Jessy was the first CF member I met; she brought her charming boys with her to Tampa. At the time I didn't know CF get-together etiquette so it was just quick lunch.

Cathy, we were among the first to 'meet' outside of the LA Group, so there WAS no 'get-together' etiquette. We were groundbreakers!

Hey y'all! That's the traditional Southern greeting around here. I'm Pat, from Panama City, FL (one of a handful of natives left!). I'm 48, divorced, have a 9-year-old daughter, and we live with my almost 88-year-old Mom. After working as a defense contractor for the Navy for 20 years, I lost my job and floundered a bit before deciding to go to school. So I picked Culinary school, as I've always loved to cook. I graduated in 2009. And I'm STILL not working as a Chef anywhere!

I work in Marketing for a Padlock/Equipment Key distributor here in NW Florida.

My great love is baking, but I like to dabble in canning too. Lots of GREAT help here for anything you like to do that involves cooking!

And, yes, it was a cold-a$$ winter in Florida last year, wasn't it? Where in Florida do you visit?

Hello Karen and welcome. My name is Jackie and I live in Southeast Florida. I am married and work as a nurse. I have a daughter who is also a nurse and getting married in April 2011 and a son, daughter-in-law and beautiful granddaughter who live in MD. I am more of a lurker than a poster but love every minute that I am on here and am always learning something new from these wonderful people. Enjoy!

Welcome Karen! I am Peppi and I live on the northwest side of Chicago. I have a feeling that I have driven past your house several times on my way to Sheshebops and Annies, so I may have to stop by you the next time for a meet.

I am single and have my "aging" father with me plus a cute foo-foo dog (Maltese/Lhasa mix), a very shy cat, 15 koi and over 50 goldfish in the pond. My love for gardening, both flowers and veggies, led me here. My lot is very large for Chicago and 15 toms gave me more than I could eat or even give away so I learned to can here and at the harvest forum.

I think I beat you in watering pots. I just counted and I have 24. No wonder it takes an hour! Pot farmer, yup, thats me! Thank g*d, the lotus and waterlillies are self water.....

Stick around, you will make some good and true freinds here. I know, they have camped and cooked at my house and I at theirs. They helped my heal after my Mom died and have been there for me when I was ill.

So welcome and I hope to meet you soon.

Peppi

Hi, I'm Stef (the second "f" represents my last name) and I live in San Antonio. We have awesome food here and I love to cook. I found this forum recently through plllog who referenced it a post on the kitchen forum. I haven't posted a lot, but do plan to check in more frequently.

Hey Karen, welcome to the forum! I'm Bri (if you couldn't already guess). I live with my husband and two furry kids in Oregon. I'm an engineer, but I often think I should ditch it all and go cook/bake for a living. :)

I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time here in the CF, this is a lovely group of people!

Oh yes, it's been a long time since the last "roll call" thread, but it is definitely overdue, as I have noticed a lot of new names lately!

First off, let me say WELCOME! To you and all the others I am "meeting" here for the first time!

I am Linda and live in MN about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities, and only about 14 miles from the WI border. My husband Tim and I built a log home on 20 acres of maple treed woods about 8 years ago. Our German Shepherd and our Golden/Cocker mix have been gracious enough to allow us to live here with them!

Right now I am looking for a real job. I work part time at 3 administrative jobs in the medical field. I have been a travel agent for 16 years, but noww with internet travel booking sites business has dwindled down to almost nothing. Ahh...it was a good gig while it lasted.

I love to cook, I also garden (mostly perennials and daylilies), do stained glass and make jewelry.

I have met a number of CF members, but look forward to meeting many more!

Linda

I am Glenda. I live on a farm in southwest Missouri. We have two grown children and 4 grandchildren. I guess you could say we are retired but still have beef cattle and chickens. I have a milk cow. I love to garden and all that goes with it, meaning making jams and jellies, and canning and freezing all that good garden stuff. I am just a country cook, mostly southern type foods, nothing to compare with some of the elegant foods shown here.

Baking is my delight. I cook from 'scratch' and try not to use boxed mixes of any kind. I guess you could say I am a real food devotee.

I am not a regular on the forum, but enjoy it very much and have received some very good tips and advice here. They are a great bunch of cooks. I have some recipes from a few members that have now become staples in my cooking repertoire.

I am sure you will enjoy the Forum as I have.

Welcome, Karen. We're also in FL from time to time since we've had a house near Vero Beach for 30+ years.

