I can't afford new plants every year either... and thanks to a bathroom remodel 'gone wrong' over the winter, I'll be lucky to squeeze out enough for seeds and maybe a small potato order this spring. I'm seriously thinking about trying to do the same thing with some of my perennials. Last years gardening adventures were mostly consumed by hardscaping... extented some retaining walls, carved out some new paths, and created some new planting spaces out of what was formerly lawn...the down side of having some extra space to work with, is that it looks extra barren to me now. On the bright side, I've been making my own compost, for free...and should have plenty of it to work with this season. But to fill everything in the way *I'd like* it to be will take me much longer than one season to accomplish. And I'm not quite accomplished enough with gardening in general let...sometimes my transplants don't take, or seedlings don't live. I moved to a much higher altitude about 5 years ago... its so different from what I'm used to; about half of whatever I try seems to get messed up. lol...what can I say. ;) Another thing I might try this year, is planting some cover crops or green manure in the areas that I'm still not sure what to do with. Maybe even some colorful annuals that will be 'easier'...just to have something in the ground while I ponder on how to establish the 'trickier' plants, that I can't afford to...possibly sabotage? I'm thinking... if I start with one or two perennial plants that are 'new' to me, and if I can manage to keep them alive for the whole season? They won't be new to me next year...I can worry about learning a few more varieties then. In theory... But for now, the bare spots bother me too... I have some nice woolly thyme that I'd like to establish on the new rock walls. A few iris that could stand to be split up, and maybe some definable. I'm even thinking about trying to root some cuttings off my lilacs...when I know very little about how that works. I've tried to take cuttings off my basil in the kitchen before, and even those never live. lol...it hasn't stopped me from trying though... I've got Columbine and Cone flowers stratifying in the fridge downstairs...do I think. I've never got them to germinate before, but one of these times, I'm bound to get lucky... in theory? Another thing I'm pondering... Of the seeds I might try, getting them locally can save some money on shipping. That's a catch 22, because some of the things I've got my heart set on...I can't find atone here. Red carrots. Alpine strawberries. Birdhouse gourds. White pumpkins. Chocolate mint... that I'm not even sure can be purchased as seed. I like to try things that are unavailabe, or too expensive to buy at the store. The seed potato I do plan to order though... I had some scab last year, and it won't be the same around here without at least a few purple potatoes, though...I need to find a new place to put those. Leslie in CO

Pidge, Wasn't A Thousand Splendid Suns a terrific book? It's a book group book for sure. I just watched two French films from NetFlix. The first wass "La Vie en Rose", a bio-ppic of Edith Piaf, snd it was great with all those wonderful songs. Of course her life was sad, sad, sad & way too short, but whaat a voice! The other was "Je T'aime Paris" (and I know I'm not spelling that right.). It's a series of love stories tht are only 5 minutes long, each done by a different director & each each one is set in one of the arrondismonts (sp again!) of Paris. It's amazing how much can be told in 5 short minutes & it seems like 50% of all the actors in France or Hollywood are in the vignettes. I want to rent it again & really try & match up the directors & the stories in my mind. It was an extrememly clever idea for a movie.

Amanda, that recipe looks amazing. I LOVE sweet potato fries. Great idea. I'm not sure what movie we'll be watching. I'm going to the library today to see what's available. I'm thinking Raiders of the Lost Ark or something similar. I want something heavy on action, but not super violent. Not too much dialog. Most of the kids will be boys from 7 - 11, with some toddlers and girls mixed in. Yes, you're right about salty. Chips or chex mix or something. I love the sweet potato fries in pretty paper cups with dipping sauce. I wonder if I have time for that. Nuts are also great - I just have to wait and see if the family with the nut allergy kid is coming. If not, I'll definitely add mixed nuts. AM The Dinner Chronicles

I can't really recall if I have walked out because I thought the movie was bad, but I have left and asked for compensation (in the form of a future movie ticket) when the sound or picture got screwy (once, they turned on the bright lights when they were trying to fix things -- can you imagine how startling to our eyes that was!). But I have to say this: In the cases of movies just not being as good as I thought they were going to be, I've never walked out and asked for my money back. Everybody's opinion is different -- and there are plenty of movie reviews out there to help you decide if you want to take the gamble, esp considering the high cost of theater tickets. In a restaurant, if your dinner comes out undercooked, overcooked, overly salted, you'd send it back, of course, to have them make it correctly, but if you just didn't care for it in general, because it didn't match your expectations, would you ask for your money back? What about a book you've purchased from a bookstore, a book that in the end you thought lacked creativity or suspense? Would you return the book and tell the store that the writer was terrible? But asking for money back if you thought the movie was just stupid? That's how I see the 'walk out of the movie and ask for your money back' position. (Not referring to the examples like Dotmom's or when the ratings trick you into thinking that any language is OK for young kids.)