Sorry to be coming to this discussion so late. The recent thread relating to whether my WP on B9 stock was overloaded may be of interest: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/fruit/msg07143009442.html Today only about half of the apples remain on my tree. I selectively picked a few apples then to lighten the load of some small branches. Most of those picked apples tasted a bit starchy at the time. Each day I have been checking the tree, and find two or three apples on the ground. I also check some of the largest apples remaining on the tree, lifting and twisting them to allow them to release if they will. Each day two or three release easily. All the apples on this tree are a dark rich red, darker than any Red Delicious--no green at all. I must disagree with Dr. Cummins, who convinced me to buy this tree. My experience is that over a two week period, picking (or picking up) selected apples has resulted in a long period of wonderful fruit picking. These are among the most delicious apples I have ever eaten, far exceeding my expectations. The apples are crisp, full-flavored with a sweet/tart balance, and very juicy. The flesh exhibits some rose coloring in places. Even the apples picked off the ground are crisp and solid. The apples that escape my immediate apple-lust are chilled and eaten for dessert with the next meal. I thank forum members who sent me the links related to this apple's history. I did not realize that it is a relatively new variety. Bon appetite!

Oh Mel...are sure you want to get me started????? It's going to be LONG LONG LONG. It would distract you from your woes .... this house is a doozy and you'll think you're rolling in clover in comparison. (A lot of this story may sound pretty sad but it really isn't - we've gotten past most of the sad bits and we're determined to get the job done and live happily ever after) A little background on how the house got in such a state of disrepair. My parents bought the house in '63, in Carmel by the Sea, a pseudo rancher at the cutting edge of contemporary design. Not my forte but lots of folks would find it pretty cool. Just after I went off to college my parents moved to the middle east where my dad was Chief of Surgery in a hospital in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert for over 5 years - I spent an unbelievable 4 months out there but that's another story. While there they rented out the house which turned out to be a huge mistake. Upon their return the house was pretty trashed but my mom had just been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's and my dad spent every minute taking care of her rather than making repairs. My parents were in there 40's when they had my brother and me, so mother was in her early 60's when diagnosed but she had suffered a serious head injury in her 30's, so the Alzheimer's was not familial but due to the head injury - not uncommon. Mom took 11 years to die, and after that my dad wouldn't let any of us touch anything because it was the way my mother had had things. Really, it was very sweet on his part but it sure didn't help the house any. When ever one of us tried to do anything he quipped "it can wait until I'm dead". Well, you can guess the next part. Actually, daddy died at the ripe old age of 85 and the way he wanted. It was just after my husband and I had spent a week with him that he decided it was time to go - so he went, by sheer will power on his part as far as we can determine, in his favorite chair with a good book in hand. After my mom's slow and horrible demise I have to credit my dad for passing as he did. He had been a trauma surgeon for over 35 years and would have loathed having tubes in every orifice and/or being on life support. Still doesn't make it any easier but I understand. So then the house went into probate - dad still had my mom's name on the latest greatest will and the attorney's wouldn't let us touch a thing until recently. It will be two years in June since daddy died. Not only has that contributed to the problems but my brother, who is chronically ill with inoperable brain tumors (not malignant but needs regular chemo and radiation to keep them small) and now has Parkinson's (I KNOW - it sounds worse than any soap opera I know of but he still manages to work as an assistant golf pro) lived in the house keeping an eye on dad and continues to do so with a 160 lb Great Dane named Titus. Cleaning is NOT by brother's forte, so the house is not only falling apart - it's filthy. Okay, now comes the commute, destruction, and process of reviving a house that should sell for close to a million. Have you heard of anything so OBSCENE??? The one good thing is after paying of the mortgages (dad quit work to take care of mom) and splitting the profits, my brother plans to move east and buy a house - cash upfront - and will put the rest in a trust. If we see this thing through to the end he'll have enough to be able to live comfortably and without much worry. So how bad is the house?? I've been restoring beat up abused disgustingly dirty old houses since college and this one takes the cake. What's been a bright spot in all the despair is the tradespeople. Not only have they come to our rescue but charged us less because they knew my husband and I are doing most of the work ourselves. One corner of the foundation had collapsed and sunk almost a foot and the repair estimates initially came in at 75K to 36K. That kind of money would have been a huge chunk of our budget (I'm still paying dad's mortgages) and we would have had to sell the house pretty much as is. We then found Dave Potter, bless the man's soul, who not only raised and rebuilt the foundation but put in french drains all around the house to prevent any further damage, all for under 9K - 3K less than his lowest estimate. Same for our termite/structural contractor - he's letting us do as much as we can and will sign off on our work if it's done to code. Guess I must have done something right in a previous life. And boy is there work! HUGE 4X6" floor joists that are swiss cheese, holes in vinyl (yuck!) flooring and the 1 1/4" subfloors, the cork flooring throughout has completely disintegrated despite being covered with carpet for 40+ years, a tub and half a bathroom that is that close to falling into the crawl space due to water damage, 1970's paint that needs to be primed and redone inside and out, termite damage to outer sheathing and ceiling beams, kitchen and both baths that need to be gutted and rebuilt from the ground up, and a once beautiful garden that is nothing but weeds, except for a few diehard troopers, and now needs to be completely regraded and replanted. To make things even more difficult ...there's just so much of it. How's that for frightening? Feeling better? It's not ALL bad for we are now making progress. I quickly taught myself how to install hardwood flooring, showed my husband, and the two of us working together are making good progress. We've been painting what seems like forever - big rooms and lots of them with 16' vaulted ceilings. The plumber is redoing all the piping and he too has been WONDERFUL. They will be hooking and unhooking things in phases without charging extra, and working around my brother's living in the house. We've one bathroom gutted and I may be able to start tiling as soon as this weekend. We completely destroyed the kitchen last weekend - unbelievably therapeutic despite the 20 mummified rats under the cabinets. I hate to admit it but I ran when I saw the first one and refused to participate until they were removed. But my husband's running commentary on rat removal would beat any Jay Leno monologue hands down! We try to laugh as much as possible,luckily I'm married to the funniest person I've ever met and he keeps me smiling - even through the tears. After a little more drywall removal we can start on the kitchen. Lowe's told me that since I'm acting as General Contractor they'll give us a break on all the cabinets and appliances, tile, etc. so that will help as well. We've been pulling weeds and trimming trees so even the yard, can't call it a garden yet, is looking better than it has in years. Even my brother, as ill as he is, is trying harder and things are a little cleaner. All in all it will be worth it in the end. I get to use some of my creative skills outside the usual constrictions of restoration which is really exciting, and both my brother and I will be more financially secure. I'm sure daddy's smiling about that one, he really thought he was leaving us nothing. Barbara

