While I'm here, I'm also wondering if they run true to size or if they run small? I read at Zappos where felt that the Newport and Venice ran a half size smaller than marked.

I'm wanting to buy a pair of Keen sandals- either their Newport H2 or Venice H2. Some of them come in colorful shades of citron (green), red, orange, blue, etc... For those of you who wear Keens, do you stick with neutrals for the sandals so they will match more clothing or does it not matter to match them?

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness Author: Kay Redfield Jamison ISBN: 0-679-76330-9 Jamison is a professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and coauthored the standard medical text and she also happens to have bipolar disorder. Fascinating book!

OK, but this recipe from The Urban Homemaker has both 'dough enhancer' and 'vital glutten' in the list of ingredients for this bread machine recipe. Here's the ingredients list: honey oil water salt WW flour dough enhancer vital glutten yeast If enhancer is the same as glutten why are both listed?

For those of you who use bread machines... what is dough enhancer, why is it used and where do you buy it? I found a bread machine recipe from Urban Homemaker that I'd like to try and it calls for dough enhancer. I have no idea what it is. Thanks...

Here's a new twist--- I can either purchase the 8" for $25, or the 10" for $32 or get both as a set for $44. Thinking about getting the set. Thoughts? either 8 inch sauté pan, $25, http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-8-18-10-TriPly-Clad-Stainless-Steel-Saute-Pan/5716484 or 10 inch sauté pan, $32, http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-10-18-10-TriPly-Clad-Stainless-Steel-Saute-Pan/5716486 or 2 piece set incl both 8 and 10 inch, $44, http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-TriPly-Clad-Stainless-Steel-Saute-Pan-Set/14170524

The set we purchased came with a 10" nonstick skillet which works well for omelets and things like that.

These skillets can go from stovetop to oven so the main reason we'd want a smaller size skillet is when browning meat/fish for 2 on the stovetop that we would want to finish in the oven.

Thanks, Ellie. That's what I was thinking. Any other opinions?

Recently I purchased from Walmart a nice set of Tramontina cookware which Cooks Illustrated recommended: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Tramontina-7-Piece-18-10-Stainless-Steel-Tri-Ply-Clad-Cookware-Set-with-Bonus-3-Piece-Cast-Iron-Set/11072506 . It included a 12" skillet and I love the set but now I want and see a need for a smaller skillet as well. For a family of four (incl 2 college kids) which size do you think would be more useful-- the 8" skillet or the 10"?

Back in the mid-1950's my dad was digging ditching for a living. Then he stumbled onto a construction company where the owners were impressed with his work ethics. They offered to train him to become a civil engineer. He took the job and he learned the skills of a civil engineer through OTJ training. Every night he came home with tons of paper work. It was stuff he had to learn/know for the very next day's work. He worked as a civil engineer for over 50 years. Today, he is almost 85 years old and still does consulting work as a civil engineer. I am so proud of what my dad did with his life.

In my family there were 8 kids. My parents wanted all 8 of us to equally divide whatever is left when they die. Two of my siblings died, both with surviving kids. Then Mom died. Dad's still living on his money. He kept everything as was planned, to divide 8 ways equally even though only 6 of us are left. For my 2 deceased siblings shares... since they're no longer here to receive it, each of their 1/8 portion will be equally divided among their kids. It doesn't matter how many or how few kids the two of them had. The kids of each deceased sibling receive what would have been their parent's 1/8 share. Hypothetical--- Suppose my 5 siblings and I each received $10,000 at time of my dad's death. And suppose my 2 deceased siblings had 6 kids total, 4 from one sibling and 2 from the other. The 4 kids from one sibling would each end up with $2,500., totaling their 1/8 share. The 2 kids from the other sibling would each end up with $5,000., totaling their 1/8 share. This way all 8 of us or their kids each end up with the same $10,000. amount. We are all fine with the way my parents arranged this.

Nobody writes letters anymore?:confused:

OK, how about this---- Where is your favorite place to purchase stationery?

Pretty please with sugar on top?:001_smile:

Can someone refresh my memory? Several years ago I knew about a wonderful website that had a large selection of nice stationery sold at very good prices. Then my old computer crashed and burned. I lost the link and can't remember the name of the company. I'm hoping someone here can post the link for me. Anyone??? Thanks..

