They don't have to be "old" to bloom - just mature enough and growing in suitable conditions. I even have them blooming in 4" containers at the nusery and mine bloom at home consistantly. Sempervivum tanslates loosely to "live forever" and these are some of the hardiest of the commonly grown sedums and succulents, most species adaptable to conditions from zone 4 to 9 and from full sun to dense shade. They are not fussy about soil conditions as long as drainage is good. They propagate themselves most commonly from offsets - the "chicks" - and can spread densely and rapidly in areas where they are happy. Many plants produce unusual inflorescenses - I'm not sure I'd label them as strongly as alien life forms.....LOL! Yours are only still in bud and I'd recommend allowing the flowers to develop fully before you remove them. They are really very attractive and bloom in shades of pink and yellow.

Hi John 1931, I am a quilter too, so laying out blocks is a nice puzzle. A picture is worth a thousand words, But here's a try. Maybe some index cards or dominoes, Lego bricks, etc would be helpful to fidget with (I used index cards). Lay out a square pattern to show the corners of the first tier, with the blocks making a kind of circle, like this. N N N D B O O D B O O D B H H H (3 letters make a block, the O's are just dirt.) If you now flip that layer over D N N N D O O B D O O B K K K B it will sit on top of the first layer perfectly, and stagger all the joints. Of course you can stretch the sides by adding blocks, but with this corner pattern reversed for each layer, you should need no partial blocks and the joints would always stagger. Just avoid the symmetrical layout: N N N H O H H O H H O H N N N That gets you in trouble on the next tier. Hope this made sense!

Hubby and I came together late in life (in our early/mid 40's). Due to that and a huge host of other reasons, we will never have children of our own. We talked seriously about adopting an older child or two, to the point where I was looking at the sites and contacting some of the local adoption groups. Unfortunately, our life has taken on other responsibilities that make this an impossibility. Hubby's Mom has (probably terminal) metastatic thyroid cancer. Hubby's Dad is incapable of managing things on his own. Hubby's brother (who currently lives with Mom and Dad) is seriously mentally ill and has physical disabilities as well. He requires pretty much round the clock supervision. As their culture is to take care of everything at home and only with family, our lives will be spent "parenting" them. It breaks my heart to know that Hubby and I will never get to be parents, that we will never get to see a child grow and thrive under our care. But this is the hand we've been dealt so we just have to do the best we can. On a practical note, at least out here in CA there are special programs for adopting older/special needs children. You get a lot more support and there is actually a mandatory "trial period".

My family recipe is below. It uses "only" 3-1/2 cubes of butter (not quite a full pound) to six cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and four eggs. Honestly, I don't think you can lessen the butter without compromising the texture. However, I have a family recipe for paximadia (similar to Italian biscotti) that calls for less butter and almost the same amount of flour. It's really easy to make and has a similar taste and texture as the koulouria. I make these more frequently just because they're a lot less labor intensive. They also freeze well. I just reheat them in a toaster oven to restore crispness. I've listed the recipe below too. Koulouria (Sesame Cookie Twists) Cookie: 1- cups butter (3 ½ cubes) 1-cup sugar 4 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 4 eggs, beaten 6 cups flour Topping: 1 ½ cups sesame seeds 1 egg yolk, beaten 2 teaspoons milk ½ teaspoon sugar ÂUsing electric mixer, cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. ÂMix dry ingredients in separate bowl. ÂAdd egg mixture to dry ingredients, blending well. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time if dough is too dry. Dough should be pliable but very dense. ÂScoop out portions of dough about the size of a small lemon. ÂRoll into 8  10 inch thin, long ropes. Ropes should be no thicker than a pencil or a womanÂs "pinkie" finger. ÂShape into twists. ÂDip tops of twists in bowl of sesame seeds; shake off excess seeds. ÂPlace twists on greased cookie sheet. ÂCombine beaten egg yolk, 2 teaspoons milk, and ½ teaspoon sugar. ÂBrush/dab each twist with egg yolk mixture. ÂBake at 350° for 20  25 minutes; tops should be a light, toasty brown. Be careful not to over brown or burn the cookies. ÂCool thoroughly; store in airtight container. Paximadia (Greek Toast Cookies) 1 cup sugar 2 cubes sweet, unsalted butter (½ pound or 8 ounces) 3 eggs, beaten 3 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoons baking soda 1 tablespoon lemon or orange rind 1 teaspoon lemon or orange extract 1 tablespoon vanilla 5½ cups flour ¼ cup milk ÂUsing electric mixer, cream butter and sugar. ÂContinue mixing, adding eggs, vanilla, and lemon/orange extract. ÂMix dry ingredients in separate bowl. ÂAdd egg mixture to dry ingredients, blending well. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time if dough is too dry. Dough should be pliable but very dense. ÂDivide dough into two approximately equal portions. ÂForm one portion of dough into a long, flattened roll, approximately 4 inches wide, on an unbuttered cookie sheet. Do the same with the other portion. ÂCut rolls in 3/4 inch slices; do NOT cut all the way through. ÂBake at 350° for 20  25 minutes. Rolls should be very, very light brown. Do NOT over bake; they should look under baked. ÂWhile still warm, slice the rolls, cutting all the way through the scored cuts. ÂLay each piece cut side up on cookie sheet. ÂBake at 350° until toasty, turning once (about 7 minutes per side). Be careful not to over brown or burn the cookies. ÂCool thoroughly; store in airtight container.