I have made a few batches of the pickles and they were good. I have also changed up the ingredients a touch with some interesting results. Less salt, add some sugar, celery seed, add jalapeno or serrano, less vinegar,pinch of tumeric, etc. Many possibilities and I just keep notes to what I like and dont like. Very fresh dill is a must here as anything less gives you undesirable results. I personally didnt care for the batch that I made with allspice so I have left it out of future batches. If you do use a hot pepper, be careful how much you use or you wont find anyone willing to help you eat them. I like hot and spicy but most dont care for it. I am currently collecting quart jars so I can make smaller batches with different variations until I find one that everyone likes. Duane

Just saw what looks like a fresh shipment of tomato plants at home depot. They were Bonnie Heatwaves and suppossedly abundant producers even in temps in the mid 90s. Determinant with medium sized fruit. Recommended for late and 2nd plantings. I bought a BHN 444 and Talladega plant because of so called heat resistance, and they did the best before The Great Rains started. (I now see that BHN 640 were developed in Florida and may do even better) Any chance of these really being able to survive down here when others cant? If I could at least make a go at one more round of planting at our pre-school garden with a chance of the plants squeezing out a single harvest we'll go for it.

ttod, You poooor thing! I feel for you, I really DO understand! I'm going to tell you a rather long story, and really there IS a point to it.:) With any luck, maybe it will zero in on your problem or maybe it won't help you but just maybe it will help someone else who's going through this. Exactly what you describe is what was happening to me three years ago. At first I too thought chiggers. Then fleas, then mosquitoes then allergies from something I got in to. Never on my face. The first couple weeks it was only on my torso and a few on my legs, usually the outside thigh area. Going into the second month I would wake up with the little 'bites' on the outside of my arms then on my outer calf area. More and more, month after month. Doctor was baffled. Sent me to a dermatologist who sent me to some uppity-up specialist who asked me how often I bathed as in his words, it looked like it was a case of bad hygiene! Back to square one. Every day from the moment I put my feet on the floor until I crawled in bed, I checked, double-checked and then added to my spiral notebook list of things I came in contact with that day. Another doctor who didn't want me in his office because he feared I was contagious, prescribed a lotion for scabies over the phone.I used it as directed, no results but I did learn it causes cancer. Neat. A whole year and bottles and bottles of liquid Benadryl and OTC itch creams later, I was again sanitizing the family room. The fold-out couch was rather heavy so I asked my son to give me a hand moving it. As my son got behind the couch he asked "Mom, what's this????" Heck, looked like someone had sprinkled a whole container of tan baby powder on the back of the couch...the part you lean against. Long story a bit shorter...... The couch was in front of the very large window. Outside that window, with it's fronds just reaching the window screen the year before....was our Australian Fern Tree. A bit of Columbo'ing and here's what we figured out..... The fern would create this really tiny, very fine powdery stuff on the underside of it's fronds....it's spores. The air would blow those fine particles against and into the screen and onto the couch. I took my daily nap on that couch! My face was at the far end of the window, and my head was elevated and resting on a hand towel. Even though I would vac the couch, those teensy spores from the Australian Fern Tree would just filter back in through the screen as fast as I vac'd. I never saw that little powdery spore stuff...they are a golden color as Was the print on our couch (notice I say "Was" ?) I'd take a nap and those spores would stick to my skin. I'd crawl in bed taking the spores into bed with me where they had even more time to embed into my pores. I took a shower every morning but lie on the couch again and if I didn't nap on the couch, I'd crawl into bed at night where the spores, that I took to bed with me the previous night, were waiting for me. Hubby never once was bothered by the spores in bed. DX= terribly allergic to spores from ferns. And of course, ferns of any kind are my very favorite plant life in my back yard. Moral : A year and a couple thousand dollars later, and arms, torso and legs full of scars today, going nuts changing detergents, clothing manufacturers, sanitizing my home, not touching anything I was not familiar with....... And it all came down to fern spores that came in through my window screen (Southern Calif----that window remains open all year). Whatever you have, I really feel for you! I know getting a good night's sleep isn't easy when you are itching and worrying about what is causing those little red 'bites' you're losing even more sleep......it's sooooo frustrating! Maybe start thinking outside the box. Wish I would have...would have saved me a lot of time, money and stress! I hope whatever it is that is eating you, you find out soon. Please keep us updated!

This is a message for POPCORNHAZEL - it has come to our attention you are using the Natural Progesterone Advisory Network as a foundation endorsing your comments on this message board. For the record, please let it be understood NPAN DOES NOT recommend women use medication other than how it is prescribed by your treating physician. Further, we ENCOURAGE women to implement progesterone replacement therapy under the guidance of their treating healthcare professional. Natural Progesterone Advisory Network (NPAN) http://www.natural-progesterone-advisory-network.com 'NPAN ... helping women use progesterone cream with confidence' Here is a link that might be useful: Natural Progesterone Advisory Network