For 30 years, I was the cook for T-day, everything from bird and vegs to the pies. Packed it up and hauled 40 miles to SIL's house. Now, though, kids have grown up and most are half-way or all way to the other coast. We've spent the past 5 years jiggling variations -- from just adults and neighbors to one year of just DH and me (when I learned that even 1/2 small turkey breast provides leftovers for 2 weeks). The jiggling has settled into going to DD's house (15 miles). My DSIL does a 25+ lb turkey with stuffing and a tasty dish of brussel sprouts with chestnuts; I bring several veg dishes, assorted relatives and acquaintances bring more stuff. DD tries to coordinate so that we don't have duplicates -- and no doubt I make her life difficult because I keep changing my mind, trying to judge how much energy I will have after a full day's work, opposed to what I'd really like to cook- except that I don't have the eighteen hours for preparation. The weather is supposed to be heavy rain and gusty wind, diminishing late tomorrow morning. At last count, there will 14 of us, traveling from 15 to 75 miles to meet at DD's. We will range in age from 5 to 75, in height from 3 to 6 1/2 feet, in girth -let's not go there. There will be no native Amerinds; however, our cultural and genetic ancestry ranges from Egypt through the British Isles and most of the European countries. It really doesn't matter because we are all Americans, and supremely thankful for the opportunity to be together. Oh, and the TV is not turned on until after dinner; football fanatics are permitted to tape any desired programs.

oh NO, Mr.Bill! Broken Arrow nursery, just north of new haven, left off 2 important plants from my packed-van B'day order of monday. I know it's a long shot, but I'm bereft and it doesn't hurt to ask, so...Might anyone be planning a one way or roundtrip Ct./Ma. or Ct./so.N.H. in the next few weeks?I might be able to get the Brok Arrow people to drop off to you where you are in Ct. and then i could pick up from you up here. If anyone thinks it's a possibility, email me at my member pg plse! Thank you, GW folks! best, mindy Here is a link that might be useful: my member pg.

"Large crops of pink, 8-10 oz that have a full, old-fashioned tomato flavor. Smooth, blemish free fruit are borne in large numbers over a concentrated time period, making this variety a favorite in Southern states for canning and eating. Strong determinate. 80 days, #4515 (30 seeds) $2.55" [Tomato Growers Supply seed blurb] My opinion is that description comes from somewhere other than a grower of Bradley, if you get my drift. I mean it seems to ape other seed blurbs for Bradley rather than the results I've experienced over the past 4 years growing Bradley. First of all, I agree with the 80 days to maturity from transplant. But I don't think I ever got a 10-ounce tomato off a Bradley plant. Maybe 8 ounces with plenty of them running 6 - 7 ounces. "Full, old fashioned flavor" maybe in a hot, dry summer but I'd describe it more on the sweet side of old fashioned and down right bland and watery if the season goes overly wet. Tends also to get soft inside with skin splits in overly wet conditions. I had some excellent results in containers, though, where I did get truly blemish free, 8 ounce, tasty fresh slicers. Concentrated set? Not so much. And surely not like many determinate canners that set one huge crop with maybe a second wind smaller crop then peter out completely. The Bradleys I've grown started yielding at 80 days from transplant and continued with reasonably generous yields until cool, low light conditions in autumn tended to shut them down or render the fruit tasteless. Bradley definitely is a producer though, and does have genes that are useful for increasing yield and standardizing fruit size when crossed with an heirloom like Cherokee Purple. I did that in 2007 and in 2008 grew the F1 that yielded more tomatoes of a uniform size (about 6 - 8 ounces) than any other regular size tomato in the garden ... like 8 - 12 fully ripe tomatoes per picking with two or three pickings a week at the peak season. Awesome. And in no way was the F1 Bradley x CP semi-anything. It was robust indeterminate and grew as long or longer than JD's Special C-Tex and Cherokee Purple as next door neighbors. Out produced them both, too. See below: Bradley x CP, one vine, one day.

We have an annual family plan that we purchase through our credit card provider (Canadian). It ends up costing less than a per trip purchase and you don't have the problem of having X days to buy the insurance after booking your trip (after all, you can't book hotels until you have your flights etc. - gets very convoluted). But I do know of one small travel agency that on a weekly basis had many customers trying to get refunds for trips on which they had declined travel insurance - but say broke an ankle the day before leaving (changing a light bulb), had a death in the family etc. - but it was too late. I do get annoyed though that the travel insurance does not cover incidents caused by strikes - say you can't make it to the airport because of a labour disruption - they won't pay. Or for Acts of God.