uh, sorry. I must have wandered off... Schmaltz - I use it for the obvious matzo ball soup, but also for sauteeing veggies for chicken and dumplings and a number of other things. (I categorically ignore the thinking of nutritionists, so I've been talking schmaltz this whole time. ;)) We do broth overnight in the crock pot, or for several hours on the stove top, depending on how many carcasses I have. When I roast a chicken, the carcass goes into the freezer. Ditto any onion ends, limp celery, etc. I also will get some chicken backs at the Amish market, and maybe feet (great source of gelatin). Everything goes into the crock pot (6 qt) or the stock pot (16 qt) with a splash of apple cider vinegar (helpful for extracting minerals) and simmers either overnight or, in the stock pot, from morning until mid-afternoon. Then, I strain it and pressure can it in quart jars. I've had breakage with trying to freeze in jars, but I think that was my own issue - note: air takes up space - better to leave the lids loose so that air can be displaced during the freezing process. Or, just use Ball jars that indicate they are good for canning and freezing on the box. Since I can the stock, when I open a jar I just write the open date on the lid because that has to be trashed at the end anyway. We also can ham stock (smoked ham hocks, onion, garlic) for bean soups. For beef stock, I would recommend roasting the bones first and deglazing the pan to get all that nice carmelization.

Mine snubbed milk at that age. In fact, they snubbed it until I started getting raw milk. Now, we go through 2 gallons a week. They've always eaten plenty of homemade yogurt, cheese, whole grains and leafy greens, though, so we've never worried too much about calcium. (The boys also nursed until 3 1/2)

We have a 5 year old, portable Whirlpool (now installed under the counter) and it has been fabulous. It is run at least once (sometimes three times) a day and I scrape the chunks off, but don't rinse the dishes; they always come out clean and shiny. When we were looking, I made a spreadsheet (I make a spreadsheet for everything) to compare cost (broken out by seller), features and - important - reviews. That way I could look at multiple places and record everything side-by-side to compare on my own. Good luck!

There are a number of ways to get away from using commercial stuff. Unfortunately, many of the commercial products - even more natural ones - contain preservatives. And, frankly, "natural" does not translate to non-allergenic, even when the most likely offenders aren't used. I highly recommend Rosemary Gladstar's Herbal Healing for Women and The Family Herbal. She has great skin care recipes that you can make and tweak for your own needs. There is also a Yahoo group called "no poo" (that's shampoo) for support, ideas and discussion about natural alternatives in personal care. :001_smile:

The service stairs in our house were removed to house the furnace, but my furnace guy tells me the newer ones can be put anywhere, so I patiently await the day when the furnace dies (it's in great shape, so no time soon) and I get to replace those steps. Our house is 140 or so years old, though, and has suffered great indignities at the hands of previous owners, which we are systematically trying to correct. So my views may be a little different. :001_smile:

No, it's not ethical to ignore/cover up rodent infestation in a kitchen. Before the event, the kitchen should be emptied, thoroughly cleaned and decontaminated, and affected items (e.g. paper goods, chewed packets) should discarded and replaced. And then, if it was up to me, there would be very little stored in there (and then, in large rubbermaid containers) until the problem was corrected. We don't see mice as a gigantic problem, particularly in winter, but we do address / correct the issue.

Another vote for Land's End separates. You can select the coverage level of both the top and the bottom, and the tankini style is great on short people because the torso never bags (which, of course, then makes the top gape). They have shelf bras in most styles (or underwire, but she probably doesn't need that) that lend both support and coverage.

We have bunk beds (single top, double bottom... and incidentally, I am planning to get a wool mattress for the double shortly... spooky), two 4 year olds and an 8 year old, and a ceiling fan. No injuries, no issues. The boys sleep together in the bottom, the girl child in the top. (this was an arrangement they lobbied for - we have another bedroom) However, now that roach attacks has been suggested as a possibility, I will be hiding in a closet, so somebody else will have to make the top bunk. :leaving:

Maybe a weekly/monthly challenge to help people break bad financial habits? My husband and I put a moratorium on discretionary spending for the month of February - no spending except bills, pre-planned groceries and fuel - and it has made us much more mindful of where we are tempted to needlessly spend. As part of this, we have also committed to cooking out of the pantry/freezer all month - no eating out, running out for an ingredient, etc. It has been enlightening, and we have become much more mindful of our spending.

I don't think it's realistic to make concrete statements about what I would do in a hypothetical situation. There are simply too many variables - were we going through an overwhelming rough spot? Is this "fling" with somebody he has some sort of relationship with, otherwise, like a co-worker? Count me into the "we'd have to make those decisions in the context of the situation" camp. But, no, if I found out about an indiscretion years after the fact, we may have to discuss the circumstances, but I probably would not divorce him.

I have no feelings about the name either way, and it shouldn't matter to you if I did. Kids (and adults) will do amazing things with any name, if they're so inclined. And, frankly, you can't anticipate what figures will be associated with any given name in the future. My vote is to name your child as you are inspired, and not worry about all the possibilities.

I wouldn't, but that's just me. I suppose it depends on your level of comfort in handling coughs, your daughter's overall health, and what you envision the doctor is going to do.

