Glenda, I haven't used a Foley's Food Mill in years so I don't know that I can compare the performance of the two. And, come to think of it, I wonder what happened to my food mill? I had it when we moved here. Anyway.... I chose this particular tomato strainer because it was highly recommended over and over and over again by quite a few of the hard-core food processors at the Harvest Forum. I especially wanted it because of the set of extra screens, which if my memory is correct are for salsa (I've used that one and it is great), pumpkin/winter squash and berries. I used the salsa screen to make two different batches of salsa and both turned out perfectly. I then used the sauce screen to make plain tomato sauce which I then used to make pasta sauce for dinner. The sauce screen gives you perfect sauce with not one little piece of peel or seed or core. The sauce was just gorgeous to look at. I haven't tried the other two screens yet. Turning the hand crank was easy, the machine didn't leak, the suction cup adhered to the counnter, etc. When I get old and frail, LOL, I can buy the optional engine and use it instead of the handcrank. Or, if I should develop carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis or something that makes manual operation difficult, it is nice to know there is a little motor available to turn the handle for you. I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer and it is only about 5 years old and probably will last forever. So, for me, it is likely that the best grain mill option would be to get the Grain Mill accessory for the Kitchen Aid. As for the Food Saver, I remain undecided about that, but I really do want one and bet I go ahead and get one before next spring. We buy a lot of meat in bulk at Sam's and CostCo and repackage it, and I keep 3 freezers pretty full of home-grown veggies and fruits, so having the food saver to vacuum seal bags and cannisters would be quite useful. All the kitchen gear does add up to a lot of money over time, but I think I'll use them enough to make it worthwhile. For years I wanted these 'harvest helpers' and couldn't/wouldn't spend the money for them because we were putting our son through college. In a good year when it rains, I can put up enough veggies from the garden and fruit from the fruit trees to make a huge dent in a grocery bill. In a drought year, though, the harvest is not as heavy and I don't put up as much stuff. So, in a good year, I need all the equipment in order to put up as much of the harvest as possible as quickly as possible. I've gotten a lot more serious about raising more and more of our food supply the last few years. Homegrown is just so much tastier, and it is better for the environment because the food we're raising isn't having to travel to our home from grocery stores that get it from South America or even from California. Since reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I've tried to become more serious about eating locally-raised food--and not just locally raised, but home-grown as much as possible. I'd like to think that if I am serious and work a little harder on getting great yields, I could raise most of our food in future years and all those 'harvest helper' type kitchen gadgets will get a good workout. Dawn

Still looking. My daughter's inlaws have one of a forest scene where a deer or rabbit or something appears then disappears. This is honestly, more to my liking - just not a big H.Potter fan, I know that's heresy to some, but I'll pass it along to my daughter who is - it does sound cute. She'll ask but the inlaws probably don't know who put the aforementioned wildlife screen saver on their computer as they're not very computer savy, she said.

My cruise was around $3,500. but that included air fare, cancellation insurance, a window room and some fees. I received a Princess brochure today about panama canal trips as low as $1,199 for a 10 day trip. I don't think that includes the things I listed above, it may include the fees. If you live anywhere in Florida you would save the air fare. Here is a tip for those who cruise. When you travel on a Princess ship, they charge $10 a day to your CC for tipping. The first thing I did when I boarded was go to the Pursers office and tell them not to do that. I want to be in charge of my tips, I will not tip someone I don't see. That's a lot of money if you have a spouse.

Sorry I have been missing for a few days. My husband and I were away in Virginia looking for a new home. This is our second trip. Our first was to decide where to live and this one was to look at houses. This past weekend made us realize this is the right decision for us. The state is absolutely beautiful and we even found a great log cabin. We are going to wait and see if it stays on the market while we finish up getting our house ready to list. If we lose it, there will be more but we are excited now to go ahead and make the move. I do want to thank some friends for some Happy Birthday greetings I received. Much thanks to Erica for her cute note and the stickers, the beautiful card from Melissa, and the cute card from Ruth along with a birthday dollar. How thoughtful of all of you. Many thanks. Margo