I have only seen one solar water heater, used for horses. It worked OK. Downsides were it did not hold a lot of water, like 20 gallons. Good for one horse, not for multiples. It has a floating ball cover, which got frozen when horse dripped on it. Some vegtable oil is supposed to help prevent the freezing problem. It also was pretty expensive for a plastic unit. The person who owned it, was satisfied, only had one horse. Another idea to consider would be a propane water tank heater. Also rather expensive, but appears to be a well thought out idea in several designs. Do a search for sellers. Lots of cattle and sheep owners who pasture animals where there is no electric available. Those who owned them were pretty happy with the heaters. You could resell it when you didn't need it anymore, probably get most of your money back. Not sure how fast heaters go thru fuel. The livestock owners did protect the fuel tank and heater unit, so animals could not reach or rub against it. Cows are so ready to break things rubbing on them, that good protection would be important!! We insulate our tanks inside wooden boxes. This does hold in the heat, keeps water from freezing quickly. We have electric heaters, so it saves us money not running heaters all the time.

Hi Wintercat and Barb: I'm glad to see rose-growers here in Cooking Forum. Roses are NO longer important to me ... already have too many (60+ roses). My focus is taking care of my family through healthy cooking. I agree with everyone that daily exercise boost up the metabolism. Yesterday I spent 1 1/2 hour shoveling the ice .. was sweating & hot for hours afterwards. Grainlady has a good point that healthy fats like Coconut oil raise metabolism. Omega-3 is used to treat Raynaud syndrome: defined as excessively reduced blood flow in response to cold, or extreme pain with cold temp. My kid eats at least 1 cup of walnut per day, plus 2 tablespoons of flax oil (high in Omega-3 and Omega-9). My kid is always warm. Studies show that Omega-3 increase the "brown fat" storage with higher metabolism. My kid hates it when school made her wear her coat during recess. She never wear gloves nor hat, even in our freezing zone 5a winter. I notice the same effect when I have walnut or flax oil for dinner: very warm at night, so I only use that during the winter. The "China Study" is a landmark book by Dr. Campbell. According to Wikipedia, "Dr. Colin Campbell, Jacob Gould Schurman Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, and his son Thomas M. Campbell II, a physician. It was first published in the United States in January 2005 and had sold over one million copies as of October 2013, making it one of America's best-selling books about nutrition." I read that book twice, it showed that a vegetarian diet resulted in higher metabolism than a high-protein diet, plus reduced rate of cancer & heart-attack. The book included lab. studies on rats which showed they are much more active on a vegetarian diet, than a high-protein diet. Here's an explanation from Wikipedia "... consuming diets high in protein and fat transfers calories away from their conversion into body heat to their storage form as body fat." On sensitivity to cow-milk, Wikipedia explained, "... autoimmune diseases are more prevalent among people who live at higher geographic latitudes, and also among people who consume a diet high in animal protein, particularly cow's milk. ... Vitamin D is important for the proper regulation of the immune system, and that for people who live at higher geographic latitudes, a lack of exposure to ultraviolet sunlight can result in a deficiency. The consumption of animal protein, especially casein in cow's milk, results in higher concentrations of calcium in the blood, which inhibits the process by which the body activates vitamin D in the kidneys to a form that helps repress the development of autoimmune diseases.[21] Here is a link that might be useful: The China Study book by Dr. Campbell This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Tue, Jan 14, 14 at 9:44

Thanks all for the recipes. I didn't realized there are a few variations. I also found this recipe at the link below. My friend and I went to Luby's Cafeteria for dinner tonight and they have this same fruit gelatin too. I was so happy to see it that I have forgotten to look for its name. Anyway, I think I'm going to make one this weekend if I'm up to it (health-wise). If anyone has your own version of this recipe, please feel free to post more. Thank you! Here is a link that might be useful: Holiday Lime Jello Salad Mold

Hey,Mike, Glad they arrived in good shape, no cold damages. Yes, for tropicals I would water once they potted up but for succulents I would wait a couple days to water them unless you keep them in a very warm temperature. The aloe 'Christmas carol' will color up for you nicely if given more light. The Haworthia cymniformnis is/was a variegated one. But the variegation is lost since I bought it. not sure what happened probably something to do with my grow condition? See if you have better luck to have the variegation back:) From the plants you probably can tell my indoor light condition is not idea for them.lol. I am sure they will thrive under your care. On the topic of top dressing. I don't top dressing with pebbles. Did it once but they get in the way when I repotting the plants. Although I use rocks (got from beach) to hold newly repotted plants. by the way, love your pot, Nancy. Good it didn't break. Did your kitty get a time out? :)