>>Mine has just finished blooming and I have to say it's one of my favorites. Yeah, I think it's a keeper. I am pretty sure that the exact same plant is being sold with the fancy name of "Neon Tricolor". Looks exactly like it. They probably thought it would sell better with a "fancy name" than with a name like "denticulata". Lack of memorable names have doomed a great many worthy garden plants. There seems to be disagreement regarding how hardy it is but a growing number of plant sellers seem to think it is fairly hardy for a Fuchsia. I am guessing older ratings putting it in z9 were based on its native home of Bolivia. I am surprised there's not one in front of every house on the block considering how showy they are and what generous bloomers too. Fairly strong grower too which is surprising given how heavily it blooms. Don't be surprised if yours puts out at least another wave of blooms; mine is still going strong despite the cold. It's a better bloomer than most of the hybrids (well, most of my species are, except that darned F. splendens that only blooms on old wood!). A breeder could take the unusual colors on that one and get a huge range. Speaking of which I am surprised I didn't take a shot of Groene Kans Glorie, which is pretty amazing for its color (hot salmon pink--maybe with some green on the tips I don't remember) and size (fairly good size for a Fuchsia of that color). I'll check what I have blooming tomorrow and see if there are any I missed that would be worth shooting.

Hi memo, thanks you too for your thoughts. The tub is a giant thorn in our side. When we were working on the kitchen, we had to open the ceiling and discovered that the tub was literally being held in place with sticks pretty much. Someone had done some plumbing repairs at some point, and had not thought to stabilize the tub properly underneath. The tub was in danger of coming through the ceiling to the kitchen, a la "The Money Pit". My contractor did sister everything up, but we wouldn't get into that tub at this point if you paid us. We're terrified the weight of the water might still cause it to crash through the ceiling. So, it needs to be removed, along with the floor in it's entirely so we can have a good look at the whole floor underneath to correct whatever is happening under there. I have already had 2 contractors that I trust completely (one, a good friend who was the one that worked on my kitchen) tell me that all the concrete in that room has most likely taken it's toll over the years and removing all of it would help enormously. Did I mention my home is built of terracotta block? We even found historic encaustic cement tile under the old vinyl tile in the kitchen, set in a cement bed! We tried to hard to get that rehabbed to no avail, it was too badly ruined and it was going to cost me something like $5000 to remove it and set a new subfloor so, it's still under the new tile that got laid. Anyway - off track. The tub, has already been painted over several times. I have no idea what color it was originally even. I have had my architect (again, a friend, someone I used to work for) also tell me if at all possible try and keep it. That, and the wall tile, but the problem with the wall tile, but the problem with the wall tile is we will have to take down the walls to reuse it anyway to be able to set them correctly. In any event, I have not been able to find anyone anywhere near me that does this kind of work. It does not seem most contractors in my general area know much about being able to reuse existing vintage materials. And then there is the electrical problems that really need to be addressed as the lighting is so awful and becoming more useless as time passes. What kills me about all of this, is when I bought the home it didn't quite look so bad. I swear, as soon as I moved in tiles started falling off the falls immediately! It may have had something to do with the construction going on right underneath, the kitchen is there, perhaps all the banging just loosened everything enough to be that "last straw". I don't know. But I really thought I was going to be able to just come in, fix a few things and get away with spending maybe $5-$8K at most, not to be faced with having to gut the room :( There is a part of me which realizes switching the room around will add cost, which you point out. I could live with the layout as is, if need be. I think the worst part of it for me is the radiator issue - we really do need more leg space there; and getting another sink into the room if possible or at the very least, a vanity with more counter space and better storage (BF is not exactly the easiest to share a sink with). Even if we get a new tub - and keep it in the same place, I do like your idea of the vintage looking stand alone faucet sets, and will look them up from that website as you suggest. Tucking the cat box in that area would work also, at least it would be out of the way and perhaps we could have something custom built, with a slide out tray or something, to hide it further. Thanks again - you gave me more to think about. I did get the names of 3 contractors this past weekend from the bathroom supplier I used to purchase my two new toilets from and some accessories, one of which did say they have worked on historic properties, so maybe I'll luck out?

Those are really cute kids! It's still a better photo than I got of mine, since all yours are looking at the camera and three out of four are smiling. I wish I had some technical advise for you but I don't except for maybe...Did you try to edit the picture on your computer? I just upload my pictures directly from my camera to the computer, and I have editing options there. But I have noticed that the resolution generally suffers when I do edit them. But you can also upload to a place like Kodak Easy Share (used to be Ofoto) and there are editing options there as well. Good luck! Anyway, I'm guessing this is to send out for the holidays? Here's the one I sent :-)

Thank you Teresa. Winging it is not a big deal, since I don't follow recipes very well normally. Not that I am any good, just lacking patience. :-). That is a wild maple started from a flown in helicopter seed. Maple seeds leaves are edible, not just the sap. Thanks Clare and Silvia. The scallops were dry scallops. Normally $19.00 a lb. It was on sale for $13.99 a lb. Amazing sous vided at 120F, seared and coated with bacon powder. I had a few other dishes. Vegetables, bread and fried bananas. No stuffing. Thanks trailrunner. Storm Sandy was terrible for many people, but Thanksgiving is a time for people to count their blessings. Thanks Ann_t. I had nothing to do with the perfectly done turkey. Modern electronics assured me that the entire bird was cooked at exactly at 150F, +- one degree, inside and outside. I did cheat. I gave it a one minute instant browning with a hot soy sauce braise. What's the difference, few people eat the skin anyway. Thanks Annie. Yeah, My guests insisted to go shopping with me so they could pay for the meal. They ended up picking up all kinds of meats. The supermarket we went to had both fresh and frozen turkeys, all big ones. I am not sure where did the other two friends shopped for their turkeys. Miisa69, thanks for viewing my post. If I ever need to source D-sauce, then I may click on your link. Not sooner. Thanks jasdip, Cathy. It was a challenge for sure to have to deal with unplanned ingredients. I kept imagining I was in an episode of Master Chef having to cook with surprise mystery ingredients. dcarch