Rosewitch, England was definitely one of my favorite places I have ever visited. My folks took me there when I was 14, and I remember bits and pieces the Crown jewels, walking amongst the Stonehenge stones (roped off now, vandalism), Stratford upon Avon. Time for me to take my own 14YO. Im trying to think how I can get over there for a whole summer, LOL. Dlynn, I could have worked so much more. I didnt really look at night time stuff and there was loads to do. Greece: cant help you, but shoot Yasou a line, she went a few years ago. LOL Annie! Teresa, well go together. I wanted to explore more cooking and food shops/stores but didnt get to. Terri, here is more a link to Pictures of England, a website pointed out to me by Denise. I started it on Bourton on the Water, where we stayed for a few days. Thanks Sharon, I was actually thinking how can I even come close to posting her quality of travel guides, I dont do the pictures she does LOL. We might have sat at the same table in the Cheshire Cheeses dining room! Sawdust still there, but we didnt make it to the cellar. I missed a lot of the British Museum. It has changed.check out the new atrium. I couldnt keep up with DH and DS16. Afternoons, when I planned museums, I crashed. Next time! Pam, lots of people did more than we did per day! Theater every night, more attractions, I cant imagine. Gina heh heh yeah I need another vacation like a hole in my head. Speaking of whichDH has another week off in August. Nooooooooo! Kathleen, DH says he took an average of 200 pictures a day. Yup. Me, I just buy the post cards or Google the images, same thing (DARFC from the photo bugs here) Cathy, thanks for giving me the War and Peace moniker heh heh. Next time I go with CF friends! LindaC, I know. Im still exhausted. Speaking of the V&A, did you know there was a Dale Chihuly chandelier in the entrance room?

We never knew much about my father's paternal ancestry, as his parents had divorced when he was young. But my brother was able to access ancestry information through his career, which made tracing our father's roots, far easier than any of the rest of us would have been able to access. He traced it back as far as the 1500's to my father's great great (I don't recall how many generations) grandfather in England. My father was the direct descendant of an Englishman named Robert Cushman, who was one of the men responsible for the Mayflower voyage to America. He had to de-board the Mayflower on it's first leg, before it crossed the Atlantic, but did get to America soon after, where he preached the first sermon at Plymouth Rock. Within 2 weeks, he left on what he thought would be a short return trip to England, to bring them a document that detailed the first explorations of where the Mayflower passengers had disembarked, and a description of the new settlement at Plymouth Rock. This document called 'The Relation' (now a very important 'first' American historical record) was safely brought to England, but unfortunately, Robert Cushman passed away from The Plague, before he could return to America, where he had left his 13 year old son, Thomas, in the care of Plymouth Rock's first Governor, William Bradford. Upon learning of his death, Governor Bradford adopted Thomas, but had him retain his surname of 'Cushman' in honour of his father, Robert. Thomas took over for the first elder of the church there, and held that position until his death at 85. His daughter Mary was the very last survivor of the Mayflower voyage. A monument at Plymouth Rock for Thomas Cushman, replaces the original plaque from centuries ago, for the Cushman family members, given in recognition of Robert Cushman's part in securing the Mayflower's voyage, and his family's involvement in many aspects of the first settlement, for its passengers, in the new colony. But the funny thing is, in the 1800's, some descendants of the original Cushman settlers, emigrated to Canada. So it was pretty surprising, after always assuming my father's family had come directly from England to Canada, many generations ago, to learn that upon leaving England, our family actually could not have been more American! http://massandmoregenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/11/thomas-cushman-ca-1607-to-1691-plymouth.html