I'm Ruth and live with my DH Nelson and cat in a small house in a small village in eastern PA. We're both retired and finally making the adjustment from cooking ahead on the weekends for the work week to cooking smaller meals on a daily basis. I am passionate about using fresh ingredients and do most of my shopping at farmers' markets, ethnic markets, local bakeries and dairy stores, etc. A few years ago, we started a neighborhood co-op for sharing talents, garden bounty, etc. and I'm active in that and lots of other community activities.

Two daughters, a son-in-law and a married GD round out our family. All are skilled cooks. One DD bakes for three
different caterers in FL. The other's cooking is on hold while she's in the U.S. Army as an Airborne combat medic.

I've been here for about nine or ten years and never fail to get questions answered or ideas and inspiration to keep our menu interesting.

Hi everyone, and Karen. I'm Sally, and I live in a suburb of Dallas with my Dh of 33 years, my DS, DIL and dear grandson, not to mention 8 cats, all rescues (just the cats!). I haven't had as much time on the computer lately, so I don't post as often, but when I do get on the computer this is the first place I come to. Aside from the family keeping me busy lately, we bought our "retirement home" a little over a year ago. It's up in northeastern Oklahoma, just outside of Tahlequah. It's a 100 year old fixer upper, so we spend as many weekends as we can up there.

Baking is my first love, but I love to cook other things, too, except for meat. I'm vegetarian, but I do eat dairy and free range eggs I get from a local farmer. There's so much that can be done with other foods besides meat, and I've learned most of it from the wonderful people on this forum.

Glad you've started this thread!

Sally

Hi Karen! Welcome to the CF.

My name is Tricia and I live in Mystic, CT with my DH (Don) of 27 years. We have 3 grown children and they've give us 4 grandchildren with 2 more due this fall.

Don lost his job last summer when he requested some time off to care for me after a spinal injury followed almost immediately by a small stroke that left me hospitalized and unable to move. He applied under the Family Leave Act but was denied and fired instead. We learned there is some important "fine print" in that Act and not every employee has to be considered equally. We made the decision to retire early rather than hassle with relocation and leaving an area we love. It was a good decision and we're enjoying retirement. I'm slowly recovering.

We are boaters & love cruising the eastern seaboard from the Canadian maritimes to the Florida Keys & islands. Together, we are also both avid gardeners and love/collect antiques. This year, we're trying a pot ghetto of edibles. We picked the wrong year to start! We had a 500+ year flood Easter weekend and it's been ridiculously dry and hot every since. I also love playing piano, drawing/painting, genealogy, and I'm fairly constantly working my way through one history course or another through The Learning Company.

I much prefer baking but am always checking the CF for recipes/ideas that I can either use or convert to using on the boat. We mostly cook from a food storage program although I take advantage of our abundant local seafood and, in season, farmer's markets. Since retirement, Don is learning to cook. I don't know who's more surprised but he's enjoying his kitchen time and has proved to be a quick learner.

I started here on the New England Gardening Forum and migrated to the CF several years ago. In addition to the inspiring food you'll find lots of very nice people.

Again, welcome!

Tricia

I am in NW CT. in a very quiet, small community. After retirement we moved here to restore/renovate our 1870 place.
We used to grow all of our veggies and herbs as well as raised chickens, turkeys, pheasants & pigs.
Presently we are trying to get the outside back in order so we can have a veggie garden again. I am planning an attempt at a flower garden too.
I am always in awe at the kindness and generosity shown on this forum. I have gotten some wonderful tips and recipes on this forum.

Red here, just started to post but, have been a lurker since Spike days. Married 45 years, started cooking at age 12 for parents that worked. Have two grown boys and six granddaughters aged 20 to 4 months. I still have to work but, looking forward to retirement. I live in central Florida (the mouse house) I thrive in the heat and freeze at the thought of cold weather!
I will probably have very little to add, as I and DH like plain old fashioned cooking, but have learned a lot from the posters on this forum, and hope to continue to do so, wether I post or not.

Red

Beth here in Ogden, Utah. I moved here when I retired to take advantage of the great skiing, golf, and other outdoor activities. In addition to the outdoors, I love to garden and entertain. Cooking for company is something I truly enjoy doing. It's so much fun to plan the meal, think about the various flavors and then select the wines I will serve with the meal. Food and wine pairing is high on my hobby list.

This is a wonderful forum, and people are so helpful and knowledgable. I've gathered so many excellent recipes from the generosity of the people who frequent this forum. For me, it all began last summer when I was hunting for a good recipe for Paella.

Welcome!

Hi Karen!

