Sarina - As GWlolo said - the information is on the website - be sure to put in the full serial number correctly - if not, it will say - you are not part of the recall - I think it is mostly the shorter versions and not the tall version. Vitamix was fast on getting the units back to us. NYCBD - We had a number of dog issues - after the first bite - we watched each other around dogs. When some Rottweiler started chasing me, apparently, my language wasn't very "lady-like" - but I have no recollection of using the four letter words...At least, I kept my shoe - unlike American Flyer and the dog Eddie. GoBlue - Have a great ride in Acadia - some day, we will do that one. We rode in Nova Scotia but the roads were narrow and a lot of competition for campers on the rodes. GWlolo - Great bike ride - just prefer not to go swimming at the same time we are riding - (aka RAIN!). I have quite a bit of basil in the garden and hope to make some pesto this weekend. OldBat - I will be in Boston area for the marathon in April. I am running for the Michael Lisnow Respite Center in Hopkinton - right up my ally as a retired PT. I have met a few GWebbers on my travels and would be honored to meet you and see the your beautiful kitchen and backsplash. I will email you directly(if you have an email on file) Badger - I think we are about the same age... BTW - my DH retired, so now, I have to work on retiring again. Hope to see your kitchen IRL as well. I have ridden in Badgerland - great roads and little traffic.

I've joined the Vitamix club! My 16-year-old son and I made smoothies this afternoon, starting with every fresh and frozen fruit we had in the house...and then my son asked if we could throw in some spinach or kale. We didn't have any, so we added some romaine lettuce. He guzzled it and asked me to buy some kale. Tonight we made milkshakes -- naughty ones with ice cream, peanut butter, and chocolate syrup -- no hidden veggies. They were yummy. Tomorrow, we'll go back to healthy smoothies. And then we'll start playing with soups, etc. One thing that amazed me with the cookbook that came w/ the blender is that it looks like there are soups and sauces that start out as raw ingredients. and then actually get heated up during blending. Are they really hot enough to eat without heating further?? I will say that I like some soups to be chunky. Split pea, for me, should be somewhat chunky. I like the peas, chunks of potato and ham, and shreds of carrot. But for others, smoothness will be great -- like sweet potato or asparagus. Looking forward to playing around with it!

"I do worry about the high calorie count of smoothies, though, which is part of why we only buy them infrequently." The major advantage to making your own is you control the ingredients. Start with a non fat greek yogurt, add half a frozen banana and frozen strawberries for a great, low fat, healthy smoothie. I regret I didn't have my blentec when my girls were eating purees, but now that they are older (school age), I find the smoothies even more important because it ensures they eat wholesome, healthy foods. If you look at the Sneaky Chef or Seinfeld cookbooks, you can get alot of ideas for adding purees to food. Your Au Gratin sounds divine. If it will peel the spuds, I will go buy the cuisinart food processor today. LOL!

linnea, we have a local "on-line auction". This week they have in excess of 2,000 items available for viewing on line. Like eBay, they have a week for people to make bids, on Thursday night the auction is over. If you win an item you drive to their warehouse to pay for your items and pick them up. You can visit at any time to see what's available or if you find an item on line that you're interested in you can go to the warehouse to see if. They sell everything from cars to furniture to guns to coins to canning jars. Anyone that has something to sell takes it to the warehouse, fills out a form and it's put into the auction. It costs $2 to list an item for sale. No clothes, used bedding, stuffed toys, I don't remember what else. We've sold some furniture as well as buying things. My local auction is JNJ Online Auction in Fremont, Michigan. I know other communities have similar organizations. They do not ship, you have to go pick your stuff up yourself, but you can actually see it in advance, so that's a benefit. You might want to check on line and see if there's one close to you, but it's an addiction, just be warned! (grin) Annie