OT- Gas Prices

Tonight when we passed our local garage diesel was 99.9p ($1.84) a litre. Was so shocked I missed taking in the price of 'normal' petrol, but it will have been slightly less!

-- Sally at the Seaside~~~~~~~

NYC has a regulation that students must pass a math and reading test in 3rd grade to be promoted to 4th grade. NYS has a regulation that all 3rd graders must take a reading and math test and this information is used to determine Adquate Yearly Progress (AYP). So, NYC should just use the NYS test, right?

WRONG! They don't use the NYS test because the results aren't back before the start of the next school year, so the 3rd graders have to spend 8 days taking tests - 4 days for the NYC tests and 4 days for the NYS tests. And then, goodness knows how many hours prepping for the tests, teaching them little hints and tricks they will forget as soon as the test is over.

Then there is the little trick the states play with the test scores. One year the average readibilty on our 4th grade state test was grade

No wonder NCLB has been called by some, No Child Left Untested.

L>The teachers up here in Maine are also having fits about NCLB! We already

Most of the young adults I know are very busy with their careers and eat out of the microwave. I agree parents should teach these skills to their children but doesn't seem to be happening any more. My son can knit - can't crochet (but not from lack of showing), irons, does laundry, mops floors, cooks and washes dishes. He was taught from an early age. He knows how to sew on the machine and by hand. He knows how to do poopy diapers and child care. My daughter grows a garden, cans, cooks, sews, quilts, crochets, knits and fine needle work. None of this was learned in school. We have a family of 4 across the street. They eat all their meals out. Laundry is sent out and the house is a mess but they seem happy.

And really isn't that the most important thing? That they are happy? It's all well and good to say "they should teach this", "kids should know that" but so long as my kids grow up happy I couldn't care one way or the other if they were a check out chick or a nuclear physicist or whether they cook everything from scratch or live out of the microwave.

Well said Sharon

Dee in Oz

When niece in law mentioned sending a pair of shorts out to have the button stitched back on I shook my head but when they are making well over 150K a year and living in a nearly paid for 3/4 million dollar house I figure she can afford it. I have learned that eating at home with everything home made doesn't mean you are eating healthy. Take a look at the food folks are buying when you grocery shop. I would venture to say most americans don't eat healthy. Taria

SNIGDIBBLY wrote:

But what do you do when people won't? As y'all know my dad had bowel cancer last year, had a colostomy bag which has since been reversed and ever since has suffered from chronic diahhrea (sp?). I've mentioned to mum that he should probably be treated like a baby and take all foods in small doses and see what causes what as he's got a new "bottom" and needs to run it in, so to speak. Her response is that he's fine if he eats little bits of meat and plain mashed potatoes but "who's going to live on that every day?". And away she cooks with all strange things and frying in oil and what not and off to the loo he runs. Let me tell you I'm not too fussed with the diet I'm on right now but if it means going to the loo once rather than 5 times and a reduction in IBS symptoms, I'll do it.

I'm literally at my wits end because the girls are asking me when mum and dad are coming to visit and I'm buggered if I know what to tell them anymore. M & D say they'll come when dad's bum is better but really, unless they change his diet I can't see that happening can you?

Alas Phyllis, if only it were that easy. We've even had the girls talking to them on the phone asking when they will come visit and all they get is "soon". We figured the last time they'd visited us was over 18 months ago - we've been there 4 times in that time. I worry more for dad's health than anything.

I agree. The oldest child is a 12 year old boy who has a lawn mowing business. He saves his money and just bought himself a mountain bike. The youngest is my DGDs best friend. She has too many allergies to count and gets really sick often with the complications that goes with all that. Both Parents have a happy marriage and adore their kids. I enjoy having them for neighbors.

It must be all the preservatives and other stuff they put in it. I am finding it harder and harder to find unprepared food in the market. 1/2 the meat counter is filled up with prepared food. I grinched to the butcher dept manager about not finding any ground chicken and he said they eliminated it because they sold more prepared food than they did the ground chicken. I just shook my head in amazement. I'm getting very old, I reckon. I love that show on the Food network that shows 30 minute meals. Real food and good healthy recipes and everything is done in 30 minutes. Even working folks could manage this with a little prepatory shopping.

