I'm starting to harvest LOTS of zucchini! Yes, it is hard to keep up with them. Usually, I go thru the plants twice a week but that isn't really often enuf! There's a truck farm down the road from the big veggie garden. It is one of the few left in the area and the guy is 2nd generation and getting old. I can remember the huge raspberry patch that his parents had! Anyway, I guess he grows something else, somewhere else. The fields near his house are summer squash, year after year after year. His last planting is just coming up! His example is part of the reason why I plant zucchini in succession. Since they were all set out as started plants this year, I'm not really sure when my last zuke seed was sown. Probably around July 4th. That has been my practice for a number of years - plant a 2nd crop about the 1st of July. Actually, it was about a 3rd crop this year and I've got plants in all sizes right now. None, however, that are just coming up! He must know what he is doing but maybe variety choice is important. He gets a couple of weeks of MASSIVE harvests in each field and then they are done. It kind of looks as tho' his workers go thru the plants daily. Steve

Neither Dunkin Donuts nor Krispy Kreme are even in MN anymore. Dunkin was, well, OK, except the lousy coffee, but back when Winchell's was around they were far better than Dunkin. Krispy Kreme? Didn't impress me at all. I guess we have enough bakeries with good stuff that the big dogs couldn't compete with the mom & pops. Eh, probably not, but still kind of gives me a warm, sugary feeling if that's what happened. :) Oh and we do have a lot of places with good stuff.

It doesn't sound silly when it takes what you think is a super long time to accomplish a sewing task - no matter how small (and lining up squares isn't easy)...give yourself the time and remember it's better to do it right once then have to rip and re-rip. I have ripped miles and miles of seams and such over the years...all because I'd just whip through a job and discover I'd done something wrong and have to start again. Good thing I learned patience.....my one SIL who USED to sew...(has now sold her fancy serger and machine due to lack of use) ..well as soon as she made one small error (like the time she sewed a sleeve on a nightie inside out) she ditched the whole project. I ended up fixing so many things over the years and completeing them ...all because of minor mistakes she was too lazy to fix herself. so hang in there...your pillows sound wonderful and I'm sure your mom and grandma will love them all the more because of the effort you took to make them . Keep on sewing!

I tried Tricia Yerwood's Cold Oven Pound Cake, and it is a favorite. COLD OVEN POUND CAKE 2 sticks of butter (1/2 pound of butter), room temperature 3 c sugar 6 eggs, room temperature 3 c flour, sifted 1 c whipping cream, room temperature 1 tsp vanilla DO NOT PRE HEAT THE OVEN. Cream butter and sugar very well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated into batter. Do not over beat. Add flour alternately with the whipping cream, starting and ending with the flour. Do not over beat. Add vanilla. Grease and flour a tube pan. Pour batter into pan and smooth it. Put in cold oven. Close the door and set the oven to bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Use a cake tester to test for doneness. Cool in pan 20 minutes and turn out onto a rack to cool.