Thanks Ken. You may not be an expert (just kidding), but you have had a lot of good information. In this post along with many others I have read through. Thanks Linda Lou. I don't think these pickles will last that long around here anyway. Just wanted to check in case I make more. I may have to sooner than I think. I was going to pick another load of cukes today. I may have enough for 2 batches now. We got some heavy rain last night. So many of my cukes have swelled up so fast my trellis is about to fall over from the weight. It's not staked very good, and until now, had not been a problem. I may make some relish too. I'll just have to cut out some seeds because I think some of the cukes are a little bigger than I wanted. I think I need to get some more jars. This is kind of late to ask this question, but I didn't think of it until last night while reboiling the syrup. My question is...When draining the syrup to reboil and pour over the pickles, do you leave the spice bag with the pickles or do you keep it in the syrup and boil with it? I didn't think it would make much of a difference, but I have been leaving it in the syrup when I bring it back to a boil. Could this make the spices even stronger only because they are getting heated to a higher temp for a longer period of time. Paul

Thanks for the words of encouragement and photo ideas grannybj65, I have a really nice digital camera and plan to take LOTS of photos all along the way as I develop the garden. The photos linked here were taken by a good friend. I have an eye for good snapshots so once I'm down there I'll be taking dozens of photos from all angles and different weather conditions. The joy of digital photography - you never run out of film. LOL One of the things I like to do is take a series of photos from the same angle all day long on a sunny day to get a general idea of where the shady and sunny spots are. Doing that a few times throughout the year as the Earth changes kilter I'll perfect an image in my mind of where best to place different plants based on their light/shade tolerance. Looking at the photo of the front of the house dead-on, I just got a great idea. Facing the house, the living room is on the right side with the single window and the kitchen is on the left side with the double windows. In front of the double windows inside is the kitchen sink, so it is not a spot that will have tremendous "looking out the window" appeal. So, as the cogs turn in this hard head of mine, I'm visualizing lattice from the center pole on the porch going to the left corner, then around to where the porch meets the house. Then cutting a rectangular window out of the center of the front of the lattice and framing it a bit so there is a clear view out to the road from the kitchen window. And then I can visualize the lattice painted white (or more likely light gray as I'm not too fond of white outside) and covered in Scarlet Runner Bean and Clematis with maybe some "Joseph's Coat" (Amaranthus tricolor) in front and some dwarf Cannas with some "Love lies Bleeding" (Amaranthus sp.) along the side. The scarlet, violet, purple and deep reds and burgundys will all be in harmony with one another, at least until I decide on a totally different look down the road. I can have a nice metal frame rocking deck seat out on the porch hidden away behind the wall of vines where I can sit and enjoy the shade - and a good spray from the gardening hose on all the vines will create a nice cooling breeze. Well, it's a thought anyway. :) I saw on eBay this evening someone in San Diego California is selling several batches of Tillandsias (the common T. ionantha). They are offering them as a box of 50 child fist-sized clumps of them for around $20 if I recall - quite cheap. I immediately thought how neat it would be to buy 50 or 100 clumps and then carefully wire them to a wire-frame wreath for a living, blooming front door wreath, especially once the front porch is semi-latticed in and well shaded. A few sprigs of Spanish Moss draping down from the wreath here and there would further kick off the effect. It would live on the wet air, constantly regenerate itself with new growth, and bloom off and on throughout the year. During the colder months I could bring it inside and hang up it in the living room window where it can get plenty of bright indirect light. Ok, I'll shut up now.

My priorities are entirely financial, that is to say I try to get the most bang for my buck. That said the plants on your list that I have/like are; Great Expectations Paul's Glory Halcyon Krossa Regal S. Elegans I would imagine that you can't go wrong selecting plants from the "hosta of the year" category. You can find the list by Googling- Hostalibrary. I am a fan of Royal Standard, which I bought from Walmart. Royal Standard is plain green, but grows fast, gets large and has frangrant blooms. I really like one of your other picks- Frances Williams, but I am under the impression that there is another hybrid available that is superior. The name begins with a B, if you Google Frances Williams I am sure you will find a reference to the other plant. Good luck. You have picked the perfect time to buy hostas, as they should be going on sale from now to the Fall.

i am having a lot of fun with this game. cindy and carol, on #2, i laughed so hard at your answers. i will say cindy's mind is working towards the real answer. i am wondering if anyone will ever get it. just think of all the actions a dentist does to prep you - well, at least my dentist does it (and dang, is he one good looking man !!!!) amy was the closest on #1 and then shirley answered it correctly. #3 i might take some liberties with, because several of you are close, but i guess it's tough if you don't know her name. i think i've only used it two or three times in previous posts. finally, someone got my shoe size. the right answer to 4 has been guessed and answered correctly twice today, although in different words. so now, 1, 4, 6, 7 and 10 have all been answered correctly. and carol, yes, the razor was a great gift and to this day, i still use the same kind. i'm starting a new post where partners will be assigned. i'll post this over there as well. maryanne