This is such an interesting thread. I come from the Canadian prairies where there were no disposal facilities at all until recently, and what there is remains limited. So disposing of all manner of garbage on your property was the norm. Maybe that mentality developed because of the seemingly endless space out there (as opposed to dense urban areas where they can't find landfill space to save their lives). Everyone burned their garbage in a burning barrel (and still do) or created their own little dumps. I doubt people thought much about how their actions might affect ground water, air quality, etc. Some of these things we just did not know then. We used to carry water to our livestock in "rinsed out" 5 gallon pails that used to contain herbicides and pesticides. ARGH!! I live in Eastern Canada now. People in my area burn garbage in barrels. Recently our municipality regulated burning. At first, I was annoyed ("what are they going to regulate next?!"). Now "they" are saying that backyard burning is one of the worst forms of pollution. Don't know if I buy that but I stopped. I felt a bit shocked, like I should have known better, but I'd just never really thought about it. I just did what others did. I'm a bit obsessed with reducing and recycling, and try to be informed about the environment yet there I was burning garbage. People here still "bury" old barns. I haven't seen it but it involves burning it to the ground and covering the foundation with soil - poof, gone! I have 2 such foundations on my property and have to work around them (broke a shovel "discovering" one of them). We have to take our stuff to the landfill and dispose of it for a fee. We can recycle lots of stuff for free. But when I drop my garbage, it seems very few people are recylcing. All around on the garbage heap is paper, cardboard, bags of cans, etc. You wouldn't believe how fast the landfill is filling up. You can't fail to notice it but it doesn't seem to be affecting people's behaviour. Yet folks sure complain about having to pay $1.25 per bag! Very disheartening. I wonder if it will take a crisis for us to change how we think about the materials we consume and dispose of? Interesting how many people have commented on how lazy those people who bury their junk are. But when you think about it, digging holes by hand to bury those mountains of stuff must have been hard work! Seems almost ironic. My mom reused and recycled long before it was in vogue. She came from poor, hardy pioneer stock who didn't waste stuff. So the stories about using carpet to keep weeds down strike me as an example of "not wasting" more than ignorance or laziness (altho there's always room for those!). As alyrics noted, if it's not bad for the environment, maybe it's not such a bad idea. Having said that, I don't envy those of you who have to clean up those awful messes. I'm amazed and grateful for the time, money, and effort you have put into properly disposing of garbage that's not yours. There's a little back road near here that I take in summer. Every year, some clown dumps a dryer or stove in the ditch. Drives me nuts. I wonder what's going through those people's minds that they can behave like that. I always try to use that to remind myself to watch for my own behaviours where I do "stupid" things without thinking (like burning garbage). cnid

Amen to everything ladies! Had it out w/ H tonight. Told him that while he was paying for three adults' cars to the tune of $1150/mo, he bounced our mtg. check. Yes, it's in my name. I said, "You want to be a big shot to those ADULTS? Go ahead - but you're doing it w/o me. I've stayed WAY too long in this little arrangement and the one time I asked you to pay the mtg, it bounced?" Lots of excuses - we were out of town, blah, blah, blah. Fact is that we are BROKE at the moment. Yes, the ins. could pay tomorrow and we'd be fine, but it may drag this out til the day we finally get a date for court. You know how ins. companies and attorneys are - it's all a game. So, for now, things are TIGHT! BTW, yesterday after the boys' baseball camp, H took them to Toys 'R Us! I was stunned. First of all, they just had their big party a month ago. The middle one's b-day JUST passed, and I thought we agreed to no more little impulse shopping sprees (whether we have $ or not as it's sending the WRONG message.) I flipped when I saw the huge display of little model planes he splurged on for them. OK, so HE likes planes, etc. Fine, then save it for a real occasion. I was angry, but pleased to see that he just can't parent anyone - our kids, his kids, etc... Anyway, SD is packing as we speak. Told him if he didn't have a chat w/ the trio, I would, and it would more likely be unpleasant if I did it... Now, I'm pushing (per the counselor! YEAH!) to get their cars in their names, their cell phones off of our bill, and finally cut these apron strings. Thanks for giving me your support! And, TOS, the counselor also has asked him to help w/ everything you mentioned! So, he's taking one child while I put the other two to bed. Before he settles down to watch ESPN, he's doing a few little things previously designated to me...Had to ask him if it was too much for him and he was trying to get me to pack up and leave, lol. I said, "Now that you have to pitch in or look bad to the therapist, you tell me another, a FOURTH, is coming to stay w/ us? Sorry, I'm tapped out in every sense of the word, but someone suggested this latest guest was designed to get me to finally run away. Well, if I had $50, I'd go to a hotel, but don't have it, so you guys need to come up w/ Plan B!" Dana

Sure, here it is: "Mrs. Poindexter's" Date Pudding Start oven at once: 300* Grease 9" pan. Sift together and measure: 1 1/4 cup flour 1/4 teasp baking powder 1/4 teasp salt Mix into flour mixture: 1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts) Cut: 1 package dates (no size given, sorry) into small pieces Mix: 1 teasp baking soda into cut dates, then pour 1 cup boiling water over. Let stand. Cream: 1/4 cup butter til soft and light. Then add 1 cup sugar gradually until very fluffy. Add: 1 egg, beat well. Combine flour and butter mixtures thoroughly. Stir in dates. Pour into prepared pa. Bake: 1 hour. Cool on rack. Cut into 9-12 squares. VERY rich!! Serve with real whipped cream and coffee. ********************************** Enjoy!

I’m also working on her office, which is off the entry and has french doors so it needs to be presentable. They have a rug in a traditional pattern in light aqua and coral, a tonal shift from the colors we are using in the adjacent rooms . I bought this oil painting for that offfice; it’s a view of Notre Dame from the rear, across the Seine. The colors are beautiful and luckily the frame is the same tone of wood as her desk. It’s pretty big and will make a statement at 30” x 40”. I bought it at an auction, it was painted by a French artist in the 1960’s. This is a picture of a picture and not very clear even if you click to enlarge. IRL it is crisp and has an illustrative vibe I’ve seen in a lot of Italian paintings depicting / featuring architecture.