Thanksgiving is a chart-topping day for home cooking fires. According to the National Fire Protection Association, the amount of kitchen fires per day triples on Turkey Day.

Now would be an excellent time to make sure your smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order–before it's too late to learn they're not functioning properly.

On the big day, make sure an adult is in the kitchen at all times and keep pot holders, loose sleeves and towels away from the burners.

Keep safe and have a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family!

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Our report drive is officially over (whew!) and we collected a record number of reports: 79,400!

That's a lot of List love, which makes me incredibly happy. Thanks to everyone who participated.Here are some quick stats on the prizes:

• 1,653 of our members qualified for a Flip video camera
• Chicago member Kinsey Jackson Ford won the NPR trip to Washington, D.C.
• Toledo member Josh Vollmar won the NPR trip to Chicago
• And our grand-prize winner of the $5,000 gas card is Margaret Burgess of Atlanta...who drives a Prius. By our calculations, the $5,000 gas card should last her just around six years! Wow!

In other List news, we're still accepting your nominations for our newest Wishmakers project, so get those in quickly!

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I want to quickly pass along a scam I recently heard about. I'm always hesitant about what's a 'scam' and what's a 'rumor,' but someone in the department's mom had this happen to her earlier today.

The scam: Someone who claims to be from the IRS calls to report a 'problem,' and they need your Social Security Number and address to proceed with fixing the 'problem.'

I've heard variations that include people calling from the bank and need your account number to fix a problem, etc.

Please, don't ever give your information over the phone. You can't confirm who you're talking to, and no matter how knowledgeable they sound, they could still be up to no good.

Our employee's mom hung up on the scammer and called the number that was listed for the IRS in her book. They told her that they don't conduct 'problem' business over the phone–they'll only mail you.

Please beware and keep your information safe!

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Odds are, you've seen it. I know I have, scrawled (or scratched) on the walls of the bathroom stall: phone numbers, names, declarations of love or hate. Bathroom graffiti.

Is it just me, or does it seem a little weird that as someone is in the bathroom they're hit with an overwhelming urge to send anonymous messages to strangers?

Check out our podcast on bathroom graffiti. Did you know it's been around for thousands of years? I sure didn't. It even has ties to ancient Rome.

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The Angie's List Wishmakers program brings together local companies and local neighbors in need of a hand. We’re teaming up this year with Sterling-based DryHome Roofing & Siding Inc.’s annual 'Free Roof for the Holidays' project.

If you know a deserving family or business in Northern Virginia please let Angie's List and DryHome Roofing & Siding know about it. We’ll need a name, contact information, a brief description of the project and the reason you think they should be granted this help. We’d love to help everyone, but can help only one family or business at this time, so please be thorough in your description.

Nominations are due by Sunday, November 30th.  Please send all nominations to Angie B.
Thanks for your time and happy holidays!

(Last year's winner and Shane, the son of  DryHome Roofing & Siding Inc.’s owner, Steve.)

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Living in the lightning capital of the United States, Hillsborough County residents may not give it much thought when storm clouds roll in. But one in four could be harboring a fire risk that makes one well-placed lightning bolt especially dangerous.

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My column from the November issue of the magazine.

My husband and I purchased a 1920s home a few years ago, and we were both shocked when the inspection report came back with only one red flag – a loose toilet in the half bathroom.

Actually, half bathroom is an overstatement; this house took powder room literally. Anyway, I called our plumber, and he said it should be a quick — and relatively inexpensive — fix.

So we signed the purchase agreement, moved in, and lived with one bathroom for a while. Our previous house only had one bathroom, so I really didn’t think it would be a big deal. It was. The available, yet unusable, half bathroom was like a slap in the face every time we were forced to trudge upstairs, and getting it repaired moved to the very top of our to-do list.

Then we found out that there’s nothing quick or cheap about repairing the galvanized pipe they used in the early 1900s. Instead of simply securing a few loose screws, pipes had to be cut, PVC was introduced and one service call turned into three.

And our few hundred dollar estimate turned into more than $1,000 when all was said and done, but at least we had our second bathroom. In the end, it was well worth the cost.

Based on a recent member poll, it sounds like some of you are experiencing your own toilet issues. Thirteen percent of you had to hire a plumber to fish out items that fell (or were stuffed) into the toilet, including cell phones, toys and jewelry. One member in Sioux Falls, S.D., tells us he’ll never run into this problem though. “The toilet we put in guarantees you can flush three golf balls at one time!”

In the end, everyone has a good toilet story, and in my case, plumbing an old house is a true test of love, which is why I think plumbing is our most requested category year-round. It’s also why we devote an entire issue of the magazine to it.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the third installment of the toilet issue. If you have suggestions for other themed issues throughout the year, be sure to let us know!

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