Well, here I am! Late to this party, as I got home last night. First things being first, we cleared out the dog crate, food and treats by packing them up and walking them over to different neighbors who knew Luna. (She had a lot of friends in the neighborhood.) Delivering news like this is hard, but right this minute I think the hardest is having such a quiet house. Packing up her favorite toys choked me up, but it's done. Working my way backwards and starting with OKC, I regret we didn't get to meet David or Sally, but I'm anticipating there will be another opportunity. Having the extra time allowed us to blow on so I could visit my mother. We drove 4,603 miles in three weeks, so you might say it was a whirlwind (tornadic in places), and we were ready to get home. Meeting Donna and her friend Debbie was fun. We met for breakfast in Albuquerque and I really enjoyed it. It's so nice to have the CF in common, and there were no awkward moments in the conversation. In fact, I'm finding it's so easy to talk to the CF in person, it's kind of hard to leave! I enjoyed every moment, and hope that with Donna, David and Sally, we have an opportunity to meet again. I feel pretty certain we'll see Karen (and Tom) somewhere at some point! (I think it must be easy to form a certain bond with the first people you meet.) I've tried for five GT's, and have managed two so far...The best thing is my New Year's resolution of meeting some of you is up and running! I'm loving it and at this point have TWO GT's under my belt and COUNTING. Thank you for your generosity in wanting to meet; it's so nice to feel a part of the CF in real life. I'll upload a few pictures when I can...

Sounds like some kid whose school cannot afford to teach them about computers, or he would have known where the money is. So sorry this happened to you. What a mess. As Annie said, it is the violation of your personal space as much or even more than the loss of stuff. Of course, if the stuff has personal meaning and is irreplaceable, that is a horrible feeling, too. I had a ring stolen from my house that had been my great aunt's, and I feel sick about it to this day. Good idea to put the bars up, distasteful as they are. We've had a lot of house burglaries around here,including one on my street. Ick.

Sweeby is right, it may have come out wrong. she may not understand how germs spread and that she can get sick, maybe she just took it as 'stay away from me' and got her feelings hurt. She'll get over it, like tired says, she's young & they forget as long as you don't make a big deal. You don't have to listen to kkny, her last sentence worries ME. She has a problem with SM having a relationship with SK's, so she thinks your DH should be able to handle it all by himself and you are stepping over boundaries.... especially if your SD is closer to you, which is quite normal for a little girl to be closer to a female, than a male at her age. IMHO.

Phillog -- I think it is posted but for ease here it is: HUNGARIAN TOMATO SOUP 1 c. chopped onion ¾ c. chopped carrot 1 c. shredded cabbage 4 c. beef or chicken stock 1 pound fresh tomatoes or 1 (1 pound) can whole peeled tomatoes, quartered 1 small bay leaf 1 clove garlic 1 t. Lemon juice 1 t. Sugar ½ c. sour cream 1 t. Hungarian paprika 2 t. Flour Salt and pepper to taste 2 c. spaetzle (recipe follows) Combine onion, carrot and cabbage with stock in soup ot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour. Add tomatoes, bay leaf, garlic, lemon juice and sugar. Simmer another hour. Remove bay leaf. Puree soup mixture in a food processor. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer. Combine sour cream, paprika and flour well. Stir several spoonfuls of soup into sour cream mixture. Pour back into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Heat to serving temperature. Add spaetzle to soup just before serving. SPAETZLE: 1 c. flour ½ t. Salt Dash nutmeg Dash pepper 1 egg ½ c. milk Combine flour and seasonings in mixing bowl. Stir to combine, then make a well in the center. Pour egg and milk into the well and beat to blend, then stir in dry ingredients until well blended. Batter shold be rather stiff. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Pour batter into a colander. Use a rubber scraper to force the batter through the holes in the colander into the boiling salted water. Cook spaetzle until they rise to the surface of the boiling water and stay there for about 30 seconds. Drain. Rise with cold water and drain again thoroughly. NOTE: These can be made ahead of time to add to the soup just before serving.