dimitrig, I am beginning to question where I picked up the meaning of UP! It could not have been in elementary school because of course we learnt many place names in Swedish. I remember now that Lake Superior was Oevre Sjoen (Upper Lake) in school so at first I didn't connect when I heard the English for it. I may have read about UP in a newspaper when I spent 6 months in Madison, WI, in 1981. Pasties are Cornish and not known in Sweden at all. I've tried them once in England under the name Cornish pasty and will not order any again, too bland. The Finns have a similar pasty, Karjalan piirakka, an open rye dough pie stuffed with boiled rice, and eaten with egg butter (soft butter with chopped hardboiled eggs and dill leaves). Salmon may be added to the rice for a de luxe version. Climate zones in the US and northern Europe are not comparable but I put my zone at 5b after the lowest average minimum winter temperature. We have our own zone chart with 8 zones but it is concerned only with tree hardiness and was originally made for apple growers. The Gulf stream affects the climate in the whole of Scandinavia, most of all in Norway, of course. The most important difference is that summers in northern Europe are much shorter and cooler than in continental USA, mainly because you have your long wonderful autumns and summer heat. Some roses don't grow well enough in summer and succumb easier when struck by cold in the fall. Our winters are not quite as cold as in Wisconsin and southern Ontario, the only areas in North America where I've spent winters. I live exactly on the 59th parallel, 50 miles from the Baltic coast. No sea influence but we have a fairly large lake in the village that makes some difference in the fall. Last night was the coldest yet this winter, -26C and it will be as cold again on Friday. Now, at 2 pm it is -11C, bearable but still too cold for me who don't have to venture outside. It's great to be retired! The garden is completely covered in snow, only trees and taller shrubs and ornamental grasses are visible. We had a thaw recently so it's difficult to estimate the depth of the snow cover but I guess about a foot, more in shade where the old snow still stays, less in areas protected from the wind by trees. I've just looked out of all the windows of the house and noticed that Sutter's Gold is dangerously exposed. Perhaps I should shovel some snow over it. I guess I will have to cut a lot come spring. I hope this gives you an idea of our climate? Marianne in Sweden Here is a link that might be useful: Karelian pies

Yardman -- I got an e-mail I think was from you, but my computer blipped as I was reading it, and it was lost, apparently forever. I think you were asking what kind of out-of-zone stuff I've got outdoors. Well, the short list is: agapanthus, alstroemeria, crinums, pineapple lilies, Southern magnolias, a Giant Sequoia, lots of bamboos of various kinds, Ruscus, and I'm sure others, but they escape me at the moment. I'm overwintering a lot of various palms in the greenhouse, packed in with foamboard, fiberglass, and dry leaves, supplemented with CFC lights, and I ran the little electric space heater five or six nights so far, ran my bill up about $25 over the regular amount, which I can afford. Andyandy -- Musa basjoo overwintering indoors -- all the time, my friend. Bananas are easy to overwinter indoors. I stick mine down in the basement in late October in total darkness, don't water them at all, and ignore them until April. I've got like 9 or 10 of them, including Basjoo, and have been doing this for five or six years. In that time, I've lost two of them to rot. Of course, if I had the room to keep them going as houseplants, that would work to, but I don't, so I just store them like giant bulbs.

The posting window appears strange. I am having trouble in that all words keep on going right past the advertisements to the left of the page, so this post may well resemble one typed on a typewriter with the return carriage. We are being hit hard. Husband left for office at 6:30 and it was clear. He was hopeful - I was not - no way am I that lucky! Can't even see the car. Our Eskie of course loved eating the snow and scarfing down as much as possible before I dragged him back in. I am not even going to try and shovel until the snow stops otherwise it would be pointless. I did brush off the gas meter though because it was already seriously covered and there are so many wires. I chopped as much ice as possible on Mon. and Tues. but some of it was just too thick. I too took shovels full of water from the sidewalk in front of our house where it slopes right next to the electrical gizmo that I avoid due to the dog and possible electrocution. It gets very icy - hence my concern about someone falling. Then there is the catch basin - not in front of our house - that I am going to have to deal with. It is just being able to dig down deep enough to find it. If I don't OUR sidewalk gets totally flooded. The City knows about it - they have seen me in action but no action has been taken - not a surprise! Yes, the potholes are a nightmare. I found a new one the other day that was almost a sink hole - and it hadn't been there 2 days earlier. Fortunately I missed it because I actually watch the road - otherwise I would have had major tire/rims/undercarriage damage to the car. The sidewalk plows have not come by - usually they do just after I have shovelled and manage to make our situation worse by dumping a lot of the snow from "those that do not shovel" on to our sidewalk. I was so annoyed the other day that I rolled down the car window and yelled at a woman who was moving all of her snow right into the centre of the road. The edge of the road - go for it - despite the fear of fines that are handed out to just some people - but not to the centre of the road making things even more treacherous than they already are. But then we don't break the law - look where that gets us! Seriously, if my ticket to NY was a points seat I would cancel it and pay the $100 reinstatement fee - but sadly it was a seat sale purchase. The fellow who comes from a service to check the house and car (necessary) doesn't shovel and kids sure don't. The fellow across the street has a 14 year old son who stays with him on the weekends. He had hoped that his son would help him shovel - forget it - the kid stayed inside texting. I am afraid that I would not be able to deal with the entitements of kids today. Now if only the dog could shovel - other than shovelling the snow down his throat! He could clear an area fast but of course suffocate in the process. I do appreciate your offer to shovel - now if only you lived in Toronto. Keep safe. I hope that Cherryfizz doesn't get hit too hard and that you don't get more than you bargained for. Guess who wants to go out again. No wonder - drink a ton of water, eat snow, come in, drink again - rinse and repeat.

But, oh, Santa is bringing loads of snow for our Christmas ski trip to Steamboat Springs! Snow totals are already surpassing historic averages for the entire month of December with more to come. DD lives in Steamboat full time and reported that it was really dumping this morning. We will arrive Friday and according to our SIL we always bring more snow with us. My mom will be visiting for the first part of the trip and I probably won't get much skiing in until she leaves, but I can't wait just to be there! If I see Santa I'll be sure to send him your way.