I'm the forum two-fer-one special. I'm transgendered and let my personality split in two for psychological comfort. You will see me post as Michael or Lyra depending on who is running the show that day. We are owned by 7 cats... Annie, Jessy, Yoko, Luna Looski, Star Trek, Chrissy, and Favorite. They have allowed me to have a dog named Dolly. Being nuts I've never been married or had children and lived alone for the last ten years. Some years ago I had a herd of working rabbits (meat) so I go by bunnyman. These days a nameless rescue rabbit works hard to make fertilizer for the garden... anyone want to adopt a very friendly Mini-Rex?

Currently Michael works in the auto industry leading some of my employer's profitable product lines. In the past he has sold insurance, cleaned buildings, worked various construction jobs, taught some college classes, worked for a large law firm, cooked for a truck stop and A&W, clerked in a hardware store, planted a tree farm by hand, and successfully traded securities. This is Michigan so what work to be had is my job of the day... most of his life at least two jobs at once.

Lyra does the cleaning, laundry, and gardening. My protective personality and the one going ballistic over worker safety issues as chronicled for stress relief purposes on the conversations side of this forum. I'm "out" at work so I can wear long hair, make-up, or whatever I wish so long as I have work boots on.

We all live in a rural area of the Thumb on a christmas tree farm.

michael... last time I posted a password protected picture of a fully clothed Lyra it caused a GW riot and Spike had to save me...
{{gwi:1531007}}

This is my very dear sweet and sadly departed Tuna. Tuna was a forum regular for years. She taught me not to salt the steak or boil the shrimp. Hard for me to run accross her picture without crying a bit. For years dinner was whatever Tuna wanted... often steak. She was born at the local prison and sent to the animal shelter for disposal so I always tried to make up for her rough start in life.
{{gwi:1531009}}

Dolly on her couch.
{{gwi:1531011}}

Yoko in the manager's chair, Jessy the tabbie, Annie the calico, and Luna Looski the short hair.
{{gwi:1531013}}

My front yard...

A forum get-together where we made food and took pictures of it.
{{gwi:1531015}}

I am Sue and live with my DH and DD and DS in an old house in MD. We have two golden retrievers Cooper and Bailey. A week ago My DD became part owner of a 3yr old black Lab, Tucker that spends some time here with us. Our pack is growing- all three of them are sporting bandanas and hanging around my feet. I am the membership director for an association and my DH is a project manager for a systems integrator. Our DD graduated with honors from college this spring and is job hunting. Our DS works with a couple of locally based internationally known indie bands writing poetry, lyrics and as art director on a recently released DVD- all unpaid at this point but he is hoping to make a living at it someday.
I posted a bit a couple of years ago and then due to health issues fell mostly into lurkdom and entertaining myself by reading and vicariously tasting the wonderful recipes on the CF. I hope to try a few more of them- I have cut and pasted quite a few.

Hi Karen! Welcome to the forum! I'm Sands, Mom of two boys 15 and 10, wife, ex-electrical engineer. My DH will be passing through your neck of woods on the way to Osh Kosh for the air show later this month, he's also an EE, longtime pilot and multiengine instructor. I love cooking global food when my time and resources allow and I have cookbooks from bermuda to greece to thailand.

I'm just north of Princeton NJ - a very blended part of the NE and I love shopping at the Great Wall, an enormous East Asian supermarket, even though my family and I are the quintessential Sesame Street "one of these things is not like the other" group with our light hair and eyes lol.

There are alot of really nice people here (many have responded already) and a wealth of information. I've learned alot and I wish I had more time to hang out here but I do still work part time and the baseball schedule kicks my *ss until at least August - then I pass out...and resurface after Christmas :)

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the forum Karen! You will love this place! My name is Karen and I live in Southwest Louisiana with my DH. We have 3 children and two grandchildren. The kids are grown and 2 of them live away but oldest DD, SIL and GC live 15 minutes away from us. Whew! It's a good thing because I can't keep my hands off those grands. Maggie is 3, almost 4, and Max is 6 weeks old.

Sometimes I have a garden and sometimes I don't. I always have a fresh herb garden out by the carport. Makes food taste so much better! A couple of years ago we decided to hire a gardener to keep up the major landscaping we have here. Waaay to much work for us to do.

I have met over 23 CF members and all have been a joy to meet. I miss them as much as I miss family that live away from me. It still amazes me at the inspiration I get by visiting the CF. Been on the GW for a long time. I joined back in the day when you had to pay to be a member. Spike was a blessing but I was scared of him! LOL! The Disney ride to the teacups kept everyone on their toes! I'm not around as much as I used to be but I try to read a least once a week.

