Visitors like that are always welcome. That's definitely worth a dozen eggs. Is it not nice not to wait half a day until your computer responds? I always said what's the hurry, but now I would not want to go back.

(Leslie here... addicted as always) Wonderpets... I found a link on the 'Bed Bath and Beyond' website to a mortar and pestle set that's identical to the one I use. It's made of marble, and costs only 13 bucks. Here's the URL to that link... http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=10177863 BUT...they have another set, made of granite, which I think would work even better for eggshells.(Wider diameter, made of bulkier material, more spendy though) See... http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=16041807 (I really like that one) Whatever you do, make sure you get one that is hefty and has some serious weight to it. As thin as eggshells appear to be, it takes a surprising amount of force to beat them into actual dust after grinding them into tiny bits. Trust me, you want the heaviest and most durable material you can find. Natural stone works perfectly for this. I can give you more tips on the fine art of pulverizing eggshells if you want. I squish them up in my hands first. Toss a few in the bowl, (don't fill it too full because you want them to be somewhat vulnerable to the hardness of the stone. Too many acts almost like a mattress) and start by grinding them into small bits. (This is like a rolling motion; you're just rubbing the surface of one stone against another stone, with egg shells in between.) Once I get them into smaller pieces, I continually shake the bowl back and forth horizontally across the counter; this brings the larger pieces up to the surface; the dusty stuff stays towards the bottom, acts as a buffer, (mattress) and allows you REALLY smack the bigger chunks HARD, without having to worry about striking stone against bare stone. Eggshells have no choice but to disintegrate upon sharp impact like this. (Yes, at this point, I basically hit them as I would with a hammer... so the 'mattress layer' protects the stone from any damage.) I probably wouldn't try this with ceramic material, definitely not glass... and I'm afraid metal might actually dent up from repetitive abuse of this nature. The marble one I use tolerates these beatings beautifully, with no ill effects whatsoever. I only wish the bowl was a little bigger, and also... fatter, heavier stone would just speed the process, and require less effort from whomever is doing the actual pulverizing. Oh and Laura... you have me pegged. I'm up to my ears in 'experiments' around here. Of those eight piles, I've managed to keep 4 in the 125-150 degree range for almost two weeks now. They are melting amazingly fast... My plan is to 'process' the contents of four cold piles through the hot piles as they go down; adding greens, and minding my ratios as I go. AND no bad smells or anything! Truly, I having a blast with this forum and all my compost-related adventures!!! I've just finished sculpting a decent sized hole in the ground to use as a fire pit... because I feel convinced I can fill this hole with sand, line it with rocks, and and use it to make some version of 'bio-char'. I have buckets of experimental 'bug juice' brewing... molasses tea. I've been prowling around the national forest too, in search of indigenous bacteria. (People dump huge piles of yard wast out there too, which I've been more than happy to scoop up while I'm there.) I built a very cool sifting table, which so far... I've been using to sift old, partially decomposed wood/bark mulch, but soon will use it to sift compost also. I've got one empty wire cage left, before I would need to cut into a new roll to make more. I've sworn to my boyfriend that I wouldn't keep more than these 9 bins going at once... but... you know how that goes. Found a source for free Alpaca poo yesterday... might be worth cutting into that new roll after all. :) Leslie in CO

A friend of mine made this pie recently and it was outstanding. Debbie Frozen Key Lime Pie Copyright, 2002 Barefoot Contessa Family Style Show: Barefoot Contessa Episode: Tex Mex This recipe is available for a limited time only. Why? 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers) 1/4 cup sugar 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted For the filling: 6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 2 tablespoons grated lime zest 3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes) For the decoration: 1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract Thin lime wedges Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool completely. For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze. For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight. Note: If you have concerns about raw eggs, combine the yolks with 1/2 cup of the lime juice used in the recipe in a double boiler. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches 140 degrees. Use in place of the raw egg yolks, remembering to add the remaining 1/4 cup of lime juice to the filling mixture along with the condensed milk and zest. *RAW EGG WARNING Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

I was watching a news article on TV about a month ago where it was being explained that someone having to euthanize a flock because the virus had shown up in some of the birds was not allowed by our state to bring in new to the same facility/property for 120 days. Same in all states? I don't know. In this case it was ducks (yes, big market for the eggs as well as the meat). The family had been supported fully by the ducks, so that meant no income for the coming 4 months. They had taken all kinds of measures to try to keep wild birds out of their pastured flocks to potentially infect them but those had failed. Increased fencing, dogs, had some territorial geese, more. I didn't need eggs today but looked when in Costco and they were $17.79 for a box of 5 doz. That didn't seem like an exorbitant cost to me. Limited to two boxes. When I really think about it, we don't use all that many eggs. We like eggs, I cook and bake with them, but we are not breakfast people so other than as an ingredient, just have them for egg salad or a breakfast-for-dinner meal every so often.