There is less volume in a bag of Gran-I-Grit than in a bag of Turface, so if you mix volume:volume, you'll have part of a bag (1/4 - 1/3 is my guess) of Turface left over. There is about 6 gallons of grower grit in a bag, so you should get about 16 gallons (some of the bark and Turface fines will fill pore space so the o/a volume will be less than the sum of the parts.). I use both grower and starter grit, but I probably use the grower 10:1 over the starter. Al

Ah-hah! Im glad I measured the yeast now. I thought maybe there was a difference in brands, but if mfrs did that, it would mess up so many recipes that call for 1 packet. I waited 2 hours last night (yawn) before putting the bowl in the refrigerator but I didnt see much rising then. I used warm water and covered the bowl all around with some towels to keep it warmer. I would have left it out but I could not stay awake any longer. Since I have the baking stone I was not going to use parchment, thinking parchment might affect the crisp crust the porous baking stone is supposed to be good for. I have corn meal around (somewhere). But if parchment makes no difference to that tell me. I dont think I have an instant read thermometer but have the kind with a spike that you stick into meat, and my husband has this fancy gadget with a beam he got as a prize at work: you aim it at a surface (like the grill) and it tells you the temperature. But room temperature is easy enough to tell. Though it wont be warmer than 65 F in this house. Front of the stove is a smart idea. terrapots, I will think of your "Shadow" while mine sits next to me. Her blanket is a foot to the right of the keyboard but if she feels neglected she starts encroaching on the mouse. If I still dont give her enough attention she will stand between the keyboard and the monitor or walk on the keyboard. Thanks for the tips!

Oh my, i was thinking a few dozen in and out of the home and garden. : ) I've hosted a couple weddings for friends on my farm and did simple, as you are thinking... One was October but unseasonably warm, Hot!. I stuck with the veggie plan but had to put ice in baggies under the platters and dip stuff. (the meal and party moved on to an event place later). I hid the ice under fabric. I also was making spring rolls for every event at the time and that took way too much time the morning of. But great for the wedding party 'girls' prepping in the second floor of the barn. Healthy and fresh and the brides favorite so i made them for her and the rest went out on the table. I'm terrible with recipes because i want to fuss and take a bit from this and that and take out the sugars... And use what i have that is available without too much shopping. If i needed to make one today?...in the freezer i have pecans, dates, a big bag of raw shredded coconut and a big hunk of ginger in the fridge. And a bag of chick peas...and some wasabi in powder form. I made candied ginger last month and it was amazing but can be bought. So using a few recipe ideas, some can be combined. Like this list, i'll give the link... I have some puffed rice cereal from the health food store. Some pepitas, (hulless pumpkin seed), and if i toast the coconut, whizz some of it to coat the chopped dates...toss with roasted chick peas, (not the sweet recipe but the savory one) ...toss what seems good and back in the oven on low 200 heat for an hour... You may just invent your own mix by tasting and adding a bit more spice, etc. (a bit of warmed coconut oil, just a couple tbsp, is amazing flavor that helps give good toasted flavor and give some binder glue for any powdered spices). Of course make a mix you are comfortable with that is not a stressful new one, but my crowd likes my 'adventures', lol. -and, yeah, my amount per person is way high for a big event. And probably not much help with the mixes...but if you have time to experiment and have fun in the process...big win in the appreciation game. -if any oils or butters are in your mix, you have 4-5 days in fridge, any longer do freeze for freshness... Here is a link that might be useful: snack mixes

Well that seems a lot more scientific than my bucket test! Thanks. I have the Intellitouch i9+3. Still in the box right now. I've talked to the tech guys in NC a few times, they are great, so I think with their help I can figure it out. Plus as a bonus, they also have tech guys in CA, so if you need something at 7 PM eastern, you can still get them. I had been very worried about needing more flow than I could provide. I made a rookie mistake of only installing one pair of main drains in the pool, not big ones either. 120 gpm max with 2" pipe. Plus I have 2 skimmers. But I have the spa, and I want to add a water feature, sort of a babbling brook thing that will need 30 gpm or so. And I have a couple of jets in a baja shelf that will need a lot of water to break the surface, but I have no idea how much. And I always like to have extra capacity, because you never know. So for an extra 100 bucks in parts, I could have added a second pair of drains, but I didn't. The price of inexperience.