About a year ago I started eating more fresh foods and vegetables. Most nights it's salad or veggies with a side of fish or shrimp. I've lost 22 lbs. in one year just by watching portions and eating high quality fresh foods. 10 lbs. to go!

You will enjoy this crowd for sure.

WELCOME!

My name is Susie and though I'm not all that old I've been here long enough to be a old timer!

I recently moved out of Philadelphia to a beautiful county in South Jersey along the banks of the Deleware River. Its such a lovely departure from the hussle and bussle of a busy city to this quiet lifestyle but I think it suits me here!!

I am married to the sweetest guy in the word and we have 2 children. Amy is 21 and in her last year at college studying marketing and business. Andrew is 17 and in his last year of high school-he has plans to go to community college and then persue culinary school. He was diagnose with Epilepsy at age 10.

I work part time as a customer service specialist at a major grocery chain back in Philadelphia. The commute is not all that bad but I have my "feelers" out looking to maybe transfer soon.

All of my free time is spent on my home projects-this week for instance we are laying tile in a small porch we like to call "the Lanai"...it just never ends LOL!!

My mother (who recently passed) did not much care for cooking and so our meals growing up were mostly our of a can, jar or freezer pack. It was a gift though because all of us kids have turned out to be great cooks and we enjoy getting together and messin up someones kitchen whenever possible!!

Hope you stick around for a LONG time here...its the best group online!!

Cheers!
Susie

Congrats Karen!!! Way to go...I've been doing similar things and lost a few myself..

I'm Terri ....mom to 3 boys 18, 13 and 10..I too garden...My garden is getting bigger by the weeks...I am a part time school district employee now for just over a year...I was a SAHM for 12 years. So I have the summer off...

I've been slowly changing our families food intake and quality of foods over the last year or so...and those changes are making good differences..

I live on an Island in the Puget Sound...Here's a shot I took lastnight around 8pm.

Hi Karen,
Welcome! I am Jo. I'm from a small town in upstate NY in an area known as the fingerlakes. I'm a mom to 4 kids ranging in age from 9-19. I work as a realtor and spend loads of time on lacrosse fields and hockey rinks (sadly, usually in the same season.) I love to cook, and especially bake.
You have received a wonderful welcome from everyone here. That doesn't surprise me in the least. This is a great group!
Jo

Hi Karen,

I'm Jude, Judie (either is fine). I live in Knoxville, Tn near the Great Smoky Mountains.

I'm 79, married to Bob for 50 years. We have 1 son and 3 daughters, 1 grandson and 3 grandaughters. Also 2 GGD and a GGS on the way. DH and I are both retired, he was a remodeling contractor and I was a folk artist and former gift shop owner.

I stumbled on the Harvest Forum about 3 years ago and gravitated to the CF a little later. From the HF I gained enough confidence to start canning again after 20 years absence. I am in awe of the talent here and the willingness to help, again and again.

I haven't met any of the members but would love to. I find myself referring to the people here as "my friend in Michigan, or Florida or Chicago" etc.. Almost had an opportunity to meet Teresa from NC but the timing was off, maybe another time.

You won't find a more caring, helpful group than the members of this forum and we make you kindly welcome.

jude

Karen Welcome! This is a friendly bunch, as you're already finding out. My goal is meet more CF members this year, but as it's half over, I'd better hurry up! (I only wish there were more of you in the Kansas City area.) So far I've only met two in real life, although I have had some near misses. I'm planning on meeting a few more this year, which I'm looking forward to.

I'd love to live on a lake, but since we don't my dh built a small/big pond in our garden about 12 years ago. It's now quite overgrown with lovely privacy, and one of my favorite places to hang out. I used to garden a lot but have had some ongoing health issues; not doing too much of that these days. I'm hoping that will change this year!

We look forward to ''cooking'' with you!

Can't believe I left out such an important part. I love to travel!!! A garden group that I belong to has made quite a few fairly long trips, including one to Italy a couple of years ago. DH says ny "go button" stays on all the time. He doesn't like to travel, but doesn't mind if I do.

jude

Hey there Karen and welcome to the forum. The same goes to all the others who have joined in this year.

David here, I live in a burb north of the Tulsa metro area. Found my way here years ago from the laundry forum while checking out info for a new washer and a dryer. I remember Spike and the tea cups and kind of miss the old fart.

