That's great news, Chris! I truly hope that because he said "yes" of his own accord that he is ready for change and help, and that things will start to get a little easier for him. :grouphug:

Hmmm...is James Bond a Gemini? I have one of those (Gemini male, that is), and I've had very, very little luck for the last 17 years. I have no advice as I no longer hold any hope on the subject. :glare: :auto:

Ds is at football practice and dd and I just finished cleaning up the kitchen after dinner (she is now heading to the couch to see what she can watch on Netflix, and I am here :)).

Earl is on the staff :lol: I haven't looked at WalMart yet - going to do that now...

You just gave me goosebumps again. So glad everyone is doing well!

:hurray::hurray::hurray: Yay, Libby! Jean, did the vet give you any of the bath wipes? They come in a round plastic container and pull out (like cleaning wipes or diaper wipes), and they are treated with something that is supposed help wash the dog. They were helpful when Lily had her surgery and had some issues with balance.

I have a glass top stove, too! And from the pics, so does that blogger. So, that's a good sign!

Do you have a non-enamel one, too? If so, aside from clean up, do you have a preference? With the regular ones, we could use it on the grill or over a fire, too, I think, which would be kind of nice.

How would she be able to hold herself to go to the bathroom? Did the vet give you instructions for how to help her? I wonder if she is just uncomfortable having to be touched or held by someone while she's trying to go.

Well, that was fun! I think you just saved me $200. :D

My dog is like a camel - she can hold her water for a very long time. I wouldn't be so worried about her urinating quite yet - she may do it some time today. I think 24 hours, especially if she's sore and has difficulty moving and positioning herself, would be long enough. If she doesn't, I'd let the vet know. I would also keep an eye on her for the rest of the day with the bm, too. The meds likely have slowed her system down. And, sometimes, if there isn't enough exercise going on to get things moving, there will be a delay. If she's been eating solid foods since Saturday and drinking well to stay hydrated, it's likely today is the day. If it's not, I'd call the vet. Is she up and moving around yet?

I've decided I need one of these. I don't think I want a stainless steel one. I'm pretty sure I want a cast iron one. I'm also pretty sure I want an enamel covered one. So... I checked the Lodge versions and they look pretty good. However, even though they are an American company, they import the enamel dutch ovens from China. They claim to have conducted safety tests on the enamel and all is safe. This is the one I'm thinking about. Then I checked Le Creuset. They, too, import their enamel from China. I'm assuming they have also conducted safety tests. This one is the one I would consider. As you can see, there is a seriously substantial price difference. If the enamel is the only thing I'm concerned about, and it seems that both enamels are from China, why would I choose the more expensive one? If you have either of these, can you share your experience with it? Also, if you have a regular old cast iron dutch oven (with no enamel), could you let me know what you think about that, too? Maybe I should skip the enamel. What would really be the difference, anyway?

Thanks for posting this. I could do with a little Happiness Project. And I just looked on our library's download site and it's there. Maybe that's a sign :).

My friend's dog bit my son in the face when he (ds) was about 5 years old; there were two clean puncture holes on either side of ds's nose. I was livid, I'm not going to kid you. However, ds was doing something stupid (I think he might have been blowing into the dog's face or something of that nature), and I can honestly say, now that I'm not so terribly upset, that the dog just reacted to his not so dog-savvy behavior. I guess it would completely depend on the situation, the dog, and the person that was bitten. I mean, if a child reached out and hit someone, whether or not to be angry at the child would depend on the situation; is the child just an angry kid who hits at random? Or did the person he hit try to do something that made the child uncomfortable? I would examine the situation clearly if it were my dog. I would not want my dog to be a threat to anyone. Ever. But, if my dog felt threatened or cornered and reacted...well, I'm not sure I'd be able to completely blame the dog without first looking at the situation. I would apologize, feel absolutely awful, offer to pay medical expenses, regardless (unless it was a result of a direct attack on my dog).

Oh my word. The goosebumps on my arms will not lie down. So glad everyone is here, safe, and well. And don't feel bad about not wanting to see them at first. I didn't want to after mine were delivered, either. I'm not sure why, but it was a *very* strange feeling - a feeling like, well, like they were here and I could easily "check out now"...oh, I can't really explain (and I've spent a fair amount of time feeling horrible for it). Perhaps it was the meds; twin birth is no easy deal. :grouphug:

So. Totally. Jealous. Totally.

Kids do stupid things - it's how they learn to do the right thing. You sound like a great mom and he sounds like a good kid who just learned something. :grouphug:

He's so adorable!

This is what I do, too. Use lisamarie's suggestion above, but use all milk for the liquid. When you are melting the butter, stir in some chopped mushrooms (and a little minced garlic) and saute until they are tender, then continue on with the flour, then the milk, etc. Once you've got it to the right consistency, stir in the rest of the milk the recipe calls for. I would also suggest using only 5 additional Tbs of butter for the rest of the dish since you're already putting 3 Tbs in the sauce. Otherwise, with 11 Tbs, you're dish might be floating in butter.

:grouphug::grouphug:

Fantastic news!!!!!

I am so sorry, Jean. It's so hard to watch a beloved pet in this condition. (I'm holding back tears for you...) :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

I would cover it and put it in the cold oven, turn the oven to 350, and expect it to be done within 30-40 min total (provided it was completely thawed before you put it in there).

Oh, Jean! I wish there was something I could do. The waiting to know is so hard. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Hoping everything is alright!!! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug: Please keep us updated.