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Yes! (((((Hello)))))) to Pam and others who are joining us...We are glad that you are here. Its wonderful having a place to come every day and have your world brightened with members from all over the globe. I love it here!

I am ever so thankful for my dear family and friends!!! I am thankful for my warm home and a car that runs great. I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I can work at a great job. I am thankful for my church. I am thankful for this country for which I am proud to be an American. I am thankful for our freedom to worship God. Above all, I am thankful for Jesus Christ's plan of salvation, that all would come to know His saving grace. I am blessed. In humble thanksgiving,

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring. Therefore, according to every historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, every single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen- had to be a girl. We should've known. Only women, while pregnant, would be able to drag a fat man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost.

The 11th Box What is your most memorable Thanksgiving? For me, it was on the eve of the day. The church had the names of 10 families scheduled to receive food baskets. A local merchant donated hams, and groceries were purchased from the food bank. As we packed the boxes in the fellowship hall, these families were excited over the food they were taking home. It would be the best meal many had enjoyed in months. As they were picking up their boxes, another family arrived. Father, mother and three children piled out of an old pickup truck and came inside the hall. This was a new family, not on our list. They had just heard there was food being distributed by a church. I explained that we did not have enough for an extra family. And as I tried to assure them that I would do what I could, an amazing thing happened. With no prompting a woman put down the box she was carrying and quickly found an empty box to place beside it. She began removing items from her box to share. Soon others followed her lead, and these poor people created an 11th box for the new family. By Pastor Bill Simpson

Well, I know I wouldn't go as far as saying we are a boring lot here at Mrs. Survival....quite contrare! Just maybe we are leading such interesting lives that sometimes its hard to connect. With your gentle prompting, I know I'll try to be better about sharing more frequently here. So how was the cake??

I know, Mamafitz....I'm lonely here, too for the way it used to be. But with that said I myself am so guilty of lurking daily without adding any new posts. Why? I really don't have any one reason why, only a compilement of time management, family priorities, and lack of ideas and motivation. I imagine a few of us are overwhelmed right now. Such has been the life here on the message board. High tides and low tides of activity. Keep on, keepin' on Happy birthday to your son!! Have a wonderful party! That ice cream cake sounds absolutely delicious!

I do like the suspended votives best as a soothing place to honor loved ones yet I think passages of light best suits a memorial of the Twin Towers. Tough decision.

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/jk_produce.html Live On What You Produce BY JAMES B. KENNARD While you endure these cold winter months why not plan for a really great garden next spring. Maybe even one that could provide some income in addition to the food you eat yourselves! Does anyone have children who need responsibility - and spending money? To illustrate the potential, I'll describe the yields achievable by growing one crop in a quarter-acre garden. I realize that most of you may only want or be able to grow a garden of 10 or 20% this size, with multiple crops, however let’s tickle your imaginations! I’m aware of many Mittleider gardeners who are growing commercially - some with multi-acre gardens. Consider this: Just a quarter-acre of tomatoes grown properly using Dr. Mittleider’s instructions, and selling for only $.50 per pound, would yield $25,000 per year! Have I got your attention? Let’s see how it’s done. A quarter-acre, or 10,390 square feet, will accommodate 78 30-foot rows of plants, grown in 4' X 30' Grow-Boxes, with 3 1/2' side aisles, and 5' end aisles. Planting 9" apart gives you 41 plants per bed or 3,198 total. By growing a tomato that averages 8 ounces (some varieties are even bigger), and growing vertically, each plant should produce 16# of fruit from July through October. How? Good varieties produce a cluster of 3-7 tomatoes every 5-7" up a 7' stem in 4 months of production. Using 4 per cluster and 12 clusters gives 48 tomatoes, and at 8 ounces each, your yield would be 24# per plant. Let’s reduce that by one third, to be conservative. This amounts to 51,168 pounds of tomatoes (16# X 41 X 78) - or $25,584 at $.50 per pound. Who said you couldn't live out of your garden! And similar results can be achieved growing right in the soil. Now there certainly are costs, including labor, as there are in any serious endeavor. Start-up costs include 1) making and filling the boxes, 2) making T-Frames, 3) wires or pipes, and baling-twine strings, and 4) automating the watering. However these are one-time capital expenditures and will be more than recovered in the first year. Next, suppose you'd like to increase your yield even more. After all, commercial hydroponic growers can produce 550,000 pounds of “plastic,” tasteless tomatoes per year on one acre. Of course, they have large investments in year-round greenhouses, automated systems, etc. By simply putting an arched PVC roof over each of your Grow-Boxes, as illustrated, covering them with 6-mil greenhouse plastic, and then adding just a little heat on cold nights, you can lengthen your growing season by another two months, or 50%! Now you're looking at 75,000# of tomatoes per quarter-acre, or more than half the yield of the expensive hydroponic growers! But you're growing "in the dirt", because your boxes are open at the bottom, so your plants get all the natural nutrients available from the soil (producing better flavor). And you only use the plastic covering for two or three months, so your plants benefit from direct sunlight as well, further improving their flavor. Do you think these numbers are hard to believe? Just visit a greenhouse tomato operation and see tomato plants that are 20' and 30' long - still producing after more than a year! Now let’s see what your family can do. And let me help guide you through the process - read the website FAQ’s at www.foodforeveryone.org or email me at jim@growfood.com. Jim Kennard, President Food For Everyone Foundation “Teaching the world to grow food one family at a time.” www.foodforeveryone.org Mittleider Gardening Magic © 2003 - James B. Kennard

