It was 60 degrees here this morning and I worked in the garden for couple of hours. First, I picked okra and blackeyed peas, having already picked tomatoes for a long time last night. I had to use the ladder to get all of the Tess's Land Race Currant tomatoes because that cage is 8' tall, and the plant has gone all the way to the top of it and then back down again. Today I am going to dehydrate small tomatoes and make salsa with the large ones, but I did spend time weeding and mulching the fall veggies until we got the phone call to come see the cougar in the trap. It wasn't a cougar...but that's a story on a different thread. I do not want an early freeze....no, no, no, no, no! This is the first year in ages we've had enough moisture in July and August to have a good fall garden and I want for it to last a while. I do have some floating row cover frost blankets that give 8 degrees of protection, so I might be able to get some plants through the first cold night or two. Then, if we had a few weeks of Indian Summer, we'd still get production. I can't believe some of you had temps in the 40s! That's just crazy. The Farmer's Almanac does forecast a very cold winter, but I haven't seen the Old Farmer's Almanac yet....and the NWS forecasts an El Nino, so that should mean a lot of rain beginning around December. I was cold enough at 60...not ready for 40-something, so y'all keep that cold stuff up there! Dawn

My kitchen is under construction and cabinets and counter are installed and now I see things that are "off". Just realized yesterday that the sink is off about an inch from the window. Too late though. It's things no one will notice and if they do I'm sure they won't mention it to me. With the exception of my OCD sister of course. LOL The main thing I learned in building a house is you can't trust anything that is on paper!! I measured, marked and remeasured that darn kitchen and in the end things are still a little off. We didn't have custom cabinets so that had a little to do with the final outcome, but it's really not a big deal. Having my new house is far more important than a kitchen that is "off" a tad. Those few inches here and there are not going to bother me, but than again I can't speak for how they will bother you. I've learned that before I get totally freaked out over a small error, I ask myself, is this something I would notice in someone's else's house. If I wouldn't, I feel no one is really going to notice it in mine. As far as the sink being a bit off, I have so many other pretty things going on in my house, I really don't think the kitchen sink is going to be the focal point and focus of people who visit. Not unless they have a hankering to do dishes. Good luck. I hope you can get this resolved to your satisfaction.

My husband and I love this show. Yes, he comes across as crude but if you've seen his other show - Kitchen Nightmares - you'll see another side of him. He genuinely does care. I think he's deliberately hard on these contestants to see how they react under pressure. And keep in mind - the winner is going to have a job as Executive Chef for some very classy restaurant, and Gordon Ramsay's reputation is on the line over the person who fills that job. He can't afford to send someone in there who can't cut the mustard (so to speak). Like the guy the other night who caved and just quit. He'll never be able to stand the pressure inside a high volume, highly demanding, fast paced kitchen. We love Top Chef too! But that's a different story. Hell's Kitchen is seeking a great manager. Top Chef is seeking a great chef.

Of the four finalists they were the best two choices but Jay is the most qualified. They didn't catch him on one sabotage attempt. He has been an under-the-radar top performer all season. However most qualified hasn't always been the deciding factor. Considering the "chefs" coming back to assist them in the showdown it's going to be a tough choice as to who (or is it whom?) they choose and how they perform. The assistants are pretty much all poor cooks. But it should still be interesting to see how each deals with it.