Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!

Perfect! Thank you all for your encouragement. I gotta get some more dirt (don't we all???) but I'll plant them this weekend-- well, the not-quite-birthday girl and I will plant them (hey, it is her party after all!). I'm hoping for good sized plants, and would prefer that they bloom for the kids at their new homes anyway. I think they will like this more than a packet of seeds (hopefully). Karen, why not borrow the idea for boys? All my daughters little guy friends (I hate to call them "boy friends") love digging in dirt too. Just plant some cool veggie seeds instead. Tell 'em that worms live in gardens too; most little boys seem to love worms. Good luck! Marcy

That was $2.49 (or something)a LB. Manzanos. Only got about 20 lbs. so far. All ready cleaned for the smoker but it started raining,so they are in the freezer. I was going to get more yesterday and today but the Shoe Leather Express doesn't run in the rain. Planted my first dozen seeds today about 70 more to go. Cobanero , Agua Blanca , Chile Negro , Aji Amarillo , Alaka Zold , Blondie , Aji Yellow , Lemon Drop , Aji Habanero , Aleppo , Aleppo #36 , Aleppo #37. Gonna grow these or at least feed them to the mites. NOT a trade list... AGUA BLANCA , CHILE NEGRO , AJI AMARILLO , ALAKA ZOLD , BLONDIE , AJI YELLOW , AJI LEMON DROP , AJI HABANERO , ALEPPO , ALEPPO 36 , ALEPPO 37, ALMA PAPRIKA , ANCHO SAN LOUIS , BIBER DORO , BIBER SORE DEMRE , BIKER BILLY , BOTINETSKA ZUTA , BUENA MULATO , CASCABEL , CHERVENA , CHILACA , CHILHAUCLE NEGRO , CHILHAUCLE ROJO , CHIMAYO , DULCE ESPANA , ETNA , BROWN BERBERE , GIANT ACONCAGUA , PADRON , DULCE MEDITERANO , KAVALEROVA SWEET , AJI PINEAPPLE , ITALIAN GOURMETTE , JALAPENO POTATOE , BOMBERO , LONG HUNGARIAN GREEN , LONG PURPLE CAYENNE , CHOCOLATE CHERRY , MEDITERRANEAN SPICE , MINI SWEETS , MIELDER SPIRAL , MULATO ISLANO , NU MEX GARNET , ONZA AMARILLO , ONZA ROJO , ORANGE THAI , PHILIPINE LONG GREEN , PIMENT DE ESPELLETTE , PIMENTE TANGERINE , 7 POT CHAGUANAS , ROMANA , SANTAKA ASIAN , PRITAMIN PAPRIKA , RAADO JALAPINO , ALMOST SEEDLESS TURKISH PEPPER , VERY LONG SWEET , ADJALI , FEFERONI , SERRANO TAMPIQUANO , SERRANO HUASTECO , SERRANO DEL SOL , SIGARERETTE DOLCE , SOROSKI PAPRIKA , SPANISH SPICE , STAVROS SWEET , SUCETTE DE PROVINCE , SWEET CAYENNE , XZAPOTEC JALAPENO , TUNESIAN BAKLOUTI , TOLI'S ITALIAN , TEQUILA SUNRISE , SWEET YELLOW CHERRY , SZEDGY PAPRIKA , SAFI RED , ANTILIAS CARIBBEAN , RED DOMINICA , SBS RED CONGO GIANT , BONNET BELL , XIXIXI HABANERO , TFM SCOTCH BONNET , FOODORAMA SCOTCH BONNET , TRUE SCOTCH BONNET , plus a few that are left over from last season. Going for the taste vs heat this season. Rubs and powders along with fresh pods that won't burn the average persons mouth up. Still doing a few hots to super hots.But not mostly Chinense this season. Annuums might be harvested before the mites kick in. No Pubescens,mites attack them first and the plants get so big I can't kill all the mites on them. See the post on spider mites for a link to my next secret weapon. Liquid Sulfur. Cheaper than the gazillion $ I spent the last 3 seasons on other stuff that didn't work. Here is a link that might be useful: mite post

Linda, I have that sharpener too. It seems to work fine for me, nothing special. Just a few swipes through it and the knife almost cuts tomatoes by itself!! Maybe because the blades are 'so far gone', it doesn't work as well?? I would certainly think you could take them to a local place and they can put a new edge on them. What's the worst that could happen? They're not any better and you could send them back to Cutco.... Maybe it's time to "gift" the church with some "nice" cutting boards. (grin) Stacy, it's probably a good thing I don't live so close to Cutco........I can't afford to live close.... I really like these knives. They may not be 'top of the line', but they sure work well for me. Deanna