Thanks again, everyone. I like hearing about the different cultural "tips" as well! :) Since noone has mentioned the cucumber thing... I know, I've got cukes on the brain right now... About 15 years ago I read in Gourmet Magazine about a technique of cutting cucumbers that decreases the bitterness. I always do this now and hadn't thought of it, as a tip or tale, until I just ran across someone mentioning it on the veg forum. Anyway, what you do is cut the end off of the cuke, then rub the cut piece against the whole cuke in a vigorous circular motion until you have a foamy substance. Cut another narrow slice off of the same end to remove the foam. Repeat on the other side. This really seems to work for me. I've had very few bitter cukes and when I have it is usually when I've not worked it up into a foam. Another thing, which I wonder about... My mother always says that my paternal grandmother said to plant beans in the DARK of the moon. That seems strange to me because beans are an above ground crop (if you follow the whole Farmer's Almanac thing). But, it does leave me to wonder if it fixes nitrogen in the soil better or something? Has anyone else ever heard this? I, for one, cannot grow beans to save my life. If they survive they produce very few. Next year I'll pay attention to the moon. Thanks again, everyone for sharing.

I place my pepper seeds on a thick stack of folded toilet paper soaked with water, in a bowl etc. covered with plastic and then put that in a warm place (on top of my computer, on top of the refrigerator etc). I cooked a set of seeds putting them in window light to warm up so I don't do that any more. The longest it took anything to break from the seed was about 8 days, and then another 5 days for seedling emergence after I put them in potting mix. Most good seed sprout in 4-5 days.

There is nothing like obedience training to really build a bond with your dog. Nothing! it's a blast. But it is also a "way of life" not just an exercise you perform for however many weeks. Training is on-going, and perpetual. That's the fun of it. Agree totally about the alpha thing. My dog is a lot bigger than your's and the JERK behavior is always there. Loud, bossy, and always corrected (but no dogs in our area with whom we may "practice"). It's scarey when the dog is big, even if he's a weenie. My boss has two little dogs, untrained. I love one of them, but the other? I wouldn't trust that little man as far as I could throw him! Just as Jenme and Deb mentioned, his dominant behavior is perpertually rewarded by someone who doesn't understand that she's being controlled by her dog. When he oversteps his bounds she screams at him and then loves him up when he cowers/retreats. At all of 13-15 lbs. I view him as potentially dangerous and won't have in the shop when I'm there. Size is of not consequence, all dogs speak the same language. And once we learn it, they make great companions. "Leave it" and "Give" are two of my favorites. Another is, Wait". My big dog will walk right by a dead animal in the road with "Leave it", will drop it if he found it before I did, with "Give". He will remain in place with a stern, "WAIT!" and while he fusses a lot, "Leave it" helps control the jerk behavior when we meet another dog on our rounds. Those are all commands we learned in Basic and Advanced Basic Obedience. I can't wait to go to another class. I think housebreaking is as much about routine as anything. Food at the same time everyday. Out at the same times. Pick up the water dish if you're away during the day. I agree with the praise for "completion of dooty". Our dog has yet to soil in the house, and it's been over 2 yrs. now. But we operate on a schedule, too.

This is something I wish I could change about myself. I do not eat fish, or shellfish. I continue to try little bits of it when it is offered. It's not so disgusting to me that I can't eat a couple bites, but it's bad enough that I can't continue eating it. Like the first bite is OK, but it gets bad after 3 bites. LOL. But I don't cook it, so my kids don't eat it either. I know it's good for me, and I feel that I miss out on a lot of tasty and nutritious meals, and fun restaurants, because I don't eat it. If I could re-train my taste buds to eat it, I would. Every once in a while I get a bug in my head to search for mild fish recipes, but lose my nerve and don't commit to buying it at the grocery. DH is even pickier than me or the kids, so he is fine with me never cooking fish. My dad is the perfect eater. I wish I learned/inherited my tastes from him rather than my mom. My dad will eat ANYTHING. I know there are a couple foods he doesn't favor, but nothing he refuses to eat. I swear, this is the truth, I have seen him eat an entire meal at a restaurant and then announce it was delicious, but not at all what he ordered. Even when he gets the wrong meal at a restaurant, he just says "great, a surprise, let's try it." He is thin, strong and healthy and looks 15 years younger than his age.