Used to live in an old cabin on the lake..hence the name lakeguy. Sold my property and moved back to the city a couple of years ago. Still have my boat and get my lake time in when time allows. Single here but have a large family and group of friends that love to get together for good food and drink. Baking and grillin'/smokin' are my faves but I've tried/made many recipes share here throughout the years. Many have become family faves and have forum members names attached to them. This group and a camp got me into canning years ago. Something I never thought I would do but I love it and the final product.

Love this place and still think it's the best place on the net! I've met many members over the years and hope to see them again along with meeting many that I've not had the chance to yet. This is a great group of people that's for sure.

Look forward to hearing from you and others in the future.

David

Nice to see so many members new and old posting to this thread.

Ann

Hello Karen and All...
Murphy here and can't remember how long I have been "a lurking sometime poster" of this forum, however everyone is great and I can't tell you how much I enjoy this forum.
A bit about me...I live in upstate SC, retired, live next door to my aging mom, have 3 children one each in CA, NM, and GA. I used to garden but decided that just for me it was way too much work lol and I now go to the market weekly to get fresh veggies and fruits. I do still grow tomatoes...would be unconstitutional for a southern lady NOT to grow tomatoes! I sew and quilt and decided that quilting is ever so much more fun than gardening. I do just enough to make my place look lived in and since I also do yard work for my mom have to keep the gardens a manageable size for an almost old lady. :)
Can not express how much I have enjoyed the recipes so generously shared here. I love to try new recipes and the ones shared have all been wonderful.
Thanks to everyone for making newbies and lurkers feel welcome when we jump right in.
Murphy
PS It is wonderful to see where everyone lives and learn a bit about you. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Karen..welcome to the forum!
I'm another Sharon and go by SharonCb, the Cb which stands for Canarybird, my web name since we are two Sharons here.
I've been on the Cooking Forum for about ten years, after I wandered over from the Rose Forum.

I was born and raised on Vancouver Island, B.C. but moved to Spain in the late 1960s, living first on the island of Mallorca in the Balearic Islands where I taught classical guitar and then moving to Tenerife in the Canary Islands (Spain). I have two married daughters, and 4 grandchildren, all living in Canada.

I met and married my second husband who is German here in Tenerife where we live in a little house with a garden and a few cats. We're both retired. My hobbies are gardening, photography and when I have time...cooking. I'm just getting ready for a visit from my sister who has never been here, so has never seen this beautiful island nor our home.
It's customary when you have guests here in this climate to go out up and down the island to as many tapas bars and restaurants as you can, rather than staying in the house cooking.
We will try to do our best. :-)

I'm endeavouring to keep up three blogs, none of which is about cooking.

SharonCb

Hello,

My name is Aprile. I live in the SE part of Ma and I am 38 years old. I am married to a wonderful man and have one son who is now grown up. I work part time in the office of a local Yacht Club so I have a wonderful view of the ocean from my office window.

I was born and raised in FL and grew up on Southern style cooking. Since moving to New England and I am trying to learn all I can about cooking new local favorites. The area I am in now has a big Portugese influence and the food is wonderful. So my goal this year is to learn to cook a lot of new things.

In the past year I have had 2 heart attacks and 2 heart surgeries. Unlike most people who have heart attacks and problems, I have no blockages or high Cholesterol. I have electrical issues that cause my heart problems. I have low Cholesterol and very low blood pressure. I am being encouraged to eat more salt. Infact I am told to eat something very salty first thing in the morning and also before I go to bed to keep my pressure up at night. This is a challenge for me as I also eat low carb so a bag of chips or some crackers are out for me. When I tell people I am on a high sodium diet they look at me kinda sideways lol.

We love to go boating and fishing. We have 3 boats. We often go fishing in the local lakes or take the big boat out to the Cape or Martha's Vineyard for a day of cruising.

My family also owns a summer house in Michiana on the border Michigan and Indiana. I love to go out there when I can and hang out on the lake and take day trips to shop in Chicago.

Well I think that is it about me. It is very nice to meet all of you.

I'm Kyle and I live in Houston with my pug, Sweet Pea. Love to cook and shop for food, eating out, going to the farmer's market, etc. Anything food related. I've gotten a lot of recipes from the great cooks here.

It's delightful to see old friends, new friends, and lurkers say hello here.

I rarely post images of myself as few exist. Here is a photo of myself taken by one of my children on Thanksgiving Day. We were all on the sailboat for a beautiful few hours of sailing between Long Beach and Catalina Island.

WOAH! Eileen you are one hot Mama ! Good job!

Oh boy! Do you think my photo is big enough! Yikes!

