Me? Cylon? Fracking Zeus, you may be right! That explains a lot: No baby pictures 11 brothers who all look like me That odd factory in my hometown How perfect I am Speaking of small towns. Ever notice how some of these in our neck of the woods are all quaint and charming and others are just sad and creepy? You know, I really enjoy these TV series, type DVDs. ThereÂs something a bit more gratifying when you have to devote many nights of viewing in order to finish something and see how it all turns out. After I did a bunch of these and then took a break and watched a few regular movies, the movies just seemed lacking or rushed or kind of lame at telling the story they wanted to tell. Maybe all movies need to be 6 hours minimum. I have to do more of these series once I start the DVD thing again. Will do the miniseries. I like my kind.

I have pollen in season and would be glad to help you out. I live in Indio, if you are close I can meet you somewhere or I could mail a little. I'd be glad to help you with all the steps to work the fruit too. Be sure to do your dethorning in December, before flowers start (Feb or March) email me at softmentor@netzero.com.

My grandmother had a very hard time letting things go. She grew up during the Depression (maybe that's not just economic) and was taught to save and re-purpose everything. When times got better, she still had that idea that something could still be used. On the bright side....she could find an old coat, take it apart, cut down the pieces and make it into a lovely new coat for a child. She was so talented and could do so many wonderful things :) She never got into the 'piling' problems, but her craft room often reached out and took over the dining room! She always had a fairly organized kitchen and plenty of space to sit in the front room. But, it was difficult for her to let go of things, when it came time to move to a retirement place. One thing that seemed to help....we put all of her crafts, yarns, projects into boxes (organized) and got her a small storage unit. She did get a few things out and finish them, but we finally donated everything to a local charity/rummage sale. She decided to do it and made many farm ladies VERY happy. They were the ones to go through everything for the sale....and found many yarns and other materials that were no longer made and were able to finish their own projects! I wanted to say that Violet is very brave to even start this thread! We all know how devastating changes can impact ourselves and those we care about. With everything we've been through the last few years (and moving my mom into our home) it's more important than ever to LET GO OF STUFF that doesn't need to be here, anymore. But KEEP THE STUFF that we love and use. Sorting and giving away (to Goodwill many times) is the best way I know to avoid the hoarder/clutter problem. And cleaning....it's not fun sometimes, but it's a wonderful way to feel happy about your space and enjoy life. Depression seems to often come from that feeling of helplessness (and while I'm certainly no expert) I think taking control of your life....even if it's cleaning one corner of the room at a time.....helps us see that we CAN control our future and pushes that helplessness away and brings light back into our lives :)

Vee, here's my other story.Winters in Iowa can be hellish, with ice and wind storms that often knock out power utilities nowadays, though it was even more common in the early 1960s when the incident I am about to relate happened. My grandfather (Opa) worked for the rural county electric cooperative. He was almost at the end of his career, and though he no longer did manual work, with his experience he supervised crews and told them what to do. Therefore, he was on call for any problems that came up. My mother and I were visiting her parents who, by this time, had moved to town. We had intended to drive home that evening after supper, but the weather was so threatening that we decided to spend another night. The wind was howling and the snow was coming down so thick we couldn't see the streetlight directly across the way while looking out the front door. As he could have predicted and dreaded, Opa got a call to go out to repair some downed power lines. He bundled up and left in his company truck. Mother, Oma, and I finished with the dishes and decided to go to bed early. Now, the physical layout of the house has some importance, so I'll describe it. The large living room was at the front of the house; and its focal point in the winter was the gas heater, around which several chairs were arranged. Opa's armchair was the closest because he liked to take off his shoes and put his sock feet on the fender -- his circulation wasn't very good and his feet were always cold. In the wall directly across from the heater was the door to the long hallway that led to the bedrooms. The bathroom (toilet) was located off this hall, too. Some hours after going to bed, I woke up and sprinted to the bathroom because the floor was so darned cold. Passing the door to the living room, I glanced in to see the blue flames of the heater giving off just enough light to see Opa in silhouette sleeping, as he often did, with his feet propped on the fender. I finished in the bathroom and sprinted back past the living room door. I noticed this time that Opa had changed positions and was hunched over and seemed to be fumbling with his shoes. When I got back into the bed I was sharing with my mother, she was awake and said to me, "Next!" She got up to make her own excursion to the bathroom. After that I apparently went to sleep and didn't even know when mother returned to bed. The next thing I knew it was morning and my Oma was making breakfast. The weather was still nasty, but the kitchen was heaven. As we were setting the table, the kitchen door off the back porch opened and Opa came in, knocking snow off his hat and making puddles on Oma's linoleum. She swatted at him to quit, but asked him, "How did things go?" He said he was just about frozen through; and if she didn't mind, he wanted his breakfast on a tray so that he could eat it in front of the heater. Oma was obliging. As she was arranging things, Opa called to...