while driving home late yesterday afternoon, I heard a car tooting its horn. I looked in my rear view mirror to see a whole buncha peoples acting crazy with the unmistakable flags of BRASIL fluttering from both of the passenger/rear windows! yeee-haa!

1.) No, just because something is common does not mean it's safe. Drinking too much water at one time will kill you. I'd rather take my chances with water than with bleach. The ladies offer tips on using ingredients found in the kitchen to clean. Vinegar can be used as a disinfectant or a salad dressing. How many other cleaners would you put on your salad? 2.)When I googled "biological powder" biological washing powder came up. From the Persil website: "ItÂs no wonder Persil is the UKÂs favourite washing powder" From Wikipedia: "Laundry detergent, or washing powder, is a substance which is a type of detergent that is added when one is washing laundry to help get the laundry cleaner". Sorry I didn't know the "technical" term for it but it sure sounds like what we call "laundry detergent".

My DH was watching and I finally got sucked in for the last few episodes -- so I didn't watch all the lead-ups. One thing that occurred to me . . . until recently, and for the last 32 years, I lived in a small resort town. We had one grocery store, except for a glorious 2-year period with a real supermarket, with specialty foods -- it closed. So if my one store didn't carry an ingredient, or was out, I faced a 40 minute trip to find it, or change my menu -- which in reality, is what I did. For out-of-the-ordinary ingredients, I just had to plan ahead -- for my out of town shopping trips. Harissa -- not a chance! I wonder how many other fans live in areas where Jeffrey's exotic ingredients would be difficult to obtain. Incidentally, I'm now in a town with 4 (count 'em!!) supermarkets, the smallest of which is larger than my former one!! Oh, my!!!

Were the cucumber sandwiches and cucumber water supposed to be a meal? In my early days, wedding receptions I went to were short, alcohol free, with just coffee and punch to drink, cake, and very small cups of nuts and sweet tidbits to eat. Not an entire meal, at all, in fact I don't even recall seating, but there was probably some. No dancing either. Cucumber sandwiches would not have seemed cheap in this atmosphere. But if someone is thinking that small, crustless, cucumber sandwiches and water make a meal, they are mistaken.