I make homemade yogurt all the time. I really like straining it (for greek yogurt) and adding grated english cucumber (well drained), minced garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper for tzatziki. Great on crackers, veggies, etc. I buy the culture from the New England Cheesemaking company (I like the sour culture) and follow the recipe of the guy on YouTube - type in Greek Yogurt. The guy from Colorado with the little Greek flag is the one you are looking for. I have also the cultures for sour cream and creme fraiche, but have not had the occasion to make them yet. To answer your question, I do not think you need to boil the milk, but it does need to be heated to the right temperature. To set the yogurt, I just use my oven. No heating pads or extra stuff...I put my oven on for about 3 minutes at 200 (the lowest setting) and then put my bowl in the oven (covered) overnight. (It is not even close to 200 degrees) In the morning, I put coffee filters in my colander and put the yogurt in that (refrigerated) for about a day. I use the unbleached coffee filters instead of the cheesecloth as I was concerned about getting the cheescloth clean enough between uses. You can use this yogurt for making more batches, but since I make a gallon at a time of milk, it lasts me and my family over a week.

triciae-"She's probably bagging groceries at your local Safeway & can't get off work to show the property! lol" It seems that more than a few realtors are having to take second jobs to cover their expenses in this tough market. dabunch-"Honestly, if I had my house listed & a buyer would tell me that my REA is not responding. I would fire the REA!!!" If an agent refuses to return calls then I think having a buyer contact the owner directly isn't such a bad idea. At least its one way for a seller to make sure their agent is doing their job. Time is money and every month that a seller has to pay expenses for an extra mortgage, utilities and taxes is money out of THEIR pockets, not the agents. We are buyers. We have dealt with realtors who were rude, nosy, didn't return our calls or didn't know anything about the property even WHEN they finally found the time to show it to us. In cases like these, we don't have a problem contacting the owners directly to get the additional information we need or to even be able to view it when their agent can't make the time! On the other hand we do have sympathy for those hard working agents who are trying to do their job yet have to waste their time and gas showing houses to lookie loos or to indecisive buyers. We are always punctual and have even gone as far as to offer a few bucks to cover gas when we ask to see a house that is in a rural area. The price of gas isn't getting any cheaper and is predicted to go up even more. I predict a trend where agents will have to add this extra expense to their listing agreement, aside from their commission. Gasoline could hit $7, oil could double in four years, CIBC says ... www.marketwatch.com/news/story/gasoline-could-hit-7-oil/

Hi windchime, I feel sorry for your bathroom LOL Pretty sure, my response is too late now. I hope you already figured out where to get new lights to replace your old, old fixture. P.S. I think water drips from ceiling is not normal :) -Aris Here is a link that might be useful: bathroom lighting

It appears to be some delayed transplant shock - not fatal but not necessarily a good thing, either. First, you already know this but I'm going to repeat........planting a JM in June in a hot summer climate that is undergoing an extended drought is just not a great idea. Period. The tree is put at an immediate disadvantage by doing so. A reaction by the tree to this stressful situation should not be unexpected. Second, I know it seems counterintuitive, but pruning off the roots is exactly what you should NOT have done. Those fine feeder roots are how the tree accesses soil moisture and nutrients - the larger roots are only for anchorage. So the tree is now working on a second disadvantage - trauma to the rootball (JM roots are very sensitive to disturbance) and a lack of feeder roots. What I'd suggest you should have done is remove as much of the soil on the top of the rootball as possible to expose the burlap, cut any ties (and gently remove) and then unwrap the burlap surrounding the trunk and remove as much from the top of the rootball as possible, leaving the sides - with fine roots growing through - intact. Cutting off these roots has given the tree a major setback. In fact, the nursery I am associated with now nullifies their guarantee policy if removal of the burlap disturbs the rootball excessively......it is that much of a disruption to the plant, especially during the middle of the growing season. Finally, I'd want to know about your watering routine. Using an automated sprinkler system to water a newly planted tree is usually not a great idea. In fact, I discourage it. Most systems come on for a few minutes once or twice a day - this is not enough water for a new tree, particularly one of that size. And you can't tell just by looking at the surface of the soil or even down a couple inches if the soil is adequately moist down to a sufficient depth - it may appear adequately moist on the surface but be dry as a bone further down. Watering by hand, with the hose on a low trickle, for an extended period of time as often as necessary is a much better approach. The water needs to penetrate down into the soil profile at least to the depth of the bottom of the rootball and only low and slow will accomplish this sort of irrigation. A drip system or soaker could accomplish the same thing, but not a sprinkler system. So you've planted at possibly the worst time of year, you've cut off a major portion of the tree's feeder roots that supply its moisture needs and your watering program is not very suitable. Not a huge surprise the tree is reacting poorly :-) All you can do at this point in time is correct your watering practices and hopefully adequate water and cooler fall temperatures will encourage some new root development. I believe this to be recoverable but it may not be obvious until next spring and how well the tree leafs out at that time. Did it come with a warranty?