Yeah, it is. If you want actual chicken broth, those "cheap cubes" are not going to be a substitute. Generally, I make stock overnight in my big crockpot, so there is comparatively little energy used. I may skim a little, if there is a tremendous amount of fat. If I do, I put the skimmed fat into the freezer. Then I have schmaltz at the ready. Yum.

Yeah, they make my head want to explode. And I swear my "type" is largely mood dependent... is there ever a "flake" category, where they track the results from test to test? I think I need that kind. I avoid them like the plague.

For flours and sugar, I use the big Tupperware containers with the pouring flap... They hold 5lbs of flour. For things I use in smaller quantities, I use mason jars (generally quarts, but some 1/2 gallon). Anything that is not currently being used, I put up in appropriate quantities for the working containers - so 5lbs flour, etc - in Foodsaver bags. We buy just about everything in bulk and developed pantry moths so I'm very fastidious about this.

I would totally put beans in mac and cheese. I put hot sauce on mine, too. Beans and cheese, beans and pasta... sound like good - and pretty standard - matches to me.

We got Fiesta ware as wedding gifts, 9 years ago. It's, thus far, mostly survived four kids.(There have been a couple of dropped and broken pieces over the years) I regularly put it in the oven (on "Keep Warm", anout 170 F) and it microwaves fine. I the old (light) yellow, persimmon, old (light) turquoise, and chartreuse. Marks have more to do with the quality of the flatware than the dishes. I do have some marks on plates from our old flatware, but nothing major. Our newer flatware doesn't leave marks (and I would hope not because I recently discovered that a tea spoon is $10... good grief!) I know my mother used to use some sort of polish recommended for her matte Pfaltzgraff plates to get the marks off (ironically marks from the same flatware that left marks on my Fiesta ware), but I've just been too lazy to get any. For nearly a decade. Frankly, if I was terribly annoyed by it, I'd probably just take them off with some Barkeeper's Friend, which is the same thing I use to take similar metal marks off my porcelain sink. Overall, it's heavy and sturdy; it was made to withstand restaurant and other heavy use, back in the day. My new stuff and my vintage stuff are all without chips. My only objection is the size of the mugs, but they're perfect for the kids or for serving coffee when we're entertaining, so...

I thought the exact same thing... nothing a couple boxes of Rit and a bag of rubber bands can't cure... And then you can amuse yourself trying to find a way to add pictures of "Knicker Dyeing Day" to your portfolio for art. It would certainly liven up your review. :D

I was thinking the same thing! I would think it would be a ridiculous position but, then, I had no idea until a few months ago that people were actually still employed as philosophers, so there is hope for us. One of my favorite books. I actually have it set out to bring to a nerdy friend. Interesting how balanced that sentence is, diagrammed. It seems reflective of its owner. (And, before anyone starts beating the politics drum, I suspect that Michael Steele's sentences would display equal balance, which is also pretty on target for his style.) ~Angela, who is a dork on so many levels, her 4 year olds sometimes try to do deny they know her.

I agree. There is a difference in interfering in personal relationships and requiring people to meet minimum standards for things that can potentially harm others. We already regulate operation of vehicles, gun ownership, etc. and those are objects that cannot act on their own to cause injury to others. Helmet laws exist in many states to require parents to protect their children on skateboards and bicycles, and there are laws on the books regarding inappropriate animal ownership, such as being able to keep a camel in your bathtub or bringing a lion to a theater. These seem ridiculous on the surface, but the unfortunate truth is that people do not seem to have mastered the obvious.

Yes. Share the printer through the PC. Just go into your printers folder, right click the printer, go to Sharing. The PC will have to be on to print, but it cuts out the need to buy a print server.

I want to say that it sounds a lot like Lyme's that a friend's MIL was diagnosed with last year - body aches, excruciating fatigue, visual disturbances, dotty rash... Please keep us updated. I hope it's something easily treatable.

Stomp your feet, clap you hands, everybody ready for the barnyard dance? Definitely Boynton books. A cow says "moo". A sheep says "baa". Three singing pigs say "LA, LA, LA..." No, no, you say, that isn't right. The pigs say "OINK" all day and night! (Oh, yes. Grocery store banter when mine were little. Good times.... but not the hippopotamus.)

It has been my experience over 20 years of parenting - late teens to late 30s - that the lack of attention span seems to happen when you have children with no attention span. I recall being tickled to discover that I once again had the attention span to finish a magazine article in one sitting, when my eldest was around 5. (She was my only at the time... I would have been around 23?) It happened again when my 8 year old was little, and is happening again, now that the boys are 4 1/2. I don't think it's so much age related as child's age related. I did have the ability to take in large amounts of detailed technical information and actually do something with them in the interim, and I can once again take in much larger amounts of information at a time as the boys get older, despite my advanced years. :D

Shingles is obvious. No doctor (let alone two) would have to run lab tests for that... they'd spot it walking through the door. This sounds very familiar... lupus? Long-term lyme disease? Something very recent that I was talking to someone about. Definitely an auto-immmune response. What does the rash look like?