Oops, neglected to do an update for 2014. Did not take pics this year, figured it was not necessary as nothing has changed regarding the process. Dug horseradish roots and put up snow fence and road markers on Sunday, November 09, which turned out to be the last possible day before winter freeze-up. An early first snowstorm of the year happened the next day, Monday November 10. Spent that day doing snow removal and putting the last of the summer and fall stuff in storage. Processed the roots on Tuesday, November 11. Processed outside, temp was around 14 degrees. The cold was pretty hard on the fingers... This year I got 3 quarts of finished product, very tasty stuff. Total labor was 7 hours. Once again I traded half the harvest of horseradish roots to a local deer hunter for venison, he and his hunting buddies got around 3 quarts of finished product as well. I also sliced up a bunch of roots and dehydrated the pieces. I keep the dried slices whole in sealed jars and grind them into powder as needed - the flavor stays stronger that way versus grinding everything at once and putting the powder into jars. I gave all of my ground horseradish away for Christmas gifts save for a half pint that I kept for myself. Admittedly I like making it and giving it away more than eating it. My brother loves it and can burn through a pint of it in no time. I still like mixing some horseradish with Sweet Baby Ray's original BBQ sauce, using the mix as a dipping sauce or on grilled burgers. Nothing beats horseradish and plain mustard on a grilled brat, classic and still my favorite. Now I made myself hungry... Cheers, -Tom

I have a Dacor plumbed coffee system and it is wonderful. I think it is more attractive than the Miele or Fagor, and it has an automatic milk frother. You simply place a quart container of milk into the slide out compartment on the left insert the milk hose, and when you press the latte button you get frothed milk with your espress--no need to stand there holding a cup under a frothing stick. It also makes wonderful chocolate milk for the kids. In addition, it has a slide out compartment on the right that keeps cups warm and an instant hot water dispenser. They have a wonderful self-cleaning filtration system that comes with the unit also (or you can buy it without it). Lastly, it has an adjustable dispenser that fits taller cups and some mugs.They cost around $3500, but I see them on ebay frequently for under $2000. THe plumbed model I have is CM24P-1 with filtration & flushing system. Here is a link that might be useful: CM24P-1

As you all noticed, our floor is pretty bossy. I am hoping that a small piece of quarter round molding might finish the area without it looking like an ad hoc repair. I would love to keep the bead board paneling that I have. It echoes the back of the cabinet. I ordered the small tables. They are from Marshall’s, so if they look terrible, I’ll just bring them back. Easy peasy.

Education needs to be varied because it is impossible to predict what you are going to need as the years go by. Learning how to learn is the most important thing anyone will ever learn. An organized approach that builds on basics that you have to lay down though it be dull as ditch water is just part of getting educated. It is work. It is a child's job. I know it is not popular to speak of education as work vs fun and exciting or what ever and often hard and dull work at that. If you dont learn to multiply you wont learn algebra which is a language helpful for future ventures in math should you need to go there. Our university system which is broad based give you the option of changing your mind about what you always wanted to do with your life. Life is a long time. The British system is very focused to your chosen field. That can be good or bad. I did object to having to waste time on PE classes in college and having too many introductory classes but that was a function of where I went. You can hopefully choose to go elsewhere that meets your needs better. I am astonished you had to take calculus and Latin in high school. Calculus came after Trig and Latin was dying out in high schools and I know I am considerably older than you. I was not allowed to take drafting but a friend and I managed to make them let us take mechanical drawing. The teacher simply ignored us. We were taught nothing in the class and had to manage on our own.