well, I moved TWELVE plants around today in order to tweak the design to include these PDN plants and the lavender! Isn't that the way it goes? You bring home a few and move a dozen! LOL Neither the crocosmia nor the cestrum wilted today being planted around 9:00am this morning. I was relieved since it got so hot. We worked outside until 2:30 when we just couldn't take the heat anymore. My husband mulched the garden today after the rain washed away most of ours over the last week or two. BTW, he has a degree in forestry and wildlife, so he loved those Dawn Redwoods at PDN. He pointed those out to me specifically.

I have a very large assortment of FS canisters. Sizes from the 6 qt. all the way down to 1 pint. The smaller diameter ones have domed tops instead of the concave type on the big 6 quart models. I have been buying many of the canisters for several years now and was still able to get another of the narrower but taller ones just for the loins. The phosphates help the pork hold onto moisture, as well as acting as a binder. It MUST be dissolved in water all by itself, and can take several minutes of continual stirring. I usually do it in a drinking glass. About a tablespoon or two of the phosphates are used per gallon of brine, more than that and it can bet a 'bleachy' taste. Once dissolved, its added to the balance of water in the brine mixture along with the nitrite cure #1. A good digital scale able to weigh up to 25 pounds can help too. Mine was cheap and is a godsend when it comes to weighing meats before and after injection of brines. I also use it to weigh the ground pork for sausages, so I can usually figure out how much seasonings and salt to use. I like to inject the brine as much as possible into a loin. Its because its quite dry once its cooked, and with the extra brine it helps or retain more moisture. You can't overdo the injection, as it can only hold so much of the brine. I usually use the same injection ratio for pastrami/corned beef. 4 oz per gallon of the nitrites is way too much!! Sausage Maker site- http://www.sausagemaker.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2 Has the cures and usually needs about 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of meat. With a gallon of brine, the nitrite can be up to about a tablespoon. Keep in mind the nitrites are only about 30% of the actual pink granuated product, the other 70% is salt. They do this so you can measure more accurately by diluting it so it will not be as difficult to measure. Sometimes the bags of brine mix will include the nitrite as an added packet and they also usually have some basic instructions on how much to add to the quantity of water. Think of the measurements of the total liquid in the brine, and not the weight of the pork loin. Adding maple syrup to the brine is fine. In a gallon of brine, a couple of teaspoons of maple syrup is very small. I would add about a half cup to a gallon of brine. Keep in mind it will make it slightly sweeter, but still has a mild maple flavor when used with a little liquid hockory smoke flavor. The brine mixes usually have salt, brown sugar and some other minor things. Usually when I bake mine at that low 175 degree oven its about 3 hours in the oven. After 2 hours I raise the oven temp to about 200 degrees. I use a digital probe thermometer to measure internal temp. 160 is the max, 150 is fine too. Follow the instructions on the cure mix for baking etc. I don't have a smoker here so I use the liquid smoke. When I do beef pastrami that can be in the oven about 6 or more hours before it reaches 140-150. If you plan to make some with the added herbs, they would be chopped up in the brine, but NOT injected as they can clog the needle. In that case but don't add the smoke, maple or any other flavors. Sage, thyme, and even pepper, and garlic are OK, but the amounts you mention are still a bit small for a gallon of brine. If your only going to do a 5 pound piece, then make a half gallon of brine and half all the other additives. Never reuse a brine, never mix it and then refrigerate if its not injected right after mixing. For sugar, they use dextrose which holds up better to heat compared to cane. As mentioned, the brine mixes already contain brown sugar. Bake the loing untrimmed, fat side up. I cover mine with foil so it doesn't dry out too much while baking. Your loins should keep for at least 10 days in the cold part of the fridge.

