I think, Woody, there is a growing cry in my country for more "socialization" in some areas. Healthcare being primary. Costs are absolutely crushing those who have to purchase it without being part of a "group" (no surprise that there are pushing 50 million without any coverage at all), and premiums rise quarterly. Our own policy started out at about $1K/quarter, it's now up to over $2K; that's for a high deductible, for two people who've never made a claim and are not obese. They always include some paper to tell me how wonderful the maternity coverage is, too... like I care? I've called 3 local hospitals asking for the price of a few recommended tests (mammogram and colonoscopy) and NONE of them can give me a price! there is all sorts of hemming and hawing and I can never get a firm price, what's up with that? Personally, I think every hospital ought to have prices for test posted on "menus", so you at least know how much you have to have to pay for them. My disgust for the status quo with respect to healthcare is beyond words. I, for one, would happily pay more in taxes to have the worries about healthcare removed from my life. We will have to do something about it as it is proving to be a drag on every business in this country... look at the looming crisis in terms of the automotive industry alone. If GM goes teats up what will happen to all the retirees who have full healthcare coverage? Scarey. A health crisis could destroy us financially, but we're certainly not alone in that. Health savings accounts are a wonderful idea, but for us funding them is a stretch after we fund retirement accounts. And we're in lots better shape than many. Fear mongering by elected officials who spend too much time looking over their shoulders to "the good old days" needs to stop if we're going to rationally address this looming crisis. And we need to grow up and accept that we can't afford to cure everyone, no matter how much we love them. In that respect healthcare is ALWAYS going to be "rationed". It always was! As for severance and termination pay... I've never had either, so don't waste my energy thinking about them. I've always worked for the vaunted "small businesses" that seem to power the economy in their own small way (so has the helpmeet and so have most of our friends). NO way could our employers afford to offer those things and remain competitive. I've always had to live by my wits, and well BELOW my means to add to my nest egg. A job loss is a frightening prospect to us (but not a crippling worry), and for that reason we've never lived so large that the loss of one would destroy us. I am more concerned about inequity in taxes; Social Security is only paid on the first 90something thousand, but over that it's no longer taken out of earnings. Not fair! and it needs to change because Social Security is going broke and Medicare is in even worse shape, though most of the citizenry remains blissfully ignorant of the abyssmal state of our gov't.'s finances. Esp. after this latest round of financial scandal more and more us are increasingly concerned that our tax structure is creating a permanant underclass. We, and the majority of our friends believe passionately that paying taxes is patriotic... how come the Bernie Madoffs, large corporations, and super rich don't believe the same thing? ;) Cheery talk first thing this AM, huh? Kathy, I'm impressed at your efforts in the garage. The helpmeet cracked up when I told him about the "dry martini", and I also very much like "Ruby Ridge"... think our pantry may just have a new name. :) We had our own battery crisis the other night. The smoke detector started beeping and refused to stop even with a brand new battery... until I realized he was putting a fresh battery in the wrong one, lol. I've added D batteries to our grocery list. Cadbury used to make the BEST cocoanut cream filled candy bars. Mum would stock right up on them for me when I was in HS, but I haven't seem them since. I cracked up at the image of a skillet chained to the porch or a tree, Marian, that's a good one. :) I also laughed at the notion that PM is the first casualty of Idylling to excess... and now she's committed herself to "rehab.". LOL Certainly no shortage of funnies to be had reading this Idyll. I hear scratching in the litter pan, so methinks it's time to begin the mining operation...

Boy, can I conjure this up in my mind. At one time I had about a hundred hens, who were laying an egg a day. Believe me, it doesn't take long to get into large numbers of eggs. Thankfully fresh farm eggs sell well, but there were always those weeks when you had ten or twelve dozen you needed to do something with and those ended up as noodles. Pounds and pounds of noodles. And pounds. It seemed like 16500 at the time as I worked through the night. This hit my heartstrings a little, because they were on their way to a hatchery. These weren't your over-easy variety of sterile unfertile supermarket eggs. They were just a few weeks and a little warmth short of this.

