Well, like everyone else, I've been wading through the new online Hosta Journal and I'm still trying to formulate a final opinion of it. I'll be the first one to say that I'd rather have a paper copy- bound and full of wonderful color photos- that I can just pull off my shelf and flip through in the evening on those long winter nights. Or grab on my way out the door to read over and over again on my breaktime at work. But at the same time, I understand the realities of dwindling membership along with the increasing costs of printing and mailing paper copies throughout the year. Like they say, money doesn't grow on trees (or in our hosta gardens, either!). Probably like you, I was quite skeptical of the value and usability of an online magazine when I first heard about it several months ago. I couldn't see how it would be nearly as good as a printed copy. And I thought that any benefits of an online Journal would be minimal compared with a hard copy in my hand. My first impression of the online Journal was very positive soon after it was posted earlier this week. First of all, it was easily accessible. Secondly, it was formatted exactly like my printed Journal, which I found quite helpful. Thirdly, it was chuck full of MANY great articles and good photos. Fourthly, it was easy to use and I could enlarge the photos for better viewing, with the click of my mouse. Fifthly, it was very professional looking, just like the printed version. And fifthly, I haven't lost it yet, whereas my paper copies are usually left all over the house- on my desk, the magazine rack, and under the bed after I'm done reading in the evening. I know where to find the online Journal. Like you, I'm gradually making my way through all of the articles in the online Journal. There's definately way too much good information to just plop down and read all the way through in one sitting. I scoured around and found some of my old Journals, and saw that the printed Journals have about 82-84 pages of material. With the new online Journal, I've tallied up all the articles and discovered that there's a whopping total of 203 pages!!! (See the tally sheet below.) If there's any criticism, it's that the new online Journal is a bit overwhelming! But that's a good criticism, as I appreciate being overwhelmed with hosta material like this! The more great photos of gardens and hostas I can browse, the better! I found there's stuff in the online Journal for everyone- amateur and professional alike. Some of it is very practical, some of it scientific/technical. Overall, my current opinion is that the online Journal is wonderful and the multitude of volunteers who've dedicated so much time and work to bring all of us such a great resource have done an outstanding job! A big "thank you" to all who were involved! A couple of questions I have are: Will each edition of the online Journal remain on the AHS website indefinately, for future reference? If I let my AHS membership lapse or expire, will I lose my ability to access the online Journals which I've paid for when my membership was current? Just curious how it will work in the future. And now, back to the online Journal. Happy reading! How long is the new online Journal? Front Cover- 1 page Contents- 3 pages About the New Online Journal- 3 pages Notes From the Editors- 4 pages President's Message- 2 pages Letters from Readers- 1 page Divisions- 3 pages This and That: 2010- 6 pages Standout Hostas- 3 pages Holistic Hosta Gardening- 3 pages Hot Hostas- 2 pages Focused on Hostas- 3 pages Preparing for a Convention Tour in My Garden- 4 pages Handling a Poorly Rooted Division- 3 pages A Southern Blight Strategy- 3 pages 2010 Alex J. Summers Distinguished Merit Award- 6 pages 2010 Eunice Fisher Distinguished Hybridizer Merit Award- 4 pages 2010 Benedict Garden Performance Program- 1 page Other 2010 American Hosta Society Awards- 2 pages The Traver Garden- A Treasure in those Wolcott Hills- 3 pages What's a Mini Hosta? Update, Critique & Where to Next?- 5 pages Building a Permanent Raised Bed- 4 pages A Hosta of a Different Color- 4 pages Reflections on the AHS Alex J. Summers Award- 5 pages Reprint of 1982 Summers Award Speech- 4 pages Report on the HVX Research Program- 4 pages Harold McDonell: A New Facet Revealed- 4 pages What's New at Q and Z? - An Interview with Mark Zilis- 5 pages Fall Slug Control- 3 pages Centerfold- 2 pages 2010 National Convention, Bloomington MN- 61 pages! Winter Scientific- 3 pages Hosta College- 4 pages First Look 10- 4 pages Midwest Regional- 2 pages Dixie Regional- 2 pages Our Next Convention Hosts- 4 pages Is Your Membership Current?- 2 pages Conventions, CONVENTIONS, Conventions- 2 pages AHS Online Auction 2011 - Rally 'Round!- 2 pages Call for Nominations for Summers and Fisher Awards- 4 pages Where are the Guest Plants?- 3 pages AHS Announcements- 2 pages Board of Directors- 3 pages Our Advertisers- 5 pages Back Cover- 1 page ________________________ Grand Total - 203 pages!!!