Aw, Sharon, coming from a total babe, I am sincerely flattered.

Eileen

Welcome Karen! And welcome back to me!! Goodness, this thread has pulled me out of lurkdom and broken the ice for me!! I used to post a lot a while back but then got sidetracked with home repairs etc and have been over in the kitchen/bath/appliances forums lately. About 3 weeks ago, I started popping over to lurk and have been hesitant about jumping back in for some crazy reason!

I'm Grace ( I know there are a million aged 5 and under Grace's now, but my mom was ahead of her time 54 years ago!!.) Live in Louisiana, out in the country north of BR with DH Joe who just retired, DS#4 who is a a rising Sr in college in VA, Noel the cat, Mr Biggs the Jack Russell and AttaGirl the German Shepherd and our two horses. Our other three out-of-the-nest sons are in Alaska/Arkansas, San Francisco and NYC.
I haven't ever met anyone in "real life" from the forum but still I used to really enjoy the comraderie and can't wait to start posting WFD photos again! Thanks for giving me an exuse to get back with the KF crowd!!

I won't hijack your thread but will post over in conversations about some life changes coming up!
Grace

I am Deanna. I mostly glean great information here.
Sometimes post. Not many of our meals are photo-worthy as we eat pretty simple, frugal, but wholesome meals. The Harvest Forum is my other favorite place on the 'net.

I live with my DH of 13 years (first 2 were losers). He's my "Mr. Perfect" and best friend. Between us we have 4 kids, 1 son, 3 daughters, ages 21-25 this year.
All live away from home but within 2 hours drive.
Oldest (son) suffered a traumatic brain injury 6 years ago (and this forum was here for me) and while he lives in his own apartment, we are legal guardians. He requires significant help with Life Management skills.
DD#1 is happily married (3 years ago, again, forum got me through the wedding) to her high school sweetheart.
DD#2 lives within 20 minutes and is a caregiver for high functioning Autistic/Asperger's clients.
DD#3 also lives close and is working at Wal-Mart currently. Still figuring out what she wants to be when she grows up!

We live on 12 rural acres in the western part of Oregon with 43 chickens, 5 pygmy goats and 2 cats. It mostly sucks all of our disposable income out of us, but has plenty of room for gardening (behind an 8-foot fence), canning, quilting, relaxing on the porch with a glass of wine and good book.

I've met several CF'ers (Jessica was my first too....wink).
gina w
compumom
terri
and a "near miss" with Ann_T (hopefully another time!).
Oh, and Bri29!! Well, we work together and discovered our love of cooking, baking, canning and I encouraged her to check out the CF.
Hoping to meet another in February in Palm Springs! (anyone else close?????)

I hope to meet many more!

Deanna

Hi Karen: I'm Lib and I've been a long-time lurker and rarely posted. I've just retired and hope to reverse that. I live in the DC suburbs with my DH of almost 40 years. We have three kids in Oregon (with our one and only DGD), Atlanta, and Philadelphia. My folks are in Florida and DMIL lives in NC. I think I spend most of my life in the air. It seems that cooking is not one of my native talents, but I try, and this forum gives me lots of confidence to try new things. I hope you enjoy your time here.

Welcome Karen, from another Karen in the Texas panhandle.

We farm/ranch and have two grown children. After graduating college our son came back to farm, he is married and they have two sons, 3 and 6 yrs old and are the joys of our life. The good thing is that they live on the street behind us so we get to see them all them time.

Our daughter is a teacher and she lives in the heart of Texas and we wish it was closer, she's about 300 miles away.

I love anything cooking and take meals to the field during harvest. We have a garden and put up most of our vegetables.

I have enjoyed this site and get many good recipes! I guess I should say that I receive more than I give and I am going to try to do better.

Thanks again to everyone for the GREAT welcome. It has been amazing to me how many CF folks that have taken the time to respond to this thread. You are a great bunch of people!!

Aprile, Perhaps your family's place on the lake here in Michiana is near me. I'm only about 40 miles from the Indiana border. There are many lakes up in this area. We are year round residents on our lake but many of the people are seasonal coming from Chicago. Perhaps we will meet someday.

Sharoncb, Your gardens are beautiful. Thanks for sharing. All the pictures that all have included are just great. I've really had a lot of fun with this thread. It sounds you all have also!

Karen

I see where those two kids of yours get their good looks Eileen...great pic!

Hey there Grace! Good to hear from you too! It's been awhile.

Hope to hear from some more members/lurkers in the next few days. Seems this place does slow down a little during the summer months though.

