I always cook my chicken/turkey bones a second time after removing the meat and storing it away. I keep the first broth in the fridge in quart-sized freezer containers, but I only fill each half way because I want to mix the second stock into the first before I pack it for the freezer. People are always surprised to see what nice broth you can get from just the bones, skin and gristle. Sometimes I will add water to the bones again after draining them, and stir this around. If the water starts looking like chicken stock, I'll cook the bones again. When I'm finished with the bones, they are soft and will collapse to a sort of a paste when you pinch them between your fingertips. I smush this stuff and bury it in my garden. I have to do it when the dog isn't watching though, and set something on top of it for a few days. I love my crockpot, too! I've never looked into what it costs to run it. I also have one of those big electric roasters that I always cook my Thanksgiving turkey in (and later use it to simmer the bones for broth) and Dawn, if you want something that cooks up a huge amount, you need that! But it would be hard to carry to a fire, now that I think about it. And I do save bits and tads of things. I don't like mixing my meats together so I will usually put them in wide-mouthed tapered pint canning jars and label them as to whether they are poultry, beef or pork. Sometimes I will make up a "tv dinner" if we have maybe one serving left of something, and put it in the freezer for later. I collect the liquids from canned vegetables and bits and pieces of veggies like tomatoes, celery, asparagus and outer cabbage leaves, in a plastic coffee jug in the freezer. When it's full I thaw it out, add add whatever I think it needs more of. Usually this is chicken or beef, some broth, and maybe a jar of canned tomatoes. A chopped onion. Add a can of mixed veggies from the store or a part of a bag of frozen. Actually I prefer the canned as it has potatoes in it. Heat all this up, add enough cornstarch to give it a nice smooth consistency. DH has a sensitive stomach so I don't spice it up. Just salt and pepper. If I'm feeding kids I add a little sugar, unless there's lots of liquid from canned corn in that batch. Yum.

heres the info from the original posting: ------------------------------------------------------------ hey, i'm hosting a new round robin. heres the deal: 1. sign up here 2. send any perrenial/ annual/ vine/ bush/ tree etc... seeds. 3. include postage for your end of the deal to get back to you. I will provide the envelopes. 4. i will sort the seeds and send you something different. if you sent morning glories, you wont get morning glories back. if you send five seed packages, you'll get five back plus one extra. so depending on how much you send, you'll get the same number of seed packages back plus a bonus. 5. get ready to recieve a surprise! anyone interested may post here and i will send you my addy. hurry, the deadline to sign up is February 28, 2005. you will be getting your seeds the second week of March. thanks jdiaz31089

Lee and Jane, isn't it funny how one likes gold pots and the other liked the urn? Luckygal, you are so welcome. Sounds like your urn collection will be used and I hope you have fun building a topiary soon. I'm only 60 miles from a Michaels so it's not as hard for me to get there. I love ys but not auctions. I don't have the patience to sit and wait for my items to come up. Karen, thanks and funny that you talk about pearls. I love them but they don't seem to like me at all. I've bought them for several years and keep throwing them away. Last year I decorated a tree outside and left them for months and that didn't help. They stink like cat urn and I don't have a cat in the house to blame.LOL Gail, so glad you like them too. I thought they could be elegant also in the right setting. Punk

It's up to you to maintain the relationship that you have with your grandchildren. Not theirs, not even their parents. This one is all yours! It's never up to the child to be the one that has the up keep of the relationship! And elementary aged children don't have much experience with phone calling, letter writing or emailing to begin with! Email is still just letter writing, even if you don't need a stamp! Gee Whiz! You didn't mention how often you call the grands? How many letters do you send them a week? A month? Do you write to them? Kids love getting mail! It doesn't have to be much. A few lines, a joke or two, a funny picture thay you saw in a magazine maybe! Always signed with lots of XXXX and 000's! Maybe a good gift for your grandchildren would be a big box of letter writing and picture drawing supplies! Envelopes of all sizes and stamps too! You might also include a throw away camera for each child. Let them know that you will be responsible for developing them if they send them back to you! You could then do double prints, keep a set for yourself and have lots of things to "chat" about in your next few letters or phone calls! Maybe webcams would be a good investment too! Make sure that "you" stay in constant contact! Our family always did the Christmas list thing! I have 3 sisters and between the 4 of us we have 10 children and all of us live with in 8 miles of each other and our parents. It was always so much fun to go to my Mom's during the Christmas season and see 10 lists on her fridge! We always knew exactly what to get the nices and nephews!