The good news WAS that the plant was recovering. The main stem was growing twisted, but the plant was still green and pods were beginning to be produced. Unfortunately, I took the support off last night to check the recovery level and then forgot to put it back after working on other plants. When I woke up this morning, the plant had broken completely into two pieces. I don't know if the weight of the leaves and new fruit was too much for it or if it was a windy night or some combination of factors. What are the chances that the plant will recover now? I propped it back up before leaving, but now that the stem is fully severed there is nothing holding the ends together. I have it roughly aligned, but it was not the cleanest break and there is less contact than there was originally. This post was edited by teevoo on Sat, May 24, 14 at 0:07

Oh dear god! :-) good one. I also found that duct tape is great for sealing a greenhouse door that acts as an air seep. Makes opening it a bit difficult when it's taped shut. You know that the racers also use it on their headlights (show room stock cars have to have their headlights taped up), holds up even in rain going 80-100mph. That should be an ad for duct tape! Pam

Amex has always charged more than the other cc companies. Others have already pointed out that those mall cc purchases really hit small businesses hard. We have customers that are kind enough to be aware of that and write checks or use their debit card, or even, believe it or not, pay in cash. A lot of you have mentioned Costco. I've never shopped at one because they're just not convenient to me, but I used to shop at Sam's. I quit doing that years ago because they had an annual fee, and I didn't feel like I was saving enough to make up for that annual fee. Most of what I got at Sams I could buy as a loss leader at a regular grocery store. I've also not found coupons to be very useful, because they're rarely for real food, just processed food. After seeing several stories on the news, and listening to co-workers, I broke down and bought a Sunday paper several weeks ago for the coupons. Boy, was I disappointed. I spent $2.00 on the paper, and maybe found that much worth in coupons that I might use, (which I have to admit I've forgotten about), and then I had all this mess of paper to deal with. What a waste of time that was. Sally

Roasted beets are delicious and easy. Scrub the beets well. Coat with olive oil, and stick into a 400 degree oven, or there abouts. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork. Take out of the oven, let cool till you can handle them, and the skins will peel off easily. Then serve them as a salad, or however you wish. Here's a recipe that Lpink posted a while back. I love it. The recipe calls for boiling the beets, which works well, but roasting adds that extra mmph of flavor. Syrian Beet Salad from the "Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special" cookbook (from LPinkmountain) 2 quarts water 3 large beets 1 TBLSP chopped chives (I used dried because I have them to use up, not as good as fresh though) 2 TBLSP chopped fresh cilantro (I'll bet you could use parsley in a pinch) 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 fresh chile, seeded for a milder "hot" and minced (about 1 TBLSP) Note: I didn't have fresh chilis on hand so I used canned. 1 tsp. ground cumin 2 TBLSP lemon juice 3 TBLSP olive oil or other veg. oil 1 tsp. salt or to taste I think I added a couple scallions to this too. Sometimes I made it with a TBLSP or so of minced red onion. Bring water to boil in a large pot. Scrub beets and remove top leaves (save for other yummy applications) and also remove bottom root end. The recipe says to peel the beets and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, but I cut the beets up into big chunks, boiled, cooled and then peeled and cut into small pieces. When the beets are ready, drain well and transfer to the serving bowl. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over the beets. Chill for at least 30 min. before serving. Sally