OK, for some silly answers! Some people seem to have a talent of planting a lot of things at once and it works for them. I like to start with a base, or bones, and work from there. I do it a little backwards. By bones, I mean evergreens or feature plants (long blooming, tropicals, etc) I start most of my beds in the spring or summer with summer blooming/ interest plants. Be sure to start with focal points like a birdbath, a bench, etc. I take pictures every week or two through the seasons. Sometimes I can see in a picture that I need more height, a larger leaf, a different color, texture, etc. during that time of year in a certain spot. This is fussy, but it's what I do: When I'm looking at the bed in the spring, say March 1 when crocus are blooming, then I put dowel rods dipped in paint in the ground where I want crocus. I color code the stick (about 12") yellow for daffs, pink for tulips, purple for crocus, etc. With the paint on the stick, it doesn't fade through the summer. Then in the fall I plant what my stick tells me to. The sticks are hidden by other plants. So I'm looking at a picture of my March garden and think, I'd like purple there, so in goes the crocus stick. The year round pictures are important because plants look different in different seasons. A blue juniper may be purplish in the winter and spring. A yellow thread cypress may be bronze in the winter, chartreuse in the spring, hot yellow in the summer, etc. I shop and visit gardens year round to see what's blooming. I have one bed that is all yellow and purple in March, yellow and orange in April, pink and purple in May, etc. I jam plants together and every week there is some new excitement; gifts from God. There are only a few weeks in late January something isn't happening out there and usually we're snow covered, so that's good! I water right on top of the leaves, never in the evening. If a plant gets mildew I either find a resistant variety or I find a similar plant. I use my up close and personal watering time to look for damage and disease. I don't want anything happening automatically out there! A timer may be convenient, but it won't find a Japanese beetle. I don't use standard mulch, I use pine fines and compost. I never take it off. It breaks down and improves the soil. Not like hardwood, waste of money IMHO. My beds have sharp drainage so most of my plants winter over. If I lose something I liked, I buy it again. I know I'm a tad "into" my garden. But you asked. Enjoy your paradise!

I found the tax shelter in this posting when searching for a gift for my brother. He is a tax preparer and has everything. So I just had to share what I did for him. I took one of those woodcraft houses from Walmart- removed the two screws from the base. I cut a 1" block of wood that fit into the bottom of the house. I glued this block onto the base thus allowing the top of the house to be easily lifted off the base. I cut a 1/2" groove in the center of the block with the table saw so I could set a card of thumb tacks into it. This was hidden in the house until the top was lifted off. I wrote a poem for this & read it to him while my daughter did a Vanna White presentation of the house. Everyone got a good laugh out of this and I finally did a complete craft project! It's been a while. Hope you have as much fun with this as we did. Here's the poem: I drew your name for Christmas It's an honor, don't you know To get my brothers name for Christmas Ah! ashopping I will go. But then I started frettin After searching high and low Whatever will I get 'im (Twas wrong to worry so!) I went into an office shop Maybe something for your desk? I talked to the clerk a lot She tried to aid me in my quest. He could use a tax shelter Is what the lady said It seemed a bit off-kelter But there was nothing left instead. So here's your little shelter All painted so very nice The foundation has been mended The roofs' been polished thrice. The flowers are all blooming In the big pot by the door The bumblebees are buzzing And there's no sawdust on the floor. It seems to be the perfect place I do agree she's right It sure beats a plain old case And your tacks! They're finally safe at night!

I thought it was a Wilton but when I got it out of the box it says Nostalgia on the actual fountain. It was in the Kohl's circular 40% as a Wilton model, but I don't see anything saying Wilton on the actual machine. I would say if you're not opposed to heating in the microwave, buy one like I have. I have since learned of a couple of friends who have them and they have the same idea. Small, melt the chocolate in the microwave. It is more convenient if you can melt it in the actual fountain, but you are definitely paying 3x as much. As for the chocolate I have to respectfully disagree about the craft chocolate. I used 1/2 craft, 1/2 Williams Sonoma fondue chips and it was delicious. I did have to use twice the amount of recommended chocolate to come up to close the rim of the bowl of the fountain which is recommended and the fountain didn't work properly until I added more chocolate, it didn't flow right, spaces where there was no chocolate flowing if you know what I mean. I would think if the craft chocolates were that bad, I wouldn't have gotten as good of a result. I will say that if I were doing a party focusing on the fountain I would use dark chocolate for all adults. Williams-Sonoma chips were $14 a pound and I used 2 pounds of W/S and 2 pounds of milk chocolate craft. Post if you buy one and use it. I think the above posts probably avoided some problems for me. I set it up on a glass topped tea cart. I had plenty of plates. We talked to the two youngest kids about using the plate plus they had a fountain at a wedding they participated in as attendants. No chocolate on clothing. I bought the W/S extra long skewers. Make sure your fruit is dry. I cleaned the strawberries in the morning and sat them on paper towels, changing them 2x in order to get them dry and to let them come to room temperature for serving. I think if your guests have never experienced a fountain you do have to let them know that the chocolate takes a minute to set up, thus holding it over a plate or napkin - don't try and eat it the second you pull it out of the fountain. I am actually going to try the cheese despite the bad experience of the guy at W/S. We occasionally have cheese and fruit for dinner as a treat with a good bottle of wine. I think I might give it a whirl some Sunday afternoon when the game is on. Sounds kind of crazy tho. Football game with a cheese fountain:-,) That I definitely would do a dry run on before I spring on a group of friends...