Hi cearbhaill, I am the original poster in the first thread. I have a few questions for you. If there were a fire or emergency, would she know how to and then could she get out of the house safely? Does she have a Life Alert or such type button to call in an emergency? These things MAY affect your ability to feel freer to leave for a SHORT time. In some cases that might be enough. If she can get out safely in an emergency and notify someone of her need for help, or could call someone if she fell, it MAY give you a bit of leeway. If she is so frail that she can't, then the courts could see it as abandonment. If I am totally off base, someone correct me. As we all know, the chances are slim that there would be a major emergency, but the liability still hangs over your head. I know my aunt who had suffered a stoke had help come in everyday, as well as her sons doing things for her. She had a Lifeline button and was home alone. I do believe that it is when they come into home, your care and your responsibility, that things change. In our case, it has been a blessing to be able to come to a sense of peace about our restricted lifestyle. Mom will be 93 in May and she has been here 6 and a half years plus 3-4 years of going to her house 2-3 times a week before that. While her mind is failing and her legs and balance are weak, she is still pretty healthy. Whatever time God gives us to care for her, we will use. It is not an easy thing to do, but your own inner attitude makes a huge difference. When I am tired and don't always use the best tone of voice with Mom, I try to pretend that she is a "friend". You all know that sometimes it is much easier to be nice to a "friend" than a relative. You mentioned that you are caring for her because of your concern and kindness to your husband. We really don't know each other well enough for me to say this, but it is said in love....If it is the case that you are doing it for your husband, then try to do it without resentment so that it is a gift to him and that he can see your love for him. It will overflow to your MIL and perhaps she will be more willing to go outside, walk the dog, or with you to the store, if she is able. We got a lightweight transport chair for Mom since she can't walk far. It enables me to take her almost anywhere with us. As for scheduling errands, it is an absolute necessity to be organized and try to foresee needs so you can run errands on weekends, if that is an option. Do you have friends who could pick things up for you at the store while they are out? Do you have friends who can come for to visit YOU so you have a nice time in your home? At least it would be a mood lifter. We do care about each other on the forum and hope we will be of help to you. As agnespuffin said, sometime the advice doesn't apply, won't work or you just don't like it. Never doubt that we care about your situation and YOU. Terri

i agree with you conceptually about only investing in thing you believe in, or rather in things you can stomach as most investments and industries have a downside if you look hard enough. eventually you get to exploited workers and poisoned rivers and solid waste. i personally struggled with the payday investment i made. the return was high, but i did not want to be associated with it. i said no for about 6 months. over that six months i learned how they (where my money is now) did business. after i understood it i had a hard time thinking of it any differently than a bank. they both loan money based on ones ability to earn money and pay it back. the only difference is the duration and the size of the loan. a bank allows me to spend money i don't have on a credit card and then charges me 13-18% until i pay them back while they themselves are leveraged 10 to 1 on those dollars loaned. the payday place will only loan me money that will be covered in my NEXT paycheck and charge me a flat fee of $5 or $10 while they themselves have a dollar for every dollar they loan out. when i look at it like that i really had no problem with the payday place, but started to have them with the banks. the payday places are not dragging the economy down because of their recklessness. they are also not enslaving an entire generation by offering them credit they cannot pay back. there are people who use them recklessly, and it is real easy to point them out because they are the fringe. it is a little harder to point out the middle class suburbanite who is a slave to their credit card and bank because they get up and go to work each day and keep a nice yard but are living on credit. both industries lend money and both are technically guilty of charging people who don't have money. they are in business to make money, not give it away. in the end neither is good nor bad just as fire is neither good nor bad. the good or bad all depends on who uses it and how they use it. the payday places service a far less afluent and unsophisticated clientele and therefore gives them very little wiggle room to abuse the system. if they want to stay one paycheck behind for the rest of their lives, that is about all they can do. the bank will let me get decades behind because they assume i am responsible and won't let it come to that but do little to stop me and recently have even encouraged me to do so. in my mind it is a match compared to the bonfire. both can be abused, but the potential abuse of a credit card is far greater. but there may be other payday places that have different policies than where i invested. mind you i don't have equity in the payday place�"they borrowed money from me to lend. in short my money is on deposit to be lent out just as if i put it in a savings account for the bank to lend out on a credit card loan. the main difference is my rate of return is almost 10 times higher but not FDIC insured. the only thing i do struggle with is the 10% they charge for cashing checks. this is outrageous in my opinion. i can't understand why anybody would do that unless they were unable to cash it elsewhere and i won't speculate as to