My dearest Pollock was from KC, MO and loved polish food and barbeque. He loved sausage gravy with biscuits. After his bypass I put him on a strict low-fat, low-cholestral diet and he grinched about it all the time. Said it was tasteless. He knew I worried so he would sneak out while I was at work and satisfy his need for "comfort (soul) food". The morning before he died I brought him Sausage Gravy & Biscuits for his breakfast. They had removed the ventilator and his throat was raw and sore to the point he couldn't talk but he ate every bite and gave me a big wonderful smile. It sure put a sparkle in his eyes. That night I brought him his favorite Butter Pecan Malt made with real ice cream. He died at 3 AM and I sure wish I had let him eat whatever he wanted to. I was selfishly trying to keep him around a little longer and there was really no hope of that happening with the COPD and stem cell lung cancer. I know that now. He would have at least been happy those last few years and wouldn't have had to sneak around. Ask your dad what he would like for meals and cook it for him.

If he has the colostomy bag maybe he is embarrassed about being around others. There is no control on the when and where a BM occurs and there is an odor that can be embarrassing for the person. If that is the case diarrehea is pretty usual due to the shortened intestine. Everyone I've known that has had this procedure have "loose bowels" and that makes the doctor very happy because they don't have to worry so much about blockages. Maybe you could talk frankly with him and tell him you love him and it will be okay with you and your family. Also there is quite a procedure every morning when he has to flush out his bowel and change bags. He may be concerned/embarrassed about the logistics of traveling and carrying all the supplies necessary to take care of this. Just let him know that you love him and you are okay with all that. It only takes one visit to see that he can do it and no one will disown him during the smelly times and then he will be fine.

I have to read the label on everything I buy. He has to be on a low potassium, low sodium, low phosphorus diet. No beans, tomato products, potatoes, nuts, olives, oranges (except canned), and many more. The amount of sodium in prepared foods is outrageous. We use a lot of Mrs. Dash and garlic powder for seasoning instead of salt.

One of the advantages of having to cook three times a day is the time invested. We spend so little time eating that the meal time is lengthened by the prep time and there is more satisfaction when it comes time to eat. That alone has helped me lose 55 pounds (nowhere near his

We have employed several tricks that have helped. The mind can be made to be satisfied with less. He noticed he felt he had enough food for his meals everytime he was in the hospital. I studied his trays when they were delivered and discovered every food was put in a separate dish and they were all small. I bought small plates and small glasses (he's only allowed 40 ounces of fluid a day, and that includes anything that can be poured at room temperature . . . gelatin, sherbet, water taken with his medicine, etc). Every food is put on a separate plate or in a separate bowl. Every bite is to be chewed 20 times. If I have cooked more than enough for just us two, it has to be but in plastic containers and frozen immediately so it isn't tempting to "take another bite". He is compliant (for the most part) because he wants to live, but it hasn't been easy for either of us.

The secondary benefit to losing 229 pounds is that he no longer has diabetes.

My husband loves all the food shows. I've st> It must be all the preservatives and other stuff they put in it. I am

We have to cook pretty much every thing from scratch due to allergies.. so when I hit that road block, I can pretty much say Fannie Farmer cook book is amazing!!!! Every basic sauce, bread, mix, dessert etc that most buy from convience packaging is there and in an easy to find ingredients so that you can substitute out if you need to. Better Homes and Gardens takes a close second. And my bread machine is still my best friend.

Jan

Phyllis Nilsson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@buckeye-express.com:

I got an F in my last Home Ec class in the 9th grade, incomplete "sewing" project!

The most important things that I learned in school were reading and math, if there is a book about doing something and I read it, I can do it. Cook, build a house and furniture, raise chickens, hogs, cattle, goats, children, it's all in books.

My family was poor, they couldn't afford to have others fix the car, repair the plumbing, etc. They had common sense, they were practical, I learned from, great Grandpop, Grandma, Aunts, Uncles, Mom and Dad.

I was the second to graduate HS (great Grandpop was the first), started college at the age of 39, therefore the first to graduate college.

I use the microwave to save time for more sewing. I cook from scratch, but I do a lot at one time, then it's "microwave time"!

And I plan all of my errands for one day so as not to use to much gasoline.

Bonnie, in Middletown, VA

Most of my week-day cooking follows the 30 minute rule: starts as raw ingredients, and has to be ready to eat in 30 minutes. The 3 bean cassoulet we had tonight doesn't quite fit that rule, as I use pre-cooked beans and tomatoes in cans, and it is better for a little longer cooking... I've been cooking this way for years: started as a student, when I wanted to be out doing other stuff or socializing rather than slaving in the kitchen, and carried on when I was working full time. Now I do it because James is out 3 nights a week, and I like more sewing and surfing time!

BTW, for those who wanted the recipes in the WW thread, the cassoulet freezez very well: I usually make about 6 portions and freeze half for a 'home-made zappable' for another day.