Thanks for that, David! I have a dehydrator. It's a Nesco 5-tray with a thermostat. Had it last year already, but had my worst year ever for tomatoes last year, so there were hardly enough to eat fresh and definitely no drying going on! Have only used it for apples, pears, and basil and sage at this point. I don't grow plum or any kind of sauce tomatoes since I prefer to eat as many of them as possible fresh, so what I have are regular eating varieties ranging mostly from small to medium, plus my much-loved cherries! (Early Glee, Mormon World's Earliest, Bloody Butcher, Stupice, Abe Lincoln, Moskovich, and Beefsteak -- I got a couple of those by "default" after having the most incredibly difficult time of starting seedlings I've ever had this year!) Also Sweet Baby Girl, Sungold, Sweetie, and Aunt Ruby's Yellow, the cherries!) This year was my BEST tomato year ever, and while they're hanging happily in the garage right now, a lot of them were already ripe when I brought them in this year, so I need to do "something" with them, and I was wanting to try drying some of them anyway--when I had enough! I think I'll slice them about a half inch or a little less, cut the skins to keep them from warping too much, and maybe sprinkle a little bit of sea salt on them like some people suggest on that thread you linked. Will probably lay them on paper towels as I'm cutting them up to soak up at least a little bit of the excess juice before putting them on the dehydrator trays. I'll try drying them different degrees this first time, and I'll be keeping them in the freezer anyway once I get them done and in bags, just to be sure they don't "get sick" in any way--it would be a shame to lose them after going to all the work of drying them! About what temperature do you dry yours at? The thread you linked does sound very interesting! I can't do the red wine thing since I don't ever have red wine around since I can't drink red, but I might try soaking a few of them in miscellaneous things first, maybe some seasoned rice vinegar, which I love, and maybe even try a few in some of the white wine I have around. Sprinkle some of my dried basil on a few of them first?!? Sounds like lots of things to try! I read thru much of that thread and some people even talk about dehydrating cherries--since I have plenty of those ripe all at the same time this year I think I'll be trying some of them too. Your "spread" sounds good! Kind of like a "tomato pesto!" Might try that, tho it won't have THAT much garlic in it!!! And I found a great recipe for a nice crusty bread that I make in my bread maker (and bake in the oven) and it sounds like it would be wonderful on that! Thanks for the basic directions to get me started, Skybird

I've had Raynaud's for many years, too, and two years ago it got a lot worse, affecting my hands so badly that I developed sore areas all over my hands and lost two fingernails. It used to be that my toes got the worst of it. I've found prevention is the best thing I can do for myself. Last winter I stocked up on disposable foot warmers and wore them every day in the house as well as outside. I stopped running outside without gloves to pick up the mail or whatever. I still had some problems with it, but it was much better than the year before. I'm NOT looking forward to the cold weather this year. Susan

I love it.I am so thankful my 15 yr old son is a good kid. MOM Shelley

Had a similar occurrence about 8 years ago after we finished a new pool with Hydrazzo, a polished finish. It's a very smooth finish. My customer's daughter had some abrasions on her feet after an extended time in the pool. There was no blame from my customer, just a point of fact. The nanny mentioned to me the young girl's feet were always very soft and she felt this contributed to the abrasions. The daughter's friends did not have this issue swimming at the same time. Kid's feet and palms will be more susceptible to "pruning" up quicker than adults especially when they are in the pool for an extended time period in warm water. I suggested to the homeowner for her daughter to wear water shoes for protection. This prompted me to add a section on my contract to mention this possible occurrence and suggest protection on swimmers feet. I have not heard of finger tips getting abrasions, but from your photos, your kid's hands look pruny. It's obvious they were in the pool for quite some time. Only you know if there is a significant difference in the texture from the previous plaster to the new. If the new plaster is slightly rougher, I would say it just exacerbates the issue.