David

Hey, Eileen, it's nice to "see" you, and I'll get back to California and meet YOU someday in person.

I'm Annie. My name is Angela, but I'm only called that at work, my friends call me Annie. I've also been here since the "Spike" days, I started at Harvest and came here, read some of Lars' posts and got such a charge out of them that I stayed. I've met 27 of the forum members, a few met my Dad and a couple have meet my mother. I have two girls, ages 22 and 28. My oldest daughter has my two grandchildren, The Monkey Princess and Bruvver. My youngest just graduated from college with a degree in radiography/allied health, so she'll take state boards and start looking for a real job. Hooray, off my payroll!

I work full time plus some as the administrator and paralegal running the local Prosecutor's Office. I bought 40 acres of the farm I grew up on when my Dad died a couple of years ago and have grass fed beef, a dozen happy and mostly free range hens and a big organic garden, plus two horses that are mostly useless bums because I just don't have the time to ride as much as I'd like. My husband Elery and I have been married two years, but he still lives in Jackson and I live in White Cloud, so it's a 3 hour commute when we can be together. We plan to sell both houses and build out at the farm in the next few years.

I have my daughter's dog, Cooper and Elery has Pancho, the PIA chihuahua.

Ashley refers to the forum as my "imaginary friends", but the members here have been with me through my divorce after 30 years from my first husband, my Dad's death, my stepdad's death about a month later. They've seen the birth of my grandkids, the death of my beloved WonderWeiner, my 50th and very traumatic birthday. They were here for my first date with Elery, through my proposal and dating, and for my wedding. They've watched Ashley graduate from college and The Monkey Princess start school. Now they'll be with me for Amanda's wedding in October, we are all friends in the truest sense of the word.

So, welcome to the Cooking Forum, Karen. Hopefully we'll meet someday. I came back from visiting Elery's Dad and Stepmom in Ohio today and thought of you as I was heading through Grand Rapids!

Annie

Welcome! My name is Anne and I live in NH with my husband of 33 yrs. We have 2 grown children - a son currently living in Denmark with his new bride, and a married daughter who lives 9 doors down from us. She has a 16-month-old daughter, our first grandchild, and a 7 yr. old stepdaughter. Can't forget to mention our brother/sister labradoodles, Puck & Riley, who share our home.

I love to cook and bake and found this forum when we were building our lakehouse a couple years ago. We split our time between here (the lake) and home. The CF has been invaluable to me when I get drop-in company and have to whip up meals without my cookbook collection close at hand and when I need to improvise with ingredients I have available. Even when I'm home I come here for inspiration almost daily.

The recipes/tips here are great, as are the people.

Annie, I know Elery won't resist the siren call of Napa forever and you'll be here. I wish I could have gone south to meet you when you were here but it wasn't possible at that time. The galley wench position is still open on the boat in French Polynesia for Ashley. They are living on Daniel's cooking part of the time and that is a frightening thought.

I have met Lars and his brother and Sushipup and Granjan who no longer posts here. There are a couple of members who live very close to me - one in my town - but so far no meetings.

Hi Karen-- welcome to the nicest forum on the net--

I'm Diane-- retired RN-- Hubby ( who's supposed to be retired) & I have a blended family--2 DDs, 6 DS--all grown--17 grandkids & 3 ggkids.We live in the Fingerlakes area of NYS.
I love to cook & bake-- do a little preserving-- put peppers, tomatoes, swiss chard in my flower beds but leave the big veggie gardening to my oldest girl . I do a few craft shows a yr & some respite care for the Developmentall Disabled.

Hi Karen. So, are you in Grand Rapids? I was just there two weeks ago with Peppi...kind of a last minute thing. We need to meet. I am a 5th wheeler also. I love to cook, although I don't do much of it these days. I lost 27 lbs from march to June, then fell off the wagon for awhile, and am now just getting back on.
I live in Three Rivers Michigan. I couldn't tell you how many CFers I have met, I only know it is a whole bunch of them. Met some in California, some in North Carolina, some in Chicago, and have had quite a few get-togethers here in Michigan. I would sure like to get-together with you also.
I have three kids, and 5 granddaughters and 1 grandson. The littlest (3 and 5) are staying with us this summer.
We are avid campers, and, if things work out, we will be taking a long trip end of summer early fall. We use our 5th wheel for local trips, but use our truck camper for extended trips.
Now for the really important question...do you drink wine??? LOL.
I am going to send you an e-mail through gardenweb to get some specifics so maybe we can arrange a meeting.
Sherry

Hi Karen.

