While I think that the "FAQ" as outlined by swanoir was presented tongue in cheek ('the humus'), many of the subsequent comments and/or links to threads that could/should be included in a FAQ were presented in a more serious tone. And maybe they do make sense as a foundation to a real LD forum FAQ. But I've also sensed something else in these comments that may contribute to the apparent lack of communication between new posters seeking advice and those that regularly frequent this forum and offer it. And that is that the long checklist provided by Miss R must be (or should be) answered in detail before posting. Well, of course not! But it is definitely something worth reviewing and giving some thought to. This checklist, or something very similar, is what most designers utilize when first meeting with a prospective client. It gives them a feeling for what the client wants to do with the property, how they intend to use it, what they hope to get out of it and how much effort (time/$$) are they are intending to put into it. Hopefully, reviewing an outline or checklist such as this could help to refine and focus some of those blank slate questions and even educate those new posters totally unfamiliar with the process the degree of complexity, the number of variables and exactly what is involved in the formulation of a landscape design. Even DIY landscape texts intended for the homeowner with no previous design or landscaping experience offer similar checklists to get one started thinking about the process. Obviously, this is overkill for those questions that are more issue-specific, but I think very appropriate for those that are much broader and far less focused.

My friend brought 4 bushels of wheat back from "Out West". The deal is I get 3 bushels free but I mill the fourth bushel for him. This is the first wheat I have milled with the second hand Retsel Mil-Master I had bought. It does an excellent job of milling the wheat. It comes out just as fine as store bought. The flour is slightly warm but not even close to being hot. It is really quiet too. I am making bread using half bread flour and half whole wheat. I want to make it with 100% whole wheat flour without adding vital glutton. Does anyone have a recipe like that for bread, pizza dough, pasta and others?

barb_roselover_in- How much tomato powder did you order? If it's a small amount (8-oz. or less), then store it in the refrigerator. It hardens because there are no fillers (ingredients) to keep it free-flowing. So any time you open it, get in and get out quickly. The moisture in the air can cause it to clump, or even harden. I tuck a few moisture absorbers (leftovers from bottles of supplements we take) in the top of the jar to absorb any moisture from opening the jar. Your frost-free refrigerator is a very dry environment, which is why it works to keep your powder dry, so to speak ;-). If the tomato powder gets hard, you can usually break it up with a spoon or grate it on a fine box grater or microplane back into a powder again. Just don't leave the lid off for any length of time. If you purchased a large amount, like a #10 can, place it in user-friendly amounts - pint or 1/2-pint canning jars - and vacuum-seal them shut with a FoodSaver using the jar attachment. Kept in a dry, dark and cool environment (vacuum-sealed) it has an indefinite shelf-life. I've suffered with arthritis since I was 14-years old, so you have my sympathy.... You may get some relief if you limit foods from nightshade plants, so you might want to research that. I decreased inflammation considerably by eliminating wheat. I have a flaker mill so I can make flakes from a large variety of soft grains - rye, spelt, einkorn, barley, wheat, kamut, quinoa, oat groats, triticale... Check Bob's Red Mill for a variety of flakes. Unfortunately, nothing tastes like oats. Many years ago a local mill made "heavy bran" from hard winter white wheat, which was made like oatmeal, and worked in recipes just like oatmeal - but that wonderful taste was sorely missing. I was part of a small group challenged to use heavy bran in recipes, but the product was too work-intensive to be put into production on a local basis - after I used 25# of it in experimental recipes. Heavy bran is generally used as the base product for making flaked cereals. You may have better luck if you soak your oats, rather than consuming them raw in granola. Or soak and dehydrate them first, if you want to use them in granola-type mixtures. Oats contain more phytates than almost any other grain. I generally soak and dehydrate nuts before I add them to granola so they are easier to digest and have more available nutrition. If you aren't familiar with soaking gains/nuts/seeds, check your library for a copy of "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon with Mary G. Enig, Ph.D., and you can find more information on-line. When it comes to chia seeds, I purchase them 5-pounds at a time and have used them for 7-8 years. They are my #1 health food. -Grainlady

My folks had hurricane shutters on their house in S. Fla. Some were motorized, others were hand-crank and a few others were raised and lowered by a belt (think public bathroom roller towels but much, much narrower). The hand-crank and belt shutters were only installed on small windows, otherwise they were too heavy to operate easily. My folks kept the shutters up the majority of the time but if we wanted to lower them - to block the sun coming in at a fierce angle late in the day - we did. And they were closed whenever my folks traveled and the house was empty or during several threatened hurricanes (which thankfully never became more than a threat). When they moved to OR, they installed hurricane shutters on all the windows and doors facing the backyard, not for hurricane purposes but for sun/heat control (because they block the sun's heat before it reaches the window, the house stayed cooler) and burglary deterrent. When my brother and I sold the house last year, the shutters were 20 years old and still working just fine, even though they had seen regular use. We had to replace the plastic box around one of the hand crank mechanisms but that was an easy fix. One of the belts was getting a bit frayed around the edges but it still worked and our realtor said it wasn't enough of an issue to replace for sale. I should add that for those 20 years, my folks traveled for several months each year so the shutters had the equivalent of about 15 years of use. But my folks didn't - and I wouldn't - rely on the shutters for daily shade and privacy control. They had window shades for that purpose. The shades between window panes would be ideal for your purposes, IMO. And yes, hurricane shutters are rather spendy but if you live in hurricane country, worth it IMO.