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I forgot one thing that even I think is weird. I have to identify animals that are killed on the roadside. Most of the time it is a deer or a groundhog. If I have to be somewhere, I keep going, but it bugs me that I haven't identified the animal. If I am with someone else, and they are the indulgent sort, they will turn around so I can see it. The other day I passed a large animal that had been hit by an 18-wheeler. I was going to fast (55) to be able to tell if it was a deer. I didn't see hooves, but that doesn't mean they weren't there. It still bugs me that I don't know what it is. If I find animal parts scattered in the pasture, I look for identifying parts. If I can't find them, I take pictures of the parts and show them to my neighbor so he can tell me which animal it was. I watched a dead possum at the side of our driveway for a few days. I was thinking about boiling its bones and gluing it's skeleton back together once it was mostly bone. But it disappeared on day 3 ... I think a turkey vulture must have taken it away. A long time ago, one of the cardiologists who visited me when I was in the hospital for emergency bypass surgery told me a story about his wife. She had a huge collection of animal skulls, which she collected and boiled, and kept on display. She was a physician, too. He was having fun trying to gross me out ... but I was fascinated, to his great amazement. I remember when I was 9, there was a dead animal on the side of the road. I was fascinated to be able to see inside it. Still am. My secret wish since I was around 6 is to be able to dissect a cadaver. I want to see what people look like inside and how things fit together. I had read something about people robbing graves to study anatomy (was it DaVinci?), and I guess it captured my imagination. The closest I got, which was minimal, was when I paid a visit to an autopsy room at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta when I was 19. All I saw was a brain in a sink (which was cool), and fat (which was yellow and looked like chicken fat to me). My boss, who was about 60 and very sweet and paternal, nearly had a heart attack when he found out where I had been. I told him there was a stretcher with a body on it in the hallway down there, and I stopped myself from pulling down the sheet. It may have been a horror show since Grady was the place where all the extreme trauma cases went. I like seeing wildlife that is alive, too ... I am not fixated on dead animals. My most interesting sightings have been because of my dog. One time a turkey vulture was walking down our long driveway, another time 14 deer were walking single file down a path in the woods toward our house. Both times, the dog spotted them through the window and came and got me. The big mystery I'm trying to figure out is the disappearance of lots of barn cats from nearby farms. Could be coyotes (but I've never seen one and neither has anyone else), so my money is on Great Horned Owls, who can take animals up to 16 lbs. When I used to take my dog out at night when he was a puppy, I'd wave my arms around to appear bigger so the owls would not grab him. I hear those owls a lot, but I've never seen one except at an owl sanctuary. Oh gosh, this is so long! You can tell it is a subject dear to my heart!

past-yer-eyes

I can do that, too, but only both ears at the same time. I checked, and my kids can hear it. They have no idea how I do it, and neither do I. I don't like cold and creamy white foods; they never pass my lips. Mayo, sour cream, whipped cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, ranch dressing, cream cheese... I've never tasted any of them except for mayo, by mistake. I do put ricotta cheese in lasagna, but I don't think about after it has melded with everything else. It gives me the creeps to use it in a recipe, though. I love bananas, whole fruit only. I will not eat foods made with bananas or that are banana-flavored. I have a dog who loves to lick people. I don't like that. So when he greets me after I've been away from home, he is allowed one lick on my cheek next to my ear, and that is it. I also don't let him do the Wheaten Greetin' to me, no way an excited, twirling, spinning, jumping dog is going to land on me and lick me to death for 5 or 10 minutes. My kids, their friends, and my husband, all like this. If anyone dares to tickle my feet, they will get a hard, swift kick wherever it lands -- it's a reflexive reaction. Back to food. I like to eat Chef Boy Ar Dee spaghetti and meatballs straight out of the can. I cannot abide the way that stuff tastes and smells when it is heated. My husband brings me a can about twice a year and it is a real treat! I like sweet pickle slices tucked inside grilled cheese sandwiches. I don't like sour food except for dill pickle spears once in awhile. I like gravy on my French fries. When we moved to PA, I was thrilled to discover that servers in restaurants ask if I want gravy on my fries... that is a first! I can tell if I will like a food by the way it smells. I have never, not even once, been wrong. When I cook, I never taste anything because I can tell by the smell and by a feeling I get if it is just right. My kids say I have no fear of being boring!

So, if my siblings get tested, they could have Native American genes, even though I do not? I don't know much about all this genetic stuff. When I was in school, the focus was entirely on George Mendel and his peas. I think I'd better learn more about this. I did theorize to my cousins that since I inherited half of dad's genes, it is possible that the Native American genes were in the other half. But, you know, I plucked this theory out of thin air ... there is no knowledge backing it.

