Howdy, ladies and gents! Well, here's an update on one of the Jades that was frozen December 5th. As you can see, the top limb ("doomed" I called it in a previous post) has nearly been shed. I'm hoping that this will signal a turning point, although I know we're not out of the woods yet. I've resisted the urge to fiddle and worry the dying limb, as I want the callus to form completely. Freeze-pruned by Mother Nature - and, as they say, Mother knows best....

S. dorisiana is actually commonly called fruit-scented sage or peach sage. It's said to have a "fruity" scent to the leaves, but not necessarily peach. The 'Honey Melon' is merely a miniature pineapple sage (S. elegans), with the same pineapple scent to its leaves. S. melissodora is commonly called grape-scented sage, and S. pomifera is known as apple sage or apple-bearing sage, so it's unlikely that its leaves really smell like apples. Brenda

I was born in '44, and I never had "fast food" until I dated my husband in the late 60's. My family considered McDonald's food to be trash, though none of us had ever tasted it. While in my late teens I drove to Hartford, CT for my bassoon lesson, and I used to pass a Friendly's and read the sign that said Ice Cream on one line and Sandwiches on the line below. I wondered if they were a sandwich shop or if they sold only ice cream sandwiches. I didn't find out until one was built in Stratford and I finally decided to eat there. Awful Awfuls were incredibly large and think milkshakes at Friendly's. They were awful good and awful big. Eventually, they had to change the name to the Fribble. I think it was due to a another store using the name first. Somehow, when the name changed, Fribbles just weren't as good as Awful Awfuls. Friendly's made the best cheesburgers in the world back then. They were made as a square burger added to a grilled cheese sandwich and were always cut into three pieces. Does anyone recall a canned meat called Veal Loaf? The can was ths same as a Spam (UGH, no matter how poor I may ever be, I will NEVER again eat Spam) can but the meat tasted gteat. The can was opened with a roll-up key. We had a sandwich grill and made the sandwiches on Wonder Bread. Making sandwiches for four people from that one can made for pretty thin sandwiches. I wonder if German hard rolls were what we called water rolls. I never found them outside CT and haven't had one in 40 years. Going back to my parents' distain of fast food, and when we were still very poor, our Sunday night supper was always eggs and potatoes. My father always cooked the potatoes, usually as slices fried in a ton of butter on a two burner long griddle pan. When he was in a good mood he would take the time to make real french fries. A can of Crisco was melted in a deep pot and we peeled REAL potatoes for him to deep fry. Each batch was placed into a clean paper bag and shaken to remove extra grease. Then, they were shaken with salt and we had the best fries I have ever tasted. I recall making real fries once when my kids were little. They shared them with their friends and they sure disappeared fast! Oh, yeah, how about going to the local drug store and getting a good sized Hershy bar with almonds for a nickel???? Another treat was parking near the local airport to watch the planes land and take off. There was a hot dog stand nearby and sometime we got foot long hot dogs. No Belgian Waffle has ever tasted as good ones I had first at the World Fair in New York in the 60's. My family was terribly poor and a special treat was a Sunday ride and a stop at the God Humor truck. I think they cost 15 cents back then. A quick lunch, considered healthful, was a Horlick's Choclate Malted milk with a raw egg beaten into the whole milk!!! God they were good!

Hi Billl, While Dave's plan may make perfect mathematical sense, it really hasn't proven to be a way for the average joe to amass wealth. Actually yes, it has, in big, bold spades. It not only proves to be *A* way, it is indisputably the safest & fastest way. The path that most people seem to have more success with is to just pay off their house early and then live "bill free" in relative comfort. Actually, "MOST" people (literally 9 out of 10, per bond turnover records) who try that approach; A) have more risk of default (and subsequent loss of home) from insufficient reserves, B) Back-slide on their "pay-off plan" when they (completely contrary to their "for sure this time" plans) statistically move every 5-8 years, and/or refinance every 3-5 years. Anyone with the discipline & presence of mind to make a habit of paying a "little extra" to the mortgage will generally have zero problem instead paying that same "little extra" toward a safer Mortgage Freedom Account instead. They don't have to be financial super-athletes... in fact, the action to follow is identical, the difference is simply the safety and speed of payoff (the MFA trumping in both categories.) Of course, the CORE issue all about education... which is the entire reason most people show up to financial communities like this. If our community were the financial equivalent of the average "McDonald's diners" they wouldn't waste their valuable undisciplined time learning about dry topics like finance. FORTUNATELY, the presentation of the best of current financial strategies, and the integration of classic mometary principles, is a worthwhile pursuit for all. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner