This may seem a little weird coming from a woman my age, but what comes to mind is a favorite song of mine from Van Halen's 5150 album..."Dreams". One of the lines from it says "we'll get higher and higher..." and that is what I envision my garden doing. The CD was released in 1986, the year I met my husband, and we used to listen to it on his boat. Mary

GGG ~ I'm sorry I got everyone to thinking you broke your toe. I knew you broke something. If you are a spaz, then so am I. (I haven't heard that word in years.) I slipped off a step from our front patio around 2000 and landed on one ankle then the other (as I landed on the sides of both feet with ankles on the underside if you get the picture.) and sprained both of them terribly. They still ache to this day, especially with chilly weather. I try to slow down and not be in such a hurry and to watch where I am going these days, but it is easier said than done. We live in an un-incorporated area, and developers are building condos, etc. In our county there are many, many mcMansions going up even out west of town. Some have horrible, pretentious entries. Some places no one is buying especially with the way the market is right now. Our neighborhood used to be mostly Finnish people, very quiet people. Now it is more of an ethnic mix and I don't really mind that at all. I enjoy hearing different music, games of vollyball, soccer, etc, in different languages, as long as it's not so loud you can't think or your body shakes with the vibrations late at night but the crime stinks. Gangs mark fences with their signs, etc. We have hedges with flowering plants out front, so they have not spraypainted us. Shootings have happened, a murder happened in the apt. complex to the east of us a month or so back. It can get scarey at times, but for the most part things are relatively quiet. We are lost in the crowd and that's the way we like it. What we really have a hard time with is the traffic noise out front. Hopefully they won't imminent domain our property like we've read about. They already did that with a depth of 15' across the front of our property when they widened the road from two lanes to five. Towns and developers can make life changes without batting an eye. For now, we'll live as peaceably as we can, where we are. Goodness, you have a full plate with all that's happening with you and yours. I hope your Mom feels better soon. Hope your DH's pinched nerve loosens up, and hope your DH's grandmother comes through her surgery well. Have a lovely Christmas ~ FlowerLady

Clare, I have but only when it was a light sourdough, not one with a strong sour dough flavour. That wouldn't appeal to me. Annie1971, this is the recipe I used for the Chocolate Bread. Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Chocolate Cherry Bread ====================== Posted by Carol: Chocolate-Cherry Bread Recipe from: Chocolate! Good Housekeeping Favorite Recipes by The Editors of Good Housekeeping Cookbook Heaven A not-too-sweet bread studded with bits of bittersweet chocolate and (tried tart cherries. We use Dutch-process cocoa instead of the more usual natural cocoa to give the bread a richer brown color. Prep: 20 minutes plus rising Bake: 20 minutes Makes 2 loaves, 12 slices each 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F) 1 package active dry yeast 3 teaspoons granulated sugar about 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 3/4 teaspoons salt 1 cup freshly brewed coffee, cooled until warm (105 to 115 degrees F) * 4 tablespoons butter or margarine,softened 1 large egg, separated 3/4 cup dried tart cherries * 3 squares (3 ounces) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped * 1 teaspoon water In cup, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, cocoa, brown sugar, and salt. With wooden spoon, stir warm coffee, butter, egg yolk (cover egg white and set aside in refrigerator), and yeast mixture into flour mixture. In bowl, with floured hands, knead several times to combine well. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, working in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour just to keep dough from sticking. Knead in cherries and chocolate. Shape dough into ball; place in greased large bowl, turning dough to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Punch down dough.Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half; cover dough and let rest 15 minutes for easier shaping. Shape each dough half into 5-inch ball. Using the sides of your hands, tuck sides of dough under to meet in center. Rotate and repeat to form taut ball. Place balls, 3-inches apart, in opposite corners of ungreased large cookie sheet. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. In cup, beat reserved egg white with water; use to brush tops of loaves. Sprinkle loaves with remaining 2 teaspoons granulated sugar. With serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, cut shallow X in top of each loaf. Bake until loaves are crusty, about 20 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.

I've never understood how "Editing" would work. For instance, if I say something and a few minutes later decide I should have said something else, then go back and change what I said, many others have already responded to the original, so doesn't that upset the apple cart? We need to be our own Editor. I do type my message in Word if it is a long message and then C&P it into the thread. Also, if you use your Spellcheck feature, you will see there is an error and can fix it, which BTW, eliminates the need for the SP? thingy I didn't see Pattie's error either. Sorry I missed it if it was humorous. If you are prone to typos, take a minute to correct it. What bothers me the most is the lack of punctuation, which makes a long message hard to decipher. I think we are fortunate to have this FREE, no ads, Forum. Sue