lies? truth? this really is driving me insane..I leave to pick up the kids in a couple minutes from school..I'm going to have to ask my son what he thinks, he is so good at riddles. He solved that one from Einstein, that supposedly only 2% of people can solve..he did it in 10 minutes!

Janice, Ah, yes, I remember it well. I remember telling you that it was tagged as an Iron Gate Delight, but that I was never sure about that diagnosis, even though all the others where I bought it that had the same tag looked the same. The pictures of the Iron Gate series at the HL are pretty unconclusive, but I just don't see a match. (IGD is supposed to be streaked, BTW) Anyway, here is the little fella I gave you just a day or two before I unceremoniously pushed a shovel under his roots and jerked him out of the ground by his petioles. I remember how you cringed while I just let him kinda dangle there!! I'm telling ya, I thougt you were either going to scream or beat me, the way I mishandled him. (OK, I think of most hah-stas as female, I don't know why I am calling this one a he?) And here is the other half that I had just found a home for. In your pic, you have the caption "Who am I?". I don't know who it is, but I know what it is - it's dying!! What I don't understand, Janice, is why you're trying to kill yours!!!! Look how little and scrawny it is!! I know you are growing it in the shade, but gee-wiz. . . Here is another pic of mine from the same spot and same settings. . . any two leaves would completely cover the younger version!! To put that in perspective, here is a wider view with my size 12 work shoe. . . You need to stop by so I can share some of my hostaroids (hosta steriods) with you!!! lol (Actually, I really like the layered look yours has, instead of mine which is all scrunched up, and the colors on your are way cool. ) Anyway, I hope we can find out what it is. I am going to pay attention to the flowers this year. That might give a clue. Your Friend, George :-)

LindaB, I hope you're still lurking out there. Though I love family gatherings, my husband does not, so I often go to weddings, funerals, family and friend functions and the like alone. When I arrive, my hosts and their guests demand to know why Hub is absent AGAIN! It's been like this for 42 years. Sometimes I don't want to go because I don't want to face the firing line again, but I always enjoy myself when I do. On the other hand, in the last few years Hub has become a wonderful, attentive host, attending to our guests needs and comforts like no other. He is a marvelous conversationalist in our home, but in someone else's, trying to make small talk, he is extremely uncomfortable. We have several dinner parties and a big bash or two a year. Maybe he's being standoffish as LindaC suggests, but I don't think so. It is who he is. Nothing can change that. I wish I could give you advice on how to handle your family, but I haven't any. Even though I've lived with Hub all these years, I'll never understand his reluctance (refusal)....I love family functions, Hub does not. It's a simple as that. As long as you continue declining with grace, be comfortable with yourself and your decisions and let the rest of them work it out for themselves. Sherry

Oak, I made a batch of these pecans for a New Year's Eve party. I'm glad I didn't make them ahead of time because I couldn't stop nibbling them as they sat there drying. They were wonderful. Two notes, I made it with 3 cups of pecan halves. I wish I had had a bigger cookie sheet to spread them on, and I wish that I had used more butter to grease the pan. Ground cloves would seem to work better than whole cloves. I only had whole cloves and tried to chop them, but couldn't get them fine enough and as a result, I occasionally got a clove stuck in my teeth. No one at the party complained.