83% of all statistics are made up on the spot. Thanks for asking Suzy. We leave for India tomorrow. The Vernal Equinox Party was too fun for words. My face still hurts from all the laughter. Over the course of the night we had 58 guests. Things kicked off at 7:00, and at around 3:00 in the morning I realized that everyone who was still there was either spending the night or lived within stumbling distance so I excused myself and went to bed. The weather was perfect. It was cool enough that I could put shelving in my garage and use it as supplemental refrigeration space so I could plate my food well in advance, but it was clear and warm enough that we could also enjoy the fire pit out front. Two of my neighbor ladies helped me prep the food, and a friend from Minneapolis (who is all thumbs in the kitchen) arrived a couple hours early so we amused ourselves by making him prep and plate also. We had over 20 different appetizers in all, including a couple that featured our homemade pancetta and duck prosciutto. Some of the guests also brought things, and so we all ate very well. A couple of my friends who are vegetarians brought me bacon toffee as a hostess gift. Is there any higher expression of affection than vegetarians offering the gift of bacon? :o) The drinks were well received. Steve chastised me for not having stocked up the wine racks before people came (we have a 24-bottle capacity and it was only half full) but by the end of the night, we'd gone through 10 bottles, our wine rack was completely full again, and we have 20 bottles that don't fit. I like the way that works! Our cleaning lady came over the next morning and while my overnight guests were coming alive with espresso, she hand-washed ALL of my dishes while I dried and put them away. She then cleared and washed down all my counters and tables and left me with a mostly clean house. The last of my guests left around 1:00 on Sunday. I don't know about garbage production, but I can tell you the neighbors will be dragging quite a bit of recycling to the curb for us while we're gone! I'm tired but I'm thinking this is a good thing. If I stay up late tonight, I may sleep for most of our 23 hours worth of flights and adjust to the 11 hour time difference more quickly. On Friday and Saturday, while Steve is at his conference, I'll be with this woman: gourmetdesire.com. On Friday I'll have a full-day culinary tour which includes cooking class with lunch followed by a guided tour of the spice market, then eating local delicacies and local shopping, and then a local cuisine dinner. On Saturday we'll do another cooking class, focusing on a different aspect of Indian cuisine. Between this, the tour of the Taj Mahal we have planned, and some of the other things on our itinerary, my head is absolutely spinning right now. Truly, my cup runneth over...

I'm trying to do the same, and I was told by several nursery people that mulch was a bad idea, because it inhibits its spreading by surface runners. So I raked up the mulch (carefully), and put down a thin layer of compost, and I water regularly and use Miracle Gro liquid about once a week. So we'll see. Any feedback on my method is welcome.

Thanks folks, As an apmt dweller, I have no outdoors to give my plants so I can't do that. I have it hanging in the kitchen ('cause it's too big to go anywhere else) which come summer won't be too cool (I'm on the top floor, w/ no AC & all west windows, it gets HOT). It's well away from the windows, so it'll be somewhat shady. I can't decide whether I should swap out the EA mix for my own; it would be an enormous job (I like that paper funnel technique Denise, smart)! Am thinking of just take cuttings, or unpot a few stems from the middle & pot them up separately as insurance just in case. Am I understanding it likes be on the moister side or not? Even the watering will be difficult, it's so big I think I'll have to soak it in the sink for a while, since I've removed the saucer & don't wish for water all over the floor. Am hoping when I get my E's VF-11, that watering w/ that will help & therefore ease my anxiety abt the EA mix. Have run into multiple problems getting the E's VF-11, Ace Hardware says it's restricted & not permitted to ship into NY state, that wasted 2 wks. Have just re-ordered it from Charley's Greenhouse (they advised AFTER I ordered a gallon that it's backordered, but I've convinced them to send me comparable amounts of quarts for the same price). Am hoping MAYBE I'll actually get it this wknd ... sigh.

Had a close encounter with a buzzard at the weekend. My poor cochin chicken 'Pepper' had an even closer one! I watched in horror as the buzzard plunged onto my poor hen. Within seconds the buzzard had dismembered the head. My futile sprint across the garden just led to this enormous bird( when close up) taking off with Pepper slung below. I am guessing that this is just normal behaviour and Pepper was unlucky. Although I have been keeping hens in the garden for 20 years and this has never happened before. Is it because this breed of chicken is small enough to become buzzard friendly?