Hello, I would be interested in the ones listed below if I have anything you might be looking for other than the things you listed. Please look at me list and see if I have anything that might interest you. Would be interested in Musafolia canna aka banana canna Florence Vaughn canna XANTHOSOMA AUREA LIME ZINGER Miscanthus sinensis - zebra grass Thanks Abitodd Here is a link that might be useful: My Trade List

Don't feel embarassed! I'm new to GardenWeb, but not quite as new to gardening as you are. I wish I found this years ago, because gardeners are such gosh-darn nice people, it seems. I live in a totally different climate over here in frigid New Hampshire, but I spent 6 years in Oakland, CA, so I know a little bit about California climates. That's when I was a novice gardener, too. The Sunset magazine gardening books are a must - they'll teach you so much. I got so attached to mine, it's still on my gardening shelf, much to my NH friends' amusement. The "Western Garden Book" is the basic bible. I don't know if there's one about veggies, but if there is, I'm sure it's fantastic. Another book that might be helpful is the "Square Foot Garden," which is about squishing as much as reasonably possible into small gardens. It'll help you get the spacing right on your pots & raised beds. The Rosemary will get there. My husband and I still talk longingly about the rosemary in our front yard in the last house we lived in in Oakland. It was 4 1/2 ft tall & slightly more wide. Gorgeous, too. Rosemary won't over-winter in NH, though I did find a variety this year that might (Arp), and ordered two. Things grown in good soil will perform better - you'll get more of a crop. But perennials won't necessarily die if the soil is poor, and they often produce something even if it's not a lot. You definitely can work in lots of stuff on top and build the soil like that. Anything organic works - manure, leaves (guess you don't get huge amounts of deciduous leaves though, duh), etc. The worms & soil bacteria take over from there, and over time, you end up with good soil. In your climate, it could actually be pretty quick - I count on a couple years to get a new bed well established, but that's because everything sleeps several months a year, then takes a while to wake up, work for a few months, then starts to wind down. The soil bacteria in your soil should make fast work of things! Also don't discount your soil totally - you never know. Only a soil test can tell you how it's doing in terms of nutrients. You can send your soil out to get tested - most folks use the local Cooperative Extension (found in all states - just google it). Or, for a less expensive and not nearly as comprehensive a test, get a soil test kit from a local nursery. Even the big box stores have them. It's not hard, and so helpful. Good luck & enjoy!

Thank you, everyone! Trudy, I thought that was the perfect recipe to display with the box! LOL I had to use two cards for the Strawberry Shortcake (very detailed instructions) but I cannot wait to make some of these. I have to start looking up some more recipes soon. Been reading some of Mom's cookbooks like crazy LOL. I am planning to use some of these recipes next time I go visit my sister and her kids. I am planning on making this dinner, Caesar Salad with homemade croutons and dressing (the croutons have their own recipe and the dressing is with the salad recipe) Chicken Fried Steak Mashed Potatoes Gravy Corn and for dessert....Strawberry Shortcake! Brad AKA Moonwolf

I have the Brother 8500 card only (purchased in 2002) and 2003D which uses both cards and floppy disks (purchased in 2004) and used the OESD Magic Box to convert to cards from floppies, CDs, online purchases as well as Bernina Artista cards. Magic Box is also compatible with Pfaff, Singer, Janome, Elna, Kenmore & New Home (stated on the Box slots). The drawback to a Magic Box versus the Ultimate Box is that the cards only hold about 6 designs at a time. The Ultimate Box cards are able to hold more but the Magic Box won't accommodate doing so. I have both Vikant and Magic Box cards. At the time I bought them, they were both about $69. Last year I purchased the PES2Card box which allows me to convert from Artista to Brother cards, as well as the floppies & CDs. What it also does is transfer from most cards -Brother, Artista are the only ones I've used- back to my computer to store on my hard drive or write to a floppy disk which is used in my 2003D. In other words, all my cards are now on floppies which are used most of the time in my machine. If I need to use the 8500 -which is card only- I use the card. I believe there may be other boxes now that do what the PES2 box does. I use it for all my converting now. It operates on the same principle as all the boxes, just that it writes from a card in the box as well as writing to a card in the box. Now the PES2 is the only box I use. Whenever I get a new design disk or card, I can write to a floppy and keep the original as backup. Since your machine does not use a floppy, you must stick with cards and - while I have not used the Vikant box - I believe the Vikant cards can hold more designs at a time. The PES2 box came with information telling exactly how much different manufacturer's cards can hold, stitch numbers I believe. I think Vikant was about 450,000, vs 50,000 or so for the Magic card. Don't quote me on the numbers because I haven't looked at that info for months.