23andme's prices doubled when the FDA approved some additional services from them: http://gizmodo.com/23andme-is-back-in-the-genetic-testing-business-with-fd-1737917276 I am 0% Native American. The entire family on my dad's side is aghast. All of the cousins have been repeatedly told that we are 1/8 Native American because one of our parents is 1/4 and our grandma was 1/2 Native American. My mother has assured me that my dad is my biological father. :hurray: I am pretty certain that my first cousins do not believe that. :mellow:

http://www.amazon.com/BIC-Velocity-Mechanical-Refillable-4-Count/dp/B0024EG6G2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1454268410&sr=8-3&keywords=Bic+Velocity+Mechanical+Pencil.

I'd ask for it back, and buy another one so I'd have a spare. I also would make a pact with myself not to lend anyone anything that means a lot to me, period. My philosophy on lending things is simple. I do not expect to get the item back, although I would be delighted if I did, so I only lend things that I am willing and able to freely give. This includes money.

Happy Birthday! :party: :party: :party:

I make this recipe once in awhile. It isn't spicy, and it is beyond me why we like it, but we do. I leave out the red wine if I don't have any on hand and just increase the water. To save time when preparing recipes with browned ground beef in them, I brown and freeze the beef in advance. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/70589/serbian-ground-beef-veggie-and-potato-bake/

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: and prayers.

I think this is a great point. Being told you are loved, but being treated like a fungible object, leads to not feeling the love. Actions speak louder than words. The people I feel loved by are people who love me -- me, as an individual -- not me as whatever role I play in their lives, and which can be filled by hired help.

My kids would each get a new, sensible car of their choice. I would pay for their college educations, living expenses, and buy them a place to live (and furnish it) while they were in college. They would each have a yearly allowance for giving. This will enable them to donate anonymously to people in need and to organizations that are dear to their hearts. I would put money in a trust for them, such that they get $X once a decade, starting at age 30, and they will have money for their retirements. I don't know if I would tell them about the trust funds, except I would set everyone's mind at ease about my two children who have special needs. Any of them who wanted to participate in giving money away with me would learn, with me, how to do that in an orderly, focused manner, so that our goals for the money were met efficiently and effectively. All of them would have the opportunity to travel to their destinations of choice any time they want to do so, as long as college isn't in session. First, though, they'd have to take one international family trip so they could see what that is like and learn the ropes. This caveat would be welcomed by all of them. My kids would always have financial security, because with that brings both freedom of choice and independence. I really do not care what Buffet and Gates think. Their children have always had financial security and, at least through their parents, all the contacts and opportunities available for the wealthy. My kids have not, not even close. I am not worried that my kids would become lazy rich kids, or flamboyantly wealthy. They would all be extremely angry if we won a huge lottery and started living a life of opulence, because they see so much need, greed, and waste of resources that could meet those needs in the world.

I share fundraisers and dogs up for adoption for the rescue I work for. Once in awhile, I post a funny story about my dog or a picture of him. I share articles about the presidential candidate I favor and science-based articles about dogs. That's about it. My FB page is b-o-r-i-n-g on purpose because some of our dog adopters are friends on FB, and I don't want them to know anything very personal about me. I figure that if I don't mind my post being on the front page of a newspaper, then it is okay to put on FB. Otherwise, no. Not that anything truthful I could post would end up in the news. It's just my way of maintaining my personal privacy at my comfort level.

Another reason to have a cover is that it makes it easier for me to find my Kindle. I choose a color that is not present in my home, so when I scan a room, my Kindle is easy to spot. This is usually a color I don't particularly like, so it pops. I discovered that dark or neutral colors blend into the background, which is not a good thing when I've misplaced my Kindle.

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Thank you all for your helpful replies. KungFuPanda, he is not going to be redirected. I think it's a great idea, but he will not budge from this project. He gave me a walrus for steeping tea that hangs on the side of a cup. He loves that gift because he thinks it is soooo cool. That thing works -- I tried it with tea I emptied from a teabag -- and went back to my microwaving the water and steeping the tea at the same time method. DS1's plan is what I call a ManPlan, and the definition of that includes not choosing simple options when a more complex one will do. He thinks this will be a better mousetrap, basically. Tap, dying it with tea is a great idea! Thank goodness I can make French seams to avoid raw edges. I wouldn't have thought of that. Whitehawk, sewing the tail closed is a wonderful suggestion. Swellmomma, you've put a new euphanism into our vernacular. Teabag is a much nicer word than condom. Xahm, I don't live in Atlanta. I used to, but now I just visit, and I am not there now. Otherwise, I would go to the DeKalb Farmer's Market in a heartbeat. I love that place! Kareni, I like your idea. It is better than mine, which was to attach a thin hook (not a fishook) from the mouth so it can hang on the cup's rim. I hope DS1 goes for it. PinkyandtheBrains, thank you for the dye suggestions. DS1 will be glad to have options. Thank you all so much for your help!

