In the seattle area, there are many asian markets where you can purchase all sorts of fruit. They are by thepound so you can buy just one to try before spending $$$. Sometimes some of the stores have cut jackfruit so you can buy just a small piece (same with the breadfruit) I even purchased rambutan at one of the stores.

Hi coolmama, I find it VERY strange that your dentist saw cavities 5 years ago and didn't fix them! Are you sure he wasn't just talking about areas that were looking like they could develop cavities? If you had cavities 5 years ago and he didn't fill them, then you need a new dentist! Anyhow......about the root canals........Sometimes, if a tooth is ground down too deeply, whether for a filling or a crown, it can cause the root to die. When the root dies, it can become very inflammed and infected. When this happens, besides hurting alot, you can lose the tooth. What a root canal does is to go in below the tooth, into the root space (some teeth have 2 roots and some have 4), and ream all the root out. Then they fill this space with a rubber substance. Somehow, your tooth can now stay alive. Just because you need to have fillings, doesn't mean you'll necessarily have to have a root canal. Whether or not you'll need root canals depends on how deep it is, and whether it somehow affects the nerve that is there. I don't think you can even assess that yet. I would just get the fillings, and then down the road, if your tooth starts becoming really sensitive, and starts hurting alot, then you can decide to have the root canal. I had a ton of huge fillings. After they started falling apart, then I need the crowns. On a couple of those crowns, I eventually needed root canals. But its my opinion that you do one step at a time. I hope I haven't confused you. And be sure to have a good endodontist do your root canals.

Mush, I'm sure I was told not to wait longer than a year to get a crown on, that the temp they do wasn't meant to last forever. On the other hand, I'd wanted crowns on my 4 front uppers (cosmetic) and my dentist convinced me to try veneers first since they do less initial damage to teeth than putting a crown on does. At the time they told me veneers could last up to 10 years, depending on the types of foods you subject your teeth to...mine have been on for 19, with no problems. The dentist is very impressed! As for a root canal, I had one done on a molar that had given me on again, off again grief for years. Do not relish getting that done again. Yet periodically the area will give me pain, usually after I've chewed something REALLY chewing, or this past session over Christmas was brought on by eating almonds (I think). I still worry that I'll be in that 1% that have a tooth that fails, and then I don't know what I'll do, since I need that tooth there!

Mare, these photos and all that I've posted over the years, were taken with an Olympus Camedia C-740 Ultra Zoom that I bought in 2003. It's a great camera but it started acting up while on the Panama Canal cruise so I finally, reluctantly, had to buy another camera. I got the Panasonic Lumix FZ100. There's a much larger learning curve on the Lumix and I crave my old Olympus. But, with the amount of photos I take, I really need more versatility and mega pixels. For anyone who wants great photos at a really good price and doesn't mind carrying something around that is a bit larger than your typical point and shoot, I highly recommend picking up a used Olympus C-740 on Amazon or eBay. You can get one for about $30! My husband just bought one on eBay for $25 because he misses mine. Jodi- Here is a link that might be useful: Olympus Camedia C-740 10x Ultra Zoom