I got the senior citizen discount at a grocery store, without being asked, when I was 44. On the one hand I was incensed. On the other hand, I saved a couple of bucks so that made up for it.

If Congress is to be providing for the "general welfare of the public" then they should ban smoking, and junk food, and force people to get off their behinds and exercise. Where do you draw the line for the public's welfare? Do you really want to see Twinkie police coming at you if you give in to a Hostess craving? I can just see it now, having to buy my M&Ms via the black market...

I have a kettle made from Demeyere that has a very heavy bottom on it, bail handle, and helper handle and I use it for boiling up a whole ham for bean soup or making several batches of jam at a time. Everyone comments on what a nice pot it is. When I saw your title, I thought of when my kids were little and they were playing in the kitchen banging on lids with wooden spoons. My friend said, "Look! Their first pot party!"

A hunk of cheddar on apple pie, here, too. Vinegar on cooked broccoli. Swiss cheese and bread and butter pickles. My son eats A-1 sauce on asparagus--it's the only way he can choke it down.

I'm not a germophobe; I grew up on a farm, ran around barefoot in the cowpen, had mice in the house I grew up in (and at various times: a bird and a raccoon and gerbils and guinea pigs and cats and dogs and, at one point, 3 goats lived in the house, too). We filled calf feeder buckets in the kitchen sink, so I doubt that washing out a mop would bother me. Now that I am grown we don't have any of those critters living in the house--nasty little cat feet on the counter would gross me out, but, then, I never could understand how people with animals in the house can let their pets' dirty behinds all over their furniture. (I don't recall the goats ever getting on things and we could tell when they were about to pee so we were ready with a can). The stuff inside the vacuum bag was somewhere to begin with and probably gets stirred up anyway before it gets into the vacuum so I doubt that I would be too concerned about that. The sandbox--what makes you think the new sand you are going to get is going to be "clean"?

I had heard about this a long time ago and am convinced that the stress I was under while I was pregnant with my second son and during the time I breastfed him is partially responsible for his personality now (he was always afraid of being left alone and even now that he is almost 15 does not like to stay home alone).

I guess I would ask myself if it were more important that he read classical stuff or just read. I have tried many different types of books with one of my sons, too, and he still (at age 14) is not interested. He is more likely to read an instruction manual or how-to book, so that is what I encourage.

"You're going to eat this. I don't care if you don't like it. It's a part of dinner. You need vegetables to stay healthy. I don't care if you don't like it. It won't kill you. You get no other food until you eat it." Salad looks pitiful when it's leftover and facing you at breakfast.

I met a guy when I was 18/19 during my first year in college. He was 8 years older than I. We have been married 26 years now and have two kids.

We have an inground electric fence but our dog, a husky mix, would just take the hit (even after loads of training and eventually setting the collar on high) and run across anyway and then not come back across. Some dogs are hardened criminals and cannot be trusted.

It seems that from reading all these posts that there is too much empahsis on weight. Even skinny or normal weight women can have too high a percentage of body fat. My BMI is on the higher side for my height but I pack on more muscle than most women and have the biceps to prove it. For my sons, we talk about women and discuss whether or not they think they look healthy. Most of my cohorts and I do not wear makeup so my kids get to see what real women look like. We have also viewed the photoshop demos on Youtube to see how pictures can be altered.

YMCA? Libraries usually have programs. They could join a club like a biking club or hiking club. My guys joined a tractor club because they are interested in old tractors. True, the men in the club are older but my kids really enjoy hearing their farming stories and learning how to restore old tractors. This club does not require tractor ownership to join so don't be quick to dismiss a possible club.

I know from reading posts on this board that a lot of you are fans of Cesar Millan's and the whole notion of being your dog's pack leader, but I am curious about it--if you, as leader, are supposed to enter and leave rooms first and always walk in front, how do service dogs know who their leader is? What about sled dogs who pull their masters--clearly their ownder isn't running out front. What about hunting dogs that go away from their masters and retrieve and come back? How about herding dogs? I don't know how his theories come into play in these instances. I guess I am more of the opinion expressed here: http://www.dogwhispererdvd.com/article-domin-myth.html. Opinions?

Ya snooze Ya lose.

I wash the apples but do not peel or core them. I do quarter them and remove the stem. I cook them in a huge pot with a little water until they are soft then put them through a food mill or something similar, and then can in a water bath. I think the skins add flavor while they are cooking.

You can get used to it--it is 46-48 in my kitchen right now. I have learned to type with gloves on.

Cranberry pie--mmmmmmm!

Buy the house and rent it out then move in when the kids are out of school?

Yes, you can add lemon juice, vinegar, or citric acid to canned tomatoes, but it affects the flavor. I like to grow and can Rutgers which is an older variety that is naturally more acidic so I can forego the added acids.

Some of the newer varieties of tomatoes that are grown do not have enough acid to enable safe use of the water bath canning method so you have to be careful which variety you use.

My kids are older but they go out and play or work in all temperatures. Last year my son rebuilt his brakes in the unheated garage when it was 20 degrees. They took the dogs for a walk a couple of days ago and it was 2 degrees. They are always a lot warmer than I am!

Indiana cut off date is June 1. My son's b-day is June 6 so he was the oldest in his class. Kindergarten is not mandatory, though.

My 16 year old works on his two tractors and his two pickup trucks and has learned tons by belonging to online forums. Seems like there is a forum for everything.

We are still under construction and have no ductwork or ceilings in the new part. We set our furnace at 50 and the part we are living in stays around 44-46. The upstairs, where the kids sleep, is blocked off and has gotten down to 36 in their rooms and 22 in the landing area. The one haven the bathroom which has a space heater. Try baking cookies when the butter rehardens as soon as it hits the mixing bowl!

Imp, I bet they jumped all over you because their own children never help out and they were jealous of you! I wonder what they would say of us: my oldest son (now 16) has had a paying job since he was 9. Both he and my youngest son (14) are responsible for: feeding the dogs, cats, chickens, cleaning the pens, mowing and trimming our 5 acres, shoveling snow if needed, tilling, planting, weeding, picking, the garden and picking fruit from the fruit trees, changing the oil in the vehicles, maintaining the mowers, cleaning the bathrooms and the rest of the house when asked, and putting their clothes away. They also help with any projects that are going on at the time such as: digging ditches, moving electrical wires and plumbing, tearing down part of the house, rebuilding parts of the house, cutting firewood, cutting down and cutting up trees, building fence, etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on. Right now they are helping hook up our furnace which requires cutting and gluing pipe together and wiring the thermostat. My oldest totally rebuilt his brakes on his truck last winter, in our unheated garage, when the weather was 20 degrees, with no help from us. Since our furnace is off, they have been sleeping in rooms that have gotten down to 33 degrees. You have nothing to worry about nor feel guilty for. Your daughter is going to grow up to be a wonderful person because of all you are teaching her now.