My son is obviously "in love"! He has designed a re-usable teabag that he wants me to sew for his girlfriend. If any of you know what kind of fabric would work for this, please tell me. He mistakenly thought that I am an expert on this subject since I own a sewing machine, and I am not. The loose tea has to favor the water without letting the tea leaves come through the fabric. On Etsy, someone used organic unbleached cotton to make them. Will this actually work? I want this project to succeed, and I don't want to have to keep making them out of different fabrics to find one that will do the job. He will want to make colorful teabags. Are there any foodsafe dyes that will work and not leak color into the tea? The teabags will be a fish shape and I know he imagines colorful fish. Well, he'd better be imagining colorful fish because otherwise he could just buy plain square teabags on Etsy! In case he wants to put eyes on the fish, I wonder if the kind that are sewed on would work, or whether embroidery thread is foodsafe and won't leak color. Thank you for your help! PS She is getting more stuff for Christmas than the teabags. He is so enthusiastic about this idea that I am going along with it. Any ideas on a good brand of tea leaves that can go into the bags and that is readily available in grocery stores would be great too. I live near a small town and there are no specialty stores or Trader Joe's or anything like that. Put it this way: When I go to Atlanta, I visit Publix and Kroger on a sightseeing mission, just to see the food we don't have here. We know nothing about tea. I just stick a cup of water with the teabag in it into the microwave when I want tea -- which according to my tea-loving friends is a Big Sin. This confession is only so you realize I know nothing about tea.

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm478253.htm "Today, Mars Chocolate North America announced a voluntary recall of its DOVE® Chocolate Assortment Snowflakes, 24.0 oz. bag - this is a seasonal item only sold at one major retailer with stores across the U.S. Item# 10139802 - UPC# 400050521 LOT CODE: 537CG4PA30, 537DG4PA30, 538AG4PA30, 538AM4PA30, 541AG4PA20, 542EM4PA20 This item is a purple 24 oz. bag clearly marked with DOVE® Chocolate Assortment Snowflakes branding on the front of packaging. The code dates and UPC code are located on the back of the packaging on the lower right side. Approximately 6,700 cases of this item may contain some SNICKERS®, MILKY WAY® and TWIX® pieces that contain peanuts, wheat and/or eggs, but these ingredients are not listed on the outer package ingredient label. People who have allergies to peanuts, wheat and/or eggs have the risk of serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume these products. No adverse reactions have been reported to date. This item was shipped and distributed to only one retailer and sold at retail food stores starting September 19, 2015 through December 1, 2015 to the following locations: AZ, GA, MA, MS, OH, VA, CA, IA, MD, NH, OK, VT, CO, IL, ME, NJ, OR, WA, CT, IN, MI, NM, PA, WI, DE, KS, MN, NV, RI, WY, FL, KY, MO, NY and TX."

I am sorry for your loss. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

We got our tree here: http://www.christmastreeforme.com/ That year, it was the #1 rated tree at Good Housekeeping: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/christmas-ideas/g1863/fake-christmas-trees/?

Oh my gosh, we have to get presents for Aidan because his greatest joy is unwrapping them. I wrap his presents in as many packages as possible because when he is done unwrapping his stuff, he helps us unwrap ours. I wrap his presents in tissue paper or in scraps left over from regular wrapping. The annoying thing is that, unless I put an ex-pen around the tree, I can't put presents under it until Christmas morning. Aidan will unwrap them all. Also, he naps under the tree every day, every Christmas. He thinks he's all the presents we need ... and he's right! Aidan doesn't have a stocking, though.

It would depend on whether I had time, whether we had already eaten, and if a family member was driving since I don't see well enough to drive at night.

I would do it in a heartbeat! Especially if the gifts were new items or I couldn't tell they had been used before. That caveat doesn't count if the item is something that is vintage and is prized for that reason -- such as OOP books.

My Samsung phone has a Tech Armor Ballistic Glass screen protector on it. It also has a Caseology Dual Layer Impact Resistant Case on it. Both purchased at Amazon. I put my brand new phone on the hood of a friend's truck in order to greet a visiting dog. Naturally, I forgot to retrieve my phone, and it fell off the truck when my friend ran some errands. We found the phone in the street. It had been run over and looked like it was a goner for sure. I took off the Tech Armor. The screen was pristine and the phone still worked as it always had. The case had separated from the phone and the battery cover was pitted and scratched, so I replaced both, along with the Tech Armor. I can't say enough good things about Tech Armor. It cost me $10. When I bought it, I thought it was probably a waste of money since I'd never dropped or done anything to damage a cell phone. http://www.amazon.com/Tech-Armor/b/ref=bl_dp_s_web_5569730011?ie=UTF8&node=5569730011&field-lbr_brands_browse-bin=Tech+Armor