Morning all, Well Im feeling pretty much back to normal this morning and am in my favorite chair with a nice cup of French Roast. The winds are pretty blustery outside and the temps are hovering around freezing. Doug and I are going to finish the last buttoning up of the yard and gardens today and start getting all the garaged plants down into the basement. Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week? It seems I was just enjoying the flowers on the brugs a few days ago. Martie, my lavender is looking really terrific. I had it in a container with a strobilanthes this summer. I separated it out of the pot, pruned it and repotted it. It looked a bit bedraggled for a week or so but its sending out some lovely new growth and is a happy camper under the lights again. I saved and dried the pieces I pruned off and am going to add it to some potpourri. ~~ I cant believe Rick is being audited. Jeesh! Saucy, you go girl!!!! Scuba diving! Fantastic. Im looking forward to hearing about your dive in the cold dark Atlantic. ~~ Maybe you can join Wendy and I for lunch sometime? How far are you from Chelmsford? Chelone, I saw Deb and Peter last night and gave them your greetings. She was touched that youd asked about her dad. Hes going downhill fast now and is getting quite frail. He isnt able to get over for Thanksgiving this year so shes reserved the private dining room at the home where hes staying and will bring a home cooked dinner there for him on Sunday. ~~ Thats so sad about your dad. From what I understand its a very treatable cancer if caught early. ~~ Love those chairs! What a great job you did restoring them. Bug, great photos. That Reid is growing at light speed. ~~ So sorry about your bunny. Michelle, glad youre better. ~~ RE light set up. Do you have room for one of those steel shelving units they sell at Sams? Doug made my light units with those and fixtures from HD. It was much cheaper than buying a ready made light unit. I just ordered the full spectrum light bulbs from Charleys Greenhouse. Another option is to get the 55 watt fluorescent bulb that has the output of a 200 watt incandescent and mount it in a clamp lamp. I use those for the tall plants that dont fit under the shelf fixtures. I should post a pic of my set up in the basement. ~~ LOl about the missing socks. Isnt that the truth. Where on earth do they go? Kathy, funny you should mention the tropics and pina coladas! My girlfriends and I are discussing taking just such a trip. ~~ BTW have you ever had a Pinot Grigio by Mezzacrona? Very inexpensive and a nice, very light, refreshing fruity wine. WE are going to have it with Thanksgiving dinner along with the champagne this year. ~~ Thanks for the pics from Napa! Beautiful this time of year. I love Healdsburg. Ive been to that area several times with my friends from Willits. Sue do you still have that fuchsia we talked about? If you arent going to save it Id be happy to take it off your hands. Thats a beauty. Cindy, thanks for checking in. You sound like you could use a vacation in the tropics too. V. hope you are all done with your snoughing and are feeling better by now. OK time to get out of my easy chair and do something productive with this day. Have a great day everyone. Deanne

Hi, I am somewhat dissapointed today,,,,, I got my compost delivered and generally the quality seems fine. Inside of the 10 tons pile its really warm. When I showel it into my wheelbarrow it´s steaming. It smells as well "good". BUT,,,,,,, I have a problem with bringig it to my lawn,,,,,, there is pieces of roots, wood, bark in the compost which are apparentely still worked by bacteria and fungi. Those pieces are warm as well and feel soft. But if I bring this on my lawn , the wood-pieces will stay on top of the turf and only smallest pieces sink onto the soil. Even if I brush it in different directions, back and forward..... What can I do? Leave the compost on a pile until the wood decomposes further ? Or "filter" the bigger pieces from the smaller ones (lots of work probably). My father in law opts for anyhow throwing the compost to the lawn,,,,,,,,, but its not him that is going to ruin his new lawn-mower cutting bark, wood and roots with the next lawnmowing.... Any info welcome,,,, Thanks & a nice weekend,,,,,

Mary, I had to look up what Pasta Fagiola was. It sure sounds healthy! Shirley, the weather was sunny all day here as well. Just loved being outside in it. Wendy's chili is a meal in itself and one of the most popular choices on their menu. You made 2 stops for your dinner! Hellion sliders with your healthy sides sure sounds good. Lots of good choices. I'd have the chocolate cake AND ice cream. Sue, I had oatmeal last nite! We're supposed to get more snow and cold temps again starting tomorrow nite. Susie, did you see Gadgets at McD's?? ;-) Kittiemom, I would love to have a barbecue. What kind of sandwiches did you do?

Only humans do 'composting'. This is a very narrow interpretation of composting and I believe it IS splitting hairs :-). 'Compost' (the noun) is broadly defined as "organic matter that has been decomposed and recycled as a fertilizer and soil amendment" and 'composting' itself (the verb) as "nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil–dark brown, crumbly and smells like a forest floor." Does nature 'compost'?