I love beets. Especially ones fresh from the garden then roasted. Then there's Harvard Beets and pickled beets. I've been craving roasted brussels sprouts, but neither husband nor dd like them...dd used to, but now she's so anti-mom she's sworn off lots of stuff she used to like. Grits I learned to like when I was in Grad school in Billsburg, VA. I liked to go to the Chickahominy House to have a Virginian breakfast: eggs over easy, a slice of Virginia ham and grits, with a buttermilk biscuit. You could have redeye gravy, but I preferred to smush my eggs into the grits. Then there's egg/cheese/grits casserole. Cornbread is best slathered with butter, or drizzled with honey. I rarely do both anymore, but I used to. I brought rolls for the trip to MI to have Thanksgiving. I was up until 2:00 am on Thursday making them. I intended to make whole wheat "brown and serve" rolls, but I didn't hear the timer ding, and so in a panic, I baked them completely so I could taste test and make sure they were edible (they were, although some were big enough to be hamburger buns). For the young fry I made PIllsbury crescent rolls...as I know that dd and others prefer those. On the way home today she was munching on one and said "Oh, what is is that makes crescent rolls so yummy." "in a word," I said, "lots of fat." I have to say that driving up to Hastings, MI on Thursday morning was wonderful. A typical Michigan Thanksgiving day--misc. flurries and the sun breaking through glowering clouds over golden and russet fields which had been lightly frosted with a diamond dust. Breathtaking.

I still feel like I'm behind, though. Probably mostly because I SERIOUSLY cut back on my container count this year. I might have 40-50 perennials out there, and another 24 maybe in other stuff. My usual count is somewhere between 200-400+ I want to do a sale, but iffy on whether or not to do it; people are finicky...I did "ok" last year, but ignorant people snubbed their noses at the small (but full) containers of seedlings (3.50 per jug with up to hundreds of seedlings in it). Ok, so what should I do then? Have my sale in July when everyone's nursery plants are starting to fail miserably? Should I charge 10x as much in July as I would have in May/June in the seedling stage and charge them 3.50 for ONE rud or ONE petunia? (rolleyes). I really don't WANT to babysit containers until July...it's bad enough that I might not get all of my OWN planted out by then, but to have to make SURE that containers don't die...well, mid-July I'm off on other ventures...and when they're MINE..."I'll get to it, or I won't" and either way works. My veggie patch is still under construction (I build borderless raised beds); my onions will be here any day now... I feel like having ordered my toms so late that even a week in April is a lot of wasted germination time. I have mosaic projects not started or finished that I've committed myself to (another forum)...I just feel like I'm not getting anything done and time's a wastin' Maybe I'm just usually "early" and have everything out by now and this "lateness" that I'm feeling really isn't at all.

That is VERY interesting. And such an unexpected Xmas theme. I really like the bedroom mantle. Thank you for sharing such a unique idea. Sure fits with our Xmas in July we talked about a few weeks ago. Of course so far, no one has done a Xmas table to show. LOL. So you get the points for sure! hugs, Karen

David, I think it's perfect. If I'm one of the recipients it'll give me the whole weekend to eat the cookies I already have! Yes, I still have some left, but I won't by Monday, I'm sure. Annie