jptgs1, I've recently been in touch with the folks at Valvoline about their high mileage oil "Max-Life" 10w-30 synthetic blends, albeit for a different reason than yours. Paraphrased, here's what they said: "Max-Life synthetic blends are formulated for higher mileage (or higher hour) machines, and contain additives targeted at reducing further wear and at conditioning older seals to reduce or eliminate leaks. They also contain elements intended to eliminate sludge build-up". Responding to my specific question, they added that Max-Life products are perfectly fine for use in newer and low time equipment, and extend those benefits to them as well. Take this for what it's worth, for marketing spiel is part of the equation, too. Personally, I've been using Valvoline DuraBlend 10w-30 in several machines, and am quite pleased with its performance. The Max-Life products, I think, are relatively new to the market...I first saw them on shelves this past winter. Cordially offered, Hal

I bought this one several years ago at a consignment shop. I hated the finish on the frame, but knew I could fix that problem easily. Here it is Before. It was done in a weird Shabby Chic attempt with blue in the crevices, but the carved wood frame was a nice one: Like you, I had to first figure out what would compliment the picture and work in the room . . . although complimenting the picture should always come first. I thought that an Old World look would work best with this classic print. I painted the outside 3 borders a deep rich brown. This is just acrylic craft paint, BTW. I then used a Raw Umber wash over the outer two, allowing it to stay in the crevices of the second border's carvings. I knew that I wanted the inner frame edge to be gold, so I painted that and then used gold Run-N-Buff on the border next to it. This was a good segue to the gold inner border, IMO. I can't find the rest of my pics that I took as I painted and then antiqued the frame, but here's one of the last steps in my process. After this, I just antiqued the gold inner border with a brown antiquing wash and it was done. The bottom line is that you can use the small bottles of acrylic craft paint, glaze and antiquing medium to easily get what you want on pretty much any ratty or wrong colored frame. I had enough art already on our walls but, with our high ceilings, I wanted to hang something over the doors in our family room. I found the plates after that to hang on either side of it. They're not that orange IRL, but more of a soft amber color. The camera's flash bounces through the glass, off the cream wall behind them and always makes them look like that in pics! Lynn

Several years ago I made an emu salve. I know it was simple and just two or three ingredients but I lost the recipe. Recently I made a salve using emu oil, several other oils, emulsifying wax, etc and it is grainy and I don't like it. Can anyone tell me what I would have used to make the "perfect" one? it made a lovely smooth salve with a greenish hue.

From now on, I'm never throwing away any oil/grease that accumulates in my deep cast pan after I've baked pork. By the way, as I mentioned in original post, I baked Smithfield Boneless Netted Pork Shoulder Roast (http://www.smithfield.com/products/fresh-pork/boneless-pork-shoulder-roast/) and it was really tasty! Whole wheat pita bread and this pork makes for a great sandwich, especially if you heat the pita bread in a frying pan with a little olive oil. This is the pita bread that I always use: http://www.kontos.com/product/whole-wheat-pocket-less-pita/ Once again, thank you very much for getting back to me! God bless you two.