I took this seriously! And probably because I decided when I moved to my new husband and home 2 years ago, that if what's happy in my yard is crabgrass and Bermuda grass, then that's what I like, too. He had told me he and his former wife (deceased) had spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on hauling in dirt for the rocky lawn, and many more $$ and time seeding and re-seeding lawn grasses; there is a slight slope to this rock-based 1-plus acre of lawn and sometimes heavy rain in the spring and early summer, which seemed to always wash the seeded grass to the far corners. . . the yard is dappled shade in most parts, but in the sunny spots, everything fries. My first summer was last year, and by July, my lawn had filled in and looked beautiful--the crabgrass and Bermuda grass were going crazy. I told him that since my priorities are the vegetable and flower gardens, if we could mow and have it look good, I didn't care WHAT green stuff was in the lawn. I am a big proponent of whatever works well in the yard is what I'll try to go with--and the crabgrass and Bermuda grass love the yard.

I've answered the above questions offline but I forgot to post here. And I've added some additional photos in the "Garden Photo Galleries" under Proud Projects and Landscape Design. For the record: We used Omniflex - monofilament fishing line, 20-lb. test (018. diameter). The collage of photos shows one of my 2007 Gardening Projects: Growing fllowering vines along fishing lines up the sides of our little stone house. It worked! My favorite of the vines (and the thickest) are the hops. I also have purple hyacinth bean, Exotic Love (Spanish Flag), morning glories, moonflower and scarlet runner beans. Last year I just did luffuhs on the south side of the house. The lines, four of them, stayed up thru our stormy zone 6 winters but we added 12 more, this spring and I am going to have my husband add even more for 2008, maybe another 12. I will try bottleneck gourds and do more hops since they came in so nice and thick and the first of everything. Any suggestions for vine options would be appreciated. I like thickness and of course color (BIG flowers) and contrast. Here is a link that might be useful: vines on fishing lines

I guess this one is right up my alley. I'm mom of 4 sons though only one is still on the "payroll" though he's now off at college. Anyway there were a lot of years cooking for 6 and 5 of them were VERY hungry! I still use a plan though it's much looser and of course easier! Living 10 miles from a store and having a crowd to feed, I found doing a weekly menu saved me from living at the grocery store! I have a day that I go to the store and that day, I'll take stock of any items from the week before that I didn't use or any meals from the previous week that I never got around to cooking. Then I sit down with one or two cookbooks and start in. I jot down about 4 breakfasts and a few lunches if I think that people will be around (summer etc) but don't put a huge amount of thought into these two. I can always whip up a good breakfast with whats on hand for the most part. With kids around, plan on some nutritious snacks. For dinner, I plan out however many meals we'll need for the week. I usually figure that I'll have one meal where we either do leftovers or I defrost something from the freezer. We also usually eat out about once a week. So that leaves me with selecting 5 true menus. I do it all from veggies, salads, starch, bread and main dish. Be sure to make a note of the page in the cookbook for any new recipes. Look at your calendar for the week and be sure you have enough no brainers for the busy days. Cook extra chicken/meat and use it for a second meal turned into sandwiches, soup, or a casserole. Shopping for a week is easy and feasible. Do your meals that require the freshest produce at the beginning of your week and save the meatless/soup/pizza/sandwich meals for later in the week. Precook or freeze any meats that you'll be having at the end of the seven days. I'd usually need to pick up more milk midweek as my guys guzzled more than a gallon a day. I keep the menu paper on my island, and I feel free to substitute and change the meal or parts of the meal as needed swapping days etc. Remember nothing is written in stone!!! I think part of your "negative" slant on the menu planning may be that you don't want to be pinned down. Roll with the flow, change meals around.... it's only a guideline not military orders that you must follow to a T!!! Grace

Nope, poblanos and carrots do not belong in a sauerbraten. My parents are from NW Germany, the Rhine region. This is the one I grew up with and make. Rheinisher Sauerbraten 3# beef roast, top or bottom round 3 large onions sliced ý red wine vinegar ý water (mix with vinegar, enough to cover the meat in a non-reactive bowl.) 6 bay leaves ý tsp whole cloves 12 juniper berries ý tsp. whole black peppercorns þ cup dark raisins Apfelkraut to taste (NOT applebutter) Marinate beef in the first 7 items. Liquids should cover the meat, turning once a day, in the refrigerator for 5 days. Drain and reserve marinade, pat meat dry, and brown on all sides in butter/oil. Strain marinade and add to a Dutch oven. Cover and simmer until meat is tender but not falling apart. To make the gravy, remove meat add the raisins and applekraut to taste. Thicken with roux and serve with potato dumplings/spatzle and red cabbage. Note: gingersnap cookies and whole grain pumpernickel can be used if kraut is not available. Apfelkraut is a fermented apple butter type but is not the as the standard butter. Available in German specialty shops and on line.