Emmy

I've grown tired of blocking pieces on my bed, and decided to check out blocking boards. Eek! They're so expensive! Funny I'll spend $80 on yarn without blinking, but I just can't justify the board.

Anyway, I've been reading some ideas on the web about using foam core boards covered in fabric, those big foam floor cover blocks, and even acoustic ceiling tiles as blocking boards. Have any of you tried any of these? Did they work? I'd kind of prefer to make my own, and just wondered if anyone had any experience with them.

I'm in the middle of having my damaged living room and dining room hardwood floors refinished. They finished the repair and sanding today, and put on a coat of polyurethane. I'm not sure when it was put down, but it was before noon. Unfortunately, the LR and DR are pretty heavy traffic areas in our house, since you have to cross them to get from either door to three of the bedrooms, and to the kitchen.

I'm pretty sure it's a water based finish, I just want to know when we can stop going in and out through a window. :) Thanks for any help.

Hi, everyone!

I've been reading up on Byetta as a treatment for PCOS (off-label prescription) and the reports I'm seeing from individuals look pretty promising. I have PCOS, and generally normal glucose, but a pretty compelling family history of Type II diabetes and hyperinsulinemia. I haven't had my own insulin level tested, though I do have some mild hypoglycemic symptoms.

Anyway, I'd like to go into my next checkup with my RE armed with some good info on Byetta. It looks from what I'm reading like it would work to control the hypoglycemic symptoms and stabilize my weight, which has been all over the place the last few years. Do you know of any clinical trials or studies that have been done for this use? I doubt the doc is going to be impressed with blog entries and message board posts, which is most of what I've found.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

I'm going as a Greek Goddess. I bought a wig, but it's a tangly piece of junk, so I'd really rather be able to do something with my own hair. The trouble is, it's kind of short. About 4 inches at the front, and two or three at the back.

Does anyone have an idea how I can create the look of a Greek style updo with short hair? I've got plenty of styling products, hair pins, curling iron, etc. and I'm willing to cut up the wig if needed, so anything goes. Help me out?

This is so strange. It's not really a pets issue, but I thought someone here might have an idea.

There's a goat wandering my street. She has an ear tag, but won't let me get close enough to see the number. I live in the middle of downtown, and I can't imagine where this goat came from. Also, it's a large goat, so it's a little intimidating.

Does anyone know what agency or organization I would call about lost livestock? I'm frankly quite confused by the whole situation.

I have a small aquatic turtle, (he looks like a RES, but without the red marks, not sure what he is.) about a 5 inch shell measurement.

Even keeping up with frequent water and filter cartridge changes, I'm still getting a large buildup of algae, mostly on the edges of his basking rock, and on the turtle's shell.

I use filtered tap water, and the only chemicals I add are one to remove chlorine, and one to help with waste breakdown. My filter is a regular aquarium filter, rated for 60 gallons. (the tank is a 20 gallon long) I've read that the algae destroyers you would use in a regular aquarium could be harmful to turtles, so I'm hesitant to try that. I've put a few plants in the tank, but he tends to uproot them and eat them.

Does anyone have any suggestions about what I can do to slow the growth of algae in the tank?

I have about a 40 foot magnolia tree in my yard, I don't know the specific variety. It's currently blooming, but losing a lot of leaves. (I'm raking up a trash bag full every week.) I live in South Mississippi, so climate shouldn't be an issue (they're native here.) It's getting plenty of water, and I have some fertilizer spikes I just put in along the dripline. I'm a notorious plant killer, so it's making me nervous. :)

Is it normal for a blooming tree to lose leaves in early summer? Or should I be worried about the number of woodpeckers that come to my bird feeder?

I'm working on a knit project with an instruction that's confusing to me.

The first few rows are knit in stockinette, wit a purl row being the last row. The instructions are:

"K2, k next stitch at 4 rows below *k5, k next st at 4 rows below; rep from * to last 2 sts k2."

I'm having some trouble visualizing how to knit a stitch four rows down, and what to do about what would seem to be an extra stitch on the needle when I knit the previous row and the next stitch on the needle.

The pattern calls this a "tuck pattern," if that's any help.

I saw a 15 gallon nano reef setup at our local aquarium store yesterday, and it was so cool. :) I'm thinking of setting one up, but I only have experience with freshwater tropical fish.

Can anyone recommend any books or websites that can guide me through the process of setting it up? I want to be sure I do it right.

Thanks!