Thanks. When the blues were here, many other birds were active too. The vultures were passing just over their heads. I remember the female sitting at the front of the woods and watching as a vulture flew about 20 feet over her head. I haven't seen them since. The winterberries are almost gone so the blues may have been back for them. The mockingbird that was guarding them seems to have moved off for the Spring. In August, you can hear the mockingbird chicks all around here. Thanks for remembering Ambrose. I will always miss him and see him again in Dog Heaven. I've been breaking out in tears abruptly since he died. Can't control it; they just happen. Plus my mood went downhill. My 91 year old mother's mood went downhill too. I realized I had to do something. Last week, I started looking at miniature poodles online. I found one called Blue Jay (too bad it wasn't blue bird). After looking at him for 3 days, I called the breeder last Saturday. On Sunday, I drove there to see the breeders and the puppies. Blue Jay (male)was very friendly and chewed on me because he was teething. Then I put a female, Lily, in my hands. The breeder said she had a heart murmur. Ambrose had a heart murmur for his 17 years. I decided I would take care of Lily and Blue Jay for the rest of their lives. I pick them up this Sunday. Kathy, I'm sorry about Sonny. Here is a link that might be useful: Big Bird, Little Bird

David, I'm so sad about the loss of Smokey. Also very sorry I took so long to see your post. I know there's a hole in your heart & your home. Smokey's not alone. All of the CF beloved pets plus my Blackjack are there to take care of Smokey. I lost Blackjack many years ago now; but there's not a day goes by that she doesn't pop into my mind at least once. /tricia

sounds like your countertops were made to fit right up tight to the old range. always leave a little wiggle room even if you never expect to replace it, since you should at least once every couple years pull out the range and clean behind/under it. chalk this one up to a lesson learned. we plan on switching to gas ourselves, but are waiting until we totally redo the kitchen just so some of these gotcha's don't happen! BTW, you do realize that unless your unit has a standing pilot light you won't be able to use it when power is off! the 120v outlet runs the clock and the electronic ignition. if the unit has flame sensors and such, you cannot even light them with a match! i would look into a decent portable generator if this is the case.

Have you ever had or used this type of ice cream freezer? The ones I've used make the ice cream about as thick as soft-serve, and if you want it harder, you have to freeze awhile longer, in another container, after it reaches the soft-serve stage. It sounds like you had more liquid than what a recipe for this machine can use, and that's why it didn't get frozen. I make my ice cream mixture ahead of time and leave it in a stainless steel bowl/container in the freezer until ice crystals begin to form on the edge of the mixture to make sure it's as cold as possible. I also freeze the dasher. This will help it freeze a little faster. To rescue the peaches, I would make this filling recipe and use it as a dessert served with granola on the top or as a topping for ice cream. The peach gelatin powder (JELL-O and Great Value brand at Wal-Mart will also work) in the recipe is a flavor enhancer (especially good if the peaches don't have a lot of flavor) and the recipe won't work well without it. 1 c. water 3/4-1 c. sugar (use lesser amount if peaches are really sweet) 3 T. cornstarch 3 T. peach gelatin powder (use the regular JELL-O, not sugar-free) 4-6 peaches (depends on how large they are, but almost any number of peaches will work - if you have fewer peaches, just make a half-recipe) Cook water, sugar, and cornstarch in a pan until thickened. Add peach gelatin, stir in well. Add sliced peaches to this hot mixture. Cool until lukewarm, or refrigerate, before serving. (NOTE: If the peach slices are really large, you can cut them into smaller bite-size segments. I also like to use coconut palm sugar for a darker, almost caramel-like flavor, while using white granulated sugar makes a pretty lite pink/peach colored filling. This filling will keep several days in the refrigerator. -Grainlady