Can you get in touch with a nice restaurant in Branson and make reservations for a nice meal and tell them that you will pay for it? That would be nice along with the travel package. Although some people are fans of gift cards, I am not. Frankly I don't think they show much imagination and maybe I don't shop at that store. It puts more of a burden on me when I get a gift card to a specific store, As I have to keep track of the card, have to find something there I like, and just remember that I have it to use. I am not suggesting that it's not generous and that it's not a good gift for some people. I just choose not to use them and don't really like getting them. Of course, I am appreciative of any gift that anyone get me and I am grateful for their gift, but gift cards just don't do it for me. To me, it just seems as though the giver didn't care to put any more thought into it and took an easy way out. Call me crazy. Put a little more thought into it for some creativity, and I would expect that would be much more appreciated. Can you set it up with your father ahead of time, so that you have some idea of your plans in Branson and when they would be available for an extra special dinner at an extra special restaurant? Of course, by the time you read this, it will be too late. I was hoping that you could at least tell her that you would be giving her that special dinner and then make specific arrangements later. Sorry that I am reading this too late.

Socks, if you hold the egg so the "grater" is always pointing up, I'd say 99% of the stuff goes into the cup. You should see some of the contortions I go thru to make that happen. lol I did get carried away with it a few times at first and limped around with sore, raw heels for a few days. That was when the egg was brand new, though, and really sharp. Now I think I could grate for an hour and never get to that point. I wish we had a CVS here, but I know I've seen the refills somewhere. I'll find 'em!

Here are my garden themes: (October) 1. Your most bizarre - Anything that really stands out due to unique characteristics. 2. Your most tasty - Any edible you grow season after season, because it's just that good. 3. Unusual Solanacea. 4. I'll take mine rare - Anything you would consider rare/hard to come by. 5. Respect your elders - Your favorite heirloom. 6. There's a pharmacy in my garden - Rare medicinal herbs. 7. Gothic Garden - Black, or nearly black, flowers, edibles and herbs. 8. Bulbs, Corms, Tubers, etc Outside of seeds/plants, here are a few others things I'm interested in: Root Pouches or Grow Bags Stacking Pots Gourmet Chocolate Homemade Goodies: Jams, Jellies, Salsas, Dried Pepper Flakes/Powder, Baked Treats, etc. Books on herbalism or foraging (I'm northern CA/west coast) Your very favorite recipe – the one that you could not live without I love, love, love seeds and plants, particularly anything that's unusual, rare, or medicinal. If it happens to be edible, that's even better. My favorite colors are black, purple, and blue. I also like pastel colors. I have two very spoiled cats and a wonderful husband. I garden (duh), write, cook, and can. I grow a lot of edibles and herbs, with a few ornamentals scattered here and there. My favorite seed stores are Baker Creek and Sacred Succulents (love this place – he carries many extremely rare plants/seeds, many of which are medicinal).

I won't say there's anything I'm so emotionally attached to that would constitute "love" be there are several things I like. Deodorant is Mitchum Unscented antiperspirant. Lately, I've had such dry skin on my legs that things won't heal, it itches, I scratch and cycle repeats. The doctor nagged me at the last physical to use some lotion. Well, I hate stinky lotions. I've used the Neutrogena Hand Cream for years and it's not so offensive. A friend used it for years and I tried it decades ago and liked it but didn't have a lot of need for it. It's kind of spendy and you can't empty the tube but I'll pay for quality. I tried one I saw on Youtube, a coconut cream from Dollar Tree and it seems to soak in more quickly than Neutrogena. It's real thin and it has a "coconut" smell that isn't too offensive. Found a "Diabetics Lotion" at Dollar Tree too that I decided to try. It's like a thick toothpaste in texture, maybe thicker, but it's unscented, which does not mean there's no smell at all but there isn't the perfumey stench that most have and it works fairly well. They quit making the White Rain shampoo I liked. One of the few that really worked well but it's gone. Found something similar in Pantene and that's now discontinued. So I use whatever is cheap now. I just found a Gillette body wash that I really like. Smells, but not too offensive, cleans well and rinses well and for me, clean and quick rinsing is very important since I can't stand around waiting forever to rinse off like I could in the past. I too have tried the turmeric curcumin and anecdotally, I'm going to keep using it. I use MoveFree Ultra (one tiny pill instead of 2-3 horse pills for normal glucosamine/chondroitin/msm) and I've been taking ginger root for joint pain too and again, nothing clinical but seems to make a difference. I've been taking cranberry supplements and drink cranberry juice regularly. There's quite a difference there and a multi-vitamin, calcium and when I'm not feeling well I add some vitamin C. I really liked Crest Lemon Ice toothpaste. I actually noticed myself brushing longer with it. I liked the flavor. Discontinued. So I went to the Crest Citrus. Discontinued. Why do people insist on mint for everything? They even discontinued the Equate Citrus mouthwash so now it's pay over twice as much for Listerine or go to mint. For quite a while I switched to the foaming hand soap. I'd either buy the $1 bottles or get a refill and fill the empties. But I came across a lemon scented liquid soap that isn't offensive. Actually smells good. Found a Berry scent at Dollar Tree that also isn't offensive so now I mix them up a bit between the liquid and foam. And for the price, it rivals bar soap cost without the mess.