geistswoman

My nephew is 7 years old and walks on his tip toes. However, he only seems to do it when he is barefoot. I've never noticed him doing this until this year. Then again, I only get to see him once or twice a year so who knows...

I am thinking about taking a New England cruise at the end of September. I've heard though that the Atlantic is rough and not particularly fun to cruise. I've been on an Alaskan cruise and only got sea sick once when there was bad weather. Now I'm a little afraid.

My microwave is 5 years old. Everything works, but the food does not get hot. Does this mean the magnetron is busted (is that even the right term?) It is mounted over the range.

I have a 1.5lb on the bone chicken breast that I have to make for dinner tonight. I have a ton of cookbooks but no time to look through them. Any good recipe ideas that are fairly quick to prepare. I have access to a grill if needed....somewhat preferred actually.

I am going to be remodeling my basement and am concerned about what to put on the floors. I am thinking about bamboo. However, if the water heater ever breaks and floods the room, will the floor be damaged or can I just mop it up? Is the only sure form of not losing the floor to water damage stained concrete?

The home I bought had a woodburning fireplace that the previous owners converted to a pellet stove. I'd rather have a woodburning fireplace. Can I just remove the stove and go back to using the chimney or do I need a professional to do the conversion?

I bought some assorted bulbs for a school fundraiser. I know it is too late to plant them (I live in Philadelphia). Did I waste my money? What can I do? I do not have a green thumb and don't know much about gardening.

I know it is ok to be an inch or two shorter, but can it be an inch or two higher?

when you enter my home, you enter into the living room and can see straight back to my reading room on the other side of an open stairwell. The room is currently painted a light apricot (that I love) with beige carpeting. The problem is, my living room has beige walls, dark brown furniture an maroon accents. The maroon clashes with the apricot. I am getting ready to furnish the apricot room and cannot decide if I should paint first before buying anything or just leave the color as is.

I have extra bananas that will go bad soon. I'm thinking of making a Banana Peanut Butter Roll.... kinda like a pumpkin cream cheese roll except use banana cake and peanut butter filling. Does this sound good?

The water from my shower drains through a pipe in my garage. The pipe is on the far left, towards the bottom of the wall. The other day when my husband was taking a shower I heard the water draining as usual. However, towards the upper center middle of the wall I also heard a constant drip. This seems to happen only when the hot water is running so my husband thinks it may just be condensation since the pipe was cold and the water running through it is hot. The drip does stop once we stop running the water. Is this going to be a problem?

I had a lucky bamboo plant that was mostly dying. I snipped off two healthy offshoots and placed in a glas of water. It's been that way for almost three weeks now. The plant is still green but it hasn't rooted. Will it ever get new roots so I can make another plant? I am definitely not a green thumb!

I have a large 7 quart crock pot that I bought for making lots and lots of soups. Now I would like to start using it to cook other things. However, most of the recipes I'm finding say to use between 4 and 5 quart crocks. What will happen if I use my larger one? Will the food dry out or do I have to shorten the cooking time?

I bought a Microplane citrus zester to zest lemons for cookies. However, most of the zest just gets stuck on the bottom. It doesn't even come off when I tap the zester on the side of the bowl. I have to use a spoon to get the bulk of it off. When I watch Food Network, the chefs seem to get the zest right in the bowl with no problems.

I made a batch of vodka sauce last night and there's no way I'll finish it all in a few days. Can I freeze it? Also made a Sweet Potato Ginger Bisque. The recipe made about 3 quarts! I'm unsure if I can freeze either since they both have a lot of cream in them.

Can I just put ribs in a crockpot without adding any liquid? If I add just barbque sauce won't that burn?

I have a tiled shower basin with grey grout. The caulk between the basin and the walls is deteriorating and in a few places I've noticed it has turned black. I'm guessing this is mold. Some of it has crept onto the grout. I am going to remove all the old caulk and replace but want to make sure I clean out any mold first. How do I remove it from the grout? If I use a bleach/water solution, won't that bleach the color out of the grout?

I had a tile shower installed about two years ago and the caulk between the floor and walls is starting to deteriorate. The contractor used a gray caulk to match the tiles. I cannot find gray caulk meant for showers anywhere. I did find a gray silicone caulk that is waterproof but says it is meant for doors and windows. Can I use this in my shower since it says it is waterproof? I found the original bottle of caulk the contractor used and it says right on the bottle "not meant for showers".

I love to cook but I am afraid of my broiler. I have an electric oven. I tried a recipe for a casserole with bacon on top. I put my broiler on low. It only took a minute for the bacon to start splattering. I saw the little drops of grease pop, hit the elements and smoke. Can't this cause a fire? The dish was at least 3 to 5 inches from the top which is where I thought it is supposed to be. I started to panic and quickly turned off the oven and took the dish out. I just ended up frying the bacon in a pan.

I made a corn casserole the other day that was super easy and super good. It was by Paula Deen. Here's the recipe copied from Paula's website. What's your favorite easy recipe?

1 15 1/4-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained

1 14 3/4-ounce can cream-style corn

1 8-ounce package corn muffin mix (recommended Jiffy)

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Shredded Medium Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together the two cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and butter. Pour into a greased casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with generous amount of cheddar cheese and return to oven for another 5 minutes until cheese is melted.