Glo - Thanks for reassuring me! I hope your move is awesome! My husband has wanted to move us to Colorado for years and hasn't managed to quite convince me yet, although I think it's absolutely wonderful there. LOL So, Winter Solstice is the same everywhere? (LOL)... I guess you're seeing how little I know... Nancy - Thanks for the tip! I am gonna have to watch the lead hand myself as I way oversowed my cantaloupes this fall. The poor babies are fighting each other and giving me 2 to 5 inches fruits that don't look like they're EVER going to full ripen. I will be much more careful in the future. I'll try to not get TOO excited when I go to plant. LOL Carrie - Wow! That's some really good info. That's exactly the kind of thing I was worried about. I'm grateful for the heads up. Liz - LIZ!!! Hey, girl! Fancy meeting you here and there and now here! hee hee... The whole last paragraph of what you wrote is exactly what is concerning me. I know that I personally wear shorts through-out almost the whole winter except for those few crazy days that we see. 50's or what have you is not cold to me... We do get the occasional freeze, but then a week or two later at most you could have a 70+ degree high! All this in the same few days / weeks / months... it's SO crazy! Oh, and if they're having a plantswap around the 8th of December as well, I sure want to know as I'll be out that way. :-) Blessings, Angela

I do like the cider brined pork roast, but I never let it sit overnight, and I only use my own pork, the commercial stuff is nearly always already full of "flavor enhancers". I tried brining the turkey/chicken/pork etc. and just didn't care much for it and I seldom marinate beef either. I guess I just like the flavor of the meat itself, without adding anything. Plus brine just seems to add too much salt for my liking, I can taste the salt over everything else. Sorry about your pork loin, though, that type of experience is why I seldom buy prepared foods. I'm picky and I usually just don't like them. I don't think I've ever eaten any product at all from Smithfield, so maybe they just aren't good, as Beverly doesn't like their ham either. Annie

"Veering: I think Costco , SAMs, etc can be a quick trip to a fat farm, or a poor house," Yes, if you're an impulse shopper and/or haven't done your homework regarding what works and what doesn't in your family. Just like shopping anywhere, IMO. I love Costco even in a household of 1 person, but I know what I want and don't want, what I'll use and won't use, etc. I buy things that will store well and I will use up (things like dishwasher detergent, garbage bags, contact lens solution, body lotion, batteries, etc). Outsized packaging is something I figured out easily how to deal with back when I had a little kitchen with awkward shelves (2 kitchens ago), and I decant many things (from white vinegar to baking flour) into reusable jars. To each his/her own -- I'm more likely to be an impulse buyer at Home Depot than I am at Costco.

This may sound crazy but does anyone think it's possible to get a rash from a bamboo back cratcher? A little over a week ago I used my bamboo back cratcher to scratch my back. Usually I use it on the outside of my shirt, but this time I used it on my flesh. I'm sure I did this a couple of times, even 3 times in one day. The bamboo was sharp but it sorta felt good relieving the itch. Not thinking anything of it, my back began itching a lot daily. I thought I had dry skin, 5 days later I feel several booms all over my back but especially localized where I had consistently scratched it with the bamboo back scratcher. I thought they were possibly hives --though I've never had hives either. I seen my doctor just to verify if they were hives and she said no, but definitely a reaction to something, but I've not eaten anything different, nor changed soap, or been around anything that could cause it. As I was sitting here thinking about it, I realized that the bamboo back scratcher could possibly caused it. I googled it and came upon these postings. My rash looks like little red bumps. I've been applying Cortezone cream and it has helped. I just wondered if anyone has ever had this same experience with the bamboo back scratcher?