Hi, Arthur, In our orchid society, it's customary to drape a ribbon around a leaf of the plant - blue for first place, red for second, and white for third. Each ribbon is about 6"x2" and has gold lettering: FIRST PLACE [outline of State of MN w/ cyp inside] ORCHID SOCIETY OF MINNESOTA Attached to the back of the ribbon is a small white tag with lines for the class to which the orchid belongs, the prize (none for this show), the person who received the award (the grower), the date, and the signature of the judge. No $$ for winning at this show. You get to keep the ribbon. As for judges, people who have a lot of experience judging Paphs or whatever at orchid society meetings typically judge those plants. Often, these folks show at AOS shows. Usually, less experienced members tag along so they can learn. This is a very low-key, informal affair. In our orchid society, there's no rule about the length of time someone owns a plant. My first year as a member, I asked about that, too, and was told I could go out into the retail garden center, where we hold our meetings, buy an orchid plant, and enter for judging that day. I don't know how it is for other societies or shows. My friend's plant that won 1st place had been purchased in bud from a commercial grower a couple of weeks before. Again, we were taking our plants to be used for color. As for how long you should own a plant before showing it - dunno if shows and other societies have rules or guidelines. For me personally, it would be a minimum of one reblooming under my care. How about for you? And what are your shows like? WC8

Thanks to you both for the useful hints! Catc, you are correct as they are without a doubt Italian Arum. We have it growing everywhere -- in the front, in the wooded area of our backyard, along the driveway... -- so I'd be glad to swap some. I do need to get involved with this group more so that I can do the fall swap. How does that work, exactly? The great thing about our new house is that the previous owners, who were 85 when they sold us the house this spring, spent so much time on gardening, and planted so many wonderful things that bloom all year. It seems that every time I turn around, something is blooming that I never noticed before. Case-in-point are the gardenia bushes all along the front of the house, which continue to bloom and provide wonderful smells. And to think I considered taking them out!

Party was a HUGH success! Thank you for asking and for all the input. Food wise - I probably asserted myself when Pizza would have been fine - though I did get lots of âÂÂThank-yousâ from the kids. As mentioned, Band Kids are really a great bunch and very polite too. I was a tad worried with 40 boys & girls, but they were all well behaved. I made 96 of the mini corn dog muffins and should have made 3 times that! These are super easy to make and the kids loved them. The Pizza Rolls also vanished and I should have had more of them too. The hot wings went well (about 8 lbs), but not the teriyaki (about 4 lbs) - I would have expected the opposite. The fruit tray was demolished, but not the veggie tray. The Ham sandwiches didn't go well either, which surprised me. They liked the hot dogs, but I think they liked cooking them over the fire pit outside. :-) The pasta salad was well received too. But the hit of the party was the chocolate fountain - I think as much for the novelty as the yummy dippers. Soda: Dr Pepper was the favorite by far. I did have plenty of coke, sprite, water and lemonade too. Thanks again everyone - I really appreciated all the help. :-) Jeri

(The following is a message from DH the computer nerd about those that are having trouble with the video on the website) For those that are having trouble loading or watching the video, first let the whole video download before pushing the play button. The second is that you might need the newest version of quicktime. Thank you for all the comments. We left again this morning at 8:20 to go and watch my nephew play baseball an hour away. We then met my mom and 2 of my sisters and 2 nephews at the park and had chicken at the park and let the kids play.The also brought my baby Hayden back to me. My sis had his hair cut ( it was in his eyes and I gave her the okay) he looks like a big boy now. Of course today and tonight he wouldn't let me out if his sight, I sure missed my little baby ( not so little at 25 pounds at 11 months) Rhiannon declared yesterday that she couldn't be 5 until she had a birthday cake. So my mom made an angel food cake and brought it down so Rhiannon could turn 5:) Growing up my grandma always made us an angel food cake for our birthdays. We have continued the tradition with my mom and my kids and nephews. Stacie who went all day today again and still needs to do laundry