Where I currently live, I only have a balcony and it would be pretty hard for someone to get to it to take anything. I did live in Greenfield for a while and had my own outside area for my apartment. I was amazed no one took any of my stuff but then maybe they didn't like it. They did steal patio furniture off of some of the patios. That has got to suck to have stuff stolen. My boyfriend and I have tossed around the idea of moving into a home he owns in a kind of rough area of town to save money. I know people would probably steal stuff out of the front yard there. I thought I could make some big concrete birdbath or something that would give them a hernia if they tried stealing it. Congrats on the new baby niece!

I am not into selling heirlooms. Basically they seem to want a good red tomato. So I am trying a few of the others. I am setting 80 days as top limit for a tomatoes. I sell vine ripened tomatoes . That many days does eliminated a bunch. Yellow pears sells and some cherry My colored one were a disaster really because of the horrible weather. So was main crop. First year just red and then red cherry and year pear. This year , my second try I added a few more to test. Money I take it to tight for people to try things. I saw a big difference this year from last. More trying to grow a few tomatoes in their back yards. I will test out these colored tomatoes again. Prices here at market are low. All of us were below store prices. I am limited in starting space and sun/warm space to grow them. I am trying to improve that part. Ever see a cat go down the row under the black plastic??? They think ditches are to play in when they are younger. My cats `are working cats. If I would have row covers the cats would insist on getting inside them. I wonder if the raccoons would too???? I doubt it. I do not know what Earl of Edgecombe is so , have not tried. I am waiting on more seed catalogs and to decided finally what tomatoes and tomatoes to public seems here to be round smooth ones.

duane, I definitely want to see pictures! Maria, a ukelele? Now he has to take you to Hawaii for lessons. Yeah, now THAT'S a good idea! Lyra/Michael, of course the kitty loves you. Kitties love you, haven't you figured that out yet? :-) Let's see, I got a new coffee pot from Elery, and Ashley bought me gloves and a scarf and a travel mug for coffee, mostly because she has borrowed about three pairs of gloves and not returned them and both of my travel mugs never came back after she used them! Amanda got me a $25 gift card to Tractor Supply, Mother got Elery and I a gift certificate to Schuberg's, the last time she bought me one, we took her to lunch, so I think it'll be a regular gift, LOL. Elery's family draws names and his newest DIL got mine. I had a wish list on Amazon since we don't know each other well, and she bought me a crockpot at Bed, Bath and Beyond. She gave me the gift receipt because she knew I wanted a 6 quart Nesco Roaster and so I traded it in on the Nesco I really wanted. It's in the garage right now, "smoking" before its first use. Annie

This one's as good as the original recipes, and much quicker: Preserved Lemons in One Week From Michael Bauer, SF Chronicle food critic � Quarter as many lemons (preferably Meyer) as you want and freeze them overnight in a glass or other non-reactive bowl. � The next day, remove the lemons from the freezer and sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per lemon; stir to coat. � Cover and set aside at room temperature for one week, stirring once a day. � At the end of the week, the lemons will be ready to use - as a flavoring for roast chicken, a sauce for pasta, a condiment for cauliflower or broccoli and myriad other ways limited only by your imagination. QUESTION OF THE WEEK Q: I tried your recipe for preserved lemons you wrote about in a previous newsletter. Now they're in my refrigerator and I was wondering if you had recipes for using them? A (from Michael Bauer): I don't have any specific recipes, but I use them liberally as flavoring agents. They're great tossed into the cavity of a chicken or slipped under the skin before roasting. Chop them up and use them with green beans, broccoli, spinach or just about any vegetable. They're great in pasta, especially to flavor a cream sauce or as an added boost to a tomato sauce. If you have bottled red sauce, chop up one-quarter lemon and add to that sauce, you'll be amazed at how quickly it freshens and transforms it. Minced preserved lemon is also great in a vinaigrette salad dressing or stirred into mayonnaise as a quick sauce for fish.