barbara

I am cooking potroast for a potluck for a friend-no one else knew how and it's her favorite.

I don't have any cornstarch or flour because I haven't made it for so long, any ideas about thickening the gravy?

I can't go to the store, I've had some wine. I have bread, bread crumbs...or can I just slowly reduce it? Any answers helpful, thanks.

My shower enclosure is old (circa '50s) ceramic tile. The control to switch from tub to shower is embedded in tile between two water controls. It froze suddenly, from one shower to the next and now I only have the faucet.

I have a reputable plumber that I have used before coming to fix it. The question-will I need to move my bed and nightstand on the other side of the wall so they can get to the access panel there?

It's not a huge deal but I like to be prepared!

BQ: if they have to replace the whole fixture will it involve another trip or accepting whatever stock they have available? I wouldn't mind changing the fixture but I would like a good variety to choose from.

At the hospital where I work, we all takes turns being on call in case of especially heavy workload or call ins.

Last week, one of the night shift staff called in sick in the morning and the on call person was asked to come in and work for the entire 12 hours. At about 4:30 PM the night shift person called and said they would be able to come in after all. the on call person was called and told they didn't need to come in. Their response was "I'm already halfway there, I'm coming in anyway ( they live about 45 minutes away and the shift starts at 6PM).

When we came in, we divided the workload for four people then had to redivide when it became apparent the on call person had changed their mind. We have a sheet to write changes in the scheduled tours (call ins, left early, stayed over, etc) for payroll purposes. We wrote on it that Soandso was called in but didn't show up, just so the manager would know not to pay them OT, now they're upset.

Would you call saying you would be in then not showing up a no show or not, and do you think they are justified in being offended?

This is a hospital job doing patient care. We traditionally allow 30 minutes overlap at shift change to divide the workload and get information on the patients we have from the previous shift. This is called "report".

The problem lies with a new coworker who works a new schedule which doesn't correspond to the other shifts. Normally, new shift arrives, report happens, old shift goes home. The new schedule has this person staying 3 1/2 hours into the night shift, then going home. The 30 minutes is still formally built into the schedule, though-it covers a meal break.

We start scheduled treatment rounds at 8pm-the shift officially ends at 9:30pm. We don't punch a clock and it's not a big deal when you leave as long as your work was done and you've given report. The day shift I routinely relieve pushes it, though-if you get to work ten minutes early, they'll be pushing you to take report so they can go (we don't do that to them at all). This new person isn't new to the profession, just to this facility. She's picked up this habit and if no one else has finished treatment rounds by 9, she leaves her treatment cards and pagers and leaves without giving report. Often on ICU patients.

We don't have shift supervisors. I've complained to the manager but now her day shift coworkers are saying I'm bullying her. I don't want to make her hang out waiting but we all carry pagers-I've suggested she page me and come to where I am to give report. This isn't unheard of, BTW.

I know this is long. Opinions or suggestions would be appreciated.

I make soaps and bubble bath using natural ingredients in a glycerin base. I use essential oils for fragrance. This year I saved the petals from my roses in my yard, they're organic. How do I use glycerin to extract the frangrance from the petals, without adding a lot of water?

I made some soaps using glycerin and rosewater and the soap was very soft and didn't last well. I have used lavander from my yard with just glycerin and the soap came out well.

Any help appreciated!

I set a grid of 10 quartz points around an ailing tree on the waning moon. Now I'm supposed to cleanse them and return them points in. Today is the new moon and I could only find six. They are in a glass bowl in the rain for cleansing, will the points I didn't find be cleansed by the rain or should I take them away? If I find them? If I can't find them is it a waste of time? Help appreciated.

So many people post questions about "I left this out on the counter/in a pot on the stove/in my car".

I'm sincerely curious, how exactly does that happen? I've had Salmonella poisoning, it's something I truly want to avoid. Not to mention the price of food!

Short of an emergency, I can't imagine getting takeout or cooking something and forgetting to put it away.

Share your opinion.

When I try to appeal Yahoo says the site isn't available. What's up with that? Anyone else having this issue and what have you tried?

I'm making healthy treat bars for my coworkers this weekend. I have a recipe that sounds good but it has too much stuff my one friend is allergic to, so I wanted to make something different for him. He likes marshmallow, strawberry and oatmeal, if that helps.

Do some people really think changing the clock changes time? There was a question about whether Daylight Savings is a good idea and some responses were actually like "no, I lose an hour" or "I get less sleep".

It's an outline of my cat's face and ears. With her amazing blue eyes the focus. She was with me 21 years, should I add that and her name? The artist is incredible, BTW.

1991-2012.

Dancer

I have a beautiful new tattoo (11/12) on my left biceps-I'm single and get driver's tan in the summer. Will sunblock keep the colors from fading? Or do I need to cover it?

Three cats: 12-14 year old male (rescue stray, age uncertain) 18lb, well padded but by no means fat, big kitty-8 month old female very small but not skinny-7 month old male not skinny, not small for age but gaining fast.

Right now they get all the Iams Kitten kibble they want and 1oz each of Science Diet canned food apiece each morning.

It's more a treat than anything but it would be cheaper to buy the 5oz cans and I know canned food is really less calorie dense than dry food, but I don't want any of them to become overweight. All three are quite active, even the older guy, especially now with the kittens around.

It seems whenever I discover a new artist that I really like I just don't want to hear anyone else much until I come upon the next thing. I still do listen to other stuff but it's as though I'm addicted or obsessed and can't go without hearing my "crush" every day, sometimes for months. All superior artists, but, still, is this weird?

I just adopted a male kitten from the shelter. He's had all appropriate medical treatment but I think he must have eaten only dry food. I give about one oz of Science Diet each morning. His stool is normal but he has stinky gas. He shows no sign of discomfort. I have some probiotics that I gave to my old cat when she had diarrhea. Does anyone have any knowledge about this?

I apologize if this question has been asked 3 million times. I've been in health care a long time and I never did know-why do they ask for samples from 2 or 3 sites when they do blood cultures?

It's probably astoundingly simple and I'll feel dumb but I want to know.

I got this from my stepdad who speaks japanese but he didn't know the spelling-it's something like "chi sai" and means "little one" or something like that. Can any japanese speakers help me out? Thanks in advance.