I have several recipes that call for chili powder, but often list a specific type of chili powder like New Mexico or chipotle. I know it is difficult to put into words the subtleties of flavor, but can someone please explain the differences? Also, how do these chili powders differ from red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper? Are they all from different plants? I am a little embarrassed that I do not know. I use generic brand chili powder for most of these recipes. Will I get a better, or significantally different flavor if I stock my spice shelf with these various types of chili powders? I also always wonder about the price differences in spices. Are the cheap brands of spices a lower quality than the expensive spices or are you just paying more for the brand name? Any WTM Cooks out there that can enlighten me?

We have original 1965 wood floors that are in poor shape. The wood is not only unattractive, it has splinters and wide cracks filled with gunk that cannot be cleaned. We are ready to replace our floors, but I find shopping overwhelming. I really don't know what to look for in a flooring material. I think we would like something wood or that looks like wood, but it must be easy to clean and can withstand multiple pets. Because of pets, I am wondering if a high-quality laminate is better than wood? I want it to last a long time, so durability is very important. What questions should I ask the salesman? Do you have a floor brand that you can recommend? Editing to add questions. We have very light wood kitchen cabinets. They are a "blonde" stain. We have an open floor plan (kitchen, dining, living very open). 1. Should the kitchen flooring be the same as the living/dining? 2. Does the color of flooring need to be light to match the cabinets or would a countrasting dark floor look better? 3. If you have wood or laminanate, do your bathrooms have a different floor or the same as the rest of the house? 4. Has anyone recovered stairs to match new wood? 5. If your floors have beveled edges along each board, does dirt collect in the grooves? Will kitty litter collect in them? 6. Would it be weird it lay the grain on a diagonal in the living area just for creating a more interesting floor?

Praying for you.

We have sailed Disney twice and my Dh is vegan and my ds and I are vegetarian. Because you have the same dinner staff each night, you don't have to keep repeating your dietary restrictions. That was so nice. They have a vegetarian item on each night's menu, but as a vegan you will need to order your meal the previous night so modifications can be made to the meal. The food was usually beautiful, top "food porn" quality for your photos, but hit or miss on actual taste. For lunch you may be better off eating in the restaurant instead of the pool deck. This gives you better quality food and is still "free". The evening shows are nice and fairly enjoyable. Afternoon movies are available. The pool is usually pretty crowded, but we have had good luck relaxing in lounge chairs on the jogging deck. It is usually empty and has perfect ocean views. Check and see if you have a pirate night or dress up night. Probably no formal night on such a short trip, but we enjoyed "cleaning up a bit" and dressing dressy casual for dinner. You can ask for a table for two if you don't want to share your meals with strangers. Castaway Cay is awesome. If that is your one stop, plan on getting off the ship ASAP and secure some good lounge chairs. You can return to the ship any time you are ready and have an action-packed beach day or a totally relaxing day. Great either way! Have fun ;)

No pockets for cell phone when walking the dog? No problem. That's what sports bras are for ;)

Glad they are okay! We are huge Hank fans here (and my son is 14). Hank audiobooks on kindle are awesome. When my son is cranky, over tired etc., we listen to Hank. John has to be okay and write more stories. Slim proposed the Miss Viola, but they haven't tied the knot yet. Or did I miss it?

Thank-you for all of your responses. Junior spent another night at the vet's but is back home now and doing well. The wound looks bigger than before because the vet had to cut away some dead skin (it was yucky under the surface), but she feels confident that he is well on his way to a full recovery. He will be on antibiotics for another week and will be crated in the garage at night from now on. My Dh just rolled his eyes and mumbled something like, "Here we go again." Dh is convinced that the natural progression is: 1)stray cat appears in yard, 2)we feed stray cat, 3)we decided to get stray neutered and shots, 4) we build stray a new climate-controlled delux cat house, 5) delux cat house is not good enough so stray needs in the garage at night, 6)stray occasionally comes inside for brief periods, 7)stray stays inside for longer periods, 8)stray is sleeping in my bed at throwing up hair balls for me to step on in the middle of the night. Yep. "Here we go again!"😽

Try men's sizes. My ds is also 14 and we moved to men's several months ago. It kinda hurt my mommy heart to move to "men's" for my baby, but it is time.

Hmmm. I thought feline leukemia and feline AIDS were the same thing. I guess I am not sure what tests he had then. I just remember he was given a clean bill of health. Maybe they didn't test for both?

OMG!😳. That is amazing. Kinda creepy, but amazing!

When we had his shots done, he tested negative for feline leukemia. The cat we rescued several years ago also tested negative but had another disorder that prevented healing.

I am not thrilled about how she handled it either. She has been our vet for years and nothing like this has ever happened. I think she was just really ill today and not thinking clearly. When she called me, she was not at the office anymore; she was driving home. She was that anxious to get home and in bed.