why. but in the end they have their reason and are paying a premium for it. and with that i leave it. cigarettes are another issue and i am totally with you. i feel the same way about other products as well most are not as overtly damaging, but their products do carry liability and they push them with abandon to those who are hurt by them. not just talking guns and alcohol. a few minutes watching saturday morning cartoons was an eyeopener to the type of products marketed to kids. slap a mcdonald's logo on a bucket of mud and i think my kids would want to eat it. a friend of mine who is militant about his hate for phillip-morris and smoking in general (i think he lost a parent to lung cancer) holds half his portfolio in tobacco stocks. he justification was that it "those people" are going to annoy him with their smoke and take his taxes in healthcare, they are going to pay him for it. an interesting take on moral investing practices, but for him it makes sense. i respect your desire to not follow my practice of investing in payday lending. we not only have to undderstand our investments, but repect if not love them. i do not love payday lending, and to be honest would rather be elsewhere, but for the time being it is a good place and i am no so morally apposed to money lending as to not take the opportunity. i do however own no bank stocks for obvious reasons, i think their model is risky. i also think they are on the more unethical side of business. they have laws and loopholes that allow them to do things that are illegal to any other company. id it because we need their services and that is what it takes, or is it because they have power to influence if not make laws that favor them? i think recent events have shown us it is a little of both. before i sound too anti-establishment, let me say i think financial institutions are important and necessary�"ie. banks, insurance companies, the US government, the FED, and even payday lenders. BUT they are in busniness to make themselves rich, not us. if you do not understand what they are doing, how they make money, or worse, what you are doing, they will take advantage of you. thus education. it is through education that you can see the smoke and mirrors they use to make you feel good about making them rich at your expense. one of the most ubiquitous is the home mortgage. i am emphatic that the most expensive ways to buy a house are in this order; cash, paid off early mortgage, continually refinanced mortgage, a 15-year note, a 30-year note, ARM, variable rate, interest only, and deferred interest-AKA sub-prime being the cheapest. that said, i don't like differed interest as it assumes the risk in the real estate market and if used by the uneducated or irresponsible it can (and has) blown up in the borrowers face. what does the bank want you to do? they love you to take out a 30 year and refinance every few years or pay it off early. if you are going to take it to term, they prefer you take out a 15-year because it makes them more money and that is why they have a cheaper rate to take it�"they need to give you incentive to do what benefits them and think you are getting the better end of the deal�"if it makes them more money, how can it also save you money and show up in two places at once? this all sounds like hericy i know. but where do we get our financial education from? our bank? alan greenspan has a nice quote about the variable interest only mortgage being the best deal out there if people only knew how to use it and the 30 year not serving its customers as the think. i will see if i can find it. the mortgage subject was perhaps the most eye-opening and influential education i ever had in finance. it is the lesson that taught me to see the whole equation and not look at a financial strategy in a vacuum. it taught me to understand finance on a macro economic level to understand how to best use products on a micro economic level. it is painful and feels like you brain is removed and turned around and put back in. but i assure you it is all true and useful information, but it requires the user to be responsible for their financial life and some are not willing to do this and for them it is not wise to have control. just as fire in the hands a of one is destructive and to another the opposite. what i am talking about is basic business finance�"in short figuring out the lost opportunity cost and the taking the greatest margin. if done properly with understanding risk is minimized and growth is maximized. some will refuse to believe, but that does not prove those strategies wrong. i myself do not practice whole-heartedly all the strategies i know an believe because of issues regarding timing, my own laziness or whatever. this does not mean i don't acknowledge their strengths or potential. but it serves me to understand alternatives. there are many i have encountered on this forum and in other places who flat out throw up a wall and won't even try to understand that there are several strategies to use in every situation and they all have merits. my beef is with those who claim merits that are not truly there or ignore others. those who emotionally attach themselves to dogma that was sold to them without trying to understand. i have been guilty of this and still am at times and it only hurts myself. when i have a few hours to spend with a calculator, i will start a new thread and actually run the numbers on the most popular mortgage products side-by-side including paying cash. i will treat all as equals. it is amazing how different the outcome is from popular beliefs, but if you look at who is selling the mortgages and the information i guess it is not shocking. it won't prove anything other than which is the most expensive in terms of money and what risks are inherent in each scenario. the individual would have to choose which is best for them. the problem is that most choose the wrong thing for what they claim to want. if you know how they each work you can choose more appropriately for your goals whatever they may be.