ok, my pkg came in, it's SO AWESOME!!!! i got gloves withe the rubber thingi on the bottom (yay) and they fit a little loose, so i have moving room!! plum trees lily of the valleys-white caladiums sweet williams gee i knew i'd forget, varigated hosta unkown plant but its a beauty black raspberry and if i forgot any, she could tell ya, oh my vic! thank you so very much!! i can't wait till them tree's get taller!! then them kids can play in them like i did when i was little, that would be so fun!! i loved them all!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!! i planted yesterday in our slow soft rain we've been having for like 3 day's now. but my flower beds are filling up with water! i hope my seeds don't go down hill!! it says your supposed to dig them up, but i never knew that til later, but i live in zone 5 and mine came back and i don't mulch. YET!!! it's on my list of do's when my beds get their flowers how i want them. LOL yesterday i went creek digging and found a beautiful purplish looking flower almost like a monarda or something and monarchs were all over them, so i brought a few home, i love butterfly's!!i'm taking my gloves next time, i found some wild strawberry's, i love wild stuff!! hey hazel can't wait, you been yammerin on forever about this, so we've been sitting on pins and needles waiting now get on with it!! LOL na, i'm just feeling spunky for a bit today, LOL first time in a while, LOL i just found out we won't be losing out on the rest of our grant afterall!! we can use it in appliances and stuff. cool!! in 3 more years i'm gonna be very picky!! and not choose any fast talking contractor!! LOL i hope everyone has a great day!! and vela, don't worry!! you had them for a while!! and ya always have the pics!! LOL

How is everyone doing tonight? I had the nicest surprise from Becki today! I got to try some of her Mocha Truffles and OH BABY are they good! The inside was this phenomenal creamy chocolate with the perfect hint of coffee, the outside was the white chocolate with the light dusting of coffee. Oh was it awesome! The flavors all complimented each other perfectly! Becki, You amaze me! I remember you saying that you thought the crystals made it a little bitter but I think it was very good! Perfect! I am rationing them! LOL! I will only let myself have one if I am on my very best behaviour and get a lot of work done! I know what you are going through with the whole getting things to look perfect. I went through the same thing when I was baking pastries for a caterer a few years ago. It is going to come together with practice. The more you get the feel for the chocolate the better you will get at it! I promise. You certainly have nothing to fear in the taste department! Your truffles were amazing! When I was making creme brulee for the first time I was terrified of how the caramelized sugar would look after it was flamed! I tried it under the broiler, nope! That sucked! Took too long, reheated the custard, made soup out of it. Blech! Had to start from scratch all over again. Pulled out the blow torch and it worked great, I didn't like some of the scorch marks but since then I have seen some of the cooking shows with the professional chefs and their's looked the same as mine! LOL! Same deal with my cheesecakes. I do mine in the big sheets instead of the round springforms so I can have lots for a crowd with bite size portions. The cream cheese layer on top was always a problem getting it to smooth perfectly, finally I went to a restaurant supply store and bought a large offset spatulala and it was big enough to get that smooth finish all the way across the 15 x 17 pan. The other day I read an interview with the pastry chef on food network that does the cake show (can't remember his name right now) he said that the one hard and fast rule is to not bake when in a bad mood or frustrated because your desserts will show it! I thought truer words were never spoken! That has been so true for me! April, didn't you say that you had trained to be a pastry chef? Any helpful tricks of the trade that you remember for Becki? I have had similar issues with the chocolate coatings in the past and remember trying different things to get it to work better but not always consistent with the same results. I don't have a ton of experience in this area. I would love to make some Hemp lip balm with you! LOL! I am growing my hair out so I can look more like a hippie at the commune! Communal Kitchen and dining room with separate living quarters is perfect for me! Oh, and a giant great room off the dining room and kitchen for lots of comfort, crafts and gabbing! I would love to learn how to make some of those essential oils. Bath and Body Works makes this awesome Vanilla Oil that I would love to be able to make myself. I have the vanilla, just need to know what to do to make the essential oils! LOL!

Me too, Pattico. I got interested in Country decorating and crafts when I went to a little restaurant in the mountains. It was so warm and "homey" with gingham curtains and containers of big sunflowers. They had these cute signs like a big pig shape with words like "Bacon 25 cents" across the front of it. I just fell in love with it all. And it was what got me wanting to learn to paint! Now I still want to paint, but since the cutouts are pretty much "out", I mostly do yard signs or holiday items. I also loved it because I now had a way to tie all my mismatched furniture together. It looked good with all the country items like baskets of sunflowers, crochet afghans, and rag rugs! I had so much fun creating wood items, rag wreaths, collecting little figurines, and country fabrics. I remember making a big arrangement on the wall behind my couch with all kinds of country items. It was so fun! I still have a few of those things, but now I have more lace and roses around, sorta Countrycottage/Victorian I guess--and it seems even that look is past-tense as well. Like you, I am a bit concerned about if we ever go to sell this place--will need to clear out a bunch of stuff, paint and pare down for the Pottery Barn look I suppose! ;o) Luvs

Have my first bib that was handmade with tatting in 1938. My slip that I wore home from the hospital, first shoes, several items from my school years. One item that is still on display, back in the early fifties glass containers with powder were popular, have one that is amber colored with shape of deer in glass on top. Received this at Christmas at a church party. I can still remember the smell of the powder that came in this container.