I'm Jessica. I'm 25 and single but love to cook. I haven't been lucky enough to meet any forum members, but I secretly think of myself as Evil Jessy's protegee because I often feel the irresistible urge to stir up trouble. I think the greatest joy I get in life is in breaking things down-- that moment where you've sorted through all the old wives tales and teased out all the chemistry involved. I am also engaged in an epic battle between my love for butter and my desire to stay in shape, so I'm always looking for ways to beat the system.

Hi Karen, I'm new here myself and haven't really posted, but welcome. A lil about me, my name is Adrienne and I live in New York on Long Island. I'm married and actually next week it will be 19years with my soulmate. No kiddos to speak of, but am trying my damnest to get DH to get us another Golden Retriever,my beloved Copper went to the Bridge last year after having him for 13 1/2yrs. I love to cook, read cookbooks and watch cooking shows. In the last year or so, I discovered food blogs and I'm addicted to food porn. I thought I did recognize some of Ann's T photos but there are times that I also suffer from crs. I do have to say Thanks for starting this thread, I feel I've learned a lil about everyone here.

Welcome, Karen -- and all the other newbies!

I'm Sue, a retired medical editor, and I live in Baltimore with my husband of 40 years. My DD lives in Seattle with her partner, and my DS just recently moved out there, too; he's staying temporarily with his sister while he hunts for a new job. From all reports, they're having a great time together. He just wrote me that his sister taught him to make his first pie: a peanut butter/peanut/chocolate chip pie with an oreo cookie crust. It's tough when your children live 3000 miles away, but it's good to know that they're healthy and strong and getting along well together. Now, if someone would just provide me with a grandbaby ...!

DH and I now share our home with my cousin, who is a psychiatric patient and can't manage his own affairs. Life has certainly changed for us! We're in the process of packing up and cleaning out his old apartment and moving his stuff to our home in Baltimore. He's diabetic and has a cholesterol/triglycerides problem, so I don't bake any more and read labels carefully to watch for cholesterol, fat, and sugar content. Fortunately, he loves to eat and enjoys my cooking (plain and simple though it is). I find that, because our food dollars have to stretch further these days, I've become more creative with ground turkey, tuna, and other less expensive choices. Although I lurk here more than I post, I've learned a lot from the Cooking Forum, and my repertoire has really expanded.

When I was in the Pacific Northwest, a few years ago, I met Terri_pacnw. I've also had get-togethers with several Kitchen Forum and CF friends who no longer post here. I'd love to meet more of you!

Sue

Welcome! I hope that you enjoy the community here. I know that I have certainly learned, laughed and cooked alot with the forum. I used to post more but I still check in regularly and enjoy reading others' posts. Some of our family favorites are gleaned from the forum. I am a working mom to three boys who are either into or heading into their teen years. Yikes, my babies! They love to try new foods and their mom's cooking (I'm nothing if not humble). Sometimes, though, it's all about quantity (especially after swim meets and baseball playoffs). I try to cook very healthfully but I definitely have an attraction to certain retro recipes. My DH recently lost 20 pounds and is determined to keep it off, so we made the switch to all whole grain pastas. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the introductions and feel reacquainted with many old friends!

Angie

Welcome Karen!

The CF is a great place to hang out, relax and be motivated! I also migrated here after meeting so many helpful folk on the Kitchen forum when we remodeled in 2002.

I'm Ellen, I too live in the Los Angeles area, am a mother of two - DS and DD who are in their late 20's. DD is married and has given me my two adorable grandsons ages 3&5. We spend quite a bit of time with them, but I do work as the Director of Development for a school for bright students with special needs. I'm married to my DH of 35 years who's a foodie! He doesn't cook, but for the most part appreciates my cooking skills. Frankly, I'm not as skilled as many here, but I enjoy the camaraderie and am challenged to do more.

I've met a number of forum friends and look forward to many more meetings!

Hi!
I'm Elizabeth, but my sibs call me Bizzo. I live In SE Connecticut -DH and I moved here 7 yrs ago from SE Michigan for a job. I was born in MI, but left when I was 8 to move overseas (2 yrs Hong Kong, 2 years Melbourne, Australia) then on to Northern CA (SF East Bay). I went to University of Michigan and spent the next 20 years in the Detroit Western suburbs. Met my DH in community theater. I love cooking, and I love this forum! I've been around CF abt 4/5 yrs. I started in the Kitchen Forum during my remodel, and made the natural transition here.

Welcome!!