We have no control over the seeds, but they all come from reputable seed companies - Johnny's Select Seeds, a couple organic seed companies (can't think of the names off the top of my head), etc. The various seed companies donate the seeds from the previous season that have "expired" and cannot be sold as this year's seeds to America the Beautiful Fund. ABF turns around and sells them in packs of 100 either flower vegetable or herb seeds to organizations like mine (Allen Garden Club). We give them away. The check is still not cashed. ABF even has a facebook page and I sent them a message there a couple weeks ago - no reply yet. At this point, I am not counting on getting those seeds or ever getting them. We will keep track of the outstanding check to see if it is ever cashed and if it is hopefully we will get our seeds.

From today's Yahoo news...the American Graffiti lifestyle IS fading... Consumer tastes are changing at a greater rate than ever before. Not surprisingly, the purchasing habits of the youngest generation present the most dramatic shifts � a reflection of what they find important. 24/7 Wall St. has identified eight popular products that the "Facebook generation" is not buying. Generation Y, generally defined as those born between 1980 and 1999, have lost interest in many of the services and products their parents found important. For example, younger Americans are less interested in cars. In 1998, 64.4% of potential drivers 19-years old and younger had drivers licenses. By 2008, that rate had dropped to 46.3%, according to the Federal Highway Administration. [More from 24/7 Wall St.: America�s Nine Most Damaged Brands] What young adults care about has shifted. A recent study by Gartner research revealed that, if forced to choose, 46% of all 18-to-24-year-old drivers in the United States would choose access to the Internet over access to a car. However, many products that have declined in popularity among the youth are more a result of the changing tastes across all ages than a generational shift. Examples include lower sales in traditional cell phones, maps and CDs. In 2002, compact discs had a more than 95% market share of music sales. In 2010, they had less than half. Various reports suggest this decline is the result of all age groups moving away from CD sales toward digital sales. 24/7 Wall St. has identified eight of the country�s most popular products that are losing favor, either solely among young adults or at a significantly higher rate among that group. To demonstrate these products� waning popularity, 24/7 reviewed data from a number of major research firms and government agencies. We looked at products in every major sector, including transportation, digital electronics, food, beverages and other miscellaneous consumer goods. 1. Email In 2010, at the launch of Facebook�s then-new messaging service, Mark Zuckerberg predicted the decline of electronic mail, stating that "Email is too slow � email is too formal." Time is proving Zuckerberg right. From December 2009 to December 2010, time spent using email by the 12- to 17-years-old age group dropped a tremendous 59%. In comparison, time spent using email by people 55 to 64-years-old has increased 22%, and it has increased 28% among those 65 years and older. 2. Beer Light beer has become to the current generation of youth what regular beer was just a few decades ago. In 1990, more Budweiser was sold than the top three light beers combined. Twenty years later, Budweiser has taken a backseat to Bud Light, which sold as much as the top four regular beers combined. The country has taken a major generational shift in favor of light beers, which now account for four of the five most popular beers sold domestically. As reported by St. Louis Today, Budweiser believes four out of 10 people in their mid-20s have never tried regular beer. In 1988, that rate was just 1.5 out of ten. Beer Marketer�s Insights editor Eric Shepard said when asked about young drinkers turning to light beer, "The heaviest beer drinkers are young males and that�s where the market had been going over the last decade or so." 3. Newspapers While readership rates for print newspapers are falling across the board, the country�s younger generation has abandoned the medium the most. As of 2010, only 7% of 18- to 24-year-olds reported having read a print newspaper the day before, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. This is the first time that figure has reached single digits. This age group also has among the highest rates of people reportedly receiving news through social networking sites or Twitter. [More from 24/7 Wall St.: The Six States Where Taxes Are Soaring] 4. Cars As recently as 1998, 64.4% of potential drivers ages 19 and younger had drivers licenses, according to the Federal Highway Administration. As of 2008, that amount had dropped to 46.3%. Additionally, 46% of drivers aged 18 to 24 report that they would choose Internet access over owning a car, according to research firm Gartner. People are also waiting longer to get their licenses. According to the University of Michigan�s Transportation Research Institute, in 1983 one-third of all licensed drivers in U.S. were under 30. Today, only 22% of drivers are under 30. Companies such as General Motors (NYSE: GM) have reached out to more youth-oriented advertising companies, such as MTV Scratch, to address this widening gap in their sales. 5. Landline phones Landline phones are losing popularity among Generation Y, who are becoming increasingly content with only having wireless phones. According to a report from the National Center for Health Statistics, 51.3% of Americans aged 25 to 29 lived in households with only wireless phones in the first six months of 2010. This is the first time the number of adults in wireless-only households has been greater than the number of adults in landline households for any age group. When looking at all ages combined, less than one-quarter of adults lived in households with only wireless phones. 6. Cigarettes Smoking rates among young people have historically exceeded those of the general population. Now that group is dropping the habit quicker than anyone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the share of people 18 to 24 years of age who were current cigarette smokers decreased by 17.6% from 2005 to 2010 � the largest decrease among any age group. The share among 45- to 64-year-olds dropped only 3.6%. The amount of Americans 65 and older who smoke actually increased 10.5%. [More from 24/7 Wall St.: The 10 Most Hated Companies in America] 7. Desktop computers Millennials are the only generational group to be more likely to own a laptop computer than a desktop. According to data from Pew Research Center, 70% own a laptop, while 57% own a desktop. By contrast, 64% of those aged 57-65 own a desktop, while only 43% own a laptop. Ranjit Atwal, research director at Gartner, states in LAPTOP Magazine that those in Generation Y simply "are not buying PCs as their first, or necessarily main, device." 8. Television Adults aged 18 to 24 watch less traditional television than any other age group in the country, according to Nielsen�s most recent Cross Platform Report. That group, on average, watches just under 24 hours per week. The national average is approximately 32.5 hours. One of the leading reasons for this difference is Generation Y�s relationship with the Internet. According to a report published in April 2010 by electronics review/research company Retrevo, 23% of those under 25 watch "most" of their television online, compared to 8% for everyone.

