It will be ok. My kids LOVED learning their history from textbooks, though I did try to toss in good books that would tie in with where they were in their textbooks. TOG would have been *exactly* how I would have wanted to learn history when I was young, but imo, my kids have a learning style that is every bit as valid as mine.

Yep. Mine goes in the fridge, always. Technically, a pumpkin pie is a cooked custard, like pudding or creme brulee. As such, it goes in the fridge, just like I would with pudding. I'm not particularly uptight, but this one makes more people sick than is probably realized, so better safe than sorry!

Apparently at one point, there was a plan to use it as a B & B, but I don't really want to do that. Orland, CA isn't necessarily a place that would attract travelers. ;)

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/936-A-St-Orland-CA-95963/2124153453_zpid/ Rental unit #1 is bringing in $475 per mo. Rental unit #2 is bringing in $450 per mo. Rental unit #3 is bringing in $475 per mo. Rental unit #4 is bringing in $450 per mo. Rental unit #5 is bringing in $375 per mo. Roofing has been replaced within the last 8 years, looks fine. All of the apartments have been occupied pretty continuously for at least 20 years. The original mahogany wainscotting & woodwork is still mostly in place, and has not been painted or otherwise disturbed. Most of the floors are original hardwood that looks like it would be fine with refinishing. Pest inspection showed no infestation, but did show a small amount of previous damage that has been repaired. In the walk-through, I didn't see a bug of any kind, anywhere, though the amount of piles/trash are somewhat intimidating. I had thought that perhaps I'd be able to get a zoning variance that would allow me to remodel the ground floor to use for a small bakery/cafe, while still renting out the remaining 3 upstairs units as income that would cover the house payment for the entire place. Not sure the zoning/permit issue can be straightened out, but even if I never ended up repurposing the ground floor, the rental income would cover the payment plus a bit that I could put away for future maintenance/upkeep/improvement. It would also be a place that we could live, should we have to leave our current house on the farm. The neighborhood is nice. Parking is great, with nose-in angled spaces all along the front, and since the house is on a large corner lot, there's also quite a bit of available parallel parking along the street on that side. There are also three parking spaces behind the house. Fairly large basement with concrete floor. Forced air heating in the ground floor units.

Newbie...:D

I think it's possible that it is a stress reaction. During the moments when I am the most upset, the shaking is more obvious. Magnesium might also help. It seems like a couple of years ago I had some other symptoms which might indicate a need for more magnesium, but I can't remember what those symptoms were. Doesn't seem like it could hurt to try that. :001_smile:

I've noticed that my left (dominant) hand is sometimes shaky. For instance, I can't really use it for the touchscreen on my tablet, because it will shake just enough that I'll hit the wrong keys. I notice it several times a day now. What's up with that? :confused: ETA: The arm is feeling weak too, now that I think about it.

I just had to "say" it somewhere, to make it real.:D

:001_huh: :001_smile:

Actually, it *does* help. :tongue_smilie:

This is the new normal for me. Honestly though, when I think about doing all of this again tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or when I think about doing this for the next 20-30 years...:ohmy: How did I get so soft? :001_huh:

Because of the collapse of our business (dairy farming), I have recently taken a full time job. My schedule is something like this: 4 days on/2 days off I work at an assisted living facility. My hours are from 6:30 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. (around an 8 hour shift). During my day there, I'm walking nearly 5 miles while I work, and my backside literally does not hit a chair (there aren't any!) from the moment I begin until the moment I get in the car to go home. It's a job where I'm nearly running, nearly every second. 3 days a week, when I get home from the full-time job, I bake for a local restaurant. I do appx. 4 three hour shifts per week. I also take on a few special order desserts, though not many--maybe 2-3 hours per week? I'm finding it difficult to "be there" for my youngest dc, and though they're fairly independent workers, getting through school is...feeling uncomfortably loose right now, kwim? The laundry and household stuff is kind of getting done, and the girls are helping with that. I'm still managing to get dinner on the table by 7-7:30 most nights. I realized I've been spoiled for almost my entire adult life. I worked mostly on my own terms, and never more than part time. I'm struggling with being in my mid-40's, out of shape, out of time, and feeling like I'm starting over with a different life--one that I never would have chosen. I'm unhappy over my inability to get in the groove with this. I WANT to be able to do this. I want to do it with relative equanimity, in the way that I've always been able to take on whatever hard things have come my way (and there have been a few hard times, just not quite this hard, and it was always temporary before). Now it's permanent I think. How do I adjust to this new life? How do I not wimp out? It's never been a question before. I always thought I'd be able to handle hard times if they came, and I'm so disappointed that I feel so wimpy about it! :glare: ETA: I'm such a whiner (not in real life, but in my head!). :glare:

I burn myself regularly. I guess it's an occupational hazard. The best thing is aloe vera slathered on every 5 minutes or so, until it doesn't really hurt anymore. It usually takes less than a half hour of almost continuous applications for the pain to pretty much be gone for me. I've never found putting aloe on once or twice a day to help, but it seems like intensive application over a short time works well ime.

