You live in the SF area? Have you tried taking a trip to Sebastopol, California to visit Peter D'Amatos's carnivorous plant nursery California Carnivores? Peter D'Amato is the author of the well know book Savage Garden and is the owner of the CP nursery. From where you live it shouldn't a trip well worth it if I lived in SF. You can take the 101 Redwood Highway heading north all the way to Cotati, making a left there to 116 Gravenstein, heading west to Sebastopol on. Just keeping an eye for "Old Gravenstein" on your right. You'll have fun there and maybe find Mr D'Amato working their, he will give you good advice.

ttod, You poooor thing! I feel for you, I really DO understand! I'm going to tell you a rather long story, and really there IS a point to it.:) With any luck, maybe it will zero in on your problem or maybe it won't help you but just maybe it will help someone else who's going through this. Exactly what you describe is what was happening to me three years ago. At first I too thought chiggers. Then fleas, then mosquitoes then allergies from something I got in to. Never on my face. The first couple weeks it was only on my torso and a few on my legs, usually the outside thigh area. Going into the second month I would wake up with the little 'bites' on the outside of my arms then on my outer calf area. More and more, month after month. Doctor was baffled. Sent me to a dermatologist who sent me to some uppity-up specialist who asked me how often I bathed as in his words, it looked like it was a case of bad hygiene! Back to square one. Every day from the moment I put my feet on the floor until I crawled in bed, I checked, double-checked and then added to my spiral notebook list of things I came in contact with that day. Another doctor who didn't want me in his office because he feared I was contagious, prescribed a lotion for scabies over the phone.I used it as directed, no results but I did learn it causes cancer. Neat. A whole year and bottles and bottles of liquid Benadryl and OTC itch creams later, I was again sanitizing the family room. The fold-out couch was rather heavy so I asked my son to give me a hand moving it. As my son got behind the couch he asked "Mom, what's this????" Heck, looked like someone had sprinkled a whole container of tan baby powder on the back of the couch...the part you lean against. Long story a bit shorter...... The couch was in front of the very large window. Outside that window, with it's fronds just reaching the window screen the year before....was our Australian Fern Tree. A bit of Columbo'ing and here's what we figured out..... The fern would create this really tiny, very fine powdery stuff on the underside of it's fronds....it's spores. The air would blow those fine particles against and into the screen and onto the couch. I took my daily nap on that couch! My face was at the far end of the window, and my head was elevated and resting on a hand towel. Even though I would vac the couch, those teensy spores from the Australian Fern Tree would just filter back in through the screen as fast as I vac'd. I never saw that little powdery spore stuff...they are a golden color as Was the print on our couch (notice I say "Was" ?) I'd take a nap and those spores would stick to my skin. I'd crawl in bed taking the spores into bed with me where they had even more time to embed into my pores. I took a shower every morning but lie on the couch again and if I didn't nap on the couch, I'd crawl into bed at night where the spores, that I took to bed with me the previous night, were waiting for me. Hubby never once was bothered by the spores in bed. DX= terribly allergic to spores from ferns. And of course, ferns of any kind are my very favorite plant life in my back yard. Moral : A year and a couple thousand dollars later, and arms, torso and legs full of scars today, going nuts changing detergents, clothing manufacturers, sanitizing my home, not touching anything I was not familiar with....... And it all came down to fern spores that came in through my window screen (Southern Calif----that window remains open all year). Whatever you have, I really feel for you! I know getting a good night's sleep isn't easy when you are itching and worrying about what is causing those little red 'bites' you're losing even more sleep......it's sooooo frustrating! Maybe start thinking outside the box. Wish I would have...would have saved me a lot of time, money and stress! I hope whatever it is that is eating you, you find out soon. Please keep us updated!

Scott, I am happy to say that you lead me in the right direction and I think I have found where the air is coming from. When closing/opening the main drain I noticed a drop of water by the valve. I mentioned it to DH. Then we realized that when he opened the drain he did not turn the valve as open (tight) as I did. When I opened it, no air, when he did, air. I am so happy it is not underground. He plans on changing the valve soon but in the meantime, no air and chlorinator is working. Thanks so much for your help!

I have a Lello with compressor/freezer. There are many things I like about it (not the price!) and some things I find frustrating, but I would never choose one that requires freezing the bowl. The thing I find most frustrating is that this is a simple machine--sturdy as a house--which has only two controls and a timer: Cold on/off and Churn on/off. I would like to be able to adjust the temperature and speed. With the cannister/bowl from the freezer you have even less control over the temperature because ambient is such a great impact, and you're generally setting the freezer for optimal food storage rather than optimal ice cream. The only version that has tempted me is the one that goes with the KA mixer, because one could whip for frozen mousse. One of the great things about the Lello is that the bowl is not removable. Yes, that's one of the best things. There are no seams or crevices around the bowl for gunk to get into. The whole thing is steel, including the dasher, which is super easy to remove--just a capnut with textured sides to unscrew. Then one uses a sponge and bowl to clean. I keep a dedicated sponge in the machine. It's a little more work than just cleaning a bowl in the sink, but so much less work than trying to get gunk out of unexpected places! What I have is actually somewhat between an ice cream maker and gelato maker. It doesn't have the up and down action of a standard gelato maker, and isn't as fast as a standard ice cream maker. It's best at custards, which come out with an amazingly good, silky texture, and not so good at low/non fat because the water freezes too quickly. The same is true for ice creams with a high fresh fruit content, again because there's so much water that it actually makes them low fat. That's a standard problem with any freezing method. Usually, gum is added, but I don't really like doing that. I may experiment with starch this Summer, which is traditional for gelato and might work with leaner mixes. Cooking down the fruit will reduce the water, but perhaps not enough unless you take it down to jam. I also want to experiment with using a mixer or blender to aerate the mix before freezing. I don't know if the churning will knock out the air, but it sounds fun to try. Recommendations: The more control you have over temperature and speed, the more you can make the machine adapt to you rather than you adapting to the machine. The more easily you can clean, especially right around where you're likely to spill, the less likely you'll have sour gunky messes requiring toothbrushes and elbow grease. You'll get more consistent results with a machine with a compressor/freezer. The easier and less complicated the method is, the more you'll use it. Accessories: One thing about homemade ice cream is that it may not keep well in the freezer, especially if it's not full fat. Again, the water freezes too hard and crystallizes. Even full fat ice cream can get unpleasantly hard, and having to thaw to get one scoop is not good for the ice cream or your patience. The only really good answer is to have a special ice cream freezer that you keep to the optimal temperature. For the full fat ice creams my machine is best at, however, these insulated containers keep it well in the regular freezer. If you're keeping your ice cream in the freezer, it also helps to have a solid body scooper with a thick neck, rather than the food scoop or lever style. There are a great many books and treatises out there about ice cream. Sometimes, however, you just want a clear recipe that makes great ice cream without hours of study. I highly recommend The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein. Every recipe I've made from it has been great, including the fresh strawberry. That one didn't keep well in the freezer, but straight from the machine it was fluffy clouds of strawberry goodness. Re ingredients, you get what you pay for. The same chocolate ice cream recipe is vastly different depending on your cocoa powder, for instance. Trader Joe's fancy cocoa powder gives you standard chocolate ice cream. Valrhona, even reduced in quantity to compensate some for the higher fat content, is stupendous, intense and fudgelike.