I'm happy to be back in northern Michigan this morning, where the temps are nice and cool and I can get some much-needed outdoor chores done. It looks like most of you used to watch the same shows I did. Of course, it's not like we had a lot of different choices back then. Four channels was it for me on the best days. No one has specifically listed the shows yet so here they are, just in case there is any doubt in anyone's mind. 1. All In The Family 2. Gilligan's Island 3. The Dukes of Hazzard 4. Laverne and Shirley for Cynthia, Annette, Nancy, Greylady, and GGG. 'Fraid I'm clueless about Harlem Nocturne, Annette. Thanks for adding to the fun though. Thanks all, for playing trivia. TM

Glenda, I haven't used a Foley's Food Mill in years so I don't know that I can compare the performance of the two. And, come to think of it, I wonder what happened to my food mill? I had it when we moved here. Anyway.... I chose this particular tomato strainer because it was highly recommended over and over and over again by quite a few of the hard-core food processors at the Harvest Forum. I especially wanted it because of the set of extra screens, which if my memory is correct are for salsa (I've used that one and it is great), pumpkin/winter squash and berries. I used the salsa screen to make two different batches of salsa and both turned out perfectly. I then used the sauce screen to make plain tomato sauce which I then used to make pasta sauce for dinner. The sauce screen gives you perfect sauce with not one little piece of peel or seed or core. The sauce was just gorgeous to look at. I haven't tried the other two screens yet. Turning the hand crank was easy, the machine didn't leak, the suction cup adhered to the counnter, etc. When I get old and frail, LOL, I can buy the optional engine and use it instead of the handcrank. Or, if I should develop carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis or something that makes manual operation difficult, it is nice to know there is a little motor available to turn the handle for you. I do have a Kitchen Aid mixer and it is only about 5 years old and probably will last forever. So, for me, it is likely that the best grain mill option would be to get the Grain Mill accessory for the Kitchen Aid. As for the Food Saver, I remain undecided about that, but I really do want one and bet I go ahead and get one before next spring. We buy a lot of meat in bulk at Sam's and CostCo and repackage it, and I keep 3 freezers pretty full of home-grown veggies and fruits, so having the food saver to vacuum seal bags and cannisters would be quite useful. All the kitchen gear does add up to a lot of money over time, but I think I'll use them enough to make it worthwhile. For years I wanted these 'harvest helpers' and couldn't/wouldn't spend the money for them because we were putting our son through college. In a good year when it rains, I can put up enough veggies from the garden and fruit from the fruit trees to make a huge dent in a grocery bill. In a drought year, though, the harvest is not as heavy and I don't put up as much stuff. So, in a good year, I need all the equipment in order to put up as much of the harvest as possible as quickly as possible. I've gotten a lot more serious about raising more and more of our food supply the last few years. Homegrown is just so much tastier, and it is better for the environment because the food we're raising isn't having to travel to our home from grocery stores that get it from South America or even from California. Since reading "Animal Vegetable Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver, I've tried to become more serious about eating locally-raised food--and not just locally raised, but home-grown as much as possible. I'd like to think that if I am serious and work a little harder on getting great yields, I could raise most of our food in future years and all those 'harvest helper' type kitchen gadgets will get a good workout. Dawn

There is also: 'A Change will do you Good' by Sheryl Crowe 'Happy' by the Rolling Stones-love that Keith Richards sound. 'Glad Tidings' by Van Morrison - great bouncy tune guaranteed to cheer you up 'Glory Days' by Bruce Springsteen - to remind us not to live in the past 'I'm Lucky' by Joan Armatrading 'I Like It' and 'Truth Number Two' by the Dixie Chicks 'Raised on Robbery' by Joni Mitchell - another bouncy tune in the theme of Men Are Rotten (a thought which we all sometimes need to indulge in) 'Kick it Out' by Heart 'Addicted to Love' by Robert Palmer 'No More No More' by Aerosmith 'Train in Vain' by the Clash 'Don't Bring me Down' by Electric Light Orchestra 'You're Breaking my Heart' by Harry Nilsson (best break up lyrics EVER!) I have all those on my iPod playlist. And FWIW, if the budget allows I would recommend treating yourself to an iPod if you don't have one already. You can set up tons of playlists and keep so much music. And it's portable, so you can have some cheering up sounds with you at all times! Good luck and stay strong, Ann

Susan- is that the first time they came down your street? If so, no wonder you were alarmed. That's one of my favorite Christmas traditions - our Santa comes down the street on the fire engine on Christmas Eve. You know they're getting close when you can hear the sirens and all the neighbors come out onto the sidewalk and wave to Santa. If there's a group of kids Santa will get off the truck and hand them candy canes. One year they gave out little stuffed animals - my kids were young then and still talk about that. One year my girlfriend's son was a volunteer firefighter and he told her that if it's really cold or rainy that Santa is usually a little drunk by the time he gets back to the station.