Hey there, Brenda. Lots of research does make things easier and total immersion in the topic, just like learning a new language, helps you catch on to the things that are important. This forum has a lot of info being talked about by lots of people, some of whom get pretty technical. There are plenty of others who keep it simple. Now I am going to be mean. Sometimes the limitations we cannot change make us give up some things we really want. A list of each can help see the realities. After I looked at the pond you like and read what you wanted, I realized you can't have all of it. I don't want to discourage you. You can still have a lovely and totally satisfying pond/water garden. The pond you like is a rigid preform. It is probably 72"x48" and 18" deep. It holds 125 gallons and will take 3-4 3" fish. Those dimensions are for Maccourt ponds which seems to be the most common preform. There are some new ones that are foldable made of virgin vinyl but that doesn't seem to be what you are looking at. There are also some pond kits that include plastic liners and EPDM rubber liners are very versatile. The volume of water in any of these ponds would prevent you from having koi. Koi grow to very large proportions and soon your fishies wouldn't have room to turn around, literally. I have a 1000 gallon pond and some of my 6" koi are now 12-14" after only one season. One that is 3 years old is now even larger than that. In addition I have a population of comets, sarrasa and other related fishies and they started breeding last year. Many of them started as 1" feeder fish. All of them need room to move! Fast! I'm getting nervous. There are many colorful fish other than koi that you would enjoy but you would need to control the numbers and figure out a way to keep them over winter. I put my gourami and guppies in the pond for the summer and put them back in aquariums in the winter. The cold would kill them. In your zone, it is possible for an 18 inch pond to freeze solid but more likely it would only have ice to 4-6 inches. I would wait through a full winter to see just how deep the ice goes before investing in fish other than goldfish. Gases that accumulate in the water could kill larger fish with only that much free water. An EPDM or plastic lined pond could give you the depth you need but the volume still would limit the number and type of fish. Don't despair! No one ever got it right the first time they were designing a home and you are designing a home for fish... and plants. Now that I have managed to scotch some of your dreams, (sorry, sorry, sorry) the necessary hardware can be put up for discussion. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: preform ponds

Linda I have a GE Profile Performance w/convection....do you think Id be better off cooking 2 at a time to RARE in the center rack...Id hate to screw this up as this is one of the dishes for DH 40th bash....hate to admit but theres a lot of potential new customers for my business at this party so Id hate for the meat to be overdone. My SIL Rosanna had the same opinon as you RARE...because it will finish its cook on the rack ...Another question as far as the other 2 back up trays (there are 3 trays each will have 2 thinly sliced roasts in each) the staff will be warming all the foods for the party an will set the buffet with one of each tray of foods then there are 2 back ups per rack. How shoul they heat the other 2 in the oven so they will be hot enough for a switch when the 1st pan is done...so not to be overcooked? I sound crazy I know but Im more nervous about this party then any other one I have ever done! Thanks

I've been reading Rosemary Barron's "Flavors of Greece" (I read cookbooks the way others read novels). In it there is sort of a Greek version of hummus that might work: Rivithosalata (Garbanzo Beans & Garlic Salata) 1 1/2 cups dried garbanzo beans, soaked overnight in water to cover 2 large cloves garlic, chopped 1 tsp ground coriander or 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp sea salt 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper 5 tbls Kalamata olive oil Strained juice of 2 lemons for serving: Finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tbls dried rigani (Greek oregano) crumbled 1 tsp paprika Drain the beans and place in a large saucepan with cold water to cover. Bring slowly to a boil, drain, rinse. Rinse out the saucepan, return beans to pan, and add cold water to cover by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, recuce the heat, cover, and genly simmer for 50 minutes or until so0ft. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid and a few whole beans for garnish. Place the beans, garlic, coriander, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender container. With the machine running, gradually add 1/4 cup of the olive oil and most of the lemon juice. Add more salt and pepper and the remainign lemon juice if desired and process until smooth and creamy. For a thinner consistency gradually add some or all of the reserved liquid (if you plan to store the salata add all the reserved liquid---it will thicken on standing). Spread on a platter and sprinkle with the parsley, regani and reserved whole berans. Combine the parprika and remaining tbls olive oil and sprinkle over the salata. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two days.

When using agar as a dairy-free pudding base, 2 TBSPNS of agar, melted slowly over a small non-reactive saucepan containing a mixture of 1 8-10 oz. jar of all fruit sweetened organic jam and 2 jam jars of spring water over medium heat until completely dissolved, cooled, refrigerated, set. The mixture can be served chunky or blended until smooth. Health note: Naturopathic Physician, Peter D'Adamo in his book Live Right For Your Type recommends that people with non-secretor B blood subtype avoid agar. Naturopathic Doctors Joseph Pizzorno and Michael Murray write in their Textbook of Natural Medicine (p. 510) that Agar, kosher gelatin, Alginic acid, and carageenan are polysaccharide seaweed derivatives used extensively as thickening agents by the food and health and beauty industries. They point out that alginate, like other gel-forming fibers, has been shown to inhibit heavy metal intake in the gut. Unlike other plant polysaccharides, carageenan, (a common thickening ingredient in toothpaste, cottage cheese, milk chocolate, ice cream and even some non-dairy confections, cream soups and dairy-alternative rice and almond milks) adversely affects the intestinal mucosa. In rat studies, it induced ulcer formation in the cecum and increased risks of cancer and birth defects, among others. At page 1339, in a chapter entitled Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) Drs. Murray and Pizzorno note studies showing that carageenan can serve as a hospitable environment for the growth of Bacteriodes vulgatus, a bacterial strain found in much higher fecal concentrations in people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Until more is known, Drs. Pizzorno and Murray recommend strict avoidance of carrageenan for those looking to live well with IBS.