E.O., many of us, have found ourselves in the middle of a 'spat' or in disfavor, if posting long enough! I see it as a 'family thing' where if you hang out with anyone long enough there is bound to be a conflict of opinion or an 'annoyance' factor raising it's head, or a 'bruising of feelings' on a day when if it were another, we might not be nearly so sensitive. The good thing about our *group* (I feel) is when we do clash, it isn't too long before we seem to get past it and move on with life in the garden! I'm not a grudge holder, myself--life is too short! I'm willing to move on, and hope for better things for the future! It's the human-factor we deal with, good and bad!! :o) I find there is something I like and that is positive about every person that posts regularly! If not--I would not return so often---as I do!;o)

Ann, Those probably are from me because I brought all 5 of those varieties. Here's a brief description of each: ILDI: An open-pollinated heirloom yellow grape type that is indeterminate and usually gets 5 to 6' tall in my garden. It produces heavy yields of bright yellow oval-shaped tomatoes in clusters. You'll often see Ildi sold as "Yellow Grape" at Farmer's Markets. Is a pretty early producer with a DTM of about 53-54 days. I've grown it in a pot, but it stayed smaller and didn't produce as many fruit per plant as it does when in the ground. GOLD BALL: Also known as Livingston's Gold Ball. This is an heirloom open-pollinated tomato first introduced by A. W. Livingston in 1892. The plants are indeterminate and usually get 5-6' tall in my garden. The plants produce large yields of beautiful canary yellow round tomatoes slightly larger than a cherry tomato--almost the size of a ping pong ball. Some people like to use Gold Ball (and Yellow Pear or both together) to make tomato preserves or tomato marmalade. DTM is about 65 days. Has done pretty well when grown in a large container (10-15 gallon). ROSE QUARTZ: This is an indeterminate open-pollinated plant from Japan that produces deep rose pink cherry tomatoes in clusters. DTM: 65 days. The tomatoes are more grape-shaped than cherry-shaped and some people see "off" shapes like slightly plum-shaped or slightly pear-shaped fruit. Gets about 5' tall in my garden and slightly smaller in a large container. PRIMETIME F-1 HYBRID: From Harris Seed. This is an excellent late-season tomato with a DTM of about 80-84 days. It always produces ripe fruit in my garden in July and August when many other tomatoes have shut down production. The fruit are large, very smooth, round, deep red and quite tasty. The vines are Determinate, but they are large Determinates, usually around 4.5 to 5' tall in my garden. Very heavy yields on very disease-resistant plants. In my garden, they produce better in the ground than in pots, but then my pots are close to the barn and get pretty hot. RED DEFENDER F-1 HYBRID. Also from Harris Seed. New this year for me and one I'm very excited about trying. This is a midseason variety so it should produce ripe fruit in 70-75 days from the date of transplant. Is supposed to produce heavy yields of large to very large, deep red, round fruit on Determinate plants that have outstanding disease resistance, including intermediate resistance to the dreaded Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. It is said to have excellent flavor and is one of the "new" varieties bred with the flavor gene that gives it larger amounts of furaneol, which you can read about in the attached link. I haven't grown it before, so I am going to try one in the ground and 1 in a container. I hope they all do well for you. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Hybrid Tomatoes With Enhanced Flavor

Lucy, my Mom listed her house in a small town in MN (even smaller than yours), so I've been looking at the RE listings in her area. I know exactly what you mean about slim pickings! Mom listed at $165K, and there are hardly any listings near that price. There are old/tiny houses for less than $100K, and there are lake properties for $300K+. I suggest you do one of two things: either keep renting, and save as much as you can (dump your car and student loan amounts into savings), or change your expectations. You might not find your dream house in your community right away, but can you find a house you could live with for 5 years? Another possibility is to buy property, but wait to build. If the property is paid for, it counts as equity when you go to build.

Wow Lucille! Are you sure your reading was 35? At that level, I'd think you'd be passing out. I have been diabetic type 2 for 20 years and I get fuzzy headed if my glucose reading falls to 60. Usually, I become aware of a low glucose condition at 90 and below. I watch for signs of low glucose when driving. Its very important to correct low glucose if driving. One should not let it fall below 90 and 100 is a better low mark when driving. I keep a tube of 10 glucose tablets in my auto's console and carry 5 hard candies in my back pocket. Reasonable cost glucose tablets are available from Walmart. They have tubes of 10 tabs and jars with 100 tabs. The tabs are lower cost in the 100 tab jar. I keep my empty 10 tab tubes and refill those from the larger jar.