Leone, we don't care how many typos there are in George's posts - we will figure them out, rest assured. Of course, we always love to hear from you, too! After all, you can give us the real skinny on George. As to the cat - yep, they do have a sense of humor. We use to have a big old grey-blue boy that would hide behind the door in the summer and when you came in he would jump out and just fall over right in front of you. Of course, you would nearly fall trying to either stop to avoid stepping on him or trying to step over him. Then he would jump up and run like mad to the far end of the house to the front door, turn and run back to you just as fast as he could. Then, he would stop and sit down so nicely and wait until he was petted. It's amazing how many times we would start through the door and forget what was going to happen! One of our guinea fowls brought up 15 baby keets this evening (counted 5 this a.m. and 15 this p.m.) and our big old male cat just laid there and looked at the babies. I think he has tangled with the cock before and knows better than to move toward those babies....LOL. Now, he may have been licking his chops and trying to figure out a way to get them, but I don't think he is that dumb! Hugs to you both. Mary

I was making BBQ sauce. I have mostly Roma and Italia tomatoes, so I just wash them good and then cut them in half. I put them in the pans on low heat until they juiced up a bit (you can mush some too, to start) and once they get heating they juice up on their own. I added onion, celery seed and garlic, and then just let the mixture boil down. I think I let it boil for about an hour - it really was very mushy. Then I set up the KA with the food mill, and started ladleing the hot tomatoe mixture in - juice and all. I would do a bowl full, dump the bowl and then run the waste back through the mill a second time to get a bit more out. Then I'd toss that and start a next batch. I keep a large metal spoon and hand, and with each full bowl, I would take off the clear plastic cover and use the spoon to scrape the pulp off the seive. That kept it from plugged up and I did the whole batch without having to clean it. When I'm done, I use the garden spray nozel to blow the spiral clean. I also spray into the strainer and use the spoon to scrape the pulp clean - keep at it until it's all gone. My kitchen spayer does not have enough power to do an adequate job. I use to hate cleaning that thing, but now it's pretty easy. But I cheat as my garden hose spayer is in my summer kitchen. My KA has been spending a lot of time out there lately too (it's in the glass case)

I'm so sorry for what you're going through. For what it's worth, I was in a long marriage to an emotionally abusive man, and I also (now, not then) have a child with special needs. I can't imagine how you could possibly have dealt with all that you've been dealing with for as long as you have been. It has to have been intolerable. Don't worry about how you're "supposed to be feeling" -- Just go with what you do feel, and allow yourself to feel it. Give yourself permission to let go for a few days. If you're sure it's the right decision, then tell the kids that you're sad that you and their father could not be happy together (not sad you're splitting), and that it's important to allow yourself to feel sad for a few days -- But that you know it is the right decision and that you'll be happier next week. It might actually help to put a date on it -- I'm going to allow myself to be sad until Friday (so they don't worry too much). Then CRY. Just hug your kids and cry, and let them cry too. Then pull yourself together after you've washed out some tears and start moving forward. You may be surprised actually behow relieved you feel. More than anything else, I felt relieved, and like I finally had a chance at reaching something good. You may be scared right now, but IME, it's much easier to have NO help than to have almost no help and lots of criticism. Clearly, you've got incredible resources, and you're going to be OK -- probably better than that.

Hey, John, I would strip away the grass, lay down some manure or compost, then cover with cardboard or newspaper, followed by some mulch to hold the cardboard/paper in place. The cardboard/paper will decompose quickly, and the mulch will breakdown as well. Once this happens, apply more manure, compost, or fertilizer, and repeat the process. I'm a high school teacher, so I bring home a huge stack of unclaimed papers at the end of the Fall semester and I lay the paper out in my garden for "lasagna" or layer mulching. I don't till my garden, I just keep adding layers of paper, old potting mix, leaves, manure, and occasionally some bark mulch. Within a few months of Winter rains, the papers are completely broken down. Josh