My favorite!! I love the Narnia series and I adore all C.S.Lewis's writings! He's the best, right up with J.R.R. Tolkien who btw were also good friends Two peas in a pod. The imagination and allegories make for fantastic reading. Now that Lord Of The Rings has had its motion picture debut and the authors storyline has kept its artistic flavor and inline with the series...I look for The Chronicles Of Narnia to be made into a motion picture also.

Oh Goodie!! I can't wait for you to have your larger home!! Congratulations and blessings

Bravo!! Bethany! How remarkably insightful to the whole chicken pox plight!! Makes me itch just reading Get better soon! Keep writing!

Welcome Anji!! You'll love it here

Not much going on here cept' the weather getting colder. Our out of state family is coming in for Thanksgiving so we are getting ready for that. House needs a going over a few times Work at the Cinema has been busy with Brother Bear showing....now we are gearing up for Cat In The Hat. Should be a busy month!

Oh how I need this as I'd rather *play* on the computer than go exercise. I need this advise and must take action. Ginger Ten Fitness Obstacles and Their Solutions BY EDEL JARBOE Obstacle 1: "I don't feel like working out today." Whenever you feel tempted to skip your exercise routine or to put starting one off altogether, remind yourself of the reasons why you want to exercise. Write it down on an index card and read it whenever you feel like blowing off your health. Why do you want to get fit? How will being in shape benefit your life? Obstacle 2: "I'm just not motivated to exercise." Setting specific daily or weekly fitness goals helps you to focus on your performance and keeps you motivated. For example, committing to working out four days a week or walking five miles gives you a specific fitness target to aim for and makes it easier for you to make the time to exercise. It is also helpful to keep a record of your fitness performance so that you can up the stakes and stay challenged. Most importantly, you can provide ongoing motivation by rewarding yourself at the end of each week or month with a pedicure, massage, or new workout gear. Obstacle 3: "I don't have time to exercise." Schedule your fitness workouts for the week with a specific time, location, and activity. When you do this, you eliminate the excuse of not having enough time to workout. Quite simply, you make the time and honor this appointment with yourself. Obstacle 4: "I have a hard time staying motivated." Keep a workout journal. Tracking your progress helps you to see how far you've come. Record the date, activity, how long you worked out or how many reps you completed, and how you felt afterward. You could also keep track of your measurements and how you feel about your body as it becomes stronger and leaner. Obstacle 5: "I'm too busy to exercise." On crazy-busy days, instead of skipping your workout, do a mini- version of it. For example, if you don't have time for your usual one-hour step video, scale it down to 30 minutes using just the of warm-up and the beginner's level. Not only will you feel good about yourself but you will also maintain your fitness schedule. Being too busy is no longer an excuse because you can also take a couple of 10 or 15-minute fitness breaks during the day. Even on our busiest days we can find at least this much time for ourselves. The point is to keep moving so that we don't start using this excuse all the time and sabotage our fitness plan. Obstacle 6: "I got sick and haven't exercised in months." Always have a backup fitness plan. Be creative and come up with alternative fitness solutions for when you are out of town, bored, or in a time crunch. Planning for setbacks keeps you in control of your fitness. Working out before you go to work, at lunchtime, or adding a new activity to your fitness repertoire are all good solutions to the above fitness obstacles. Obstacle 7: "I'm not a fitness buff. I don't really like to exercise." Develop a fitness mindset anyway. When you see yourself as a walker, runner, or a step video queen exercise becomes second nature. How can you identify yourself as a fitness buff? Keep a regular exercise schedule and make your workout time as important as the other areas of your life. Obstacle 8: "I don't like working out alone." Find a workout buddy. Having someone else there on your road to fitness makes workouts more fun and adds the spirit of competition to your routine. You also keep each other motivated. Make sure your exercise partner has the same fitness goals and that you both commit to a regular workout schedule. Obstacle 9: "I'm bored with my exercise routine." Okay, so you've gotten your exercise routine down. Four times a week you run the same five miles. Yawn. Suddenly you don't feel like going for your run anymore. Spice it up. Look for new ways to make your workout fun and exciting. Try a new route or cross train. Alternate your running days with spinning classes, hiking, or rock climbing. Obstacle 10: "I'll always be out of shape." Acknowledge that your fitness is under your control and that you have the power to take charge of your health. Believe that you can make it happen. ____________________________________ Edel Jarboe is the founder of Self Help for Her.com (http://www.selfhelpforher.com), an online self-help magazine helping you create your better life. She also publishes a free weekly newsletter, which features advice on goal setting, stress management, coping with difficult people, and overcoming obstacles: Subscribe (mailto:subscribe@selfhelpforher.com) and receive a FREE stress report. Copyright © 2001 by Edel Jarboe. All Rights Reserved. ____________________________________