there are many really good useful screen capture free programs out there, bobs link to those at gizmo provides several of the top choices. Many have the editing stuff all built in to them. On my linux I have one called ksnapshot which is so easy to use wish they had just that item for windows. On windows I have used a few including the gadwin program and I have used this one Screenpresso logo and the picpick one mentioned at the gizmo site. I had no idea the pdf select tool would not work on some items. That is strange. on the ones y'all tried it on had you actually saved the pdf file to your pc or were you viewing the pdf file from the online site? just wondering if that would make any difference. I have never encountered that problem.

So far PepperPlate is a winner. I like the simple format...easy to read and navigate. With the 'add to Pepperplate' on my bookmark bar, when i search for an ingredient recipe and see something worth saving i just hit that on my 'bar' and it automatically adds it without copy/paste. No longer have the adds popping up. customizing a grocery list seems to be handy for us. If i stumble across a wadded list in my dresser from a year ago, it is about the same list. Plugging in all our standard things we purchase and have them organized by isle/type, might save us from missing something. (just realized i was out of corn tortillas for tonights tacos)....I'll just make an arugula salad and croutons for the warm smoked pork...rather than run out and waste the shopping time. Once it is set up and DH has it on his phone, he can scan the list when he stops on his way home.

I love Netflix also. We have the unlimited two at a time plan. They have a plan that's $5, but there's a limit of two DVD's for the month. Ours is like Jodi's. We can get as many as we want during the month. The only restriction is that we can't have more than two at home at a time. The shipping is fast. Usually I send a movie off & they receive it & ship a new one in 1-2 days. If we watch both movies on a weekend & send them back on Mon. we have two new ones in plenty of time for the next weekend. Our plan is $14/month. We sometimes watch two movies on a Sat. night. If we were renting or using pay per view on the cable that would be close to $10, so I think the Netflix is a pretty good deal. We been subscribing for a year & it's been a really good experience. I also like that you can add movies to your que before they're released. It will just add it with a note of when it's expected to be released on DVD. There is no extra postage; all fees are included in your monthly charge. It's a really great service. We also rent movies sometimes from Redbox. At $1/night, it's pretty good if you're just not in the mood for one of the Netflix movies you have. Redbox seems pretty popular & movies vary per location. You can go online to reserve them, but it's a little hit-or-miss. Still a good deal if they have something you want. We got one that was scratched & I went online & reported it on their website. Within a couple of days they had removed the charge from our debit card. There are a lot of websites where you can get coupons. I just found some for $1 off two cans of Progresso soup. Wal-Mart price is $1.25/can. That leaves me with a final price of $0.75/can. These are manufacturers' coupons so they should be good anywhere. Couponmom.com is a good site. You can also buy coupons on ebay. The seller charges a small fee to clip them. Like with most things, you have to check the details. If it's a lot of coupons for something you only use occasionally & the expiration date is close, it may not be worth even the small clipping fee. Be sure to check the expiration date & make sure to see that it's a manufacturer coupon or one that's good in a store you have nearby. If you're looking to save money, I've found that buying bread at the bakery thrift store is a good way to do that. I like Nature's Own, which is nearly $3/loaf even in Wal-Mart. My thrift store usually has it for $1.80 buy one get one free, so I get it for around $0.90/loaf.