Well what a great report from you, pitimpinai!! The last I heard you were still very low in energy and still on a ton of medication and little appetite, and listen to you, helping the neighbor till up a lawn! LOL What a nice neighbor you were to plant tomatoes and Dahlias. :-) I am happy to hear that you've also benefited from a shorter work day. Great that you had all that time off saved up. I bet you really needed it to get your energy back. We have gotten pretty much back to what is normal for us here. The weather has been stupendous in the past month! I have never seen the cover crop in the veggie beds so high. We've also gotten all the leaves mowed and collected in bins, ours and three neighbors. [g] We have gotten somewhat cleaned up for the year in the garden, but I keep adding to my list of what I want to get done before the weather turns. Still have a small amount of bulbs to plant and three shrubs to get in the ground, some pots to clean and put away and that will just about do it. I am actually looking forward to a break from the garden. Not that we don't get outside and enjoy it, but it's nice this time of year, to focus on other things. During the gardening season, the garden seems to push out other priorities. [g] I enjoy the winter garden and by the time spring comes, I am just itching to get back to a new growing season. Glad you are able to enjoy gardening again and hope you stay well this winter! :-)

All in unison... "Hi, Julie!" "The coffee is over there... by the plate of stale cookies. Welcome to our 12 step program!" ;-) Denial is not just a river in Egypt... it's the state most of us are in after about our 2nd or 3rd season of ordering and collecting Hippeastrum bulbs. It's an addiction, an obsession, and we quickly find ourselves at a disadvantage, our potted hybrid specimens vying for enough light and space, and we often resort to growing and blooming them in group sequences, forcing dormancy on a selected number while another number of bulbs comes into bloom. We might actually designate a portion of our refrigerators to bulbs only, or invest in a second unit we keep out in the garage, clearly labeled with signage of its only contents. Or, we find ourselves investing in artificial lighting, shelving units, or heated greenhouse setups. And many of us secretly wish we could pick up and move far enough south to take advantage of gardening zones, and the ability to grow our bulbs directly in the gardens! We must ask ourselves... how many Red Lions do we really need? How many Minervas or Star of Hollands can we possibly justify buying? Are we running more of a bulb rescue than a hobby growing experience? Once we begin pollination and seed collection and sprouting, we know we've crossed a threshold from which there is no return! If we branch out into the collection of any and all amaryllids, we are surely lost! And yet, there are surely other habits or addictions that are much worse, and we should count ourselves lucky we have embarked upon something of a tame, albeit rather expensive nature! When we find ourselves living in the midst of a bulb jungle, we know we are addicted... when we find ourselves torn between buying groceries and buying bulbs, we know we are addicted... and when we go out of our way for anything related to bulbs or the growing of bulbs, we know we are addicted. You'll excuse me, now... I'm in the middle of researching species lilies and a few other bulbed plants for garden additions next year. :-) "My name is Jodi, and I've been a bulb addict for longer than I can remember..."

You are all too kind.....but glad you enjoy them. I never make less than 50 jars. We eat lots and I give lots away. I have to be honest and say that I'm not sure the eight weeks is necessary. I just do what Elaine told me to do 30 years ago ( ouch!) and I never vary. We always made them the first or second week of August and she told me they could not be opened until Thanksgiving....which is early October in Canada. Many have said they opened them earlier and they were great...but...not me man!

I have five kids (eldest is almost 12, youngest is almost 2) -- they are fantastic, incredible, wonderful creatures :-) We have four sons and a daughter, and our home is filled with the sounds of giggling and arguing and jumping and running and chitter-chatter. My husband and I go to bed every night thanking one another for the family we have. The first two boys (26 months apart) each arrived 11 weeks preterm (29 weeks' gestation) and required months of hospitalization in the NICU, including multiple surgeries, ambulance rides and long nights of wondering if they'd survive until morning. They finally became healthy little toddlers and I had my tubes tied, thinking there was no way I could bear to bring another baby into a terrifying scenario like that again. Time passed, and the yearning got only stronger for more children...I discovered the source of my obstetric problems (a congential gynecological defect) and underwent a grueling seven-hour surgery to repair my tubes and correct my dysfunctional anatomy. Went on to have three more scrumptious kids and now I have five healthy, gorgeous children. It's exhausting, yes. It sometimes causes a bit of financial juggling (I'm a SAHM). The volume in my house is often very high with clamors for my attention or frustrations among the siblings, but it's nothing compared to the joy of hearing them laugh uncontrollably during an afternoon of goofing off as a family. I don't worry about the teenage years -- we've done our best to lay the groundwork to raise our kids with enormous self-respect and self-esteem. They'll make mistakes, I'm sure of it, but hopefully they'll return to their core values and continue to grow into fine adults. Until then, we have years of baking cookies, chasing the dog around the backyard, monitoring homework and tidying up mountains of Hot Wheels and multi-colored wooden blocks with these sweet, funny little kids we're so lucky to call our own. It's all good. Create the family you want, and then pour your heart and soul into enjoying your blessings. If you already feel sad about *no more babies, ever* and the vasectomy hasn't even happened yet, you're clearly not ready to move on -- you'll know in your heart which path is right for you and your family. Warm regards.