I thought I was the only person in the world that felt this way about all these god %#*@(% subdivisions popping up all over what used to be the most beautiful pieces of farm land. Everytime I see another piece of land being cleared for a housing development, or a strip mall, I literally get sick to my stomach and feel another small piece of me die. I feel a little better to know that I'm not alone in my feelings. I must also say that it sickens me to see these city slickers moving out to the country, buying up several acres, putting up a gargantuan house, cutting down all the existing plants to create a huge fake looking landscape, and then never actually getting outside to enjoy the country. And when they do go outside, they gripe at the slightest smell of farm. I completely agree with the other's comments in this forum that city folk are such frail lil flowers, and so on. They hit it dead on. how pathetic. I currently live in a subdivision which is only a few years old. (we won the house in a contest, otherwise we would never have moved there.) We've been there for 4 months and i still don't feel like I'm "home". I will never feel at home in this place. I felt more at home in the apartment we had before this house. The neighborhood feels so "sterile". There are no trees more than 4 feet tall, and all of the houses and landscaping is so cookie cutter I could puke! Fortunately, this was a free house, and my fiance and I are going to use it as a financial springboard to get the money we need to move into the country where we will not try to change the land to fit us, but instead we will thoroughly enjoy the sounds of the tractors, the smell of manure, the lush foliage, the serene quiet and everything else that comes with being "home". I wish I had a magic wand that I could use to get rid of all the strip malls, the subdivisions, and the frail lil flowers coming from the urban areas to pollute our beloved countrysides....if only.

Peppi, thank you so much for those pictures, I didn't even think of getting one of the pig roasting. We had rolls and pork, au gratin potatoes, potato salad, macaroni salad, home canned green beans, sauerkraut and polish sausage, a big pan of italian sausage. Appetizers were the habanero cheesecake, cranberry cheesecake, 7 layer dip, cheese dip, tortilla chips, fresh veggie trays and some potato chips for those hard core chip lovers. Desserts were apple pie, blueberry cheesecake, raspberry coconut bars, chocolate chip cookies, lemon shortbread, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter and chocolate fudge and the cakes. Mother also brought some cupcakes. The cakes, as I've mentioned, were LindaC's carrot cake, Colleen's chocolate cake, and a strawberry chiffon which kept bleeding strawberry filling through the buttercream. The groom's cake was Beth's lemon cake. Amanda carried the handkerchief that SharonCB sent me as her "something borrowed", I have to remember to get that back for Ashley's wedding. I carried it in my wedding to Elery too, it's kind of becoming a family tradition, and it's my way of keeping all my CF friends there with me. Peppi and Sherry were sure there with me when I needed them, what great friends. And Peppi didn't tell you that she informed Ashley that Kevin has a nice butt. Ahem. Woodie, somehow I forgot to schedule someone to pee on the DJ. Darn, I thought maybe I could get a new family tradition going. Now, if you'd have come, I'd have asked you to do it, LOL. And that little girl I was dancing with in the pictures wasn't Makayla, it was Linsey. Remember the little girl with the big heart problems that we prayed so hard for. Yup, that Linsey, dancing with the rest of us at Amanda's wedding. Life is certainly good.... Annie

There are so many false ideas promoted in the posting by Springroz. I have pursued physical fitness for 4 decades. I won't even attempt to link all the articles that de-bunk the loss of femininity due to exercise and weight lifting. There are too many to list. Just do a Google search on Testosterone and women. We have it and we need it and we can't do without it. As far as the idea of reducing movement to increase weight loss. I can't let this pass without citing at least one link. Again please do your research. There isn't ANYTHING worse for the human body than reduced movement and exercise. Nothing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3567319/. https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/downloads/growing_stronger.pdf

We shuck them ourselves. A fall winter month tradition. Maine and north, just like the pacific northwest, the waters are under 65ºF all summer. The Chesapeake and north are very cold waters now. Shucked and jared are for stews and roasting. Just like anything we consume, I like to know where it is coming from and how it is harvested and stored/traveled/prepared. Beef, chicken, eggs, all proteins. Sushi from a good chef. Fish and shellfish straight from the water or flash frozen and sourced. Interesting the Maine Belons are wild. They were seeded in the 50's. Considered a failure for a while but they took off in the 70-80's. There are multiple names for the Belon -- European Flat, Harpswell Flat, etc., but it's scientific name is Ostrea Edulis. The oyster is of a different species than its North American counterparts (Crassostrea virginica and Crassostrea gigas) and originates from Europe, hence the name European Flat. A true Belon is only harvested from the Belon River in France.... link, HERE