I know, I just nearly cry when I hear people in the grocery complain about the price of milk. I completely sympathize with them, but I can tell they don't understand that dairy farmers are *not making money*, especially here in California, where we have the unique situation of a governmentally controlled milk price that is not related at all to the actual cost of milk production. :ohmy:

Not that it will help, but I wanted to chip in on the milk thing... Even with the 50 cent per gallon increase, there is not one dairy farmer in California that is earning enough with their milk to buy the feed for their cows. :sad: It's not through mismanagement by the farmer, it's just mathematically impossible right now. We are bringing in almost exactly the same $ that we brought in around 20 years ago, but fuel is 2-3x more. A load of feed that was $1500 before is now $5000. :eek: Add to that the rising cost of every kind of insurance including workers compensation, and the ever-increasing costs of EPA compliance, electricity, etc...Some dairy farmers in California are literally taking their own lives, even as they lose the farms that have been in their families for generations. :crying: I wish it were different, and I'm sooo sorry that consumers are feeling the pinch of milk prices! Still, I just wanted you to know that the dairy farmers are definitely not profiting from the increase. :grouphug:

I cook for residents at an assisted living facility. It's difficult to find recipes that will please everyone, but often I can sneak ingredients in that they don't realize are there. ;) Someone thoughtfully donated a large container of really beautiful figs, and I'd like to use them up.

I need to use up about 8 cups of figs, and I need to use them in a dessert that even people who don't like figs will like. I'm thinking that it might be good to pair them with another stronger flavor, like another fruit, or chocolate, or vanilla, etc. Any ideas? :bigear::bigear:

Maybe you can help with this then--what snacks are allergy-free? What's allergy-free for one person is totally the wrong thing for another. *Is* there any safe food? :bigear:

Wow, I thought the complete opposite. I thought that it was really nice that she was validating your homeschool as pretty much equal to any other school situation, and trying to be supportive by participating in providing touches that might enrich your homeschool! I guess I probably don't have enough background info to make a well-informed decision, but on the face of it, it seems like maybe you're choosing to see offense where there was none intended. Maybe try to assume the best? :grouphug:

:iagree: It's disrespect, and imo, it really only gets worse when ignored. I think of it in the same way as teaching my dc other necessary skills, such as brushing their teeth. I would not just ignore it if they decided to routinely not brush their teeth, and I don't ignore disrespect either. It's not just for my sake, so that my life with them will be easier, it's so that responding to people that way does not become an ingrained habit--a habit that will only cause them problems in the future.

I would be fairly persistent about getting in sooner. Misery in a child should not wait that long. Perhaps call and explain the situation more fully? I can't imagine our ped asking us to wait that long with those circumstances. -Or maybe they can put you on a cancellation list? I also would strongly suggest that you do not take the word of a predator, regardless of whether they were a "friend". :grouphug::grouphug:

Wow! You all are such a great resource. :001_smile: Thanks for all of the suggestions. I'll take a look at all of them. For some reason I always forget about the King Arthur's flour website, and all of the great recipes there. I have the Pastry Queen book also, and there are some great recipes in there. The chicken pot pie really is to die for, though if you make it, double all of the sauce ingredients *except the flour*. I really think that's gotta be a typo. Using the amount called for in the recipe would result in gravy the consistency of paste. :001_huh: Otherwise, that recipe rocks pot pie. :tongue_smilie: What I really want is her cafe though! I've pictured having a place of my own, and it would be remarkably similar to the "Rather Sweet" cafe. {Sigh. If you're gonna dream, dream big, right?} .

Or perhaps we could define "combative" and "abrasive"...:001_huh: Hmm....never mind...;)

I have that book! I forgot to mention that I try to stay away from recipes that contain raw egg for restaurant use.

I'm looking for a really, truly impressive chocolate cake recipe. It needs to be an Internet recipe, and it must have pictures that I can see before trying the recipe. It needs to be something where if a big slice was brought to you in a fancy restaurant, you'd be astonished, delighted, and drooling. :drool5: So, I need a tall chocolate layer cake. Bonus points if there's multiple chocolate flavors (maybe in different layers, or different fillings). The sky's the limit! I'm looking for really OVER THE TOP chocolate layer cakes. :bigear: p.s. I do have recipes that I love, but I'm just bored with them. ;)