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

Sugar is a carbohydrate, last I checked... Furthermore, beware of the commercially prepared sugar-free products. Most of them contain Sorbitol which is sugar alcohol (but doesn't contain alcohol). It is a carb and a different kind of sugar but still, it is sugar. Everything that ends with -ol is sugar alcohol and a big no-no for the diabetics. Another thing is, lactose-free milk. This thing is good for the lactose-intolerant folks. The process of getting rid of lactose is adding a special enzyme to the regular milk, so that the lactose (milk sugar) is converted into 2 simple sugars, one of them is glucose. Meaning that it's best for the diabetics to avoid lactose-free milk altogether. Someone has posted about a diet with 250 carbs a day for the diabetic; to me it sounds a bit extreme. My carbs a day are as follows: up to 4 carbs a meal and up to 2 carbs a snack. 3 meals and 3 snacks = 18 carbs, give or take. I was told I can have an occasional candy. So far so good.

I mentioned to DH last night that I thought we should buy a ticket. He said no way was he going to why don't I do it? For one thing, I am seldom anywhere that I would have the opportunity. Secondly, I am tightfisted when it comes to things like that. The few times I've been in a casino I've won a couple hundred dollars and then cashed out as soon as I won. I never played after winning and never played with more than $25. Still, it's nice to dream of what you would do with a win. We have been using our pastor's home for years because we are too small of a congregation to afford a church so that would be first on my list. The SPCA and animal rescue organizations would be next. There are so many worthy organizations. I would gift each of my children with a home, each getting the same amount dollar wise. I would set up college funds for my DGC. As for us, we could put an addition on the house to get an upstairs laundry and I would hire a lawn crew and a full time housekeeper. I think the key to a successful win would be to do as much good as possible with the windfall.