Alrighty. I did a little reading on the two ingredients. The laurel ether sulfate is a surfactant (foaming soap). Surfactants disrupt the ability of animal membranes to exchange gases-i.e. breathe. The fish apparently were exposed to a high enough dose to essentially suffocate them. The survivors could have some temporary membrane damage to the gills resulting in impaired "breathing". Make sure their water is highly aerated. I've heard that hydrogen peroxide changes to oxygen (and water) when added to water. Possibly that would add additional oxygen to the fishes' water but I don't personally know enough about it to advise about using it. Perhaps someone else will. The other listed ingredient-cocamidopropyl betaine-may cause some irritation with prolonged exposure. This ingredient may also have nitrosamines as a possible contaminant which does have a list of nasty long-term effects but probably not present in great enough concentration to worry about. (Nitrosamines is also the concern about eating too much hotdogs, sausage, etc.) To clean up the pond-I would use water to spray down the sides and bottom of the pond which would also loosen any dead algae and get rid of that water, but I don't believe scrubbing would add much additional benefit. Unless you've got a lot of dead algae, of course. Good luck-let us know how it all goes. Kathy

I'm a dissenter. This plan is NOT functional. You've got too much wasted space, and too much walking around. You can function better in a much smaller house if all the walkways are cut short. If I were you, I would find another plan and adjust it. -stairs going straight up are a pain for someone who doesn't like stairs. In your previous plans you had those nice split stairs with a landing in between( much better for going up). -why don't you find a plan where the garage is closer to the kitchen? Perhaps, in front of the kitchen?You have quite a walk from the garage to the kitchen. -The washer/dryer. Trust me, you don't want a long dryer vent. -Although pretty, corner FP is a beotch to decorate with furniture; it limits your options if you get tired of the same furniture placement, or if you want a sectional couch etc....That's what I have now and I would NEVER dot it again. -I would find a plan with a Great Room having some kind of a wall where the TV can be placed so that the people sitting in the GR are FACING the kitchen, too, so you can talk to your family while cooking. Plan with "options" to move your furniture around. Placing a TV on top of an FP is wonderful, but the warranty is null and void if it gets overheated from the FP. It may be too high if any of you ever have a neck injury. -I would put a PANTRY in the corner of the kitchen and squeeze in a closet into the room in the front, and move the door closer to the entry (if you go with this plan). Typically corners in the kitchen are kind of a waste, and corner counters are pricey because they take up a lot of space, so if you can place a pantry in a corner with a pretty door, it enhances your kitchen. I don't mean to sound harsh, but I find that many times people mean well and go along with you without pointing out the "obvious" problems. If you've read my previous posts, you know that I've had 5 homes built in my life...and found mistakes after the fact. The architects went along to get along ;) Take your time finding a plan close to your needs. Building a house depends your YOUR lifestyle and personality. I'm always in a hurry, I like things close at hand, and choose function over form.

Alisande, It's not too surprising that anyone should need an emergency heart bypass from the use of Cool Whip. The major fats used to make this horrible stuff are hydrogenated coconut and palm kernel oil. While natural unrefined coconut oil is actually a good fat, hydrogenation of this and other fats into hardened products like margarine and shortening creates trans-fats which are one of the major contributing factors for clogged arteries and heart disease. It should be no wonder why there is such a large problem with heart disease, since the use of these hydrogenated fats is so common in making the processed foods that are so popular in the marketplace. If people would become more educated about the existence and dangers of hydrogenated fat in food and started reading labels to check for the presence of these fats, and left products containing them on the shelf, the need for drugs to control cholesterol and heart bypass operations would no longer be so common Years ago, I used to eat a cereal called Kellogg's Cracklin Oat Bran. I remember that the label mentioned something about eating oat products like this could help lower cholesterol or some similar sounding health claim. Once I found out how bad hydrogenated fats were, I started reading labels, and discovered this cereal and many other food items that I was eating, had various amounts of these fats in them. Dotty's concern about full fat ice cream should be less of a concern if the ingredients do not list any hydrogenated oils. Many of the fancy flavor ice creams such as Rocky Road are made with ingredients containing this. One brand that I have found that has a variety of flavors without these oils is Ben and Jerry's. The same for chips. A lot of chips are fried in these oils, but you can find many that are not. Bacon does not contain hydrogenated fat, and if you use a good quality bacon and cook it to where it has most of the fat rendered from it, you shouldn't have much of a concern even about fat. A couple of good websites that discuss cholesterol, trans fats, and heart disease are located here: http://www.newtrendspublishing.com/SallyFallon/aboutSallyFallon.html http://www.mercola.com/forms/seminars/heart_disease.htm The reference to Sally Fallon is about a book that discusses dietary fats and nutrition. She was a speaker at a farm conference I attended this past winter. A lot of what she had to say only confirmed and added to, what I have learned over the last few years about how the health of people is being compromised by the changes that have taken place in the food industry over the past 50 years. The other website discusses cholesterol and heart disease, and discusses the hazards of trans fats, and why the USDA nutrition guidelines have contributed to an increase in heart disease. GG

Dang! Ain't it a b-i-t-c-h!!! I hate biopsies. They totally take the fun outta "maybe". They screw with your life's plans don't they. What you thot would be is suddenly air. The back of my mind is contemplating widowhood and I don't like it..not one bit. I sincerely hope you guys make it!!! HEY!!! A friend of ours survived prostrate cancer! Fifteen years later he's still driving his wife nuts!!!!!! Hang in there Bon :)