Egads! More from WebMD (can you tell I'm bored. LOL!) "Lead is a very strong poison... A single high, toxic dose of lead can cause severe emergency symptoms. However, it is more common for lead poisoning to build up slowly over time. This occurs from repeated exposure to small amounts of lead. In this case, there may not be any obvious symptoms, but the lead can still cause serious health problems over time, such as difficulty sleeping or lowered IQ in children. Lead is much more harmful to children than adults because it can affect children's developing nerves and brains. The younger the child, the more harmful lead can be. Unborn children are the most vulnerable. Children get lead in their bodies when they put lead objects in their mouths, especially if they swallow the lead object. They can even get lead poison on their fingers from touching a dusty or peeling lead object, and then putting their fingers in their mouths or eating food afterward. Tiny amounts of lead can also be inhaled. Testing shows that many children have too much lead in their blood. Overall, about 1 in 20 preschoolers have high levels of lead in their blood. Any child can be affected. Children living in cities or older houses are more likely to have high levels... There are many possible symptoms of lead poisoning. Lead can affect many different parts of the body. Over time, even low levels of lead exposure can harm a child's mental development. The possible health problems get worse as the level of lead in the blood gets higher. Possible complications include: Reduced IQ Slowed body growth Hearing problems Behavior or attention problems Failure at school Kidney damage " I think I'm gonna get some of those lead swabs and test those Christmas mugs :o) Here is a link that might be useful: Medline Encyclopedia : Lead Poisoning

Ah, an opportunity to speak on a religious note: In church a few weekends ago, our Old Testament reading was Leviticus 19:9-18 And I was struck by this passage: Quote: (9)"When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. (10)And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God. I decided that, though I am not a farmer, this applies to me. The "gleanings" in my life are the outgrown kids' clothes, the furniture I no longer need. That I am not intended to wring every last drop of financial value from everything I have. But that I am supposed to leave the small-value things I don't need anymore, so that they can be used by those to whom their value will be larger. And THAT is why $2 for a wool suit. And that is why the idea is simply to move those things along. It's great if your church can make money from your "gleanings," but that's not God's point. He didn't tell those farmers to take the gleanings to the temple for the priests to sell, or even for the priests to eat. You're supposed to pass up the earnings potential in order to make them available to the people who so badly need them. Of course, your church rummage sale quite probably does benefit those to badly need a wool suit for $2. I know my mom's does--we were talking about this just last night. Her church (Trinity Lutheran in Des Moines) is in an economically sinking neighborhood, and its area residents who aren't members nonetheless come and buy things they like, need, etc., at a huge discount. And that is why they continue to do it, even though they don't make much money. So take what you have to the Goodwill now, and consider this to be following God's rules. Then, as the sale gets closer, and you find yourself more motivated to save it for there, you can if you'd like. What I want most for the stuff I donate is for it to end up in the hands of someone who will use it. And so I'd rather take kids' toys & clothes to the Children's Aid Society--it was too hard to swing this time around, but it's on my list. Bcs I believe they'll simply hand those clothes or toys to a kid who needs or wants them. Or they'll put the toys in the day-care centers they run, which will help them keep the centers both affordable and pleasant for the kids who need them.

Residents here are only allowed 2 a year with no rain dates. and you have to buy a permit and have it posted. It used to be so much fun to have them and to go to them. I feel sorry for some people who really counted on YS money.

Funny thing is that I checked this post this morning and read it and decided to hit a town's city wide sales. Normally I garage sale every weekend but this year haven't gone to any yet. I usually try and buy all the kids clothes for the next year at garage sales during the summer. Well got to the town and there were only 15 sales, but I hit the mother lode. I went to one that had tons of clothes for my oldest, filled 4 walmart sacks full for under 20 bucks and for my oldest son filled 5 bags for him. I got shoes, jammies, shirts, slacks, jeans, sweaters, sweats and everything they need for the year. The other 2 get their hand me downs so for 50 bucks outfitted the family for the next year:) Stacie