The worst winter that I experienced was 1978-79. It snowed heavily the night before Thanksgiving and the ground was not clear until sometime in late March. We had several major storms that dumped heavy accumulations of snow and dealing with the snow became the major issue of the winter. I was a brand-new homeowner that year; the proud owner of a three story townhome in a development named "Bright Oaks". We bought an existing unit that had been built when the developer still had a conscience, so the buildings had been carefully positioned to preserve many of the large old oaks. As a result, our building had been slanted in relation to the street. Our neighbor in the far north end of the building could barely fit his enormous Cadillac in his driveway, but at the other end of the building we could park three full size cars end to end in our driveway. The south side of our driveway was a small hill with a lovely ancient oak atop it. The other side of the driveway was a narrow strip of lawn that we shared with our immediate neighbor. By the end of January, shoveling the driveway meant scooping up a shovel full of snow, walking the length of the driveway and then going down the street about 30 feet to a clear spot on the hillside, clear meaning that the snow wasn't already piled higher than your head. Then walk back to get the next scoop of snow. It was just a bit time-consuming! In mid-January I had to take the train to downtown Chicago on a Saturday morning for work. When I left home it had started snowing again, and the train station lot had not been plowed. I park legally on the street and headed downtown. By shortly after noon, it became obvious that the storm was so bad I should head home, so I left for the train station. A combination of heavy snow and bitter cold had disrupted even the commuter trains. The schedule was out the window and they were running on a "load and go" basis. Maybe that should read "load and stall"? What should have been a 90 minute trip took about four hours. Switches were freezing, the diesel engine would not run at full speed, and crossing gates acted up everywhere. As the trip took longer and longer and the snow got deeper and deeper, I began to wonder how I would ever get my car off the street, or more simply how I would get home at all. When the train finally pulled into my station, I was surprised to see my husband and our neighbor, the owner of the enormous Cadillac, come walking out of the trackside tavern. My husband had decided to come help me get the car out, but the neighbor saw him leaving and offered to drive instead, since the big old boat handled better in the heavy snow. (Note to younger readers: this occurred in a time before the existence of cell phones and SUV's. We did have electricity, though.) The two waited out the storm in the tavern until they heard the train come in. They had heard enough about the travel problems that day to know that I would be on THE train. I don't think I was ever so happy to see two people in my life! It took several hours the next day to excavate the car from its white tomb on Main Street, but we got the job done. Finally we came to the long-awaited day in early March when it was warm enough to melt a significant amount of snow. I came home to find the ceiling of my first floor entryway on the floor. An awful lot of homeowners learned all about ice dams that spring, as the damage became all too apparent in the thaw. We ended up with a new ceiling and a full paint job on two floors to repair the damage. Fortunately, our homeowners' insurance covered the damage. We've had colder weather, strong winds, heavy rains, you name it, but I still rate that winter as my worst weather experience ever. V.

GET READY WITH A PUTTY KNIFE OR FOOD SCRAPER, A TOWEL, AND A PAIR OF HEAT-RESISTANT POTHOLDER GLOVES (MINE ARE LONG & MADE OF SILICONE WITH THICK LINERS). IF PLASTIC MELTED ON THE RACKS, LEAVE THEM IN THE OVEN. TURN OVEN TO 250 DEGREES (WHEN PLASTIC IS HEATED, IT MELTS AND BECOMES SOFT AND PLIABLE). TURN OVEN OFF. PUT ON YOUR POTHOLDERS AND OPEN THE DOOR AND IMMEDIATELY PULL ONE RACK OUT. THE PLASTIC SHOULD SCRAPE EASILY. GET AN OLD TOWEL SO YOU CAN WORK ON THE RACKS IN FRONT OF THE OPEN DOOR TO PROLONG THE HEAT. DO THE SAME TO THE OTHER RACK. WORK FAST SO MELTED PLASTIC ON THE RACK AND AT THE BOTTOM OF OVEN REMAIN HOT; IF THEY COOL DOWN, PLASTIC WILL BE HARD AGAIN. IF THIS HAPPENS, TURN OVEN ON BROIL FOR 1-2 MINUTES TO SOFTEN PLASTIC AGAIN. TO GET RID OF THE PLASTIC SMELL, SPREAD BAKING SODA ALL OVER BOTTOM OF THE OVEN THEN SPRAY WITH WHITE VINEGAR. LEAVE OVERNIGHT AND WIPE OFF THE NEXT MORNING. ANOTHER WAY IS TO BOIL 2 CUPS OF WATER IN A SMALL POT THEN ADD 2 TABLESPOONS VANILLA EXTRACT. LEAVE POT IN THE OVEN OVERNIGHT. EITHER WAY, PUT RACKS BACK IN OVERNIGHT TOO. I HOPE THESE HELP!

Filtering water removes chlorine pretty much. The cleanest water is distilling. This news is not new, health nuts have been warning all who will listen to avoid tap water as not all is known of what's in it. We get a report of what's in our city water and there already is a list of long worded chemicals, usually in low parts per million. But, when fish and frogs are being born with extra limbs and male and female organs, etc. if I were of child bearing age, I would think twice about what's in my water. But, there are certainly a lot of things we cannot avoid and better not to live in fear, just do the best you can. How many people die or are maimed in auto accidents per year and yet no one really worries about that.

Good Morning Bright! and thanks for the wonderful compliments! I'm sorry, I haven't been reading my mail, and my mail box is full, so I didn't get it. But, I print images out on cardstock, or plain old white paper, sometimes tracing paper, it looks so unique like that, wings especially. Yes, the ink will smear, I don't know how to make better quality prints. Oh, sometimes I print on photo paper,too,and vellum because I bought a stack at a yard sale for a dime. but I try to get the mod podge on it quickly with as few strokes as possible. Once you get the first coat on it's not bad. I set my printer to plain paper. If I cover it in mod podge I add glitter last otherwise it dulls it...