Yes, I'm aware. For us it's a balance of what works and what doesn't. And it's not giving any of us allergic reactions, thanks!

Just out of curiosity, I wonder if Lemi-Shine includes phosphate in its ingredients? I know vinegar helps too...but can never time it properly unless I'm working around the kitchen and can watch for the rinse cycle.

Mine would love to...and he'd love to show the world...but I don't want to see it! (And neither do you. Trust me.)

Me three, thanks!

When the options are tying the dog up, or letting them run out and be hit by a car, I hardly think shock collars are torture. In addition, nobody's doing it for fun, or to get information out of the animal. Sheesh.

Excuse me?

Our Reba comes home pretty fragrant herself. Unfortunately it's not the fresh country scent of cow/horse manure; usually it's a dead old petrified animal she finds.

My requirements, before settling on Roane County, TN (moving from Northern NJ) are: 1. Preservation of Personal Liberties (no nanny state) 2. Cost of Living (i.e. not paying a ton of taxes for stuff that doesn't benefit us) 3. 20 minutes from Walmart (no joke! lol)

I don't know if it's been mentioned but now that the phosphates have been removed (July of last year), both laundry and dishwasher detergents don't work properly. Tri-Sodium Phosphate (TSP RED box) can be purchased very inexpensively at Home Depot and added manually. I put a pinch in each load of laundry, and a half teaspoon in the dishwasher and it's solved the problem. We almost got a new dishwasher because ours wasn't doing the job. Turns out it's the detergents' new "eco-friendly" formula. Little do they realize that by removing phosphates, it requires us to use twice the water and electricity because things just don't get clean.

The hound part is your problem. We were able to train all of our dogs using the invisible fencing system (the wire goes around the perimeter of your yard and the dog wears a collar that shocks him when he approaches the wire). Granted, we had to buy the "stubborn dog" version of the collar to drive the point home. Unfortunately, they learned quickly that all they have to do is run quickly through the boundary and once they got through, they're free! It took a long time but our prior dogs learned. Then we got the coonhound. Her nose is insatiable. She cannot deny its commands. With her, we've been completely unable to keep her in the yard; she runs through the boundary and "yips" (they're sensitive dogs) but then keeps running. What we’ve settled with is this: We bought a “remote trainer” – ($160 on amazon.com) and periodically call her. If she’s in the yard and comes when we call, we praise her. “Good girl, yard!” If she’s not in the yard, I’ll “beep” her remotely (it’s just a sound) and call her, waiting a few seconds. Then I’ll shock her on Level 1 and call her, waiting a few seconds and then repeating. If I still can’t hear/see her coming, I’ll call her again and shock her on Level 2. At that point, I’ll usually hear her “yip” and know she’s on her way back to the yard. Then I praise her for coming. It only has a 400' range so I can't let her wander too long or she'll be out of range. Unfortunately, hounds are slaves to their nose; they’re bred specifically to ignore all outside stimulus and pursue the quarry. If mine is actively pursuing something (which is often, since she considers everything – mice, chipmunks, etc. – fair game!), I can shock her until she’s yelping and she won’t stop. This is the best solution we’ve been able to find. There is, however, a system that works in the opposite way. The base station sends out a signal that BLOCKS the shock. When the dog moves beyond that signal, he receives shock until he moves back into range of the signal. The downside of this system is, last I knew, it had a very small signal range (~ 100 feet, if I recall). They may have improved their range since then, though. I also wonder what would happen in the event of a power outage! Good luck, please be patient; know that the hound in your dog is whispering in her ear, commands that overpower what you’re trying to teach her.

I've been doing that lately too. Usually I could care less, but isn't it surprising how you feel...and how much better you look...when you just do those two little things!

In my opinion, part of the privilege of being an American is being loyal to the country; I guess we always have the option of moving to a better nation if we don't feel loyal to this one. I don't consider it the luck of the draw. My parents chose to stay here, as the best option available. I choose to stay here for the same reason. We as citizens receive the benefits of being Americans; I don't mind pledging - even though it's just a token pledge - to return the favor by acknowledging that I appreciate being an American and vowing to be loyal to my country, warts and all. JMO

My guy is almost 6 and I don't really expect him to remember a lot. But from what I read in TWTM, we're just putting up the "pegs" at this point so that when more detailed info comes later on, they're familiar with the subject.

^ ^ This! Isn't it common sense? I don't know...I can't imagine having a real objection to pledging loyalty to one's nation. That said, we haven't started HS'ing yet but I doubt I'd have DS recite it each day. We talk regularly about our country and the flag and the pledge and what they mean so...

My son's Kindergarten teacher (last year) used to send home weekly newsletters reporting on what the kids were scheduled to do that week. My husband and I would take a red pen and mark it up. We didn't have the heart to send it back to her, but it really did solidify our decision to homeschool this year. The errors were atrocious...the writing style was that of a 12-year old. We pay $9,000 a year in property taxes, most of which go to the school system. (Well, we're not homeschooling this year [yet] because we haven't moved yet and I'm still working full-time, but I'll be after-schooling until we do move, to keep him sharp and get us both used to the homeschooling system.)

What a lovely school room you have there! My dining room table certainly pales in comparison...:blushing:

This is how I'd do it also, but in title case (both "fight"'s capitalized) since it's on a platter...so it's sort of a title...

I was active on their forum (Everyday Minerals) when they were starting up several years ago and someone mentioned the monistat cream. It works quite well. Another thing we discovered during that time is, for eye shadow, nothing beats Urban Decay's Primer Potion; mineral eyeshadows stick to it like nobody's business. eta: EDM people, have they really done away with their silk dust? :( oh, whyyyyyy??

I keep an old cup half filled with water out in the garden. I walk around the bed and knock any bad bugs into the cup...if I get a bunch, I bring it over to the chicken coop, dump it on the ground and lightly step on the bugs to keep them from flying away. The chix love them. If I didn't have chickens, I'd just leave them in there to drown. I don't see that many of the big bugs; mainly the little beetles, and I don't really get much damage from anything that eats the leaves because my squash plants are enormous and well-established. Much more damaging for me is the borers...they lay their eggs on the stem, the borer goes into the main stem/vine of the plant and kills the whole thing. Cursed creatures.

Do you mean squash beetles (yellow and black striped), squash bugs (they look kind of like a stink bug), or squash borers (the parent is a red beetle-looking moth and the borer is a worm that drills into the vine and kills it)?

I just hit the "new posts" button and it brings up the most recent threads, and I work from there. I agree, this board is so active, it's impossible to stay current! If there's a thread you're particularly interested in, go to "additional options" and subscribe to the thread and you can go there right away anytime.

I'm a sasquatch. Ladies' 12, but I'm also a little over 6' tall so I'd tip over with smaller feet (or so my Mom always said, bless her heart lol). p.s. for those with big feet who don't know...payless is the only source I use anymore. The shoes are cheap enough that I can afford to buy trendy ones in my size that I don't feel guilty if I don't wear them often.

Can't help but comment...That is adorable!

If it's with mom it's probably still nursing. we raise meat rabbits and they stay with mom, nursing, until 12 weeks. If the kit weren't eating, it'd be exhibiting symptoms by now. Rabbits only nurse their young once or twice a day. Look at mom's belly...you can tell if she's still nursing them.

Absolutely! That's what I was referring to...if one is curious enough to go through all the effort to start a thread on a subject, is it too much to ask that they do 5 minutes of poking around the web first? And then to dismiss it based on the source or the wording of the headline. In this case, like many others, there actually is truth behind the sensationalized headlines (both of them) and it took exactly 90 seconds to find it.