diane - thanks for your comment. I actually have heard the same thing regarding paint vs stain, so I will have to get more info. on that. Thanks for the caution. Regarding the door and shutters - I have a replacement door stored in the garage because my new door warped inside of a year - and I was going to paint it BM Homestead Green - which is lighter and more aqua after the door gets replaced. I don't know why someone would put a brownish red roof on a white house but they did, so I feel like they fight each other. The shutters were already painted that color which is SW camelback. I have a detached garage with the same roof and siding, and I picked a yellowish cream garage door - probably should have gone with white. So to connect it with the house I left the shutters their goldish color. I painted the door its current color because its a richer color to corrdinate with the roof. Do you have any suggestions for the door and shutter color? When the door gets replaced I am going to get a new screen door because that one is not in very good shape - I thought I would get one with a white frame. I really like the BM Homestead Green for the door, can you suggest a shutter color that would look good with it and still coordinate the garage to the house? What you suggest for landscaping sounds lovely, but I really am not ready for that, and I love the simpler design that Yard created. I work a lot of hours so simpler is better for me. I see a lot of yards that are all garden and they really are beautiful, but I like the idea of just mowing over grass for my needs. I aso prefer a more "woodsy" look, to a lot of flowers, even though they go with the cottage look, I think a flowering vine, a good window box and the flowers around the entry shrub give enough blooms to go with a cottage look. I would love to hear back about the door and shutter colors if you have any suggestions. Thanks again!

rachelellen - I've wondered about those polymers and whether they would be useful for our sandy alkaline soil. What you describe about your tomatoes - sounds like blossome end rot, that is also quite common. When the tomato plants get too much sun - the top growth gets the calcium first out of the soil, and there is less left in the soil for the roots. I noted that planting my tomatoes too early - means they will be a long time until they get enough heat to ripen (cool summers here). If I plant too late - the blossom end rot problem happens because of the rapid top growth - for the reason above. The peat moss seems to help the moisture retention, but wondered if polymer additions would be feasible, as I have 9 planter boxes for growing veggies. The expense may be a factor. I know that folks garden in our local deserts - also in boxes, and they have soil problems - as well as wind, etc., to deal with. The Vegetable/Fruit Forums have lots of knowledgeable folks that advise. About lemons - I'd juice them adding some of the zest and freeze in ice cube trays. Great convenience in summer. The limes are heavy this year, but few will go to waste. Also have the mandarin oranges. I agree about someone that would appreciate having the excess. Unfortunately, California frowns on sending fruit beyond the borders (pest/disease control laws). Most of the neighbors have their own fruit trees - so are not as welcome. I've offered several times. From time to time, my grand-daughter takes the excess to her church group - also fresh eggs - which they really enjoy more. Just my 2 c's. Bejay

I remember making a recipe similar to this one last winter. It was the way the recipe was written that caused me to make a mistake... I added all the sugar to the dough, missing the instructions to only use part of the sugar.... The center of the loaf sunk. I even kept checking and actually over baked the loaves.... I now watch for recipes that divide the same ingredients (like the sugar in this one) and make notes on the recipe so I don't do it again... Nancy

I had skipped the humidity issue because humidity is low in winter and I didn't think about the cooking with steam problems. I have always made a presentation pie on the day of the event. I suppose I shouldn't be considered one to give the best advice since I recently had my own question about thickened filling on this forum; but with a return to following directions without distraction or rushing, my problem was resolved. I suspect that for best thickening, you should stir constantly and at most only cook one more minute after you feel the thickening begin. I believe that the filling has begun to relax with over cooking which has led to more over cooking. It has still gelled up for me in three hours. I bring this up because it seems a lot easier to bake it all together in the same hot oven if you have a few hours before presentation. I leave my left overs on the counter. Humidity makes the meringue stiff. It is another reason to serve on baking day. Actually, I keep the pie on top of the refer. I have a counter surfing hound who knows that leftover (or not) pie is better than dog food.