I see an experiment coming on: Soak newspapers in a large pail of water and stir at least daily until the papers break up into pulp. That's how you start to make your own decorative paper. Then, when you've got a nice pulp, spread it around the base of plants. It should act as a nice mulch. It'll form to the ground and when it dries, it'll firm up and solidify. It should absorb loads of moisture. If it looks unsightly, maybe leaf matter could be added to pretty it up. That should keep the weeds down and the moisture level up. Hah! I might have to give this a try. It could mean a whole lot less weeding in the old garden. :)

I have this French mandoline from Lee Valley Tools. It ain't cheap, but is extremely sturdy, and the cutting width is infinitely variable. Keep in mind that it is very difficult with any tool to cut soft tomatoes uniformly thin, but otherwise, this gadget is great for all veggies, and it collapses quite flat for easy storage. Can't help you with a juicer, but my blender is a VitaMix 3600+ which is now over 25 yrs old and quite retro looking. Still love it, and after the passage of that amount of time, I've almost forgotten what I paid for it. Here is a link that might be useful: Lee Valley French Mandoline

Have you been on the fence about getting a Vitamix because of price ? I just saw that VM is offering their reconditioned units for $30 off through Dec 1. Plus, you can order it as a 3-payment plan (half down plus $15 the first month and the remaining half is divided over months 2 and 3). Add that to the free shipping and other freebies I mentioned a couple posts up and that is Merry Christmas to you ! : ) I think the reconditioned units are a great deal. You get a brand new, unused container, so only the motor has ever come out of the box. And the motor is checked/serviced before it goes back out as a reconditioned unit. I think most (all?) of the reconditioned machines were ones returned under their 30 day return policy, so they have hardly been used (or maybe never used!). $299 Certified Reconditioned Standard (reg 329, new starting at 449) https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Standard.aspx 5200, 5200c, 5200s, Creations I, Creations II, Creations GC, CIA Professional Series, Pro 200, Total Nutrition Center, TurboBlend VS, etc. are all basically the same 2hp machine with different names. $349 Certified Reconditioned Standard w/Programs (reg 379, new starting at 649) https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Standard-Programs.aspx The Pro 500 and the 6300 are those same 2hp machines that also have pre-set buttons (Smoothies, Hot Soups, and Frozen Desserts) and pulse. $439 Certified Reconditioned Next Generation (new starting at 557) https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Next-Generation.aspx Pro 300, Creations Elite, and the 7500 (The "Next Generation" Machines) all have the 2.2hp motor that is supposed to be a little quieter (suspended motor design), they have pulse, and they come with the shorter 64oz container with the wider bottom (17.5" tall for the base plus container as opposed to 20.5"). $519 Certified Reconditioned Next Generation w/Programs (new 689) https://secure.vitamix.com/Certified-Reconditioned-Next-Generation-Programs.aspx Pro 750 is the above "Next Generation" 2.2hp machine that has the presets (Smoothies, Hot Soups, Frozen Desserts, Puree, and Clean) plus Pulse. My VM is not this newest model, it is a 2hp that does not have the presets. I do not recommend the 2-speed models that are currently $279 reconditioned (TurboBlend Two-Speed or CIA Creations). I also do not recommend the 6000 model which ONLY has timed settings with no speed control. All of the other models above have variable speed which is important IMO. It looks like none of the Next Generation models are $30 off, but I do not remember for sure what the price was before the sale started ??? Regarding the ones with the short 64oz container that only comes with the 2.2hp Next Generation machines ... you may want to buy an extra wet container with the smaller bottom (for example, the 32oz or 48oz) because the bigger bottomed short 64oz container doesn't do well with recipes under 2 cups (you don't have that problem with the sandard/tall 64oz container that comes with the 2hp machines). The 32 oz. does great with recipes that go down to as little as 3/4 of a cup and one cup recipes like mayonnaise, pesto, salad dressings, and marinades. Plus it is easier to get these smaller batches out of it as compared to the standard/tall 64oz, because the sides are not so high. I am pretty sure you can buy extra wet or dry containers for a discounted price of $100 if you buy them within a certain amount of time of buying your machine. Note the difference in the dry container and the wet container ... the wet container pulls things down into the blades, the dry container blows them up out of the blades. So if you were blending almonds, the wet container would be best for almond butter, while the dry container would be best for almond flour. A lot of the model numbers have to do with which cookbook the blender originally came with, which containers, and sometimes where it is sold. (for example QVC models or the 5200S and 6300 which are both Costco models) Oh, and here's a tip ... You can download the Vitamix Whole Foods Recipe Cookbook from the QVC website. See the gray 'learn more' section in the middle of the page. http://www.qvc.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=K28091 edit: to add in reg prices

Thanks to chefkev,luckloo, and isitdoneyet for weighing in. It looks like Macy's is putting a Breville blender on sale tomorrow morning (Friday after Thanksgiving); I don't know if it's the same model, but if it is, it's 40% off. The only problem is that a lot of posters on Amazon said that the coupling between the base and the container was made of thin plastic and kept self-destructing. Some posters said that was just in an older model, others said it was in the newest model, too. I guess I should take it out the box before purchase and have a look.