Where else can you discuss chicken soup on a homeschool board?:lol: Thank you, ladies. And please, anyone else have comments, post them. I will keep on reading your responses.

Thank you, Lizzie. I often miss being here. The problem is--- I'm no longer a hommeschooler;). Both my kids are in college. Oldest dd is finishing her junior year with a Poli-Sci Degree and she has a TA position, helping with an Honors Humanities class for Freshmen. Youngest dd is finishing her last year for her Associates Degree. She'll be following that up with her last two years at the university for a degree in Exercise Science. Soooo, my homeschool days are pretty much behind me although, youngest dd is diabetic and has bipolar disorder so we still oversee her schooling in a big way. For example, Monday morning she has an appointment with her academic adviser. I go with her each time she meets the adviser because she doesn't always remember everything the adviser tells her.

Sooooo, am I the only one who views straining chicken broth a useless waste of time? Am I the only one who sees nothing wrong with cooking chicken and veggies 'til done and calling it "a pot of soup" rather than calling it "a pot of broth from which to make soup"?

Please enlighten me! I've been wanting to ask this question for quite some time. Recipes for making broth say to cook chicken with veggies and seasoning, take chicken out broth, strain broth through cheesecloth and then add noodles and cut up chicken back to broth before calling it "soup". What is the purpose or necessity of straining the broth? Is there something blechy in the broth that we need to eliminate? Why can't you just cook the chicken as above, skip the straining, add noodles and cut up chicken and eat it as chicken noodle soup? (I really would like to skip the straining:glare:.) OK, then if you absolutely need to strain the broth, is the cheesecloth "one time use only" or do you wash and reuse next time around?

There's been an interesting turn of events in my cookware research. Last night I subscribed to cooksillustrated.com , their online subscrib. Thank you to those who recommended subscribing. (Why didn't I do that sooner?) After viewing their stainless steel cookware test I followed a rabbit trail which led me to.... of all places... Walmart's website where I discovered that the Tramontina company designed a $300. pot set which matches in quality, design and pot size to what Cooks feels would be an ideal cookware set. From Cooks: "Our ideal set would include a roomy 12-inch traditional skillet (or fry pan—we use the terms interchangeably) that’s big enough to fit four chicken breasts; a 10-inch nonstick skillet for cooking delicate omelets and fish; a 12-inch cast-iron skillet for frying and searing; a 4-quart covered saucepan for vegetables and other side dishes; a 2-quart covered saucepan for heating soup or cooking oatmeal; a 6- or 7-quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven for braising, deep-frying, and even baking bread; and a large stockpot that can do double-duty for pasta, lobster, or corn on the cob." Cooks compares quality of Tramontina to All-Clad: "This fully clad cookware set (not the Tramontina set I'm thinking of buying) is an amazing bargain, with performance, design, and construction comparable to All-Clad cookware (though cooking surfaces are slightly smaller)." This is the Tramontina set that Walmart sells. I can afford a $300. set after we get our income tax refund. I think I've discovered my dream cookware set:001_smile:. What do you guys think? ... I mean, since I can't afford All-Clad?

I appreciate all the suggestions, ladies. For those of you who love your cast iron--- I'm happy for you but like I stated in my OP, I will only be looking at stainless steel.

I've thought of the option of buying individual pieces only I don't know where to begin for how to choose each piece. Besides cooksillustrated, where would you get that kind of help for picking and choosing indiv pieces? I have thought of subscribing to cooksillustrated so this may give me a good excuse to subscribe now. Do they offer both online and magazine subscriptions and if so, which is best to have?

Guys, I know All Clad is good but I just can't afford it right now. Think-- best quality stainless steel in the $100-200. range for a set. I just posted another link in my OP. So now the two sets I've seen in that price range are Wolfgang Puck and Cuisinart. How do they compare quality-wise? And where is the best place to view and compare cookware made from different companies? I'm thinking Bed, Bath & Beyond???

Cookware-- Need a new set. Looking for best quality stainless steel (no nonstick stuff) in the $100-200. range. I don't care much about "shine", really. It must be stainless steel. Do you prefer to buy sets or individual pieces? This is one set I'm considering. I can get this set for $120 at amazon. Does anyone have either of these set and can tell me how they like them? What do you have that you love and would recommend? I'm open to suggestions.