"A house becomes a home when you can write "I love you" on the furniture." I can't tell you how many countless hours that I have spent CLEANING! I used to spend at least 8 hours every weekend making sure things were just perfect -"in case someone came over". Then I realized one day that no one came over; they were all out living life and having fun! Now, when people visit, I find no need to explain the "condition" of my home. They are more interested in hearing about the things I've been doing while I was away living life and having fun. If you haven't figured this out yet, please heed this advice. Life is short. Enjoy it! Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better to paint a picture or write a letter, bake a cake or plant a seed, ponder the difference between want and need? Dust if you must, but there's not much time, with rivers to swim and mountains to climb, music to hear and books to read, friends to cherish and life to lead. Dust if you must, but the world's out there with the sun in your eyes, the wind in your hair, a flutter of snow, a shower of rain. This day will not come around again. Dust if you must, but bear in mind, old age will come and it's not kind. And when you go - and go you must - you, yourself will make more dust! Share this with all the wonderful women in your life! I JUST DID. It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived.

I showed her pictures of my kids and other family members as well as got into genealogy. As I was sharing, Lowie got a surprised look upon her face and rushed to get out her pictures. To our amazement we discovered that my English great great uncle Edward on my mothers side was also her great great uncle on her fathers side. That makes Lowie and I family! We hugged and squealed with joy...who would of known! This visit was a divine appointment, thats for sure! We then... a) broke out her homemade liquors that she saves for special occasions and celebrated till dawn had tea and crumpets in the garden, sharing every detail of what we knew of our eccentric great great uncle Edward c) had to run after the chickens that had gotten out and were running down the road, oh my, what a chase they gave us!

roll over and grab the phone and called DH. She left in such a hurry, now the "what ifs" were coming to mind. She had to hear that they were surviving without her. Her Dh put her mind at ease and told her to enjoy herself, that she truly deserved this vacation....she finally felt relief. After slobbering sweet somethings in the phone to DD, Happy decided to again ask Snowmom what she could do to help? Snow replied: a) Nothing, dear, let us talk awhile. I have so much to tell you about my trip to visit Lowie in England. Why don't you just continue on with the chicken pluckin'? c) Well, I'm sure glad you asked. The house needs a good vaccuming, dishes are to the roof, and the laundry is calling.

Yeah!! I'm so glad, Dear Theyd, you can spoil DH like crazy now! Blessings and prayers,

(((((((Theyd)))))))) Dh and you are in my prayers.... Rest up,dear one,tomorrow's another day! Keep us updated, we are here for you!!

Great Job, Seldiesgirl!! You go, Girl! Theyd, dear, the way I figure, its a free country....They gotta let folks like you and I stay here and balance out those like SeldiesGirl from letting thier heads get too big.

((((((MountainMommy))))))) Sure is great to see you!! You have been missed! I'm so sorry to hear about your health scares, van trouble and having to give away your baby (cat). But it sounds like your Rockies are inspiring as ever and will see you through the hard times and into the good. Please, visit often...you are in our thoughts and prayers always. Once a friend, friends forever! Love,

Yes, do check it out...It only takes a minute or two. You'd be surprised at how much or how little *you* know about the United States of America... I was!

Yeahhhhhhh! Lets have a party! Welcome back friends!!

I only had one country right that we were at war with in WW2...thats how I got one half.

What an awesome idea!! Thanks for sharing, Mare! Puttin' on my thinking cap....