Yes, there is a garden club around here, and no, I am not a member. Years ago my husband and I visited Hortico nursery to see and ask about English roses. The people at the nursery sent us to the rose fields around the corner: "The boss is doing a tour for a garden club, just follow them". We found them and trailed around behind them. When all members had asked their questions, at the very end, I asked whether they had a particular rose growing there. Bill sent us to the end of the field, so we went over to look, careful to stay on the little path. As we were coming back, one of the club members came over and bossily told us that we were not supposed to stray. When I explained that the owner had allowed us to take a look there, he was still not pleased. We got back to the nursery, and in the shade there was a table with lemonade and glasses, and a stack of catalogues, enough for three times the number of people present. I was looking around for a cool spot on that hot day, not taking anything, when one of the ladies came up to us and told us curtly that the lemonade and catalogues were for members only. After that show of hospitality I decided that at least that garden club was not for me ;-).

Thank you all for sharing! So many of you have mentioned excellent books that I had not mentioned. The Historian, for example. Others, like Kristin Lavransdatter, I still want to read, have gone through the trouble to buy, and look at them every now and again as they wait patiently on my shelf. Frieda, I have read Collapse and found it hard to put down. That book formed the basis for many side books into the societies mentioned therein. I have Guns, Germs, and Steel; see note in above paragraph re: books waiting patiently. As for 1491, I KNOW I read it. I remember bits of it, but cannot find it listed in my book journal. I have searched back to 2001 and found nothing. This is odd as I find a perverse sort of satisfaction logging a book into my journal. I also read Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long and Strange (only 445 pages)which covers a bit of the same ground, but I do not believe I am confusing the two books. annpan, your post made my laugh. You've been robbed! Love it! I recently read the new Elizabeth George book. Most of her Lynley titles are doorstops. But I cannot truly put any of them on a "fan club" list. They were okay, some better than others, but nothing I truly remember, nothing that was thought-provoking. And this last one felt choppy, disconnected, and just plain "off". PAM