Skybird, unless your were looking for medicinal herbs, I don't think you are in the "Dark Ages." Ha, ha! I guess saying that could be taken 2 ways! What I mean is, the WayBackMachine shows that Horizon Herbs didn't have internet sales until 2002. Then they used the logo: "Strictly Medicinal Seeds, Plants and Roots" until they seemed to drop that in 2005. Perhaps, they were anticipating selling vegetable seed. Which, they began to do in 2008 while consolidating some of their "herbs" under that rubric. I will enjoy looking at their offerings. In fact, this outfit is just a hop and skip from where I grew up in the Rogue River Valley of Oregon. I left nearly 50 years ago, however. I was going to tell you about another seed company in the Horizon Herbs neighborhood: Peters Seed & Research. But, I went to their website and it says: "Peters Seed is Canceled." That's fairly straight-forward. They's gone . . . Well, another that's a little further up the line is Peace Seeds in Corvalis but I haven't been able to figure this one out lately. The website is registered in CHINA!! Okaaaaay . . . The Peace Seed website has a large collection of links to other seed companies! I don't know if the Chinese are keeping it current . . . There was another company in this neck of the woods (southern Oregon, not China ;o) but I can't remember its name. I wanted to order some things but waited a month or 2 too long. They went out of business, also. As far as Asian greens go, I'm always thinking that I should order from www.agrohaitai.com in Canada. Usually, I buy from Kitazawa. I appreciate that they seem to be around year after year, month after month. Evergreen Oriental Seed Company surprised me in 2010 by not taking orders from March to July this year!!!! Then, they came back online! Steve Here is a link that might be useful: Peace Seeds

Oh Colleen, I'm sorry to hear that. I know quite a few who have had shingles and everyone suffered to some degree. I pushed DH to get the shot last year and IIRC, the bill was close to $200 at the Dr's office. And of course our incredibly short-sighted, but oh so high priced PPO from Blue Shield (AKA B.S. for obvious associated reasons)reimbursed us $0. I guess in the insurance company's wacked worlds, they would rather pay for the disease than for the immunization. Sheesh! I'm crossing my fingers and saying a prayer that I don't get it before I turn 60 and can get the shot. I too had the smallpox vaccination and have the crater to prove it! Take care and feel better soon!

That stew does look good, doesn't it. I've copied and pasted. You could always just lay them on a pan full of stuffing and bake them, like stuffed pork chops but with the stuffing outside. Teresa's Pork and Apple Stew is really good too, I had it at Nancy's along with sweet potato biscuits. Yum. Huron Country Pork Stew 2 pounds boneless pork butt or shoulder All-purpose flour, for dredging 4 slices bacon, coarsely chopped 12 small white onions, peeled 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices 1/2 cup diced celery 4 Granny Smith apples (peeled and cored), diced 1-1/2 pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and quartered 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme 1 cup apple cider 1 cup chicken stock Salt and freshly ground black pepper Trim the pork of excess fat and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Place the flour in a shallow bowl and dredge the pork cubes in the flour. Spread the pork cubes out on a board to allow flour to dry while you render the bacon. Place bacon in a Dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan over medium heat and saute until it begins to render its fat. Brown all the pork cubes on all sides, a few at a time. Remove pork from the pan and reserve. Remove all but 2 tablespoons bacon fat. Place the onions, garlic, carrots and celery in the pan and saute until the onions are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Return the pork to the pan and add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to a simmer and simmer, loosely covered, for 1 hour or until the pork is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve. Serve with hot cornbread or biscuits. Note: If you prefer a thicker sauce, whisk 1/2 cup of the sauce together with 1 or 2 tablespoons flour. Stir this mixture back into the Dutch oven and cook for an additional 7 to 10 minutes, or until sauce is thickened and the flour is cooked. Serves 6 You could also brine them and cook like a pork roast. I really like this recipe from Cooking Light. Cider Roasted Pork Loin 3 cups water 3 cups apple cider 1/4 cup kosher salt 1 tbls black peppercorns 1 tbls coriander seeds 1 bay leaf 2 additional cups apple cider 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 1/2 tsp chopped fresh sage 1/8 tsp ground black pepper Combine the first 6 ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil, stirring until salt dissolves. Remove from heat and cool. Pour brine into a plastic bag or container, add pork, seal. Refrigerate 8 hours (overnight is too long), turning bag occasionally Preheat oven to 350. Bring 2 cups of cider to a boil in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Cook until cider has thickened and reduced to 1/4 cup (about 15 minutes). Set aside. Remove pork from bag, discard brine. Place pork on rack of broiler pan, lightly coat pork with a little cooking spray (I skipped this and the herbs still stuck). Combine rosemary, sage and black paper, sprinkle evenly over pork. Bake at 350 1 hour for a 2 lb. boneless loin, longer for bigger cuts. Baste at least twice with the cider reduction during the last 20 minutes of cooking. Remove from oven, baste with remaining cider reduction. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. 8 servings, 200 calories, 6.6 grams of fat (2 are saturated) Annie

Paintguy - Thanks! After looking, there isn't a Muralo store anywhere near me. Yesterday I got a refund for the paint (whopping $12). The guy said they're coming out with a new floor paint in a few weeks, same name but better because of all the problems they've had. I don't really want to be a guinea pig. I then asked it they could do anything for me with the sandpaper and painters tape. He told me I'd have to call the manager. Called the store manager today, told me story,he said he would replace the paint then there was *silence*. I asked about the sandpaper and painters tape again and he said he'd throw in a 5 pack of sandpaper and a thing of tape. Great. I asked which paint he was talking about because of what the other guy told me. He says about giving me (well, my $12 would be the cost) their industrial grade paint. Can't remember if he said it was floor paint or just paint. I asked him if it was ok used as floor paint and he said,"oh yeah, it's industrial grade." I agreed thinking I'd decide later if I wanted to try the paint and once I got off the phone realized that sandpaper and painters tape came WITH the paint. I'll just go out and buy new sandpaper and tape if need be. Anyone know anything about this industrial grade paint he speaks of? Should I just run away? I didn't even think to ask what sheen it comes in. Since there's no Muralo store near me, I had considered using BM floor paint.