A new cat adopted my family several months ago. We had him neutered and got his shots. He is young and healthy. Because we already have three indoor cats, Junior stays outside. (He has a lovely heated cat house). Three weeks ago he was in some sort of fight during the night and he was injured. I heard it and went outside but didn't see any other animal. He seemed fine the next morning. About a week after this nighttime altercation, he was limping and I noticed a small sore on his foot. (He has long, thick fur so maybe it was there all along and I missed it?) I took him to the vet and it turns out this rather small wound on his foot was infected. The vet cleaned it and gave him a shot of antibiotic. He seemed much improved and has been running around and the wound looked like it was healing. Yesterday the area around it looked red and angry and he started holding it up and was unwilling to put weight on it. I called the vet and made an appointment for early this morning. During the night the wound came open and was weepy this morning when I took him in to the vet. The vet just called and apologized. She said she was ill today and had to leave work without examining Junior. She did give him another antibiotic shot. She has him crated and will see him in the morning. I didn't want to ask her too many questions because she hasn't had a chance to really look at him yet and she was feeling pretty miserable. I am concerned though. Can any pet owners offer some BTDT commentary? Any thought on why a small wound hasn't healed in almost 3 weeks even with antibiotic 2 weeks ago? Is this normal? It seems odd to me. Years ago we rescued a cat with injuries that didn't heal because he had an autoimmune disease (diagnosed after death). We had to have him put down. I guess I am just extra worried that something like that is going on with Junior😕

Praying

I am not ready for spring. We never had a real snow this winter. I kept telling myself not to get too disappointed about no snow. It is not unusual here to get a warm spell in February and then a snow the first week of March. I guess spring is really here. It has been unusually warm for weeks and we are under our first tornado watch of the year😕. Dh reminded me to check flashlights and put shoes by the bed etc. in case we hear the sirens. I like a nice thunderstorm, but tornado watches kinda stress me. I know it seems petty to be bummed over weather, but I am. Just needed a short vent. Now I will sit here and think of all the things I am thankful for and try to ignore the wind and sound of my old tree limbs cracking

Listening in. I have an outdoor rug that is faded and I was just wondering if I could paint it. The laundry is piled up and I hate laundry. I would much rather be outside. If I knew how to paint the rug, I could totally justify doing that and ignoring the laundry a little while longer 😉

Laundry Laundry Laundry Buy Groceries Laundry Laundry And wait for it.......more laundry Will also be cleaning the kitchen and walking the dog while waiting on laundry I hate laundry. We need disposable clothing. (Biodegradable and earth-friendly of course!)

Welcome back! Good to hear from you :)

A friend had surgery last week and is supposed to lie on her back or side at all times for the next 3 weeks (possibly longer). She is mobile and can get up to use the bathroom but is not supposed to move around, sit or stand for any unnecessary amount of time. This includes being propped up in bed with pillows. I would like to take her something to help pass the hours. Adult coloring books or any small crafty thing seem like they would be awkward lying flat. Audio books might be nice, but I don't have much idea what she might enjoy. She is recovering from cancer and is a Christian if that helps with audio suggestions. I need ideas! Anyone btdt?

Also curious about this. How do coaches go about recruiting? Do schools have "try-out" days? Are they only looking for certain stroke/event strengths that their current team is lacking? I'm am really clueless on this. My son is only a seventh grader, but occasionally talks about swimming in college. He is only a BB and A time swimmer. Is that good enough for a small private college team? It is still a few years away for us, but since he already talks about college swimming, I wonder if he can even make a team.

We were just there last week. We were at Hollywood Studios when they opened at 9:00. Did Toy Story, Rockin Rollercoaster (with FastPass), Star Tours twice (once with FP and once in 10 min. standby line), and Great Movie Ride. Ate an early lunch at the new Rizzo's Pizza (pizza was nothing special). We were ready to leave the park before noon. Ds 14 and Dh hated The Great Movie Ride. We have skipped it the last several trips and forgotten what it was like. There were other attractions open of course, but having done them in past years, my ds wasn't interested. I think you would enjoy Universal or Magic Kingdom much more. Editing to add that Epcot is our favorite park, and we also really enjoy Animal Kingdom:)

We go to Sonic a couple of times a week for drinks during happy hour. It costs too much for pop when I have to tip if it is not 1/2 price hours!

My family is local for the most part, but I have the phone number for my elderly next door neighbor's out-of-state kids and they have my number. It makes my neighbor's adult children feel better knowing if they can't reach their mom and dad, I can walk over and check on them. They have had me check on them twice in the nine years we have lived here.

My ds will be 14 next month. This year has been crazy developmentally. When he turned 13, he looked and sounded like a boy, but he is a hairy teen with a low voice now. He is still small of stature, but given his genetics, he won't be a big man.

There is always something magical about the first snowâ„ï¸â„ï¸â„ï¸