There is a good reason why discussion of pee leads to poop. Just think about the proximity of the human anatomical structures. Hot compost should kill any E. coli present. But is that part of the pile hot enough? Are you going to measure the temp in that spot? Good move, now your compost thermometer is contaminated... You pick up a trowel that you left on the ground, then your kid touches it, sticks his fingers up his nose, and he has ingested the organism. There is a reason why common hygiene dictates that you wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Used toilet paper??? Not in my house or yard. I have been a nurse for 34 years, and an anesthetist for 30. I do know something about germs. I know compost wackos argue that urine is sterile, but I can tell you that it is not. Almost every "sterile specimen" contains bacteria when seen under a microscope. What do you think the most likely source might be? Doesn't take Einstein to figure it out. Unless the specimen is obtained by catheterization, most contain some E. coli. How do you think E. coli outbreaks occur? Most of them probably result from individuals who fail to practice common good hygiene. I know that many people pee in their compost all the time without incident. But your luck can run out any time. I you don't practice good personal hygiene and teach your children to do the same you are doing a disservice to yourself and your family, not to mention the community at large. I'm really not a complete germaphobe. I compost, growing beautiful fungal colonies in there. But I don't use human or animal waste. Karen

I have been canning for over 40 years and I have NEVER had any problems with my jars not sealing. This year has been a whole new experience for me. I purchased 15 cases of Golden Harvest jars and lids as everyone seems to forget to return their empty ones to me. Out of those cases only one set of lids held their seal. Having working in a glass manufacturing factory for 26 years in Canada,as a maintenance mechanic,who was responsible to make sure all equipment worked properly, I can honestly say its the capping machines that are causing all the problems. I have found in these new cases, 2-3 lids all under the same cap,and double lids and caps on the same jar. Also the lids and caps are being put onto the jars too soon as the jars are still hot from being made in the first place. The lids then seal to the hot jars and forms a ridge in the rubber. This renders the lids useless when you go to use them.The capping machines are also using too much pressure to apply the lids and caps. I had to go out and buy all new Bernardin lids separately and reprocess pickles and peaches. Sadly tomatoes can't be reprocessed. As for mentioned as to where I worked, we were the last Canadian glass plant that could manufacture 4 different kinds of glass at the same time,before being bought out and ultimately closed. We made all the whiskey,beer, baby food,ketchup, and canning and pickle jars for all the big name companies as well as all the tableware and amber coloured bottles. Its not the lack of dividers in the cases or the shrink wrapping of them. That is strictly a cost saving deal. Its strictly a lack of quality control checks and then having all bad pallets of containers redone properly. Part of the mechanics job was to check on all the equipment regularly and adjust the equipment to make sure these things don't happen. Also the quality control people were required to sample check all products on an hourly basis and the report any issues to the mechanics etc. Cheri Mac

Yes vesfl, my Mary rose is nice and saturated deep pink. I believe this is because it only receives morning sun. I really like the nonstop blooming. The fragrance is actually pretty good, needmore. I just never cut any anymore, because they only last about a day or so cut. That's a real bummer, because cutting is a at least half the fun for me. I like to enjoy my blooms indoors, especially when it's too hot to be out much. My Mary Rose is VERY heavily virused, but still blooms really well. I am LOVING this cooler weather! I cannot remember it ever being like this in midAugust. I sure hope we don't get a furnace blast of heat after this, but it's likely. We are supposed to have a week of mild temps. Then September will probably bring our Santa Ana winds, heat, and fire. I dread that, but at least my water and electricity will get a break this week. Ingrid, I know what you mean. It really is always something, isn't it? Goodness, I think if everything was ever all perfect at once, I'd invite everyone I knew over for a look! I'd also make a utube video and post it here:) I don't have any raidiating heat, like you do. I know makes a big difference, plus the temp difference is substantial considering how few miles we are apart. I'm no fan of those LONG MRI's either. I've been putting it off, and it needed to be done. Yesterday I was worthless afterwards, as they had given me Valium in the IV. I've had lots of muscle spasms lately,(always worse in the summer heat) and they needed me to be still for two hours. When I came home, I was still dopey and dumb. Best not to garden like that. I'm thankful it was such a cool day, and not even the pots required water. I just watched some TV with Sebastian. Interestingly, I have found he will lay on the bed with me if I remove the comforter. Following the advice of someone here,(sorry name escapes me atm) removing the scent of Millie seems to help. He does however, continue to lose weight. I'm going to have to send him back in with my son soon. It's just so hard. In order to get the 75% discount,(which I need) he has to go to work with my son all day. Sebastian gets squeezed in for his tests or exams whenever they have time. He hates it there, and I feel terrible sending him all day long, adding to his stress. One day, he even came home without being seen at all, because they were so busy. I can't complain though, this would already have cost me thousands instead of hundreds, and I'm so grateful. The scary/confusing thing is that he has lost nearly 5lbs in 2 months. He is VERY sensitive to my health and emotions, plus Millie is bothering him. The head vet there says that amount of weight cannot be emotional. Yet, they are not finding anything. It's very troubling, and just adds to my stress, which in turn, probably adds to his. He really does stress out when I do. Sorry guys, I probably should have emailed that to Ingrid. I didn't intend to go into all that when I began. Cassandra, I'm not 100% about what I'm going to use. I know I need to do it fast, before my whole garden is affected. I don't spray or use chemicals either, but I'm going to in this barrel. I was just in no shape to have my dad stop somewhere yesterday so I could look over my options. I'll research and update it here. I know exactly what you mean about a bell going off on n your head. I have all sorts of bugs, and I complain about them, but most of the time I don't even identify them because I'm not going to do anything to them. When Jim posted pictures, I heard that same dingdong:) That's why it's never bloomed! When I looked, sure enough, the ends looked burnt and they crumbled off when I touched them. The midge can get into your whole garden and all your roses. You could have no blooms, and no new growth. Whatever we do, we need to do it fast. It's something like every 14 days the larvae hatch out of the soil and start eating and multiplying again. They can devastate an entire rose garden. Let me know what you do, too. I'm going to research and do something today. Lisa

When I was taking food to my elderly parents, I made 6 jar salads for them every week. I didn’t put the dressing in but layered the jars with the diced tomatoes on the bottom then diced cukes, onion, radish, red pepper and then packed in washed/dried romaine lettuce. If they used them in 6 days, they stayed good in the fridge. Something about glass and being tightly closed, I think, keeps them fresh. Here at home, I make a giant salad in the lettuce spinner case and we eat that for several days. It does not keep for 6 days.