Some friends who have pieced together a great outdoor kitchen from used restaurant parts keep color-coded buckets on hand, which they pass around after dinner. Guests pre-sort the compostables, some of which are then fed to a pet duck. Dirty paper plates, etc, go into an enclosed bin. All very cool. Here is a link that might be useful: my website

Lpink: This sounds like a fun AND commendable project! What ages are the kids? I always felt like the younger ones are more willing to at least try things once! Some things I found with 4 kids of my own. They'll eat almost anything they 'make' themselves. Burritos, salads, tacos, etc. Choices of WHICH veggie rather than "do you want a veggie" is much more effective. What they like this week may not be the same as what they like next week! LOL Not only do their tastebuds change, but it sometimes depends on what their friends said.... Taste tests sound like a good way to go. You could have decide WHICH peppers to plant. WHICH tomatoes? WHAT greens? Not IF, but taste to determine the variety! Also, challenges work well. If one of my kids challenged another to eat something (they thought) they didn't like, you can bet your bottom dollar they'd do it!! Games: Carry cherry tomatoes in a spoon across a finish line and eat it. Give spoon to next person...etc. Comparisons: Do you like corn or green beans better? Green beans or beets? What is your favorite veggie? They get to vote for one (or two), see which veggie comes out on top! Do bell peppers taste better cut into large or small chunks? Are green beans better cooked or raw? Beets: Pickled or plain? They have to try them to answer the questions!! They may just do it without stopping to think about it! If you have a variety of foods, preparation, colors and activities (hands ON!!) you can probably get them involved! Deanna

wow..mabelding that is what we had hoped to do but life interfered. I have the hardbound copy of Parks Directory of the US 5th Ed. it is amazing. I was lucky to get the used library edition for $15.00. You can find every single park and historic site and every natl. park ...every single thing but local and county parks in it. I found the local ones when I looked at the others online as they were referenced. It is an amazing book. It is still current even though it is 5 th ed. Not much has changed and you can look up on line after you find what you want in the book. I mapped out a 400 mi per day trip by using the maps for each state. went from park to park. You can probably find it at your local library. Here is a link. If you go to GA/FL let me know before as we have been everywhere and can give details. ((())) Good Luck and I will keep your link ! c here is the exact book I have...free download !! Here is a link that might be useful: Parks Directory

We smoke 2-3 times per week. In fact, we are smoking ham and corn on the cob today, by request of our son who is visiting. The Smoke Vault we got in December is huge (24"W x 16"D with four racks) compared to the worn out smoker we used previously. Mesquite is probably our least favorite wood to smoke with; alder, wild cherry, apple, pecan, hickory, etc. are favored. To smoke corn, just tie cooking string around the cob end to hold the husks in place and soak in cold water until ready to smoke. After it has been cooked, and cooled enough to handle, just remove the husks and silk. The silk is much, much easier to remove after cooking--saves a lot of time! --------------------------------------- I am a bit between learning new skills or adopting a fresh hobby/area of interest right now. Will have to wait until something strikes my fancy. We downloaded Windows 10 this week. Learning how to tweak it should keep me busy for a little while. Please let this one be the last; I was happy with the Windows 7 and would rather not have had to switch. But I learned from XP that there is no sense putting off this one because, too soon, nothing will work properly without support. It was pleasantly surprising how little difference there was using the computer after Windows 10 was installed, especially after reading some of the thread posts I saw in KT not long ago.