Lynxe, this is getting really redundant. It's not a question of whether one can compensate for the deficiency. I suppose if one wanted to, they could live on nothing but supplements. Those on that very low calorie diet trying to hyper extend longevity essentially do that. But that is not to say it's optimal for good health or sustainable by the vast majority of people. As I said before, the issue is that the strict vegan diet, by itself is not complete. Meaning that it is not fundamentally consistent with the full nutritional requirements of the human body as it has evolved over the past tens of thousands of years. This, on its face says that it is not optimum. Further, as I said before, we know about the need for B-12, and the challenges of adequate protein, iron, zinc, iodine, DHA, calcium in following that diet. But it's what we don't know that's missing in that diet that could be harmful. We went for decades lauding a low to no fat diet and it wasn't until they looked deeper into the kinds of fats and the metabolism of those fats and things like essential fatty acids that they realized the low/no fat diet was not optimum. Not only for the required fats, but also for the sustainability of the diet as fats help keep one from feeling hungry. Further the replacement of fats with sugars, as many food cos. did to try to keep their food palatable, was very damaging to the waistline and blood sugar levels. Moreover, on a personal level, I never went vegetarian but approached that and found myself not doing well as I wasn't getting adequate protein (suffered hair loss and weak nails) and I was getting excess carbs which showed up as belly fat and cellulite. When I went back to eating a more balanced diet, all of that improved as well as my muscle tone and energy levels. I know quite a few other people who tried vegetarianism and went back. I know others who have tried veganism and went back to vegetarianism because they felt better and were doing better. You can argue that it was because they weren't doing it right, but the reality is, given how much time and effort they were willing to put into it, including some animal products in their diet was more effective and sustainable for them. If veganism works well for you, then that's wonderful. If you're willing to invest the time and effort to get sufficient variety/supplementation to keep your diet complete, that's great. I'm happy with whatever works for anyone that keeps them healthier. But given that only 2% of Americans are even self-described as vegan (and we don't know how many of those are long-term vs. dabblers) and given the nutritional risks/effort required to maintain health on that restrictive a diet, as well as the anecdotal experience of those who have tried it especially for the long term, I believe it is not the best diet for the vast majority of people. -------------------- This video discusses multigenerational veganism, or the lack thereof. The link below is a blog post by a doctor on her actual experience with patients who pursue veganism (vs. the theoretical) and how rare it is to find someone who will maintain the diligence required for long term health with veganism. If you do a search on "long-term veganism" you'll find lots more. Here is a link that might be useful: Dr. Clouthier on Veganism

Lavender Lass, The thing that has always struck me about your inspirational posts isn't necessarily the popping colors. It's the softened fairy tale look. I don't think that necessarily the solid dark blues or solid bright blues offer that "soft" and blended look. Many new materials are never going to age to a soft look. I had noticed sort of what looked like an creeping change to your "dreams" in that at the beginning it looked like more of your photos were a subtler, fanciful, dreaming? look. Even your name, lavender lass has that feel to it. Is this a direction change you are looking for? When we were originally looking at your photos they basically had many wood counters or countertops, this well worn feel of antiques and old french bistros. Now more of your conversation are about things like wanting to maybe stay away from wood because it will appear old. I don't want to seem like I'm putting down that feeling just that it wasn't where I thought you were coming from on your pictures. Your posts 4 months ago: http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg1116180518393.html http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/kitchbath/msg111457305506.html I'm just putting it out there. You know. You may be adjusting towards a style thats more you but you also may have been distracted from your overall goals. That being said: What if you went with a blue died wood ctop? I think that could be stunning. It's hard to find examples of blue wood but I did find a couple just for the case of examples that it could be done and allows the lovely look of the wood to come through: This is a blue stained wood made from recycled materials. Myself, I'd go a bit more blue grey but that's me. http://www.etsy.com/listing/46720378/blue-wood-external-500gb-portable-hard Darker, shiny blue stained box: http://www.dixiemadewoodworks.com/bonnie-blue/ Before and after photos of a blue stained dresser: http://imperfectlyhappytiff.blogspot.com/2010/10/dresser-done-overthe-reveal.html Chess sets with blue stained wood: http://www.thechessstore.com/category/u_chess_sets.chess_board_categories.blue_chess_boards/ Blue pine basket? http://www.themegamall.info/wood_crafts_pg_.htm Several stunning blue guitars in process as you scroll down. Well worth the effort to see these. http://www.crimsonguitars.com/workshop-diary/230909 And then finally, if you'd ever go from more blue to more grey I *heart* ebonizing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/doorsixteen/3294914801/

I read this list a few years ago....it always makes me laugh. A real one that I was involved in. Had a very early stopover in Chicago years ago....two friends and I were in an almost deserted terminal, when an older woman came up to us almost in tears. She said she couldn't find the gate for her flight to Cincinnati... that the gate where she was sent was for a flight to Covington, Ky. We told her that the Cincinnati airport WAS in that city, she agreed that the airline had told her the same thing....but she insisted that everyone else was mixed up - that she KNEW Cincinnati was in OHIO!

I have never been in a TJ's that had several rows of frozen foods, and we have a few that aren't far from us. I don't think it's a big deal to access the crackers and cookies over the frozen foods. Unfortunately, I am able to easily grab the boxes of Jo-Jo's. ;) The parking lots are always small and awkward! I thought it was just around us because the stores are in urban locations, but I guess not? I think maybe we oversold the whole TJ's experience and you were disappointed, Oakley! I like it for certain things, but to me it's not the greatest store ever. I doubt that I'd go too far out of my way to shop there. Forgot to mention earlier that my kids used to love Nutrigrain bars, and TJ's has their own brand that are basically the same and so much cheaper. That's one of the items I've stocked up on there.