Brian, did you use Pickle Crisp, and if so, did it make a difference? I tried canning banana peppers last year as well using a Ball recipe and got the same, mushy/inedible result. This year I purchased Pickle Crisp and have used it for pickles (haven't tasted them yet, allowing 4-6 wks to season), but not with peppers yet. If PC doesn't make a big difference, I may just choose to make refrigerator pickled peppers instead. Thanks.

Seedlngs tend to flower later in the year than established plants. You can get blooms off of a smaller plant if a cutting has been taken where the tip is about to bloom. Most nurserymen pinch these heads off to divert growing energy into the root system though. Flower heads sap a lot of the plants energy. If you root the cutting just before the flower head becomes visible, you can usually get away with it, especially with fast-growing tropical sages.

I even sent a note to the stylist who came here for Better Homes & Gardens Specialty Magazines.....I thought maybe, just maybe she'd know it. But no, she doesn't know either. I will have to try and find my old magazines around here. This "being organized" thing while selling your house is just a bit too much confusing for me! Lol I should say that the rectangular light's metal parts were sort of ornate. I would use those Pottery Barn ones, but I'm not thrilled with the finish. I have time. I can keep looking. But the light is such an important element in setting the tone of the kitchen, just like the counters are. (too me at least)

Purses? Is that it? LOL. I often leave out letters when I'm typing. Must not press down hard enough all the time. I don't know if I could collect purses because when displayed they would have to be dusted and I hate to dust but still if that is your thing - where there is a will, there is a way. You know what a Shaker peg rack is? I see them in craft stores all the time. Not too expensive and they are easy to paint up. The pegs are usually 4 or more inches apart and have a knob type ending so things don't slip off too easily. If I had to display purses and they had handles I'd get three or so of these Shader peg racks and paint them the color of the wall I was going to attach them to and go for it. Paint a couple of coats of paint on the racks, finish off with two coats of Minwax polycrylic and put them on the wall one above the other (and other and other) and hang purses to my hearts content. You already have a lot of purses so you might consider hanging only evening purses in the winter, straw purses for summer, colored purses for spring, or just single colors of purses per season, (single shades of one color displays are supposed to be the most eye pleasing) and so on. You'd rotate your collection and could dust them before you put them away (what's three months of dust, eh?) Ta Da! The hardest part might be deciding how far apart to hang the peg racks but you could masking tape a few up on the wall or masking tape like sizes of dark paper on the wall to see how it would look before you start. You'd know if you liked the look or not! Jois