I am so excited! I received 3 cards today! HECK YEAH! I spent another full day preparing my cards and seeds for others and am still going! :) Thank you to debby_1 for the cute santa cat card and the seeds! I got Oat Grass (never have tried that before! looking forward to sowing them!), red canna (I am starting a bulb farm this spring, so I am very excited to have new varieties!), and California Wonder Pepper (so happy you send these because I didn't get seeds from the ones I grew last year.) Thanks so much! I'm planting everything you sent this spring - love it all! Xiangirl sent an amazing handmade card loaded with seeds! She sent gaillardia Punchella (I only have one variety of blanket flower so I am super excited to try this new one!), Reed Grass (a grass I haven't tried or have heard of, and am very excited about!), Goldenrod (have never grown them but I've been wanting to try this!), Autumn Joy Sedum (I don't have this sedum yet! It looks gorgeous!), Milkweed (I LOVE this!) and Butterfly Weed (I have never grown this before but it looks gorgeous!). Thank you SO MUCH Heidi! You sent varieties that I didn't have but wanted to try and I am super excited to plant them all this spring! Last but certainly not least, I received a cute snowman/winter scene card from Ruby_dog! She included Ruby Star Echinacea (I only have purple and white, so I am EXTREMELY excited about this one!), Scabiosa 'Summer Berries Mix' (I LOVE LOVE LOVE these flowers. Can't wait to see what colors I get from the mix!), Jalapeno M Peppers (I love jalapenos - I pickle them, dry them, use them in endless recipes!), Watermelon 'Blacktail Mountain (have never grown these or have heard of them - extremely excited!), Butternut Squash 'Waltham' (I have so many uses for these as well!), and Okra 'Bowling Red' (I didn't even realize there was more than 2 varieties of okra. This is so cool!) Thank you so so so much ruby_dog! I love everything and you are so generous! Here is a link that might be useful: Secret Santa Swap 2012 continuation thread This post was edited by redthreaddiy on Wed, Dec 12, 12 at 16:44

These stories are fun to read. We have had a few brief encounters, such as being in an elevator with Paul Shafer (from David Letterman show) and having Steve Martin ride past us on his bike in NYC. Also, Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin filmed part of the movie "Housesitters" (I think that's the title) in my office lobby, so I watched them work for a while one day. A couple of summers ago, we were in the Los Feliz area of LA for about an hour, and during that time we had lunch in a diner a few tables away from Sean Hayes (from 'Will & Grace'), saw "Janice" from "Friends" in a store, and ran into Ryan Adams (we are big fans of his music and had just seen him in concert a month earlier... please note I'm talking about Ryan Adams, not Brian Adams!) in Starbucks. My DS (who actually went to the concert with us) was waiting for the men's room and Ryan came out and handed him the key -- DS spoke to him for a couple of minutes, telling him that he had seen him in concert, etc. Ryan was friendly and nice. I was jumping up and down like a fool in front of the Starbucks, waiting for him to come out so I could say something, and he probably saw me -- he went out the back door! In Feb. this year, Mary Louise Parker was at our hotel in Nevis with her kids and nanny. They were at the pool at the same time as us for several days, and had breakfast at the next table one morning. I was completely obsessed with her the whole time she was there. I'm sure she noticed me, but I was too shy to speak to her!

Y'all have saved my life. I couldn't think of what to make my dad for lunch tomorrow (they're coming to visit). Sol's gumbo it is! Seafood Gumbo 2 medium onions, finely chopped (about 2 cups) 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (about 1½ cups) 2 small stalks of celery, trimmed and chopped (1 cup) 2 tablespoons chopped garlic 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste (add additional salt only toward end of cooking) 1 tablespoon ground black pepper ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper* 1 tablespoon dried thyme, or 2 tablespoons fresh thyme 1½ teaspoons dried oregano, or 1 tablespoon fresh 2 tablespoons fresh basil ¾ cup canola oil 1 cup AP flour, or more if needed 5 to 6 cups homemade fish stock, but chicken stock will do** 1 pound andouille (or other spicy sausage), sliced 1 pound crabmeat 2 pounds shrimp or crawfish Cooked rice In a Dutch oven, brown the andouille sausage, or meat of your choosing. Remove the sausage from the Dutch oven, and set aside. To make the roux, heat the canola oil in the same Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the flour. Whisk constantly, until roux reaches a dark brown color, resembling chocolate buttercream. The whole process will take about 20 minutes. When the roux is dark and thick, add the vegetables and spices. Stir for a few more minutes to soften vegetables. Stir the fish (or chicken) stock into the roux and vegetable mixture. Bring to a simmer. Add the sausage, and simmer with the pot mostly covered for about 1 hour. Gently stir in the crabmeat, and shrimp (or crawfish) during the last 3-5 minutes of cooking. *You can substitute Kielbasa for the spicy Andouille sausage. If using the former, you might want to increase the cayenne pepper. But taste first, before adding more heat

John, note that, when I photographed 'Mons. Tillier', he was sitting properly in the Tea section, where he belonged. I think that maybe someone had picked him up and carried him around. I've done that myself, but I do usually put them back where they came from. I had a lovely conversation over there with a gentleman who loved all the same Teas that I do. (He had a passion for 'General Gallieni'. So do I, with thanks to Gean.) Then I had to scuttle back to our table, as we were a little shorthanded this year. But I was SO happy to meet several of our GW group! That MADE MY DAY! Well, THAT, and the fact that I took memberships from NEW people, who were just beginning this voyage of discovery. That's so terribly important. It was a wonderful day. And after, we headed north, and spent a couple of days in Ft. Bragg. If you get a chance to visit the Mendocino Botanical Garden, be sure to do so.