Revilo, I started germinating my seeds a couple days ago. I filed the seed edges(except the tip of course), and soaked them in 3% hydrogen peroxide for 6 hrs. Then I put them in moist paper towels covered by a baggie. I provided heat with a heating mat. Results so far: 945.5 Sherwood 03 -- it sprouted and I planted it in a pot. 901 Hebb 02 --ditto 953 Langevin X 1260 Weir(a Connolly cross that I grew my 615 lber. from last year)--ditto 940 Mombert 00-- one is in the process of sprouting, and one hasn't shown signs of sprouting yet. My tentative cross plans are(I stress tentative): 945.5 Sherwood X 940 Mombert 00(or 901 Hebb) 940 Mombert sibbed both ways. 901 Hebb X 940 Mombert 00 Connolly cross X 940 Mombert The 945.5 Sherwood will likely get the best growing spot. I look forward to hearing how you do this year Rivilo. I'm rooting for you. I hope you have a lot of fun in the process. Douglas

Well, I guess we can't complain much about the weather, or neighbors to the north and west have had it so bad. We've had a snow/slush mix for several days, only accumlation is on the deck, and windbreaks in the pasture. Horses decided they needed a different pasture, so the onery one just pushed her bulk against the gate till it gave way.Only benefit is, they dont want hay now. On another forum , a poster in N.Y said she was still paying 1.00 per square bale. Did you get your stitches out, Gldno? Did everyone have a nice Christmas? Its so nice to see new posters, and former ones coming back, missed you even if I dont know you personally, keep posting. Do you like a journal type entry? William, I'm in trouble!! The site I mentioned Gary Ibsens Tomato Fest, wants a 15.00 order!! Do you know how many tomato seeds that would be?? And I SIMPLY MUST have San Marzeno Redorta, and Long Tom, so guess I'll be adding to storage seeds. And then!!LOL--did you see Tangerine Mama in Burpees? Yes, my name is-------- and I'm addicted to growing, tomatoes especially. And, Hope springs eternal, I'm going to try yellow, purple, and green cauliflower again--just not so much. I cut my garden down some last year, told myself that at my age, I didnt need so much--but myself dont listen to me in the spring!! I find myself admiring how well the beds are looking, with the leaves mounded over them. Gldno, I read another Catherine Coulter book yesterday, F.B.I series, the sheriff finally found his wife (from a previous book) It was "Double Take". I've also read James Patterson's "Quickie" and Sandra Browns "Play Dirty" With all this mixture falling from the sky, its either gaze wistfully out the window at the garden, or curl up by the fire with a good book--or a seed catalog. Got territoral yesterday, Havent gotten Baker Creek, despite complaining, so guess they wont get a order. Oh, and I must tell you about my Christmas Turkey!! It was PURPLE!! I was ready to put it in the oven when I noticed under the skin, the entire bird was purple! It didnt have a off smell, just like a raw turkey, so I apprehensively went ahead and cooked it. When it came out, it did have a off odor, so it was buried deep. No, really, I didnt cook Barney, as some suggested. Good thing we were going to daughters for dinner. Everyone stay safe for the New Yesr.

Hi guys, I can't thank you all enough for your help! The cake came out beautifully, I'll see if I can get pics uploaded tonight. The starburst was a big hit and the starburst balloons were great, and easy. I used scissors to cut them into the shapes & then piped the strings on. Then scattered colored sprinkles over the whole top of the cake. William was delighted with his cake, the cake itself was delicious. Stacy- I made the strawberry filling from frozen berries and used your friend's cream cheese frosting recipe with twice as much cream cheese and butter but only the 1 lb of sugar (mainly because that's all that I had) and it was just the right amount of sweetness for the cake. The starburt balloons prompted lots of discussion on what other candy would work...things like fruit roll ups (or do they still make those square sheets of "fruit leather"?) or airheads (which are supposedly like starburts only already flat). So now, if I've got to make another balloon cake for the kid's party on Saturday I'm not afraid! This sort of cutting out shapes as decorations will work out well for me because while I have a steady hand for drawing, painting or glass cutting I seem to be having some sort of fit whenever I try to decorate with icing. Kathleen- I think that I'll try to get to the WS outlet this Sunday. I wonder if Woodbury will have them? And thank you all for the compliments on my little guy. I can't believe he's 4! Still every bit as cute, just a lot bigger. Nna

Looks like this thread motivated a lot of people! I've had the bake stone that came with our Wolf DF range sitting in a box for nearly a year. After reading about Trailrunner's pizza party and various other pizza successes on GW, I figured what the heck, it was time to dig out that bake stone. Used the link to "A Pizza Primer" on the Fresh Loaf site. Made two pies that were very good (froze the remaining two dough balls for our next attempt) but would like to improve the crust next time (need it thinner and crisper)as well as getting the dough to the stone more easily. Couple of questions for those who use their bake stone frequently. First, we had some trouble getting the dough off the peel and on to the hot stone. No surprise there, seems to be the tricky part! Used a lot of flour on the peel, but still had issues. What technique do you use to transfer the pie to the stone? Is pre-baking the crust quickly (a la Trailrunner) the way to go? Second, after baking and cooling the stone is blackened in spots (to be expected). I cleaned it as per the instructions (scraper, then damp cloth when completely cooled) but wonder - will the residue smoke on its next use? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. Looking forward to more pizza and breads (soon!).