So…What’s wrong with a poodle-poodle? They don’t shed, come in a variety of sizes and colors, and are awesome pets! I’ll admit I’m biased, we have Oscar, a six year-old, 11 lb. brown miniature poodle and Felix, a four year-old, 35 lb. cream small standard poodle. Both are great with kids, love to play and have a wonderful sense of humor.They are very elegant dogs. It is easy to imagine President Obama and his family walking to Air Force One with a giant standard poodle!

This appears to be based on a Sept. 24 Fox News item. Joe has substance, he knows the issues, he was involved with politics when Sara was still learning her multiplication tables.

Oh, it’s definitely a good thing! My daughter studied piano for 18 years, and lived at home for 16 of those years. The hair raises and goose bumps show up every time I hear a song she practiced (and practiced) and perfected and performed.

Happy. If you’re happy, it doesn’t matter how beautiful, smart or rich you are!

I’m on the AAA roster! I don’t have the strength to lift the full-size spare out of the bowels of the trunk.

Anyone remember Upstairs Downstairs? It was a about the upper and lower classes in the late Victorian era through World War I, I believe. That was one of my favorites! I also love Carol Burnett, West Wing, and Nash Bridges. Newhart was a favorite; I think Larry, Darryl and his other brother Darryl installed our satellite TV system last winter!

We’ll be spending the weekend on the lake, fishing, watching the herons, ducks, loons, bald eagles and osprey, and spending evenings around a roaring campfire chatting with our friends.

I would want to be a bread machine. It is pure magic to dump some flour, yeast salt, sugar and some water into a bowl, push a button and a few hours later wind up with a crunchy crusty warm loaf of Italian bread, ready for a pat of butter and a few slices of Genoa Salami. Life just doesn’t get better than that!

I love to cook, and I love recipes! I’m in the process of making a cookbook for my adult children. It’s over 100 pages and still growing! I have so many favorites! I’ve been thinking about this question for the past few days, and now have an answer. An easy favorite is baked chicken. I start with a fennel bulb. Quarter it and place in the bottom of a baking dish. Place the chicken on top of the fennel, and cook according to any cookbook directions. I stuff the chicken with a quarter of an onion, a few celery leaves and a quarter of a lemon. The fennel gives the chicken a wonderful flavor!

It would have to be “All the President’s Men.” To do the research and publish a story that impacts the history of the country, WOW!

An Obama/Clinton or vise-versa ticket would be awesome from an historical perspective, but possibly a little too radical for 2008. There are many people across the country who passionately dislike Mrs. Clinton. Others are very sure Mr. Obama is the Anti-Christ, and they have “evidence” in the form of Bible quotes to prove it! A Obama/Clinton ticket would combine those two factions, and quite possibly guarantee a McCain victory. I think the Democrats need a very traditional vice presidential candidate, preferably a candidate from a rural swing state who could calm the fears of those who are not quite ready to vote for a presidential candidate who is not a white male. It’s sad that in 2008 sex or heredity would be a factor in choosing a president, but we can see by the weight people place on the candidates’ religion that choosing the next President of the United States is anything but a rational process.

Sinclair Lewis, Kurt Vonnegut and Flannerty O’Connor are among my favorite authors. They taught me to treat an idea like a snowglobe. To turn it upside down, see if it still holds water, and see what falls to the bottom.

My mom refused to help us with homework. She thought my dad was smarter than she was, so anything he said became law.

I’m so sorry to hear about your son, and I hope his recovery is progressing well. Thanks for your offer to share information, but we spend our time in the clinic’s orthopedic wing. Sending a smile and a big hug your way—-

Sara C has a point. There are times when getting angry is a waste of energy. One of my children was severely injured in an auto accident caused by someone’s stupid behavior. At the time, I knew I didn’t have the energy to get angry, I needed all my resources to care for my child. To get angry then would be a waste of time, and besides, I didn’t want my child to see it and start heading down the path of self-pity. Every medical setback had to be met with looking at the bright side of things, for her sake. She needed good thoughts to encourage her as she worked to rehabilitate her body. It took over six months for my first expression of anger, at a time and place far away from her. And even now, three years later, there is still a lot of it bottled up inside me. But it would not be good to let it all out now. I’m waiting until she’s as fully recovered as she will ever get. Hopefully a lot of that anger will melt into pure joy at the extent of her recovery.