cynic- We should all be able to make a great loaf of bread using flour, water, salt and yeast, but the commercial bakers have all kinds of things they add, and then along came the Automatic Bread Maker and we couldn't make a loaf unless we loaded the Bread Machine with gluten, dough enhancers, flavor enhancers, dough relaxers, etc...... There are a number of dough enhancers (dough developers or dough conditioners) used commercially that can also be used at home. They tend to fall in these categories - mold inhibitors, antistaling agents and dough improvers. You can find recipes on-line for homemade dough enhancers that include a number of ingredients and might save money over commercial "dough enhancer" products. Here's one example: How to make Homemade Dough Enhancer: 1 cup wheat gluten 2 tablespoons lecithin granules 1 teaspoon ascorbic acid crystals 2 tablespoons powdered pectin 2 tablespoons unflavored gelatin 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk 1 teaspoon powdered ginger Mix together and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For 100% whole grain breads, use 3 tablespoons per loaf. Add to your recipe along with the flour. \-Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid) aids in better gluten development, especially if there is any wheat germ/whole wheat flour in the recipe. There is a substance in wheat germ (glutathione) that breaks the gluten bonds \- and as a result we get those squatty loaves of 100% whole wheat bread. When you add vitamin C it repairs the gluten and counteracts the negative effects of Glutathione. Add 1/8 t. ascorbic acid powder per loaf if there is wheat germ or whole wheat flour (which contains wheat germ) in a recipe. Ascorbic acid promotes yeast growth and helps yeast work longer and faster. It also helps produce the acidic atmosphere in which yeast grows best. Don't add ascorbic acid to naturally\-leavened breads (aka sourdough) because it is naturally acidic. You'll notice ascorbic acid is often an ingredient in yeast products. \-Egg yolk \- for antistaling and better gluten development \-1/4 t. ground fenugreek, rosemary, ginger, or cinnamon for enhanced yeast activity and better keeping qualities \-If you plan on freezing the bread use honey instead of sugar in the recipe. \-Add raisin juice or raisin pulp to a recipe to extend the shelf\-life of bread. \-My personal favorite trio \- chia seeds (or chia seed gel), agave nectar and coconut oil. Chia seeds or chia seed gel will help maintain the moisture in the crumb and keep it from migrating from the crumb to the crust. Coconut oil will help prevent mold and slow staling. Agave nectar, due to it's high content of monosaccharides has a high osmotic pressure. This characteristic in this sweetener helps to inhibit the growth of microorganisms (mold). Agave nectar increases the water retention properties. \-Salt \- use a quality high\-mineral sea salt. Minerals \= better gluten development. Yeast needs minerals and certain amino acids. \-Bean Flour \- French flour is fortified with 2% fava bean flour and it is supposed to improve dough performance and enhance flavor, nutrition and yeast growth. Chickpea flour is another add\-in choice. \-Barley Malt Syrup, Malt, Diastatic Malt Powder \- adds enzymes to supply sugars for better yeast growth. It also improves the nutrition, texture and keeping quality. Too much will make the bread gummy, dense and either too sweet or bitter. \-Lecithin \- Which is naturally occurring in egg yolks, but is yet one more add\-in that helps bread remain soft and moist because it slows down oxidation. \-Vital Wheat Gluten \- If you use a large percentage of low\-gluten or gluten\-free flour in a recipe, it can benefit from additional gluten. The problem using vital wheat gluten is that too much will cause the bread to be tough. It can also take much longer to develop the gluten if there is a high percentage in the dough. \-Mashed potatoes, potato flakes, potato water \- Acts as a dough enhancer and adds moistness. When it comes to refrigerating bread dough \- or choosing a refrigerator dough recipe \- mashed potatoes (or other pureed vegetable) is important because it preserves moisture in the dough in the dry climate of the refrigerator. Adding cooked rice to a recipe will do the same thing. And that's just a partial list..... \-Grainlady

thanks everyone for the suggestions! We have lived here since May, and have been pondering the kitchen ever since we had our offer accepted on the house. I think that I essentially like the room's layout to answer fori's question. The thing I'd like is a bit more counter space. I have considered getting rid of the island and putting in a peninsula, but I have a couple concerns at doing this, first and foremost, not totally sure whether the flooring runs under the island. I'm not at all interested in redoing the floors just to move an island. Second, and most importantly, but the cabinets, drawers and counter space on the end of the island closest to the stove & MW get used a TON because the counters, drawers and base cabinet storage is very limited directly to the right and left of the stove. Some folks asked about the room beyond the stove, through the door...it's our laundry/mud room + 4th bedroom and a bathroom and connects the house to the garage. Only place in which to access these rooms is through that door. So unfortunately it can't be blocked off. All the other doors are necessities too. One is to the DR, other to our front living room, the other to the basement. Im definitely toying with the idea of removing those goofy banisters between the kitchen and family room. I need to wait until I'm ready to extend the flooring into the family room though because of the piece that the spindles attach to on the floor. Regarding removing the soffits, I don't believe there's anything in the soffits above the refrigerator area, however I do believe that there's plumbing in the soffits above the main run of cabinets...our bathroom is directly above there and have heard water sounds running through the pipes (which I believe hide in the soffit). So, I'm thinking if I paint, the soffits will get crown molding... Thanks again for all the suggestions!!