We have discussed Blue Ribbon Preserves before and, in fact, I emailed the author about her instructions for canning curds. I really like her book, but I don't assume all her recipes are safe. I consider the book a valuable resource but I think you have to have a pretty good knowledge-base in food preservation to assess which recipes are OK as is and which should NOT be canned, but could be refrigerated or frozen. I'd recommend you ask about particular recipes from that book before you can them. Several of us have copies and should be able to give a "thumbs-up" or "thumbs-down" on specific recipes. And as mentioned, do forget about the pumpkin butter. It doesn't matter how much sugar it has. You could freeze it, however. Carol

Okay, You all got me nervous about my recipe. I posted the wrong ratio for the brine. That is what I used for my refrigerator mixed pickles. I went searching and here is the recipe for brine: 6 cups vinegar 3 cups water 2 Tbs pickling salt 1-2 Tbs sugar ( I used 1 Tbs) Pack pickles, boil brine, process pints 10 minutes and quarts 15 minutes. I knew about the ratio of at least half vinegar to water ratio, this one is the opposite of the one that I posted first:) I got the recipe from the Colorado State extension site, I usually am very careful about what I can and how I do it. My grandma always told me the story of a family of 6 that all died after eating improperly canned green beans. This story was told every year when I started canning;) Stacie who is glad that she found the recipe before she threw out the pickles. Stacie Here is a link that might be useful: colorado mixed pickle recipe

Nightcrawler: "I live in a 32 family building. The LL has no keys. He has everyones phone numbers and can get in touch with them if need be." "I live in a mega apt neighborhood, huge tenements, most LL do not take keys." If that is true, then the property owners in question are idiots. Nightcrawler's solution if there is a problem is for the property owner to go up the fire escape, smash the window, and get in like that, or just wait until the tenants show up (if ever). Last week we had a complaint of considerable water coming in through the ceiling of a bathroom in a multi-unit (55)apartment building. There are four bathrooms on four floors immediately above the one with the leaky ceiling. We had to go into each unit to find the problem, which was the goofball tenant on the top floor was washing clothes in the tub, left the water running, and then went to work. If I followed Nightcrawler's technique, I would have had two choices: 1) track down four different tenants, and wait until they showed up (some might be out of town), with potentially thousands of dollars of water damage occurring in the interim; or 2) climb up an ice encrusted fire escape, smash four windows ($100+ each), climb over broken jagged glass without slicing myself open, and then have the tenants complain that there is broken glass & a broken window in sub-zero temperatures. Of course it would then take days to get those windows fixed (for example, try to get a window fixed over a holiday weekend). Let's look at some other reasons why it is a good idea for the property owner to have keys, instead of doing hundreds of dollars of damage by smashing a window or door to get in, or paying a locksmith $100 or more to come and change the lock: 1) Tenants losing keys; 2) Tenants leaving for the christmas holidays to some other country, leaving a window open that cannot be reached from the outside (potentially causing pipes to freeze & thousands of dollars of damages); 3) Surprise fire inspection from the city (resulting in a fine if the inspection cannot be completed at that time); 4) Surprise housing code inspection from the city (also resulting in a fine if the inspection cannot be completed at that time); 5) Tenants asking for a specific repair to be completed, we arrange for a plumber / electrician to come, tenants are not there at the appointed time, cannot be reached by phone, and the plumber / electrician charges us $150 just to show up and do nothing; 6) Tenants ask for a new appliance, we agree, arrange for a specific delivery time, tenant is not there, so we have to pay a delivery charge for nothing. We make sure we have keys, but each of these examples actually happened with tenants who thought it was a good idea to change the locks on their own without giving us a copy. In each case they were either charged the full cost of their action plus double penalty, or were evicted. We change the deadbolt locks for each new tenant. Your property owner is exposing himself to significant potential liability if he did not change your deadbolt locks, and you should insist on them being changed. But if you change them yourself without giving him a copy, you are exposing yourself to significant potential liability if a problem arises and it is difficult to get in, and damage to the building (or to persons) occurs as a result. We also do a full criminal / credit / background check on maintenance personnel. If they would steal from the tenants, they'd steal from the owner, so it is in our interest to make sure they are 100% ok. Dreamgarden: The property owner does not want to take your crappy stuff (kitchenware? old CDs? I don't think so). You are much more likely to get robbed by someone you know. If you don't like property owners who are proactive and try to maintain things to a high standard (ie fix stuff before it becomes an emergency, or install brand new windows in your case), then there are many buildings where you can move to where the owners never fix anything, and could not care less if you had a leaky faucet or drafty windows. Nightcrawler "If you lived in a house would you let a real estate agent bring prospective buyers a tour through your house while you were at work?": Of course, that is standard practice.

Sorry for the late response. I had a full day at work today. Ingrid.. I have photos to share but please look at only the furniture. It is in a "not even started" room. It doesnt reflect well on my style, home, or housekeeping skills. The wallpaper is partially removed -- as it was when I moved in. So, with all those disclaimers, please look at the furniture only. It isnt that I don't like the birds eye maple, but I have had it for 20+ years and I am wanting a new look. I am not sure that this set, even painted, has the look I am going for. I would like a style that works better with the bed-- and that provides more/better storage. Can I make do with it until I find the right thing? Absolutely-- I can make do with it indefinitely. Really, I do not think I would paint over birds eye maple veneer on any piece-- and I would pay for other vintage pieces to paint before I would knowingly upset my mom. When I do find a replacement, I will likely keep these dressers for another room or will keep in storage to pass on to a niece. BTW the set was a gift for my 18th birthday. There is also a vanity on the other side of the bed (mirror is not set up)