Elkwc, there is a saying that I fall back on often: "Don't judge the message by the messenger". While SSE certainly has some PR & customer service issues, they are still accomplishing great things. Nowhere else is the diversity of our food heritage so widely available. We can quibble over what is meant by "available", and how, and at what price... but the point is, for thousands of varieties, SSE represents salvation from extinction. The buck stops here. The 2007 Yearbook is out... and much to my surprise (and probably Kent's as well) it has the highest number of unique varieties ever listed in SSE's history! 12,920 varieties are being offered by 726 listing members (those who offer seed). After several years of setbacks, this is encouraging. Even if we assume that 5-10% of the listings are duplicates under different names (which is not unreasonable), this is still a huge number. And once again, Heritage Farm - which is the SSE organization itself - listed itself as the source for a large number of those varieties (2199 to be exact). You will note that this is a major increase over the 1700 varieties they offered last year, so they are making a greater effort to get seeds out of their vaults, and into the hands of gardeners... which is, after all, the purpose of the organization. Consider how difficult it is to grow that much pure seed; it's a tremendous accomplishment, on a scale no one else can match. The increase alone - 500 varieties - is more than the total offerings of virtually any seed company. It kind of puts things in perspective. And incidentally, lest you think that SSE headquarters competes with its membership... if any other member lists a particular variety for exchange, SSE will not list it, even if it has seed to offer. In a current thread, a GW member was searching for pole wax beans, and expressed frustration with how few were offered commercially. SSE members offer 33 varieties this year, from around the world. To me, this speaks volumes. So my advice to those who have expressed discouragement is... give it a chance. As you learn the ropes & begin to utilize all that SSE has to offer, you may see it in a different light. It is an invaluable resource. My own gardening experience has been enriched immensely; not only by the seeds offered, but by the opportunity to network with other gardeners of like mind. It is, in many ways, very much like GW... what you get out of it, may depend upon what you bring into it. ;-)

First time poster but once I saw this thread just had to post. HANDLE ALL BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS PERSONALLY, CHECK UP ON YOUR BUILDER and know exactly which companies they use so that you can personally check the invoices and accounts :) Speaking from experience, a horrible, terrible experience. We began construction in April 2010 using a Highly recommended builder who was also our Uncle's cousin. We interviewed some of his old clients, some of his current clients, no problems. After we felt confident we signed the contract, got our plans and he began construction. He was professional (receipts, permits etc), the house was coming up in a timely manner and about 3 months in we get a call from the cement company wanting their bill paid. Then we get a call from the Electrician, then the Hvac, then the plumber, lumber company etc....all wanting their money to the tune of $50,000. Then the calls from his other current clients start coming in.... he did the same thing to them. About this time is when he disappears and leaves us with the mess. Remember this was a relative w/ a good reputation. We thought we took every precaution, receipts from him saying everything was paid and only gave him the exact amount he asked for by using a construction loan with a draw type acct...never gave any extra. But he was using our money to cover his other projects since he had went in debt on them too. For some reason the lumber, cement and other companies were STILL giving him in store credit even though he had hundreds of thousands overdue. In court for two years since they tried to sue him but that pond was dry (took his land, house, vehicles everything) but money was still owed so they tried to come after us. Thankfully our receipts, recorded phone calls and misc info saved us. We plan to build again in the future but will personally manage all the money and have a tight reign on everything that happens throughout the building process. And he was "jacking up the invoices" too, by about 40%.... never, ever again will I trust any builder with paying my construction bills. Did I mention we had to replace our roof shingles because they were installed wrong and rotted the wood around the edge? And had to replace the showers because noone waterproofed the walls or sealed the drain so black mold set in? Don't expect inspectors to catch everything either.... Our situation is definitely in the minority but these horror stories do happen.

I made the "Marlenetini" and liked this one too! I used the cherry vodka I had so plain vodka may be a little different as far as taste. I like the splash of Ginger Ale as it gives it some froth and I used the rest of the small can of pineapple & shook it all up. This filled up my martini glass along with some crushed ice. So, another keeper! I'll look for the small cans /bottles of cranberry juice to use with the one you posted. Here is what sounds like a good one to serve for summer parties & you could leave out the vodka. Just found this. From..countrydoor.com Strawberry Slush one 46 oz can pineapple juice one large can frozen lemonade, thawed 1 tablespoon almond extract four- 16 oz. pkgs. frozen strawberries, thawed ( I would prob. put these in the blender a bit myself) one pint vodka (optional) Use a large bowl or an empty plastic ice cream pail. Mix all ingredients well. Put in container, cover, and freeze. Scoop slush into individual glasses and add 7-UP or Sprite.

I just remembered an incident that took place at a local grocery store a couple of months ago. I wanted to buy some of the loose salad mixture in the produce department (radicchio, romaine, frisee, etc.). Couldn't find a pair of tongs, which is usually setting on top of the greens. I looked around for a while, thinking someone might have moved it, but I still couldn't find it. So I went to an employee who was putting out some fruit and asked her where I might find it. She said that the health department said they couldn't put it out anymore because if a customer dropped it on the floor and just picked it up and put it back, it would be dirty/contaminated. I asked her how I was supposed to pick up the greens. She said that she had been suggesting to customers to use a plastic bag - put your hand in it and use it like a glove. Of course, that would work, but I wonder how many people bothered and really just picked it up with their hands. Even though I would wash the greens, this just somehow turned me off. Seriously, the health department thought it would be cleaner to NOT provide tongs?