For those of you who are interested, I have been using Texas Pete green pepper sauce for years. I got tired of buying new bottles of the stuff (I use a LOT of it!) so I started "rejuvenating" the bottles as follows. Drop in about 1/4 tsp. salt and fill the bottle to within about an inch of the top with white vinegar. Set it in the microwave WITHOUT either the squirter insert or the top attached. Microwave for about 20 seconds. Be sure to keep an eye on the bottle through the glass ion the door. Twenty seconds will likely not bring it to a boil. Let it stand for a minute or so and microwave for another 20 seconds. Keep a sharp eye on the bottle and stop the boiling before it can boil over. Let stand for a minute or so and repeat the heating-to-boiling one more time. After two boiling cycles, let it stand for a few minutes. Replace the squirter insert and the cap and refrigerate. This should give you a bottle of the sauce as good as the original. I have "rejuvenated" bottles for up to four extra bottles worth without harm. The peppers will start to get a little "yellowish" in color as you use up the oil contained within the pepper's flesh. Keeping it under refrigeration is advisable even if you don't do the "rejuvenation" thingy.

I can't see how adding the vents would be a big deal, at all. And yeah, they're the things that go "whoosh!". As for the bigger issue of whether or not to replace the down with something else... I don't know what I'd do, frankly. I think I'd want to sit on the cushions for a bit and then have a "looky see" at how they've incorporated the down and the foam inside the covers. Is the foam loose and the down inside another cover (you know, like a closed pillowcase) so you have two components inside the cover, or what? I might entertain the idea of adding a third layer (crumbled foam? memory foam? something else to "bulk up" the area between the foam and the down... . Down always seems to "settle" and require "fluffing". We routinely shake up the comforters here, and all the feather pillows; I think it comes with the territory. For that matter, any loose, "crumbled" foam will probably do the same thing with time. I'm thinking more in tems of bulking up the mass of what's inside the covers so the down doesn't have as much room to "settle". Make sense?

Thank you everyone for bearing with me as I wade through all the different options. budge1: glad to hear I am no alone in second guessing all my decisions. Do give us all an update! I certainly have not made any decisions. I bought a yard of drapery fabric at CC because I wanted to see all the colors in the fabric and I know that is part of my indecision. I'm also thinking of making a couple of bolster cushions for the bergere chairs with the material. BTW, squirrel, I never bought any chair fabric. The chairs were always meant to be a focal point and if you recall, many of the fabrics I was considering were $$. I brought in all fabrics and swatches of the existing wall colors to get their opinion as computer monitors can be deceptive. They first off suggested a gold, but did see the issue of it looking good near the Oat Straw--since both are neutrals, one with more green, the other with more yellow. Then they suggested going a shade darker than the sofa/drapes, but didn't seem too enthused about a terra cotta. At BM, I fould a lovely shade of terra cotta, audubon russet; that is until the salesperson told me it would be too intense to put on all the walls. If I took it a shade less, we would then be thinking about pink. He started steering me towards Wilmington Tan and Tyler Taupe. He liked Tyler Taupe the best as he felt it blended well with all my fabrics plus the Oat Straw. Unfortunately, they were out of the sample paint for Tyler Taupe though it will come in tomorrow and they don't make it in Willington Tan so I'd have to buy a quart. So, tomorrow I plan to go again and pick up some samples, In the meantime, here are the swatches for you to see. The russet is to the upper left near the flower (I tried to match to that), and then left to right are: Willmington Tan, Oat Straw, Tyler Taupe, and False Cypress. I am so confused right now which direction to go--everyone seems to have a different take on it. At this point, I do know I want to paint the entry--the living room I am still at a loss. The more I see the fabrics together the more I like them. I just need something to tie it all together at the same time be an accent to the trim which is in Swiss Coffee. I know these are not on the wall, but perhaps you can take a look and at least let me know if I'm headed in the right direction and which samples to buy.

This was posted on another thread, but I'll post it again here. I like it because all the work is done ahead of time. Just add the drippings from your T-day bird at the last minute and you're good to go with gravy. Make-Ahead Turkey Gravy Makes about 2 quarts For more flavor, after roasting the turkey you can skim the drippings from the pan and add them to the gravy just before serving. It's best to discard the strong-tasting liver before using the giblets. This recipe makes enough to accompany a large turkey and still have plenty for leftovers. 6 turkey drumsticks, thighs, or wings reserved turkey giblets reserved turkey neck 2 carrots , chopped coarse 1 head garlic , halved 2 ribs celery , chopped coarse 2 onions , chopped coarse Vegetable oil spray 10cups low-sodium chicken broth 2 cups dry white wine 12 sprigs fresh thyme 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Table salt and ground black pepper 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Place giblets, neck, drumsticks, carrots, celery, onions, and garlic in roasting pan, spray with vegetable oil, and toss well. Roast, stirring occasionally, until well browned, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 2. Transfer contents of roasting pan to Dutch oven. Add broth, wine, and thyme and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer until reduced by half, about 1 1/2 hours. Pour through fine-mesh strainer into large container (discard solids), cover stock with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until fat congeals, at least 2 hours. 3. Using soup spoon, skim fat and reserve. Heat 1/2 cup fat in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until bubbling. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until honey colored, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Gravy can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months.) Reheat gravy in saucepan over medium heat until bubbling.