Well, the pie turned out great. I sliced the apples very thinly since that's how I like them and got positive comments about that. The pie wasn't beautiful but it tasted delicious. Thanks again for all the ideas. I will probably play around with the all shortening pie crust for the future. I was in a bit of a hurry when I made the pie so I might have mismeasured. BTW we played poker, six of us, and only two had ever played before. We played Texas Hold 'em mostly but then I wanted to shake things up a bit and taught them five card draw and seven card stud. We had a blast! We were very girly about it, any real poker player would've been tearing his/her hair out! But we had lots of laughs and lots of fun and can't wait to do it again!

I love turkey. In fact, I bought 2 turkey breasts a couple weeks ago when they had them on sale. Baked one right up and feasted....don't really need the fixn's, just the turkey. Seems like pumpkin pie is supposed to go with turkey, but I was good.....it's still in the freezer. DD2 and her family is here this week from Indiana....that in itself is a challenge. lol Seafood night is tomorrow night. Bacon wrapped shrimp, scallops, Pepper Jack Cheese Crab soup and whatever else the girls come up with. Today we'll probably finish off what's left of the beans and rice I made for lunch yesterday and whatever is in the 5 containers of leftover Chinese from last night. For me? just the rice please....ulcers are making themselves known again. I remember from my childhood someone saying: "Please pray for me and I'll pray for you the best I know how." Have a good week everyone........ SharonG/FL

Sandy, here's one that we love, and it takes about 10 minutes at the most to make. CHERRY DESSERT 1 cup flour 1/2 cup butter, softened (room temp) 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/3 cup oatmeal (raw oats) 1 can cherry pie filling Cut butter into flour and brown sugar until crumbly. Add oatmeal and combine. Put half of this in bottom of 8" square pan and pat down. Spread cherry pie filling over top of this. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Can double recipe and use 9x13 baking dish. I have made Casey's dessert and it is very good and oh so easy. But I just use regular milk, not chocolate, to dip the cookies in. I don't think you would be able to tell any difference, and there's no need to have the added expense of chocolate milk, unless you have some on hand. I actually think you could dip them in water! The idea is to moisten the cookies, and the taste comes from the cookies and whipped topping. Also, I put it in a 9x13 pan, layering it about 3 cookies high. Whenever I see Chips Ahoy and Cool Whip both on sale, I know it's time to make that dessert. It doesn't sound particularly good, but tastes great!

To be honest, I think you should return them, if you bought them recently enough. THey are doomed from the beginning, and retailers should not be taking advantage of people who want to have a pretty plant, and don't know what they are getting. (I was at Home depot the other day, and my husband saw the multi-colored metallic spray-painted succulents, and thought they were beautiful. He didn't believe me when I told him they were painted, and undoubtedly would have bought one for me if I hadn't been there with him!) Do a little research, look at some of the pictures and read about care of cactus and succulents on this forum, and get yourself something that you can take care of and enjoy for a long time. There are many fascinating and beautiful species that are easy to care for, that will give you years of satisfaction, and maybe turn into a lifetime hobby. There is lots of good information here, and many people who are more than willing to share their experience and knowledge with you.