Maggie, The kids are adorable. What cute poses! Have you recovered from Sandy? Your town sounds like it was hammered. Our library is built up on a good sized hill and is still standing. The town square was flooded badly. The post office and fire departments suffered damage but will recover. Our famous bascule bridge was opened during the storm and came through in better shape than we had a right to expect. So, all in all, our public infrastructure is wet, battered, but still in operation. Every week it seems we have one fewer "Closed Due To Storm Damage" sign around town. Progress is slow but is happening. A few downtown businesses are gone for good though. You are so right about the volunteers, agencies, faith based groups. We met people from all over the country here to help. Even Hawaii. Most of the FEMA people were retired and FEMA calls them to service during times of disaster. They are well seasoned in disasters and their calming influence was much needed. I was very impressed with how well all the volunteer groups buoyed the kids' spirits. They were scared and Mom/Dad were busy and preoccupied but it seemed like somebody was always quick to spot need and offer support, a Kleenex, or miraculously show up with a teddy bear. It does make you proud to be an American. I was also proud that there was no looting in our area so officials could concentrate their efforts elsewhere. Thanks for checking in. Hope you're okay or will be soon. /tricia

I hate unloading the dishwasher because water stands on top of some cups and mugs. I have to dry them before I can store them. I have an idea for yoU! Here's what I do. -I grab the towel BEFORE I open the dishwasher. -Then, I pat the tops of each mug, etc., that has a puddle of water (these tend to be on the top rack) and mop up the standing water. (If I have to pull out the top rack, I do it slowly, so I don't slop the water down the sides, and I do NOT pull out the bottom rack first) -Then, I unload the bottom rack. -Then, I unload the top racks, and the bottoms of the mugs are pretty much dry for evaporation. if they're not completely dry, screw it, I put them away damp. They can finish evaporating in the cupboard. the car is usually DH's territory, simply because he's the fix-it mechanically minded one, and that's his "man" thing. a thought: think of it like the house, Maybe the *furnace* is a "fix-it, 'man'" thing, but the living room rug isn't, nor is the vacuuming. Divide the car up that way. He's in charge of the mechanics; you're in charge of cleanliness and decor. Just throw those old mats and buy new ones pronto. Lilydilly, I thought when I saw your comment about the undersink pipes you hate so much, whether you'd thought about making something that just blocks them from view. (If you've gotten to read post of my going back far enough, you know I leap to solve everything w/ fabric or wood stuff you make yourself.) What if you made a false back for your sink cabinet (paint it, of course, maybe even a fun color), and set it in front of the pipes? You could make it oddly shaped to sort of wrap around whatever's there. OK, maybe you'd have to completely empty the stuff out from under the sink if you ever needed to get into the "guts" there. That might be a pain, esp. if it happens w/ any regularity. If you were *really* creative, you could make it in sections, so you could take out the one section that covers the cut-off valves, or the Insta-Hot settings, without emptying the sink. Of course, you won't see drips as readily, but honestly, w/ the stuff in there, would you see drips anyway? You might be better off getting a leak alarm, like they have for hot-water heaters. If it's wood, you could install hooks or plastic-wrap racks on the false wall. (to install the false wall, install "cleats" on sides and bottom, and put Velcro or steel on them, then Velcro or magnets on the back of the false wall) Another drawback to my wonderful idea: the coverup would take up some space itself. If you're wedging tons of stuff in there, that could be a problem. Another solution: install a full-size shelf across the bottom of the cabinet just below the bottom-most pipe. Get a pullout or drawer (or two, one behind each cabinet door) to go under the shelf (www.shelvesthatslide.com) w/ *full-extension* slides. Then you can put small stuff in the drawer, and bottles or jugs on top of it. (can you paint water pipes, etc.? Maybe not the insta-hot, but... I love to hang stuff (like that cutting board) on the back of the sink-cabinet door. But if that cabinet you moved it to is so close to the sink, I bet that works well. Here is a link that might be useful: Leak Alarm

Craft shows around here have been flops, too, Hazel. Not worth our time and effort. Private sales are great, still. As far as new..nothing here but I am considering trying some lotion bars although I haven't made up my mind yet. Have you ever made them? We sell the vacuum sachets (we call them drawer, closet and vacuum bag sachets) and they are also great in cars. They sell like hotcakes- we sell a package of two (made with small teabags) for $1.00. The cheapest place I have found to get the teabags is Starville Soap Supply. WSP has them but they have either small quantities or a very large quantity. I needed more than their small quantity but not nearly as much as their large quantity, so I went with Starville. I use the corn cob bedding and 1 ounce of fragrance oil to 2 cups of corn cob. Susan

I had the same question you did when I put in hard flooring. I needed to save money and get the most bang for my buck... I bought a HOOVER FLAIR Bagless Upright Stick Vacuum with Power Nozzle, S2220 (not the S2200) off Amazon.com and love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE it! I'm IN LOVE with it! haha (I saw a quote on a review and I've adopted the phrase!) It's very reasonably priced ($45/free shipping), has great reviews, is bagless, great suction, very light (to me) and there's a switch that goes from hard floors to carpet/beater brush on that I use on my dining area rug. The cord length is great for MY use. It covers my kitchen, dining, foyer, hall, hall bath and laundry room! When I bought it I thought, for $45 I can try it and see how it works. If it doesn't I'll get a "better" one. It works though, so, YAY! I liked mine so much I bought one for my daughter-in-law. I got a text the other day that said: "I LOVE my birthday present!" We both used to SWEEP and I haven't swept now in months because it's great at sucking up the crumbs with no spreading it around in the air like a broom does. I DO clean the air filter (an old toothbrush works great) almost every time I use it just to preserve the machine & filter. It's amazing how much dirt/hair/debris it picks up. You can purchase new air filters but I haven't had to yet and have owned it for a good 6 months. I do not usually have big chunks of anything (like dog food) so can't comment on that. If I have something like that I pick it up first then get the rooms w/vac. Here's the Amazon link, hope it works: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00020BQGK Good luck