Wow! Some pictures! We live in Greenville and were not able to get anywhere near the bridge because they had 209 closed. I was able to see the water under the erie overpass (or whatever you would call it). We are fortunate to be up on the mountian. We did get a small leak in our roof, so I got water in my brand new enclosed porch (it was comming in through the light fixture)! It damaged my paint job, but hopefully not the sheetrock. The only problem is that I glazed over the paint, so I kind of mixed it myself. There is no way I'll ever match it. I guess I'll have to hang something over it.

I guess I am a plunker. I keep buying things that remind me of something when I was a kid or is just pretty then before you know it I have 20 or 30 things in pots and have to make a new bed for them. Then I put in stuff and still don't have room for it all so what do I do? Put it in bigger pots to hold them over til I get another bed made and then go buy more, lol. My patio looks like a jungle. Oh yeah did I mention I need more beds. I am trying to talk my hubby into making me one the entire length of the back of the house and clear out the shrubs on each side. Then I want to yank out all the ugly shrubs across the whole front and make those flower beds too. Poor thing he agreed to buy this house out of all the ones we looked at because he thought he wouldn't have to plant anything since it had mature trees and shrubs already. I just said thats right and let him dream til we actually got it. Now I am slowly filling him in on the real plans I have for it all. I love my trees but hate the shrubs. Especially since he doesn't like to trim them. I would much rather have pretty plants there. This is my first house and I have been waiting a long time to have a place to plant things so I am really enjoying it. I had neck and shoulder surgery recently so I can't do my own digging or I would be done already. Sorry for the rambling post.

OK a couple of years ago my feet hurt so bad when I got off of work that I couldnt hardly walk. I thought I dont know how much longer I will be able to work. I had ordered those off of a infomercial that I think were called walkfit or something like that. We went to visit our daughter and her family in Michigan and my son-in-law told me even before we got there he was going to take me to meijers and have me try the machine. When I tried it it told me which ones I needed and they were the second to the bottom so that means mine were really bad. My husband tried it and his were second to the top and so were my daughters. When my SIL did it his were the same as mine. Well since I had ordered these off of the TV I said I will wait until I get home and see if they were any good and if not I will have them send me a pair of them. I got home and the other ones were already here. I tried them for a couple of days and they were so hard and they never made any difference in helping my feet. I sent them back and had my SIL get me a pair. I could not believe the difference it made I have absolutely no problems now with my feet. I am a cook and I spend a lot of time on my feet. They were a godsend for me. I would not hesitate to spend the money on them again but these show no sign of wear and I dont know if they will ever wear out. I would highly reccomend them to anyone who has foot problems. Now they have them here in North and South Dakota. They just got them here though.

bpathome, the Instant Pot does release steam out the top. Mine never makes a mess, though--it's just steam that goes upward, there is no water or residue on my counter that I've ever noticed. terriks, the IP is a pressure cooker that can also be used as a slow cooker and a rice cooker. I've had one for a year now and I use it multiple times per week. It is great for soups, cooking dried beans without presoaking, making mashed potatoes and hardboiling eggs so they are very easy to peel. I love that I can make soup really fast after I come home from work and I can steam a whole sweet potato for the baby in under 15 minutes. I feel like the IP does save time but for me the primary advantage is that it takes no supervision. I put the soup ingredients in and close the lid, set it for 15 minutes and walk away. Since I am often multi-tasking while I cook, it has saved me time in not having to go back to check if the soup is simmering, adjust the temps, adjust the lid, stir, etc. I've also made mac and cheese in it but did not feel it was any easier or tastier than the traditional way--it was the same and took the same amount of time. We do not cook meat but I can only assume that it comes in very handy for meat dishes, too. Here are the down sides: 1) the steam does vent straight up. If you don't have an island, I think the steam frequently venting under/in front of your cabinets might not be the best thing for them. If you are standing there when it vents you can divert it, but that negates the "no supervision" benefit. 2) It is big-ish and heavy-ish; unless you leave it on the countertop, you will be lifting it. My favorite large soup pot is a Le Creuset, so it's not a lightweight option, either, but if you have carpal tunnel or something, you might want to consider the weight and where you will store your IP.