TaraGL's Profile

For the last year, I've been stocking up on 2-3 weeks of food. We moved to an island with one exit road and one power line. It isn't uncommon for us to lose power for a few days, or occasionally have the exit to the island blocked by downed trees.

One plus was that our town had a large barn fire recently and we were able to make enough sandwiches with our stored and frozen supplies to feed hungry emergency workers.

That said, I think six months is a little overzealous. Most disasters are sorted out in a fraction of that time.

Ooh, I love them! I live on a New England island year-round and just secured myself a 1972 GMC pickup in that particular shade of blue that they stopped putting on cars after the seventies. Great for hauling a boat to the dock or tossing lawn chairs in the back.

Winter is long here in Vermont and nothing heralds the arrival of spring like fresh maple syrup. I tend to drizzle it on everything as soon as the first batches of the year are boiled down. Tomorrow I'm baking an apple cake with maple glaze. I use dark amber syrup; it soaks into the cake, keeping it moist and gives it a touch of a smoky flavor.

A child can be snatched out of your home, a restaurant, a shopping mall, a public restroom -- even if you are just feet away. If your child is ready, you encourage them to move forward and test the waters of their own independence.

My fourth-grader came home from school today to find his "snack" on the kitchen table. It was a dainy bowl of what looked like beef stew, but was actually gourmet cat food and a glass of what looked like strawberry milk, but was actually plain milk with food coloring.

Don't worry, he laughed as soon as he saw the "stew" and didn't even try to take a bite.

I had a hard time with this task as well. I live in a very rural area which is occasionally cut off from all shopping areas (it's an island). We eat fresh from local farms and our own produce on a day-to-day basis, but my storehouse of canned foods are of great comfort to me in case of emergency. Our last big blackout lasted for two weeks, so I think I'll be hanging onto my canned peaches for the moment. ;-)

I have a Dyson DC17 and it is both powerful and gentle. It picks up every iota of dust without tearing up even my FLOR rug tiles which are only adhered to each other. You can turn off the beater brush for area rugs or bare floors, which would probably work for your situation.

http://www.dyson.com/store/productmodel.asp?model=DC17

Pricey, but SO worth it.

Dinner parties always remind me of the story Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant. While her traveling party sits downstairs enjoying their dinner, Boule de Suif is upstairs securing their release from the Prussians using only her virtue. Maupassant focuses only on the feast, but the lusciousness of the food and the idle chatter around the table are pregnant with meaning considering what's going on one floor up.