Greetings again, phoggie/Mary. In my earlier post I appeared to be unaware of some info that you appeared to have posted a couple of hours earlier, so much of what I said was not useful. If you want to take a good portion of the things from your current home to furnish the one where you will live in future, I have a suggestion that might be relevant. Son's sister/my daughter moved from near Toronto, on the north side of Lake Ontario, to Phoenix a few years ago, and son and I were discussing yesterday the cost of moving her goods: I'd thought that it was something over a dollar a pound, and he said he thought closer to a dollar and a half ... ... so I suggested that we should have bought her an old school bus, then we could have packed it for her, she could have driven it down there, and sold it after getting her things moved into her new place. Or, if the rules governing licensing required really different criteria, buying one there and driving it up, loading it and driving it back. Perhaps you might be interested in buying an old school bus, packing your goods into it and driving it to Burlington. Then check with (former)/friends to try to find some farm or rural person nearby who'd rent you some space at nominal fee to park it for a time, until you have found a place to live on a permanent basis. When one considers the monthly/quarterly cost of renting a storage space (or annual - and which period does one choose, up-front?), using the school bus idea might not be such a bad idea. There'd be an additional benefit of handling all of the stuff twice instead of four times: saved effort (says a guy with a streak of laziness) and less possibility of damage/breakage. I'd thought of suggesting that, should the contract for sale of your current house fall through, that it might be a good idea to do some checking as to whether that arrangement had been satisfactory. But when I heard that your former husband's son was in a related business, I was fairly sure that he'd have been aware enough of the local housing market to have ensured that you weren't being taken. With regard to the lady who has the house that she's talking of sharing ... how about finding a reason, whether real or imagined/manufactured, to visit there for a few days, or, probably better, a week or so, so that you could stay at her place and get an idea of her lfestyle, including an idea, even if vague, of the financial end, and whether you might feel comfortable with it. ole joyfuelled ... who doesn't have to buy gas for a school bus P.s. I've been saying for some time that it makes sense for several singles, especially senior ones, to live together. Advantages: -intellectual stimulation helps keep Alzheimer's at bay, -shared chores would enable one to continue to live independently longer, -each person would eat better than tea and toast for some meals if living alone, -increased safety: if someone has immediate trauma, as long as one can call, there's someone there to help, plus -they could triage: decide whether we can handle this situation in-house; or we call this person's caregiver to handle the situation; or call 9-1-1- ... right now!, -there's be a major cost saving over buying a smaller home/condo, renting one's own apt., etc. ... and a major one over entering a residential home and certainly over a nursing home. That cost saving would enable them to afford to have someone come in to take care of much of the cleaning and housekeeping. o j ... who lives alone

so glad the kids are stepping up! make sure you tag the stuff the buyers want...think of the time with your friend as a "re-nesting" time... be sure to discuss some sort of living plan...for instance mom thought she was doing a pal a favor by doing laundry together, but her pal had a certain way of doing things and it was a sort of a big deal...actually it was for the best as they would have had a difficult time if she'd moved in full time... mother ended up buying a mobile home from a family friend...not a bad thing in hot and dry las vegas! she really loved it and had house guests often (it was 2 br double wide) it was the first house she'd ever had...we were apt dwellers while i was growing up... remember the old addage..one day at a time...it really works!

Hey Patti and jasdip, thanks. It is not the OK air, LOL. I stay very active I guess, I'm a lucky one, I've never had a weight problem. If I had fatter cheecks it would be nice, maybe my wrinkles would fill in. Hehe

I've been making this one for brunches for many years. found the recipe in Southern Living Magazine. I always have requests for the recipe. 1 (6-ounce) package long-grain and wild rice mix 1 pound ground pork sausage 1 pound ground beef 1 large onion, chopped 1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh mushrooms (or use jarred or canned, if using don't cook along with onions) 1 (8-ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 (2.25-ounce) package sliced natural almonds (1/2 cup) Preparation Cook rice mix according to package directions. Cook sausage and ground beef in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Cook onion and mushrooms in same skillet over medium heat 7 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Combine rice, sausage and beef, onion and mushrooms, water chestnuts, parsley, and soy sauce; stir well. Spoon mixture into an ungreased 13" x 9" baking dish. Cover and chill casserole overnight. Remove from refrigerator, and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds. Bake, uncovered, at 350� for 40 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Note: You don't have to refrigerate the casserole overnight. Just spoon it into the baking dish and bake, uncovered, at 350� for 20 minutes or until heated.