You're welcome, Pam. I was shocked when I noticed how much of Virginia was back in drought. I thought to myself that Sandy didn't help the state overall as much as I thought it would. If there's one thing that this region, and not just OK, but Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Texas are good at--it is drought. Not that we want to be good at drought, but we have it so often lately that it is just ridiculous. It bothers me to see such a huge portion of the US in drought, including parts of Alaska and Hawaii. It is a big news story here. Our fire danger is very high this weekend (and we've had grass fires yesterday and today) and that's the big topic on our local news/weather.....it is hot, it is dry, the wind is forecast to blow strong....be careful and don't burn trash, brush, etc. They're also talking about the deepening of the drought, and the lack of rainfall. Our county's official rainfall for this November is 0.42" which is about 3 or 3.5" below average. Our three driest months, statistically speaking, are December, January and February, so little drought relief is expected here over the next three months. It is all bad news here right now. On Monday, when the city of Marietta is hosting its annual Christmas parade, our forecast high temp is 78. In fact, for the next three days our forecast low is slightly higher than our usual high. Our weather has gone berserk. I think that the FarmTek polygrid might be just what you need. I love FarmTek. I always see something in their catalog that I want or think I need. Dawn

Hi, everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day!!! I am incredibly busy, but just wanted to post at least once today! Thank you Tracy - I am SO happy to hear that you all loved the cranberry jam stuff! I have to tell you I made your homemade cranberry sauce yesterday, and my hubby LOVED it! He and I were the only ones that ate it - we always are! But, he went on and on about how it was way better than canned, and way better than any other homemade anyone has tried! Then, the stuffing! Girl - that was wonderful!! I did add a half pint of mushrooms that I canned a while back, and chopped them up very small so the kids wouldn't really notice them. That went really well too! Dave said it was the best ever, and my brother-in-law loaded half his plate with it! William is the only kid here that is a stuffing eater, and he loved it too! (So did I!!!) I am getting close to finished. Not really, but it's nice to say! I have all the chocolates and candy and cookies packaged. Just have to cut and package the fudge yet. Make labels and stick them to all the jars of preserves. Make the cocoa mix, muffin mix and pancake mix, and make all those labels and package them. Umm, make an order form and price sheet, make an inventory, and I'm sure much more, but that's all I can think of right now. I am not going to bring the cupcakes I'm afraid - I've just run out of time to finish those. I got some baked, but I don't have time to make frosting and make the decorations, so hopefully some people will check out my website, where I will post some of those soon, I hope! Anyway, gotta get back to work - I want some sleep tonight! : ) Hugs, Becki

I'm still sick & nauseated from the bad combo last night (sunflower seeds & cherry juice & lemonade), Men's Health has an excellent article on how certain medications mixed with certain food/drink can have a deadly effect & toxic: http://www.menshealth.com/health/ 1. Limes and cough medicine. You may have heard not to drink grapefruit juice with some prescriptions, including cholesterol-lowering statins. But limes, pomelos, and Seville oranges—although not the more-common navel and Valencia varieties—also may block an enzyme that breaks down statins and other drugs, including the cough suppressant dextromethorphan ... this includes hallucinations and sleepiness; in statins, you may sustain severe muscle damage. 2. Dairy products and antibiotics. Some antibiotics, including Cipro, bind to calcium, iron, and other minerals in milk-based foods. “This prevents the absorption of the antibiotics, ultimately decreasing their ability to fight infections,” Gullickson says. When you get a new prescription for acne or an infection, ask if the drug falls into a class known as tetracyclines or flouroquinolones. If so, avoid milk, yogurt, and cheese 2 hours before and after taking the pills. 3. Smoked meats and antidepressants. Check the label on your happy pills. If they belong to a class called monoamine oxidase inhibitors or MAOIs—brand names Marplan, Nardil, Emsam, or Parnate—combining them with foods rich in the amino acid tyramine can cause life-threatening spikes in blood pressure, says Gullickson. Unfortunately, the list of no-nos includes not only summer sausage and smoked salmon, but also red wine, sauerkraut, hot dogs, aged cheeses, soy sauce, and draft or home-brewed beer. 4. Chocolate and Ritalin. Besides caffeine, chocolate also contains a stimulant called theobromine, says Tom Wheeler, Pharm.D., B.C.P.S., director of pharmacy and pulmonary services at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago. (It’s the reason chocolate harms dogs—canine bodies can’t break it down.) Combining all these stimulants in humans can potentially lead to erratic behavior and seizures. 5. Apple juice and allergy meds. Nix the nectar from apples, oranges, and grapefruits if you take Allegra (fexofenadine) for hay fever—at least within 4 hours of swallowing the pill, Gullickson advises. These juices inhibit a peptide that transports the drug from your gut to your bloodstream. The resulting lack of absorption makes Allegra up to 70 percent less effective at stopping your sniffling and sneezing, Wheeler says. Other medications also travel with the help of the same peptide; lay off these juices while taking the antibiotics Cipro or Levaquin, the thyroid medication Synthroid, or the allergy and asthma treatment Singulair, Gullickson says. 6. Cinnamon and warfarin. People taking the blood-thinning medication warfarin—prescribed to prevent or treat clots—have long been warned to keep their intake of vitamin K steady, says Wolfe. This means you shouldn’t change your weekly intake of foods like leafy greens or broccoli; because vitamin K plays a key role in clotting, doing so could affect the thickness of your blood. But there’s another risk. Cassia cinnamon, the kind on most American grocery-store shelves, contains high levels of a compound called coumarin that can thin blood and potentially cause liver damage, says Eric Newman, M.D 7. Alcohol and acetaminophen. Resist the urge to wash down your Tylenol with a cold one—your body uses the same enzyme to break down the two substances. http://www.menshealth.com/health/

My DD gave me this teeny glass ornament for my tree this year - it’s less than an inch tall.