend but found that on Monday, we were too sluggish for the kind of day we needed to have. Pushing it back to Friday gave us the weekend to recover and we could function better on Mondays.

AMDG My daughter has been having some troublesome health issues that are serious enough to impact her daily life but not life threatening or anything. She has pretty bad allergies; a constant, never-goes-away, 5 or above headache ALL THE TIME; lactose intolerant . . . and some other things she wouldn't want the ppl we know irl on here to know about. We have been to doctor after doctor after doctor. Finally someone irl mentioned sugar. I can't even now remember how I got that information. Anyway, willing to try anything to stop that headache, she consented to try to stop the sugar (she LoVeS all things sugar) to see if it would help. What we actually did was assign one day per week as sugar day. The idea of a future completely devoid of sugar was a bleak future for her so the idea was that she would go without sugar and if she really wanted something she would get it or accept it from someone, whatever, and then save it for sugar day. If nothing was really offered that she wanted, she could have the dessert of her choice that day. We started that around the early part of September. I joined her as a sort of support and we did a good but not perfect job of sticking with the plan. Every single symptom diminished in severity; every single one. Some problems went away completely: what we thought was lactose intolerance, for example, as well as fatigue and an all over soreness. Some were still present but far better: allergies and headache, for example. Her sleep is far better and she isn't pitifully fatigues all.day.long. The headache is still almost always present but at a much lower and more manageable level. She can enjoy more activities. She's not so pale. She's actually putting on a bit of weight (a good thing). I, on the other hand, saw a complete cessation of symptoms I had no idea were even symptoms at all. I won't go in to the things that improved with me but, really, remarkable! Or . . . was. We stayed with a good plan all the way through the rest of September, October and to the end of November. It seems that once per week was enough in terms of outsiders really wanting her to have sugar. Then with all the holiday fuss, there was more company, more end of semester get-togethers, more concerts, more junk everywhere. Her symptoms have no only returned but returned with a vengeance! It's really pretty sad. We had kind of informally decided to just go free for all for the rest of December and back on the wagon in January. What she has found is that she cant' make it. She is just too ill, too hurting, too tired to make it. She told me that we've just got to go back to once/per week and the once just can't turn into a one-day sugar binge. It has to be like in the beginning, save the most desired item offered over the course of the week or select the homemade dessert for that night. Our homemade desserts I had made without sugar, too, for the most part: banana ice cream, baked apples/walnuts/raisins/cinnamon, stuff like that, sweet foods but no processed sugars. Anywhoo . . . for what it's worth . . . I see it too and it makes such a huge impact here that it can no longer be ignored.

AMDG Love it and if I lived where it got so cold and I needed to be out in it, I'd definitely have one. Like a coat for your legs. Yes, I really like it!

AMDG I LOVED Dean Spanley. He wasn't the star of that movie but it was great and he was great. 2nd would be Beckett. Loved that movie!

AMDG I can't think of anything more boring that running on the dreadmill. I really dislike it. I am not really sure why it is SO MUCH MORE BORING than the neighborhood or track but, there it is. That being the case, I would make sure that it had a really good book rack. The one I have is barely adequate for a magazine. Something that would hold a big, fat, juicy book is a definity necessity. And then, if your husband is as old as I, he needs a page size magnifying lense so he can see the page from a comfortable running distance. Also, you can google some pix (sorry, I'm on my phone) of ways ppl have modified the treadmill with a desk attachment. Whatever characteristics/features the treadmill needs to make that happen I wiuld considr a must. Also, to avoid tragedy, look into what you need to do to make it safe in a home with children. Especially consider the cord that is supposed to connect to the runner.

AMDGI just received one yesterday. We've already eaten the popcorn (like chocolate covered kettle corn. ! Yum!) Everything we've tried from the box has been delicious.

AMDG I think and excellent place to start is Matthew 25. You could select one each month and decide how to fulfill it. We actually started doing this several years ago and then started doing something we really fell in love with and we now do that every month. I do love the idea of selecting a different way each month but I also really love our project so . . . we will be sticking with it for the foreseeable future. Our idea was to just start with the first one, decide on a way to do it, and then do it. So, for example, I was hungry and you gave me food: we would post fliers around our neighborhood and ask for canned goods or we'd have a hot chocolate stand and use the proceeds to buy turkeys for the food bank at thanksgiving or trim 20 dollars off our food budget each time and donate that money at the end of the month. For clothe the naked one time we bought a bunch of baby laundry detergent b/c that was a particular need here. We also focus on that during our local coat drive. The one we had the hardest time with was welcome the stranger. We found that giving time and money is easy. Giving self is a whole lot harder. Anyway, as I said, we don't cycle through these anymore b/c we did enter into one service that we can't bear to part with but if it ever came to pass that we could no longer do it, we'd definitely go back to it. Here is the passage: 34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.35h For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me,36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’37Then the righteous* will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’40i And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

AMDG My teen loves those!

