I would start with some practical questions, which can be useful with the short-term plans, and can help you set the 'bones' for your longer-term plans. And can help you keep things simple. Might help with the 'stuck' thing. Where on that porch do you want shade, either from shrubs/small trees or trellises with climbers? Sun in the morning and shade in the evening? And do you want a blocking of vision from the road to feel that the porch is more private? Or would you rather have that view more open? Which way does the prevailing wind come from? Depending on where you are, you may want to leave that breeze corridor open, or you may want some buffering. If I had that porch, I would want to just plain live on it [jealous grins]. But is there another area to the back or side of the house where you might want other outdoor-living spaces.... Barbecue/picnic areas, play areas, a patio, whatever? Or is that front porch likely to be the focus of your outdoor-time? Once you've thought about all this stuff, you will have an idea about where to place some of the 'bones'. Shrubs, small trees, trellises, any walls, fences, whatever. Then, *around* those bones, you can keep developing plans for later, and can plant the things you want. And there is no reason that you can't just pick a garden spot or three for some of the sun plants you want to try, preferably in close view from your chair on the porch. But you can keep the plants, and the labor and maintenance, very small. Forget worrying about foundation plantings around the house. Concentrate on the areas that will affect your enjoyment of the property in the way *you* want to enjoy it. [What do *you* want to see when you walk out on the porch with coffee in the morning?] And with the setting of your house in its landscape, you would do better with more irregular planting areas where they work well and for you, rather than nice, neat standard all-around-the-house-suburban foundation beds. Plant where and what you want, and you can add more irregular space to the bed, and more plants, later. Use a weed-whacker along the rest of the foundation....

I guess we were rooting for Green Bay since Seattle beat the Redskins last week. And Brett Favre is pretty amazing to still be playing after all this time (Old for football)I can't believe how much it was snowing and a lot of those guys in short sleeve shirts!! I am also a Falcons fan since I'm a VA Tech alumni and Michael Vick is a VA Tech alumni too. Obviously don't agree with what he did, but I used to love to watch him!

"There is no discernible diff given how it works and the results." Hmmm, there are actually very considerable differences. A key element of Sous Vide is that the food is sealed in a bag. This retains the juices and environment within the bag and protects the food from environmental conditions outside of the bag. Vacuum sealing and keeping the food pressurized adds another bit to this (I can't remember the details but I know that there is a huge difference when something is not vacuum sealed as like many others I've experimented with this). Water has a much higher heat capacity than air. The water bath used in Sous Vide is critical to maintaining very accurate temps required for Sous Vide. This cannot be replicated with air or steam as Anova tries to lead people to believe. Interestingly, Anova promotes that their oven "does sous vide in half the time". To my knowledge this is impossible as it's the very long slow cooking time that balances the collagen and proteins in the food and produces the results that sous vide is known for. The Anova may be a great option for people to add basic CSO capability to their kitchen for an affordable price (and I'm actually considering one for my studio) but it is not a replacement for sous vide regardless of what their marketing material says.

I think it is smart actually, when trying a new crop, especially different varieties, to harvest and cook/test to find the best flavor. At the best size for that particular variety. Add one or two to what is planned for dinner. This isn't about cooking for one person necessarily. I'm always trying new varieties especially the tiny Frech fillet beans. (one i loved is no longer available). Harvest is slow trickling in this time of year in my climate. I've been picking cherry tomatoes for a month now. Started a few dozen compact varieties in Febuary. A few dozen peas, beans, and cuke varieties. Mostly garden snacks when i just get a few. This season i went overboard in the summer and winter squash varieties. And the radish, beets. Started seeds indoors and direct seeded as well. I can cull if too thick. And prune. I can take the first mini harvest and combine for a mixed sauté. The NorthEast and the EasternShore area is called a succotash. Summer and winter versions that use all the available freah harvest.