I call that the "Everything Must Have A Name" rule. None of this "poultry fat" stuff - gotta tell me if it's chicken or duck or whatever. Just "animal fat"? Run away screaming. On the "meal" issue... if your pet food contains fish meal, make sure it is specified as "ethoxyquin-free". Not that the entire pet food in total is ethoxyquin-free, but that that particular ingredient is. (Pet food manufacturers are not required by law to tell you what may have been added to an ingredient before it comes into their possession if they don't want to, so all kinds of preservatives, contaminants and such can be in there. They just have to tell you what THEY do to it.) By US law, fish meal not intended for human consumption must be preserved with ethoxyquin. A very few processors have been granted waivers to produce fish meal preserved with something other than ethoxyquin and usually it's trumpeted loud and clear as a marketing point when a pet food manufacturer uses ethoxyquin-free fish meal - Wellness is one of them, and it took some digging but Natura Pet Products (Innova, EVO, California Natural, Healthwise, and Karma Organic) is on board there too. "Digest" must be avoided at all costs even if it does have a species name although more often than not it's just on there as "animal digest". It's gods-only-know-what waste material chemically or enzymatically broken down - predigested - into a slurry in order to convert it into supposedly-bioavailable protein that a less-than-scrupulous pet food manufacturer can use to raise the "crude protein" content on the label. Not only does the animal usually get little actual nutritional value out of the substance but what can legally go into "animal digest" is gruesome to say the least - there is no control over quality, source, or contamination. I do have to nitpick just a little bit though - by-products are not necessarily always bad, but it's a case of Know Thy Manufacturer. See, people go on and on about by-products being whatever junk swept up off the factory floor when by legal definition it is just the stuff that isn't "striated muscle" (either skeletal muscles, diaphragm, or heart): "lungs, spleen, kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone, stomachs and intestines freed of their contents" and specifically excludes "hair, horns, teeth and hoofs". If you've got a food company that gets that material fresh and handles it properly so it doesn't spoil, it's very good stuff. C'mon, people eat kidneys, brains, liver, blood (usually made into sausage - black pudding being a famous variety), stomachs (tripe), and intestines ("chitlins" and sausage casings), and many of the frozen-raw-diet manufacturers are all over the stuff. A hot trend in natural pet food is "green tripe", which is cow stomach without the contents removed, just ground up semi-digested grass and all. (The smell of it will clear a house though. Whoooo-eeee!) So really it's more a question of knowing your manufacturer than avoiding an entire class of ingredient. Many of the better pet-food manufacturers are avoiding brains entirely these days though, because of worries about BSE.

Hi Susan, I have a lot of fatigue issues that increase tenfold when I am stressed, depressed, anxious, etc. I understand how hard it can be to just get the bulk of daily chores done. I tend to take mental stock of what is around the house- thinking of things that I know are there and that I wouldn't mind parting with. No need to necessarily go through a whole cabinet, but pull out 4 old beer mugs that I know are in there and put them in a box to donate. Sometimes I aim for just 10 minutes of this type of work a day, depending on what is going on. If you do 10 minutes a day, a few days a week, in a year, you will have spent a fair amount of time and probably eliminated a lot of things. It's that old adage about how you eat an elephant-- one bite at a time. Where I live, we are fortunate to have several organizations who will happily pick up any donations you might have, and they are available to come by once or twice every week, even for just a bag or two of stuff. This is great for me because it means I can schedule a pick up, put a few boxes and bags in one space (add to them as the date approaches) and then just stick everything out in the front entry on the given day- and it is gone to new digs by the end of the day. I just finished reading a book that was very good- Clutter Busting by Brookes Palmer. He emphasizes over and over again that 75% of the stuff in your house is weighing you down, and that you are more important than any material item in your house. Reading his book gave me a lot of clarity on how to go through things, he's got a lot of tips about recognizing when you don't need or want something, but are making excuses up to keep it. It's been a helpful and inspiring book for me to get going again. I'll warn you that he has a few stories in there about people who have health problems that he decides are just mental clutter, and related to the outer clutter, but if you can accept that there are some hypochondriacs out there, and don't feel like he's telling you that all your health problems will go away if you declutter, then the book has a lot of value. One thing that I will contend is that, you will probably feel better as you make this go away. But be patient with yourself and do things as you can, and one day you will wake up and realize that it really has changed. (((HUGS)))