AMDG Suppose you thought you had some kind of chronic pain thingy AND eyelids so chronically puffy/swollen that you thought it was a genetic feature. Suppose you thought that for a long, long time. Then suppose years later your kiddo has really awful allergies and a chronic, never-goes-away headache. Suppose you have tried everything for your kiddo and then decide it's a food item or class of food items that could be either causing or exacerbating your child's very bad allergies and permanent headache. Suppose that you eliminated this food, class of foods, from your home and avoided it when out. Suppose you then noticed that your daughter's allergies and headache were GREATLY diminished. Suppose, on a lark b/c you only did it to help your daughter, you noticed that your own pain, fatigue, and super puffy/swollen eyes were magically cured. THEN suppose you then returned to your previous diet and all your and daughter's symptoms returned . . . with a vengeance. 1. Sensitivity? Allergy? Something else? 2. Considering the daughter, could there be a secondary sensitivity/allergy/something else contributing to the remaining headache/allergies? Although greatly diminished, still present. 3. What in the world could we pursue for that last bit of headache? 4. What if it's as common as air . . . What do you tell people? Oh, I can't have that, I'm allergic to air. How do you ever feel like that isn't too dumb to say? Now, don't get excited! This is new to us and my daughter and my daughter 1) LOVES that food and 2) doesn't mind being different in some ways and does not like being different in other ways and really doesn't want this difference. What's the thing? SUGAR! I actually find this embarrassing for some reason. I cannot say why. Any tips? Also, sugar is a pretty tough thing to quit and my daughter thinks a future without sugar is a pretty bleak future. What do you do? Oh, and for many years we thought she was lactose intolerant . . . nope, sugar!

AMDG Sorry, I have nothing useful to add. I am bilingual and am an interpreter. When my child was born, I only signed with her during the day and then we spoke English in the evening when dad was home. On weekends we would spend a good portion of time sign only but would go back and forth depending on Dad's presence. When my daughter was around K or first, she began to really resent my work. It wasn't about the language but about access to me. I didn't work a ton but I did try to completely fill my days to get as many clients in a day as possible and then work fewer days. After a while she began to connect the dots and just knew that ASL=work and she decided that she hated sign language, deaf people, and anyone who called to engage my services. I was shocked. I felt that she was too old for separation anxiety of that magnitude. She refused to sign, to look at me or any friends who were signing, wouldn't watch any of the poetry videos we had, nothing. She would cry so hard and refuse so steadfastly. I was really so upset by the vehemence. Again, I never thought this was about the language. I abandoned even trying for a while and would go back to trying now and then. Eventually, I gave up. Now, she regrets not being fluent herself and would like for me to teach her. At this point, though, it would be teaching another class . . . Still, I will be reading through the esponses to see if I get any good ideas for starting over with an older kiddo.

AMDG I asked my 14 year old and she said: yes to the first one you posted Only to feed the chickens to the second Not as much as the first to the third

AMDG Oh, man! I would LOVE to have the Catholic, day per page version of that thing!

AMDG Why dont you think so? ASl is a very different language from English with a **completely** different structure. At the same time there are artificial and pidgin forms that, while they *are* mostly artificial and not necessarily desired by many, can be useful in some situations in which ASL and English need to flow at the same rate and at deliver the same content at the same time . . .this sort of performance, for example. Also, CODAs, especially the littles, are heavily influenced by signs that are particular to the family just as little hearing kids. I thought she was doing a great job especially of conveying an English language song in harmony (so to speak, hehe) with the English flowing around her AND using awesome ASL classifiers and beautiful ASL visuality. All of which she was probably unaware of. I thought it was precious!

AMDG I've been thinking about this for a long time . . . I'd like a raised dishwasher. I saw one in a house once and it all of a sudden made so much sense. I would really like it to be large and square. I will never, ever, ever again live in a house with a galley kitchen. I would like TWO walk-in closets. One closet would be for a very spacious pantry. I preserve (can/freeze/dry/et c) and I need more storage for that. One closet for large/heavy items I don't want to have to drag up from a bottom shelf and linnens, et c. I don't want my kitchen aid, crockpot, dutch oven, dehydrator, et c. on the counter and yet, they're heavy and cumbersome and I don't want to have to put them on the bottom shelf of the regular cabinet and have to manhandle them up and down every time I need them. Easy access on a shelf in the pantry would be great. Perfect would be if I could also have electricity in there and leave some things plugged in to use right there in the pantry but that isn't allowed here . . . maybe not allowed anywhere? Before we had a library, I wanted a 3rd walk in closet for school stuff b/c I wanted it out of the sewing room. I would like countertops that are both beautiful and functional and that don't have grout. Mine are definitely beautiful tile and I love to look at them but . . . something else would be better for breadmaking and general mess making and cleaning. I would like the shelves in my lower cabinets to pull out. My in-laws have this feature and it is so nice. I don't necessarily need a big commodious fridge but I do hate the side-by-side I do have . . . and I wanted it so badly, why didn't you guys talk me out of it? I'd like a fridge that has a nice big freezer so I can freeze things on a cookie sheet b/f committing to the deep freeze. And on that topic, I would like an attractive fridge/deep freeze set and space to keep the freezer in the kitchen so it wouldn't be a trek to get the thing I need. And on second thought, I wouldn't need the big freezer on my fridge if I had the matching deep freeze right next to it. I'd really like a nice, big, attractive freezer and a much more modest but still attractive fridge. I don't need much in that department. AND HERE IS WHAT I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, DREAM FOR . . . I would love to have a wrap-around porch and large, walk-through windows so I could sit on the porch and snap beans, or whatever, A.N.D a corner fireplace with sitting room so I can sit by and/or cook over the fire in winter. I have two fireplaces. One is gas and in the living room and is nice and pretty and functional but can't be used for anything but attractive heat. One is in the library and I have a big sturdy arm thingy to hold a pot for cooking. I do use it during the winter some but I'd like another in my kitchen that doesn't mean me lugging that heavy pot around. I could really see me using that feature a lot. Also the porch. I sit on the porch quite a lot to snap/peel/whatever when the weather is nice but I'd like a beautiful porch with easy access from the kitchen. I want the kitchen to be the heart of the home. sigh . . .

AMDG Doesn't it mean you have a ghost in there?