Unfortunately, the first step is recognizing one is belittling someone. The happened to me and the person didn't understand why I found his response to advice I gave offensive. And while I agree with the above posts, methinks politeness might be in the eye of the beholder since calling replies "ignorant" is somewhat like the pot calling the kettle black. :-) One good rule of thumb is to ask yourself before you post: "How would I feel if someone addressed me this way?" That being said, I am a retired dog trainer. The most frustrating students were those who asked advice, ignored it or gave it their own "spin," and later came back and asked why their dog was doing poorly. I told my instructors to have patience with these students because if they had the answers they wouldn't be in class in the first place. And they didn't do it out of malice but lack of knowledge. However, I understand how frustrating it is and sympathize with those on this forum who find themselves in the same situation as my instructors. If a person can't give initial advice or comment on advice with which they don't agree without belittling or being offensive, they should take their toys and go home. If a person comes to these forums for advice, they should expect there can be consequences to their plants if they modify or ignore it. No one on this forum gives advice to kill a plant, for goodness sake. And if a person finds advice being ignored and is tempted to make a pithy response when they read the results or see the same question asked yet again, scream at the walls instead. :-) Linda...who *is* screaming at the walls because planes are practicing for an air show and each time they make a pass over her house the dogs howl.....loudly and long!

I guess I was a quiet little girl, I played cards...had a set of Authors and Old Maid cards...and my great grandmother taught me to play casino. My grandfather made me a spool knitter and I made miles of that stuff and then coiled it for mats. I had a bead loom. And for several yearsI had a washing machine box which got folded up and stored in the garage when it wasn't a house. It had a door with a knob on it and windows with shutters and even a chair inside. The grand kids loved it! And there was always a sandbox....I remember once when my husband was planning on doing some brick work in the backyard and he had about 2 tons of builders sand dumped on the drive way. Like magic that pile gathered kids with little cars and dolls and it was perfectly silent as each one made roads and ran their little cars around!

Our gathering this year initiated by me. With 6 children among 3 moms living in the southern portion of California it made sense to meet in Hollywood for Thanksgiving. I recommended much of the menu according to the tastes and traditions of my friends. We had turkey wrapped in bacon, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, two kinds of sweet potatoes, green beans almondine, a lovely salad brought by guests, corn bread with bacon stuffing, apricot sausage bread stuffing, a raspberry-cream cheese jello, three kinds of cranberry sauces, homemade pumpkin pies and cheese cake, purchased cherry and pecan pies, ice creams, and whipped cream. It was all quite traditional fare. I made stuffings and gravy at home and traveled with those. Pie filling and crust pastry dough were made at home and assembled there. My crust discs didn't have enough moisture and fought me. Thankfully pumpkin pies only have bottom crusts that were well covered by filling. They were not pretty! But the taste and texture were good. I cooked the turkey and a spare breast there. The turkey went into a roaster. I cooked it 450 for an hour and then turned it down to 325 for the rest of the cooking and held it at warm while everything else finished. It was quite fine. It was an organic 19 pound tom. My friends made the sweet potatoes, cheesecake, jello dish, and cranberries. We also had canned cranberry jell. The young'uns love that stuff. Alice and Haley made guacamole to snack on before the meal. Our hostess Lisa made hot cider and coffee. Though I asked and my emails were forwarded to all guests, no one told me that the two daughters of my friend's friends are vegetarian. :( They ate around the heavily meaty offerings. I would happily have made something for them and some veggie stuffing had I known. I had many sous chefs among the young adults who wandered in and out and helped. Everyone pitched in with everything that needed to be done. Though I am perfectly capable of turkey carving, I was also really ready to abdicate the duty due to tiredness by the time the bird emerged. I asked my son to carve. He stuttered in a panic and left the kitchen. :) I asked the super social husband of the friend's friend to carve. He also blanched at the request but manned up on the spot and did the job. Bless his heart. All of the young folks took over at dessert time and set everything out after we cleaned up the main event. We were supposed to be 15 but the elderly momma was unable to attend so we were 14. I packed up a boxed meal for her. Things I would do differently next time: have a Silpat on which to roll pie crusts, make a vegetarian side that can work as entree for the vegetarians. Make sure we don't buy 2 hams and twenty pounds of potatoes. Lisa and I accidentally doubled up on a few things. I sent my starving student children home with two bags of potatoes. Otherwise, I would not change much. If we do this next year I will suggest that the adult children make some of the sides as well. Thankfully other people took photos! The youngsters gathered in the patio before dinner. Left to right: Lisa, Alice and Alice, Noelle, Haley, Daniel, Aimee, and Gina. Daniel and Alice amusing themselves while waiting to eat. Serving ourselves. Alice and Aimee with their plates. Someone's plate. The kids' table. ;) Candace, the ham thief. She was banished to the patio until dessert after helping herself to a portion of ham from the buffet. She is very tall and will counter surf if not watched carefully. The oldsters. Lisa, our hostess, is third from the left. Tom, the turkey carver is pretending to steal a kiss. Alice and Haley with desserts. Post orgy, um...meal.

Editors note: There seems to be great deal of confusion about playing DVD's especially using Windows Media Player. WMP can indeed play DVD's..however..a DVD drive and "Codec" must be installed on the computer. The discussion below should help clarify the issue. Thanx to "PoohBear" for submitting this article. :) To play a DVD with your computer you need 3 things. First, you need a computer with enough "oomph" to play DVD video. This includes plenty of RAM and a fast processor. I have seen it done on systems with 256 megs of RAM and a 600 MHz processor, but that was all it would do. No multi-tasking. Better would be 512 megs of RAM or better, and at least a 1Ghz processor. Second, you need a DVD drive. You would be surprised at how many people try to play a DVD using a CD player. The lasers are different and they are not compatible. Third, you need software to play the DVD. You can play a DVD using Windows Media Player, but you will have to download and install a DVD codec. A codec is software for COmpressing/DECompressing video files. Different codec's process different types of files. To play DivX files you need the DivX codec. To play DVD files you need the DVD codec. Your DVD drive probably came with software..(codec)..and it's own "media player" for playing DVD's. It is likely compatible with Microsoft Media Player, so you can use either player as you wish. Note: When you install a DVD drive..or a DVD codec..you may find that it sets it's own 'media player' as the default player. Therefore, when you insert a DVD disc, an unfamiliar media player may appear. This may be the best overall choice..however.. if you prefer Windows Media Player, you can set the options in both players to make WMP the default player. "Third Party" software (other than what came with your DVD drive) is available. Two examples are PowerDVD and WinDVD, but there are others available for playing DVD. Remember, Windows Media Player will only play a DVD if a compatible Codec is installed. If you have a computer that is powerful enough to play a DVD and you have a DVD drive that you know is working and you have the software installed but you still can't view DVD, make sure you have the proper codec. Microsoft has codecs available for purchase.