Something that always seems to be in short supply at potlucks are good vegetables. Oh, there are usually some salads, and sometimes a corn or green bean casserole, or a tray of raw veggies. I like to bring vegetable dishes to potlucks, and people always seem to enjoy them. One is a veggie casserole that is quite popular...I don't have an actual recipe, but I typed out instructions for a friend: RachelÂs Veggie Casserole I make this two different ways, depending on my mood. I either precook the veggies quickly on a very hot grill so as to get grill marks but leave them only barely cooked, or I use raw vegetables without the grilling step. It's very simple, and you need a fairly deep casserole dish. Slice a variety of vegetables in a 1/4 inch slice. I like eggplant, zucchini, crookneck squash, mushrooms, asparagus (unsliced!). A layer of yam, sweet potato or regular potatoes is nice as well, generally I precook these a wee bit. Sometimes I get a little jazzy and add a layer of other items, like artichoke hearts (from a jar) or if I am grilling, baby artichokes. Roasted red bell pepper, kale or other greens (especially if I have some left over that I cooked with bacon & red pepper flakes). Frozen peas or corn add some variety if I'm lacking that quality-this is a dish I usually make on the spur of the moment with whatever I have on hand. I only add onions if I'm grilling, as I don't care for the flavor they add without the char for some reason. If I want to up the protein ratio, I'll add a layer of garbanzo (or other) beans. If I've got fresh basil in the garden, a layer of leaves or two is very nice. If IÂve some leftover lentils or Indian dal, IÂll add a layer of that. Anyway, you get the idea...it's veggie madness. Alternating between layers of vegetables and cheese (mozz, Parm, pepperjack, or even blue), are layers of whatever tomato sauce I have on hand, whether it be home made or Classico from a jar. Then I bake it until the cheese layer on top is hot and bubbling and a skewer pushed through the layers proves the veggies to be tender. If I grilled the veggies, I use a hotter oven, as I want the cheese to melt without the vegetables turning to mush, I'll also tend to put more of the cheese on the top layers for the same reason. Anyway, it is a very pretty dish, with all the different vegetables, and very tasty too. It doesn't have to be served piping hot, though that's my favorite way, but it should at least be warm so the cheese won't harden up.

Let's see now --- hmmm. I can sleep on the bed with mommy and daddy or I can be all alone in a crate. So hard to decide!!!! Big mistake letting him sleep with you -- now you will just have to listen to the whining until he realizes who is the boss. (a baby with the same decision, but a crib will have the very same reaction and the crying will last lots longer than 30 minutes!) Make him stay off the bed now while you have some control and start crate-training.

plllog, we have a appliance repair company I can call. We haven't had to use them often (thank goodness) but when we have, they've given us good service and (we felt) honest answers. I'll also ask the HVAC tech when he comes to give us a quote on installation of hood and downdraft (we have to tweak downdraft venting by a few inches). I realized last night that installation for a hood just might be spendy enough to make our minds up for us. I figured the squared hoods were too modern looking - dang it - but I had to ask. jeanteach, when I walked into the kitchen this morning and saw my cardboard hood hanging there, I thought, "uh, no, not that." So I'm back to leaning towards a downdraft. Both options have their pros and cons and we just need to figure out which cons are easier to live with. I keep staring at my kitchen, whipping out the tape measure and revisiting how to move the cooktop to the perimeter because that would solve this issue for me. But short of compromising on way too many things - and stickier issues for me than the cooktop ventilation - it can't be done. Not without 2 more feet of wall space in one direction or another. Ah, well, hubby really likes the cooktop in the island. And I honestly don't mind it but I'd be happier with about 8-12" of counter on either side. Oh, there's that danged 2 extra feet again! Oh, don't mind me. I'm exhausted, it's been a long week and I'm obsessing for no good reason. This isn't an end of the world decision. I need to step back, take a breath, and just pick something! Either option will work just fine.

Kim, I'm sorry the rain missed you. I hope you enjoyed that 12-15 drops! My garden looks soggy but the plants themselves are so happy. After so many hot, windy days, the cool-season plants were looking tired before the rain arrived, and they sure have perked up. Because of the mud, I haven't stepped foot in the garden, choosing to stand and admire it from the driveway. Stomping around in the big puddles/small lakes of water in my pathways is not my favorite thing to do. I'm hoping the puddles soak in quickly. Hazel, Rainfall seems to only come in two amounts in Oklahoma: either too much or not enough. In your case, not enough rain this time works out since you'll be able to work in your garden and plant without having to struggle through the mud. I'd mix in the compost with the purchased soil if I had an easy way to do it (like a rototiller or a cultivator like a Mantis). However, there's a couple of exceptions: if the soil mix already has a high component of organic matter, I might just fill the raised beds with the purchased soil, and put the compost on top. That way, every time it rains or every time you water, the compost feeds the soil beneath it. Also, if I was digging gently through the compost pile and finding lots of earthworms, I would't use a rototiller or cultivator. I'd just add the compost to the top of each raised bed as mulch. Or, I'd layer some of the compost at the bottom of the bed (picture building layers of lasagna in a dish), add some of the purchased soil, and alternate layers of soil and layers of compost a couple of times. That way both some compost and its earthworms would be in the soil, without the risk that any form of mechanical cultivation would harm the earthworms. Many folks think you have to rototill that compost into the existing soil, but you don't. Just by layering it on top of your beds, you have it right where it needs to be. Every time rain hits that area, it will wash some of the compost more deeply into the soil. Every time you disturb the soil to dig, you'll be working some of the compost into the soil. Every time earthworms and other ground-swelling creatures tunnel through the soil, they'll be carrying some of the compost more deeply into the bed with them. No one goes into a woodland and rototills the compost/humus on the soil surface down into the ground, and yet, woodland soil is spectacular. You are on the right track in your garden. So many people focus on what fertilizer to feed their plants and make little to no effort to improve the soil. (And, if their soil lacks nutrition, I understand that heavier use of fertilizer might be needed temporarily until they develop better soil. Been there, done that.) I do things differently in my garden. I focus on feeding the soil naturally via the addition of tons of organic matter, and then I let the soil feed the plants. With your compost, you are taking the same approach. Your compost will help improve your soil's structure and it also will help feed your plants. I've only had one soil test done here---in either our first or second year, and I think it was the second year, because the first year I was diagnosed with cancer and that disrupted some of my plans. After the initial soil test showed me what I needed to focus on, I've never needed another one because I can tell when the plants are happy and that tells me the soil has within it just what the plants need. Please note, I'm not saying your garden never will need fertilizer, just that improving the soil and seeing it get better every year is what will make your garden successful over the long haul. I still add Espoma organic fertilizer to my beds before I plant, usually at the same time I am scooping compost out of the paths and dumping it on top of the beds. What I don't do is use lots of fertilizer during the growing season. I just layer grass clippings on top of the raised beds every time we mow and the grass clippings decompose in place, feeding the soil. My soil is incredibly full of earthworms this year. They're everywhere, and in large numbers, so I've been doing my best to disturb the soil as little as possible.