Oh hey, Jeri, just saw you posted after I replied. I was planning on ditching that weird thatch of growth on CI, so good to hear your thoughts are in this line----unfortunately- SBP, doesn't have much else going on, so I will leave it to do what it will this summer and let it die back in winter. Our climate is not really ideal for roses in--- 50 percent of our winter days are above freezing, and nearly every night is below. Some times we get to the high 40s for a while with sun, then head back below 20. Over and over. This excessive freeze thaw cycling doesn't seem to bother the Austins and old roses, but the HTs are harder to keep alive and growing larger than in zone 4 montana where it freezes and stays frozen. My mom grew an unprotected (no mulch no nothin) Double Delight with the graft a good 4 inches above ground for 20 years- blooming it's head off and growing a massive root system like driftwood before a very early freeze (went from 60s to 5 degrees in late October) took it and many old trees with it.

kayskats - Yes, the "police" do show up at farmer's markets and farm stands, the state Dept of Ag can show up anytime (and have for several other vendors) to do a "surprise" inspection at your home kitchen, and yes, I do have to show my certification before I can sell at my quite small market (less than 30 vendors on any Saturday). The state also shows up to ensure that weighing scales have been calibrated within the last year, but that is another story. If you are caught selling BWB canned acidified foods when you do not have the cert. or are selling other stuff you shouldn't be (low acid, pressure canned, refrigerated, etc.), the Dept of Ag and the FDA could inflict very severe penalties on you and your market. We homegrown sellers have to follow pretty much what the rules are for commercial operations. One size fits all, US wide, but some states have lesser rules for farm stands and farmer's markets than my state does. Best to check with your Cooperative Extension office in your county and if they don't know, go on to your State Dept. of Ag. One comment one of my co-student's made was that if he didn't know what the rules were he would be safe from penalties. I don't think I'd buy anything from him, would you? Yes, please ask the sellers HOW their stuff was processed and if their kitchen was inspected, etc. We are consumers and should protect ourselves from bad stuff we might ingest. I even walk out of restaurants with a food grade less than "A". ksrogers - I think dry cured meats are regulated by another mega agency, the USDA. One of the vendors at my market raises cattle and hogs for cuts of meat he sells. He threw up his hands at the regs for slaughtering, curing, and/or freezing and now has a co-packer do it for him and THEY have to handle the USDA inspections and process filings which are really intense. >>I wouldn't go so far as to say that cured meat has no safety issues, because they do!Yes, I know, I make regular strawberry jam that is heated, but sadly it is not nearly as tasty as freezer jam. Horseradish, a low acid food, is not exactly stable and the pH acidification cannot be measured outside a food science lab according to my instructor, and that is why I can't sell it. It is not heated or pasteurized to eliminate bacterias, molds, and toxins, and "sealing" only means screwing on the cap. Refrigeration and acidification keep it stable and unable to grow the bad stuff because of refrigeration. That is also why it is sold refrigerated and you are admonished on the label to keep it refrigerated after opening. Commercial processors ship in refrigerated trucks from refrigerated manufacturing and storage facilities, and they go directly to the refrigerated section of the grocery store. That is something that can't be duplicated in a home processing environment or at an open-air market. Also, adding more vinegar doesn't necessarily make it safer because we can't measure the pH of the horseradish's vegetable interior at home, and with pH meters and test strips all we are doing is measuring the vinegar's pH. BTW - shelf stable jams and jellies are exempt from these regs because they have low water activity and a low pH. Since they are also packed at high temperatures, they are not likely to harbor harmful food borne illness organisms. Molds are the most likely bad thing to form but that is usually from not having sterilized the jars or not heating the lids enough (or, dirty hands packing them, airborne dust in a room with a fan, using overly ripe or moldy fruit, etc. etc.). I can sell as many variations of jelly and jam as I want at market. Without a cert. but with a kitchen inspection. Nancy

Sorry, we actually have 'Memories of Dorothy', and it's planted, of course, right in front of Hostas 'Dorothy'. Please wish us luck, Hosta 'Dorothy' is showing all sorts of tree root invasion issues, and will have to be dug out and probably potted up for rescue, not always successful. Pray for her, please, since she's the momma plant of my Wife's wonderful plant Hosta 'Beauty Queen': fwiw, and thanks for a cool thread! hh

cjc123, sabjimata, flwrs-n-co, jkom51, mtnrdredux thanks! We are really enjoying the new space. It is so much more functional and easy to work in. Ginger25 and jenhp: "Blizzard" is warmer than the pure white or organic white from Caesarstone. I think it works better with the rusty Danby marble than those purer whites. Here are some closeups of the Caesarstone, as requested (these are in artificial light): You have to get REALLY close up (3 inches in this case) to see the fine speckles. From farther back but as close as a foot, it reads solid white: Elba1, the uppers are 37 inches tall. The trim between the cabinets and ceiling is under 2 inches, just enough to tie the cabinets to a little bit of a crooked ceiling. There is also a 1 inch light rail underneath the uppers, to hide the under cabinet lights. The ceiling is 8 feet. I thought about incorporating some glass, but I wanted to avoid breaking up the space, for a more contemporary look. If my ceilings were higher, I would have considered a top glass section as well!