Hi I mailed you the Genevieve Costoluto and other heirloom tomato seeds we discussed. The Sioux tomatoes I am growing are from this same group of seed packs. You are the first person I am sending Sioux tomato seeds and Indigo Blue Berries cherry tomato seeds. You should receive them on Monday. cottonwood/ragtime

I've picked up about 400 pumpkins since Hallowe'en. They make the best and richest compost we have when mixed with shredded leaves. We compost the seeds and everything. The moisture keeps the compost humming along. Pumpkins are big feeders..pigs..and all that nutrient goes into our garden. We compost most organics but pumpkins and shredded leaves are available in unlimited amounts and the two ingredients we can't imagine doing without.

One lesson that I have used over and over again is this: "Every room should have a surprise" It can be small, or big. Just something that someone who walks in might not be expecting. In my case, (we have a 2x4 island too) I hung a small Irish crystal chandy over the island. Most thought I was crazy when talking about this idea, but it really works in my space and it does give it that "surprise" that I needed. I also used the same light over the table with a sheer drum shade over it. This way my sparkle continued in the room. I always feel I don't want to spend the big bucks on anything risky--stuff I might want to change when it gets "old". So a backsplash that is popping wouldn't be my cup of tea. I can change my chandys without too much pain. Redroze--love the oranges--funny thing, I've got a bowl of them too decorating the kitchen right now. Love that pop of color. We get a giant box as a gift every Christmas, no way to eat them fast enough, so they accessorize for me. here is an "in progress" photo, still no paint on crown moulding and no backsplash yet... here is a shot to show you the chandy over the table, this is pre-floor, pre-paint, pre-lots of other stuff....

About grinding einkorn in a Vitamix.... Yes, IF you have the DRY BLADE CONTAINER, which is used for hard, dry materials, such as grain, and for kneading dough. The container the Vitamix comes with is the WET BLADE CONTAINER. I have a "bevy" of mills, but I teach classes on the subject and have purchased them over the span of many years. I can mill any type of grain/seed/bean from tiny teff and amaranth to dent corn and garbanzo beans. Personally, I wouldn't use a Vitamix (with the dry blade container) because it heats the flour too much, but if you already have the dry blade container, chill your grain in the freezer and only grind it in small amounts with the least amount of time for processing possible to keep it from getting too hot. The heat destroys nutrients. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COOKIE8 - I use your recipe for FLAX COOKIES you shared on the Cooking group from 5-12-2014 (which also requires ground pumpkin seeds). Your recipe above looks great, too. :-) I sprout pumpkin seeds to make them easier to digest, and look forward to trying the recipe. -Grainlady