Glenda ,Can you post Reindeer droppings? We have lots of real deer around here so that would be fun to make! lol Here is some I make & love: Chunky Peanut Brittle 1 t. plus 1 ½ c. butter (no substitutes), divided 2 c. peanut butter chips, divided 1 ¾ c. sugar 3 T. light corn syrup 3 T. water 1 ½ c. salted peanuts, coarsely chopped ½ c. semisweet chocolate chips Butter the bottom and sides of a 15 x 10 x 1 inch baking pan with 1 ½ t. butter. Sprinkle with 1 c. peanut butter chips; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, bring sugar, corn syrup, water and remaining butter to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until butter is melted. Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer reads 300 degrees (hard crack stage). Remove from heat; stir in peanuts. Quickly pour onto prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter chips. With a knife, gently swirl softened chips over top of brittle. Cool before breaking into pieces. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 2 ½ lb. ~~Fudge Krispies~~~~~These are sooo good~~~ Taste like a Nestle Crunch ! 1pkg (2c.) milk chocolate chips( not semi -sweet ) 1/2c. marg. 1/2c.light corn syrup 2 tsp.vanilla extract 1c.sifted confectioners sugar (powered sugar) 4c.Rice Krispies cereal Combine choc.,marg & corn syrup in med. saucepan . Stir over low heat until melted & smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and sugar. Add cereal Mixing lightly until well coated. Spread evenly in 13x9x2 inch pan. Chill until firm. Cut into 1 1/2-inch squares. Store in refr. 48 squares. ~*~Toffee Cookies~*~ 1 sleeve saltine crackers 1 cup brown sugar, packed 2 cups semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips 1 c.Butter 1c. finely chopped nuts Preheat oven to 400*. Cover a small cookie sheet with sides with foil; spray with Pam. Melt butter & brown sugar in a med. saucepan and cook approximately 3 minutes, stirring often. Place all crackers on foil. Pour sugar mixture on crackers and spread evenly. Bake 5 minutes. Mixture should boil but not burn. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips evenly on top. Set a bread board over pan and let set 3 min.Remove bread board .Spread choc.chips with spatula as frosting a cake. Sprinkle Nuts on top ,press slightly.Place in refrg. About 1 hour.Break into pieces.Store in refrg. **People can't Believe that this is crackers! I have also tried Butterscotch chips & peanuts.Semi-sweet chocolate & peppermint candies crushed.(that one is really good!) This is a must in my house to make :-) ~~~MOUND BARS ~~~ This taste like that famous candy bar.ItÂs so good & easy! 2 c. crushed graham crackers 1/2 c. sugar 1/2 c. butter, melted Mix together and bake in 9x13 inch pan in 350 degree oven for 7-8 minutes. Mix 2 cups coconut with 1 can sweetened condensed milk. Spread on top of baked crust. Bake 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Melt 1 (12 oz.) package chocolate chips . Spread on top.Cool then cut into bars. ~~Twix Bars~~ this is very good! almost better than the real thing. 35 unwrapped kraft caramels 1/4 cup water 1 box Lorna Doone shortbread cookies (40) 2 bags milk-chocolate chips 12oz ea. 1. combine caramels with water in small pan, melt over low heat. 2. place the cookies side by side on ungreased cookie sheet. 3. spoon a dab of caramel onto each cookie, then place all the cookies in the refrigerator until the caramel firms up. 4. in the meantime, melt chocolate chips in double boiler or microwave heating 1 min on high, stir, then 1 more min. 5. remove the cookies from frig. resting each cookie on a fork, dip into chocolate. tap the fork on side to knock away excess chocolate. place on wax paper and cool at room temp. this will take several hours but the bars will set the best this way. putting in the refrigerator for 30 min will speed up the process. ~~KIT KAT BARS~~ (very rich,cut into small pieces) Ritz crackers (I used 3 sleeves) 1 1/2 c. graham crackers, crushed 3/4 c. brown sugar, packed 1 c. white sugar 3/4 c. butter (must be real) 1/3 c. milk 1 c. butterscotch chips 1 c. semisweet chocolate chips 3/4 c. peanut butter Put graham crackers, brown sugar, white sugar, butter and milk into a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Spray a 9x13? pan with butter flavored cooking spray. Put a layer of crackers (I used one sleeve) in bottom of pan and pout 1/2 of the mixture over it. Put another layer of crackers and pour the remaining mixture. Add one last row of cracker. In microwave melt butterscotch chips, chocolate chips and peanut butter together I stirred every 1 (one) minute til nice and smooth. When melted, spread evenly over the top. After it has cooled a bit, score the bars. Then let cool completely. I put in the refrigerator. After set up, cut into bars and store in an airtight container. I store in the refrigerator. Hope this helps! ____________________________________________________