I only ever got down to 33 on Saturday nite, and 34 last nite. The soothsayers were wrong again! Was debating what to do tonite! NOAA is predicting down to 30 tonite, and while I don't believe that's gonna happen, I decided to stick the pots over my things again for one more nite! Decided I might be tempting fate if I didn't! Then it looks like we're gonna be sailing under blue skies with warm temps for at least a week! I didn't get any moisture out of this last one, so still really need some, but am hoping they're right anyway! After a few cloudy, chilly days, I'm ready for a stretch of SUNSHINE! Glad nobody got bitten---this time! Skybird

I'm mostly vegetarian. I don't much care for meat, don't like to digest it, and don't like the taste. When I do eat meat it is poultry or fish. I use bacon occasionally as a flavoring, more often pancetta or proscuitto. My "problem food" is evil cheese. I just love the stuff and can't get enough of it. Cheese has some kind of addictive chemical in it I read. I have to work really hard to limit my consumption of cheese. The kinds I like are full of saturated fat. I do mix the fatty kind with lower fat kinds to try and mitigate some of the damage. I have no heart or cholesterol problems, and have been in generally good health my whole life. I have fairly decent genes. But I think the main issue with eating for health is to eat a balanced diet. It does no good to eschew red meat and then eat tons of sugar and fatty junk foods, which is what I see some young "vegetarians" doing. And these sugary drinks also are terrible for your health. I would be much more concerned about someone eating lots of sugar and junk foods than occasional red meat or eggs. I think that is what does people in, a diet of very little fruit or vegetables, and high in the saturated fat, including bacon, sausage, etc. I don't see a problem with maybe two strips of bacon if you're eating it with whole grain waffles topped with fresh fruit and yogurt. But that's now how most people eat. They eat processed foods. Also, a huge culprit in our national heart disease epidemic is lack of exercise. We lead such sedentary lives that it's almost impossible to control one's weight just with diet. I would say it's not beef per se that is killing us, it's how we raise the beef, how we cook it, and how much of it we eat, and what else we eat (or don't eat) along with it. For most of time, red meat was an occasional treat, and sausage was used as a flavoring for potatoes or beans, and it was a struggle to get ENOUGH calories for folks, not what we're facing today. Most people ate some kind of grainy gruel every day, not the rich dishes that have survived in the cookbooks and literature. My dad's four main food groups are meat, fat, sugar and white carbs. He always goes shopping and lays in a supply of junk food when he comes to visit me. Also suggests that we go out to eat all the time. Once Christmas I cooked and ate like he likes just to keep the peace. I felt really bad after a week of it. Poor sleep, and generally sluggish with mild digestive upset all the time. Of course I guess one's body does kind of "adjust" over time. Anyway, dad had been plagued by digestive problems all his life, and has clogged arteries, yet for whatever reason, cannot change his eating pattern, even though it makes him suffer. He's kind of like an alcoholic. He thought he could get away with it when he was younger because he was an athlete and not overweight. He's still only a little bit overweight, but has terrible acid reflux along with colon and artery problems. Shy of genetic conditions, I would say my dad is fairly typical of what's out there. BF's co-workers are dropping like flies now that they are in their late 50's and sixties. They all smoke, drink and eat like my dad, and are overweight. I would say eating a lot of red meat is in most cases part of a general pattern of poor health habits. Folks here are probably not typical American eaters.

Ashi, my husband is the same way with the tractor. When he mows, something always gets "sacrificed". I had planted live oak trees on the graves of two of my cats. I chose live oaks because everyone loves live oaks, and I figured if we ever sell this place, no one would cut down the live oaks. Well, he did...said he didn't see them. Fortunately, both came back up, but when he mows, I have to be out there watching or something else will be lost...if only a garden hose or whatever. I figure the way I will meet my demise eventually is when he runs over a chunk of concrete or a brick, and it is thrown and hits me in the head. I don't think he is doing these things on purpose...we really don't have any money...so no reason to want me dead. The tub looks just like this one in this thread at the bathroom forum. Mine is old, and close to 6' long. I wish it was a little deeper, but this will be okay....at least I can stretch out and soak. By the way, yesterday I saw a green toilet at a junk shop. I am going to see about it tomorrow. It is kind of jadite green. I think it will go okay with my white tub, and I have a friend whose mother paints sinks and they fire them in a kiln, so I will get her to paint a sink for me using some jadite green colors...like leaves, and maybe some pink roses. I was told that you can buy new "guts" for old toilets. I don't think this one is antique...but it is kind of unique. I just love junk. Here is a link that might be useful: Bathtub

"If you think this is not offensive and belittling and objectifying women--you are part of the problem." Wow. Really? Talk about self righteous. I see veggie's point, but not everybody reads it as equating women as "second base" or that men view women as sexual play things --- as evidenced that some breast cancer survivors are not finding this offensive --- but I guess they haven't seen the light? Here's info from their FB site: "Save 2nd Base is an apparel company focused on raising funds to fight breast cancer with a frank and humorous approach. From Scholarships to Survivor events, Save 2nd Base strives to inject much needed laughter while fighting this devastating disease." Actually, one could easily make the point that part of what's so devastating about breast cancer is how if affects women's sexuality and their sex life. And, yes, breasts are part of this. So, by not addressing this concern, you're basically denying women's right to a fulfilling sex life. https://duckduckgo.com/?q=breast+cancer+surgery+sexuality&atb=v86-3__&ia=web