Your wish is my command, Claire! :) The reason a dog has so many friends is that he wags his tail instead of his tongue. -Anonymous Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive evidence that you are wonderful. -Ann Landers If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. -Will Rogers There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. -Ben Williams A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. -Josh Billings The average dog is a nicer person than the average person. -Andy Rooney We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It's the best deal man has ever made. -M. Acklam Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate. -Sigmund Freud I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. -Rita Rudner A dog teaches a boy fidelity, perseverance, and to turn around three times before lying down. -Robert Benchley Anybody who doesn't know what soap tastes like never washed a dog. -Franklin P. Jones If I have any beliefs about immortality, it is that certain dogs I have known will go to heaven, and very, very few persons. -James Thurber If your dog is fat, you aren't getting enough exercise. -Unknown My dog is worried about the economy because Alpo is up to $3.00 a can. That's almost $21.00 in dog money. -Joe Weinstein Ever consider what our dogs must think of us? I mean, here we come back from a grocery store with the most amazing haul -- chicken, pork, half a cow. They must think we're the greatest hunters on earth! -Anne Tyler Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. -Robert A. Heinlein If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.. -Mark Twain You can say any foolish thing to a dog, and the dog will give you a look that says, 'Wow, you're right! I never would've thought of that!' - Dave Barry Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. -Roger Caras If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then give him only two of them. -Phil Pastoret My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dog already thinks I am. ------------------- The only one I don't care for is the Robert Heinlein quote, even though it's soooo true :) Jeff

It is a sweet cherry. The problem is locating other black (or dark, if you like) cherry varieties. Most are sweet. Certainly dark sweet cherries are used in many European preserves. Swiss black cherry jam is made from Guines, which are sweet. It's even more difficult to find a dark sour cherry. Not to mention many are incredibly sour and/or bitter and would require a great deal of sugar (to my taste). But black Morello would be nice, if you could ever find some. Lots of Ferber's recipes are "lost in translation." It's darned near impossible to approximate her preserves. On the other hand, if you like what you come up with, it's probably irrelevant. Americans have an almost limitless sweet tooth compared to Europeans, anyway. Carol

We do a lot of our shopping at TJs and Costco. I wish we had Ikea. I like TJs fresh vegetables...they keep well. I like their avocados much better than Costco. TJ simmer sauces, red and green curry (I usually doctor them, but they're a decent base. Simmered the green down with a can of coconut cream...yum.) We're hooked on the organic corn chips. They're like fritos only not as greasy. Grade B maple syrup. Frozen wild caught salmon fillet. Sweet potato fries. Their mustards. Harvest Grain mix. Olive oil. And triple ginger cookies. I grab a few of their frozen things to keep at work. They're a little bland but don't have a lot of unpronounceable ingredients. Rotini w/grilled veggies and pesto, bowties w/spinach and cheeses, chili relleno and the cheese enchiladas aren't bad with some sour cream and salsa. The mac and cheese is ok too, for frozen. Costco for most of our staples. We're pretty happy with Kirkland brand. Organic sharp cheddar is good. Lately we've been getting the baby romaine. Makes great lettuce wraps.

Sweet cherries - cultivars of Prunus avium - are generally not successful below zone 5. Sour or tart cherries, Prunus cerasus, (like Montmorency or Morello) should be winter hardy down to zone 4. However, there are a number of hybrids and a few other very cold hardy species that can make it possible to grow cherries as low as zone 2. Best Cold Hardy Cherry Varieties