Sigh... Not sure it should be planted in a small garden/yard, as they get very large - ~50' spread (altho there I doubt it will get that big, esp when your water prices go thru the roof & folk stop watering). I'd see if there is a golf course or school campus that wants it. Dan

I cook the sausage in a very old, very seasoned cast iron skillet, using a slotted potato masher to squish it down, then scrape it with a wooden flat beveled spoon - spatula. I continue doing this while it cooks over med high heat. It breaks up nicely and you can easily get it to the size crumbles you want quickly with very little clean up. This is a recipe I have cooked for years and adapted it to our ever changing tastes. It came from a magazine that adapted it from "The New Chili Cuisine" by Nancy S. Hughes. I am cooking this for dinner tonite as the rain, chill and gloom just won't seem to leave. ~* My changes (almost the entire recipe, but I do not want to take credit for the original ~ which I have included) SAUSAGE, WHITE BEAN AND PASTA CHILI 1 lb mild Italian sausages, casings removed ~* Hot Italian 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes, undrained ~* Del Monte Petite diced tomatoes w/ jalapenos ~* Onion - coarsely chopped 14 oz chicken broth ~*32 oz homemade chicken or turkey broth 4 oz chopped green chilis, rinsed & grained ~* 1/2 c(?) chopped sliced jalenpoes from jar I always have - amt - to taste so not to spicy 2 tsp paprika ~*omit 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ~* Chipotle red pepper (McCormicks) 2 T ground cumin ~* Chipotle Tabasco sauce to taste 15 oz can Cannellie beans, rinsed & drained 2/3 cup tiny pasta, cooked - makes 1 1/3 cups ~* omit often Cook sausage breaking it into small chunks until lightly brown. * Remove sausage and blot excess grease Saute the chopped onion and chopped jalapenos in the same skillet until tender. In a small dutch oven or heavy saucepan, add the tomatoes and their liquid, chicken broth, green chilis, and spices. Add the sausage & onion. Stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat & simmer, uncovered for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in beans & pasta ~ * I add the pasta to the individual bowls. Reheat & serve. ~ Top with fresh Parmesan. Serve with cornbread and or tortilla chips. This is very quick and easy. I hope all my changes don't intimate you. You can make this as spicy as you want - or not! It also freezes very well!

SPRING, and PHISH: You can get smallish bags of grout at Lowes - I just bought a 10-lb bag of Pearl Gray yesterday. It was just under $10.00. I mix a little black into that to make my charcoal. SPRING: Those are nice, soft colors you have on hand. If you have any old junk jewelry, you could toss some in your mix to add variety. You could also get a couple colorful plates, break them up for shards. There's buttons, natural pebbles, and Walmart carries a few colorful glass globs and squiggles. I hate to see you spend a fortune at Michaels/HobLob on mosaic supplies. The prices are outrageous. On sealing your porous bowl, you can also seal it w/glue and water. I think the recommended porportions are about one part white glue to three or four parts water. I don't measure - use a little more glue than that. It's a good sealer for your bowl as well as terra cotta and wood for inside use. Re adhesive, you can either use silicon (a mess to clean up) or regular white glue. After your bowl is mosaiced, I can see a very decorative piece, that you could perhaps use to fill a collection of, say, shards from a pretty dish, odd pieces you find that you like (I saw some huge glass chunks in a flea mkt. yesterday) some pretty rocks, jewelry on your dresser or whatever. Anxious to see what you do w/you bowls.

Our new cherry floors are now blessed with piano footprints. Luckily the most egregious furrow is beneath a chair. The fridge is not seated right and needs to be tweaked (builders don't know $#!% from shinola about how to install integrated appliances) and I am just about certain my floor in the kitchen will not emerge unscathed. But, that's another story... I dug around some more and found a photo of the urn or vase or whatever it is. It's on the floor. Funny thing is, DH has more sentimental connection to the ginormous lamp, also his mother's. I would have been just a bit relieved to see that thing go instead... For those of you who think I should find a replacement....can you suggest how I might go about doing so? My MIL bought most of her things at auction back in the 40's and 50's. I can't imagine what it would take to find another one of these... It's not a great photo...just doesn't do it justice. There were arts-related motifs, all rendered in great detail. The number of colors is amazing. When I can stomach a visit to the box again, I'll take a pic of the shards to show you the detail. (waaaah) New Home builder, you have my condolences. That is really very sad. I keep muttering to myself, "People not things. People not things." I have to remember that what really matters is that my family is intact -- whole, healthy and happy.