Fried shrimp, scallops, and oysters, very rare prime rib, some cheese tortellini with pesto cream sauce, some corn on the cob dripping with real butter, Red Lobster's cheddar bay biscuits, homemade yeasty rolls with a half stick of butter, a slice of custard pie and a slice of cherry pie. Then when I was done, somebody to roll me into a hole in the ground.

I knew you'd understand! Chloe's Mom--yeah, a bit busy right now, but if you want some step by steps it's not that hard. Then you could splatter red sauce to your heart's content. :-) Remodelfla, Yes, it was very good to be all together. We had a loss very recently but were still able to have a very happy time. Patty, the courage comes from a forgiving family who would rather be together than worry about how the house looks. The boxes all over the living room and entry didn't make it into the pictures. :-) The only sheep I know anything about are for spinning. :-) The tradition for this holiday is to use the tiny whole lambs, but there's no way to do that for a crowd, even if one could afford the butcher and had a decent oven. When I was a teenager, my aunt taught me an easy recipe that's fantastic, and should be as tender and moist as anything. The goner old oven will not do low temperatures. Funny, huh, considering how slow it was cooking last night? I think it had switched itself into keep warm where I was aiming for 325. Sigh. Use a stiletto or ice pick to pierce a large roast (7 lb.) in various places, especially if there's a heavy continuous layer of fat/tissue. Put it into the roaster. Sliver a head of garlic. Throw the slivers all around the lamb. Pour a bottle of the best red wine you can afford over the lamb. Cook at 275-300 degrees (depending on your oven) for about 3 hours, basting every 15 minutes or so. Last night's was just thrown together (though a garlic mandolin helps vastly with the prep above). Once it was cooked it was moist and tender. For the three roasts (about 4.25 lbs. each), I used a bunch of sage, strewn all around the lamb, a big onion cut into eighths, similarly strewn, three celery stalks broken into thirds, and about 6 cloves of garlic cut in half, strewn as well. Plus a bottle and a half of a fruity red Italian wine which was on sale. Basted a bit when I was checking it, but not much (I had serving spoon--the basters were long packed). As alternatives: You can make lamb in an oven bag, just like a turkey. If you're spit roasting in an electric oven you can put some water or wine in the drip pan to make the oven moister. In general, cook lamb a little lower and slower than you would beef. 325 works well in a normal (not my old one) oven.

Here's a post from Jan. 17: Minnie, thanks for asking....there is news. As in my previous post about our pet Lady Bug, the little sweetie continued her usual routine of greeting us nearly every morning on the windowsill above the sink. She came to the drop of water we provided and the would settle down with a breakfast of banana. Every couple of days, she would go into hiding for 24 to 36 hours or so then reappear and pick up the routine for several days. Several days before Christmas, she was joined on the window sill by a friend. A little smaller than our sweetie, and a little brighter in color. At first the newcomer was a little skittish, running off to higher places on the window frame when we moved our hand toward the sill to supply food and water. After a few days, fear was lost in favor of water and food, but the two of them pretty much avoided each other. We kept their dining areas on opposite sides of the sill, but they would be found on each others spot now and then. Both would disappear for a day or so, only to reappear apparently when in need. I suspected that the little newcomer was not a Lady Bug, but in fact, a Man Bug. I knew that in nature, the male is often smaller and more brightly colored than the female. My suspicions were correct. Last Thursday while cleaning up the dinner dishes, I witnessed my little girl bug being "assulted" by this litle thug as she was runnng across the sill in front of me. He was clinging tightly to her backside. Actually, she seemed to be enjoying it. I could almost see her giggling along with his wiggling as she dragged him along. After about 30 seconds, he released her and just like a man, flew up onto the ceiling fan, leaving her looking stunned and abandoned. The next morning neither of them came for breakfast. We haven't seen either of them since. I suppose she is off preparing a nursery, and he is off looking for another innocent lady to seduce. I am wondering if I should go out and buy some aphid laden plants to feed her brood. I would think that I shouldn't start them off on bananas.

Last week of June sounds about right. Your frost dates sound similar to mine, the killing freeze generally arrives the first or second week of October. I can plant pole snaps as late as the first week of July & still get a reliably decent yield.