Hello All, I have some sad news to share with you all. After Ruby stopped eating last week, we were asked to make an appointment with a surgeon to do an exploratory abdominal surgery. We took her in yesterday, June 1st, the surgeon opened her up and called with in five minutes, saying that the tumor had spread to majority of her intestines and was inoperable. He also mentioned that it seemed to have metastasized as the lymph nodes are swollen. His suggestion was to put her out of her misery. Having seen Ruby go through a very rough weekend, where she was constantly vomiting and suffered from Diarrhea , we decided to put her to sleep. She was a wonderful friend and companion and will be dearly missed. The kids and the family are having a rough time digesting the news...as we were never told she had cancer..all the biopsies were negative...and she was being treated for ulcer..and all of sudden she deteriorated in a week. She never lost any weight..may be a pound or so..but that's it. All her vitals were perfect. The blood tests were impeccable. Yet she was so sick..Poor thing she suffered a great deal. Please pray for my Ruby's peace. Does any one how to post Ruby's picture here? Copy n paste apparently does not work. Here are some quotes that reflect how we feel about Ruby: "If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went." ―Will Rogers "I said "good bye, I love you", When I saw that look in your eyes It was the type of look you give someone When you know these are your last goodbyes. You were just a dog some might say But I know theyre all wrong You were more than a dog You were my best friend, and Now dear friend it is going to be long, Before I can hold you in my arms once again. It is hard to put in words how you made me feel But when I heard your foot steps charging to me, There is nothing in the world that couldve made me more happy You were so small, yet You had more energy than any dog I had ever met You were so strong.. and Ill never forget, All the fun times we shared together You were with me for so short of a time But you taught me so much I never knew I could love anyone the way I loved you All I had to do was touch Your soft fur and I knew everything would be ok I dont know what I will do without you I feel like theres a huge hole in me Once so filled with joy and glee Now so empty and cold, I'm sure your spirit is still with me and I hope you know I will have and better dog and There will always be a place in my heart for you.. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy And have a nice fuzzy bed to sleep in You can be free now.. no more leashes.. I will see you again.. When my time comes I will look forward to seeing you And we can be together once more I will never forget you.. You are forever a part of me As I am a part of you Dont worry though.. Im not going to be blue All Ill have to do is whisper your name to myself And look for ward to the day.. when I will once again get to hold you" -Christina Rae Almeida

The natural jute or seagrass rugs will not look as good on carpet and may permanently discolor the carpet. Plus, it is just another edge for kids to trip on, so I personally would not layer flooring in that room just for looks. Reluctantly agree with above poster who speculated that bar table, while cute, would end up as a horizontal surface only (read: repository for anything you need to put down) and not as an eating area. I would maybe get a bigger ottoman than the chair (if you replace the chaise) would need, and get a nice big melamine tray with sides and a handle for the top for their food. (If you decide you want to try a table I wouldn't try a round one if it is going up against a wall for obvious space considerations, and I would get a regular height one, not the pub height...... think kids horsing around and falling off those high stools, their center of gravity is pretty high.) I bought a bolt of green and white mattress ticking fabric online years ago and had slipcovers made for two sofas. The slips outlasted the sofas! The navy and white (more in real life like navy and off white) is very durable if the fabric is cotton twill and woven, not simply printed on the surface. If you google signal flag pillows (images) you'll see an embarrassment of riches. If you go the signal pillow route you can always just do solid color pennants on the rafters. There are etsy shops that will make them to order in the colors you desire or you might find them already made. I have to say though that I really like the flags on rafters picture posted above!