I had always heard that praying mantises were a protected species but I found out recently that there are different species and that the ones that are big enough to kill hummingbirds (4 or 5 inches) don't even belong here. They were imported from China to kill insect pests and now they're killing our birds and butterflies! I still think they're neat but I would probably do away with one that big that I found on my feeder or flowers. A little one I would leave on the feeder to eat the bees and yellowjackets. :)

Wow everything looks awesome. I've never been able to find brisket here, and I'd love to try it sometime. Love your beef ribs!

I don't know about what I'd want before facing death in the electric chair, but I can say I've been staring down death in the form of cancer and food was not that interesting! However, as of right now, it appears that cancer blinked first, so I'm really into the following foods: Ruebens Pizza Burgers and strangely, even though I've lost my taste for a lot of desserts, I've really been wanting a pineapple upside down cake, I think I'll make one this weekend! And interesting (and somewhat depressing) fact I discovered about me during my treatment was that food without guilt did not taste as good! Of course, chemo supposedly makes food taste different, so that might be part of it.

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.