Thanks again, everyone. I like hearing about the different cultural "tips" as well! :) Since noone has mentioned the cucumber thing... I know, I've got cukes on the brain right now... About 15 years ago I read in Gourmet Magazine about a technique of cutting cucumbers that decreases the bitterness. I always do this now and hadn't thought of it, as a tip or tale, until I just ran across someone mentioning it on the veg forum. Anyway, what you do is cut the end off of the cuke, then rub the cut piece against the whole cuke in a vigorous circular motion until you have a foamy substance. Cut another narrow slice off of the same end to remove the foam. Repeat on the other side. This really seems to work for me. I've had very few bitter cukes and when I have it is usually when I've not worked it up into a foam. Another thing, which I wonder about... My mother always says that my paternal grandmother said to plant beans in the DARK of the moon. That seems strange to me because beans are an above ground crop (if you follow the whole Farmer's Almanac thing). But, it does leave me to wonder if it fixes nitrogen in the soil better or something? Has anyone else ever heard this? I, for one, cannot grow beans to save my life. If they survive they produce very few. Next year I'll pay attention to the moon. Thanks again, everyone for sharing.

Sunflowers sure grow under my birdfeeders, but I am not sure if they are the only things that will grow there. I wonder where we could go to research that tidbit? Janie

I got a laugh about owls hooting in the daytime. A certain specie of owls do hoot at a particular time of the day. On the farm, if we should happen to get a few free hours in an afternoon, we'd go to the river to cool off and fish. We might catch enough for supper. At about 4 pm, the owls would arouse and begin to stir. This was announced with hoots and answered by other owls proclaiming their territories. When the owls hooted, we knew it was time to pack it in and go home to do the evening's chores. No superstition there. It was merely the friendly owls reminding us of the sun's position in the sky.

dotz, I'm sorry for yours and your husband's situation. The sad part of all, is if your SS has children, he is teaching them through his example, how they should someday treat him. My mom made it clear she didn't like my stepmom and didn't want us to like her either. There are four of us in our family and while my two sisters rallied with my mom and didn't like my stepmom, I came to resent my mom for wanting me to choose and for saying nasty things about someone I liked. (My brother liked and got along with my stepmom but I don't remember my mom saying anything to him. He was out of the house when my dad remarried) I could see my stepmom did nothing to anyone to cause them to dislike her, they did it just because my mom would crack jokes or dig for info and then say nasty things about it. I can't say how my sisters felt, but it made me uncomfortable and I was a teenager. I can only imagine how torn some young kids feel. I'm sure some are not torn, they will do whatever it takes to please their parent. It is on a case by case basis because each child is going to have a different personality and have their own feelings about it, regardless of what the parent says or does. It's my belief that even the kids that rally with the parent, may someday come to realize what their parent did was wrong, probably after they become parents and/or stepparents themselves and experience the difficulty in raising (someone else's) child and possibly dealing with the bio parent of their stepchild. They may also resent the parent that causes friction in their relationship with the other parent. When I read of an estrangement, I often wonder if that might have something to do with it. But, since history is often rewritten, who knows? I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons too. My point is, it's terrible how what someone (either parent) does to a young child, may follow that child into adulthood and even old age... and also impact generations to come.