OK, I haven't chimed in on this thread at all, but I need to share this with you guys: I love beets. Roasted, pickled, sauteed, in borscht... it doesn't much matter, I think they're tasty. I was out weeding in my garden yesterday and I noticed a beet. Only one. And it was big enough to pick. I didn't remember planting beets, but I planted a micro-green mix last spring, so I decided it probably had beets for the greens and one just grew up. Steve is out of town, so I decided to roast the beet with a few carrots and call it dinner. Scrubbing the beet, I noticed it was a little odd. The greens, which I intended to saute with some garlic and olive oil, were also a little odd. When I cut into the beet, I was struck by a familiar smell, and ... ... sigh... and a nasty, woody one at that! Now I have to go to the village farmer's market tomorrow to buy some stupid beets to satisfy the craving! Thank goodness I didn't saute the greens!

YES, I'm listening, party! WOWSERS!!!! Pictures are worth a 1000 words!!! I'm glad you posted these! Ok, my faves ...well, so many pcs of it, actually ...but that gold 'pear' ... I just did a still life on buffet/& shelf this Fall & used pears ...so that struck me as a 'gold!' Next, that jewelry box w/all the little boxes & a drawer!! I would use that for Christmas decor ... the little boxes I would fill w/miniature treasures ... don't know how big they are but maybe 1" square ... things like an acorn ...or a little glass trinket ... a real pretty brass button ... a ring ... you get the idea! & then I would keep that drawer pulled part-way out & add some 'batting' or something for snow & a few small snowmen or Santa or Angels ...ok, I'm rattling! That basket is very cool ...I'm sure you'll mastermind something from that pattern! And that 'leaf' ... beautiful pc! You got some 'pretty' glass there, girl! Lots of goodies & what a bargain $$ for the price of entertainment these days!!! TFS! Jeanne S.

Yes, S&H stamps were worth cash. Years ago Chicago had a trio of brothers who were infamous burglars. Pops Panczko was one of the three -- famous for being arrested over 200 times. I can't remember if he ever did serious time, but he could break into any safe. One of his memorable statements to the press was, "I'm a teef! It's what I do." Twenty years ago I knew a younger gal, Judy, through a service club. She was much younger than most of the group's members. One day the topic of Green Stamps came up, and some of us were reminiscing about them -- much as we are in this thread. Judy was all ears. "So *that's* what it was all about," she said. She remembered sitting at a table with her siblings, required to paste green stamps into booklets. It was endless. There were hundreds, thousands of the booklets. It was, "Don't ask. Just DO it." Judy's uncle was Pops Panczko.

It's grilling weather here (74° and sunny), but I've chosen to cook inside because I plan to make the Normandy chicken recipe that Islay posted because Kevin bought the dry English cider, and I bought chicken thighs yesterday. We'll also have broccoli and rice with a mushroom sauce for both. I was going to make a beet salad as well, but I don't think we'll need it. I used to crochet when I was very young - Aunt Marie (who was Alsatian like my grandmother) taught me how to do it to make doilies when I was four or five. I also used to play croquet at that age, up until I was about ten. I haven't played badminton since I was about 13, but my sister and I used to play that quite frequently. I only played horseshoes at summer camp, although we did have horses, along with horseshoes, at home. I've never played bocce, however, although I've seen people playing it in Golden Gate Park. We had spicy grits with sausage and cheese for brunch today. I add peppers, celery, herbs, chicken broth, and frozen corn to the grits as well while they are cooking. We've never had a Memorial Day tradition, but one year I drove up to San Francisco, and it rained heavily the first day I was there. I also forgot to pack pants on that trip, and so in addition to having to buy an umbrella, I had to buy pants.